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The acid soluble extracellular polymeric substance of aerobic granular sludge dominated by Defluviicoccus sp.

Pronk, M. (author), Neu, Thomas R. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Lin, Y. (author)

A new acid soluble extracellular polymeric substance (acid soluble EPS) was extracted from an acetate fed aerobic granular sludge reactor operated at 35 °C. Acid soluble EPS dominated granules exhibited a remarkable and distinctive tangled tubular morphology. These granules are dominated by Defluviicoccus Cluster II organisms. Acetic acid...

journal article 2017

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Strength characterization of full-scale aerobic granular sludge

de Graaff, D.R. (author), van Dijk, E.J.H. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author)

For a stable operation, the aerobic granular sludge process requires mechanically strong granules in balance with the shear forces in the reactor. Despite a wide general interest in granular stability, the mechanical strength of both anaerobic and aerobic granular sludge received very little attention. In this study, a high-shear method for...

journal article 2018

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Sialic acids in the extracellular polymeric substances of seawater-adapted aerobic granular sludge

de Graaff, D.R. (author), Felz, S. (author), Neu, Thomas R. (author), Pronk, M. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Lin, Y. (author)

Sialic acids have been discovered in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of seawater-adapted aerobic granular sludge (AGS). Sialic acids are a group of monosaccharides with a nine-carbon backbone, commonly found in mammalian cells and pathogenic bacteria, and frequently described to protect EPS molecules and cells from attack by...

journal article 2019

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Impact of aerobic availability of readily biodegradable COD on morphological stability of aerobic granular sludge

Haaksman, V.A. (author), Mirghorayshi, M. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author)

Operational disturbances in aerobic granular sludge (AGS) systems can result in aerobic availability of readily biodegradable COD (rbCOD). Different from activated sludge, morphological consequences on the short and long term are not well described in literature. This study investigated the effect of incomplete anaerobic uptake of acetate on...

journal article 2020

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“Candidatus Galacturonibacter soehngenii” Shows Acetogenic Catabolism of Galacturonic Acid but Lacks a Canonical Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase/Acetyl-CoA Synthase Complex

Valk, L.C. (author), Diender, Martijn (author), Stouten, G.R. (author), Petersen, Jette F. (author), Nielsen, Per H. (author), Dueholm, Morten S. (author), Pronk, J.T. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author)

Acetogens have the ability to fixate carbon during fermentation by employing the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WLP), which is highly conserved across Bacteria and Archaea. In a previous study, product stoichometries in galacturonate-limited, anaerobic enrichment cultures of “Candidatus Galacturonibacter soehngenii,” from a novel genus within the...

journal article 2020

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A Novel D-Galacturonate Fermentation Pathway in Lactobacillus suebicus Links Initial Reactions of the Galacturonate-Isomerase Route With the Phosphoketolase Pathway

Valk, L.C. (author), Luttik, M.A.H. (author), de Ram, C. (author), Pabst, Martin (author), van den Broek, M.A. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, J.T. (author)

D-galacturonate, a key constituent of pectin, is a ubiquitous monomer in plant biomass. Anaerobic, fermentative conversion of D-galacturonate is therefore relevant in natural environments as well as in microbial processes for microbial conversion of pectin-containing agricultural residues. In currently known microorganisms that anaerobically...

journal article 2020

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Stable granulation of seawater-adapted aerobic granular sludge with filamentous Thiothrix bacteria

de Graaff, D.R. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author)

Many sources of wastewater contain sulfides, which can cause excessive growth of filamentous bacteria such as Thiothrix sp. resulting in bulking sludge in conventional activated sludge systems. Granular sludge systems could potentially also suffer from the growth of filamentous bacteria. Uptake of easily degradable COD by the relatively slow...

journal article 2020

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Stress-induced assays for polyphosphate quantification by uncoupling acetic acid uptake and anaerobic phosphorus release

Feng, Cuijie (author), Welles, L. (author), Zhang, X. (author), Pronk, M. (author), de Graaff, D.R. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author)

Phosphorus has been successfully eliminated from wastewater by biological techniques of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process, which relies on a specific microbiota of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) that accumulate phosphate as polyphosphates (poly-P). Most methods for quantification of poly-P pools suffer from...

journal article 2020

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Removal of bacterial and viral indicator organisms in full-scale aerobic granular sludge and conventional activated sludge systems

Barrios Hernandez, M.L. (author), Pronk, M. (author), Garcia, H. (author), Boersma, Arne (author), Brdjanovic, Damir (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Hooijmans, Christine M. (author)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the novel aerobic granular sludge (AGS) wastewater treatment technology in removing faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) compared to the conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment system. The work was carried out at two full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in the Netherlands,...

