Combined Mesophilic Anaerobic and Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion Process: Effect on Sludge Degradation and Variation of Sludge Property

One-stage autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) is effective for the reduction of volatile solids (VSs) and pathogen in sewage sludges. A novel process of combining mesophilic (<35 °C) anaerobic digestion with a thermophilic (55 °C) aerobic digestion process (AN/TAD) occurred in a one-stage digester, which was designed for aeration energy savings. The efficiency of sludge degradation and variation of sludge properties by batch experiments were evaluated for the AN/TAD digester with an effective volume of 23 L for 30 days compared with conventional thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD). The AN/TAD system can efficiently achieve sludge stabilization on the 16th day with a VS removal rate of 38.1 %. The AN/TAD system was operated at lower ORP values in a digestion period with higher contents of total organic compounds, volatile fatty acids, protein, and polysaccharide in the soluble phase than those of the TAD system, which can rapidly decreased and had low values in the late period of digestion for the AN/TAD system. In the AN/TAD system, intracellular substances had lysis because of initial hydrolytic acidification.     

Anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions

In this study, thermal analysis in differential scanning calorimetry associated to Fourier self-deconvolution (FSD) of infrared spectra was applied to the study of anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of domestic solid waste and sewage sludge mixed in 1:1 ratio under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. Curves showed an exothermic peak in the high-temperature range and a number of endothermic and/or exothermic peaks in the low- and medium-temperature range. The high-temperature exotherm was a common feature on curves of all samples. Digestates evidenced a shift of this exotherm toward higher temperature with respect to both substrates and feed-in materials as a result of a greater chemical complexity attained by organic matter (OM) during the process. A further shift toward higher temperature values was observed on digestates obtained under thermophilic conditions with respect to digestates obtained under mesophilic conditions. This result was associated to a higher recalcitrance of digestates produced under more drastic conditions. Based on evidence obtained by FSD spectra, the exotherm in the medium-temperature range was assigned to combustion of carbohydrates and to loss of aliphatic structures and carboxylic groups. Enthalpy data associated to the high-temperature exotherm were used to differentiate feed-in materials and their corresponding digestates and to distinguish digestates obtained under different operative conditions.     

Application of thermal analysis for evaluating the digestion of microwave pre-treated sewage sludge

The effect of microwave pre-treatment (MwP) on anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge was studied by means of thermal analysis and evolved gas analysis. The effect of the pre-treatment at low energy input (<1000 kJ L^?1) on sludge solubilisation was studied with the aid of response surface methodology. The pre-treatment process was subsequently studied at energies of 488–2700 kJ L^?1 to evaluate the improvement in biogas production under mesophilic conditions. Organic matter modifications were studied using a Setaram TGA92 analyser at atmospheric pressure coupled to an MSC200 quadrupole mass spectrometer from Balzers. Particle size analysis was carried out using a Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analyser LS 13 320 Beckmann Coulter for evaluating the effect of MwP on sludge particles. Results showed an increase in organic matter solubilisation with the increase in the energy applied. Modifications in the specific surface area of the organic matter due to the MwP resulted in increments in methane yields. However, an accumulation of complex compounds was observed in thermal profiles at the maximum energy input (2700 kJ L^?1). Semi-continuous digestion experiments were evaluated using as substrate pre-treated sludge at the optimum energy value (975 kJ L^?1). Results showed a significant increase in methane yield (43 %) when evaluating the process at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 25–10 days.     

Effects of trace levels of copper,chromium, and zinc ions on the performance of activated sludge

The effects of copper, chromium, and zinc ions, at trace levels, on the performance of a simulated activated sludge process were investigated. The results of batch adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption of copper, chromium, and zinc ions followed both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The presence of trace levels of these three metals not only reduced the adsorption rate of organic matters but also the chemical oxygen demand adsorption capacity (CAC) of the activated sludge. Metal ions competed with the organic substrate for adsorption binding sites on the surfaces of activated sludge bioflocs and reduced the CAC. Studies performed in a sequential batch reactor (SBR) showed that the presence of trace levels of heavy metal ions in wastewater affected the SBR performance to different extents depending on the hydraulic retention time (HRT). When the reactors were operated at short HRTs of 2.5 d or less, the presence of trace levels of heavy metal ions reduced substantially the CAC of activated sludge, which, in turn, affected significantly the performance of the SBR. However, under longer HRTs (e.g., 5d), the heavy metal ions in the wastewater reduced the CAC but had not significant effect on the chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency.     

