Potassium ferrate pretreatment promotes short chain fatty acids yield and antibiotics reduction in acidogenic fermentation of sewage sludge

During the acidogenic fermentation converting waste activated sludge (WAS) into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), hydrolysis of complex organic polymers is a limiting step and the transformation of harmful substances (such as antibiotics) during acidogenic fermentation is unknown. In this study, potassium ferrate (K₂FeO₄) oxidation was used as a pretreatment strategy for WAS acidogenic fermentation to increase the hydrolysis of sludge and destruct the harmful antibiotics. Pretreatment with K₂FeO₄ can effectively increase the SCFA production during acidogenic fermentation and change the distribution of SCFA components. With the dosage of 0.2 g/g TS, the maximum SCFA yield was 4823 mg COD/L, which is 28.3 times that of the control group; acetic acid accounts for more than 90% of the total SCFA. The higher dosage (0.5 g/g TS) can further increase the proportion of acetic acid, but inhibit the overall performance of SCFA production. Apart from the promotion of hydrolysis and acidogenesis, K₂FeO₄ pretreatment can also simultaneously oxidizes and degrades part of the antibiotics in the sludge. When the dosage is 0.5 g/g TS, the degradation efficacy of antibiotics is the most significant, and the contents of ofloxacin, azithromycin, and tetracycline in the sludge are reduced by 69%, 42%, and 50%, respectively. In addition, K₂FeO₄ pretreatment can also promote the release of antibiotics from sludge flocs, which is conducive to the simultaneous degradation of antibiotics in the subsequent biological treatment process.     

Enhancing anoxic denitrification of low C/N ratio wastewater with novel ZVI composite carriers

External organic carbon sources are needed to provide electron donors for the denitrification of wastewater with a low COD/NO₃^--N（C/N） ratio, increasing the treatment cost. The economic strategy is to enhance the bioactivity and/or biodiversity of denitrifiers to efficiently utilize organic substances in wastewater. In this study, novel zero-valent iron（ZVI） composite carriers were prepared and implemented in a suspended carrier biofilm reactor to enhance the bioactivity an...     

乌鲁木齐树木叶片汞浓度时空特征及环境意义

城市大气环境由于受人为活动影响,具有较高大气汞浓度和时空分布不均一特征。植被叶片虽具有较强富集大气汞的能力,但能否指示城市大气汞时空变化,目前尚有存疑。本文通过连续监测新疆乌鲁木齐市区内6个采样点5种常见树种叶片,在生长季（2019年5～10月）内的汞浓度,分析树叶汞浓度的时空分布变化特征,进而寻找潜在的最优树种叶片,反演乌鲁木齐大气汞污染程度。结果表明,城市内的局地污染能够显著提高叶片汞浓度;树种叶片对大气汞浓度的敏感性存在明显差异（P<0.01）;落叶阔叶树的叶汞浓度与叶片生长时间呈显著正相关关系（P<0.01）,即叶片在整个生长期不断积累大气汞;而针叶汞浓度一年之内与生长时间无显著关系。考虑到圆冠榆叶片对大气汞浓度敏感性较高且分布范围更广,圆冠榆作为乌鲁木齐城市大气汞的生物监测器较为合适。本研究为研究城市大气汞浓度生物监测提供了典型的案例与借鉴。     

