Surface convexity of anammox granular sludge: Digital characterization, state indication and formation mechanism

Anammox granular sludge system is a promising biotechnology for nitrogen removal from wastewaters. The anammox granules possess the distinctive morphological features which can be developed as visible indicators for anammox process monitoring. In this study, the surface convexity of anammox granular sludge (AnGS) was systematically investigated for the first time. The AnGS was withdrawn from four long-term operated anammox bioreactors at different nitrogen loading rates. Firstly, the spherical convexity and gap concavity with a diameter of 50-100 μm were observed to be distributed on the granules surface under the microscopic observation. Then, the surface convexity was determined by image processing technology and the statistical analysis showed that the convexity had a significant difference (p = 0.003) among bioreactors and the average surface convexity decreased from 0.937 ± 0.030 to 0.899 ± 0.034, and then rose to 0.914 ± 0.035 which had a significant correlation with the volumetric gas production rate of bioreactor (r = -0.873, p < 0.05). An optical method was further developed to fast characterize the surface convexity using relative lightness (L_SCE^⁎/L_SCI^⁎) as the index. At last, the composition and structure of AnGS were investigated to deduce the formation mechanism of surface convexity. The formation could be attributed to the outward growth of zoogloea led to the surface protrusion (convexity); the periodical extrusion of microbubbles caused the striping of surface zoogloea (concavity) and the gas-driven collision and friction between granules which finally shaped the surface convexity. The produced dinitrogen gas links the metabolic activity with the formation of surface convexity and concavity of AnGS. This finding provided an alternative visible performance indictor of anammox process.