In this study, the effect of residual aluminum, aluminum species distribution, sludge activity, and microbial community structure was investigated. The pollutant removal property was not affected significantly at a dose of 20 mg/L poly-aluminum chloride (PAC), but the disturbance occurred at 60 mg/L PAC. The settleability and inorganic matter of sludge increased with PAC addition. This might be related to the increase of toxic oligomeric aluminum with the PAC dosage. Meanwhile, the sludge activity and microbial diversity were limited, especially for the microflora related to nitrogen removal, with the suppression of nitrifiers being higher compared with denitrifiers. Furthermore, aluminum species with lower toxicity was the major component at 20 mg/L. Therefore, the microbial physiological functions could be maintained.
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