Properties Of Granular Sludge Research Articles

Unraveling the effect mechanism of sulfamethoxazole on nitrogen biotransformation in a PHBV supported denitrifying granular sludge

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is prevalent as one of the most frequently detected antibiotics in rivers worldwide, and is listed as one of the priority antibiotics in China based on the persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity and resistance. Recently, the effect of SMX on aerobic granular sludge has attracted increasing interest. However, how SMX influences the biodegradable polymer supported denitrifying granular sludge is still obscure. Herein, two groups with or without exposure to 1 mg/L SMX with initial nitrate concentrations of 15, 30, and 50 mg/L were constructed. Results showed that there was a negligible difference on nitrate removal efficiencies between two groups under stable period (all exceeded 95 %) in batch bioreactors with an HRT of 24 h, supported by an insignificance difference (p > 0.05). However, the decline in the first-order decay kinetic constants of nitrate removal rate, NAR and NIR activities verified a slight inhibition of SMX on denitrification. Meanwhile, SMX also had an impact on the chemical and microbial properties on granular sludge. SMX boosted the EPS secretion with more humic acid, a delicate rise in PN/PS ratios and a decrease in zeta potential of EPS all favored the microbes' survival under SMX stress. SMX shifted the microbial compositions, namely, the microbes directly involving in PHBV degradation (Caldimonas, denitrificans Comamonas/Diaphorobacter) were enriched instead of some denitrifying microorganism that could not directly utilize PHBV (Denitratisoma, Azospira). Additionally, even though sul1 and sul2 were enriched, which was not readily accessible to receiving waters due to a good settling properties of granular sludge. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of the impact of SMX on this system, and is of great significance for the operation of granular sludge system for nitrate removal under antibiotic's stress.

Effects of salinity and betaine addition on anaerobic granular sludge properties and microbial community succession patterns in organic saline wastewater

In this study, the effects of different salinity gradients and addition of compatible solutes on anaerobic treated effluent water qualities, sludge characteristics and microbial communities were investigated. The increase in salinity resulted in a decrease in particle size of the granular sludge, which was concentrated in the range of 0.5-1.0 mm. The content of EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) in the granular sludge gradually increased with increasing salinity and the addition of betaine (a typical compatible solute). Meanwhile, the microbial community structure was significantly affected by salinity, with high salinity reducing the diversity of bacteria. At higher salinity, Patescibacteria and Proteobacteria gradually became the dominant phylum, with relative abundance increasing to 13.53% and 12.16% at 20 g/L salinity. Desulfobacterota and its subordinate Desulfovibrio, which secrete EPS in large quantities, dominated significantly after betaine addition.Their relative abundance reached 13.65% and 7.86% at phylum level and genus level. The effect of these changes on the treated effluent was shown as the average chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate decreased from 82.10% to 79.71%, 78.01%, 68.51% and 64.55% when the salinity gradually increased from 2 g/L to 6, 10, 16 and 20 g/L. At the salinity of 20 g/L, average COD removal increased to 71.65% by the addition of 2 mmol/L betaine. The gradient elevated salinity and the exogenous addition of betaine played an important role in achieving stability of the anaerobic system in a highly saline environment, which provided a feasible strategy for anaerobic treatment of organic saline wastewater.

Impacts of granular sludge properties on the bioreactor performing nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation/anammox processes

In this work, a bioprocess model was applied to first determine the impacts of influent substrates conditions on the granular bioreactor performing nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) and anammox integrated processes and then investigate the roles of granular sludge properties in regulating the bioreactor performance and start-up process. The ideal influent substrates conditions were identified at NO2−-N/NH4+-N of 1:1 and dissolved CH4 concentration of 85 g COD m−3, which achieved 98.6% total nitrogen removal and 87.7% dissolved CH4 utilization. Under such ideal influent conditions, the initial properties of granular sludge didn’t significantly affect the granular bioreactor performance. However, inoculation of granular sludge with a relatively small granular sludge size and a high abundance of n-DAMO archaea or/and anammox bacteria could effectively shorten the bioreactor start-up. Meanwhile, reducing the diffusivity of solutes within granular sludge was also beneficial for expediting the start-up process and promoting dissolved CH4 utilization.

