Response and recovery of aerobic granular sludge to pH shock for simultaneous removal of aniline and nitrogen

Considering the pH fluctuation in industrial wastewater, the response and resilience to pH shock should be investigated during aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system operation. In this work, three AGS reactors, namely R1, R2, and R3 for simultaneous removal of aniline and nitrogen were exposed to neutral, acidic, and alkaline conditions, respectively. The removal efficiency of aniline and chemical oxygen demand with pH variation was over 99.9% and 91.0%, respectively after stable in the three reactors. The aniline removal rate modestly decreased in R2 and R3 after pH varied and denitrification was slightly improved in acidic environment with average removal efficiency of 61.2%. The mature AGS could maintain settleability in R1 and R2 with 30 min sludge volume index below 35 mL g⁻¹ but was unstable under alkaline condition. Correspondingly, the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances especially protein decreased notably in R3. The bacterial groups varied with pH shock, but some could recover after adjustment to original pH value. Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum in the three reactors and Bacteroidetes was enriched in alkaline conditions. In addition, the main functional genera such as Achromobacter, Defluviimonas, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, and Pseudoxanthomonas, were detected in the system and were found to be responsible for reduction of aniline and nitrogen.