Insights on the solubilization products after combined alkaline and ultrasonic pre-treatment of sewage sludge

This work provides insights on the solubilization products after a simultaneous combination of alkaline and ultrasonic (ALK + ULS) pre-treatment of sewage sludge. Soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) increased from 1200 to 11,000 mg/L after such treatment. Organics with molecular weight around 5.6 kDa were solubilized because of the synergistic effect of ultrasound and alkali. Organics with molecular weight larger than 300 kDa increased from 7.8% to 60%, 16% and 42.3% after ULS, ALK and ALK + ULS treatment, respectively. Excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy analysis identified soluble microbial product-like and humic acid-like matters as the main solubilization products. Sludge anaerobic biodegradability was significantly enhanced with the simultaneous application of ALK + ULS pre-treatment. ALK + ULS pre-treatment resulted in 37.8% biodegradability increase compared to the untreated sludge. This value was higher compared to the biodegradability increase induced by individual ALK pre-treatment (5.7%) or individual ULS pre-treatment (20.7%) under the same conditions applied.     

污泥与秸秆共基质中温两相厌氧消化特性

以污泥和秸秆为共基质,以沼气产量、ρ（VFA）（VFA为挥发性脂肪酸）和COD_Cr去除率等为指标,探究污泥与秸秆配比（以COD_Cr计,质量比分别为1:0、1:1、2:1、3:1）对中温两相厌氧消化工艺运行效能的影响,以及最佳配比时SRT（污泥停留时间）对产甲烷相厌氧消化稳态特性的影响.结果表明:与污泥试验组相比,添加秸秆试验组的厌氧消化效能均较好;污泥与秸秆的最佳配比为2:1,该稳定状态下产酸相COD_Cr的去除率最高,为17.5%,ρ（VFA）为752 mg/L;产甲烷相COD_Cr的去除率为33.5%,ρ（VFA）为250 mg/L,产气量为47.7 mL/d,总体运行效能较高.在最佳污泥与秸秆配比（2:1）并设定产甲烷相反应器的SRT为20 d时,稳定状态下产甲烷相各组分的变化情况:COD_Cr去除率为41.20%,ρ（VFA）为238 mg/L,产气量为51.3 mL/d,沼气产率为8.4 mL/（d·g）.研究显示,当控制污泥与秸秆配比为2:1、SRT为20 d时,中温两相厌氧消化工艺运行效果良好.      

Insights on the solubilization products after combined alkaline and ultrasonic pre-treatment of sewage sludge

This work provides insights on the solubilization products after a simultaneous combination of alkaline and ultrasonic (ALK + ULS) pre-treatment of sewage sludge. Soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) increased from 1200 to 11,000 mg/L after such treatment. Organics with molecular weight around 5.6 kDa were solubilized because of the synergistic effect of ultrasound and alkali. Organics with molecular weight larger than 300 kDa increased from 7.8% to 60%, 16% and 42.3% after ULS, ALK and ALK + ULS treatment, respectively. Excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy analysis identified soluble microbial product-like and humic acid-like matters as the main solubilization products. Sludge anaerobic biodegradability was significantly enhanced with the simultaneous application of ALK + ULS pre-treatment. ALK + ULS pre-treatment resulted in 37.8% biodegradability increase compared to the untreated sludge. This value was higher compared to the biodegradability increase induced by individual ALK pre-treatment (5.7%) or individual ULS pre-treatment (20.7%) under the same conditions applied.     

Effect of nitrite on hydrolysis-acidification, biogas production and microbial community in semi-continuous two-phase anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge

Previous study found that the pre-treatment of sewage sludge with nitrite improves the biogas production during the mono/two-phase anaerobic digestion (AD) using batch biochemical methane potential tests. In this study, the effects of nitrite on hydrolysis-acidification, biogas production, volatile solids destruction and microbial composition in semi-continuous two-phase AD of sewage sludge were investigated. The addition of nitrite promotes sludge organic matter solubilization (+484%) and VFAs production (+98.9%), and causes an increase in the VS degradation rate during the AD process (+8.7%). The comparison of biogas production from the acidogenic and methanogenic reactors with or without the addition of nitrite implies that the nitrite has no significant effect on the overall biogas production of two-phase sludge AD process. High-throughput sequencing analysis shows that the microbial communities of bacteria and archaea in two-phase AD reactors significantly changes after the addition of nitrite. Vulcanibacillus (bacteria) and Candidatus Methanofastidiosum (archaea) become the dominant genera in the acidogenic and methanogenic reactors with the nitrite respectively. These findings provide new insights about using nitrite to promote the organic matter degradation of sewage sludge in a semi-continuous two-phase AD system.     

