Bioaerosolization behavior along sewage sludge biostabilization

• Aerosolization behavior during a lab-scale sludge biostabilization was determined. • Many pathogenic species were identified to be preferentially aerosolized. • Bioaerosol concentration along the biostabilization ranged from 160 to 1440 cell/m³. • Sludge aerosolization behavior was different with that of other biowaste. Biostabilization is a cost-effective method for the beneficial utilization of sewage sludge. However, during the operation of sludge biostabilization, some microbial species could be released into the atmospheric environment from the solid-phase of sludge easily and present a high risk to human health. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of bioaerosol during sludge biostabilization. We found a total of nine bacterial phyla, one archaeal phylum, and two fungal phyla in the bioaerosol samples. Among them, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Ascomycota were the dominant phyla. In addition, the bioaerosolization indexes (BI) of prokaryotic phyla and fungal phyla ranged 0–45 and 0–487, respectively. Massilia, Pseudarthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Tremellales spp., and Fusarium were the preferentially aerosolized microbial genera with maximum bioaerosolization indexes of 19962, 10360, 1802, 3055, and 7398. The bioaerosol concentration during the biostabilization ranged from 160 to 1440 cell/m³, and we identified species such as Stenotrophomonas rhizophila and Fusarium graminerum with high bioaerosolization indexes that could be threats to human health. Euryachaeota, which belongs to archaeal phyla, had the highest biostabilization index in our study. We also found that Pseudarthrobacter was the easiest to aerosolize during the sludge biostabilization process.     

Upgrading VFAs bioproduction from waste activated sludge via co-fermentation with soy sauce residue

SSR addition upgraded VFAs production from WAS. Structure modification by pretreatments led to performance distinctions. Distinctions in microbial community was observed by pretreatments selection. Up to 0.49‒0.65 billion €/year of market value potential was preliminary estimated. Conditioning of extra carbon sources has been widely reported to facilitate fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS). Soy sauce residue (SSR) was a relatively untapped carbon source for sludge conditioning. This batch study aimed to evaluate the possible implementation of SSR for volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production from WAS. To upgrade the bioavailability of feedstock, three typical pretreatment methods were conducted, i.e., ammonium hydroxide (AH), sulfuric acids (SA) and thermal assisted alkaline (TA). AH pretreated test (AH-PT) outperformed due to a relatively strong structure decomposition of cellulosic materials as revealed by infrared spectroscopic analysis and crystal index. As a result, performed a high hydrolysis rate of 4449 mg COD/d, 1.12-1.23-fold higher than that in TA and SA pretreated tests (TA-PT and SA-PT), and 7.8-fold higher than that in the Control test. Meanwhile, a volatile fatty acids (VFAs) contribution of 401.2 mg COD/g SSR∙L and a maximum acidification rate of 3.59 d^-1 was recorded, with a high sum proportion of mall molecular acetic and propionic 82.2%, 11% ‒70% increase over the other three tests. Besides, speciation process characterized with functional genus differentiation was identified by microbial diversity and distribution investigation and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Finally, a potential market value of 0.49‒0.65 Billion €/year was preliminary estimated, showing promise of resource recovery from both WAS and SSR instead of extensive disposal.     

The solar transformity of petroleum fuels

Petroleum fuels are the primary energy basis for transportation and industry. They are almost always an important input to the economic and social activities of humanity. Emergy analyses require accurate estimates with specified uncertainty for the transformities of major energy and material inputs to economic and environmental systems. In this study, the oil refining processes in Italy and the United States were examined to estimate the transformity and specific emergy of petroleum derivatives. Based on our assumptions that petroleum derivatives are splits of a complex hydrocarbon mixture and that the emergy is split based on the fraction of energy in a product, we estimated that the transformity of petroleum derivatives is 65,826 sej/J ± 1.4% relative to the 9.26E+24 sej/year planetary baseline. Estimates of the specific emergies of the various liquid fuels from Italian and U.S. refineries are within 2% of one another and the relationship of particular values varies with the refinery design. Our average transformity is only 1.7% larger than the current estimate for petroleum fuels determined by back calculation, confirming the accuracy of this transformity in existing emergy analyses. The model uncertainty between using energy or mass to determine how emergy is split was less that 2% in the estimate of both the transformity and specific emergy of liquid fuels, but larger for solid and gaseous products. This study is a contribution to strengthen the emergy methodology, providing data that can be useful in the analysis of many human activities.     

