Aerobic Granular Sludge in Seawater

Abstract

Increase in sea level will lead to an increase in salinity in domestic wastewater systems. In order to anticipate its effects on biological wastewater treatment, the impact has to be assessed with lab-scale experiments. Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is a successful technology for simultaneous removal of organic carbon (COD), nitrogen, and phosphorus in a single process step. The impact
of seawater on AGS has not yet been reported. The effect of salinity on AGS can roughly be divided in three aspects: biological activity, physical stability, and change in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Based on these aspects, the research from this PhD thesis has been structured. The overall question is: “How does long-term exposure of seawater affect the AGS process?”. This PhD thesis shows the feasibility of the aerobic granular sludge process with seawater-based wastewater.