黄花和脱水污泥厌氧消化的温室气体减排研究

采用联合国政府间气候委员会(IPCC)推荐的方法,对植物加拿大一枝黄花和污泥生物质厌氧消化产沼气的环境和能量影响进行了评估.环境影响评估重点关注温室气体(GHG)减排,将加拿大一枝黄花和脱水污泥的中温小试厌氧消化的甲烷产率数据运用于GHG减排潜质的计算;能量评估包括污泥贮存及传播、消化液的沼气逃逸,及化学肥料和化学药剂的投加几个过程中的直接和间接的能量输入.结果表明,一枝黄花和脱水污泥联合厌氧消化净GHG排放量随着SRT的缩短和黄花添加比例的增加而逐渐下降,在二者以挥发性固体(VS)比例1:1混合,停留时间为20d时的能量效率较高,GHG减排量较大,与基础方案相比,添加黄花可以实现78%的净GHG减排.     

Effects of sludge retention time, carbon and initial biomass concentrations on selection process: From activated sludge to polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulating cultures

Four sequence batch reactors (SBRs) fed by fermented sugar cane wastewater were continuously operated under the aerobic dynamic feeding (ADF) mode with different configurations of sludge retention time (SRT), carbon and initial biomass concentrations to enrich polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulating mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) from municipal activated sludge. The stability of SBRs was investigated besides the enrichment performance. The microbial community structures of the enriched MMCs were analyzed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). The optimum operating conditions for the enrichment process were: SRT of 5 days, carbon concentration of 2.52 g COD/L and initial biomass concentration of 3.65 g/L. The best enrichment performance in terms of both operating stability and PHA storage ability of enriched cultures (with the maximum PHA content and PHA storage yield (Y_PHA/S) of 61.26% and 0.68 mg COD/mg COD, respectively) was achieved under this condition. Effects of the SRT, carbon concentration and initial biomass concentration on the PHA accumulating MMCs selection process were discussed respectively. A new model including the segmentation of the enrichment process and the effects of SRT on each phase was proposed.     

Insights on the solubilization products after combined alkaline and ultrasonic pre-treatment of sewage sludge

This work provides insights on the solubilization products after a simultaneous combination of alkaline and ultrasonic(ALK + ULS) pre-treatment of sewage sludge.Soluble chemical oxygen demand(SCOD) increased from 1200 to 11,000 mg/L after such treatment. Organics with molecular weight around 5.6 k Da were solubilized because of the synergistic effect of ultrasound and alkali. Organics with molecular weight larger than300 k Da increased from 7.8% to 60%, 16% and 42.3% after ULS, ALK and ALK + ULS treatment, respectively. Excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy analysis identified soluble microbial product-like and humic acid-like matters as the main solubilization products. Sludge anaerobic biodegradability was significantly enhanced with the simultaneous application of ALK + ULS pre-treatment. ALK + ULS pre-treatment resulted in 37.8% biodegradability increase compared to the untreated sludge. This value was higher compared to the biodegradability increase induced by individual ALK pre-treatment(5.7%) or individual ULS pre-treatment(20.7%) under the same conditions applied.     

