Fast granulation of halophilic activated sludge treating low-strength organic saline wastewater via addition of divalent cations

Abstract

Granulation of halophilic activated sludge is an important solution to solve the problem of solid-liquid separation in biological treatment of saline wastewater. This study demonstrated that by adding divalent cations into the saline influent with low organic load, halophilic granular sludge with an average diameter of 910 ± 10 μm can be cultivated. The close correlation between divalent cations and particle size indicated that Ca²⁺ played a major role in the granulation process. Ca²⁺ was accumulated in halophilic granular sludge, which provided an inorganic carrier for microbial aggregation and leaded to the dominance of halophilic bacteria of the family Flavobacteriaceae. The halophilic bacteria secreted a large amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which contained 70.0 ± 0.02% protein. By enhancing the EPS network of protein and Ca²⁺, halophilic granular sludge was formed. The addition of Mg²⁺ enhanced the network of Mg²⁺ and loosely bound EPS, which could be destroyed due to Na⁺ substitution. This study provides an effective granulation method for halophilic activated sludge.

Keywords: Ca(2+); Halophilic granular sludge; Low organic concentration; Mg(2+); Saline wastewater.