• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2024

Biological nutrient removal is gaining increasing attention in wastewater treatment plants; however, it is adversely affected by low temperatures. This study examined temperature effects on nutrient removal and morphological stability of the granular and denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAO and DPAO, respectively) using sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) at 5, 10, and 20 ℃. Lab-scale SBRs were continuously operated using anaerobic-anoxic and anaerobic-oxic cycles to develop the PAO and DPAO granules for 230 d. Sludge granulation in the two SBRs was observed after approximately 200 d. The average removal efficiency of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and PO₄^3--P remained >90% throughout, even when the temperature dropped to 5 ℃. The average removal efficiency of NO₃^--N remained >80% consistently in DPAO SBR. However, nitrification drastically decreased at 10 ℃. Hence, the removal efficiency of NH₄⁺-N was decreased from 99.1% to 54.5% in PAO SBR. Owing to the increased oxygen penetration depth at low temperatures, the influence on nitrification rates was limited. The granule in DPAO and PAO SBR was observed to be unstable and disintegrated at 10 ℃. In conclusion, morphological characteristics showed that changed conversion rates at low temperatures in aerobic granular sludge altered both nutrient removal efficiencies and granule formation.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.497-503
• /
• 2013

The morphological characteristics of granules, which were generated in lab-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal with denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organism (dPAO) were identified. Granular sludge was fully developed in the anaerobic-anoxic (An-Ax) SBR after 180 days of SBR operation. The average diameter of granular sludge was 2.2 mm and rod-type organisms dominated in the granules. In addition, about 1.0 mm of white precipitate was observed in the core of the granule, and the material was confirmed that it is very similar to hydroxyapatite $(HAP;\;Ca_5(PO_4)_3(OH))$ by X-ray diffraction) analysis.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.480-487
• /
• 2004

This study was conducted to find the effect of electron acceptors on the formation of granular sludge by using four different types of electron acceptors. The phosphorous uptake, denitrification, and sulfate reduction in anoxic modes were simultaneously occured because of the presence of the polyphosphate accumultating organism(PAO) that utilize nitrate and sulfate as an electron acceptor in the anoxic zone. Denitrirying phosphorous removal bacteria(DPB) was enriched under anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic condition with a nitrate as an electron acceptor, and desulfating phosphorous removal bacteria(DSPB) was enriched under anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic condition with a sulfate as an electron acceptor. Polyphosphate accumulating organism(PAO) were enriched in the anaerobic/aerobic SBR. PAO took up acetate faster than DPB and DSPB during the aerobic phase. The sludge with nitrate and sulfate as an electron acceptors grew as a granules which possessed high activity and good settleability. In the anaerobic/aerobic modes, typical floccular growth was observed. In the result of bench-scale experiment, simultaneous reactions of phosphorus uptake, denitrification and sulfate reduction were observed under anoxic condition with nitrate and sulfate as an electron acceptors. These results demonstrated that the anaerobic/anoxic modes with nitrate and sulfate as an electron acceptors played an important role in the formation of the sludge granulation.