Upgrading of anaerobic digestion by incorporating two different hydrolysis processes

The purpose of this study was to increase the efficiency of anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS). Either thermochemical or biological hydrolysis was used as a pretreatment and the effects of both were investigated and compared. Two different three-stage digestion systems showed improved performance, although thermochemical hydrolysis showed better results than biological hydrolysis in a bench-scale operation. After anaerobic digestion with thermochemical pretreatment, the total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) reduction, volatile solid (VS) reduction, methane yield and methane biogas content were 88.9%, 77.5%, 0.52 m3/kg VS and 79.5%, respectively. These results should help in determining the best hydrolysis pretreatment process for anaerobic digestion and in improving the design and operation of the large-scale treatment of WAS by anaerobic digestion with hydrolysis systems.     

A new process for efficiently producing methane from waste activated sludge: alkaline pretreatment of sludge followed by treatment of fermentation liquid in an EGSB reactor

In the literature the production of methane from waste activated sludge (WAS) was usually conducted in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) after sludge was pretreated. It was reported in our previous publication that compared with other pretreatment methods the methane production in CSTR could be significantly enhanced when sludge was pretreated by NaOH at pH 10 for 8 days. In order to further improve methane production, this study reported a new process for efficiently producing methane from sludge, that is, sludge was fermented at pH 10 for 8 days, which was adjusted by Ca(OH)(2), and then the fermentation liquid was treated in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) for methane generation. First, for comparing the methane production observed in this study with that reported in the literature, the conventional operational model was applied to produce methane from the pH 10 pretreated sludge, that is, directly using the pH 10 pretreated sludge to produce methane in a CSTR. It was observed that the maximal methane production was only 0.61 m(3)CH(4)/m(3)-reactor/day. Then, the use of fermentation liquid of pH 10 pretreated sludge to produce methane in the reactors of up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB), anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) and EGSB was compared. The maximal methane production in UASB, ASBR, and EGSB reached 1.41, 3.01, and 12.43 m(3)CH(4)/m(3)-reactor/day, respectively. Finally, the mechanisms for EGSB exhibiting remarkably higher methane production were investigated by enzyme, adenosine-triphosphate (ATP), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses. It was found that the granular sludge in EGSB had the highest conversion efficiency of acetic acid to methane, and the greatest activity of hydrolysis and acidification enzymes and general physiology with much more Methanosarcinaceae.     

酸析黑液厌氧生物处理效果研究

采用上流式厌氧污泥床(UASB)反应器对酸析黑液进行处理,分析了酸析黑液的厌氧可生化性(BD),重点研究了不同COD容积负荷和硫酸盐容积负荷下,反应器对COD和硫酸盐的去除效果,系统p H值、氧化还原电位(ORP)和甲烷产率的变化,反应器内污泥胞外聚合物(EPS)中蛋白质和多糖含量的变化以及污泥表面Zeta电位的变化,并结合扫描电镜观察酸析黑液厌氧处理前后污泥的形态特征。结果表明,该酸析黑液的厌氧可生化性较好,BD为85.07%。反应器随着进水COD容积负荷的增加,COD去除率先上升后下降。随着进水硫酸盐容积负荷的增加,硫酸盐去除率逐渐增大。当CODCr容积负荷为2.00 kg/(m3·d)时,CODCr去除率最大值在49%;当硫酸盐容积负荷提高到12.91 kg/(m3·d)时,硫酸盐去除率上升至42%左右。系统p H值随着COD容积负荷的增加而降低,ORP随着COD容积负荷的增加而降低,最后稳定在-430 m V左右,产甲烷速率随着COD容积负荷的增加先升高后降低,最大值为0.225 L/d。进水COD容积负荷的提高使得EPS中蛋白质和多糖含量升高,污泥表面Zeta电位降低,颗粒污泥表层变得紧密厚实。     

采用IC厌氧反应器处理制浆造纸工厂废水

立式IC厌氧反应器与好氧结合处理废水,工艺水可封闭循环,实现废水零排放。采用IC厌氧反应器解决了活性污泥问题,消除泡沫和污泥疏松。年产量5万吨的纸板厂,废水处理车间COD去除率达85％～90％,在IC厌氧反应器中COD去除率为65％,并转化成生物气体（主要是甲烷）,得到的生物气体平均为1200-1500m^2／d。年产量30万t／年的纸板厂,废水处理车间COD和BOD除去率分别为72％和80％,在1C厌氧反应器中使有机污染物转化成生物气体,产生能量35000kWh／d。     

Optimizing the operation of a two-phase anaerobic digestion system digesting grass silage

This paper examines the optimization of an existing two-phase anaerobic digestion process using grass silage as a feedstock. The system comprises 6 leach beds connected to an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB). The existing system produced 305 L CH(4) kg(-1) VS added at an overall retention time of 42 days (6 leach beds emptied and fed sequentially every 7 days in series). The desired improvements were a reduction in retention time with increased methane production. It was noted in the existing system that biogas production and COD levels fell off in the last 2 days of each 7-day cycle. Thus the first change involved reduction in retention time to 30 days (6 leach beds fed sequentially every 5 days in series). This lead to a slight improvement in methane production (310 L CH(4) kg(-1) VS added). The second change was effected by separation of flows to the first stage (leach beds) and the second stage (UASB) through addition of an extra pump to optimize leaching. This led to an increase in CH(4) production (341 L CH(4) kg(-1) VS). The overall improvement from the existing system was an increase of 11.8% in methane production and a reduction in size or retention time of 40% (42 days decreased to 30 days retention time).     

Effects of temperature and hydraulic retention time on anaerobic digestion of food waste

A modified three-stage methane fermentation system was developed to digest food waste efficiently. This system consisted of three stages: semianaerobic hydrolysis, anaerobic acidogenesis and strictly anaerobic methanogenesis. In this study, we examined the effects of temperature and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the methanogenesis. Operation temperature was adjusted from 30 degrees C to 55 degrees C, and the HRTs ranged from 8 to 12 d. The rate of soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) removal correlated with digestion time according to the first-order kinetic model developed by Grau et al. [Water Res., 9, 637-642 (1975)]. With liquor food waste, thermophilic digesters showed a higher rate of sCOD removal than mesophilic digesters. The rates of biogas and methane production by thermophilic digesters were higher than those by mesophilic digesters regardless of HRT. Although maximum biogas production occurred when an HRT of 10 d was used, the methane yield was the highest in the reactor when an HRT of 12 d was used (223 l CH4/kg sCODdegraded). However, digestion stability decreased when an HRT of 8 d was used. The concentration of NH3-N generated in this experiment did not inhibit anaerobic digestion.     

Parameter identification and modeling of the biochemical methane potential of waste activated sludge

Anaerobic digestion is widely used in waste activated sludge treatment. In this paper, partial least-squares (PLS) is employed to identify the parameters that are determining the biochemical methane potential (BMP) of waste activated sludge. Moreover, a model is developed for the prediction of the BMP. A strong positive correlation is observed between the BMP and volatile fatty acids and carbohydrate concentrations in the sludge. A somewhat weaker correlation with COD is also present. Soluble organics (sCOD, soluble carbohydrates and soluble proteins) were shown not to influence the BMP in the observed region. This finding could be most-valuable in the context of application of sludge pretreatment methods. The obtained model was able to satisfactory predict the BMP.     

制浆造纸污泥厌氧消化的研究进展

总结了近几年国内外制浆造纸污泥厌氧消化的研究进展。针对造纸污泥燃气化潜质,介绍了造纸污泥的主要成分、性质及厌氧消化过程中存在的问题,讨论了热、化学、生物和机械预处理方法对污泥厌氧消化产甲烷性能的影响,以期对以后的研究工作提供一定的借鉴作用。     

Enhanced treatment efficiency of an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) for cassava stillage with high solids content

Cassava stillage is a high strength organic wastewater with high suspended solids (SS) content. The efficiency of cassava stillage treatment using an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) was significantly enhanced by discharging settled sludge to maintain a lower sludge concentration (about 30 g/L) in the reactor. Three hydraulic retention times (HRTs), namely 10 d, 7.5 d, 5 d, were evaluated at this condition. The study demonstrated that at an HRT of 5 d and an organic loading rate (OLR) of 11.3 kg COD/(m³ d), the total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) and soluble COD (SCOD) removal efficiency can still be maintained at above 80%. The settleability of digested cassava stillage was improved significantly, and thus only a small amount of settled sludge needed to be discharged to maintain the sludge concentration in the reactor. Furthermore, the performance of ASBR operated at low and high sludge concentration (about 79.5 g/L without sludge discharged) was evaluated at an HRT of 5 d. The TCOD removal efficiency and SS in the effluent were 61% and 21.9 g/L respectively at high sludge concentration, while the values were 85.1% and 2.4 g/L at low sludge concentration. Therefore, low sludge concentration is recommended for ASBR treating cassava stillage at an HRT 5 d due to lower TCOD and SS in the effluent, which could facilitate post-treatment.     

