UV-activated persulfates oxidation of anthraquinone dye: Kinetics and ecotoxicological assessment.

Sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) are gaining popularity as a feasible alternative for removing recalcitrant pollutants in an aqueous environment. Persulfates, namely peroxydisulfate (PDS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) are the most common sulfate radical donors. Persulfates activation by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is considered feasible due to the high concentration of radicals produced as well as the lack of catalysts leaching. The research focuses on determining the impact of activated PDS and PMS on the degradation of anthraquinone dye, i.e., Acid Blue 129 (AB129). UV-activated PDS and PMS can quickly degrade the AB129 as well as restrict the formation of by-products. This could explain the reduced ecotoxicity levels of the treated water after degradation, using an aquatic plant (Lemna minor) and a crustacean (Daphnia magna). This, on the other hand, can ensure that the sulfate radical-based processes can be an environmentally friendly technology.

The effect of pre-treatment and anaerobic digestion for pathogens reduction in agricultural utilization of sewage sludge.

The aim of the research work was to explain the possibilities of application of waste activated sludge (WAS) pretreatment processes prior to anaerobic digestion (mesophilic fermentation). Hydrodynamic disintegration and freezing/thawing disintegration methods were used. Based on the microbiological and parasitological analyses, a significant decrease in pathogenic bacteria, coliphages, and parasite eggs was observed. The number of bacteria analyzed (Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens) and coliphages were reduced from 19.3to 42.3% after hydrodynamic cavitation. A similar effect was achieved for destruction by freezing/thawing with dry ice between 7.8 and 14.9%. The effectiveness of parasite eggs reduction (Ascaris sp., Trichuris sp., Toxocara sp.) for these disintegration methods ranged from 10.7 to 29.3%. The highest results were observed for the hybrid disintegration method (hydrodynamic cavitation + dry ice disintegration) caused by a synergistic effect. Salmonella sp. in 1 gd.w. decrease about 69.7%, E. coli by 70.0%, Clostridium perfringens by 38.4%, and coliphages by 48.2%. Disruption of WAS by a hybrid method led to a reduction in the number of helminth eggs Ascaris sp. (63.8%), Trichuris sp. (64.3%), and Toxocara sp. (66.4%). After anaerobic digestion under mesophilic conditions, an additional reduction of analyzed bacterial pathogens and helminth eggs were observed. The introduction of hybrid disintegrated WAS to the fermentation chamber resulted in higher efficiency in decrease (from 1 to 23%) in comparison to the control sample (70%WAS + 30%DS (inoculum-digested sludge)).

Waste-activated sludge disruption by dry ice: bench scale study and evaluation of heat phase transformations.

The freezing process consists of dissipating heat from the product until the final temperature is lower than the temperature of crystallisation of that product. Freezing can be used for numerous applications, including for disruption of waste-activated sludge (WAS). The aim of this study was to calculate the estimated amount of heat conveyed between the solidified carbon dioxide and the WAS, in the following ratios: 0.25:1; 0.5:1; 0.75:1 and 1:1. In heat of phase transformations, dry ice sublimation, water solidification, the amount of heat transferred by other substances and heat transferred from the sludge (dry sludge) were taken into account during the process of WAS freezing. Heat changes on the surface of WAS were registered using a thermovision camera. The effectiveness of WAS disintegration was confirmed by several biochemical parameters such as soluble chemical oxygen demand (increase over 14 times), degree of disintegration (48%), proteins (increase over 5 times), carbohydrates (increase almost 7 times), RNA (increase by 2.23 mg L-1), ammonia nitrogen (increase over 23 times), phosphates (increase almost 27 times) and turbidity (increased over 7 times). It was found that dry ice pretreatment of WAS can be an intriguing alternative for the conventional methods used.

Improvement of the thermophilic anaerobic digestion and hygienisation of waste activated sludge by synergistic pretreatment.

