Oxygen demand for the stabilization of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste in passively aerated bioreactors

Conventional aerobic waste treatment technologies require the use of aeration devices that actively transport air through the stabilized waste mass, which greatly increases operating costs. In addition, improperly operated active aeration systems, may have the adverse effect of cooling the stabilized biomass. Because active aeration can be a limiting factor for the stabilization process, passive aeration can be equally effective and less expensive. Unfortunately, there are few reports documenting the use of passive aeration systems in municipal waste stabilization. There have been doubts raised as to whether a passive aeration system provides enough oxygen to the organic matter mineralization processes. In this paper, the effectiveness of aeration during aerobic stabilization of four different organic fractions of municipal waste in a reactor with an integrated passive ventilation system and leachate recirculation was analyzed. For the study, four fractions separated by a rotary screen were chosen. Despite the high temperatures in the reactor, the air flow rate was below 0.016 m³/h. Using Darcy’s equation, theoretical values of the air flow rate were estimated, depending on the intensity of microbial metabolism and the amount of oxygen required for the oxidation of organic compounds. Calculations showed that the volume of supplied air exceeded the microorganisms demand for oxidation and endogenous activity by 1.7–2.88-fold.     

Enhanced struvite recovery from wastewater using a novel cone-inserted fluidized bed reactor

The feasibility of struvite recovery at low （12.5 mg/L） and high （120 mg[L） phosphorus concentrations was studied by constructing a novel fluidized bed reactor with cones （FBRwc） and without cones （FBRwoc）. The crystallization process was continuously operated for 133 days under different hydraulic retention times （HRT = 1-10 hr）, pH （7.5-10）, and molar ratios of Mg/P （0.75-1.75）, N/P （1-10） and Ca/Mg （0-2）. The optimum operating conditions of HRT, pH, Mg/P and N/P molar ratios were found to be 2 hr, 9, 1.25, and 7.5, respectively. Under these optimum conditions, the phosphorus precipitation efficiencies of FBRwc were 93% for low and 98% for high phosphorus influent; however, the efficiencies were 78% and 81% for FBRwoc, respectively. Due to crystal losses at each junction （17%-31%）, the crystal recovery efficiency of FBRwoc was relatively low （47%-65%） for both influent concentrations. However, the losses were minimal in FBRwc, which showed 75% and 92% crystal recovery for low and high phosphorus concentrations, respectively. At low calcium concentration, crystal chemical analysis showed the product to be pure struvite （〉 99%）. The scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction results further confirmed that the crystal recovered from FBRwc contained pure struvite, which could be considered a high quality fertilizer. Except HRT, all parameters （pH, Mg/P, N/P and Ca/Mg） were found to be influencing factors for FBRwc performance. Overall, inserting cones in each part of the reactor played a significant role in enhancing struvite recovery from a wide range of phosphorus-containing wastewater.     

The first Neanderthal tooth found North of the Carpathian Mountains

An upper second permanent molar from a human was found alongside numerous tools of the Micoquian tradition and was excavated in Stajnia Cave, which is located over 100 km North of the Carpathian Mountains in southern Poland. The age of these finds has been established within a time-span of late Saalian to early Weichselian, most likely to OIS 5c or 5a, according to the palaeontological, geological, archaeological and absolute dating of the layer from which they were obtained. An examination of the morphology of the human molar indicates that this tooth exhibits many traits frequently occurring in Neanderthal upper molars. Although the occurrence of derived Neanderthal traits in the Stajnia molar cannot be firmly established because of degradation of its cusps, the presence of the above-mentioned features allows the assertion that this tooth belonged to a Neanderthal. The age of the Stajnia tooth and the archaeological context of this find also indicate that this molar is of Neanderthal origin.     

A comparison of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of sludges from a complete-mix activated sludge reactor and a submerged membrane bioreactor.

The properties of sludges from a pilot-scale submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) and two bench-scale complete-mix, activated sludge (CMAS) reactors treating municipal primary effluent were determined. Compared with the CMAS sludges, the SMBR sludge contained a higher amount of soluble microbial products (SMP) and colloidal material attributed to the use of a membrane for solid-liquid separation; a higher amount nocardioform bacteria, resulting from efficient foam trapping; and a lower amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), possibly because there was no selective pressure for the sludge to settle. High aeration rates in both the CMAS and SMBR reactors produced sludges with higher numbers of smaller particles. Normalized capillary suction time values for the SMBR sludge were lower than for the CMAS sludges, possibly because of its lower EPS content.     

活性污泥胞外聚合物提取方法优化

试验对比了不同离子交换树脂(CER)含量和pH条件下胞外聚合物(EPS)的提取效果差异。结果表明,EPS各组分提取浓度均随离子交换树脂用量增加而增加,但各组分趋势不同。TOC的最佳树脂剂量为100 g CER/g VSS,而蛋白质、多糖和DNA的最佳树脂剂量约为70 g CER/g VSS。pH值对TOC、DNA和多糖的提取浓度影响较小,但对蛋白质影响比较大。各提取条件下,EPS各组分提取浓度随时间的变化过程可以分为平稳增长期、快速增长期及稳定期。     

Remediation capacity of Cd and Pb ions by mycelia of Imleria badia,Laetiporus sulphureus,and Agaricus bisporus in vitro cultures