Composting in small laboratory pilots: performance and reproducibility

Small-scale reactors (<10 l) have been employed in composting research, but few attempts have assessed the performance of composting considering the transformations of organic matter. Moreover, composting at small scales is often performed by imposing a fixed temperature, thus creating artificial conditions, and the reproducibility of composting has rarely been reported. The objectives of this study are to design an innovative small-scale composting device safeguarding self-heating to drive the composting process and to assess the performance and reproducibility of composting in small-scale pilots. The experimental setup included six 4-l reactors used for composting a mixture of sewage sludge and green wastes. The performance of the process was assessed by monitoring the temperature, O₂ consumption and CO₂ emissions, and characterising the biochemical evolution of organic matter. A good reproducibility was found for the six replicates with coefficients of variation for all parameters generally lower than 19%. An intense self-heating ensured the existence of a spontaneous thermophilic phase in all reactors. The average loss of total organic matter (TOM) was 46% of the initial content. Compared to the initial mixture, the hot water soluble fraction decreased by 62%, the hemicellulose-like fraction by 68%, the cellulose-like fraction by 50% and the lignin-like fractions by 12% in the final compost. The TOM losses, compost stabilisation and evolution of the biochemical fractions were similar to observed in large reactors or on-site experiments, excluding the lignin degradation, which was less important than in full-scale systems. The reproducibility of the process and the quality of the final compost make it possible to propose the use of this experimental device for research requiring a mass reduction of the initial composted waste mixtures.     

活性污泥法处理低浓度含磷废水的试验研究

对比研究了厌氧—好氧交替条件下(AAA工艺)活性污泥对三组磷浓度不同的模拟生活废水的除磷效果。试验结果表明,活性污泥对磷浓度为6mg/L左右的废水处理效果最好,磷去除率可达97%;对磷浓度为16.66mg/L和2mg/L左右废水的磷去除率则分别为78.4%和75.3%;并探讨了活性污泥法的除磷机理。     

Enhanced dewaterability of waste activated sludge by UV assisted ZVI-PDS oxidation

Ultraviolet（UV） assisted zero-valent iron（ZVI）-activated sodium persulfate（PDS） oxidation（UV-ZVI-PDS） was used to treat waste activated sludge（WAS） in this study.The dewaterability performance and mechanism of WAS dewatering were analyzed.The results showed that UV-ZVI-PDS can obtain better sludge dewatering performance in a wide pH range（2.0-8.0）.When the molar ratio of ZVI/PDS was 0.6,UV was 254 nm,PDS dosage was 200 mg/g TS（total solid）,pH was 6.54,reaction time was 20 min,the CST（capillary s...     

Leachability of elements from sub-bituminous coal fly ash from India

Environmental concerns regarding the potential contamination of soil, surface and ground water due to the presence of soluble metal species in the ash pond leachate is of great importance. Serial batch leaching was carried out simulating the rainwater condition of the study area to understand the behaviour of elements during leaching. The leachates were analysed for the elements Al, Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, S, Si, As, Ba, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ti, V, Pb, Zn, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni and Cd by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). It was found that Cd, Co, Cr and Ni did not leach from the ash while Cu and Pb concentrations were insignificant in the leachate regardless of liquid to solid (L/S) ratio. Most of the elements showed maximum concentrations at lower L/S ratio and then decreased with increasing L/S. The total cumulative concentrations of As, Mn and Mo were found to be higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended values for drinking water while the concentrations of Fe, Mn and As exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations prescribed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The pre and the post leached ash samples were analysed for morphology, specific surface area and mineralogical changes. Analysis of post-leached fly ash indicated changes in the specific surface area and morphology but no change in mineralogy.     

CASS工艺在处理低温生活污水中的应用研究

本文以CASS工艺为研究对象,重点探讨CASS工艺处理低温生活污水的可行性,为CASS工艺在我国寒冷地区的推广应用奠定基础,同时也为低温条件下污水处理厂的运行管理提供帮助。     

高岭土控制污泥膨胀的研究

活性污泥膨胀一直是困扰人们的难题。本实验以人工合成污水为底物,利用间歇式反应器(SBR)通过投加高岭土来研究污泥膨胀的控制情况。同时分析活性污泥中的丝状菌形态。结果表明,投加高岭土来控制污泥膨胀效果非常显著,对出水水质影响甚微。     

低温SMBR系统中高粘性膨胀的发生与控制

利用一体式膜生物反应器(SMBR),研究了低温时的高粘性膨胀现象。结果表明:当温度为8℃,SRT为60d时发生了严重的高粘性膨胀。膨胀期间,SMBR对COD的去除并无太大影响,但NH3-N和TN的去除率降低。高粘性膨胀使膜污染速率大大增加,降低了膜清洗周期。通过调整进水配方、增加排泥次数、加大曝气量等方法控制了膨胀现象。