活性污泥及其与秸秆共基质的厌氧消化特性

为分析秸秆对污泥厌氧消化特性的影响,在中温[（35±1）℃]条件下,研究了活性污泥单基质及其与秸秆共基质在SRT（固体停留时间）分别为10和15 d,以及C/N（质量比）分别为5.5:1、10.0:1的情况下,厌氧消化产沼气量及其组分、ρ（NH₄+-N）、ρ（TP）、ρ（COD_Cr）及ρ（VFA）[以ρ（乙酸）计,其中VFA为挥发性短链脂肪酸]的变化特性.结果表明:活性污泥-秸秆共基质厌氧消化在SRT为10、15 d时,累积沼气产量为5 818.0、9 026.0 mL,比活性污泥单基质的沼气产量（4 930.0、7 760.0 mL）分别提高了15.3%、14.0%;共基质所产沼气中φ（CH₄）最高为69.3%,比活性污泥单基质高出15.4%.此外,在SRT为10和15 d时,活性污泥-秸秆共基质厌氧消化COD_Cr去除率分别为25.0%和28.0%,优于单基质的10.2%和13.1%;共基质平均ρ（NH₄+-N）分别为278.5和254.9 mg/L,单基质平均ρ（NH₄+-N）分别为215.6和213.5 mg/L;活性污泥-秸秆共基质平均ρ（TP）分别为168.6和175.9 mg/L,高于活性污泥单基质的129.2和152.2 mg/L.共基质有利于厌氧消化液中有机物的提高,从而增加ρ（VFA）、提高甲烷产量.研究显示,共基质可优化厌氧消化底物的C/N,促进厌氧消化反应,提高产气量.      

蒸汽爆破对污泥和餐厨垃圾联合厌氧消化的促进效果

鉴于蒸汽爆破（简称"汽爆"）预处理对污泥和餐厨垃圾联合厌氧消化的影响还鲜有报道,为探讨汽爆预处理对污泥和餐厨垃圾联合中温厌氧消化的促进效果及经济可行性,利用小型发酵罐在35℃下开展了未预处理污泥和餐厨垃圾联合消化、汽爆污泥单独消化、汽爆污泥和餐厨垃圾联合消化的试验,并进行能耗分析.结果表明,未预处理污泥与餐厨垃圾联合消化阶段,VS（挥发性固体）去除率为33.9%,沼气产率为311.0 mL/g（以投料VS计）;汽爆污泥单独消化阶段,VS去除率和沼气产率均略高于未预处理污泥与餐厨垃圾联合消化阶段,但反应器ρ（NH₄+-N）过高,影响产气稳定性,沼气φ（CH₄）较低.汽爆污泥与餐厨垃圾联合消化阶段,VS去除率和沼气产率分别达到49.5%和420.5 mL/g,显著优于未预处理联合消化阶段.能耗分析表明,预处理的升温过程使汽爆预处理整体能耗偏高,但若能有效回收70%的热量,则汽爆预处理可提高污泥-餐厨垃圾联合中温厌氧消化工艺3.34 kW·h/t（以污泥量计）的能量产率.研究显示,汽爆预处理可提高污泥和餐厨垃圾联合中温厌氧消化工艺35.2%的沼气产率,但由于预处理能耗较高,预处理过程中热能的有效回收是汽爆预处理应用于污泥和餐厨垃圾联合中温厌氧消化经济可行的关键.      

微量Co和Ni对稻草厌氧消化的影响

研究了微量Co,Ni对稻草厌氧消化过程中的COD_Cr,pH,挥发性脂肪酸(VFA),产气量及产气速率的影响.结果表明:投加了Co,Ni和Co+Ni的实验处理,其产气量分别提高了39.0%,74.5%和115.0%;φ(甲烷)从44.9%分别提高到50.0%,52.2%和62.5%;挥发性固体(VS)去除率从39.3%分别提高到46.2%,47.6%和53.2%,COD_Cr去除率从42.4%分别提高到56.9%,57.0%和58.9%.投加微量Co,Ni对稻草的厌氧消化能力具有显著的促进作用.3种投加方式对厌氧消化系统的促进效果存在差异,其中投加Co+Ni混合微量金属是提高稻草厌氧消化效率和产气量的有效方法.      

