Enhanced production of volatile fatty acids by adding a kind of sulfate reducing bacteria under alkaline pH.

Anaerobic digestion could make sludge stable and harmless, and the volatile fatty acids (VFAs) produced from it. The objective of this study was to reduced sludge production and realize the resource utilization of VFAs through enhance anaerobic sludge fermentation by adding sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) under alkaline pH. Under the neutral and alkaline pH, SRB was added into the sludge fermentation liquid with sole stock solution and sterilization treatment respectively, while the liquid without any additives was used as control. The results indicated that obvious increase of the production of VFAs was observed after adding SRB under alkaline pH. And, more protein and polysaccharide were obtained which were the main substrates for the production of VFAs. The concentration of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and phosphate (PO43--P) were also increased with the addition of SRB. So, a high yield production of VFAs could be achieved through the addition of SRB + alkaline pH.

Improve bio-activity of anaerobic sludge by low energy ultrasound.

This research focused on ultrasound-enhanced bio-activity of anaerobic sludge. Low energy ultrasound irradiation can increase the bio-activity of anaerobic sludge. Ultrasonic parameter, characteristics of anaerobic sludge and experimental conditions are important parameters which affect the enhancement effect on anaerobic sludge. In order to assess the effects of characteristics of anaerobic sludge and experimental conditions on ultrasonic irradiation of anaerobic sludge, experiments with different characteristics of anaerobic sludge were carried out and analyzed with the content of coenzyme F420 and dehydrogenase activity (DHA). The results showed that anaerobic sludge bio-activity was impacted by the initial temperature, initial chemical oxygen demand (COD), sludge concentration, and stirring during the ultrasonic process. Optimal performance was achieved when sound frequency, power density, and ultrasonic irradiation period was 20 kHz, 0.1 W/mL, and 10 min, respectively, under which the wastewater COD removal efficiency was increased by 12.9 percentage points. The results indicated that low temperature could affect the anaerobic sludge irradiation effect, while intermittent stirring could enhance the bio-activity of anaerobic sludge irradiation effect and low substrate concentration improved anaerobic sludge activity by ultrasound.

A new method for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulating bacteria selection under physical selective pressure.

An aerobic dynamic discharge (ADD) process involving physical selective pressure to favor the accumulation of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) accumulating bacteria in microbial mixed cultures (MMCs) is proposed and evaluated in this study. Sequencing batch reactor PHA production in the ADD mode was compared to the conventional aerobic dynamic feeding (ADF) mode. Results showed that the cultures selected under the ADD mode showed a better PHA producing potential than ADF mode cultures in terms of both maximum PHA content and selection time, explained by altered physical selective pressure. The maximum PHA content of 74.16 (± 0.03)% and PHA yield of 0.72 (± 0.07) C mol PHA/C mol Ac were achieved after 30 days of the ADD operation, which were much higher than those obtained under the same organic loading rate in the ADF operation. The ADD mode is a promising method for quick selection of a strong-PHA accumulating culture.

Continuous volatile fatty acid production from waste activated sludge hydrolyzed at pH 12.

This study adopted rapid alkaline treatment at pH 12 to hydrolyze 66% of total chemical oxygen demands. Then the hydrolyzed liquor was fermented in a continuous-flow stirred reactor to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs) at 8-h hydraulic retention time and at 35 °C. The maximum VFA productivity reached 365 mg VFAs g(-1) volatile suspended solids in a 45-d operation, with most produced VFAs being acetate and propionate, principally produced by protein degradation. The Bacteroidia, ε-proteobacteria and the Clostridia were identified to be the classes correlating with the fermentation processes. The fermented liquor was applied to denitrifying phosphorus removal process as alternative carbon source after excess phosphorus and nitrogen being recycled via struvite precipitation. Fermented liquors from alkaline hydrolysis-acid fermentation on waste activated sludge are a potential renewable resource for applications that need organic carbons.

Enhanced production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from sewage sludge by ß-cyclodextrin.

