The acceleration of sludge granulation using the chlamydospores of Phanerochaete sp. HSD

In the present paper, a novel method to accelerate sludge granulation is presented. Inoculation with chlamydospores of Phanerochaete sp. HSD accelerated sludge granulation during the treatment process of phenol wastewater, and the sludge granulation rate reached 66 ± 2% on day 7, 32 days earlier than that of the control inoculated with activated sludge only. Aerobic granule in R1 (AG(R1)) showed an annual ring-like multilayer structure and a primary core also existed in the nuclear area of the granule. The mechanism of rapid granulation revealed that the chlamydospore could survive in phenol wastewater and form the primary matrix on which aerobic granule was developed layer by layer. In addition, AG(R1) developed in a phenol uptake system to counteract the adverse effects of phenol inhibition. Higher tolerance toward wastewater with high phenol strength was exhibited, and the maximum specific phenol degradation rate reached 1.54 g phenol g(-1) VSS day(-1).