Hydrothermal pretreatment of rice straw at relatively lower temperature to improve biogas production via anaerobic digestion

The performances of rice straw (RS) degradation and biogas production were examined at different pretreatment temperatures from 90℃ to 130℃ to improve biogas fermentation efficiency and net energy production in whole slurry. Test at 100℃ pretreatment, which achieved 12.8% higher net energy production from RS than that observed in the control, could be considered as the optimal choice.     

Evaluating the mobility of toxic metals in untreated industrial wastewater sludge using a BCR sequential extraction procedure and a leaching test

The distribution and speciation of toxic metals in industrial wastewater sludge (IWS) was investigated. In this work, the modified BCR three-stage sequential extraction procedure was applied to the fractionation of Cr Pb Ni, and Cd in untreated industrial wastewater sludge from industrial sites in Hyderabad (Pakistan). The extracts were analyzed using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The procedure was evaluated using a certified reference material for soil mixed with sewage sludge BCR 483. The results from the partitioning study indicate that more easily mobilized forms (acid exchangeable) of Cd were dominant. The oxidizable fraction was dominant for all four toxic metals. Metal recovery was good, with <4% difference between the total metal recovered through the extractant steps and the total metal determined after microwave digestion. Lixiviation tests (DIN 38414-S4) were used to evaluate the leaching of toxic species from IWS, and it was observed that levels of leachable toxic metals were low compared to the amount of metal extracted in the exchangeable fraction of the BCR protocol.     

Complexation as the most important factor in the fate and transport of heavy metals in the Dnieper water bodies

The results of long-term investigations of the concentrations of dissolved forms of some heavy metals (Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd) and their species in the water of the Dnieper reservoirs and the Dnieper-Bug estuary are considered. Chemiluminescent methods, anodic stripping voltammetry, membrane filtration, ion-exchange, and gel-permeation chromatography were used for study of the speciation of the metals. It has been found that binding of heavy metals into complexes with dissolved organic matter (DOM) is the dominant factor of their stabilization in solution. The molecular weight distribution of organic metal complexes and their chemical nature, as well as the potential complexing ability of DOM were investigated. Humic substances, particularly fulvic acids, play a major role in the complexation. These ligands bind from 45 to 80% of metals in the form of organic complexes. Metal complex compounds of relatively low molecular weight (<5 kDa) predominated in the organic complexes.     

消化污泥负载稳定高效非均相光Fenton催化材料的制备及性能优化(英文)

近年来,随着我国经济飞速发展和城市人口快速增长,城市污水排放量不断增加,市政污泥产生量也随之增大.市政污泥含有大量有毒有害物质,如寄生虫卵、致病菌、有机污染物和重金属等,若不进行妥善处理处置将会对环境造成严重的二次污染.传统的污泥处理处置方法如卫生填埋、露天堆放和土地利用等已经无法满足日趋严格的污泥处理处置标准,研发新的污泥资源化利用方法具有重要的环境意义和经济价值.本课题组前期以铁盐为前驱体通过简单步骤制备了以市政污泥为载体,污泥中的重金属为可见光光敏剂,铁氧化物为活性中心的稳定高效非均相光Fenton催化剂.此催化剂在制备过程中虽然已经充分利用了市政污泥中的所有成分,但是其中部分可生化的有机大分子物质在制备过程中被直接燃烧或碳化,从而造成能源流失和浪费.为了更加充分利用市政污泥中的有机物,在制备稳定高效催化剂的同时尽可能多地回收能源和资源,本文在前期研究基础上进行了如下改进和优化:(1)采用市政污泥厌氧消化后的消化污泥为载体,通过厌氧消化手段将其中可生化的有机物转化为沼气,相对于直接用市政污泥制备催化剂,减少了能量流失,更具有经济效益和环境意义;(2)通过改变焙烧温度(250,350,450,550,650和750°C)、铁盐类型((NH4)_2Fe(SO_4)_2,FeSO_4,FeCl_3和Fe(NO_3)_3)和铁盐添加量(0,0.5,1.0,1.5,2.0和3.0 mol/L)对所制得催化材料的性能进行优化.利用红外光谱、X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜和电感耦合等离子体质谱法等手段对所制备光Fenton反应催化剂结构进行了表征.结果表明,以消化污泥为原料制备的催化材料具有多孔和较高的比表面积,保证了在反应过程中催化剂与H2O2和被降解物质充分接触.样品中Fe含量较高,主要是以α-Fe2O3或无定形铁化合物形式存在,并通过Si–O–Fe键结合在污泥载体上,从而保证了催化剂较多的活性位点和较高的稳定性,因此所制材料可用作稳定高效的光Fenton反应催化剂.以偶氮染料罗丹明B为模式污染物评价了所制催化剂对污染物的降解效果.结果表明,在焙烧温度和铁盐添加量一定时,以亚铁盐(即(NH4)_2Fe(SO_4)_2和FeSO_4)为前驱体所制催化剂性能明显优于以铁盐(FeCl_3和Fe(NO_3)_3)为前驱体的催化剂;以(NH4)_2Fe(SO_4)_2为前驱体且其添加量为1 mol/L,焙烧温度为350 oC时所制FAS-1-350催化剂具有较高的降解速率(0.308±0.016 min.1)和较低的Fe~(2+)溶出率(0.94±0.24 mg/L).在紫外光照射下FAS-1-350重复使用6次,其催化性能没有明显降低,证实该样品结构稳定,可重复利用,具有良好的应用前景.     

