Project description:Two parallel anaerobic digestion lines were designed to match a "bovid-like" digestive structure. Each of the lines consisted of two Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors placed in series and separated by an acidic treatment step. The first line was inoculated with industrial inocula whereas the second was seeded with cow digestive tract contents. After three month of continuous sewage sludge feeding, samples were recovered for shotgun metaproteomic and DNA-based analysis. Strikingly, protein inferred and 16S rDNA tags based taxonomic community profiles were not fully consistent. Principal Component analysis however revealed a similar clustering pattern of the samples, suggesting that reproducible methodological and/or biological factors underlie this observation. The performances of the two digestion lines did not differ significantly and the cow derived inocula did not establish in the reactors. A low throughput metagenomic dataset (3.4x106 reads, 1.1 Gb) was also generated for one of the samples. It allowed a substantial increase of the analysis depth (increase of the spectral identification rate). For the first time, a high level of proteins expressed by members of the "Candidatus Competibacter" group is reported in an anaerobic digester, a key microbial player in environmental bioprocess communities.
Project description:BackgroundMost of the organic content of waste activated sludge (WAS) comprises microbial cells hard to degrade, which must be pre-treated for energy recovery by anaerobic digestion (AD). Electrooxidation pre-treatment (EOP) with boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode have been considered a promising novel technology that increase hydrolysis rate, by the disintegrating cell walls from WAS. Although electrochemical oxidation could efficiently solubilize organic substances of macromolecules, limited reports are available on EOP of WAS for improving AD. In this endeavour, the mathematical optimization study and the energy analysis of the effects of initial total solids concentrations [TS] of WAS and current density (CD) during EOP on the methane production and removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and volatile solids (VS) were investigated. Because limited reports are available on EOP of WAS for improving biogas production, it is not well understood; however, it has started to attract interest of scientists and engineers.ResultsIn the present work, the energy recovery as biogas and WAS conversion were comprehensively affected by CD and [TS], in an integrated EOP and AD system. When working with WAS at 3% of [TS] pre-treated at current density of 24.1 mA/cm2, the highest COD and VS removal were achieved, making it possible to obtain the maximum methane (CH4) production of 305 N-L/kg VS and a positive energy balance of 1.67 kWh/kg VS. Therefore, the current densities used in BDD electrode are adequate to produce the strong oxidant (hydroxyl radical, ·OH) on the electrode surface, allow the oxidation of organic compounds that favours the solubilization of particulate matter and VS from WAS.ConclusionsThe improvement of VS removal and COD solubilization were due to the effects of pre-treatments, which help to break down the microbial cells for faster subsequent degradation; this allows a decomposition reaction that leads to biodegrade more compounds during AD. The balance was positive, suggesting that even without any optimization the energy used as electricity could be recovered from the increased methane production. It is worth noting that this kind of analysis have not been sufficiently studied so far. It is therefore important to understand how operational parameters can influence the pre-treatment and AD performances. The current study highlights that the mathematical optimization and energy analysis can make the whole process more convenient and feasible.
Project description:The potential of periodate (PI) in sludge anaerobic digestion is not tapped, although it has recently attracted great research interest in organic contaminants removal and pathogens inactivation in wastewater treatment. This is the first work to demonstrate significant improvement in methane generation from waste activated sludge (WAS) with PI pretreatment and to provide underlying mechanisms. Biochemical methane potential tests indicated that methane yield enhanced from 100.2 to 146.3 L per kg VS (VS, volatile solids) with PI dosages from 0 to 100 mg per g TS (TS, total solids). Electron spin resonance showed PI could be activated without extra activator addition, which might be attributed to the native transition metals (e.g., Fe2+) in WAS, thereby generating hydroxyl radical (•OH), superoxide radicals (•O2 -), and singlet oxygen (1O2). Further scavenging tests demonstrated all of them synergistically promoted WAS disintegration, and their contributions were in the order of •O2 - > •OH > 1O2, leading to the release of substantial biodegradable substances (i.e., proteins and polysaccharides) into the liquid phase for subsequent biotransformation. Moreover, fluorescence and ultraviolet spectroscopy analyses indicated the recalcitrant organics (especially lignocellulose and humus) could be degraded by reducing their aromaticity under oxidative stress of PI, thus readily for methanogenesis. Microbial community analysis revealed some microorganisms participating in hydrolysis, acidogenesis, and acetoclastic methanogenesis were enriched after PI pretreatment. The improved key enzyme activities and up-regulated metabolic pathways further provided direct evidence for enhanced methane production. This research was expected to broaden the application scope of PI and provide more diverse pretreatment choices for energy recovery through anaerobic digestion.
Project description:The effect of Aso volcanic limonite was explored in anaerobic digestion using waste sewage sludge (WSS). In this study, methane and hydrogen sulfide were remarkably inhibited when Aso limonite was mixed with WSS as well as a significant reduction of ammonia. Although pH was lowered after adding Aso limonite, methane was still inhibited in neutralized pH condition at 7.0. Hydrolysis stage was not influenced by Aso limonite as supported by the result that a high protease activity was still detected in the presence of the material. However, acidogenesis stage was affected by Aso limonite as indicated by the different productions of organic acids. Acetic acid, was accumulated in the presence of Aso limonite due to the inhibition of methane production, except in the highest concentration of Aso limonite which the production of acetate may be inhibited. Besides, the production of propionate and butyrate reduced in accordance to the increased concentration of Aso limonite. In addition, Archaeal activity (methanogens) in WSS with Aso limonite was low in agreement with the low methane production. Thus, these results indicate that Aso limonite influences the acidogenesis and methanogenesis processes, by which the productions of methane and ammonia were inhibited. On the other hand, in the contactless of Aso limonite during the anaerobic digestion of WSS (Aso limonite was placed in the area of headspace in the vial), Aso limonite had the adsorptive ability for hydrogen sulfide from WSS, but not for methane. This contactless system of Aso limonite may be a practical means to remove hydrogen sulfide without inhibiting methane production as an important bioenergy source.