IFAS工艺处理南方低碳源污水的泥膜微生物互作规律分析

针对低碳源条件下污水处理问题,开展了活性污泥和生物膜共生系统（IFAS）的实验研究,讨论了低碳源下泥膜两相微生物的赋存特征和互作规律,明确其生态位和对处理效能的影响,通过实际水厂的中试实验,分析生物膜挂膜特性、泥膜活性和菌群的演替规律,对比在不同活性污泥泥龄调控下的泥膜两相中微生物结构和相互作用.结果表明,在变SRT下,反应器内污泥浓度随着SRT的增大而增加;由于SRT-H中微生物浓度远大于SRT-L,因此SRT-H中泥膜之间的竞争关系较SRT-L更激烈,SRT-H中污染物去除效能较SRT-L更低.低碳源进水条件下,IFAS工艺中污泥活性随SRT增大而降低,当低SRT （5 d）条件下,活性污泥硝化、反硝化、聚磷和吸磷速率较高SRT （25 d）分别增加了122%、88%、34%和44%;而SRT对生物膜活性的影响较小,两种SRT下生物膜硝化活性、反硝化活性相差不大.微生物测序分析表明,IFAS工艺功能菌在泥膜两相间会随着SRT的变化而发生富集转移;SRT-L中,因"播种（seeding）"效应而在泥膜两相间发生富集转移的功能菌主要为unclassified_g__Enterobacteriaceae,SRT-H中则主要是Acinetobacter.同时,通过分析优势功能菌分布,发现活性污泥中脱氮菌和聚磷菌之间也存在一定竞争;在进水有机基质匮乏的条件下,脱氮菌的相对丰度明显高于聚磷菌的相对丰度,表明脱氮菌更能适应低碳源条件,所以能在竞争中占据优势地位,这种优势主要体现为好氧反硝化菌相对丰度的增加;此外,泥相的SRT变化会反作用于膜相,使得生物膜的停留时间相应发生改变,从而改变菌群结构,筛选出不同优势菌属,进一步加大差异.     

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.     

Performances of mesophilic anaerobic digestion systems treating poultry mortalities

Abstract

A closed‐loop anaerobic digestion system consisting of a leachbed (LB) and an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was tested as an alternative for the disposal of poultry mortalities. This paper compares the performances of three LB‐UASB treatment systems with different initial moisture contents in the LBs. Each LB was loaded with one chicken and 5, 10 or 18 liters of water. The LBs initially carried out the hydrolysis/acidification phase while the UASBs the methanogenesis phase. Due to repeated inoculation by the UASBs, the LBs with 10 and 18 liters of water started producing methane on day 5, while the one with 5 liters of water on day 19. However, methane production rates were low before day 40 for the LB with 10 liters of water and day 60 for the other LBs. Methane production gradually improved as the LBs continued to receive ungranulated sludge from the UASBs. The LBs eventually became balanced methane reactors. Continued balanced fermentation in the LBs resulted in leachates with very low substrate concentrations that could no longer support high‐rate methanogenesis in the UASBs. Consequently, methane production rates from the UASBs decreased quickly while that from the LBs reached peak levels. Cumulative methane production from each LB eventually exceeded that from its connecting UASB. After 118 days of digestion, 414, 437 and 470 liters of methane were produced from the three systems, respectively. Cumulative methane production from the LBs with 5 and 18 liters of water accounted for 63% of the total methane produced from their respective systems. The LB with 10 liters of water produced 75% of the total methane from that system. Methane yields ranged from 0.485 to 0.554 m³ (Kg TS) ¹. About 86% of the initial dry weight was biodegraded. All three systems performed very well with little operational problems. Overall, the system that started with 10 liters of water in the LB performed the best. Strategy for enhancing system performances and implementing farm applications are discussed.     

活性污泥对四环素的吸附性能研究

通过批量平衡法研究了四环素在活性污泥上的吸附行为.结果表明,污泥混合液浓度和四环素初始浓度对吸附平衡时间、污泥吸附量和污泥吸附率均有较大影响.伪二级反应动力学模型较伪一级反应动力学模型更符合本吸附实验.在10、25℃条件下,四环素在活性污泥上的吸附行为较符合Langmuir模型,最大吸附量分别是31.14、70.95 mg.g-1;在40℃下,符合Henry模型.应用D-R模型判定吸附类型,10℃(平均吸附能为9.13 kJ.mol-1)下,化学吸附占主导;40℃(平均吸附能为7.07 kJ.mol-1)下,物理吸附占主导.温度升高,污泥对四环素的吸附能力增大.离子交换是四环素在活性污泥上吸附的一种机制.四环素的初始浓度为5、10、20 mg.L-1,钠离子浓度由0 mol.L-1增加到0.1 mol.L-1时,吸附量分别下降15.32%、15.00%、20.12%.当pH在5～10之间时,pH为6的条件下污泥对四环素的吸附量最大.     