Use of gamma-irradiation pretreatment for enhancement of anaerobic digestibility of sewage sludge

The effects of γ-irradiation pretreatment on anaerobic digestibility of sewage sludge was investigated in this paper. Parameters like solid components, soluble components, and biogas production of anaerobic digestion experiment for sewage sludge were measured. The values of these parameters were compared before and after γ-irradiation pretreatment. Total solid (TS), volatile solid (VS), suspended solid (SS), volatile suspended solid (VSS), and average floc size of samples decreased after γ-irradiation treatment. Besides, floc size distribution of sewage sludge shifted from 80–100 μm to 0–40 μm after γ-irradiation treatment at the doses from 0 to 30 kGy, which indicated the disintegration of sewage sludge. Moreover, microbe cells of sewage sludge were ruptured by γ-irradiation treatment, which resulted in the release of cytoplasm and increase of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD). Both sludge disintegration and microbe cells rupture enhanced the subsequent anaerobic digestion process, which was demonstrated by the increase of accumulated biogas production. Compared with digesters fed with none irradiated sludge, the accumulated biogas production increased 44, 98, and 178 mL for digesters fed sludge irradiated at 2.48, 6.51, and 11.24 kGy, respectively. The results indicated that γ-irradiation pretreatment could effectively enhance anaerobic digestibility of sewage sludge, and correspondingly, could accelerate hydrolysis process, shorten sludge retention time of sludge anaerobic digestion process. __________ Translated from Techniques and Equipment for Environmental Pollution Control, 2006, 7(8): 36–39 [译自: 环境污染治理技术与设备]     

Oxygen tolerance capacity of upflow anaerobic solid-state (UASS) with anaerobic filter (AF) system

In order to investigate the oxygen tolerance capacity of upflow anaerobic solid-state(UASS)with anaerobic filter(AF) system, the effect of microaeration on thermophilic anaerobic digestion of maize straw was investigated under batch conditions and in the UASS with AF system. Aeration intensities of 0–431 m L O2/gvswere conducted as pretreatment under batch conditions. Aeration pretreatment obviously enhanced anaerobic digestion and an aeration intensity of 431 m L O2/gvsincreased the methane yield by 82.2%. Aeration intensities of 0–355 m L O2/gvswere conducted in the process liquor circulation of the UASS with AF system. Dissolved oxygen(DO) of UASS and AF reactors kept around 1.39 ±0.27 and 0.99 ± 0.38 mg/L, respectively. p H was relatively stable around 7.11 ± 0.04. Volatile fatty acids and soluble chemical oxygen demand concentration in UASS reactor were higher than those in AF reactor. Methane yield of the whole system was almost stable at 85 ± 7 m L/gvs as aeration intensity increased step by step. The UASS with AF system showed good oxygen tolerance capacity.     

Importance of storage time in mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste

Storage was used as a pretreatment to enhance the methanization performance of mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste. Food wastes were separately stored for 0, 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 12 days, and then fed into a methanogenic reactor for a biochemical methane potential(BMP) test lasting up to 60 days. Relative to the methane production of food waste stored for 0–1 day(285–308 m L/g-added volatile solids(VSadded)), that after2–4 days and after 5–12 days of storage increased to 418–530 and 618–696 m L/g-VSadded,respectively. The efficiency of hydrolysis and acidification of pre-stored food waste in the methanization reactors increased with storage time. The characteristics of stored waste suggest that methane production was not correlated with the total hydrolysis efficiency of organics in pre-stored food waste but was positively correlated with the storage time and acidification level of the waste. From the results, we recommend 5–7 days of storage of food waste in anaerobic digestion treatment plants.     

Preliminary study of acrylamide monomer decomposition during methane fermentation of dairy waste sludge

Polyacrylamide(PAM) used in sludge dewatering exists widely in high-solid anaerobic digestion. Acrylamide is registered in the list of chemicals demonstrating toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Therefore, it is reasonable to ask about the mobility of such residual substances in the environment. The study was carried out to assess the impact of the mesophilic(39 ± 1°C) and thermophilic(54 ± 1°C) fermentation process on the level of acrylamide monomer(AMD) content in the dairy sludge. The material was analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) for quantification of AMD. The results indicate that the process of methane fermentation continues regardless of the temperature effects on the degradation of AMD in dairy sludge. The degree of reduction of acrylamide monomer for thermophilic fermentation is 100%, while for mesophilic fermentation it is91%. In practice, this means that biogas technology eliminates the risk of AMD migration to plant tissue. Moreover, it should be stressed that 90% of cumulative biogas and methane production was reached one week earlier under thermophilic conditions — the dynamics of the methanisation process were over 20% faster.     

