Anaerobic treatment of wastewater containing methanol in upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor

The direct conversion of methanol into methane is the main process in anaerobic treatment of methanol containing wastewater. However, acetic acid can also be produced from methanol theoretically, which may probably result in an abrupt pH drop and deteriorate the anaerobic process. Therefore, it is interesting to know what would really happen in an anaerobic reactor treating methanol wastewater. In this study, an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor treating methanol wastewater was operated. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), acetic acid and pH of the effluent were monitored at different loadings and influent alkalinity. The results showed that the anaerobic reactor could be operated steadily at as low as 119 mg/L of influent alkalinity and high organic loading rate with no obvious pH drops. Volatile fatty acids accumulation was not observed even at strong shock loadings. The microorganisms in the sludge at the end of the test became homogeneous in morphology, which were mainly spherical or spheroidal in shape.     

Effect of wastewater composition on the calcium carbonate precipitation in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors

Calcium carbonate often precipitates in anaerobic reactors treating wastewater with high calcium content. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of wastewater composition on calcium carbonate precipitation in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. Two laboratory-scale UASB reactors were operated with calcium-containing influents using acetate and carbohydrate as substrate, respectively. There was an obvious accumulation of inorganic precipitate observed in the biogranules. Observations via scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the acclimated biogranules in the two reactors differed in microstructure. Calcium carbonate was found to have precipitated on the surface of acetate-degrading biogranules, but precipitated at the core of the carbohydrate-degrading biogranules. The results indicated that substrates had significant influence on the location of calcium carbonate precipitation in anaerobic granular sludge, which was expected due to the different methanogens distribution and pH gradient within the granular sludge degrading various substrates. Moreover, the location of calcium carbonate precipitation substantially affected the specific methanogenic activity (SMA) of the granular sludge. The SMA of the acetate-degrading biogranules dropped from \(1.96 gCOD_{CH_4 } \cdot gVSS^{ - 1} \cdot d^{ - 1} \) to \(0.61 gCOD_{CH_4 } \cdot gVSS^{ - 1} \cdot d^{ - 1} \) after 180-d of operation in the reactor. However, the SMA of the carbohydrate-degrading biogranules was not adversely affected by calcium carbonate precipitation.     

糖蜜酒精废水两相UASB处理工艺的酸化段特征

文章考察了糖蜜酒精废水二相UASB处理工艺的酸化段特征 ,试验结果表明酸化段的容积负荷达到3 0kgCOD/m3 时 ,系统仍能正常运行 ,TOC去除率在 3 5%以上 ,酸化段的SO4 2 -去除率在 70 %。糖蜜酒精废水酸化率在 50 % ,二相厌氧生物处理系统并未将产酸微生物与产甲烷微生物截然分开 ,在产酸相中仍含有一定数量的产甲烷菌。     

三种工业废水颗粒污泥的化学及微生物学组成

对ＵＡＳＢ反应器中处理酒精废醪、木材纤维板热压废水及石灰法造纸黑液颗粒污泥的化学及微生物组成进行了比较研究，结果表明：无机元素在颗粒污泥中的沉积与废水组成及运行条件密切相关；接种污泥中加入少量的颗粒污泥可作为新生颗粒污泥的生长核心；胞外多聚物有利于颗粒污泥的形成与稳定，其产量与颗粒污泥的生物量有关，其分布有一定的区域性；颗粒污泥的微生物组成与废水水质、运行温度及颗粒污泥所处的生理阶段等因素密切相关；丝状细菌，特别是索氏甲烷丝菌类似菌在颗粒污泥中起着重要作用；污泥颗粒化过程中各类生理菌群的增殖次序与其在厌氧消化过程中的功能次序一致。当发酵细菌、产氢产乙酸菌、同型产乙酸菌和产甲烷菌在每ｍＬ颗粒污泥中分别达到１０７－１０、１０５－７、１０６－８和１０５－６个时，可构成一个较稳定的厌氧微生态系统。     

降解四氯乙烯厌氧菌的分离和特征

从降解四氯乙烯沼气污泥富集培养物中分离得到4株厌氧菌，其中2株为弧菌（Vibrio），其细胞弧状，分别端单生，丛生鞭毛；1株是杆菌（Bacillus），其细胞杆状，G－，无鞭毛和芽孢；1株为甲烷八叠球菌（Methanosarcina），其细胞球状，成堆排列．4株菌均可以甲醇为碳源，并具有不同强度降解四氯乙烯的活性．     

Enhanced methane production during long-term UASB operation at high organic loads as enabled by the immobilized Fungi

• Fungi enable the constant UASB operation even at OLR of 25.0 kg/(m³×d). • The COD removal of 85.9% and methane production of 5.6 m³/(m³×d) are achieved. • Fungi inhibit VFAs accumulation and favor EPS generation and sludge granulation. • Fungi enrich methanogenic archaea and promote methanogenic pathways. Anaerobic digestion is widely applied in organic wastewater treatment coupled with bioenergy production, and how to stabilize its work at the high organic loading rate (OLR) remains a challenge. Herein, we proposed a new strategy to address this issue via involving the synergetic role of the Aspergillus sydowii 8L-9-F02 immobilized beads (AEBs). A long-term (210-day) continuous-mode operation indicated that the upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor (R1, with AEBs added) could achieve the OLR as high as 25.0 kg/(m³×d), whereas the control reactor (R0, with AEBs free) could only tolerate the maximum OLR of 13.3 kg/(m³×d). Remarkably, much higher COD removal (85.9% vs 23.9%) and methane production (5.4 m³/(m³×d) vs 2.2 m³/(m³×d)) were achieved in R1 than R0 at the OLR of 25.0 kg/(m³×d). Such favorable effect results from the facts that fungi inhibit VFAs accumulation, favor the pH stabilization, promote the generation of more extracellular polymeric substance, and enhance the sludge granulation and settleability. Moreover, fungi may enhance the secretion of acetyl-coenzyme A, a key compound in converting organic matters to CO₂. In addition, fungi are favorable to enrich methanogenic archaea even at high OLR, improving the activity of acetate kinase and coenzyme F₄₂₀ for more efficient methanogenic pathway. This work may shed new light on how to achieve higher OLR and methane production in anaerobic digestion of wastewater.     

UASB和EGSB反应器中厌氧颗粒污泥生物学特性的比较

测定了实验室规模的２Ｌ ＥＧＳＢ和ＵＡＳＢ反应器中培养的厌氧颗粒污泥在不同基质中的比产甲烷活性、辅酶Ｆ４２０含量和胞外多聚酶物含量，结果表明，ＥＧＳＢ反应器颗粒污泥在葡萄糖上的比产甲烷活性、利用乙酸的甲烷菌和产氢产乙酸菌的活怀和胞外多聚物／含量高于ＵＡＳＢ反应器颗粒污泥，而ＵＡＳＢ反应器颗粒污泥中利用甲酸和氢的甲烷菌的活性以及辅酶Ｆ４２０的含量较ＥＧＳＢ反应器颗粒污泥更高，辅酶Ｆ４２０可以指示同种     

活性艳红X-3B的厌氧生物降解与机理

以活性艳红X-3B(RBR)为研究对象,分3个不同浓度组研究其在厌氧颗粒污泥作用下的降解性能,并采用生物降解动力学方程拟合其降解过程,同时利用GC-MS分析RBR的生物降解途径.试验结果表明,RBR在厌氧颗粒污泥中降解性能很好,去除率可达93.67%,且其降解过程符合二级反应动力学,其半衰期约为3.561 h.从GC-MS和UV-可见光谱的分析得出,RBR在厌氧颗粒污泥的作用下偶氮键断裂,且生成的芳香胺类化合物进一步降解为小分子的烃类、酚类、醇类和脂类化合物.     

Enhanced 4-chlorophenol biodegradation by integrating Fe2O3 nanoparticles into an anaerobic reactor: Long-term performance and underlying mechanism

• 4-chlorophenol biodegradation could be enhanced in Fe₂O₃ coupled anaerobic system. • Metabolic activity and electron transport could be improved by Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. • Functional microbial communities could be enriched in coupled anaerobic system. • Possible synergistic mechanism involved in enhanced dechlorination was proposed. Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles have been reported to enhance the dechlorination performance of anaerobic systems, but the underlying mechanism has not been clarified. This study evaluated the technical feasibility, system stability, microbial biodiversity and the underlying mechanism involved in a Fe₂O₃ nanoparticle-coupled anaerobic system treating 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) wastewater. The results demonstrated that the 4-CP and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies in the Fe₂O₃-coupled up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) were always higher than 97% and 90% during long-term operation, verifying the long-term stability of the Fe₂O₃-coupled UASB. The 4-CP and TOC removal efficiencies in the coupled UASB increased by 42.9±0.4% and 27.5±0.7% compared to the control UASB system. Adding Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles promoted the enrichment of species involved in dechlorination, fermentation, electron transfer and acetoclastic methanogenesis, and significantly enhanced the extracellular electron transfer ability, electron transport activity and conductivity of anaerobic sludge, leading to enhanced 4-CP biodegradation performance. A possible synergistic mechanism involved in enhanced anaerobic 4-CP biodegradation by Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles was proposed.     

