Inhibitory effect of ammonia nitrogen on specific methanogenic activity of anaerobic granular sludge

A series of batch experiments were conducted in 125 mL serum bottles to assess the toxicity of different concentrations of ammonia nitrogen to the specific methanogenic activity of anaerobic granular sludge from upflow anaerobic sludge bed（UASB） and expanded granular sludge bed（EGSB） reactors. The effects of pH value and temperature on toxicity of ammonia nitrogen to anaerobes were investigated. The results show that the specific methanogenic activity of anaerobic granular sludge suffers inhibition from ammonia nitrogen, the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen that produce 50 % inhibition of specific methanogenic activity for sludge from UASB and EGSB reactor are 2.35 and 2.75 g/L, respectively. Hydrogen utilizing methanogens suffers less inhibition from ammonia mtrogen than that of acetate utilizing methanogens. Hydrogen-producing acetogens that utilize propionate and butyrate as substrates suffer serious inhibition from ammonia nitrogen. The toxicity of ammonia nitrogen to anaerobic granular sludge enhances when pH value and temperature increase. Anaerobic granular sludge can bear higher concentrations of ammonia nitrogen after being acclimated by ammonia nitrogen for 7 d.

Production and application of anaerobic granular sludge produced by landfill

Sludge granulation is considered to be the most critical parameter governing successful operation of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket and expanded granular sludge bed （EGSB） reactors. Pre-granulated seeding sludge could greatly reduce the required startup time. Two lab-scale and a pilot-scale EGSB reactors were operated to treat Shaoxing Wastewater Treatment Plant （SWWTP） containing wastewater from real engineering printing and dyeing with high pH and sulfate concentration. The microbiological structure and the particle size distribution in aerobic excess sludge, sanitary landfill sludge digested for one year, and the granular sludge of EGSB reactor after 400 d of operation were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and sieves. The lab-scale EGSB reactor seeded with anaerobic sludge after digestion for one year in landfill showed obviously better total chemical oxygen demand （TCOD） removal efficiency than one seeded with aerobic excess sludge after cation polyacrylamide flocculation-concentration and dehydration. The TCOD removed was 470.8 mg/L in pilot scale EGSB reactor at short hydraulic retention time of 15 h. SEM of sludge granules showed that the microbiological structure of the sludge from different sources showed some differences. SEM demonstrated that Methanobacterium sp. was present in the granules of pilot-scale EGSB and the granular sludge produced by landfill contained a mixture of anaerobic/anoxic organisms in abundance. The particle size distribution in EGSB demonstrated that using anaerobic granular sludge produced by sanitary landfill as the seeding granular sludge was feasible.

Microbiological Characteristics of Anaerobic Granular Sludge in Hybrid Anaerobic Baffled Reactor

Anaerobic granular sludge is of key importance for highly effective operation of hybrid anaerobic baffled reactor(HABR).An observation and analysis on the composition of anaerobic granular sludge in each separation compartment of HABR was conducted by using scanning electron microscope(SEM)and molecular biotechnology,and specific methanogenic activity(SMA)and coenzyme F420 content were determined.It was indicated that the disparity of microbial composition was significant among these separation compartments of HABR,and the HABR encouraged phase separation.The results show the understanding of microbiological characteristics of anaerobic granular sludge in HABR is helpful for cultivating granular sludge,which ensures the effective operation of the reactor.

Design and study on hydraulics characteristic of multistage anaerobic granular sludge reactor

This article provides some ideas about several key parameters in design of multistage anaerobic granular sludge reactor （MA（iSR）, and an MAGSR was designed by these ideas. By experiment this paper studies the productivity of biogas and circulation flux of wastewater. The results indicate that in certain scope the circulation flux increases in linear with the biogas productivity rise. The result by the experiment and by the hydraulics model about the circulation flux is different. The circulation flux can be several or more than ten times of the influence.

Extracellular polymeric substances as paper coating biomaterials derived from anaerobic granular sludge

Recovering extracellular polymeric substances(EPS)from waste granular sludge offers a cost-effective and sustainable approach for transforming wastewater resources into industrially valuable products.Yet,the application potential of these EPS in real-world scenarios,particularly in paper manufacturing,remains underexplored.Here we show the feasibility of EPS-based biomaterials,derived from anaerobic granular sludges,as novel coating agents in paper production.We systematically characterised the rheological properties of various EPS-based suspensions.When applied as surface sizing agents,these EPS-based biomaterials formed a distinct,ultra-thin layer on paper,as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy.A comprehensive evaluation of water and oil penetration,along with barrier properties,revealed that EPS-enhanced coatings markedly diminished water absorption while significantly bolstering oil and grease resistance.Optimal performance was observed in EPS variants with elevated protein and hydrophobic contents,correlating with their superior rheological characteristics.The enhanced water-barrier and grease resistance of EPS-coated paper can be attributed to its non-porous,fine surface structure and the functional groups in EPS,particularly the high protein content and hydrophobic humic-like substances.This research marks the first demonstration of utilizing EPS from anaerobic granular sludge as paper-coating biomaterials,bridging a critical knowledge gap in the sustainable use of biopolymers in industrial applications.