Measurement of air exchange rates in different indoor environments using continuous CO2 sensors

A new air exchange rate (AER) monitoring method using continuous CO₂ sensors was developed and validated through both laboratory experiments and field studies. Controlled laboratory simulation tests were conducted in a 1-m³ environmental chamber at different AERs (0.1-10.0 hr^-1). AERs were determined using the decay method based on box model assumptions. Field tests were conducted in classrooms, dormitories, meeting rooms and apartments during 2-5 weekdays using CO₂ sensors coupled with data loggers. Indoor temperature, relative humidity (RH), and CO₂ concentrations were continuously monitored while outdoor parameters combined with on-site climate conditions were recorded. Statistical results indicated that good laboratory performance was achieved: duplicate precision was within 10%, and the measured AERs were 90%-120% of the real AERs. Average AERs were 1.22, 1.37, 1.10, 1.91 and 0.73 hr^-1 in dormitories, air-conditioned classrooms, classrooms with an air circulation cooling system, reading rooms, and meeting rooms, respectively. In an elderly particulate matter exposure study, all the homes had AER values ranging from 0.29 to 3.46 hr??1 in fall, and 0.12 to 1.39 hr^-1 in winter with a median AER of 1.15.     

Sewage sludge disintegration by high-pressure homogenization: A sludge disintegration model

High-pressure homogenization (HPH) technology was applied as a pretreatment to disintegrate sewage sludge. The effects of homogenization pressure, homogenization cycle number, and total solid content on sludge disintegration were investigated. The sludge disintegration degree (DDCOD), protein concentration, and polysaccharide concentration increased with the increase of homogenization pressure and homogenization cycle number, and decreased with the increase of sludge total solid (TS) content. The maximum DDCOD of 43.94% was achieved at 80 MPa with four homogenization cycles for a 9.58 g/L TS sludge sample. A HPH sludge disintegration model of DD_COD= kN^aP^b was established by multivariable linear regression to quantify the effects of homogenization parameters. The homogenization cycle exponent a and homogenization pressure exponent b were 0.4763 and 0.7324 respectively, showing that the effect of homogenization pressure (P) was more significant than that of homogenization cycle number (N). The value of the rate constant k decreased with the increase of sludge total solid content. The specific energy consumption increased with the increment of sludge disintegration efficiency. Lower specific energy consumption was required for higher total solid content sludge.     

Responses of protists with different feeding habits to the changes of activated sludge conditions: A study based on biomass data

Changes of protists, which were categorized into different functional groups primarily according to their feeding habits, in two full-scale municipal wastewater treatment systems experiencing sludge bulking were investigated over a period of 14 months. Protist biomass represented 3.7% to 5.2% of total biomass on average under normal sludge conditions, and the percentage increased significantly (p < 0.05) under sludge bulking conditions. The biomass of Chilodonella spp., capable of eating filamentous bacteria, tended to decrease in both systems when sludge bulking occurred, showing that the abnormal growth of filamentous bacteria did not lead to a biomass bloom of this group of protists. On the other hand, the bactivorous protists represented more than 96% of total protist biomass, and the biomass of this group, particularly the attached ciliates, increased significantly (p < 0.05) when sludge bulking occurred. The significant increase of the attached ciliates may have possibly facilitated the growth of filamentous bacteria through selectively preying on non-filamentous bacteria and further exacerbated sludge bulking. The redundancy analysis and correlation analysis results showed that the biomass changes of the attached ciliates were primarily related to the sludge volume index and to some extent related to five-day biochemical oxygen demand loading and hydraulic retention time.