Biosorption of Direct Black 38 by dried anaerobic granular sludge

The biosorption of Direct Black 38 by dried anaerobic granular sludge in a batch system under specific temperatures and initial pH was investigated. The adsorption reaction is pH dependent with higher removal at low pH. The adsorption equilibrium data fit very well with both Langmuir and Freundlich models in the concentration range of Direct Black 38 at all chosen temperatures. The adsorption parameters show that the adsorption of Direct Black 38 is an endothermic and more effective process at high temperatures. The kinetics of adsorption was found to be second order and adsorption rate constants increased with increasing temperature. Activation energy was determined as 26.8 kJ/mol for the process. This suggests that the adsorption of Direct Black 38 by dried anaerobic granular sludge is chemically controlled.     

氨氮废水的厌氧氨氧化生物脱氮研究

利用从厌氧污泥中筛选和驯化的厌氧氨氧化（Anammox）菌直接启动UASB反应器,通过缩短水力停留时间（HRT）提高系统运行负荷,探讨水力停留时间对模拟废水脱氮性能的影响。结果表明,（1）富含Anammox菌的颗粒污泥能够快速启动反应器（只需14d）。（2）连续91d的HRT测试期间,系统具有良好的脱氮性能,且随着HRT的缩短,系统的脱氮效率具有波动上升的特点。NH4＋-N、NO2--N和TN（总氮）的平均去除率超过70.0%。（3）系统总氮容积负荷（TNLR）和总氮去除负荷（TNRR）最大值（以N计）分别为2.04kg·m-3·d-1和1.56kg·m-3·d-1。（4）系统能够比较好的遵循Anammox生物脱氮的理论途径：NH4＋-N、NO2--N的去除速率与NO3--N的生成速率的比例为1？1.15？0.22,与其相应理论值（1？1.32？0.26）非常接近。     

Effect of 2-butenal manufacture wastewater to methanogenic activity and microbial community

The inhibition ratio sharply increased with the increasing COD. The absorbance of UV-vis at 420 nm showed a linear correlation with the SMA. The molecular structure of EPS has changed when COD was 9585 mg/L. Illumina Miseq sequencing was employed to reveal the microbial composition. The synthesis of 2-butenal, which is a vital raw material for the production of sorbic acid as a food preservative, generates some toxic by-products, so it is urgent to seek better detoxification strategies for the treatment of 2-butenal manufacture wastewater. In this study, batch experiments were carried out to investigate the inhibition effect of wastewater on the methanogenic activity. To understand the wastewater toxicity to anaerobic granular sludge, variations of the specific methanogenic activity (SMA) and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) constituents at various wastewater CODs were investigated. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectra and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra were employed to analyze the structure of the EPS. The results showed that the inhibitory ratio of 2-butenal manufacture wastewater was less than 8.4% on the anaerobic granular sludge when the CODs were less than 959 mg/L. However, the inhibitory ratio increased from 36.4% to 93.6% when CODs increased from 2396 mg/L to 9585 mg/L, with the SMA decreasing from 39.1 mL CH₄/(gVSS·d) to 3.2 mL CH₄/(gVSS·d). The diversity of the microbial community under various CODs was researched by Illumina 16S rRNA Miseq sequencing and the results demonstrated that Proteiniphilum、Petrimonas and Syntrophobacter were the dominant bacteria genera in all sample. Regarding archaea, Methanobacterium was the most dominated archaea genera, followed by the Methanosaeta group in all samples. Moreover, the bacterial communities had changed obviously with increasing CODs, which indicated high CODs played a negative impact on the richness and diversity of bacterial community in the sludge samples.     

Methanogenic community structure in simultaneous methanogenesis and denitrification granular sludge

A laboratory scale up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) bioreactor fed with synthetic wastewater was operated with simultaneous methanogenesis and denitrification (SMD) granules for 235 days with a gradient decrease of C/N. Molecular cloning, qRT-PCR and T-RFLP were applied to study the methanogenic community structures in SMD granules and their changes in response to changing influent C/N. The results indicate that when C/N was 20:1, the methane production rate was fastest, and Methanosaetaceae and Methanobacteriaceae were the primary methanogens within the Archaea. The richness and evenness of methanogenic bacteria was best with the highest T-RFLP diversity index of 1.627 in the six granular sludge samples. When C/N was reduced from 20:1 to 5:1, the methanogenic activity of SMD granules decreased gradually, and the relative quantities of methanogens decreased from 36.5% to 10.9%. The abundance of Methanosaetaceae in Archaea increased from 64.5% to 84.2%, while that of Methanobacteriaceae decreased from 18.6% to 11.8%, and the richness and evenness of methanogens decreased along with the T-RFLP diversity index to 1.155, suggesting that the community structure reflected the succession to an unstable condition represented by high nitrate concentrations.

