RESUMO
The removal of a complex substrate bovine serum albumin (BSA) by activated sludge was examined with respect to the initial level of substrate adsorbed, the rate of substrate removal, and the induction of exoprotease (located both on the sludge matrix and in the cell-free supernatant). The relationship of these various processes, which together make up the overall removal process, was investigated with respect to the level of substrate present expressed both per unit volume and per unit biomass. A higher degree of correlation was observed when the substrate per unit biomass (S/B) ratio was used, thus providing some basis for empirical models of the activated sludge system based on the food-to-microorganisms (F/M) ratio. The interaction of sludge concentration and substrate concentration, plus the fact that there is not a clear distinction, as in pure culture, between substrate and microorganisms, makes the use of models devised for pure culture questionable.