Anaerobic digestion in mesophilic and room temperature conditions: Digestion performance and soil-borne pathogen survival

Tomato plant waste(TPW) was used as the feedstock of a batch anaerobic reactor to evaluate the effect of anaerobic digestion on Ralstonia solanacearum and Phytophthora capsici survival. Batch experiments were carried out for TS(total solid) concentrations of 2%, 4% and 6% respectively, at mesophilic(37 ± 1°C) and room(20–25°C) temperatures. Results showed that higher digestion performance was achieved under mesophilic digestion temperature and lower TS concentration conditions. The biogas production ranged from 71 to 416 L/kg VS(volatile solids). The inactivation of anaerobic digestion tended to increase as digestion performance improved. The maximum log copies reduction of R. solanacearum and P. capsici detected by quantitative PCR(polymerase chain reaction) were 3.80 and 4.08 respectively in reactors with 4% TS concentration at mesophilic temperatures. However, both in mesophilic and room temperature conditions, the lowest reduction of R. solanacearum was found in the reactors with 6% TS concentration, which possessed the highest VFA(volatile fatty acid) concentration. These findings indicated that simple accumulation of VFAs failed to restrain R. solanacearum effectively, although the VFAs were considered poisonous. P. capsici was nearly completely dead under all conditions. Based on the digestion performance and the pathogen survival rate, a model was established to evaluate the digestate biosafety.     

Investigation on removal pathways of Di 2-ethyl hexyl phthalate from synthetic municipal wastewater using a submerged membrane bioreactor

Highly hydrophobic Di 2-ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) is one of the most prevalent plasticizers in wastewaters. Since its half-life in biological treatment is around 25 days, it can be used as an efficiency indicator of wastewater treatment plant for the removal of hydrophobic emerging contaminants. In this study, the performance of submerged membrane bioreactor was monitored to understand the effect of DEHP on the growth of aerobic microorganisms. The data showed that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia concentration were detected below 10 and 1.0 mg/L, respectively for operating conditions of hydraulic retention time (HRT) = 4 and 6 hr, sludge retention time (SRT) = 140 day and sludge concentration between 11.5 and 15.8 g volatile solid (VS)/L. The removal efficiency of DEHP under these conditions was higher and ranged between 91% and 98%. Results also showed that the removal efficiency of DEHP in biological treatment depended on the concentration of sludge, as adsorption is the main mechanism of its removal. For the submerged membrane bioreactor, the pore size is the pivotal factor for DEHP removal, since it determines the amount of soluble microbial products coming out of the process. Highly assimilated microorganisms increase the biodegradation rate, as 74% of inlet DEHP was biodegraded; however, the concentration of DEHP inside sludge was beyond the discharge limit. Understanding the fate of DEHP in membrane bioreactor, which is one of the most promising and futuristic treatment process could provide replacement for conventional processes to satisfy the future stricter regulations on emerging contaminants.     

腐殖酸影响剩余污泥厌氧消化过程实验研究

以实验室培养、几乎不含腐殖质和金属离子的剩余污泥作为研究对象,选择与市政污泥中腐殖酸特征相近的市售腐殖酸为外加填充物,实验研究污泥中所含腐殖质对污泥厌氧消化过程的抑制作用.通过设置腐殖酸不同投加比例(0、5%、10%、15%和20%,以VSS计),探究腐殖酸对厌氧消化不同过程的影响.实验结果表明,腐殖酸抑制厌氧消化生物气产气量.填加15%腐殖酸时对厌氧消化产气量抑制作用最为明显,较未添加腐殖酸对照组产气量下降了35%;但并未对生物气中CH_4体积比产生太大影响,说明抑制影响是对生物气整体性的.腐殖酸亦可抑制厌氧水解过程,投加20%腐殖酸实验组实验结束时残留于上清液中的溶解性多糖、蛋白质浓度分别是对照组的2.2和1.6倍.然而,腐殖酸作为外源电子受体,可以在一定程度上促进酸化过程,其程度在填加20%腐殖酸实验组表现最高,较对照组VFAs提高了11.3%.腐殖酸投加未对系统pH产生明显影响,各实验组pH值均在7.09~7.54间变化.     