Project description:The Anaerobic Digestion Pasteurization Latrine (ADPL) is a self-contained and energy neutral on-site sanitation system using anaerobic digestion of fecal sludge to generate biogas and then uses the biogas to pasteurize the digester effluent at 65-75°C to produce a safe effluent that can be reused locally as a fertilizer. Two ADPL systems were installed on residential plots with 17 and 35 residents in a peri-urban area outside of Eldoret, Kenya. Each system comprised three toilets built above a floating dome digester and one heat pasteurization system to sanitize the digested effluent. ADPLs are simple systems, with no moving parts and relying on gravity-induced flows. Adoption at the two sites was successful, and residents reported that the systems had little to no odor or flies. ADPLs were monitored for biogas production and temperatures in the pasteurization system. ADPLs serving 17 and 35 residents produced on average 16 and 11 Lbiogas/person/day (maximum of 20 and 15 Lbiogas/p/d), respectively. The temperature in the sterilization system was greater than 65°C on 58% and 87% of sampling days during the most stable period of operation. Treated effluent was analyzed periodically for chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), pH, and fecal coliform (FC). On average, the effluent at the two locations contained 4,540 and 6,450 mg COD/L (an 85% or 89% reduction of the estimated input), 2,050 and 3,970 mg BOD/L, and 2,420 and 4,760 mg NH3-N, respectively, and greater than 5 log reductions of FC (nondetectable) in the sterilization tank. Results from this field study show that anaerobic digestion of minimally diluted fecal sludge can provide enough energy to pasteurize digester effluent and that the ADPL may be a suitable option for on-site fecal sludge treatment.
Project description:The uncontrolled discharge of industrial wastewater leads to a significant cadmium (Cd) accumulation in waste activated sludge (WAS), posing a serious threat to the steady operation of the anaerobic digestion (AD) system in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Therefore, developing a viable approach to cope with the adverse effects of high-concentration Cd on the AD system is urgently required. This study aims to investigate the potential of using anionic polyacrylamide (APAM), a commonly used agent in WWTPs, to mitigate the adverse effects of Cd in a toxic amount (i.e., 5.0 mg per g total suspended solids (TSS)) on AD of WAS. The results showed that the effectiveness of higher APAM on Cd toxicity alleviation was less than that of lower APAM at the studied level (i.e., the effectiveness order was 1.5 mg APAM per g TSS > 3.0 mg APAM per g TSS > 6.0 mg APAM per g TSS). The moderate supplement of APAM (i.e., 1.5 mg per g TSS) recovered the accumulative methane yield from 190.5 ± 3.6 to 228.9 ± 4.1 mL per g volatile solids by promoting solubilization, hydrolysis, and acidification processes related to methane production. The application of APAM also increased the abundance of key microbes in the AD system, especially Methanolinea among methanogens and Caldilineaceae among hydrolyzers. Furthermore, APAM facilitated the key enzyme activities involved in AD processes and reduced reactive oxygen species (induced by Cd) production via adsorption/enmeshment of Cd by APAM. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using moderate APAM to mitigate Cd toxicity during AD, providing a promising solution for controlling Cd or other heavy metal toxicity in WWTPs.
Project description:Application of fish sludge as fertiliser to agricultural land can contribute to closing nutrient cycles in fish farming. The effect of different treatment technologies on the nitrogen fertilisation effects of fish sludge was studied by a bioassay with barley (Hordeum vulgare), an incubation and a field experiment. Dried fish sludge resulted in relative agronomic efficiency of 50-80% compared with mineral fertiliser. The anaerobic digestate based on fish sludge (20 vol%) and dairy manure did not increase nitrogen uptake in barley. Increasing the ratio of fish sludge in the digestate increased the fertilisation effect, but requires optimisation of the biogas process. A simple logistics analysis conducted for a case hatchery showed that on-site drying and co-digestion of fish sludge in a central biogas plant can be regarded as equal in terms of costs. Norway can become an exporter of fish sludge-based recycling fertilisers if current regulations are modified to facilitate nutrient recycling.
Project description:This study examined the influence of bioaugmentation on metal concentrations (aluminum, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel and zinc) in anaerobically digested sewage sludge. To improve the digestion efficiency, bioaugmentation with a mixture of wild-living Archaea and Bacteria (MAB) from Yellowstone National Park, USA, was used. The total concentration of all metals was higher in the digestate than in the feedstock. During anaerobic digestion, the percent increase in the concentration of most of metals was slightly higher in the bioaugmented runs than in the un-augmented runs, but these differences were not statistically significant. However, the percent increase in cadmium and cobalt concentration was significantly higher in the bioaugmented runs than in the un-augmented runs. At MAB doses of 9 and 13% v/v, cadmium concentration in the digestate was 211 and 308% higher than in the feedstock, respectively, and cobalt concentration was 138 and 165%, respectively. Bioaugmentation increased over 4 times the percentage of Pseudomonas sp. in the biomass that are able to efficiently accumulate metals by both extracellular adsorption and intracellular uptake. Biogas production was not affected by the increased metal concentrations. In conclusion, bioaugmentation increased the concentration of metals in dry sludge, which means that it could potentially have negative effects on the environment.