Enhancement of cell production in photosynthetic bacteria wastewater treatment by low-strength ultrasound.

The present study is aimed at enhanced cell production in together with pollution removal in photosynthetic bacteria wastewater treatment through low-strength ultrasound stimulation. The ultrasound strength was 0.3W/cm(2) with 40kHz frequency. Results showed 1-10min sonication significantly improved the cell production. The optimal sonication time was 2min. When the irradiation period was over 10min, a strong mechanical damage occurred. These phenomena could be explained by the changes of PSB dehydrogenase activity. Sonication stimulated the initial dehydrogenase activity; moderate sonication increased the cell activity while too-long sonication led to quick enzyme activity decrease. The optimal sonication strategy was 1min at the 0th hour and 1min at the 27th hour. The corresponding cell production and cell yield increased by 110% and 93% respectively, and the COD removal reached 98%. The cost of low-strength ultrasound was only 1% of the incremental sales value of cells.