Hybrid disintegration of waste activated sludge (WAS) before the thermophilic anaerobic stabilization of WAS contributes to the intensification of organic compounds decomposition and increases the effectiveness of the anaerobic stabilization process compared to the fermentation of raw WAS. This article investigates the influence of a chemical-thermal pretreatment procedure with the use of NaOH and freezing by the dry ice on WAS. We found that the hybrid pretreatment of WAS causes higher concentration of released organics in the liquid phase (represented here as a change in soluble chemical oxygen demand - SCOD value) in comparison to these disintegration techniques used separately. The use of disintegrated WAS (WASD) as an additional material in the digester chambers impacts (varying on its proportion added), the generation of biogas and its yield. The recorded amount of the produced biogas and biogas yield after 21 days of fermentation increased by 26.6% and 2.7%, respectively (in comparison to blank sample). In addition, it was observed that the hybrid process before anaerobic stabilization contributes to a higher hygienisation of the digested sludge.

A new method for assessment of the sludge disintegration degree with the use of differential centrifugal sedimentation.

A novel method for assessing the disintegration degree (DD) of waste activated sludge (WAS) with the use of differential centrifugal sedimentation method (DCS) was shown herein. The method was validated for a WAS sample at four levels of disintegration in the range of 14.4-82.6% corresponding to the median particle size range of 8.5-1.6 µm. From the several sludge disintegration methods used (i.e. microwave, alkalization, ultrasounds and peroxydisulfate activated by ultrasounds), the activated peroxydisulfate disintegration resulted in the greatest DD 83% and the smallest median particle size of WAS. Particle size distribution of pretreated sludge, measured by DCS, was in a negative correlation with the DD, determined from soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD; determination coefficient of 0.995). Based on the obtained results, it may be concluded that the DCS analysis can approximate the WAS disintegration degree.

Synergetic disintegration of waste activated sludge: improvement of the anaerobic digestion and hygienization of sludge.

The main aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a hybrid disintegration process with the use of alkalization and freezing by dry ice on waste activated sludge (WAS) and on the course of the process of mesophilic methane fermentation. In order to achieve the mentioned goal, various analytical techniques were used for assessment of the sludge disintegration and its influence on the further biogas production. As a result of the investigation, it was found that the chemical-thermal process of destruction of WAS results in an increased concentration of organic compounds in the supernatant (expressed as a change in the value of the soluble chemical oxygen demand - SCOD). The use of disintegrated WAS and feeding of the material into the fermentation digester influences, depending on its proportion by volume, the production of biogas and the biogas yield (higher biogas production by ca. 39% in comparison to blank sample was achieved with the appropriately disintegrated sludge). The hybrid process is simple and easy to implement in the full technical scale and does not influence or change the pH value of the sludge feed into the fermentation chambers (the dry ice neutralizes the high pH of the sludge). Additionally, it was determined that the herein developed process, can improve hygienization of the digested sludge.

Indirect methods of dried sewage sludge contamination assessments.

Thermal conversion (combustion, co-combustion, gasification and pyrolysis) appears to be the most promising alternative for sewage sludge management in the future. Nevertheless, safe and ecological usage of sewage sludge as a fuel requires information about their contamination. The aim of this paper is to present the photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) as a good method for contamination assessments of dried sewage sludge. Two types of granular sewage sludge: Sewage sludge 1 (SS1) taken from Polish wastewater treatment plant operating in the mechanical-biological system and sewage sludge 2 (SS2) taken from mechanical-biological-chemical wastewater treatment plant with phosphorus precipitation were analysed. The spectrophotometer FTIR Nicolet 6700 equipped with photoacoustic cell (Model 300, MTEC, USA) was used. The comparison with the most popular analytical methods (GC-MS) was also done. The results of PAS studies confirm the difference between the SS1 and SS2 which is in agreement with the GC-MS analysis. Higher absorbance was observed at each wavelength characteristics for the oscillator of chemical moieties for the SS1 with respect to the SS2.

Investigation of the effectiveness of nutrient release from sludge foam after hybrid pretreatment processes by IR analysis and EDX Quantification.