Identical full-scale biogas-lift reactors(BLRs) with anaerobic granular sludge and residual activated sludge for brewery wastewater treatment and kinetic modeling

Two identical full-scale biogas-lift reactors treating brewery wastewater were inoculated with different types of sludge to compare their operational conditions, sludge characteristics, and kinetic models at a mesophilic temperature. One reactor （R1） started up with anaerobic granular sludge in 12 weeks and obtained a continuously average organic loading rate （OLR） of 7.4 kg chemical oxygen demand （COD）/（m3.day）, COD removal efficiency of 80%, and effluent COD of 450 mg/L. The other reactor （R2） started up with residual activated sludge in 30 weeks and granulation accomplished when the reactor reached an average OLR of 8.3 kg COD/（m^3·day）, COD removal efficiency of 90%, and effluent COD of 240 mg/L. Differences in sludge characteristics,biogas compositions, and biogas- lift processes may be accounted for the superior efficiency of the treatment performance of R2 over R1. Grau second-order and modified StoverKincannon models based on influent and effluent concentrations as well as hydraulic retention time were successfully used to develop kinetic parameters of the experimental data with high correlation coefficients （R2 〉 0.95）, which further showed that R2 had higher treatment performance than R1. These results demonstrated that residual activated sludge could be used effectively instead of anaerobic granular sludge despite the need for a longer time.

Biosorption of Direct Black 38 by dried anaerobic granular sludge

The biosorption of Direct Black 38 by dried anaerobic granular sludge in a batch system under specific temperatures and initial pH was investigated.The adsorption reaction is pH dependent with higher removal at low pH.The adsorption equilibrium data fit very well with both Langmuir and Freundlich models in the concentration range of Direct Black 38 at all chosen temperatures.The adsorption parameters show that the adsorption of Direct Black 38 is an endothermic and more effective process at high temperatures.The kinetics of adsorption was found to be second order and adsorption rate constants increased with increasing temperature.Activation energy was determined as 26.8 kJ/mol for the process.This suggests that the adsorption of Direct Black 38 by dried anaerobic granular sludge is chemically controlled.

Concept and application of anaerobic suspended granular sludge bed （SGSB） reactor for wastewater treatment

Bed expansion serves an important function in the design and operation of an upflow anaerobic reactor. An analysis of the flow pattern of expanded granular sludge bed （EGSB） reactors shows that most EGSB reactors do not behave as expanded bed reactors, as is widely perceived. Rather, these reactors behave as fluidized bed reactors based on the classic chemical reactor theory. In this paper, four bed expansion modes, divided as static bed, expanded bed, suspended bed, and fluidized bed, for bioreactors are proposed. A high-rate anaerobic suspended granular sludge bed （SGSB） reactor was then developed. The SGSB reactor is an upflow anaerobic reactor, and its expansion degree can be easily controlled within a range to maintain the suspended status of the sludge bed by controlling upfiow velocity. The results of the full-scale reactor confirmed that the use of SGSB reactors is advantageous. The full-scale SGSB reactor runs stably and achieves high COD removal efficiency （about 90%） at high loading rates （average 40 kg-COD·m^-3·d^-1, maximum to 52 kg·COD·m^-3 ·d^-1） based on the SGSB theory, and its expansion degree is between 22% and 37%.

Effect of wastewater composition on the calcium carbonate precipitation in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors

Calcium carbonate often precipitates in anaerobic reactors treating wastewater with high calcium content.The aim of this paper is to study the effect of wastewater composition on calcium carbonate precipitation in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket(UASB)reactors.Two laboratory-scale UASB reactors were operated with calcium-containing influents using acetate and carbohydrate as substrate,respectively.There was an obvious accumulation of inorganic precipitate observed in the biogranules.Observations via scanning electron microscope(SEM)and energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS)showed that the acclimated biogranules in the two reactors differed in microstructure.Calcium carbonate was found to have precipitated on the surface of acetate-degrading biogranules,but precipitated at the core of the carbohydrate-degrading biogranules.The results indicated that substrates had significant influence on the location of calcium carbonate precipitation in anaerobic granular sludge,which was expected due to the different methanogens distribution and pH gradient within the granular sludge degrading various substrates.Moreover,the location of calcium carbonate precipitation substantially affected the specific methanogenic activity(SMA)of the granular sludge.The SMA of the acetate-degrading biogranules dropped from 1.96 gCODCH4·gVSS^(–1)·d^(–1)to 0.61 gCODCH4·gVSS^(–1)·d^(–1)after 180-d of operation in the reactor.However,the SMA of the carbohydrate-degrading biogranules was not adversely affected by calcium carbonate precipitation.

Impact of roxarsone on the UASB reactor performance and its degradation

Roxarsone （3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid, ROX） has been widely used for decades as an organoarsenic feed additive to control intestinal parasites and improve feed efficiency in animal production. However, most of the ROX is excreted into the manure, causing arsenic contamination in wastewater. The arsenic compounds are toxic to microorganisms, but the influence of continuous ROX loading on upflow anaerobic sludge blanket （UASB） reactor is still unknown. In this study, the impact of ROX and its degradation products on the performance of the UASB reactor and the degradation and speciation of ROX in the reactor were investigated. The UASB reactor （hydraulic retention time： 1.75 d） was operated using synthetic wastewater supplemented with ROX for a period of 260 days. With continuous ROX addition at 25.0 mg.L-1, severe inhibition to methanogenic activity occurred after 87 days operation accompanied with an accumulation of volatile fatty acids （VFAs） and a decline in pH. The decrease of added ROX concentration to 13.2 mg.L-1 did not mediate the inhibition. As（III）, As （V）, MMA（V）, DMA（V）, HAPA and an unknown arsenic compound were detected in the reactor, and a possible biotransformation pathway of ROX was proposed. Mass balance analysis of arsenic indicated that 60%-70% of the arsenic was discharged into the effluent, and 30%-40% was precipitated in the reactor. The results from this study suggest that we need to pay attention to the stability in the UASB reactors treating organoarsenic-contaminated manure and wastewater, and the effluent and sludge from the reactor tO avoid diffusion of arsenic contamination.