Effects of phenol on extracellular polymeric substances and microbial communities from aerobic granular sludge treating low strength and salinity wastewater

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2021-01, Vol.752, p.141785-141785, Article 141785
• Main Authors: He, Qiulai, Xie, Zhiyi, Fu, Zhidong, Wang, Hongyu, Chen, Li, Gao, Shuxian, Zhang, Wei, Song, Jianyang, Xu, Peng, Yu, Jian, Ma, Jingwei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Extracellular polymeric substances; Illumina MiSeq sequencing; Low strength and salinity wastewater; Phenol; Redundancy analysis; Simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141785

The effects of phenol on aerobic granular sludge including extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and microbial community were investigated for low strength and salinity wastewater treatment. Elevated phenol over 20 mg/L stimulated biological phosphorus removal mainly via co-metabolism with nearly complete phenol degradation, whereas resulted in significant accumulation of nitrate around 4 mg/L. Aerobic granules kept structural stability via enhancing production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), especially folds of polysaccharides (PS) and varying functional groups identified through EEM, FTIR and XPS spectral characterizations at increasing phenol loads. Illumina MiSeq sequencing results indicated that elevated phenol decreased the bacterial diversity and richness, and caused remarkable variations in structural and compositions of microbial population. Multiple halophilic bacteria including Stappia, Luteococcus, and Formosa laid the biological basis for stability of aerobic granules and efficient biological nutrients and phenol removal. Redundancy analysis (RDA) suggested the key role of phenol in shaping the relative abundances and predominant genera. This study proved that aerobic granular sludge was feasible for low-saline and phenol-laden low-strength wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] •Nitrogen, phosphorus and phenol were removed simultaneously by aerobic granules.•Phenol was favorable for biological P rather than N removal.•Aerobic granules kept stability and functionality via dynamics of EPS.•Elevated phenol inhibited bacterial richness and diversity of aerobic granules.•Halophilic Stappia, Luteococcus, and Formosa predominated.