ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the potential role of starvation in aerobic granulation. It was found that with an increase in the number of cycles in the sequencing batch reactors (SBR), the degradation time required to break down the same amount of substrate became shorter, that is, the starvation time is increased with the number of operation cycles. In a sequencing batch biofilter reactor, C. Di Iaconi et al. found that the starvation time increased with the bed height as less and less amount of substrate would reach deeper parts of the filter bed; meanwhile cell surface hydrophobicity tended to increase along the depth of the filter bed. S. Kjelleberg and M. Hermansson demonstrated that under starvation conditions, bacteria became more hydrophobic, which in turn facilitated microbial adhesion and aggregation. A periodic aerobic starvation phase exists in SBRs, though different views can be found with regard to the role of starvation in aerobic granulation.
