Modelling study of an upflow microbial fuel cell catalysed with anaerobic aged sludge

An electrochemical model for an upflow dual-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) process is proposed in this study. The model was set up on the basis of the experimental results and the analysis of biochemical and electrochemical processes in the MFC biocatalysed with anaerobic aged sludge and alternatively fuelled with a synthetic acetate-based and actual domestic wastewaters. Simulation of the process shows that the model describes the process reasonably well with correlation coefficients higher than 0.97. The analysis of model simulation illustrates how the current output depends mainly on the substrate concentration as well as other main variables. The relationship between the current output and over-voltage is revealed by the modelling study. For acetate-based wastewaters with initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations of 350, 700, 1050, and 1400 mg/L, maximum observed power densities were 290, 405, 448, and 525 mW/m² associated with maximum COD removals of 84%, 88%, 83%, and 82%, respectively.     

Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory pharmaceutical wastewater treatment using a two‐chambered microbial fuel cell

The two‐chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) was designed and used for studying the efficiency of the real wastewater treatment from a non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory pharmaceutical plant as well as from synthetic wastewater containing diclofenac sodium (DS). The removal of the contaminants was expressed regarding chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, as measured by spectrophotometry experiments. Moreover, the effect of two different types of the cathode on current characteristics and COD removal was investigated. This research showed that the Pt‐coated Ti cathode could lead to higher efficiency of both power density and COD removal. In this case, the results indicated that the maximum power density (P_max) was 20.5 and 6.5 W/m³ and the maximum COD removal was 93 and 78% for MFCs using real and synthetic wastewater, respectively.     

Effect of nitrate on the performance of single chamber air cathode microbial fuel cells

The effect of nitrate on the performance of a single chamber air cathode MFC system and the denitrification activity in the system were investigated. The maximum voltage output was not affected by 8.0mM nitrate in the medium solution at higher external resistance (270-1000Omega), but affected at lower resistance (150Omega) possibly due to the low organic carbon availability. The Coulombic efficiency was greatly affected by the nitrate concentration possibly due to the competition between the electricity generation and denitrification processes. Over 84-90% of nitrate (0.8-8.0mM) was removed from the single chamber MFCs in less than 8h in the first batch. After 4-month operation, over 85% of nitrate (8.0mM) was removed in 1h after the MFC was continuously fed with a medium solution containing nitrate. Only a small amount of nitrite (<0.01mM) was detected during the denitrification process. The similar denitrification activity observed at different external resistances (1000 and 270Omega) and open circuit mode indicates that the denitrification was not significantly affected by the electricity generation process. No electricity was generated when the MFC fed with 8.0mM nitrate was moved to a glove box (no oxygen), indicating that the bacteria on the cathode did not involve in accepting electrons from the circuit to reduce the nitrate. Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles demonstrate a similar bacterial community composition on the electrodes and in the solution but with different dominant species.     

A septic tank‐UASB combined system for domestic wastewater treatment: a pilot test

A 250 L and a 550 L pilot scale Up‐Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactors having different reactor height were fed septic tank effluents and operated at ambient temperatures of 0°C to 30°C. Both UASB reactors were fed intermittently at least 8 times per Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) and the performance was monitored at 4d and 1d HRT. The removal efficiencies of Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and Total Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD_t) were about 59–68% and 54–59%, respectively, for both reactors at both HRT. The TSS and CODt removal efficiencies of Septic tank – UASB combined system were above 80% for both HRTs tested. The average biogas yields were almost same at 4d and 1d HRT, representing 31(±3)% of influent CODt. The nitrogen and phosphorous removal efficiency was an average 20–30%. The tested system can become a suitable low cost yet effective option.     

