Enhanced performance of algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge in comparison to bacterial aerobic granular sludge for treating surfactant-containing wastewater

ABSTRACT

Increasing amounts of surfactants are used and emitted into the environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, posing potential threats to ecological health. Algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge (A-BAGS), with the advantages of compact structure, high-efficient nutrient uptake, and high tolerance to harsh conditions, was attempted in this study to treat surfactant-containing wastewater at relatively high concentrations. The treatment performance was also compared to bacterial AGS (BAGS). Results showed that A-BAGS is preferable for treating wastewater containing a high SDS concentration (30 mg/L), achieving nutrient removal efficiency of 86.3 % for organic carbon, 60.5 % for total nitrogen, and 58.7 % for total phosphorus within a short duration, compared to 70.1 %, 52.8 % and 42.3 % in BAGS reactor. Besides, the removal rate of ammonia nitrogen by A-BAGS was much faster than that of BAGS. The above results confirmed that A-BAGS is a promising technology for treating surfactant-containing wastewater with high nutrient removal efficiency being maintained.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd