Biohydrogen production through fermentation using liquid swine manure as substrate

In this paper, continuous production of hydrogen through fermentation with liquid swine manure as substrate was researched using a semi-continuously fed fermenter (8 L in total volume and 4 L in working volume). The pH and temperature for the fermenter were controlled at 5.3 ± 0.1 and 35 ± 1°C, respectively, throughout the experiment. Three hydraulic retention times (16, 20, and 24 h) were investigated for their impact on the efficiency and performance of the fermenter in terms of hydrogen yields. The results indicate that hydraulic retention time (HRT) has a strong influence on the fermenter performance. An increasing HRT would increase the variation in hydrogen concentration in the offgas. To produce hydrogen with a fairly consistent concentration, the HRT of the fermenter should not exceed 16 h, which, however, did not appear to be short enough to control methanogenesis because the offgas still contained about 5% methane. When methane content in the offgas exceeded 2%, an inverse linear relationship between hydrogen and methane was observed with a correlation coefficient of 0.9699. To increase hydrogen content in the offgas, methane production has to be limited to below 2%. Also, keeping oxygen content in the fermenter below 1.5% would increase the hydrogen concentration to over 15%. The product to substrate ratio was found to be around 50% for the fermenter system studied, evidenced by the observation that for every 6 liters of manure fermented, 3 liters of pure hydrogen were produced, which was significant and encouraging.     

外循环式UASB反应器处理槟榔废水

在中温（35±2℃）条件下,利用外循环式UASB反应器处理中高有机浓度的槟榔加工废水,并着重探讨了水力停留时间（HRT）对厌氧消化的影响。研究表明,当反应器稳定运行,水力停留时间为1 d,进水COD浓度5 000 mg/L左右,容积负荷在2.53-5.25 kg COD/（m3·d）时,COD去除率在38%以上,出水COD〈3 000 mg/L,平均产气率为0.41 m3/kg COD;若水力停留时间延长至4 d,容积负荷为1.26-1.30 kg COD/（m3·d）,COD去除率可以达到79%,出水COD〈1 200 mg/L,出水可生化性下降,BOD5/COD平均为0.28,实验取得了良好的处理效果,为利用厌氧技术处理槟榔加工废水提供了设计依据。     

电絮凝-气浮-砂滤组合工艺除氟

为了有效去除水中的氟离子,对电絮凝-气浮-砂滤组合工艺除氟(F-)离子进行了研究。详细考察了电压、电絮凝停留时间和初始F-离子浓度等参数对除F-离子效率的影响。结果表明:当初始F-离子浓度为1.50 mg/L,停留时间为10 min,电压为15 V条件下,出水F-离子浓度为0.92 mg/L;当初始F-离子浓度为2.5 mg/L,停留时间为15 min,电压15 V条件下,出水F-离子浓度为0.98 mg/L。用Al-Ferron逐时络合比色法表征了电絮凝和气浮单元出水中铝形态随时间的变化。结果显示:电絮凝出水Ala含量随时间增加迅速降低到5%以下,电絮凝和气浮单元出水Alb含量均占到50%以上,Alc含量均随时间增加而增加。     

容积负荷对厌氧氨氧化反应器运行影响的研究

采用1套有效容积为3 L的厌氧复合床作为厌氧氨氧化反应器,用提高进水基质浓度和缩短反应器水力停留时间2种方式提高反应器的容积负荷,进而研究反应器最佳的进水浓度和水力停留时间。结果表明,在HRT为24 h的条件下,反应器最佳进水浓度NH4+-N与NO2--N在110 mg/L左右;通过调节HRT发现,当HRT大于8 h时,NH4+-N与NO2--N的去除率都在80%以上。     

Harnessing dark fermentative hydrogen from pretreated mixture of food waste and sewage sludge under sequencing batch mode

Food waste and sewage sludge are the most abundant and problematic organic wastes in any society. Mixture of these two wastes may provide appropriate substrate condition for dark fermentative biohydrogen production based on synergistic mutual benefits. This work evaluates continuous hydrogen production from the cosubstrate of food waste and sewage sludge to verify mechanisms of performance improvement in anaerobic sequencing batch reactors. Volatile solid concentration and mixing ratio of food waste and sludge were adjusted to 5 % and 80:20, respectively. Five different hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 36, 42, 48, 72, and 108 h were tested using anaerobic sequencing batch reactors to find out optimal operating condition. Results show that the best performance was achieved at HRT 72 h, where the hydrogen yield, the hydrogen production rate, and hydrogen content were 62.0 mL H₂/g VS, 1.0 L H₂/L/day, and ~50 %, respectively. Sufficient solid retention time (143 h) and proper loading rate (8.2 g COD/L/day as carbohydrate) at HRT 72h led to the enhanced performance with better hydrogen production showing appropriate n-butyrate/acetate (B/A) ratio of 2.6. Analytical result of terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism revealed that specific peaks associated with Clostridium sp. and Bacillus sp. were strongly related to enhanced hydrogen production from the cosubstrate of food waste and sewage sludge.     

A kinetic study of anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewater at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures

The kinetics of the anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewater (OMW) was studied in the mesophilic and thermophilic ranges of temperature. Two completely mixed continuous flow bioreactors operating at 35 degrees C and 55 degrees C and with an average biomass concentration of 5.45 g VSS litre(-1) were used. The thermophilic reactor worked satisfactorily between hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 10 to 40 days, removing between 94.6 and 84.4% of the initial chemical oxygen demand (COD). In contrast, the mesophilic reactor showed a marked decrease in substrate utilization and methane production at a HRT of 10 days. TVFA levels and the TVFA/alkalinity ratio were higher and close to the suggested limits for digester failure. The yield coefficient for methane production (1 CH(4) STP g(-1) COD(added)) was 28% higher in the thermophilic process than in the mesophilic one. Macroenergetic parameters, calculated using Guiot's kinetic model, gave yield coefficients for the biomass (Y) of 0.18 (mesophilic) and 0.06 g VSS g(-1) COD (thermophilic) and specific rates of substrate uptake for cell maintenance (m) of 0.12 (mesophilic) and 0.27 g COD g(-1) VSS.day(-1) (thermophilic). The experimental results showed the rate of substrate uptake (R(s); g COD g(-1) VSS.day(-1)), correlated with the concentration of biodegradable substrate (S(b); g COD litre(-1)), through an equation of the Michaelis-Menten type for the two temperatures used.     

常温条件下2种厌氧折流板反应器处理淀粉废水的启动实验

为了研究厌氧折流板反应器在常温下的启动情况,在22.5～30.2℃条件下,对不加填料的5隔室厌氧折流板反应器和加填料的4隔室复合式厌氧折流板反应器同步进行了启动实验。实验用水为高浓度淀粉废水,两反应器采用相同的启动策略,即梯度增加进水COD浓度与降低水力停留时间相结合的方式。两反应器有效容积均为47.8 L,启动初始负荷为0.6 kg COD/(m3.d),逐渐增加到10 kg COD/(m3.d)。实验表明,经过6个阶段87 d的运行,反应器启动完成,并成功培养出颗粒污泥,两反应器对COD的去除率都能达到85%以上。在启动过程中两反应器对COD的去除效率相近。     

EGSB反应器处理产氢发酵液

以厌氧颗粒污泥为接种污泥，对厌氧颗粒污泥膨胀床（EGSB）反应器处理产氢发酵液的启动性能进行了研究。结果表明，在温度为（35±1）℃，水力停留时间（HRT）为6h的条件下，逐渐提高进水COD，经过40d连续运行，EGSB反应器启动成功。容积负荷达到14kgCOD／（m3·d）时，COD去除率约为80％，产气量为26．84L／d，甲烷含量为57．9％。     

Piggery waste treatment by using down-flow anaerobic fixed bed reactors

A study of the role of the depth in the performance of laboratory-scale down-flow anaerobic fixed-bed reactors (DFAFBR) was carried out at different nominal hydraulic retention times (HRT(N)) using piggery waste as substrate at different influent concentrations (2, 4, 6 and 8 g COD/L). The profiles of soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) (SCOD), organic nitrogen (O.N.), ammonia nitrogen (A.N.), pH and electrical conductivity (E.C.) through the reactor depths showed an initial highly active zone, which was located around the first half of the reactor depth, and a second zone with a lower biological activity. It was found that the depth of the active zone decreased as the HRT(N) increased and that the slopes of the profiles obtained increased with the rise in the influent concentration. A hydraulic test showed an increase in the dispersion number when the HRT(N) increased. The reactors showed a hydraulic pattern between plug-flow and back-mix. The real values of HRT (Theta) also defined as real contact times were determined to be 0.7, 2.1, 3.4, 4.7, 6.4 and 8 days for values of HRT(N) of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 days, respectively. It was found that the concentration of SCOD within the reactor decreased exponentially with the increase in the value of theta. Additionally, the influent concentration had a strong influence on the SCOD variation concentration, mainly at values of theta under 1.5 days, which corresponded to the first part of the reactors.     

Retooling the ethanol industry: thermophilic anaerobic digestion of thin stillage for methane production and pollution prevention.

Anaerobic digestion of corn ethanol thin stillage was tested at thermophilic temperature (55 degrees C) with two completely stirred tank reactors. The thin stillage wastestream was organically concentrated with 100 g/L total chemical oxygen demand and 60 g/L volatiles solids and a low pH of approximately 4.0. Steady-state was achieved at 30-, 20-, and 15-day hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and digester failure at a 12-day HRT. Significant reduction of volatile solids was achieved, with a maximum reduction (89.8%) at the 20-day HRT. Methane yield ranged from 0.6 to 0.7 L methane/g volatile solids removed during steady-state operation. Effluent volatile fatty acids below 200 mg/L as acetic acid were achieved at 20- and 30-day HRTs. Ultrasonic pretreatment was used for one digester, although no significant improvement was observed. Ethanol plant natural gas consumption could be reduced 43 to 59% with the methane produced, while saving an estimated $7 to $17 million ($10 million likely) for a facility producing 360 million L ethanol/y.     

Biomethanation of tobacco waste

Tobacco is an important cash crop produced in considerable quantities in India. During cigarette manufacturing large quantities of tobacco waste are produced annually and its disposal is a serious ecological problem. In the present study a process for the biodegradation of tobacco waste, under methanogenic conditions, was developed so that environmental pollution can be reduced while producing biogas as a useful energy source. The methanogenic bacterial consortium developed for the anaerobic degradation of tobacco waste without any chemical pretreatment in a single stage digester at 15 days HRT (hydraulic retention time) has been successfully scaled-up to install a 10 m(3) biogas plant. The gas yields (1 kg(-1 TS fed) day(-1)) varied from 169 to 282 depending on the ambient temperatures. The methane content in the biogas produced was 60%. The pH and VFA content of the digested slurry were 6.8 +/- 0.1 and 599 mg litre(-1), respectively. Nicotine, COD and BOD reductions were 75, 60 and 80%, respectively.     

Biological reduction of hexavalent chromium--a field study.

When ferrochromium is produced at Varg?n Alloys AB (Varg?n, Sweden), an offgas dust is generated as a byproduct. A leachate that contains hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) is formed when rainwater percolates through the dust deposit. In this study, Cr6+ in the leachate was reduced to trivalent chromium (Cr3+) by biological treatment in a biofilm process operated under anaerobic conditions. The reactor volume was 26 m3 and it was filled with 16 m3 plastic packing. Acetic acid was added as an electron donor. The Cr6+ was reduced from 10 to 20 mg/L to below 0.03 mg/L when the reactor was operated at a hydraulic retention time of 11 hours. The reduction activity in the process gradually decreased as the water temperature dropped below 10 degrees C.     

SBR处理高浓度养猪废水工艺条件

以养猪场废水作为研究对象，采用序列间歇式活性污泥法SBR，通过实验研究了供气量、pH、排泥量、原水稀释倍数、水力停留时间（HRT）对SBR出水水质的影响。结果表明，供气量为375 L/（min·m³）、pH为8.0，并添加排泥100 mL的操作，可使SBR处理效果明显提高，COD、磷和凯氏氮去除率最高分别可达96.37%、94.14%、99.38%。逐步降低进水稀释倍数有利于培养出处理高浓度有机养猪废水的活性污泥，可将平均COD、磷和凯氏氮含量高达9 161.24、33.41和1 502.77 mg/L的养猪废水处理至出水的490.11、5.35和17.84 mg/L。降低HRT对SBR去除率影响不大。     

Implications of urine-to-feces ratio in the thermophilic anaerobic digestion of swine waste.

Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of swine manure represents a potential waste treatment technology to address environmental concerns, such as odor emissions and removal of pathogenic microorganisms. However, there are concerns relative to the stability of this process when swine manure is the sole substrate. In this study, the potential of biogas production from swine manure as the sole substrate under thermophilic (50 degrees C) conditions was investigated in the laboratory, to determine whether separation of urine and feces as part of the waste collection process would benefit anaerobic digestion. Effluent from a continuously stirred tank reactor was used as the inoculum for batch tests, in which the substrate contained three different concentrations of urine (urine-free, as-excreted urine-to-feces ratio and double the as-excreted urine-to-feces ratio). Inocula were acclimated to these same urine-to-feces ratios to determine methane production. Results show that both urine-free and as-excreted substrates were not inhibitory to anaerobic inocula. Anaerobic microorganisms can be readily acclimated to substrate with double the as-excreted urine concentration, which contained nitrogen concentrations up to 7.20 g/L. Cumulative methane production reached similar levels in the batch tests, regardless of the substrate urine concentration.     

Biohydrogen production in continuous-flow reactor using mixed microbial culture.

The goal of the proposed project was to develop an anaerobic fermentation process that converts negative-value organic wastes into hydrogen-rich gas in a continuous-flow reactor under different operating conditions, such as hydraulic retention time (HRT), heat treatment, pH, and substrates. A series of batch tests were also conducted in parallel to the continuous study to evaluate the hydrogen conversion efficiency of two different organic substrates, namely sucrose and starch. A heat shock (at 90 degrees C for 15 minutes) was applied to the sludge in an external heating chamber known as a sludge activation chamber, as a method to impose a selection pressure to eliminate non-spore-forming, hydrogen-consuming bacteria and to activate spore germination. The experimental results showed that the heat activation of biomass enhanced hydrogen production by selecting for hydrogen-producing, spore-forming bacteria. The batch feeding at a shorter HRT of 20 hours (or higher organic loading rate) favored hydrogen production, whereas, at a longer HRT of 30 hours, methane was detected in the gas phase. The major organic acids of hydrogen fermentation were acetate, butyrate, and propionate. Up to 23.1% of influent chemical oxygen demand was consumed in biomass synthesis. Batch tests showed that the hydrogen-production potential of starch was lower than sucrose, and better conversion efficiency from starch was obtained at a lower pH of 4.5. However, addition of sucrose to starch improved the overall hydrogen-production potential and hydrogen-production rate. This study showed that sustainable biohydrogen production from carbohydrate-rich substrates is possible through heat activation of settled sludge.     

水力停留时间对反应沉淀一体化反应器中半亚硝化反应的影响

由于反应沉淀一体化反应器的HRT与SRT不同，因此HRT是否会影响反应器中氮的存在状态，亚硝态氮积累是否能实现尚无明确结论。针对以上问题，研究不同水力停留时间对反应沉淀一体化反应器中半亚硝化反应的影响，研究结果表明：反应器运行虽然运行过程中无污泥流失，但仍可实现亚硝酸盐的积累，出水亚硝态氮和氨氮的浓度比例受水力停留时间的影响。HRT为24 h时，亚硝酸盐积累率可达到70%，但出水氨氮接近于0，很难满足ANAMMOX 的进水要求；HRT为16 h和12 h时，亚硝酸盐积累率均可超过80%，出水氨氮和亚硝态氮的比例分别达到1.39：1和1.46：1，可为后续ANAMMOX反应提供良好进水条件。水力停留时间对污泥亚硝化潜力的影响为12 h>16 h>24 h，对硝化潜力的影响为24 h>16 h>12 h。不同水力停留时间下氨氧化速率和亚硝酸盐氧化速率均为24 h>16 h>12 h。     

Investigating the capacity of an activated sludge process to reduce volatile organic compounds and odor emissions.

The effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) diffusion into activated sludge (AS) on odor and volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in offgas were studied over an 8-week period. Most VOCs detected in the offgas of both aeration tanks were aromatic hydrocarbons. The VOC concentrations generally decreased when H2S was introduced to the AS compared with the control, indicating a negative effect of H2S on VOC removal. Two volatile organic sulfur compounds present in the test AS offgas showed an increase followed by a decrease during H2S peak loads. Six VOCs and odor concentration increased during the introduction of an H2S peak; however no correlation was observed between H2S and odor concentration. The increase in odor concentration resulted from the increase in the concentration of six aromatic VOCs, which had their removal slowed down during a 100-ppmv H2S peak. Activated sludge diffusion provides effective H2S removal with minimal affect on odor emissions.     

水力停留时间对反应沉淀一体化反应器中半亚硝化反应的影响

由于反应沉淀一体化反应器的HRT与SRT不同，因此HRT是否会影响反应器中氮的存在状态，亚硝态氮积累是否能实现尚无明确结论。针对以上问题，研究不同水力停留时间对反应沉淀一体化反应器中半亚硝化反应的影响，研究结果表明：反应器运行虽然运行过程中无污泥流失，但仍可实现亚硝酸盐的积累，出水亚硝态氮和氨氮的浓度比例受水力停留时间的影响。HRT为24h时，亚硝酸盐积累率可达到70％，但出水氨氮接近于0，很难满足ANAMMOX的进水要求；HRT为16h和12h时，亚硝酸盐积累率均可超过80％，出水氨氮和亚硝态氮的比例分别达到1．39：1和1．46：1，可为后续ANAMMOX反应提供良好进水条件。水力停留时间对污泥亚硝化潜力的影响为12h〉16h〉24h，对硝化潜力的影响为24h〉16h〉12h。不同水力停留时间下氨氧化速率和亚硝酸盐氧化速率均为24h〉16h〉12h。     

生物膜反应器中低氨氮浓度废水的亚硝化

在连续流生物膜反应器中通过控制DO、pH和HRT,对低氨氮浓度废水进行了亚硝化的实验研究。结果表明,在进水氨氮浓度为35～45 mg/L,温度为34℃的情况下,当DO=1.4～1.5 mg/L,pH=8.3,HRT=6 h时,氨氮的去除率与亚硝态氮的积累率均可达到80%左右,实现了较好的氨氮降解及稳定的亚硝态氮的积累。     

AFB-SBR工艺处理蓝皮制革工业废水

采用厌氧流化床(AFB)-序批式反应器(SBR)工艺处理蓝皮制革工业废水。分别考察了水力停留时间(HRT)、容积负荷对厌氧流化床以及曝气时间、污泥浓度、溶解氧浓度对SBR反应器处理效果的影响。试验结果表明,AFB将实验废水的BOD_5/COD(B/C)值由0.19～0.26提高至0.35～0.42,有效提高了其可生化性;在进水COD浓度为1 700～1 890 mg/L、HRT为1 d、容积负荷为1.792 kg COD/(m~3·d)时,COD去除率达65.2%～68.5%,且具有良好的抗冲击负荷能力。SBR在进水COD浓度为628～712 mg/L、污泥浓度为2.9 g/L、曝气时间为10 h、溶解氧浓度为2 mg/L工况下,COD去除率达87.6%,NH_3-N去除率达93.6%,处理后出水水质符合污水综合排放标准(GB 8978-1996)中的一级标准要求。