Dissolved oxygen as a key parameter to aerobic granule formation

Much research has asserted that high shear forces are necessary for the formation of aerobic granular sludge in Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBRs). In order to distinguish the role of shear and dissolved oxygen on granule formation, two separate experiments were conducted with three bench-scale SBRs. In the first experiment, an SBR was operated with five sequentially decreasing superficial upflow gas velocities ranging from 1.2 to 0.4 cm s−1. When less than 1 cm s−1 shear was applied to the reactor, aerobic granules disintegrated into flocs, with corresponding increases in SVI and effluent suspended solids. However, the dissolved oxygen also decreased from 8 mg L−1 to 5 mg L−1, affecting the Feast/Famine regime in the SBR and the substrate removal kinetics. A second experiment operated two SBRs with an identical shear force of 1.2 cm s−1, but two dissolved oxygen concentrations. Even when supplied a high shear force, aerobic granules could not form at a dissolved oxygen less than 5 mg L−1, with a Static Fill. These results indicate that the substrate removal kinetics and dissolved oxygen are more significant to granule formation than shear force.