剩余污泥高温好氧消化及其影响因素

为考察污泥高温好氧消化(TAD)的效能及其影响因素,通过自制的高温好氧消化反应器,研究TAD对有机物的去除、消化液的成分以及污泥停留时间(SRT)、曝气量等影响因素,结果表明:高温好氧消化对污泥的稳定效果较好,在温度55℃,SRT=8d条件下,VS去除率均高于42%,粪大肠杆菌数120～600MPN/gTS,回用安全性较高。在实验中发现,TAD中氮的去除率相当低,由于高温对硝化作用的抑制,使氮氨不能进一步转化为硝态氮。高温好氧消化的污泥停留时间为7～8d较适宜,当适当降低曝气量,使DO为0.3～1.0mg/L时,也能够达到满意的VS去除效果,同时节约能耗。     

基于厌氧膜生物反应器的剩余污泥-餐厨垃圾厌氧共消化性能

采用厌氧膜生物反应器(anaerobic membrane bioreactor,AnMBR)进行剩余污泥与餐厨垃圾的共消化,研究其有机物的去除特性、产气性能和微生物群落组成等运行性能.结果表明,反应器运行过程中有机负荷(organic loading rate,OLR,以VS计)稳定在0.59～0.64 kg·(m~3·d)~(-1),挥发性固体(volatile solids,VS)降解率由单消化17.5%上升至共消化40%,COD截留率为95.3%.消化液含固率提高了3.9倍,最终CH_4体积分数稳定在60%,CH_4产量(以COD_(added)计)为78.7 mL·g~(-1).跨膜压差(transmembrane pressure,TMP)和平均Flux分别维持在-3.1～-2.7 kPa和0.106 L·(m~2·h)~(-1),膜污染较轻.16S rRNA微生物多样性分析表明,AnMBR内部厌氧消化细菌主要是Proteobacteria(变形菌门)、Bacteroidetes(拟杆菌门)和Cloacimonetes(阴沟单胞菌门),产甲烷菌中的优势菌科为Methanobacterium(甲烷杆菌科),优势菌属为Methanosaeta(甲烷鬃毛菌属)和Methanolinea(甲烷绳菌属).这将为AnMBR处理污泥及其它高含固率废物流的稳定性和运行性能研究提供有力的理论参考依据,进而为生物质资源化和能源危机提供有效解决途径.     

Identical full-scale biogas-lift reactors (BLRs) with anaerobic granular sludge and residual activated sludge for brewery wastewater treatment and kinetic modeling

Two identical full-scale biogas-lift reactors treating brewery wastewater were inoculated with different types of sludge to compare their operational conditions, sludge characteristics, and kinetic models at a mesophilic temperature. One reactor （R1） started up with anaerobic granular sludge in 12 weeks and obtained a continuously average organic loading rate （OLR） of 7.4 kg chemical oxygen demand （COD）/（m3.day）, COD removal efficiency of 80%, and effluent COD of 450 mg/L. The other reactor （R2） started up with residual activated sludge in 30 weeks and granulation accomplished when the reactor reached an average OLR of 8.3 kg COD/（m^3·day）, COD removal efficiency of 90%, and effluent COD of 240 mg/L. Differences in sludge characteristics,biogas compositions, and biogas- lift processes may be accounted for the superior efficiency of the treatment performance of R2 over R1. Grau second-order and modified StoverKincannon models based on influent and effluent concentrations as well as hydraulic retention time were successfully used to develop kinetic parameters of the experimental data with high correlation coefficients （R2 〉 0.95）, which further showed that R2 had higher treatment performance than R1. These results demonstrated that residual activated sludge could be used effectively instead of anaerobic granular sludge despite the need for a longer time.