Stability of Aerobic Granular Biomass Treating the Effluent from A Seafood Industry

• Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research Vol. 7; no. 2; pp. 265 - 276
• Main Authors: Val del Rio, A, Figueroa, M, Mosquera-Corral, A, Campos, J L, Mendez, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Marine
• ISSN: 1735-6865

The aerobic granular systems represent a good alternative to substitute the conventional activated sludge process in the treatment of industrial effluents due to the lower surface requirements. In this work the effluent from a seafood industry, characterized by a high variability and the presence of residual amounts of coagulant and flocculant reagents, was used to study the development of aerobic granular biomass and its stability. In a first stage with OLRs between 2 and 5 kg COD sub(s)/m super(3.)d the development of aerobic granular biomass was promoted with good physical properties: SVI of 35 mL/g TSS, density of 60 g VSS/L sub(granule) and average diameter of 2.8 mm. In a second stage the continuous change in the OLR applied from 3 to 13 kg COD sub(s)/m super(3.)d, to simulate the real conditions of the industry, showed that the removal of organic matter was not affected (90%) but the aerobic granules disintegrated. The maximum OLR treated in the system without granules disintegration was around 4.4 kg COD sub(s)/m super(3.)d. The nitrogen removal was 30% (for biomass assimilation) and the maximum ammonia removal was around 65% and depending on the solids retention time, the free ammonia concentration and the average granule diameter.