| Abstract | Granular sludge aggregates are particular types of biofilms that display significantly different metrics and physical-
chemical characteristics than activated sludge flocs. The efficiency of intensified processes using granular
sludge relies on selection pressures created by engineering operational conditions to force microorganisms to
form specific intrinsic physiological, phenotypic, and metabolic traits for granulation and high-rate biological removal
of nutrients and/or recalcitrant organic matter. Granular sludge and conventional activated sludge share
a core microbiome, while the distribution of the underlying populations can significantly differ in relative abundance
and localization in the architecture of granules and flocs. Analogous ecological principles of microbial
selection apply from activated sludge to granular sludge ecosystems with the essential difference that granules are governed by diffusion limitations through which different redox potentials are created on micrometre scale. Integrating the microbiology dimension together with the physical-chemical features of granules in engineering practice will make a difference at process level, besides offering new opportunities for bioaugmentation of granules in existing infrastructure. With this review article we critically examine the macro-scale factors impacting granulation, the physical-chemical characteristics of granular sludge, and fundamental and applied questions driven by the microbial ecology of granular sludge, toward the generation of useful concepts for process design and evaluation in engineering practice. |
| Authors | Mari-Karoliina Winkler, Christophe Meunier, Olivier Henriet, Jacques Mahillon, Eugenia Suárez-Ojeda, Guido Del Moro, Marco De Sanctis, Claudio Di Iaconi and David Gregory Weissbrodt |
| Text | 379924 2018 10.1016/j.cej.2017.12.026 ISI Web of Science WOS WOS 000427614800047 Scopus 2 s2.0 85038245878 Biological nutrient removal; Recalcitrant organic matter; Granular sludge processes; Fundamental aspects; Microbial ecology principles; Engineering concepts An integrative review of granular sludge for the biological removal of nutrients and recalcitrant organic matter from wastewater Mari Karoliina Winkler, Christophe Meunier, Olivier Henriet, Jacques Mahillon, Eugenia Suarez Ojeda, Guido Del Moro, Marco De Sanctis, Claudio Di Iaconi and David Gregory Weissbrodt University of Washington, Civil Environmental Engineering, Seattle, WA 98195 2700, USA. 2CEBEDEAU, Research and expertise center for water, Allee de la decouverte, 11 B53 , Quartier Polytech 1, B 4000 Liege, Belgium. Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Universite catholique de Louvain, Louvain la Neuve, Belgium. GENOCOV Research Group, Departament d Enginyeria Quimica, Biologica i Ambiental, Escola d Enginyeria Edifici Q, c/ de les Sitges s/n, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra Barcelona , Spain. Water Research Institute, National Research Council, Bari, Italy. Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands. Center for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark. Granular sludge aggregates are particular types of biofilms that display significantly different metrics and physical chemical characteristics than activated sludge flocs. The efficiency of intensified processes using granular sludge relies on selection pressures created by engineering operational conditions to force microorganisms to form specific intrinsic physiological, phenotypic, and metabolic traits for granulation and high rate biological removal of nutrients and/or recalcitrant organic matter. Granular sludge and conventional activated sludge share a core microbiome, while the distribution of the underlying populations can significantly differ in relative abundance and localization in the architecture of granules and flocs. Analogous ecological principles of microbial selection apply from activated sludge to granular sludge ecosystems with the essential difference that granules are governed by diffusion limitations through which different redox potentials are created on micrometre scale. Integrating the microbiology dimension together with the physical chemical features of granules in engineering practice will make a difference at process level, besides offering new opportunities for bioaugmentation of granules in existing infrastructure. With this review article we critically examine the macro scale factors impacting granulation, the physical chemical characteristics of granular sludge, and fundamental and applied questions driven by the microbial ecology of granular sludge, toward the generation of useful concepts for process design and evaluation in engineering practice. 336 Published version http //www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894717321381 Winkler et al., 2018 An integrative review of granular sludge for the biological removal of nutrients and recalcitrant organic matter from wastewater.pdf Articolo in rivista Elsevier Sequoia 1385 8947 Chemical engineering journal Print Chemical engineering journal Print Chem. eng. j. Print Chemical engineering journal. Print guido.delmoro DEL MORO GUIDO claudio.diiaconi DI IACONI CLAUDIO marco.desanctis DE SANCTIS MARCO |
