The shift of the microbial community in activated sludge with calcium treatment and its implication to sludge settleability

The sludge settleability is of prime importance for the activated sludge process. The effect of calcium ion on the biological performance of sludge was investigated in a lab-scale activated sludge system with varying Ca2+ concentration. Results indicated that addition of 150 mg/L Ca2+ to the influent significantly improved the settling characteristics and metabolic reactivity of activated sludge in the bioreactors. Analyses using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and 16S rRNA sequencing showed that a significant difference in the presence of certain bacterial groups between the sludge systems with 150 mg/L Ca2+ and those with 0-100 mg/L Ca2+ addition. Ca2+ also increased the production of the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) and facilitated the development of microbial cluster in the bioreactor. Study showed that an addition of 150 mg/L Ca2+ to the influent provides a simple approach to improve the settling properties of activated sludge and maintain high pollutant removal efficiency.