The goal of this study was to evaluate cadmium and lead accumulation ability of in vitro cultures biomass containing selected edible mushroom species derived from the environment (Laetiporus sulphureus, Imleria badia) and those of commercial origin (Agaricus bisporus). Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to evaluate the content of Cd(II) and Pb(II) on the medium supplemented with Cd(II) or Pb(II), each of them at the same concentration of 5·10^?5 M. The highest concentration of Cd(II) ions was determined in the biomass from L. sulphureus in vitro cultures, while the highest concentration of Pb(II) ions was found in the biomass from A. bisporus in vitro cultures. The greatest Cd(II) and Pb(II) accumulation ability in mycelium per dry weight was shown for L. sulphureus. Among the test species, biomass of A. bisporus showed the lowest ability for the bioaccumulation of Cd(II); however, comparable ability for the remediation of Pb(II) was provided by the biomasses from A. bisporus and I. badia in vitro cultures. The results confirm the possibility of using these mushroom species for remediation and indicate the relationship between bioaccumulation of heavy metals and the test species.     

Accumulation of nutrients in soils affected by perennial colonies of piscivorous birds with reference to biogeochemical cycles of elements

The accumulation of selected N, K, and P forms in soils within three perennial colonies of black cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) and grey heron (Ardea cinerea) located in northern and eastern Poland were investigated. Soil samples were collected beneath the nests from the most representative for each colony plots. Control samples were taken outside the colonies within sites adjacent to the nesting areas but not affected by bird excrement. From each genetic horizon (20 horizons) in soil profiles, a cumulative sample of about 25-30 kg of soil was taken for analysis. Nitrogen by Kjeldahl, ammonium ions (N(NH(4))), nitrates (N(NO(3))), exchangeable potassium (K(ex)), available potassium (K(av)), and available phosphorus (P(av)) were determined. The soils affected by birds demonstrated a very strong enrichment with N, K, and P in comparison to the control sites, especially in the topsoil horizons. The content of N(NH(4)) in individual soil horizons from the colonies was from 1.7 to 10.1 times higher than the respective control, N(NO(3)) from 2.9 to 215.7, K(ex) from 2.0 to 35.1, K(av) from 1.1 to 48.1, and P(av) in the range from 2.4 to 53.0 times. The highest increment of chemical elements was noticeable in the soils of territories inhabited by cormorants and the least in forest occupied by herons. Some relationships between soil texture and accumulation of biogenic nutrients were determined. Clay loam soil showed the greatest enrichment with analysed forms of elements with the exception of N(NH(4)).     

高密度微阵列基因芯片技术在微生物分子生态学研究中的运用

应用基于16S rDNA 的高密度微阵列基因芯片(Microarray)技术对膜生物反应器内的微生物多样性进行研究.结果表明,膜生物反应器具有较高的微生物多样性,Microarray共检测到1 019种微生物.Proteobacteria是其中的优势种,共含有657种微生物,占总种群数量的64.5%左右.gamma Proteobacteria是Proteobacteria中的优势种,占35.8%左右,但相对含量一般并不高.beta Proteobacteria虽然种群数量稍少,但其在荧光强度最高的前25种和50种微生物中比重最大,分别占40%和36%左右.通过比较微生物的相对荧光强度,发现Clostridia是系统中的优势微生物种属.一些常见的硝化细菌如Nitrosomonadaceae、Nitrospiraceae等也具有较高的含量.Microarray作为一种实时、高效、准确的分子生物学手段,可应用于废水处理中的微生物多样性研究.     

Specific resistance to filtration of biomass from membrane bioreactor reactor and activated sludge: effects of exocellular polymeric substances and dispersed microorganisms.

This study investigates the effect of dispersed microorganisms and exocellular polymeric substances on biomass dewaterability. Specific resistance to filtration (SRF) was measured for biomass from a membrane bioreactor and a completely mixed activated sludge system. Both laboratory-scale reactors were fed with synthetic wastewater and operated at a high food-to-microorganism ratio (F/M) (1 to 11 kilograms chemical oxygen demand per kilogram mixed liquor volatile suspended solids per day [kgCOD/(kg MLVSS.d)]) and short solids retention times (0.25 to 5 d). The SRF values were affected by strong interactions of three parameters: (1) the mixed liquor suspended solids concentration, (2) the amount of dispersed microorganisms, and (3) the exocellular polymeric substances (EPS) concentration. At F/M smaller than 2 kg COD/(kg MLSS.d) and mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration higher than 2000 mg/L, increasing amount of dispersed microorganisms in the biomass yielded higher SRF values. However, at high F/M (> 5 kg COD/kg MLSS.d) and low MLSS concentrations (< 600 mg/L), lower EPS concentrations resulted in slightly smaller SRF values, even though the amount of dispersed microorganisms in the biomass was much higher. Thus, at low MLSS concentrations, EPS concentrations rather than the amount of dispersed microorganisms tend to control SRF.     

Sustainability in water resources management: changes in meaning and perception

The meaning of sustainability in water resources management has changed through the time. Initially, meeting water demand was the dominant concern. While later quality issues became more important followed by wider water reuse, today sustainability must include a whole range of aspects (e.g., energy, pollution, persistent chemicals) on various spatial and time scales. New approaches to define sustainability metrics are needed that include three essential elements: the sphere of sustainability, its time horizon and its metric.