One of the problems in wastewater treatment technologies is the formation of foam/scum. It is thought that filamentous microorganisms are responsible for foam formation and foam elimination/destruction can be carried out by various methods, among which disintegration is included. Hybrid disintegration (chemical decomposition and hydrodynamic cavitation) of foam microorganisms results in the transfer of phosphates, ammonium nitrogen, magnesium and potassium from the foam solids into the liquid phase. Application of both methods as a hybrid pretreatment process caused an increase in the concentration of phosphates of about 650 mg [Formula: see text] L(-1) and ammonium nitrogen of about 30 mg [Formula: see text] L(-1). The concentration of Mg(2+) and K(+) in the solution increased from 6.8 and 26.1 mg Mg(2+) L(-1) to 32.2 and 82.2 mg K(+) L(-1), respectively. The presence of nutrients and metal cations in the solid phase of foam was acknowledged by EDX Quantification. The confirmation of physico-chemical changes and release of cellular matter as a result of cellular lysis (hybrid disintegration) was done by infrared analysis. It was demonstrated that the disintegration of foam permits the removal of a part of nutrients in the form of struvite.

The Impact of Oxone on Disintegration and Dewaterability of Waste Activated Sludge.

Biochemical parameters such as soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD), phosphate, ammonium nitrogen and proteins are often used to characterize the efficiency of disintegration of waste activated sludge (WAS) flocs and microorganism cells. In this study, the chemical disintegration using peroxymonosulfate (MPS, Oxone) and thermally activated MPS, were evaluated for the destruction of WAS. Our study was conducted for chemical disintegration of WAS by MPS in doses between 84.7 - 847.5 mg/g(TS) activated by temperatures of 50, 70 and 90 °C over 30 minutes. The application of these methods causes an increase in the soluble COD value and protein concentration in the supernatant. Also, they positively influence the sludge volume index (SVI) which decreased from 89.8 to 17.2 ml/g. Our research work confirmed that the application of thermally activated MPS may become a new effective way of improving sewage treatment and sewage sludge processing.

The impact of peroxydisulphate and peroxymonosulphate on disintegration and settleability of activated sludge.

Chemical treatment processes have mostly been considered as an efficient way for biosolid minimization. The improvement of sludge dewatering was more a welcome side-effect of these sequential processes. In this study, heat-activated sodium peroxydisulphate (PDS) and potassium peroxymonosulphate (MPS) were applied in order to disintegrate waste activated sludge (WAS). PDS and MPS treatment of WAS results in the polymer transfer of organic matter from the solid phase to the liquid phase. Our research work was done for chemical disintegration of WAS by PDS and MPS in doses of 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1% (169.5, 339.0, 508.5, 678.0 and 847.5 mg [Formula: see text]) activated at temperatures of 60°C and 90°C for 30 min. The application of these methods causes the soluble chemical oxygen demand value to increase in the supernatant. In addition, there was a positive influence on the sludge volume index which decreased for the highest doses of PDS of over 63% and 77% and MPS of over 78% and 82% through heat activation at temperatures of 60°C and 90°C, respectively. Furthermore, MPS was more successful in the floc particle destruction, therefore it caused a higher sludge settlement acceleration (sedimentation/compaction speed) than PDS. The experimental results demonstrated that the application of heat-activated PDS and MPS may become a novel effective way of processing sewage sludge.

Hybrid alkali-hydrodynamic disintegration of waste-activated sludge before two-stage anaerobic digestion process.