Organic matter in sewage sludge can be converted into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as renewable carbon sources. This work for the first time demonstrates that ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) molecules enhance sludge hydrolysis for production of VFAs. With 0.2gß-CDg(-1) dried solids (DSs), the increment rate for VFAs peaked at 4200gg(-1)DSsg(-1) ß-CD, with acetate and propionate as the predominant VFAs. Compositional and microbial community analyses confirm that the ß-CD molecules break a cell's membrane, such that it releases intracellular substances. Although ß-CD molecules inhibited activities of methanogens, they did not impair those of acid-forming bacteria, thereby demonstrating that ß-CD-assisted VFAs are renewable organic carbon sources, except in anaerobic digestion processes.

Improved volatile fatty acids production from proteins of sewage sludge with anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) under anaerobic condition.

Organic matters in sewage sludge can be converted into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as renewable carbon sources. This work for the first time applied anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) for enhancing VFA production from sewage sludge. With 0.066 or 0.33 g AQDS g(-1) dried solids (DS), the yields for VFAs peak at 403 or 563 mg l(-1), 1.9- or 2.7-fold to the control. The accumulated VFAs were principally composed of acetate and propionate. The AQDS enhances degradation rates of model proteins (bovine serum albumin), but had little enhancement on that of model polysaccharides (dextrans). The acidification step is proposed the rate-limiting step for VFA production from sewage sludge, in which the AQDS molecules shuttle electrons to accelerate the redox reactions associated with amino acid degradation. Methanogenic activities are inhibited in the presence of AQDS. The AQDS-assisted VFAs are renewable organic carbon sources, although their direct use for anaerobic digestion is not advised.

Inhibition and recovery of nitrification in treating real coal gasification wastewater with moving bed biofilm reactor.

Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was used to treat real coal gasification wastewater. Nitrification of the MBBR was inhibited almost completely during start-up period. Sudden increase of influent total NH3 concentration was the main factor inducing nitrification inhibition. Increasing DO concentration in the bulk liquid (from 2 to 3 mg/L) had little effect on nitrification recovery. Nitrification of the MBBR recovered partially by the addition of nitrifying sludge into the reactor and almost ceased within 5 days. Nitrification ratio of the MBBR achieved 65% within 12 days by increasing dilute ratio of the influent wastewater with tap water. The ratio of nitrification decreased to 25% when influent COD concentration increased from 650 to 1000 mg/L after nitrification recovery and recovered 70% for another 4 days.

Aerobic denitrification by novel isolated strain using NO-2-N as nitrogen source.

Biological denitrification reaction can be achieved under aerobic environment. Few aerobic denitrifiers using nitrite as sole nitrogen source were identified. Using nitrite as the sole nitrogen source, this work assessed the denitrification activity of yy7, an aerobic heterotrophic denitrifier identified as Pseudomonas sp. (94% similarity) by 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. The logistic equation describes the cell growth curve, yielding a generation time of 2.9h at an initial 18 mg l(-1)NO(-)2-N. Reduction of NO(-)2-N was primarily achieved during its logarithmic growth phase, and was accompanied by an increase in suspension pH and near complete consumption of dissolved oxygen. Three genes relating to nirK, norB, and nosZ were noted to involve in isolate strain. Isolate yy7 can survive and remove up to 40 mg l(-1)NO(-)2-N and, hence, can be applied as an effective aerobic denitrifier during simultaneous nitrification and denitrification via nitrite processes.

Removal of phenols, thiocyanate and ammonium from coal gasification wastewater using moving bed biofilm reactor.

A laboratory-scale moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) with a volume of 4 L was used to study the biodegradation of coal gasification wastewater. Maximum removal efficiencies of 81%, 89%, 94% and 93% were obtained for COD, phenols, SCN(-) and NH(4)(+)-N, respectively. NO(2)(-)-N accumulation induced increase of effluent COD concentration when the hydraulic residence time (HRT) decreased. Phenols removal was not affected when the HRT decreased from 48 to 32 h. Effluent SCN(-) and NH(4)(+)-N concentration increased with the decrease of the HRT, and decreased gradually when the HRT returned to 48 h. Batch experiments were carried out to study performance of the suspended and attached growth biomass in the MBBR.