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Impact of roxarsone on the UASB reactor performance and its degradation

Roxarsone (3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid, ROX) has been widely used for decades as an organoarsenic feed additive to control intestinal parasites and improve feed efficiency in animal production. However, most of the ROX is excreted into the manure, causing arsenic contamination in wastewater. The arsenic compounds are toxic to microorganisms, but the influence of continuous ROX loading on upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor is still unknown. In this study, the impact of ROX and its degradation products on the performance of the UASB reactor and the degradation and speciation of ROX in the reactor were investigated. The UASB reactor (hydraulic retention time: 1.75 d) was operated using synthetic wastewater supplemented with ROX for a period of 260 days. With continuous ROX addition at 25.0 mg·L^–1, severe inhibition to methanogenic activity occurred after 87 days operation accompanied with an accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and a decline in pH. The decrease of added ROX concentration to 13.2 mg·L^–1 did not mediate the inhibition. As(III), As (V), MMA(V), DMA(V), HAPA and an unknown arsenic compound were detected in the reactor, and a possible biotransformation pathway of ROX was proposed. Mass balance analysis of arsenic indicated that 60%–70% of the arsenic was discharged into the effluent, and 30%–40% was precipitated in the reactor. The results from this study suggest that we need to pay attention to the stability in the UASB reactors treating organoarsenic-contaminated manure and wastewater, and the effluent and sludge from the reactor to avoid diffusion of arsenic contamination.

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氯霉素生产废水处理中UASB的两种启动方式比较

Ｕ Ａ Ｓ Ｂ 反应器两种启动方式的比较研究结果表明，采用混合废水和氯霉素废水启动均能达到预期的目的；但采用混合废水启动可缩短２３ ％ 的时间．生产中选用何种启动方式应而地制宜     

Feasibility assessment of up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket treatment of sulfamethoxazole pharmaceutical wastewater

The UASB system successfully treated sulfamethoxazole pharmaceutical wastewater. High concentration sulfate of this wastewater was the main refractory factor. UASB recovery performance after a few days of inflow arrest was studied. The optimal UASB operating conditions for practical application were determined. Treatment of sulfamethoxazole pharmaceutical wastewater is a big challenge. In this study, a series of anaerobic evaluation tests on pharmaceutical wastewater from different operating units was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using anaerobic digestion, and the results indicated that the key refractory factor for anaerobic treatment of this wastewater was the high sulfate concentration. A laboratory-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was operated for 195 days to investigate the effects of the influent chemical oxygen demand (COD), organic loading rate (OLR), and COD/SO₄^2? ratio on the biodegradation of sulfamethoxazole in pharmaceutical wastewater and the process performance. The electron flow indicated that methanogenesis was still the dominant reaction although sulfidogenesis was enhanced with a stepwise decrease in the influent COD/SO₄^2? ratio. For the treated sulfamethoxazole pharmaceutical wastewater, a COD of 4983 mg/L (diluted by 50%), OLR of 2.5 kg COD/(m³·d), and COD/SO₄^2? ratio of more than 5 were suitable for practical applications. The recovery performance indicated that the system could resume operation quickly even if production was halted for a few days.     

Microbial community dynamics at high organic loading rates revealed by pyrosequencing during sugar refinery wastewater treatment in a UASB reactor