Performance of an aerobic granular sludge membrane filtration in a full-scale industrial plant.

This study quantifies the hydraulic performance of a pilot-scale ultrafiltration system integrated into a full-scale industrial aerobic granular sludge (AGS) plant. The treatment plant consisted of parallel AGS reactors, Bio1 and Bio2, with similar initial granular sludge properties. During the 3-month filtration test, a chemical oxygen demand (COD) overloading episode took place, affecting the settling properties, morphology, and microbial community composition in both reactors. The impact on Bio2 was more severe than on Bio1, with higher maximal sludge volume index values, a complete loss of granulation, and the excessive appearance of filamentous bacteria extending from the flocs. The membrane filtration properties of both sludges, with these different sludge qualities, were compared. The permeability in Bio1 varied between 190.8 ± 23.3 and 158.9 ± 19.2 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1, which was 50% higher than in Bio2 (89.9 ± 5.8 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1). A lab-scale filtration experiment using a flux-step protocol showed a lower fouling rate for Bio1 in comparison with Bio2. The membrane resistance due to pore blocking was three times higher in Bio2 than in Bio1. This study shows the positive impact of granular biomass on the long-term membrane filtration properties and stresses the importance of granular sludge stability during reactor operation.

Effect of formic acid inflow on microbial properties of the anaerobic granular sludge in a UASB reactor

In the production of natural rubber, formate or acetate is added to the latex solution to coagulate the rubber; therefore, the wastewater contains high concentrations of organic acids, requiring the application of anaerobic treatment technology. In this study, a two-phase continuous flow experiment using a laboratory-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was conducted to investigate the influence of formate inflow on the microbial and physical characteristics of the retained granular sludge. In phase 1, acetate-based wastewater was used as feed, while in phase 2, formate-based wastewater was used as feed. In phase 1, the UASB exhibited high COD removal efficiency (97.2%); in addition, the retained sludge showed increased methane production from acetate and proliferation of acetate-utilizing Methanosaeta species. In phase 2, the UASB performed as well as phase 1, with 98.2% COD removal efficiency. Microbial community structure analysis confirmed that relatives of Methanobacterium formicicum present in the retained sludge were responsible for the degradation of formate in phase 2. However, decreased diameter and slight deterioration of granular sludge settleability were observed. In conclusion, formate inflow has low risk of interference with the process performance of the UASB, but it has negative effects on the physical properties of the granular sludge.

Effect of transient substrate shock on performance and granules properties in single-stage partial nitritation-anammox system

The stability of single partial nitritation and anammox (SPNA) granular system at different nitrogen loads was evaluated in two laboratory-scale continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) reactors (R1with lower influent ammonium concentration, R2 with higher concentration). The effects of different transient substrate shock (50 mg N/L and 100 mg N/L) on the bacteria population structure, nitrogen removal and granular sludge properties of the system were studied. Results showed that R1 had a better resilience, and the average removal efficiencies of TN and ammonium can recover to 66.5 % and 73.9 % after two shocks, while nitrogen performance of R2 deteriorated. The inhibition of free nitrous acid (FNA) to functional bacteria was the key factor influencing reactor performance. When FNA concentration exceeded 2 μg/L, FNA/MLVSS > 1.5 μg/g VSS, the inhibition was irreversible. Moreover, excessive substrate shock changed extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production and composition, which led to granules disintegration. The formation and disintegration mechanism of SPNA micro-granules were also investigated.