Electrokinetic remediation and microbial community shift of ß-cyclodextrin-dissolved petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil.

Electrokinetic (EK) migration of ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD), which is inclusive of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), is an economically beneficial and environmentally friendly remediation process for oil-contaminated soils. Remediation studies of oil-contaminated soils generally prepared samples using particular TPHs. This study investigates the removal of TPHs from, and electromigration of microbial cells in field samples via EK remediation. Both TPH content and soil respiration declined after the EK remediation process. The strains in the original soil sample included Bacillus sp., Sporosarcina sp., Beta proteobacterium, Streptomyces sp., Pontibacter sp., Azorhizobium sp., Taxeobacter sp., and Williamsia sp. Electromigration of microbial cells reduced the biodiversity of the microbial community in soil following EK remediation. At 200 V m(-1) for 10 days, 36% TPH was removed, with a small population of microbial cells flushed out, demonstrating that EK remediation is effective for the present oil-contaminated soils collected in field.

Effects of chloride ions on electro-coagulation-flotation process with aluminum electrodes for algae removal.

Electro-coagulation-flotation (ECF) is one of the most promising technologies that offers an attractive alternative to conventional coagulation and flotation. In this study, the effectiveness and mechanisms of algae removal by ECF process using aluminum electrodes was investigated in the presence of Cl(-) ions. The results showed that the addition of Cl(-) ions (1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 8.0 mM) had a promoting effect on the algae removal in terms of both the cell density and chlorophyll-a, which could be attributed to the following two reasons. Firstly, active chlorine could be generated in the ECF when Cl(-) ions were present. The electrochemically generated active chlorine was demonstrated to be effective for the inactivation of algae cells with the aid of the electric field in the ECF. Secondly, the Cl(-) ions in the algae solution could enhance the release of Al(3+) from the aluminum electrodes in the ECF. Through SEM-EDX analysis, pitting corrosion and alleviated formation of oxide film by Cl(-) ions were observed on the anode surface. When considering that Cl(-) ions are universally present in natural waters, the effects of Cl(-) on ECF process for algae removal are of great significance.

Performances and nitrification properties of biological aerated filters with zeolite, ceramic particle and carbonate media.

The performance and nitrification properties of three BAFs, with ceramic, zeolite and carbonate media, respectively, were investigated to evaluate the feasibility of employing these materials as biological aerated filter media. All three BAFs shown a promising COD and SS removal performance, while influent pH was 6.5-8.1, air-liquid ratio was 5:1 and HRT was 1.25-2.5 h, respectively. Ammonia removal in BAFs was inhibited when organic and ammonia nitrogen loading were increased, but promoted effectively with the increase pH value. Zeolite and carbonate were more suitable for nitrification than ceramic particle when influent pH below 6.5. It is feasible to employ these media in BAF and adequate bed volume has to be supplied to satisfy the requirement of removal COD, SS and ammonia nitrogen simultaneously in a biofilter. The carbonate with a strong buffer capacity is more suitable to treat the wastewater with variable or lower pH.

Electro-coagulation-flotation process for algae removal.

Algae in surface water have been a long-term issue all over the world, due to their adverse influence on drinking water treatment process as well as drinking water quality. The algae removal by electro-coagulation-flotation (ECF) technology was investigated in this paper. The results indicated that aluminum was an excellent electrode material for algae removal as compared with iron. The optimal parameters determined were: current density=1 mA/cm(2), pH=4-7, water temperature=18-36 degrees C, algae density=0.55 x 10(9)-1.55 x 10(9) cells/L. Under the optimal conditions, 100% of algae removal was achieved with the energy consumption as low as 0.4 kWh/m(3). The ECF performed well in acid and neutral conditions. At low initial pH of 4-7, the cell density of algae was effectively removed in the ECF, mainly through the charge neutralization mechanism; while the algae removal worsened when the pH increased (7-10), and the main mechanism shifted to sweeping flocculation and enmeshment. The mechanisms for algae removal at different pH were also confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. Furthermore, initial cell density and water temperature could also influence the algae removal. Overall, the results indicated that the ECF technology was effective for algae removal, from both the technical and economical points of view.