A new process to improve short-chain fatty acids and bio-methane generation from waste activated sludge

As an important intermediate product, short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs) can be generated after hydrolysis and acidification from waste activated sludge, and then can be transformed to methane during anaerobic digestion process. In order to obtain more SCFA and methane,most studies in literatures were centered on enhancing the hydrolysis of sludge anaerobic digestion which was proved as un-efficient. Though the alkaline pretreatment in our previous study increased both the hydrolysis and acidification processes, it had a vast chemical cost which was considered uneconomical. In this paper, a low energy consumption pretreatment method, i.e. enhanced the whole three stages of the anaerobic fermentation processes at the same time, was reported, by which hydrolysis and acidification were both enhanced, and the SCFA and methane generation can be significantly improved with a small quantity of chemical input. Firstly, the effect of different pretreated temperatures and pretreatment time on sludge hydrolyzation was compared. It was found that sludge pretreated at 100°C for 60 min can achieve the maximal hydrolyzation. Further, effects of different initial p Hs on acidification of the thermal pretreated sludge were investigated and the highest SCFA was observed at initial p H 9.0with fermentation time of 6 d, the production of which was 348.63 mg COD/g VSS(6.8 times higher than the blank test) and the acetic acid was dominant acid. Then, the mechanisms for this new pretreatment significantly improving SCFA production were discussed. Finally,the effect of this low energy consumption pretreatment on methane generation was investigated.     

Microbial bioavailability of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in the sediments of Lake Shankou, Northeastern China

Dissolved organic nitrogen(DON)extracted from Lake Shankou sediments using KCl was isolated into hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions.The bioavailabilities of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions to three types of bacterial communities collected from sediments,activated sludge and compost products were examined.The DON recoveries obtained by DAX-8 and cation exchange resins treatment were 96.17% ± 1.58% and 98.14% ±0% for the samples obtained from N4 and N14 stations,respectively.After 25 days of incubation at 25°C,most DON(59% to 96%)was degraded.Hydrophilic DON exhibited a higher reduction rate than hydrophobic DON during the growth phase.Untreated wastewater from Changshuihe town was the main degradable DON source to station N4,and 93% of hydrophilic DON and 80% of hydrophobic DON were degraded.Station N14 received a large amount of refractory DON from forest soils and exhibited DON degradation rates of 82% and 71% for the hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions,respectively.Amino acid contents and fluorescence intensities were also analyzed.Approximately 27% to 74% of amino acids were taken up by day 5,and their concentration gradually increased in the following days due to the decomposition of dissolved proteins.Parallel factor analysis resulted in identification of tryptophan-like proteins,tyrosine-like proteins and FA-like substances.During the growth phase,40%–51% of the tryptophan-like proteins were taken up by bacteria,and the accumulation of tyrosine-like proteins was attributed to the release of biotic substances.The concentration of the FA-like substances decreased due to microbial decomposition.     

聚糖原菌富集实验及其内源过程探究

细胞衰减是微生物内源过程的一个重要组成部分,可分为由细胞死亡引起的数量衰减和由细胞活性降低引起的活性衰减两部分.通过挥发性脂肪酸（VFA）吸收速率(VFAUR)测定、荧光原位杂交技术（FISH）以及LIVE/DEAD细胞染色技术,研究了富集聚糖原菌（GAOs）在序批式反应器（SBR）系统中好氧环境下的衰减特征.结果表明,当T=30℃、进料中m(COD)∶m(P)=100时,SBR系统中GAOs富集比例达94%.测定和计算表明,SBR富集系统中GAOs衰减速率和死亡速率分别为0.132 d^-1和0.034 d^-1,其数量衰减和活性衰减占其细胞总衰减比例分别为26%和74%.可见,GAOs数量衰减只占其细胞总衰减中很小一部分,而绝大部分衰减由活性衰减所引起.     

