The effect of seed sludge type on aerobic granulation via anoxic-aerobic operation (original) (raw)

Aerobic sludge granulation: state-of-the-art

International Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2009

Recently, the research focused on the development and operation of aerobic granular biomass has increased in interest, due to the advantages of this option as compared to the conventional activated sludge systems traditionally used for the biological treatment of wastewater. The aerobic granular sludge is produced in Sequential Batch Reactors (SBR) where a large amount of biomass is accumulated by means of the improvement of its settling properties. These compact systems allow the reduction of the required space for implantation and favour the treatment of large loads of contaminants and the performance of the nitrification and denitrification processes simultaneously.

Aerobic Granule Reactor Technology

Water Intelligence Online, 2015

STOWA Project Implementation Merle de Kreuk (TUD), Mark van Loosdrecht (TUD), Bart de Bruin (DHV), Helle van der Roest (DHV), Joost van der Pluijm (van der Pluijm Water-en Milieumanagement)

Development of aerobic granular sludge for real industrial/municipal wastewater treatment

Water Science & Technology

The formation and evolution of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) developed in a sequential batch reactor (SBR) were evaluated to understand the effect of influential operating parameters on its morphology, stability, and removal performance while treating industrial/municipal wastewater. After 18 days of operation (stage I), mature granules were identified in the reactor, and in 25 days, the AGS system reached a stable operation. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) were affected by the applied operating variations (from stages II to VII). Until day 48 (stage III), the aerobic granules did not show relevant changes in shape and stability. During this stage, the AGS system achieved high removal efficiencies of COD (97.7%) and TKN (86.2%) and a sludge volume index (SVI) of 65 ± 6.7 mL/g-total suspended solids. From stage IV until the end of the reactor operation, partial disintegration and rupture occurred in the system, but granules did not completely disint...

Aerobic granular sludge : scaling up a new technology

2006

Most conventional wastewater treatment plants need a large surface area for the treatment of their sewage. This is due to the open structure of the biomass used to convert the polluting components in wastewater. Because of the flocculated growth, sludge concentrations in reaction tanks are low and settling times need to be long in order to keep the biomass in the system. This Ph.D. thesis describes the development of a new compact aerobic granular sludge technology, in which the biomass is grown in compact granular structures. The main advantage of this compact growth structure is the higher biomass concentrations that van be reached and that all processes, needed for the treatment of wastewater, can be performed in one (discontinuously operated) reactor. Therefore, 80% less area and 30% less energy is required for the treatment of the wastewater. This process is unique, since by the natural composition of the aerobic granular sludge, combined with different diffusion limitations, a...

Performance of Aerobic Granular Sludge for Domestic Wastewater Treatment

International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, 2019

Aerobic granular sludge can be used to treat various types of wastewater, such as industrial, municipal and domestic wastewater. This study investigated the treatment of low-strength domestic wastewater while simultaneously developed aerobic granular sludge in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Activated sludge was used as the seeding for granulation. The results indicated good COD and ammoniacal nitrogen removal at 72% and 73%, respectively. Aerobic granular sludge was successfully developed with low sludge volume index (SVI30) of 29 mL/g, which demonstrated an excellent settling property of aerobic granular sludge. Biomass concentration increased significantly compared to the seed sludge, indicating high biomass density in the SBR system. Settling velocity of aerobic granular sludge was significantly higher compared to the conventional activated sludge. This study showed the feasibility of aerobic granular sludge to be developed using low-strength domestic wastewater. Moreover, thi...

