The current study presents results concerning the effect of a static magnetic field (SMF) on synthetic wastewater biodegradation by activated sludge and on dehydrogenase activity of microorganisms of activated sludge. The highest process efficiency was obtained for a SMF of 0.0075 T among the tested magnetic flux density values of 0.005-0.14 T. Decrease in COD was 25% higher for the bioreactor exposed to SMF compared with control experiments. The positive effect of SMF 0.0075-0.0080 T was confirmed in experiments on the dehydrogenase activity of activated sludge. It was also shown that a SMF of 0.007 T increased p-nitroaniline removal from wastewater and influenced the recombination frequency in a streptomycin-resistant bacteria strain of Eschercihia coli.
Keywords: Activated sludge; Dehydrogenase activity; Recombination of bacteria; Static magnetic field; Wastewater biodegradation; p-Nitroaniline biodegradation.