Inhibition character of crotonaldehyde manufacture wastewater on biological acidification

• The inhibition of the main organic pollutions in CMW was demonstrated. • Variations of AK and BK showed a high correlation with the SAA of Ac and n-Bu. • The inhibitory degree was in the order of Ac>n-Bu for individual toxicants. • Biodegradation products of the main toxicants were analyzed. This work aims to investigate the inhibitory effect of crotonaldehyde manufacture wastewater (CMW) on biological acidification. To reveal the inhibitory effect of wastewater to the anaerobic granular sludge (AnGS), variations of the specific acidogenic activity (SAA) and activities of key enzymes were investigated. The results indicated that the dosage of CMW causing a 50% effect concentration (EC₅₀) on the activity of total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) production was 380 mg COD/g VSS. The inhibitory effect of individual toxicants in CMW on the activity of TVFA production were in the order of crotonaldehyde>ethyl sorbate>(E,E)-2,4-hexadienal, and their inhibitory degrees on individual VFA products were acetic acid (Ac)>n-butyric acid (n-Bu), which could correspond to the variations in the activities of acetate kinase (AK) and butyrate kinase (BK). Furthermore, the combined effect of three toxicants on the activity of TVFA production was significantly higher than that of any individual toxicant, and the contribution of the relative toxicity to CMW was 77.27%. Additionally, the biodegradation products of the main toxicants indicated that the removal of crotonaldehyde and (E,E)-2,4-hexadienal was primarily due to the hydrogenation of alkene and aldehyde and the oxidation of aldehyde. Nevertheless, the removal of ethyl sorbate was primarily based on adsorption. In conclusion, biological acidification has a limited ability to treatment CMW, therefore, a further pretreatment technology should be used to remove the main toxicant of wastewater.     

高铁酸钾氧化去除弱碱性地下水中低浓度石油类污染物实验研究

研究一般地下水弱碱性水溶液中,高铁酸钾对低浓度石油烃类污染物的氧化去除率。采用0#柴油模拟石油类污染物试验水样,氧化反应在200mL烧杯中模拟完全混合状态完成。实验分析浓度分别为5.02mg/L、2.05mg/L、1.01mg/L和0.52mg/L 4个水样石油类污染物氧化去除率。实验研究显示,石油类污染浓度与高铁酸钾浓度分别按1∶1、1∶2和1∶3投加进行配比,最大氧化去除率97.51%,平均氧化去除率89.46%,氧化反应结束时间为25T。采用乙酸等效计算的导致溶液p H降低小分子有机酸累积量较小;在高铁酸钾过量条件下,石油类污染物氧化反应近似为一级反应。     

四海龙湾表层沉积物中有机质的组成特征及其源解析

为研究玛珥湖四海龙湾表层沉积物中有机质的组成特征及来源,采集四海龙湾表层沉积物样品,并对其中的有机质进行了分析. 结果表明,四海龙湾表层沉积物中w(TOC)(TOC为总有机碳)为6.7%、w(TN)为0.6%、δ13C_org(TOC同位素丰度)为-28.0‰、δ15N_total(TN同位素丰度)为2.2‰. 可溶性有机质主要包括脂肪烃、脂肪醇、脂肪酸和GDGTs(甘油二烷基甘油四醚脂)等,其中脂肪酸是可溶性有机质的主要组分,约占可溶性有机质总量的68.8%,主要来源于内源性的藻类和厌氧菌; 脂肪烃主要来源于陆源的C3木本植物;结合态脂肪醇具有明显的内源来源特征,而游离态脂肪醇却呈现陆源来源特征. 四海龙湾沉积物中含有丰富的GDGTs,主要来源于陆源土壤,包括支链类GDGTs和类异戊二烯类GDGTs,其中类异戊二烯类GDGTs以GDGTⅣ和GDGTⅤ为主,但其在四海龙湾沉积物中的含量相对较小. 研究显示,四海龙湾流域陆源是沉积物中可溶性有机质的主要来源,陆源有机质的大量流入改变了四海龙湾的营养水平;不同种类可溶性有机质表现出不同的来源特征,这主要是由于微生物对不同种类有机质降解速率的不同所致,并且导致降解所产生的二次有机质数量也不同.      