Rational design of sulfidogenic granular sludge reactor with clostridia as dominant bacteria for energy-efficient sulfate-laden wastewater treatment

The sludge flotation and washout are frequently observed in anaerobic sulfidogenic reactor. This challenge raised the interests of re-thinking/re-designing of a compact and low-flotation bioreactor. The present study investigated to understand the temporal dynamics of microbial community and granular sludge properties in a pneumatic-mixing reactor treating sulfate-laden wastewater. The findings revealed that the reactor performance and sludge properties were dynamically changed and correlated over long-term run. In the bioreactor, a rarer type of sulfate reducing bacteria (genus Clostridium XVIII) was remarkably enriched (~30% abundance). The Clostridium XVIII-mediated COD removal (92.7 ± 3.9%) was further confirmed via mass balance which demonstrated the growth rate of total active biomass and sulfate-reducing active biomass were 19.95 and 6.0 mg-COD/Linfluent respectively. The PICRUSt data suggested that i) high abundance of carbohydrate metabolism and S-reductase enzymes enriched, and ii) energy metabolism enzymes decreased which implies that the new SRB communities are more energy-efficient than conventional ones.

Elucidating the effect of mixing technologies on dynamics of microbial communities and their correlations with granular sludge properties in a high-rate sulfidogenic anaerobic bioreactor for saline wastewater treatment

In this study, three lab-scale anaerobic sulfidogenic bioreactors were operated independently using three different mixing modes (hydraulic, mechanical and pneumatic). One-way ANOVA test indicated various performance parameters (e.g. sulfate reduction and sulfide production) and granular sludge properties (e.g. EPS and particle size) statistically different in three mixing modes. Principal component analysis (PCA) and OTUs-based network demonstrated bacterial composition greatly varied among the three mixing modes. The phylum Proteobacteria was predominant among the bacterial communities, and the genus Desulfobacter (35.1% in hydraulic, 31.1% in mechanical and 27.4% in pneumatic sample) was the most dominant SRB. The PCA/Pearson’s correlation analysis confirmed SRB had significant positive relationship with sludge properties (e.g. particle size). PICRUSt data highlighted that bacterial communities contained diverse predicted functions including sulfur metabolism enzymes (sulfite reductase and adenylylsulfate reductase). The findings of this research could be helpful for selection of an appropriate mixing technology for anaerobic sulfidogenic or similar bioprocess.

Performance prediction of an aerobic granular SBR using modular multilayer artificial neural networks

Aerobic granulation is a complex process that, while proven to be more effective than conventional treatment methods, has been a challenge to control and maintain stable operation. This work presents a static data-driven model to predict the key performance indicators of the aerobic granulation process. The first sub-model receives influent characteristics and granular sludge properties. These predicted parameters then become the input for the second sub-model, predicting the effluent characteristics. The model was developed with a dataset of 2600 observations and evaluated with an unseen dataset of 286 observations. The prediction R2 and RMSE were >99% and <5% respectively for all predicted parameters. The results of this paper show the effectiveness of data-driven models for simulating the complex aerobic granulation process, providing a great tool to help in predicting the behaviour, and anticipating failures in aerobic granular reactors.

Effect of high salinity in wastewater on surface properties of anammox granular sludge

Bacterial surface properties fundamentally affect the stability and aggregation of anammox granular sludge. The variation in the surface properties of the granular sludge at different salinities were investigated to further clarify the effect of salinity on the aggregation of anammox granular sludge in this study. High anammox activity was obtained at a salinity of 30 g/L NaCl, and the average removal efficiency of NH4+N, NO2−-N and TN reached 91.9% ± 1.4%, 97.3% ± 0.4% and 86.3% ± 0.9%, respectively. The sludge particle size in Reactor 1 (with 0 g/L NaCl as control) and Reactor 2 (with 0, 15 and 30 g/L NaCl) increased from 1.62 ± 0.16 mm and 1.59 ± 0.12 mm to 2.71 ± 0.23 mm and 2.44 ± 0.19 mm, respectively, during total operation. PN gradually decreased from 30.58 ± 2.5 mg/g to 18.11 ± 2.1 mg/g, and PS sharply increased from 1.48 ± 0.09 mg/g to 10.52 ± 0.50 mg/g with the increase in salinity. The PS/PN ratio of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) rapidly increased from 0.05 to 0.58 with an increase of salinity. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results showed that salinity inhibited the expression of anammox sludge hydrophobicity by changing surface groups. Binding between multivalent metal ions and EPS was significantly hindered by the high Na+ concentration. The results of this study provided a better understanding of the effect of salinity on the stability and aggregation of anammox granular sludge in saline wastewater treatment.