Investigation of heavy metals mobility in shrimp aquaculture sludge—Comparison of two sequential extraction procedures

Influence of heavy metals was investigated by conducting various tests on the samples collected from aquaculture shrimp in Selangor, Malaysia. The concentration of heavy metals in the sludge and potential of mobility based on its association forms was studied. Two sequential extraction methods (five stages Tessier method and three steps BCR method) were used to determine the binding forms of the metals.From the analysis, Ca, Fe and Mn were found to be highest concentrated metals compared to Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd and Pb in aquaculture shrimp sludge. From the sequential extraction, Cd, Mn and Pb were mostly found in exchangeable/carbonate form, showed its susceptibility to be leached easily. Also Cu and Zn were extracted predominantly in oxidizable form. All metal concentrations (except Cd, Zn and Cu) were extracted to be higher in residual fraction in this method. The results of BCR method are totally similar to the five stages Tessier method. By comparing the percent of recovery, the BCR method was better than Tessier method. Nevertheless for both methods the percent of their recoveries were acceptable. For Pseudototal metal digestion, although the concentration of Cd is less than other heavy metals, it is very harmful as a fertilizer because Cd is one of the heavy metals that might be in the leaf or fruit of plants. Also for investigation of Ca in the sludge, this element was measured and high amounts of that show sludge is useful for growing of plant. The results of direct digestion of heavy metals show that with the control of Cd in this sludge we can use this sludge as fertilizer in soils for agriculture but it is better if it is used for fruitless plants.     

Assessment of heavy metals leachability from metallo-organic sorbent-iron humate-with the aid of sequential extraction test

The sequential extraction test, known as a BCR procedure, was used to assess a leachability of heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Pb, Cu) from the metallo-organic sorbent—iron humate—loaded with these metals. The sequential test allowed to discriminate between various fractions of heavy metals, namely the acid-extractable fraction, the fraction bound to Fe oxides, and the fraction bound to organic matter. It was proven that the heavy metals are bound mainly to Fe oxides and organic matter, and thus they may be relatively hardly liberated into the environment. The BCR sequential extraction test exhibited a very good repeatability, when it was applied to the loaded sorbent—relative standard deviations were typically lower than 10%.     

Isolation and Use of Coprothermobacter spp. to Improve Anaerobic Thermophilic Digestion of Grass

The isolation of microorganisms was performed from digestate from the process of the anaerobic digestion (AD) of grass after hyperthermophilic pretreatment. The bacterium that was isolated and identified was Coprothermobacter sp. Using the isolated bacteria, an AD process on fresh grass (GB) and pretreated grass (PGB) was carried out with 10% of its addition. The highest methane yield of 219 NmlCH₄/gVS was recorded for PGB at 55 °C. In contrast, fresh grass subjected to thermophilic digestion produced only 63 NmlCH₄/gVS. Due to the addition of bacteria in the AD process, an increase in the efficiency of hydrogen and methane production was observed in both fresh grass and grass after pretreatment.     

Biogas Potential of the Side Streams Obtained in a Novel Phenolic Extraction System from Olive Mill Solid Waste

The olive oil production is an important industrial sector in many Mediterranean areas, but it is currently struggled by the necessity of a proper valorisation of the olive mill solid waste or alperujo. The alperujo is the main by-product generated during the two-phase olive oil extraction, accounting for up to 80% of the initial olive mass. The alperujo is a source of valuable compounds, such as the pomace olive oil or highly interesting phenolic compounds. In the present research, a novel biorefinery approach has been used for phenolic compounds recovery. However, the extraction of these valuables compounds generates different exhausted phases with high organic matter content that are required to be managed. This study consists of the evaluation of the anaerobic biodegradability of the different fractions obtained in a novel biorefinery approach for the integral valorisation of alperujo. The results show that the different phases obtained during the biorefinery of the alperujo can be effectively subjected to anaerobic digestion and no inhibition processes were detected. The highest methane yield coefficients were obtained for the phases obtained after a two-months storages, i.e., suspended solids and liquid phase free of suspended solids, which generated 366 ± 7 mL CH₄/g VS and 358 ± 6 mL CH₄/g VS, respectively. The phenol extraction process reduced the methane yield coefficient around 25% due to the retention of biodegradable compounds during the extraction process. Regardless of this drop, the anaerobic digestion is a suitable technology for the stabilization of the different generated residual phases, whereas the high market price of the extracted phenols can largely compensate the slight decrease in the methane generation.     

