Interference by the activated sludge matrix on the analysis of soluble microbial products in wastewater

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the effects of complex matrix effects caused by chemical materials on the analysis of key soluble microbial products (SMP) including proteins, humics, carbohydrates, and polysaccharides in activated sludge samples. Emphasis was placed on comparison of the commonly used standard curve technique with standard addition (SA), a technique that differs in that the analytical responses are measured for sample solutions spiked with known quantities of analytes. The results showed that using SA provided a great improvement in compensating for SMP recovery and thus improving measurement accuracy by correcting for matrix effects. Analyte recovery was found to be highly dependent on sample dilution, and changed due to extraction techniques, storage conditions and sample composition. Storage of sample extracts by freezing changed SMP concentrations dramatically, as did storage at 4 °C for as little as 1 d.

► Soluble microbial products (SMP) are normally measured by standard curve methods.
► However, there exists to date no standard method of extraction nor measurement.
► This study confirms there are matrix effects present for several activated sludges.
► Analysis by standard addition can compensate for matrix effects.
► Storage and extraction are shown to greatly affect SMP recovery.