Growth kinetics of aerobic granules developed in sequencing batch reactors

• Published in: Letters in applied microbiology Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 106 - 112
• Main Authors: Yang, S.‐F., Liu, Q.‐S., Tay, J.‐H., Liu, Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.01.2004; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: aerobic granule; Aerobiosis; Bacteria - growth & development; Bacteria - metabolism; Bacterial Adhesion; Biological and medical sciences; Bioreactors; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; growth kinetics; Kinetics; Microbiology; Nitrogen - metabolism; organic loading; Particle Size; Sewage - microbiology; shear force; Shear Strength; substrate N/COD; Time Factors; Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods; Water Movements; Water Purification - methods; aerobic granule; Sequencing batch reactor; Growth; Applied microbiology; organic loading; growth kinetics; substrate N/COD; Aerobe; Kinetics; shear force
• ISSN: 0266-8254; 1472-765X; 1365-2673
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-765X.2003.01452.x

Aims:  This paper attempts to develop a kinetic model to describe the growth of aerobic granules developed under different operation conditions. Methods and Results:  A series of experiments were conducted by using four‐column sequencing batch reactors to study the formation of aerobic granules under different conditions, e.g. organic loading rates, hydrodynamic shear forces and substrate N/COD ratios. A simple kinetic model based on the Linear Phenomenological Equation was successfully derived to describe the growth of aerobic granules. It was found that the growth of aerobic granules in terms of equilibrium size and size‐dependent growth rate were inversely related to shear force imposed to microbial community, while a high organic loading favoured the growth of aerobic granules, leading to a large size granule. The effect of substrate N/COD ratio on the growth kinetics of aerobic granules was realized through change in microbial populations, and enriched nitrifying population in aerobic granules developed at high substrate N/COD ratio resulted in a low overall growth rate of aerobic granules. Conclusions:  The proposed model can provide good prediction for the growth of aerobic granules indicated by the correlation coefficient >0·95. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The kinetic model proposed could offer a useful tool for studying the growth kinetics of cell‐to‐cell immobilization process. The study confirmed that the growth of aerobic granules and biofilms are subject to a similar kinetic pattern. This work would also be helpful for better understanding the mechanism of aerobic granulation.