Influence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) on the microbial properties of anaerobic granular sludge acclimated to isoplophyl alcohol (IPA) wastewater under psychrophilic conditions

ABSTRACTIn this study, a continuous flow experiment was conducted in which a lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor at psychrophilic conditions (18–19°C) was fed with artificial wastewater, containing tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and isoplophyl alcohol (IPA), from the electronics industry. This was done to evaluate process performance and microbial properties of the granular sludge that was retained in the reactor. The inoculated granular sludge was precultured with IPA containing wastewater but not TMAH; as a result, no degradation was observed in 30 days of operation. To enhance degradation, the reactor was seeded with 2% weight of the TMAH-enriched sludge, after which TMAH was enhanced. Consequently, the total COD removal efficiency reached 90% at an organic loading rate of 7.5 kg COD/m3/day. The TMAH inflow decreased the diameter of the retained granular sludge, but the sludge retained its settleability. The proliferation of the Methanometylovorans microorganisms present in the enrichment culture was confirmed by analysis of the 16 S rRNA gene in the retained sludge. In addition, TMAH degradation was inhibited by addition chloroform, a methanogen inhibitor. These results suggested species in the genus Methanometylovorans in the granular sludge contributed significantly to methanogenic TMAH degradation.

Evaluation of a sponge assisted-granular anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SG-AnMBR) for municipal wastewater treatment

This study compared a conventional granular anaerobic membrane bioreactor (CG-AnMBR) with a sponge assisted-granular anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SG-AnMBR) in terms of treatment performance, granular sludge properties, membrane fouling behaviour and biogas production. The SG-AnMBR showed better organics and nutrient removal, and enhanced methane yield at 156.3 ± 5.8 mL CH4(STP)/g CODremoved. Granular sludge from the SG-AnMBR had superior quality with better settleability, larger particle size, higher EPS content and more granule abundance. The SG-AnMBR also exhibited slower fouling development with 50.7% lower total filtration resistance than those of the CG-AnMBR. Sponge addition effectively affected the concentration and properties of microbial products (e.g. soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)) in granular sludge, cake layer as well as settling zone mixed liquor, thus alleviating the fouling propensity. The liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) analysis suggested that sponge addition reduced the concentrations of biopolymers, low molecular weight neutrals and acids, and building blocks of the foulants. Compared with the SG-AnMBR, GC-MS analysis confirmed the accumulation of volatile fatty acids, particularly acetic acid in the CG-AnMBR. It is evident that the SG-AnMBR could be a promising solution for improving overall G-AnMBR performance and substantially mitigating membrane fouling.

RETRACTED: Acetate-triggered granular sludge floatation in methanogenic bioreactors

Methanogenic granular sludge from anaerobic bioreactors plays a primary role in treatment of various high-strength industrial wastewaters. The common problem of sludge floatation can lead to washout of granules from the reactor and severely affect reactor performance. However, an understanding of the specific key trigger-factors and appropriate control strategies for granular sludge floatation remains elusive. In this study, the concentration of acetate, rather than that of other volatile fatty acids (VFAs, i.e. propionate and butyrate) and granular sludge properties, was identified to be positively, linearly correlated with the amount of floating granules. The number of floating granules on propionate (18±6) or butyrate-containing (34±13) wastewater was comparable with that of non-VFA control wastewater (30.5±7.5), and much lower than that of acetate-containing wastewater (80.5±10.5). A scenario of excessive acetate-triggered granular sludge floatation is proposed based on these results as well as on the microbial community profile and spatial distribution, porous structure of granules, and impacts of operational parameters. Two new strategies, acetate-depletion and co-substrate addition, effectively reduced the number of floating granules by 28.5% and 51.6%, respectively. These results deepen our understanding of granular sludge floatation in methanogenic bioreactors and provide effective strategies to control sludge floatation.

