Aerobic granular sludge cultivated from Fe-loaded activated carbon as carrier working low-strength wastewater conditions by bioreactor

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2022-11, Vol.306, p.135532-135532, Article 135532
• Main Authors: Lin, Dexin, Li, Xinzhi, Hou, Mingxiu, Chen, Yuliang, Zeng, Jie, Yi, Xuesong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerobic granulation; Bioreactor; Fe-loaded activated carbon (FAC); Low-strength wastewater; Nutrient biodegradation
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135532

This study proposes a new method to promote the granulation process while accelerating the degradation efficiency of nutrients. The new strategy could involve preparing Fe-loaded activated carbon (FAC) before start-up of granular cultivation and then cultivating the process of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) with such materials. In addition, this experiment could further comprehend how the preparation and characteristics of FAC affect the formation and properties of AGS. The conclusions showed that compared with the control, FAC enhanced the sedimentation performance and significant removal efficiency. Meanwhile, the values of protein (PN) and polysaccharide (PS) also increased significantly in the addition of FAC, indicating the production of substances were induced by FAC. Molecular biology methods indicated that the rapid production of granulation and removal of nutrients were considered as the abundance of various microbes and denitrifying bacteria at the addition of FAC. This research showed that the presence of FAC is a useful strategy for the initiation of sludge particle formation to promote the treatment of wastewater, containing COD and NH4+ at about 150–100 and 30 mg L−1. [Display omitted] •The presence of Fe-loaded activated carbon (FAC) was used to study the formation of granular sludge in condition of low C/N ratio wastewater.•The presence of FAC as nucleus promoted biomass increase and degradation efficiency of nutrients.•The secretion of EPS and diversity of microbial community was promoted the interaction between Fe-loaded activated carbon as nucleus and bacteria.•Fe-loaded AC possesses rich porous surface structure and excellent adsorption performance for pollutants.