Effects of seed sludge properties and selective biomass discharge on aerobic sludge granulation

Chemical Engineering Journal, 2010

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of seed sludge properties and the selective sludge discharge method on aerobic granulation in biological wastewater treatment. Small-loose flocs and larger-denser flocs were separated from raw activated sludge by sedimentation in a settling column. The two types of sludge were used as seed biomass in two laboratory batch reactors for the granulation experiment. A fixed daily sludge discharge ratio of around 10% of slow-settling sludge was applied to the two reactors. The results showed that aerobic granules could be formed in the reactors from both seed sludge of different structural and settling properties. The initial washout of small-loose sludge flocs during the start-up of the bioreactors did not appear to be a crucial factor for granulation. The key operating parameter was the daily discharge of relatively slow-settling biomass from the reactors. PCR-DGGE analysis showed insignificant differences between the bacterial communities of the mature granular sludge in the two reactors. It implied that continuous discharge of small and slow-settling flocs removed these competitors for substrate uptake from the system and hence made the substrate more available for large and compact flocs and granules. This selective sludge discharge facilitated the growth and accumulation of denser sludge in the reactor, leading to complete granulation.

Aerobic granular sludge: characterization, mechanism of granulation and application to wastewater treatment

Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 2011

Aerobic granular sludge can be classified as a type of self-immobilized microbial consortium, consisting mainly of aerobic and facultative bacteria and is distinct from anaerobic granular methanogenic sludge. Aerobic granular technology has been proposed as a promising technology for wastewater treatment, but is not yet established as a large-scale application. Aerobic granules have been cultured mainly in sequenced batch reactors (SBR) under hydraulic selection pressure. The factors influencing aerobic granulation, granulation mechanisms, microbial communities and the potential applications for the treatment of various wastewaters have been studied comprehensively on the laboratory-scale. Aerobic granular sludge has shown a potential for nitrogen removal, but is less competitive for the high strength organic wastewater treatments. This technology has been developed from the laboratory-scale to pilot scale applications, but with limited and unpublished full-scale applications for municipal wastewater treatment. The future needs and limitations for aerobic granular technology are discussed.

Comparison of two different anaerobic feeding strategies to establish a stable aerobic granulated sludge bed

Water Research, 2013

Nitrogen removal PAOs a b s t r a c t Two different anaerobic feeding strategies were compared to optimize the development and performance of aerobic granules. A stable aerobic granulation of activated sludge was achieved with an anaerobic plug flow operation (PI) and a fast influent step followed by an anaerobic mixing phase (PII). Two lab scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated to test the different operation modes. PI with plug flow and a reactor H/D (height/diameter) ratio of 9 achieved a biomass concentration of 20 g TSS /L and an effluent TSS concentration of 0.10 g TSS /L. PII with the mixed anaerobic phase directly after feeding and a reactor H/D ratio of 2 achieved a biomass concentration of 9 g TSS /L and an effluent quality of 0.05 g TSS /L. Furthermore, it is shown that the plug flow regime during anaerobic feeding together with the lower H/D ratio of 2 led to channeling effects, which resulted in lower storage of organic carbon and a general destabilization of the granulation process. Compared to the plug flow regime (PI), the anaerobic mixing (PII) provided lower substrate gradients within the biofilm. However, these disadvantages could be compensated by higher mass transfer coefficients in PII (k L ¼ 0.3 m/d for PI; k L ¼ 86 m/d for PII) during the anaerobic phase. ª

New Advances in Aerobic Granular Sludge Technology Using Continuous Flow Reactors: Engineering and Microbiological Aspects

Water, 2021

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) comprises an aggregation of microbial cells in a tridimensional matrix, which is able to remove carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous as well as other pollutants in a single bioreactor under the same operational conditions. During the past decades, the feasibility of implementing AGS in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for treating sewage using fundamentally sequential batch reactors (SBRs) has been studied. However, granular sludge technology using SBRs has several disadvantages. For instance, it can present certain drawbacks for the treatment of high flow rates; furthermore, the quantity of retained biomass is limited by volume exchange. Therefore, the development of continuous flow reactors (CFRs) has come to be regarded as a more competitive option. This is why numerous investigations have been undertaken in recent years in search of different designs of CFR systems that would enable the effective treatment of urban and industrial wastewater, keeping ...