Role of water chemistry on estrone removal by nanofiltration with the presence of hydrophobic acids

Hydrophobic acid organic matter (HpoA) extracted from treated effluent has been known to improve the rejection of steroid hormone estrone by reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes. In this study, the effects of solution chemistry (solution pH and ionic strength) on the estrone rejection by NF membrane with the presence of HpoA were systematically investigated. Crossflow nanofiltration experiments show that the presence of HpoA significantly improved estrone rejection at all pH and ionic strength levels investigated. It is consistently shown that the “enhancement effect” of HpoA on estrone rejection at neutral and alkaline pH is attributed to the binding of estrone by HpoA macromolecules via hydrogen bonding between phenolic functional groups in feed solutions, which leads to an increase in molecular weight and appearance of negative charge. The membrane exhibited the best performance in terms of estrone rejection at pH 10.4 (compared to pH 4 and pH 7) as a result of strengthening the electrostatic repulsion between estrone and membrane with the presence of HpoA. At neutral pH level, the ability of HpoA macromolecules to promote estrone rejection became stronger with increasing ionic strength due to their more extended conformation, which created more chances for the association between estrone and HpoA. The important conclusion of this study is that increasing solution pH and salinity can greatly intensify the “enhancement effect” of HpoA. These results can be important for NF application in direct/indirect potable water reuse.     

Effect of metal ion-doping on characteristics and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotubes for removal of humic acid from water

The effect of ion-doping on TiO₂ nanotubes were investigated to obtain the optimal TiO₂ nanotubes for the effective decomposition of humic acids (HA) through O₃/UV/ion-doped TiO₂ process. The experimental results show that changing the calcination temperature, which changed the weight fractions of the anatase phase, the average crystallite sizes, the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, and the energy band gap of the catalyst, affected the photocatalytic activity of the catalyst. The ionic radius, valence state, and configuration of the dopant also affected the photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activities of the catalysts on HA removal increased when Ag⁺, Al³⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, V⁵⁺, and Zn²⁺ were doped into the TiO₂ nanotubes, whereas such activities decreased as a result of Mn²⁺- and Ni²⁺-doping. In the presence of 1.0 at.% Fe³⁺-doped TiO₂ nanotubes calcined at 550°C, the removal efficiency of HA was 80% with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 0.158 min⁻¹. Fe³⁺ in TiO₂ could increase the generation of ·OH, which could remove HA. However, Fe³⁺ in water cannot function as a shallow trapping site for electrons or holes.     

高温碱间歇式处理对互花米草厌氧发酵特性的影响

以互花米草为原料,采用中温(35±1)℃批式发酵的方式,考察了NaOH高温碱间歇式处理对互花米草厌氧消化过程的影响.结果表明,互花米草一次发酵至产气停止,单位TS产气量为263mL/g,发酵过程中出现酸化现象, pH值最低为5.17.二次发酵原料为一次发酵后的固体残余物,主要组分为可分解有机物以及一些难分解有机物,过程中未出现酸化现象, pH值经短暂下降后很快稳定在7.5左右,累积产气量在一次发酵的基础上提高了46%.互花米草单位TS产气量为383mL/g.消化液中有机酸乙酸含量最大,丙酸和丁酸含量相当.     

Co-fermentation of waste activated sludge with food waste for short-chain fatty acids production: effect of pH at ambient temperature

Effect of pH ranging from 4.0 to 11.0 on co-fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS) with food waste for short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production at ambient temperature was investigated in this study. Experimental results showed that the addition of food waste significantly improved the performance of WAS fermentation system, which resulted in the increases of SCFAs production and substrate reduction. The SCFAs production at pH 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0 and fermentation time of 4 d was respectively 5022.7, 6540.5, 8236.6, and 7911.7 mg COD·L^-1, whereas in the blank tests (no pH adjustment, pH 8.0 (blank test 1), no food waste addition, pH 8.0 (blank test 2), and no WAS addition (blank test 3)) it was only 1006.9, 971.1, and 1468.5 mg COD·L^-1, respectively. The composition of SCFAs at pH from 6.0 to 9.0 was also different from other conditions and propionic acid was the most prevalent SCFA, which was followed by acetic and n-butyric acids, while acetic acid was the top product under other conditions. At pH 8.0 a higher volatile suspended solids (VSS) reduction of 16.6% for the mixture of WAS and food waste than the sole WAS indicated a synergistic effect existing in fermentation system with WAS and food waste. The influence of pH on the variations of nutrient content was also studied during anaerobic fermentation of the mixture of WAS and food waste at different pH conditions. The release of NH4+-N increased with fermentation time at all pH values investigated except 4.0, 5.0 and in blank test one. The concentrations of soluble phosphorus at acidic pHs and in the blank test one were higher than those obtained at alkaline pHs. Ammonia and phosphorus need to be removed before the SCFAs-enriched fermentation liquid from WAS and food waste was used as the carbon source.