The first step of anaerobic digestion, the hydrolysis, is regarded as the rate-limiting step in the degradation of complex organic compounds, such as waste-activated sludge (WAS). The aim of lab-scale experiments was to pre-hydrolyze the sludge by means of low intensive alkaline sludge conditioning before applying hydrodynamic disintegration, as the pre-treatment procedure. Application of both processes as a hybrid disintegration sludge technology resulted in a higher organic matter release (soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD)) to the liquid sludge phase compared with the effects of processes conducted separately. The total SCOD after alkalization at 9 pH (pH in the range of 8.96-9.10, SCOD = 600 mg O2/L) and after hydrodynamic (SCOD = 1450 mg O2/L) disintegration equaled to 2050 mg/L. However, due to the synergistic effect, the obtained SCOD value amounted to 2800 mg/L, which constitutes an additional chemical oxygen demand (COD) dissolution of about 35 %. Similarly, the synergistic effect after alkalization at 10 pH was also obtained. The applied hybrid pre-hydrolysis technology resulted in a disintegration degree of 28-35%. The experiments aimed at selection of the most appropriate procedures in terms of optimal sludge digestion results, including high organic matter degradation (removal) and high biogas production. The analyzed soft hybrid technology influenced the effectiveness of mesophilic/thermophilic anaerobic digestion in a positive way and ensured the sludge minimization. The adopted pre-treatment technology (alkalization + hydrodynamic cavitation) resulted in 22-27% higher biogas production and 13-28% higher biogas yield. After two stages of anaerobic digestion (mesophilic conditions (MAD) + thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAD)), the highest total solids (TS) reduction amounted to 45.6% and was received for the following sample at 7 days MAD + 17 days TAD. About 7% higher TS reduction was noticed compared with the sample after 9 days MAD + 15 days TAD. Similar results were obtained for volatile solids (VS) reduction after two-stage anaerobic digestion. The highest decrease of VS was obtained when the first stage, the mesophilic digestion which lasted 7 days, was followed by thermophilic digestion for 17 days.

Infrared wave analysis after hydrodynamic and acoustic cavitation as effective method of confirming sewage sludge destruction.

The efficiency of disintegration of sewage sludge cells microorganisms were characterized using biochemical parameters such as COD, phosphate, ammonium nitrogen and proteins. The investigated process was additionally assessed using the coefficient DD (Degree of Disintegration). It has been demonstrated that a 30-min of hydrodynamic and ultrasonic disintegration causes the soluble COD value increased about 300 mg /L and 190 mg /L (average), while the degree of disintegration reached 24% and 21%, respectively. The efficiency of sewage sludge hydrodynamic and ultrasonic disintegration was confirmed by increased release of phosphate (V) (from 4 to 54 mg PO4(3-) /L and to 50 mg PO4(3-) /L, respectively), ammonium nitrogen (from 1.5 to 4 mg N-NH4(+) /L and to 3.5 mg N-NH4(+) /L, respectively) and proteins (from 5 to 70 mg/L and to 60 mg/L, respectively). The effectiveness of surplus activated sludge disintegration was tested in the infrared spectrum. Changes in absorbance at the specified wavelength attest to a release of i.e., amines, amino acids, amide groups (proteins), phosphates, ammonium salts of carboxylic acid, etc. during disintegration time. Revealing these chemical groups in over-sludge liquids attests to a destructive influence of hydrodynamic and ultrasonic cavitation on activated sludge microorganisms and effective cells lysis.

Use of hydrodynamic disintegration to accelerate anaerobic digestion of surplus activated sludge.

Hydrodynamic disintegration of activated sludge resulted in organic matter and polymers transfer from the solid phase into the liquid phase. Disintegration by hydrodynamic cavitation had a positive effect on the degree and rate of excess sludge anaerobic digestion. Also, addition of a part of anaerobic digested sludge containing adapted microorganisms resulted in acceleration of the process. The disruption of cells of foam microorganisms and addition to the digestion process led to an increase of biogas production.

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal and recovery.

Activated sludge systems designed for enhanced nutrient removal are based on the principle of altering anaerobic and aerobic conditions for growth of microorganisms with a high capacity of phosphorus accumulation. Most often, filamentous bacteria constitute a component of the activated sludge microflora. The filamentous microorganisms are responsible for foam formation and activated sludge bulking. The results obtained confirm unanimously that the filamentous bacteria have the ability of phosphorus uptake and accumulation as polyphosphates. Hydrodynamic disintegration of the foam microorganisms results in the transfer of phosphorus and metal cations and ammonium-nitrogen into the liquid phase. It was demonstrated that the disintegration of foam permits the removal of a portion of the nutrients in the form of struvite.