Rapid start up anammox process through a new strategy with inoculating perchlorate reduction sludge and a small amount of anammox sludge

The slow start-up of anammox process has been a big obstacle for its engineering application. In this study, a new strategy was adopted to start up anammox by mixing perchlorate reduction sludge (PRS) and anammox sludge with 50:1 vol ratio, and the mechanism in the start-up process was explored. The results showed that anammox process was started up successfully after 41 days. During the operation process, pH value increased from 7.88 ± 0.14–8.06 ± 0.11, extracellular polysaccharides (PS) increased from 10.56 to 24.45 mg·(g VSS)−1, C6-HSL increased by 0.061 μg·(g VSS)−1, and C8-HSL decreased by 0.068 μg·(g VSS)−1. These changes in favor of anammox were attributed to the contribution of PRS and the guidance of anammox sludge. The bacterial ecology evolved towards anammox. This study provided a new idea for the anammox start-up in practical application.