Treatment of British Gas/Lurgi coal gasification wastewater using a novel integration of heterogeneous Fenton oxidation on coal fly ash/sewage sludge carbon composite and anaerobic biological process

A novel integrated process with heterogeneous Fenton oxidation and anaerobic biological process was employed in treatment of real British Gas/Lurgi coal gasification wastewater (BGLCGW). The results indicated Fenton oxidation with the prepared coal fly ash/sewage sludge carbon composite as catalyst exhibited efficient performance in treated BGLCGW over wide pH range at thirty reusability runs and the treated wastewater was more biodegradable, facilitating followed biological process. On the basis of significant inhibition of radical scavenger and ESR spectrum, it was deduced that the efficiency enhancement was responsible for generating hydroxyl radicals, and further analysis by fluor photometer confirmed the co-catalytic effect of iron, silicon and aluminum oxides of CFA/SC. Meanwhile, heterogeneous Fenton not only significantly improved the effluent quality, but also remarkable enhanced anaerobic granular sludge properties which facilitated the high efficiency and ecosystem stability in the bioreactor. Through the integrated process, overall 74.9% and 86.1% of COD and total phenols (TPh) were removed which were almost four times more than the performance of single anaerobic process at shorten half of HRT (12h). Moreover, the integrated process also enhanced the aerobic biodegradation of BGLCGW, the corresponding concentrations of COD and TPh in the followed aerobic treated effluent met the standard for the reuse water. Thus, the novel integrated process with efficient, stable, economical and sustainable development advantages was suitable for engineering application.

Investigation of the use of aerobic granules for the treatment of sugar beet processing wastewater

The treatment of sugar beet processing wastewater in aerobic granular sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was examined in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nitrogen removal efficiency. The effect of sugar beet processing wastewater of high solid content, namely 2255 ± 250 mg/L total suspended solids (TSS), on granular sludge was also investigated. Aerobic granular SBR initially operated with the effluent of anaerobic digester treating sugar beet processing wastewater (Part I) achieved average removal efficiencies of 71 ± 30% total COD (tCOD), 90 ± 3% total ammonifiable nitrogen (TAN), 76 ± 24% soluble COD (sCOD) and 29 ± 4% of TSS. SBR was further operated with sugar beet processing wastewater (Part II), where the tCOD, TAN, sCOD and TSS removal efficiencies were 65 ± 5%, 61 ± 4%, 87 ± 1% and 58 ± 10%, respectively. This study indicated the applicability of aerobic granular SBRs for the treatment of both sugar beet processing wastewater and anaerobically digested processing wastewater. For higher solids removal, further treatment such as a sedimentation tank is required following the aerobic granular systems treating solid-rich wastewaters such as sugar beet processing wastewater. It was also revealed that the application of raw sugar beet processing wastewater slightly changed the aerobic granular sludge properties such as size, structure, colour, settleability and extracellular polymeric substance content, without any drastic and negative effect on treatment performance.

Changes of the reactor performance and the properties of granular sludge under tetracycline (TC) stress

In this study, the response of nitrifying granules (NG) and conventional granules (CG) to tetracycline (TC) was compared. The presence of TC made granules break down into small fractions and led to nitrite accumulation in nitrifying system; while it had little toxic effect on CG system. Specific oxygen uptake rate tests showed 3.3% inhibition of ammonium oxidizing bacteria and 25.7% inhibition of nitrite oxidizing bacteria in the NG system. Granules produced more extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) to protect themselves from the TC stress, with higher production of proteins compared to polysaccharides. FTIR data also revealed significant changes of protein functional groups, while only small changes in polysaccharides functional groups were found. Three dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy showed a decrease of peak intensity, indicating quenching effect of TC on EPS fluorescence, and also a blue shift of peak position, indicating chemical changes of EPS components.