Enhanced biohydrogen production from sewage sludge with alkaline pretreatment

Batch tests were carried out to analyze influences of the alkaline pretreatment and initial pH value on biohydrogen production from sewage sludge. Experimental results of the impact of different initial pH on biohydrogen production showed that both the maximal hydrogen yield occurred and that no methane was detected in the tests of at the initial pH of 11.0. The final pH decreased at the initial pH of 7.0-12.5 but increased atthe initial pH of 3.0-6.0, probably due to the combination of solubilized protein from sludge and the formation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and ammonia during biohydrogen fermentation. The performance of biohydrogen production using the raw sludge and the alkaline pretreated sludge was then compared in batch fermentation tests atthe initial pH of 11.0. The hydrogen yield was increased from 9.1 mL of H2/g of dry solids (DS) of the raw sludge to 16.6 mL of H2/g of DS of the alkaline pretreated sludge. No methane and less carbon dioxide (0.8% of control) were present in the biohydrogen production from the alkaline pretreated sludge. These results clearly showed that biohydrogen production could be enhanced and maintained stable by the combination of the high initial pH and alkaline pretreatment. The mechanism of biohydrogen production from sewage sludge at high initial pH was therefore investigated because the results of this study were differentfrom previous studies of biohydrogen production. Results showed that protein was the major substrate for biohydrogen production from sewage sludge and that Eubacterium multiforme and Paenibacillus polymyxa were the dominant bacteria in biohydrogen production from alkaline pretreated sludge at an initial pH of 11.0. The combination of alkaline pretreatment and high initial pH could not only maintain a suitable pH range for the growth of dominant hydrogen-producing anaerobes but also inhibit the growth of hydrogen-consuming anaerobes. In addition, the changes in pH value, oxidation-reduction potential, VFAs and soluble COD during hydrogen fermentation were also discussed.     

A novel fed-batch digestion system for biomethanation of plant biomasses

Plant biomasses, which in the absence of adequate pretreatment pose serious operational problems in biogas production using conventional domestic flow-through digesters, can be successfully digested in a novel fedbatch digestion system that produces a steady rate of biogas. Basically, the system is a batch digestion operated with a regular input of a calculated amount of feed based on first order decay kinetics in order to maintain a regular biogas production rate. For nearly three years the system was tested in a laboratory-scale fed-batch digester (10 l) using dried water hyacinth as feed providing the desired biogas production rate. A field-scale domestic digester of masonry construction with a working volume of 10 m3 was designed and tested for about 9 months by feeding a mixture of dried water hyacinth or banana stem along with sugarcane press mud, yielding an average biogas production of 90-100% of the expected rate calculated on the basis of the feed rate.     

BMW厌氧消化过程中产气性能影响因素研究

研究了农贸市场生物废弃物进行不同接种物浓度、颗粒度及pH值的厌氧发酵产气特性。结果表明:适宜的接种物浓度有利于微生物的生长、产气速率加快、产气量增大,接种物浓度为5/3和5/4在反应13天日产气量达到1400ml,甲烷含量超过50%以上;不同粒径下生物气体产量和甲烷气含量均有差异,颗粒度对发酵产气有一定影响,颗粒粒径的减小可使得表面积增大,提高气体产量,同时粒径的减小可以提高消化速率,可以促进生物过程,尤其是对起始的水解反应的促进,1cm大小的粒径在日产气量居最高水平达到1290ml,甲烷气体含量高达到51%;上料前初始pH值的调节有利于厌氧反应产生甲烷,碱度的作用主要是提供体系保持中性pH所需要的缓冲能力,将发酵液初始pH值调节至弱碱性,有利于厌氧发酵产气,增加甲烷含量,发酵罐中初始pH值调控为7.5的发酵罐产气量大且甲烷含量超过57%。     

