Effects of a novel carbon source polyglycolic acid on activated sludge performance and microbial community

doi:10.16085/j.issn.1000-6613.2024-1656

Abstract

Abstract:

To evaluate the effect of the novel carbon source polyglycolic acid (PGA) on the performance of activated sludge in wastewater treatment, a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) process was employed. Three systems were set up: one without a carbon source (A1), one with PGA (A2), and one with a conventional carbon source, methanol (A3). The study investigated the effects of PGA on sludge concentration, settling capacity, and metabolic activity in the activated sludge system, along with its influence on microbial community characteristics. The results demonstrated that system A2, utilizing PGA as the carbon source, exhibited superior sludge growth and settling performance. The maximum denitrification activity in A2 reached 7.20mg NO $3 -$ -N/(g VSS·h), a 53.85% increase compared to the control system A1 [4.68mg NO $3 -$ -N/(g VSS·h)], without significant inhibition of nitrification activity. Additionally, A2 displayed higher microbial community diversity, with notable increases in the abundance of functional bacterial genera, including Paracoccus (30.09%), Dechloromonas (11.40%), and Bdellovibrio (7.74%), compared to A1 and A3. Furthermore, the PGA carbon source enhanced the relative abundance of KEGG metabolic functional pathways in the microbial community, thereby improving the overall nitrogen removal performance of the system. These findings provided valuable insights for the selection and practical application of external carbon sources in wastewater treatment processes.

Key words: polyglycolic acid (PGA), sludge performance, metabolic activity, microbial community, functional prediction

摘要：

为探究新型碳源聚乙醇酸（PGA）对污水处理中活性污泥性能的影响，本文基于序批式活性污泥工艺（SBR），设置了无碳源（A1）、新型碳源（PGA、A2）与常规碳源（甲醇、A3）的处理系统，探明了PGA碳源对活性污泥系统中污泥浓度、污泥沉降性能及污泥代谢活性的影响，并分析了其对微生物群落特征的影响。结果表明，以PGA为碳源的A2系统中活性污泥具有更好的长势及沉降性能，活性污泥的反硝化活性最高可达7.20mg NO $3 -$ -N/(g VSS·h)（VSS为挥发性悬浮固体），比A1对照系统[4.68mg NO $3 -$ -N/(g VSS·h)]提高了53.85%，而硝化活性未受到明显抑制；同时PGA碳源的样本（A2）具有较高的微生物群落多样性，Paracoccus（30.09%）、Dechloromonas（11.40%）和Bdellovibrio（7.74%）等功能性菌属的丰度较A1和A3系统显著提高。此外，PGA碳源提高了微生物群落中KEGG（Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes）代谢功能通路的相对丰度，从而强化了系统整体的脱氮性能。本文可为污水处理过程中外加碳源的选择及实际应用提供参考依据。

关键词: 聚乙醇酸, 污泥性能, 代谢活性, 微生物群落, 功能预测

CLC Number:

X703.1

LI Chenxi, WANG Zhichao, LI Weiping, TUO Zishuo, LI Zhijun, LI Guowen. Effects of a novel carbon source polyglycolic acid on activated sludge performance and microbial community[J]. Chemical Industry and Engineering Progress, 2025, 44(11): 6705-6715.

李晨曦, 王志超, 李卫平, 托梓硕, 李志军, 李国文. 新型碳源聚乙醇酸对活性污泥性能及微生物群落的影响[J]. 化工进展, 2025, 44(11): 6705-6715.

Figures/Tables 13

分析项目	分析方法（仪器）
COD_Cr（重铬酸钾法）	COD快速测定仪
NH $4 +$ -N浓度	纳氏试剂分光光度法
TN浓度	过硫酸钾消解紫外分光光度法
NO $3 -$ -N浓度	紫外分光光度法
NO $2 -$ -N浓度	N-1(1-萘基)-乙二胺分光光度法
pH	pH计（PHS-25）
DO	便携式溶解氧仪（WTW-Multi3420）
MLSS、MLVSS	称重法
SVI	沉降法

分析项目	分析方法（仪器）
COD_Cr（重铬酸钾法）	COD快速测定仪
NH $4 +$ -N浓度	纳氏试剂分光光度法
TN浓度	过硫酸钾消解紫外分光光度法
NO $3 -$ -N浓度	紫外分光光度法
NO $2 -$ -N浓度	N-1(1-萘基)-乙二胺分光光度法
pH	pH计（PHS-25）
DO	便携式溶解氧仪（WTW-Multi3420）
MLSS、MLVSS	称重法
SVI	沉降法

样本	COD去除率/%	TN去除率/%
A1	60.69±2.08	52.63±0.83
A2	91.77±0.68	84.65±1.71
A3	93.57±1.83	83.78±0.65

样本	反硝化速率/mg NO $3 -$ -N·g^-1 VSS·h^-1
样本	0~90min	90~210min	210~300min
A1	4.68	1.23	1.19
A2	7.20	4.08	1.12
A3	8.82	2.93	1.05

样本	反硝化速率/mg NO $3 -$ -N·g^-1 VSS·h^-1
样本	0~90min	90~210min	210~300min
A1	4.68	1.23	1.19
A2	7.20	4.08	1.12
A3	8.82	2.93	1.05

样本	SOUR/mg O₂·g^-1 VSS·h^-1
A1	20.94
A2	24.63
A3	23.55

样品	Shannon	Chao1	ACE	Simpson	coverge	原始序列数
A1	3.919	1347.735	1398.332	0.0804	0.9955	80133
A2	4.788	1527.013	1657.362	0.0388	0.9962	89561
A3	4.776	1553.320	1617.281	0.0398	0.9953	89153

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