Search

Short initial settling time and rapidly increased ammonium nitrogen loading were employed to cultivate nitrifying granular sludge treating inorganic wastewater with 1000 mg/L ammonium nitrogen. It was found that the nitrifying granule-dominant sludge was formed in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with influent ammonium concentration increased from 200 to 1000 mg N/L within 55 days. During the following 155-day operation period, nitrifying granules exhibited good performance with an ammonium removal efficiency of 99 %. In the meantime, sludge volume index (SVI) decreased from 92 to 15 mL/g and the mean size of the nitrifying granules increased from 106 to 369 μm. Mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) decreased from the initial 6.4 to around 3 g/L during the granulation period and increased to over 10 g/L at the end of the operation. The long-term stability of nitrifying granules and the reactor performance were not negatively affected by inhibition from free ammonia (FA) and free nitrous acid (FNA) in this study. This makes the granule sludge technology promising in treating high-strength ammonium wastewater in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of saline water in urban areas for non-potable purposes to cope with fresh water scarcity, intrusion of saline water, and disposal of industrial saline wastewater into the sewerage lead to elevated salinity levels in wastewaters. Consequently, saline wastewater is generated, which needs to be treated before its discharge into surface water bodies. The objective of this research was to study the effects of salinity on the aerobic metabolism of phosphate-accumulating organisms (PAO), which belong to the microbial populations responsible for enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) in activated sludge systems. In this study, the short-term impact (hours) of salinity (as NaCl) was assessed on the aerobic metabolism of a PAO culture, enriched in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). All aerobic PAO metabolic processes were drastically affected by elevated salinity concentrations. The aerobic maintenance energy requirement increased, when the salinity concentration rose up to a threshold concentration of 2 % salinity (on a W/ V basis as NaCl), while above this concentration, the maintenance energy requirements seemed to decrease. All initial rates were affected by salinity, with the NH- and PO-uptake rates being the most sensitive. A salinity increase from 0 to 0.18 % caused a 25, 46, and 63 % inhibition of the O, PO, and NH-uptake rates. The stoichiometric ratios of the aerobic conversions confirmed that growth was the process with the highest inhibition, followed by poly-P and glycogen formation. The study indicates that shock loads of 0.18 % salt, which corresponds to the use or intrusion of about 5 % seawater may severely affect the EBPR process already in wastewater treatment plants not exposed regularly to high salinity concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the factors influencing density of granular sludge particles were evaluated. Granules consist of microbes, precipitates and of extracellular polymeric substance. The volume fractions of the bacterial layers were experimentally estimated by fluorescent in situ hybridisation staining. The volume fraction occupied by precipitates was determined by computed tomography scanning. PHREEQC was used to estimate potential formation of precipitates to determine a density of the inorganic fraction. Densities of bacteria were investigated by Percoll density centrifugation. The volume fractions were then coupled with the corresponding densities and the total density of a granule was calculated. The sensitivity of the density of the entire granule on the corresponding settling velocity was evaluated by changing the volume fractions of precipitates or bacteria in a settling model. Results from granules originating from a Nereda reactor for simultaneous phosphate COD and nitrogen removal revealed that phosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) had a higher density than glycogen-accumulating organisms leading to significantly higher settling velocities for PAO-dominated granules explaining earlier observations of the segregation of the granular sludge bed inside reactors. The model showed that a small increase in the volume fraction of precipitates (1-5 %) strongly increased the granular density and thereby the settling velocity. For nitritation-anammox granular sludge, mainly granular diameter and not density differences are causing a segregation of the biomass in the bed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated during 400 days the microbial community variations as observed from 16S DNA gene DGGE banding patterns from an aerobic granular sludge pilot plant as well as the from a full-scale activated sludge treatment plant in Epe, the Netherlands. Both plants obtained the same wastewater and had the same relative hydraulic variations and run stable over time. For the total bacterial population, a similarity analysis was conducted showing that the community composition of both sludge types was very dissimilar. Despite this difference, general bacterial population of both systems had on average comparable species richness, entropy, and evenness, suggesting that different bacteria were sharing the same functionality. Moreover, multi-dimensional scaling analysis revealed that the microbial populations of the flocculent sludge system moved closely around the initial population, whereas the bacterial population in the aerobic granular sludge moved away from its initial population representing a permanent change. In addition, the ammonium-oxidizing community of both sludge systems was studied in detail showing more unevenness than the general bacterial community. Nitrosomonas was the dominant AOB in flocculent sludge, whereas in granular sludge, Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira were present in equal amounts. A correlation analysis of process data and microbial data from DGGE gels showed that the microbial diversity shift in ammonium-oxidizing bacteria clearly correlated with fluctuations in temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the current need for more efficient and reliable processes for municipal and industrial wastewaters treatment, membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has received considerable attention. After just a couple of decades of existence, MBR can now be considered as an established wastewater treatment system, competing directly with conventional processes like activated sludge treatment plant. However, MBR processes still suffer from major drawbacks, including high operational costs due to the use of anti-fouling strategies applied to the system to maintain sustainable filtration conditions. Moreover, this specific use of membranes has not reached full maturity yet, as MBR suppliers and users still lack experience regarding the long-term performances of the system. Still, major improvements of the MBR design and operation have been witnessed over the recent years, making MBR an option of choice for wastewater treatment and reuse. This mini-review reports recent developments and current research trends in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerobic sludge granules are compact, strong microbial aggregates that have excellent settling ability and capability to efficiently treat high-strength and toxic wastewaters. Aerobic granules disintegrate under high organic loading rates (OLR). This study cultivated aerobic granules using acetate as the sole carbon and energy source in three identical sequencing batch reactors operated under OLR of 9–21.3 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD) m−3 day−1. The cultivated granules removed 94–96% of fed COD at OLR up to 9–19.5 kg COD m−3 day−1, and disintegrated at OLR of 21.3 kg COD m−3 day−1. Most tested isolates did not grow in the medium at >3,000 mg COD l−1; additionally, these strains lost capability for auto-aggregation and protein or polysaccharide productivity. This critical COD regime correlates strongly with the OLR range in which granules started disintegrating. Reduced protein quantity secreted by isolates was associated with the noted poor granule integrity under high OLR. This work identified a potential cause of biological nature for aerobic granules breakdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerobic granular sludge process and the membrane bioreactor process are promising, novel environmental bioprocesses for the reclamation of industrial and municipal wastewaters. They are practical and have attracted much research interest. The combination of these two processes in the aerobic granular membrane bioreactor (AGMBR), yields reclaimed water of high quality in a compact reactor. Information on the microbial community in an AGMBR operated at a high organic loading rate is lacking. This study elucidates the microbial dynamics in acetate-fed AGMBR operated in sequencing batch reactor mode. The structure of the microbial community revealed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, demonstrates the dominance of the denitrifying microbial community, which is affiliated with members of the families Comamonadaceae and Alcaligenaceae, of the class Betaproteobacteria. The role of the predominant strains in the AGMBR is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]