Characteristics of the extracellular polymeric substance composition in an up-flow biological aerated filter reactor: the impacts of different aeration rates and filter medium heights

Abstract In this study, the compositional characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were systematically explored to reveal their relationship with microbial community under different conditions in an up-flow biological aerated filter reactor. The aeration rates had a significant positive correlation (0.898≤R≤0.979) with the tightly bound (TB)-EPS contents, but basically showed an opposite trend (R Proteobacteria and Nitrospirae had a significant positive correlation with C5 and C4, respectively. These results demonstrated that microbial community distribution could affect EPS composition.