Structure and formation of anoxic granular sludge—A string-bag hypothesis

Anoxic granular sludge was developed in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor which was fed with sodium acetate and sodium nitrate as electron donor and accepter. The sludge in the reactor was almost granulated after approximately 90 days of cultivation. In the present study, a detailed examination of surface morphology and internal structure of anoxic granular sludge was conducted using scanning electron microscope. It showed that the bacteria inside the granules had a uniform, coccus-like shape. By contrast, filamentous bacteria were predominant outside the granules. These bacteria were woven and had wrapped the coccus bacteria together to form granules. The small amounts of DO in the liquid bulk promoted the growth of filamentous bacteria on the surface of the granules. A string-bag hypothesis was proposed to elucidate the structure and formation of the anoxic granular sludge. It suggested that micro-aeration could be a method to promote granulation in practical anoxic treatment systems.