Reactive Blue 4 Decolorization under Mesophilic and Thermophilic Anaerobic Treatments

Anaerobic decolorization of anthraquinone dye represented by Reactive Blue 4 (RB4) was studied to evaluate the factors involved in dye-reducing behaviors such as dye concentration, co-substrate, treatment temperature, salt content, and dye-reducing microbial consortia. The experiment was conducted using digested sludge treated under mesophilic (35 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) conditions. The results indicated that the thermophilic treatment gave higher potential for this dye decolorization compared with the mesophilic one. A reduced form of RB4 did not show an auto-oxidizing reaction but treated RB4 dye was shown in light yellow color, the intensity of which was related to the initial concentration of the dye used in the treatments. Starch, which showed similar decolorizing efficiency under thermophilic conditions, could be used as a co-substrate instead of glucose for the purpose of operating cost reduction. Due to the high content of salt contained in dye wastewater, the effect of salt (NaCl) was investigated. Results showed that decolorization could be accelerated with a concentration of NaCl lower than 200 mM, but the decolorization was inhibited by high concentrations of salt. The presence of RB4 inhibited methane productivity, while total organic carbon (TOC) reduction was similar to control, without dye addition. Increasing the temperature accelerated the decolorizing potential and TOC reduction. The evaluation of dye-reducing microbial consortia was done with acidogen and methanogen inhibitors which acidogenesis microorganism was dominant in RB4 decolorization.     

连续萃取法研究海湾养殖区沉积物中重金属形态

以连续萃取法研究海湾养殖区沉积物中重金属(Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn)的形态,将重金属分离为酸溶态、还原态、有机质结合态、硫化物结合态和残渣态.分别采用基体匹配法和内标法消除高盐基体对电感耦合等离子体光谱法(ICP-OES)和质谱法(ICP-MS)分析结果的影响.对海洋沉积物标准物质分析结果表明,样品稀释后测定值与标准值一致.比较了本连续萃取法和BCR法对沉积物样品中重金属形态的提取结果,并考察了萃取剂的选择性.实验表明,本方法可用于有机质污染和富营养化环境沉积物中重金属形态分析,特别是有机质结合态和硫化物结合态的分析.     

海湾河口表层沉积物中重金属形态连续萃取方法的优化研究

采用单一萃取程序对建立的重金属形态连续萃取方法的萃取条件进行优化.分别以Ca和Mg、Fe、有机质(OM)和酸可挥发性硫(AVS)作为萃取剂释放酸溶态、还原态、有机质结合态和硫化物结合态等重金属目标形态的表征参量,考察萃取剂对相应目标形态的萃取能力和选择性.分别根据表征参量和重金属在萃取溶液中的含量变化确定最优萃取时间和萃取样液比.结果表明,优化萃取条件后,萃取剂对目标形态重金属均有很强的释放能力.酸溶态萃取剂对其它非残留态影响很小;还原态萃取剂除对酸溶态有少量提取外,对其它形态影响较小;有机质结合态萃取剂对硫化物结合态有少量萃取,对其它形态影响较小.硫化物结合态在酸溶态、还原态和有机质结合态之后萃取,避免了对这三种形态的影响.优化后的连续萃取方法对重金属形态有较好的选择性,可对海湾和河口表层沉积物中重金属的目标形态进行较为合理地分离和评价.     

Proteolysis of mesophilic and thermophilic α-amylases

A comparative study was performed on limited and extensive proteolysis of mesophilic (from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens [BAA]) and thermophilic (from Bacillus licheniformis [BLA]) α-amylases using trypsin. As expected, the thermophilic enzyme showed greater resistance to digestion by the protease. While the catalytic potential of BLA was enhanced on proteolysis, that of BAA was diminished owing to this process. Combined with greater catalytic activity, a lower thermal stability was observed for BLA on proteolytic treatment. For both enzymes, the extent of proteolytic cleavage was reduced in the presence of various stabilizing agents. The digestion patterns are explained in terms of available information in the literature on the structure of these proteins, especially in relation to segmental mobility.     