journal article 2020

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Biological phosphorus removal in seawater-adapted aerobic granular sludge

de Graaff, D.R. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author)

Seawater can be introduced or intrude in sewer systems and can thereby negatively influence biological wastewater treatment processes. Here we studied the impact of artificial seawater on the enhanced biological phosphate removal (EBPR) process performance by aerobic granular sludge (AGS) with synthetic wastewater. Process performance,...

journal article 2020

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A settling model for full-scale aerobic granular sludge

van Dijk, E.J.H. (author), Pronk, M. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author)

The settling behavior of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) in full-scale reactors is different from the settling of normal activated sludge. Current activated sludge models lack the features to describe the segregation of granules based on size during the settling process. This segregation plays an important role in the granulation process and...

journal article 2020

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Trehalose as an osmolyte in Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis

de Graaff, D.R. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author)

Abstract: Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis is an important microorganism for enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). In a previous study, we found a remarkable flexibility regarding salinity, since this same microorganism could thrive in both freshwater- and seawater-based environments, but the mechanism for the tolerance to saline...

journal article 2020

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Nitrous oxide emission from full-scale municipal aerobic granular sludge

van Dijk, E.J.H. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author)

The nitrous oxides emission was measured over 7 months in the full-scale aerobic granular sludge plant in Dinxperlo, the Netherlands. Nitrous oxide concentrations were measured in the bulk liquid and the off-gas of the Nereda® reactor. Combined with the batch wise operation of the reactor, this gave a high information density and a better...

journal article 2021

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Nanocellulose recovery from domestic wastewater

Pereira Espíndola, S. (author), Pronk, M. (author), Zlopasa, J. (author), Picken, S.J. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author)

Wastewater solids could be an attractive source of secondary raw cellulose, mainly originating from toilet paper. Cellulose can be recovered through sieving of raw wastewater, return sludge, or excess sludge. In particular, a large fraction of cellulose (13–15%) can be found in the excess sludge of the aerobic granular sludge produced by the...

journal article 2021

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Metagenomic profiling and transfer dynamics of antibiotic resistance determinants in a full-scale granular sludge wastewater treatment plant

Calderon Franco, D. (author), Sarelse, R.G. (author), Christou, S. (author), Pronk, M. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Abeel, T.E.P.M.F. (author), Weissbrodt, D.G. (author)

In the One Health context, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are central to safeguarding water resources. Nonetheless, many questions remain about their effectiveness in preventing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) dissemination. Most surveillance studies monitor the levels and removal of selected antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile...

journal article 2022

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Glycerol conversion by Aerobic Granular Sludge

Elahinik, A. (author), Haarsma, M.N. (author), Abbas, B.A. (author), Pabst, Martin (author), Xevgenos, Dimitris (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author)

Glycerol is abundantly present in wastewater from industries such as biodiesel production facilities. Glycerol is also a potential carbon source for microbes that are involved in wastewater nutrient removal processes. The conversion of glycerol in biological phosphorus removal of aerobic granular sludge processes has not been explored to date....

journal article 2022

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Density measurements of aerobic granular sludge

van den Berg, L. (author), Pronk, M. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), de Kreuk, M.K. (author)

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,...

journal article 2022

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On the mechanisms for aerobic granulation - model based evaluation

van Dijk, E.J.H. (author), Haaksman, V.A. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author)

In this study a mathematical framework was developed to describe aerobic granulation based on 6 main mechanisms: microbial selection, selective wasting, maximizing transport of substrate into the biofilm, selective feeding, substrate type and breakage. A numerical model was developed using four main components; a 1D convection/dispersion...

journal article 2022

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Full-scale aerobic granular sludge for municipal wastewater treatment - granule formation, microbial succession, and process performance

Ekholm, Jennifer (author), Persson, Frank (author), de Blois, Mark (author), Modin, Oskar (author), Pronk, M. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Suarez, Carolina (author), Gustavsson, David J.I. (author), Wilén, Britt Marie (author)

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) plants have gained growing interest and application due to their low energy demand, small footprint, and low operational costs. However, the fulfilment of strict discharge limits for nitrogen and phosphorus, vast seasonal temperature variations, and large peaks in influent flows may pose challenges to the...

journal article 2022

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Alterations of Glycan Composition in Aerobic Granular Sludge during the Adaptation to Seawater Conditions

Chen, L.M. (author), Keisham, Sunanda (author), Tateno, Hiroaki (author), van Ede, J.M. (author), Pronk, M. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Lin, Y. (author)

Bacteria can synthesize a diverse array of glycans, being found attached to proteins and lipids or as loosely associated polysaccharides to the cells. The major challenge in glycan analysis in environmental samples lies in developing high-throughput and comprehensive characterization methodologies to elucidate the structure and monitor the...

journal article 2023