Optimization and modelling of volatile fatty acid generation in a leachate bed reactor for utilization in microbial fuel cells

Volatile fatty acid (VFA)-rich leachate generated from acidogenesis of kitchen waste in a leach bed reactor (LBR) was utilized in an earthen microbial fuel cell (EMFC) to generate electricity. Effects of organic loading rate (OLR, 5–10 g VS/L·day) and pH (5–7) on LBR enumerated optimized parameters of OLR (10 g VS/L·day) and pH (5.74) to obtain total VFA (TVFA) of 7.7 ± 0.3 g/L in the leachate, with maximum contribution from acetic acid. Leachate obtained from the LBR was fed to the EMFC with varying OLR (2–7 kg COD/m³·day). The highest power density of 0.76 W/m³ (at OLR 7 kg COD/m³·day) was obtained with higher VFA content in the leachate. A neural network based on the Levenberg–Marquard function effectively predicted chemical oxygen demand and TVFA removal. This study establishes LBR as a techno-economic method to obtain useful substrate for EMFC. Furthermore, the response modelling of EMFC demonstrates the potential of utilizing machine learning in biological treatment.     

Further treatment of decolorization liquid of azo dye coupled with increased power production using microbial fuel cell equipped with an aerobic biocathode

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) incorporating a recently developed aerobic biocathode is designed and demonstrated. The aerobic biocathode MFC is able to further treat the liquid containing decolorization products of active brilliant red X-3B (ABRX3), a respective azo dye, and also provides increased power production. Batch test results showed that 24.8% of COD was removed from the decolorization liquid of ABRX3 (DL) by the biocathode within 12 h. Metabolism-dependent biodegradation of aniline-like compound might be mainly responsible for the decrease of overall COD. Glucose is not necessary in this process and contributes little to the COD removal of the DL. The similar COD removal rate observed under closed circuit condition (500 Ω) and opened circuit condition indicated that the current had an insignificant effect on the degradation of the DL. Addition of the DL to the biocathode resulted in an almost 150% increase in open cycle potential (OCP) of the cathode accompanied by a 73% increase in stable voltage output from 0.33 V to 0.57 V and a 300% increase in maximum power density from 50.74 mW/m² to 213.93 mW/m². Cyclic voltammetry indicated that the decolorization products of the ABRX3 contained in the DL play a role as redox mediator for facilitating electron transfer from the cathode to the oxygen. This study demonstrated for the first time that MFC equipped with an aerobic biocathode can be successfully applied to further treatment of effluent from an anaerobic system used to decolorize azo dye, providing both cost savings and high power output.     

提高SBR工艺中脱氮除磷处理效果的措施

利用序批式反应器(SBR)试验装置对城市生活污水进行处理研究，讨论了影响SBR脱氮除磷的碳源、pH值、好氧曝气等因素，并对SBR工艺中脱氮除磷的相互影响进行了探讨，提出了可以同时脱氮除磷的一种SBR的运行方式。     

Effects of hydraulic retention time and proteins on sludge toxicity for 4‐chlorophenol wastewater treatment in sequencing batch reactors

Due to the higher uncertainty of environmental risk for pollutants’ treatment by activated sludge, 10 mg/L influent 4‐chlorophenol (4‐CP) treated via a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was used as acclimated SBR. Another SBR was used as control SBR without 4‐CP. The effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and proteins on sludge toxicity for 4‐CP treatment were analysed, and compared to the control SBR. Results showed that the sludge toxicity in acclimated SBR was significantly higher than that of the control SBR. Shortening HRT from 12 to 8 hours was beneficial to degrade 4‐CP and lower sludge toxicity. The identified highly expressed protein of ABC transporter co‐existed in control and acclimated SBRs, while other proteins of TonB‐dependent receptor, heat shock 70 kDa protein and superoxide dismutase in acclimated sludge were overexpressed relative to the control sludge, which played an important function in degrading 4‐CP, resisting 4‐CP toxicity and eliminating sludge toxicity.     