贵阳污灌区菜地土壤团聚体中有机碳和重金属的含量特征及相关性分析

以贵阳某污灌区菜地土壤为研究对象,分别采用微波消解-电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法和水合热重铬酸钾氧化分光光度法分析不同粒径土壤团聚体中重金属和有机碳的含量特征,并对有机碳和重金属的相关性进行分析。结果表明,以2mm粒径团聚体的含量为最高,约占75%。Cu、Zn、Cd和Pb在0.25～0.5mm粒径团聚体中含量最高,Cr在5～8mm粒径团聚体中含量最高,As在不同粒径团聚体中的含量变化不大,重金属含量随土层深度增大而减小。土壤重金属富集因子表现为CuPbCdZnCrAs,Cu、Zn、Cd和Pb在0.25～0.5mm粒径团聚体中分布因子最高,而在5～8mm粒径团聚体中重金属的质量负载因子最大。土壤有机碳含量随团聚体粒径的增大表现为先增大后减小,不同粒径团聚体中Cu、Cd、Pb和As含量与有机碳含量均呈显著正相关(p0.05)。污灌区菜地土壤Cr、As在5～8mm粒径团聚体中富集现象显著,Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb在0.25～0.5mm粒径团聚体中均表现出显著的富集特征。6种重金属在5～8mm粒径团聚体中的质量负载因子均为最高,表明6种重金属在5～8mm粒径团聚体中的贡献最大。     

Temperature and Inoculum Origin Influence the Performance of Ex-Situ Biological Hydrogen Methanation

The conversion of H₂ into methane can be carried out by microorganisms in a process so-called biomethanation. In ex-situ biomethanation H₂ and CO₂ gas are exogenous to the system. One of the main limitations of the biomethanation process is the low gas-liquid transfer rate and solubility of H₂ which are strongly influenced by the temperature. Hydrogenotrophic methanogens that are responsible for the biomethanation reaction are also very sensitive to temperature variations. The aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of temperature on batch biomethanation process in mixed culture. The performances of mesophilic and thermophilic inocula were assessed at 4 temperatures (24, 35, 55 and 65 °C). A negative impact of the low temperature (24 °C) was observed on microbial kinetics. Although methane production rate was higher at 55 and 65 °C (respectively 290 ± 55 and 309 ± 109 mL CH₄/L.day for the mesophilic inoculum) than at 24 and 35 °C (respectively 156 ± 41 and 253 ± 51 mL CH₄/L.day), the instability of the system substantially increased, likely because of a strong dominance of only Methanothermobacter species. Considering the maximal methane production rates and their stability all along the experiments, an optimal temperature range of 35 °C or 55 °C is recommended to operate ex-situ biomethanation process.     

Thermophilic Dry Methane Fermentation of Distillation Residue Eluted from Ethanol Fermentation of Kitchen Waste and Dynamics of Microbial Communities

Thermophilic dry methane fermentation is advantageous for feedstock with high solid content. Distillation residue with 65.1 % moisture content was eluted from ethanol fermentation of kitchen waste and subjected to thermophilic dry methane fermentation, after adjusting the moisture content to 75 %. The effect of carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio on thermophilic dry methane fermentation was investigated. Results showed that thermophilic dry methane fermentation could not be stably performed for >10 weeks at a C/N ratio of 12.6 and a volatile total solid (VTS) loading rate of 1 g/kg sludge/d; however, it was stably performed at a C/N ratio of 19.8 and a VTS loading rate of 3 g/kg sludge/d with 83.4 % energy recovery efficiency. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed that the number of bacteria and archaea decreased by two orders of magnitude at a C/N ratio of 12.6, whereas they were not influenced at a C/N ratio of 19.8. Microbial community analysis revealed that the relative abundance of protein-degrading bacteria increased and that of organic acid-oxidizing bacteria and acetic acid-oxidizing bacteria decreased at a C/N ratio of 12.6. Therefore, there was accumulation of NH₄ ⁺ and acetic acid, which inhibited thermophilic dry methane fermentation.     

活化污泥强化工艺对重金属的去除效果研究

重点研究了活化污泥法强化一级处理对城市污水中重金属离子的去除效果。以实际生活污水和Cd、Cu、Zn、Cr6+、Pb、Mn六种城市污水中常见的重金属离子配水,采用活化污泥法的正常工艺条件,发现这几种金属离子去除的难易顺序为:Cd>Pb>Cu>Zn>Mn>Cr6+。水中的重金属离子与有机物间存在竞争吸附作用,共存时双方的去除效果都有所下降,但对Cd、Pb来说,有机物的存在则可以提高其去除效果。