Stimulation of anaerobic digestion of thickened sewage sludge by iron-rich sludge produced by the fenton method

In batch mesophilic anaerobic digestion of a mixture of iron-rich sludge collected from Fenton treatment of molasses wastewater (MWW) and thickened sewage sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant, the methane content in the gas from the mixture was significantly higher than that from thickened sewage sludge only. When minerals in iron-rich sludge obtained by incineration were fed to thickened sewage sludge in semi-continuous experiments, the methane content obtained by digestion of thickened sewage sludge only increased approximately from 53% to 64%. These results suggest that iron-rich sludge can enhance methane production for thickened sewage sludge.     

Electricity generation from artificial wastewater using an upflow microbial fuel cell

The upflow microbial fuel cell (UMFC) was developed to generate electricity while simultaneously treating wastewater. During a five-month period of feeding a sucrose solution as the electron donor, the UMFC continuously generated electricity with a maximum power density of 170 mW/m2. To achieve this power density, the artificial electron-mediator hexacyanoferrate was required in the cathode chamber. The power density increased with increasing chemical oxygen demand (COD) loading rates up to 2.0 g COD/ L/day after which no further increases in power density were observed, indicating the presence of limiting factors. The overarching limiting factor for the UMFC in this study was the internal resistance, which was estimated as 84 omega at the maximum power density, and restricted the power output by causing a significant decrease in operating potential. Low Coulombic efficiencies varying from 0.7 to 8.1% implied that the electron-transfer bacteria were incapable of converting all of the available organics into electricity, so the excessive substrate created niches for the growth of methanogens. We found that the soluble COD (SCOD) removal efficiencies remained over 90% throughout the operational period, mainly because of methanogenic activity, which accounted for 35 to 58% of the SCOD removed at a loading rate of 1.0 g COD/L/ day. Additionally, transport limitation due to insufficient substrate diffusion was shown by cyclic voltammetry (CV).     

剩余污泥高固态卧式厌氧消化的中试启动研究

针对含固率20%的剩余污泥,采用卧式反应器进行厌氧消化的中试启动研究.采取连续进料的方式,通过太阳能保温系统进行反应器的启动,经过3个月的运行,污泥产沼气率达到274 mL/gVS,甲烷体积分数为58%,VS转化率达到46%,蛋白质和多糖降解率分别为36.7%和30.1%,消化过程中VFA质量分数最大值为2 395 mg/kg,最大值出现在第42天。消化过程中氨氮质量分数一直缓慢增加,最大值约124.3 mg/kg。反应器沿程4个取样口污泥的VS,蛋白质和多糖降解率呈现出明显的差异性,反应器内污泥的降解率与其所处的沿程距离成正相关。经过73 d厌氧消化后,污泥的产甲烷潜力值达到273 mL/gVS,说明其已具备了良好的产甲烷潜力,反应器中的剩余污泥已转变为具有厌氧活性的污泥。     

Potential of wastewater-treating anaerobic granules for biomethanation of synthesis gas

Gasification of biomass produces a mixture of gas (mainly carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO(2)), and hydrogen (H(2))) called synthesis gas, or syngas, by thermal degradation without combustion. Syngas can be used for heat or electricity production by thermochemical processes. This project aims at developing an alternative way to bioupgrade syngas into biogas (mainly methane), via anaerobic fermentation. Nonacclimated industrial granular sludge to be used as reactor inoculum was initially evaluated for mesophilic carboxydotrophic methanogenesis potential in batch tests at 4 and 8 mmol CO/g VSS.d, in the absence and presence of H(2) and CO(2), respectively. Granular sludge was then introduced into a 30 L gas-lift reactor and supplied with CO, to study the production of methane and other metabolites, at different gas dilutions as well as feeding and recirculation rates. A maximal CO conversion efficiency of 75%, which was gas-liquid mass transfer limited, occurred at a CO partial pressure of 0.6 atm combined with a gas recirculation ratio of 20:1. The anaerobic granule potential for methanogenesis from CO was likely hydrogenotrophic, combined with CO-dependent H(2) formation, either under mesophilic or thermophilic conditions. Thermophilic conditions provide the anaerobic granules with a CO-bioconversion potential significantly larger (5-fold) than under mesophilic conditions, so long as the gas-liquid transfer is alleviated.     

