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Three sequencing batch reactors (M1, M2, and M3) were set up to investigate the influence of different lengths of starvation time (3, 5, and 7 h) on aerobic granulation in the perspective of quorum sensing (QS). Autoinducer-2 (AI-2) level was quantified to evaluate the QS ability of aerobic granules. The results indicated that AI-2 level increased steadily during a cycle of sequencing batch reactors, suggesting that starvation was closely related to AI-2 secretion. In the long-term operation, aerobic granules cultivated using a prolonged starvation period had a better integrity and a higher level of cell adhesiveness despite a slower formation speed. With the extension of the starvation period, the total amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) displayed an increasing tendency. EPS with large molecular weight (MW) also reached a higher level using a prolonged starvation period. However, a higher level of AI-2 and cell adhesiveness was observed in M2, which might be related to more stable granules. The results implied that the starvation period could trigger AI-2 secretion and promoted the production of large MW EPS, leading to cell adhesiveness enhancement and granule formation. Therefore, a combination of different starvation periods was proposed in this study in order to improve aerobic granulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quorum sensing (QS) plays an important role in aerobic granulation while how QS system regulates the formation of aerobic granules needs further discussion. This study cultivated activated sludge in two identical sequencing batch reactors (R1 and R2) at different influent organic loading rate (OLR) strategies: R1 was operated using constant OLR (around 8.0 kg/m 3 d), while R2 was operated at alternating OLR (4.0–17.0 kg/m 3 d). Microbial aggregates appeared in R2 on day 19, while the morphology of sludge in R1 changed little compared with the initial sludge. The concentration of autoinducer-2 (AI-2) in R2 showed an ascending trend, along with the increase of cell adhesiveness. The total extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) amount and large molecular weight EPS of R2 rose steadily, which was different from R1. Some bacteria able to self-aggregate and promote EPS secretion were exclusive in R2. A mechanism about aerobic granulation at alternating OLR was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]