Effluent organic matter (EfOM) characterization by simultaneous measurement of proteins and humic matter.

This work developed a method, based on the Lowry method and Frølund modification, for the simultaneous determination of proteins and humic matter in wastewater effluent samples at low concentrations. The method was based on simultaneous spectrophotometric measurements of proteins and humic matter at 750 nm in the absence and presence of CuSO4, which is responsible for increasing the absorbance only in the presence of to proteins. Statistical analysis through ANOVA showed that the response surface of the method fit the experimental measurements at significance level lower than 0.