Changes in the nitrogen removal performance and the properties of granular sludge in an Anammox system under oxytetracycline (OTC) stress

The short- and long-term effects of oxytetracycline (OTC) on the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process were evaluated. The OTC inhibition of Anammox was substrate-, and especially nitrite-, dependent. The IC50 of OTC in the batch tests on an Anammox mixed culture was calculated to be 517.5mgL−1. The long-term effects of OTC on the Anammox process were examined in a continuous-flow upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor. Fifty milligrams per liter of OTC significantly decreased the nitrogen removal rate from 12.4 to 2kgNm−3d−1 within 26days. The recovery of Anammox performance after OTC inhibition was accelerated by adding biocatalyst. In contrast to the modified Stover–Kincannon model, the modified Boltzmann model accurately simulated the recovery of Anammox performance. OTC presented in the influent led to sludge hardening and cell lysis. A poor settling property of Anammox sludge was also observed.

Resistance capability of microaerobic granular sludge for pentachlorophenol (PCP) degradation subjected to pH shock

The resistance capability to pH shock of microaerobic granular sludge for pentachlorophenol (PCP) degradation was studied. The results show that it had little effect on the system under short-term shock, and the system returned to normal state immediately，while large adverse effect occurred under long-term shock, and the system required long time to recover. The content of extracellular polymers (ECPs) including proteins (PN) and polysaccharides (PS) decreased significantly, as well as the ratio of proteins and polysaccharides for 8 days pH shock, and there was an increase in sludge volumetric index (SVI) values of sludge and a decrease in settling velocity. Compared with the normal pH, it was found that the number of bacillus in microorganisms reduced for pH shock, and recession-type cells occurred by being observed with scanning electron microscope, especially at pH 6.0 and 9.0 there was a more serious decline in the treatment effect and deterioration in the physicochemical properties of granular sludge.

Aerobic granular sludge formation for high strength agro-based wastewater treatment

The present study investigates the formation of aerobic granular sludge in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed with palm oil mill effluent (POME). Stable granules were observed in the reactor with diameters between 2.0 and 4.0 mm at a chemical oxygen demand (COD) loading rate of 2.5 kg COD m −3 d −1. The biomass concentration was 7600 mg L −1 while the sludge volume index (SVI) was 31.3 mL g SS −1 indicating good biomass accumulation in the reactor and good settling properties of granular sludge, respectively. COD and ammonia removals were achieved at a maximum of 91.1% and 97.6%, respectively while color removal averaged at only 38%. This study provides insights on the development and the capabilities of aerobic granular sludge in POME treatment.

Effect of seed sludge on characteristics and microbial community of aerobic granular sludge

Abstract Aerobic granular sludge was cultivated by using different kinds of seed sludge in sequencing batch airlift reactor. The influence of seed sludge on physical and chemical properties of granular sludge was studied; the microbial community structure was probed by using scanning electron microscope and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). The results showed that seed sludge played an important role on the formation of aerobic granules. Seed sludge taken from beer wastewater treatment plant (inoculum A) was more suitable for cultivating aerobic granules than that of sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant (inoculum B). Cultivated with inoculum A, large amount of mature granules formed after 35 days operation, its SVI reached 32.75 mL/g, and SOUR of granular sludge was beyond 1.10 mg/(g·min). By contrast, it needed 56 days obtaining mature granules using inoculum B. DGGE profiles indicated that the dominant microbial species in mature granules were 18 and 11 OTU when inoculum A and B were respectively employed as seed sludge. The sequencing results suggested that dominant species in mature granules cultivated by inoculum A were Paracoccus sp., Devosia hwasunensi, Pseudoxanthomonas sp., while the dominant species were Lactococcus raffinolactis and Pseudomonas sp. in granules developed from inoculum B.