Aerobic granular sludge formation based on substrate availability: Effects of flow pattern and fermentation pretreatment

doi:10.1007/s11783-020-1226-0

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2020, Vol. 14

Issue (3) : 49 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1226-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Aerobic granular sludge formation based on substrate availability: Effects of flow pattern and fermentation pretreatment

Quan Yuan, Hui Gong(

), Hao Xi, Kaijun Wang(

)

State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

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Abstract

• Penetration depth and substrate characters affect AGS formation and performance.

• The relationship between substrate gradient and particle size affects AGS stability.

• The fermentation process is proposed as a pretreatment to improve AGS stability.

The influences of flow patterns (mixed-flow and plug-flow) and fermentation pretreatment on aerobic granular sludge (AGS) formation with various substrate availability levels were investigated by running four identical laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (R1–R4), comparing two anaerobic feeding strategies and three kinds of substrates. R1 achieved faster granulation with a fast influent fill step followed by a modified anaerobic mixed-flow phase, but the AGS showed poorer stability with a cracked structure and a high suspended solids concentration in the effluent. The anaerobic plug-flow feeding mode (with influent fed slowly from the bottom) in R2 provided deeper penetration depth for the substance to reach the core of AGS and accordingly strengthen AGS stability. An acidogenic up-flow sludge bed reactor was introduced as a pretreatment to improve the AGS performance by enhancing glucose pre-fermentation (R4). AGS fed with mixed volatile fatty acids (VFA) after glucose fermentation showed similar performance compared with the reactor fed with acetate in the aspects of stability, structure, size distribution and nitrogen removal efficiency, and 74% similarity in the microbial community. For actual wastewater with low VFA concentrations, fermentation treatment was suggested as a promising pretreatment for stable AGS granulation and operation.

Keywords Anaerobic plug-flow feeding mode Anaerobic mixed-flow mode Fermentation pretreatment Substrate gradient Penetration depth

Corresponding Author(s): Hui Gong,Kaijun Wang

Just Accepted Date: 13 February 2020 Issue Date: 16 March 2020

Cite this article:

Quan Yuan,Hui Gong,Hao Xi, et al. Aerobic granular sludge formation based on substrate availability: Effects of flow pattern and fermentation pretreatment[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2020, 14(3): 49.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-020-1226-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2020/V14/I3/49

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of experimental setup. Left: R1, R2, and R3 with various operational procedures and substances. Right: R4 with a hydrolysis acidogenic up-flow sludge blanket and an SBR in series. (1, PLC controller; 2, Influent tank; 3, Aeration pump; 4,Rotameter; 5, pH probe; 6, DO probe; 7, Effluent valve; 8, Fine bubble stone; 9, SBR; 10, HUSB; 11, Influent pump; 12, Buffer tank).

Fig.2 Reactors operational parameters.

Fig.3 Granule morphology in the four reactors (a and b for granules cultivated in R1 with anaerobic plug-flow pattern and acetate, c and d for granules cultivated in R2 with anaerobic mixed-flow pattern and acetate, e and f for granules cultivated in R3 fed with anaerobic plug-flow pattern and glucose, and g and h for granules cultivated in R4 with anaerobic plug-flow pattern and fermentation products).

Fig.4 MLVSS from days 0–100 (top) and particle size distribution at days 13 and 60 (bottom) in the four reactors.

Fig.5 COD (top) and TN (bottom) removal efficiency in the four AGS reactors.

Fig.6 VFA composition and concentration in the HUSB reactor.

Fig.7 Comparison of relative abundance of dominant sequences affiliated with various bacterial phyla (left) and genera (right) in R2 and R4.

Tab.1 The relationship of average granule radius and calculated acetate penetration depth in four reactors in two phases

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