Diffusion of Soluble Organic Substrates in Aerobic Granular Sludge: Effect of Molecular Weight

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is an advanced biofilm-based technology for wastewater treatment. Diffusion of substrates into the granules is a key aspect of this technology. Domestic wastewater contains soluble organic substrates of different sizes that could potentially diffuse into the granules. In this study, the relation between the...

Density measurements of aerobic granular sludge

Granular sludge processes are frequently used in domestic and industrial wastewater treatment. The granule buoyant density and biomass density are important parameters for the design and operation of granular sludge reactors. Different methods to measure the granule density include the pycnometer method, the Percoll density gradient method,...

Hydrolysis capacity of different sized granules in a full-scale aerobic granular sludge (AGS) reactor

In aerobic granular sludge (AGS) reactors, granules of different sizes coexist in a single reactor. Their differences in settling behaviour cause stratification in the settled granule bed. In combination with substrate concentration gradients over the reactor height during the anaerobic plug-flow feeding regime, this can result in functional...

Simultaneous nitrification and phosphate removal by bioaugmented aerobic granules treating a fluoroorganic compound

The presence of toxic compounds in wastewater can cause problems for organic matter and nutrient removal. In this study, the long-term effect of a model xenobiotic, 2-fluorophenol (2-FP), on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and phosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) in aerobic granular sludge was investigated...

Effect of an increased particulate cod load on the aerobic granular sludge process: A full scale study

High concentrations of particulate COD (pCOD) in the influent of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) systems are often associated to small granule diameter and a large fraction of flocculent sludge. At high particulate concentrations even granule stability and process performance might be compromised. However, pilot-or full-scale studies focusing...

Anaerobic hydrolysis of complex substrates in full-scale aerobic granular sludge: enzymatic activity determined in different sludge fractions

Complex substrates, like proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, are major components of domestic wastewater, and yet their degradation in biofilm-based wastewater treatment technologies, such as aerobic granular sludge (AGS), is not well understood. Hydrolysis is considered the rate-limiting step in the bioconversion of complex substrates, and as...

Heterogeneous diffusion in aerobic granular sludge

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology allows simultaneous nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon removal in compact wastewater treatment processes. To operate, design, and model AGS reactors, it is essential to properly understand the diffusive transport within the granules. In this study, diffusive mass transfer within full-scale and lab-scale...

Digestibility of waste aerobic granular sludge from a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment system

Full-scale aerobic granular sludge technology under the trade name Nereda® has been implemented for municipal, as well as industrial wastewater treatment. Owing to the operational reactor procedures, two types of waste aerobic granular sludge can be clearly distinguished: 1) aerobic granular sludge selection discharge (AGS-SD) and 2) aerobic...

Structural extracellular polymeric substances determine the difference in digestibility between waste activated sludge and aerobic granules

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology is an alternative to conventional activated sludge to reduce the process footprint and energy consumption. Strategies for the efficient management of its produced biomass, that is grown in a granular morphology as well, need further development. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is commonly applied in waste...

How to measure diffusion coefficients in biofilms: A critical analysis

Biofilm and granular sludge processes depend on diffusion of substrates. Despite their importance for the kinetic description of biofilm reactors, biofilm diffusion coefficients reported in literature vary greatly. The aim of this simulation study was to determine to what extent the methods that are used to measure diffusion coefficients...

Characterizing the structure of aerobic granular sludge using ultra-high field magnetic resonance

Despite aerobic granular sludge wastewater treatment plants operating around the world, our understanding of internal granule structure and its relation to treatment efficiency remains limited. This can be attributed in part to the drawbacks of time-consuming, labor-intensive, and invasive microscopy protocols which effectively restrict...