Effect of a high strength chemical industry wastewater on microbial community dynamics and mesophilic methane generation

A high strength chemical industry wastewater was assessed for its impact on anaerobic microbial com- munity dynamics and consequently mesophilic methane generation. Cumulative methane production was 251 mL/g total chemical oxygen demand removed at standard temperature and pressure at the end of 30 days experimental period with a highest recorded methane percentage of 80.6% of total biogas volume. Volatile fatty acids （VFAs） analysis revealed that acetic acid was the major intermediate VFAs produced with propionic acid accumulating over the experimental period. Quantitative analysis of microbial communities in the test and control groups with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction highlighted that in the test group, Eubacteria （96.3%） was dominant in comparison with methanogens （3.7%）. The latter were dominated by Methanomicrobiales and Methanobacteriales while in test groups increased over the experimental period, reaching a maximum on day 30. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile was performed, targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Eubacteria and Archaea, with the DNA samples extracted at 3 different time points from the test groups. A phylogenetic tree was constructed for the sequences using the neighborhood joining method. The analysis revealed that the presence of organisms resembling Syntrophomonadaceae could have contributed to increased production of acetic and propionic acid intermediates while decrease of organisms resembling Pelotomaculum sp. could have most likely contributed to accumulation of propionic acid. This study suggested that the degradation of organic components within the high strength industrial wastewater is closely linked with the activity of certain niche microbial communities within eubacteria and methanogens.     

降解纤维素产甲烷的四菌复合系

自然环境中通常是微生物群落协同完成纤维素的降解,构建可降解纤维素的混菌体系是认识微生物相互作用的关键.利用富集培养法,结合变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)指纹检测技术以及厌氧滚管技术,建立了一种筛选简单降解纤维素产甲烷复合菌系的方法.利用此方法从青藏高原若尔盖高寒湿地分离到一个由4株菌构成的降解纤维素产甲烷的稳定菌系.结果表明,该复合菌系由纤维素水解菌Clostridium glycolicum、非纤维素水解菌Trichococcus flocculiformis和Parabacteroides merdae、产甲烷古菌Methanobacterium subterraneum等具有不同功能的4种菌株组成,且在这4株菌的共同作用下可将纤维素直接转化为CH4.该简单复合系的获得为今后纤维素转化甲烷复合菌系的代谢控制和遗传改造提供了一个平台.     

准好氧填埋工艺氧气浓度对甲烷与二氧化碳浓度的影响研究

构建了准好氧填埋模拟装置,在其产气相对稳定期间,测定填埋装置内不同点位的ψ(O₂),ψ(CH₄)和ψ(CO₂),并用数学模型对ψ(O₂)与ψ(CH₄)和ψ(CO₂)之间的关系进行拟合.结果表明:随着ψ(O₂)的增加,上层ψ(CH₄)呈对数规律下降,而ψ(CO₂)呈线性规律下降;中层ψ(CH₄)和ψ(CO₂)均呈指数规律下降;下层ψ(CH₄)呈指数规律下降,而ψ(CO₂)先保持在34%左右波动,当ψ(O₂)大于1.8%后呈指数规律下降.上层主要为好氧带,ψ(CH₄)低于ψ(CO₂);中层主要为兼氧带,当ψ(O₂)小于5.8%时ψ(CH₄)高于ψ(CO₂),而当ψ(O₂)大于5.8%时ψ(CH₄)低于ψ(CO₂);下层主要为厌氧带,当ψ(O₂)小于2.8%时ψ(CH₄)高于ψ(CO₂),而当ψ(O₂)大于2.8%时ψ(CH₄)低于ψ(CO₂).      

城市有机垃圾间歇厌氧消化pH控制动力学研究

对厌氧消化系统的物料及电离平衡进行分析,利用底物降解和微生物生长动力学建立城市有机垃圾间歇厌氧消化pH值控制模型,并研制开发了间歇厌氧消化过程pH值与产气量最优化计算机软件.运用该模型可预测不同厌氧消化过程的最佳pH值,从而通过控制厌氧系统的pH值使系统产气量达到最大,通过2组对比实验验证模型的有效性.结果表明,在相同的实验条件下厌氧系统的pH控制在最佳值时系统产气较未对pH值控制时稳定,且总产气量平均提高20%左右.     

