Floatation of flocculent and granular sludge in a high-loaded anammox reactor

•An extremely high nitrogen removal rate of 52.6 kgN m−3 d−1 was obtained.•To quantify the shear rate on anammox sludge.•To reveal the mechanism of the sludge floatation.•To establish a method to prevent sludge floatation by controlling the shear rate.

The floatation of flocculent and granular sludge was investigated in this study. An anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was operated for 665 days. During this time, the maximum nitrogen removal rate was 52.6 kgN m−3 d−1. Floccule floatation occurred between days 100 and 140, which potentially resulted from the sudden increase in gas yield and the poor settling ability of the floccules. Increasing the shear rate from 0.084 to 0.135 s−1 was effective at eliminating floccule floatation. In addition, granule floatation occurred between days 572 and 665, which likely resulted from the formation of hollows within the granules. Floatation may be effectively prevented by maintaining a shear rate of more than 0.778 s−1. Furthermore, the mechanisms of granule floatation and the floatation processes were proposed. Overall, controlling the shear force may effectively overcome sludge floatation.