Performance and wastewater treatment efficiency of artificially prepared aerobic granular sludge

IF 4.2 4区生物学 Q2 BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY

Biodegradation Pub Date : 2026-06-22 DOI:10.1007/s10532-026-10325-7

Xuanzhe Yan, Jinlong Wang, Kailong Liu, Hao Wu, Wei He, Yongmei Zhang, Linlin Tong, Su Li, Zhaoyang You

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology is limited by slow granulation and structural instability. To overcome the shortcomings of existing carrier materials (e.g., activated carbon, sponge) regarding poor biocompatibility, inadequate pore connectivity, and surface chemical inertness, this study proposes a rapid AGS construction strategy based on a novel L-carrier (a renewable polymer material modified by alkali‑ultrasonic treatment to obtain hydrophilic, hierarchical porous, and high surface charge properties). Using sequencing batch reactors, the effects of the L-carrier on granulation progress, structural stability, and pollutant removal performance were systematically evaluated. Results showed that the L-carrier shortened the maturation time of the pre-formed composite granules to 5 days (defined as the time required to achieve stable granule morphology, settling velocity > 70 m h⁻¹,and TN removal rate increases), representing an 80% reduction compared to conventional self-aggregation. The obtained AGS exhibited a density of 1.062 g·(cm³)⁻¹, structural integrity > 0.95, and an average settling velocity of 70.9–74.2 m h⁻¹, which are significantly superior to reported activated-carbon-assisted AGS (settling velocity 55–65 m h⁻¹) and sponge-carrier systems (integrity ≤ 0.85). COD removal exceeded 90%, and total nitrogen removal reached 70–85%, which is significantly higher than typical values reported for conventional self-aggregated AGS (TN removal 50–70%) and sponge-carrier systems (55–70%), representing a 10–15% point improvement over similar carrier-assisted systems. High-throughput microbial analysis revealed that the L-carrier surface selectively enriched genera such as Thauera, Thermomonas, and Pseudoxanthomonas (total abundance > 25%), and their EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) production (especially polysaccharides in tightly bound EPS) was 2.3 times higher than that of carrier‑free systems. In summary, the L‑carrier not only serves as a physical scaffold but also enhances granule structural integrity and functional performance by modulating the interfacial micro‑ecology, providing a new approach for engineering application of AGS.

Graphical abstract

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人工制备好氧颗粒污泥的性能及废水处理效率。

好氧颗粒污泥（AGS）技术受制粒缓慢和结构不稳定的限制。为了克服现有载体材料（如活性炭、海绵）生物相容性差、孔连通性差、表面化学惰性等缺点，本研究提出了一种基于新型l载体的快速AGS构建策略。l载体是一种可再生的聚合物材料，经碱超声处理获得亲水性、分层多孔性和高表面电荷性。采用序批式反应器，系统评价了l载体对造粒过程、结构稳定性和污染物去除性能的影响。结果表明，l载体将预成型复合颗粒的成熟时间缩短至5天（定义为达到稳定颗粒形态所需的时间，沉降速度> 70 m h-1， TN去除率提高），与常规自聚集相比减少了80%。所得AGS的密度为1.062 g·(cm3)-1，结构完整性> 0.95，平均沉降速度为70.9 ~ 74.2 m h-1，明显优于已有的活性炭辅助AGS（沉降速度55 ~ 65 m h-1）和海绵载体体系（完整性≤0.85）。COD去除率超过90%，总氮去除率达到70-85%，显著高于传统自聚合AGS （TN去除率50-70%）和海绵载体系统（55-70%）的典型值，比类似的载体辅助系统提高了10-15%。高通量微生物分析表明，l -载体表面选择性富集的菌株如Thauera、thermoonas和Pseudoxanthomonas（总丰度为25%），其胞外聚合物（EPS）产量（特别是紧密结合的EPS中的多糖）比无载体体系高2.3倍。综上所述，L -载流子不仅可以作为物理支架，还可以通过调节界面微生态来增强颗粒的结构完整性和功能性能，为AGS的工程应用提供了新的途径。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Biodegradation 工程技术-生物工程与应用微生物

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Biodegradation publishes papers, reviews and mini-reviews on the biotransformation, mineralization, detoxification, recycling, amelioration or treatment of chemicals or waste materials by naturally-occurring microbial strains, microbial associations, or recombinant organisms. Coverage spans a range of topics, including Biochemistry of biodegradative pathways; Genetics of biodegradative organisms and development of recombinant biodegrading organisms; Molecular biology-based studies of biodegradative microbial communities; Enhancement of naturally-occurring biodegradative properties and activities. Also featured are novel applications of biodegradation and biotransformation technology, to soil, water, sewage, heavy metals and radionuclides, organohalogens, high-COD wastes, straight-, branched-chain and aromatic hydrocarbons; Coverage extends to design and scale-up of laboratory processes and bioreactor systems. Also offered are papers on economic and legal aspects of biological treatment of waste.