直链烷基苯磺酸盐促进剩余污泥产生短链脂肪酸的研究

采用批试试验的方法研究了十二烷基苯磺酸钠(C12-LAS)对剩余污泥在厌氧发酵过程中产生的短链脂肪酸(SCFAs)的影响.结果表明,C12-LAS的投加极大地提高了剩余污泥厌氧发酵过程中的SCFAs产量.当C12-LAS加入量低于0.1g·g-1时,SCFAs产量随着C12-LAS加入量的增加而增加,然而,当C12-LAS加入量高于0.1g·g-1时,SCFAs产量反而有所降低.从污泥产酸量以及经济成本考虑,C12-LAS的最佳投加量为0.02g·g-1,此时剩余污泥的SCFAs最大产量出现在第6天.进一步的研究表明,C12-LAS不仅促使大量的碳水化合物和蛋白质脱离污泥颗粒并溶解到液相中,而且抑制了产甲烷菌的活性.尽管剩余污泥经历着酸化过程,但由于其释放出大量的NH4 -N,污泥在整个厌氧发酵过程中的pH值逐渐升高.     

基于连通法的甲烷简化机理构筑研究

采用连通法,针对甲烷复杂反应机理,成功地进行了不同水平的机理简化研究。通过建立组分依赖关系的正规化Jacobian矩阵,精确地查明了燃烧组分之间的耦合关系,分别构造出仅包含重要化学路径的两个动力学简化模型,获得的简化机理分别包含227和138个反应,分别涉及39和26种组分。通过对层流预混火焰结构的模拟,所得简化机理和原详细反应动力学机理关于火焰结构的计算吻合很好,计算结果显示,两个简化机理具有较高的模拟精度。     

Effect of sulfate on the methanogenic activity of a bacterial culture from a brewery wastewater during glucose degradation

The maximum specific methanogenic activity （SMA） of a sludge originating from a brewery wastewater treatment plant on the degradation of glucose was investigated at various levels of sulfate on a specific loading basis. Batch experiments were conducted in serum bottles at pH 7 and 35℃. A comparison of the values indicates that the SMA of this mixed culture was increased and reached its highest level of 0.128 g CH4 gas COD/（g VSS.d） when biomass was in contact with sulfate at a ratio of 1：0.114 by weight.     

Carbon emission reduction and cost–benefit of methane digester systems on hog farms in China

Three different sizes of hog farms were selected to analyze the carbon emissions reduction and the cost–benefit of three methane digester systems. The sizes of the digesters are 2,200, 2,200 and 800 m³, respectively. The sales of slaughter hogs from them are 50,000, 35,000 and 10,000 head, respectively. The carbon emissions reductions were 5,237, 4,017, and 1,334 tons, respectively. The results show that while the methane digester systems have a significant effect on carbon emissions reduction, it is difficult to operate the systems sustainably. If the carbon emissions reduction can be traded at high enough prices in the carbon offset markets, then the systems will be profitable and sustainable. Newly established China's domestic carbon offset market could provide this possibility, but more government support is needed. In addition, this study shows that scale economies make the digester adoption relatively more profitable for larger farms than smaller ones.     

Profile of Methane Concentrations in Soil and Atmosphere in Alpine Steppe Ecosystem on Tibetan Plateau

The methane concentration profile from -1.5m depth in soil to 32m height in air was measured in alpine steppe located in the permafrost area. Methane concentrations showed widely variations both in air and in soil during the study period. The mean concentrations in atmosphere were all higher than those in soil, and the highest methane concentration was found in air at the height of 16m with the lowest concentration occurring at the depth of 1.5m in soil. The variations of atmospheric methane concentrations did not show any clear pattern both temporally and spatially, although they exhibited a more steadystable state than those in soil. During the seasonal variations, the methane concentrations at different depths in soil were significantly correlated （R^2〉0.6） with each other comparing to the weak correlations （R^2〈0.2） between the atmospheric concentra- tions at different heights. Mean methane concentrations in soil significantly decreased with depth. This was the compositive influence of the decreasing production rates and the increasing methane oxidation rates, which was caused by the descent soil moisture with depth. Although the methane concentrations at all depths varied widely during the growing season, they showed very distinct temporal variations in the non-growing season. It was indicated from the literatures that methane oxidation rates were positively correlated with soil temperature. The higher methane concentrations in soil during the winter were determined by the lower methane oxidation rates with decreasing soil temperatures, whereas methane production rates had no reaction to the lower temperature. Relations between methane contribution and other environmental factors were not discussed in this paper for lacking of data, which impulse us to carry out further and more detailed studies in this unique area.     

Methanogenic activity of woody debris

The paper is devoted to the phenomenon of methanogenic activity of woody debris, i.e., methane production in the course of wood decomposition by fungi, which are not directly involved in methane synthesis but form an initial link in the trophic chain leading to methanogenic archaea. Expert evaluation of probable amounts of methane emission is made. The results show that woody debris is an important global source of this greenhouse gas.