Novel methanogenic rotatable bioelectrochemical system operated with polarity inversion

A novel membraneless bioelectrochemical system termed rotatable bioelectrochemical contactor (RBEC) was fabricated and evaluated for its ability to recover useful energy (here methane) from a low organic strength wastewater. We studied the operational characteristics of the RBEC by operating it as a three-electrode electrolysis cell. A stack of conductive disks (each subdivided into two half disks), similar to rotating biological contactors, were rotated with one-half disk immersed in the wastewater and the other into the gas headspace. By carrying out regular half rotations (180° rotation) the anode became the cathode and vice versa. This operation resulted in the build-up of a biofilm that could catalyze both an anodic acetate oxidation and a cathode-driven methanogenesis. Methane production rate was directly proportional to the applied electrical energy. Increase in current density (from 0.16 to 4.1 A m(-2)) resulted in a faster COD removal (from 0.2 to 1.38 kg COD m(-3) day(-1)) and methane production (from 0.04 to 0.53 L L(-1) day(-1)). Of the electrons flowing across the circuit, over 80% were recovered as methane. Such methane production was electrochemically driven by the headspace-exposed cathodic half disks, which released the methane directly to the gas-phase. Energy analysis shows that the new design requires less energy for COD removal than what is typically required for oxygen supply in activated sludge processes. Because the system could operate without wastewater recirculation against gravity; additional pH buffer chemicals; ion-exchange membranes or electrochemical catalysts, it has desirable characteristics for process up-scale. Further, the current report shows the first example of a BES with identical biofilm (due to intermittent polarity inversion) on both electrodes.     

乳品有机废水产气条件优化

对乳品废水处理过程中的产气量以及COD进行测试,找出一些关键影响参数:温度、pH值、泥水比以及发酵时间对最佳产气状态的影响并与废水COD下降状况进行比较,从而进一步寻找出最佳产气与废水处理最佳效果的优化工艺条件。     

Biofiltration for mitigation of methane emission from animal husbandry

Removal of methane from exhaust air of animal houses and manure storage has a large potential for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from animal husbandry. The aim of this study was to design a biofilter for methane removal at a full-scale livestock production facility. Air from the headspace of a covered 6 m3 liquid manure storage (air flow: 0.75-8.5 m3 m(-3) h(-1); CH4: 500-5500 mg m(-3)) was treated in an experimental biofilter (160 L). The filterbed, a mixture of compost and perlite in a 40:60 (v/v) ratio, was inoculated with activated sludge that had shown a good methane oxidation rate as compared to pure cultures in preceding laboratory tests. Methane removal up to 85% could be achieved in the experimental biofilter. The methane removal (g m(-3) h(-1)) appeared to be proportional to the concentration (g m(-3)) with k = 2.5 h(-1). Relatively low methane concentrations and high air flows, as reported for the exhaust air of animal houses, would require very large biofilter sizes. Extrapolation of the results showed that treatment of air from a 1000 m3 liquid manure storage with a methane concentration of 22 g m(-3) would require a 20 m3 biofilter for a desired emission reduction of 50%. The costs for such a biofilter are USD 26 per t of CO2 equiv reduction.     

Treatment of liquid fraction separated from liquidized food waste in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor

Thermochemical liquidization as a pretreatment for anaerobic digestion of food waste was studied using a laboratory-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor for a period of 82 d. Model food waste (approximately 90 wt% moisture content) was thermochemically liquidized at 175 degrees C for 1 h. The liquidized food waste was separated into a solid phase (6-10 wt%) and a liquid phase (85-89 wt%). The diluted liquid phase was continuously treated by anaerobic digestion using a UASB reactor at 35 degrees C. The volumetric loading rate was increased stepwise to 6.4-7.2 g total organic carbon (TOC)/l-reactor/d. Methane production was found to be approximately 0.35-0.61 l/g-TOC removed. The range of TOC removal efficiencies was 67-69% at an influent TOC concentration of 10.1-11.1 g/l and a volumetric loading rate of 4.8-5.3 g-TOC/l-reactor/d. This treatment process using an UASB reactor could be suitable for resource recovery from food waste.