Statistical modelling anaerobic digestion for process optimisation and bench‐marking: a case study of E. coli inactivation across all Thames Water conventional sewage sludge treatment sites

Untreated sewage sludge potentially contains a wide range of enteric pathogens that present a risk to human health. Mesophilic anaerobic digestion (MAD) is the most‐favoured process for sewage sludge treatment in the United Kingdom. It is a well‐established approach to sludge stabilisation, but the mechanisms responsible for pathogen removal are poorly understood. Operational data collected by Thames Water from conventional MAD sites were statistically scrutinised to examine the effects of primary and secondary digestion on the removal of the enteric indicator bacteria, Escherichia coli, by using the IBM SPSS statistical software package for ANOVA, post‐hoc and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the process temperature conditions at the MAD plants were equivalent to or exceeded the minimum estimated by the analysis necessary to comply with the 2 log₁₀ removal standard for E. coli. The results also showed that primary digestion conditions (specifically temperature) sublethally damaged E. coli and increased decay in secondary digestion and therefore over the whole digestion process.     

Comparison of chlorination and chloramination practices on microbial inactivation efficiencies within a scaled‐up water distribution network using central composite design

Disinfection practices reduce the incidence of water‐borne diseases but may result in formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in raw water that are reported to be carcinogenic. Central composite design (CCD) was employed in the present study for optimization of disinfectant dose and contact time with the rationale to evaluate if an optimal balance could be achieved between minimal DBPs formation and effective microbial inactivation with either free or combined chlorine in treated water within a lab‐scale prototype network to simulate real water distribution network conditions. After a series of experimental runs based upon design of experiments (DoE) by CCD, dose was found to be the most significant factor (P < 0.01) in determining DBPs formation in both disinfectant’s applications. Where, contact time significantly (P < 0.01) affected bacterial inactivation in chlorination experiments, in contrast, dose was effective in chloramination experiments. Thus, it was concluded that the optimal balance may be achieved in the water networks with the help of multifactorial optimization when disinfectant dose was maintained near 3 mg/L as applied chlorine dose in both disinfection cases, while contact time was 62 and 155 min for chlorine and chloramine, respectively.     

A comparative case study on seismic design of tall RC frame‐core‐tube structures in China and USA

To evaluate the major differences between the Chinese and the United States (US) seismic design codes from a structural system viewpoint, a comparative case study is conducted on a tall frame‐core‐tube building, a typical type of reinforced concrete system widely constructed in both countries. The building, originally designed using the US seismic design code, is firstly redesigned according to the Chinese seismic design code based on the information provided by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center. Secondly, the member dimensions, the dynamic characteristics, the seismic design forces and the material consumptions of the two designs are compared in some detail. Subsequently, nonlinear finite element models of both designs are established to evaluate their seismic performances under different earthquake intensities. Results indicate that the seismic design forces determined by the Chinese response spectrum are larger than those determined by the US spectrum at the same seismic hazard level. In addition, the upper‐bound restriction for the inter‐story drift ratio is more rigorously specified by the Chinese code. These two aspects have led to a higher level of material consumption for a structure designed by the Chinese code. Despite of the above discussions, the two designs yield roughly similar structural performances under earthquakes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of external mass transfer effect on biodegradation of phenol using low‐density polyethylene immobilized Bacillus flexus GS1 IIT (BHU) in a packed bed bioreactor

The impact of external mass transport on the biodegradation rate of phenol in a packed bed bioreactor (PBBR) was studied. A potential bacterial species, Bacillus flexus GS1 IIT (BHU), was isolated from the petroleum‐contaminated soil. Low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) immobilized with the B. flexus GS1 IIT (BHU) was used as packing material in the PBBR. The PBBR was operated by varying the inlet feed flow rate from 4 to 10 mL/min, and the corresponding degradation rate coefficients were found to be in the range of 0.119–0.157 L/g h. In addition, the highest removal rate of phenol was obtained to be 1.305 mg/g h at an inlet feed rate of 10 mL/min. The external mass transfer was studied using the model . A new empirical correlation for the biodegradation of phenol in the PBBR was developed after the evaluation at various values of K and n.