High strength sugar refinery wastewater was treated in a mesophilic UASB. Pyrosequencing reveals microbial community succession with OLR increase. Diversity of microbial communities in OLR12 is much higher than those in OLR36 and OLR54.0 kgCOD/(kg VSS·d). Fermentative bacteria could deal with increasing OLR through the increase of microbial diversity and quantity. Hydrogen-producing acotogens and methanogens mainly coped with high OLR shocks by increasing the quantity of community The performance and microbial community structure in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) treating sugar refinery wastewater were investigated. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal reached above 92.0% at organic loading rates (OLRs) of 12.0–54.0 kgCOD/(m³·d). The volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in effluent were increased to 451.1 mg/L from 147.9 mg/L and the specific methane production rate improved by 1.2–2.2-fold as the OLR increased. The evolution of microbial communities in anaerobic sludge at three different OLRs was investigated using pyrosequencing. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at a 3% distance were 353, 337 and 233 for OLR12, OLR36 and OLR54, respectively. When the OLR was increased to 54.0 kgCOD /(m³·d) from 12.0 kgCOD/(m³·d) by stepwise, the microbial community structure were changed significantly. Five genera (Bacteroides, Trichococcus, Chryseobacterium, Longilinea and Aerococcus) were the dominant fermentative bacteria at the OLR 12.0 kgCOD/(m³·d). However, the sample of OLR36 was dominated by Lactococcus, Trichococcus, Anaeroarcus and Veillonella. At the last stage (OLR= 54.0 kgCOD/(m³·d)), the diversity and percentage of fermentative bacteria were markedly increased. Apart from fermentative bacteria, an obvious shift was observed in hydrogen-producing acetogens and non-acetotrophic methanogens as OLR increased. Syntrophobacter, Geobacter and Methanomethylovorans were the dominant hydrogen-producing acetogens and methylotrophic methanogens in the samples of OLR12 and OLR36. When the OLR was increased to 54.0 kgCOD/(m³·d), the main hydrogen-producing acetogens and hydrogenotrophic methanogens were substituted with Desulfovibrio and Methanospirillum. However, the composition of acetotrophic methanogens (Methanosaeta) was relatively stable during the whole operation period of the UASB reactor.     

Deciphering the effect of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate on up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket treatment of synthetic sulfate-containing wastewater

• UASB reactor can work efficiently with high COD/SO₄^2- ratios when SDBS exists. • Outcome of the competition between SRB and MPA was affected by SDBS. • Presence of SDBS makes methanogens with H₂/CO₂ as a substrate dominant. • Microbial diversity decreases in the presence of SDBS. In this study, the effects of organic sulfur on anaerobic biological processes were investigated by operating two up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors with sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) as a representative of organic sulfur. The results indicated that the specific methanogenic activity (SMA) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of R2 (with SDBS added) were higher than those of R1 (without SDBS) when the COD/SO₄²⁻ ratio was above 5.0. However, when the COD/SO₄²⁻ ratio was lower than 5.0, the sulfate reduction efficiency of R2 was higher than that of R1. These results and the observed SDBS transformation efficiency in anaerobic reactors indicate that low concentrations of SDBS accelerate methane production and the continuous accumulation of SDBS does not weaken the reduction of sulfate. Similarly, the calculated electron flux for a COD/SO₄²⁻ ratio of 1.0 indicates that the utilization intensity of electrons by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in R2 was 36.48% higher than that of SRB in R1 and exceeded that of methane-producing archaea (MPA) under identical working conditions. Moreover, the addition of SDBS in R2 made sulfidogenesis the dominant reaction at low COD/SO₄²⁻, and Methanobacterium and Methanobrevibacter with H₂/CO₂ as the substrate and Desulfomicrobium were the dominant MPA and SRB, respectively. However, methanogenesis was still the dominant reaction in R1, and Methanosaeta with acetic acid as the substrate and Desulfovibrio were the dominant MPA and SRB, respectively.     

Structure and formation of anoxic granular sludge—A string-bag hypothesis

Anoxic granular sludge was developed in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor which was fed with sodium acetate and sodium nitrate as electron donor and accepter. The sludge in the reactor was almost granulated after approximately 90 days of cultivation. In the present study, a detailed examination of surface morphology and internal structure of anoxic granular sludge was conducted using scanning electron microscope. It showed that the bacteria inside the granules had a uniform, coccus-like shape. By contrast, filamentous bacteria were predominant outside the granules. These bacteria were woven and had wrapped the coccus bacteria together to form granules. The small amounts of DO in the liquid bulk promoted the growth of filamentous bacteria on the surface of the granules. A string-bag hypothesis was proposed to elucidate the structure and formation of the anoxic granular sludge. It suggested that micro-aeration could be a method to promote granulation in practical anoxic treatment systems.     

利用厌氧颗粒污泥处理氯代有毒有机物

用能进行还原脱氯的微生物富集物接种，在小型试验装置内成功地培养出了具有还原脱氯功能的颗粒污泥。五氯苯酚能被这种颗粒污染完全脱氯并进一步分解为甲烷和二氧化碳。四氯乙烯和其他氯代乙烯能被颗粒污还原脱氯为乙烯。这种脱氯的颗粒污泥可用来处理含有五氯苯酚和氯乙烯类的废水和地下水。