Oxygen uptake studies on various sludges adapted to a waste containing chloro-, nitro- and amino-substituted xenobiotics

Although containing very low concentrations of organics, triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB) effluent still appeared toxic in shake-flask experiments. Few toxicity effects showed in model activated-sludge plants, provided that these contained suitably adapted organisms, and were run on phenolic waste or phenol as a basic carboniferous load. Oxygen uptake studies indicated that the metabolic processes within the sludge population appeared unusual, and that degradation of TATB effluent required a sludge which was specially adapted.