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  4. Identification of trigger factors selecting for polyphosphate- and glycogen-accumulating organisms in aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactors
 
research article

Identification of trigger factors selecting for polyphosphate- and glycogen-accumulating organisms in aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactors

Weissbrodt, David Gregory  
•
Schneiter, Guillaume
•
Fürbringer, Jean-Marie
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2013
Water Research

Nutrient removal performances of sequencing batch reactors using granular sludge for intensified biological wastewater treatment rely on optimal underlying microbial selection. Trigger factors of bacterial selection and nutrient removal were investigated in these novel biofilm systems with specific emphasis on polyphosphate- (PAO) and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAO) mainly affiliated with Accumulibacter and Competibacter, respectively. In a first dynamic reactor operated with stepwise changes in concentration and ratio of acetate and propionate (Ac/Pr) under anaerobic feeding and aerobic starvation conditions and without wasting sludge periodically, propionate favorably selected for Accumulibacter (35% relative abundance) and stable production of granular biomass. A Plackett-Burman multifactorial experimental design was then used to screen in eight runs of 50 days at stable sludge retention time of 15 days for the main effects of COD concentration, Ac/Pr ratio, COD/P ratio, pH, temperature, and redox conditions during starvation. At 95% confidence level, pH was mainly triggering direct Accumulibacter selection and nutrient removal. The overall PAO/GAO competition in granular sludge was statistically equally impacted by pH, temperature, and redox factors. High Accumulibacter abundances (30-47%), PAO/GAO ratios (2.8-8.4), and phosphorus removal (80-100%) were selected by slightly alkaline (pH > 7.3) and lower mesophilic (<20 °C) conditions, and under full aeration during fixed 2-h starvation. Nitrogen removal by nitrification and denitrification (84-97%) was positively correlated to pH and temperature. In addition to alkalinity, non-limited organic conditions, 3-carbon propionate substrate, sludge age control, and phase length adaptation under alternating aerobic-anoxic conditions during starvation can lead to efficient nutrient-removing granular sludge biofilm systems.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1016/j.watres.2013.08.043
Web of Science ID

WOS:000329274900007

Author(s)
Weissbrodt, David Gregory  
Schneiter, Guillaume
Fürbringer, Jean-Marie
Holliger, Christof  
Date Issued

2013

Publisher

Elsevier

Published in
Water Research
Volume

47

Issue

19

Start page

7006

End page

7018

Subjects

Biological wastewater treatment

•

Nutrient removal

•

Aerobic granular sludge

•

PAO and GAO selection

•

Plackett-Burman multifactorial design

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LBE  
Available on Infoscience
December 17, 2013
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/97996
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