Effects of PAC on bacterial activity were evaluated by sequencing batch cultures (20 hours each) of E.coli K-12 on synthetic medium containing glucose as a sole carbon source. Four suspended sequencing batch culture systems were operated; CP: cultures supplemented with PAC, CR: cultures with removal of metabolites by PAC at the end of each batch culture, CD: cultures supplemented with PAC in dialysis tubing to separate from E.coli, and CC: cultures without PAC (control). The supernatant of each batch culture was filtered through a membrane filter (0.2 μm) and was mixed with the same volume of fresh medium to be used as the medium for the next batch culture. The sequencing batch cultures were repeated three times for all the systems. The bacterial growth in CC was inhibited with the increase in the number of batch cultures. Although a significant amount of metabolites was accumulated in the 3rd batch culture of CC, little accumulation was noted in the 3rd batch culture of CP. No growth inhibition was noted in CP for all the batch cultures. The little differences in the bacterial yield and metabolite accumulation between CR and CD suggested that adsorption/desorption of metabolites with PAC did not play a major role in bacterial growth. PAC addition may partly stimulate the growth by the removal of growth inhibiting metabolites. However, the fact that CP showed higher yield than CR and CD indicated that the contact between bacteria and PAC plays a significant role in the growth of bacteria.
