Experimental studies on a kinetic model for design and operation of activated sludge processes

Previous experimentation in our laboratory has shown that the classical theory developed for continuous growth of pure cultures in completely mixed aerobic systems in which the recycle cell concentration factor, c (where c = X_R/X), is a selectable system constant, did not provide a suitable model for the heterogeneous (natural) populations of the activated sludge process. Another model was derived in which the recycle cell concentration, X_R was employed as a system constant instead of c, and computational analysis was performed. Laboratory pilot plant experimentation was undertaken in order to determine whether a “steady state” in aerator biological solids concentration, X?, and substrate concentration, S?, could be approached under this mode of operation. Studies were performed at various organic feed concentrations holding dilution rate, D, at 0.125 hr^?1, hydraulic recycle ratio, α, at 0.25, and X^R at 10,000 mg/liter. Also, values of maximum specific growth rate, μ_max, and saturation constant, K_s were determined. It was found that the model approached the steady state condition with heterogeneous populations more closely than did the classical model, and the high degree of treatment efficiency predicted by the model was demonstrated experimentally.     

Effects of quantitative shock loadings on the constant recycle sludge concentration activated-sludge process

The reliability of the process of Ramanathan and Gaudy (Biotechnol Bioeng., 13 , 125 (1971)) for the completely mixed activated-sludge process holding the recycle cell concentration, X_R, as a system constant with respect to step changes in hydraulic retention time was investigated. The experiments were run at initial dilution rates of ?, ?, ¼, and ½ hr^?1 treating a soft drink bottling wastewater. The influent substrate concentration was maintained at 1000 mg/liter chemical oxygen demand and the hydraulic recycle ratio at 0.3. The recycle sludge concentration was maintained at about 7000 mg/liter. It was found that the system could accommodate hydraulic shock loads up to 200% positive changes and down to 50%negative changes without disruption of the effluent quality. Shorter retention time of the range studied, from 2 to 8 hr, has the advantage of shorter response time with respect to the response of the concentration of biological solids in the reactor.     

The application of constant recycle solids concentration in completely mixed oxygen activated sludge process

For better operational control of the completely mixed oxygen activated sludge process (CMOAS), a study concerning the kinetics, performance, and operational stability of the Ramanathan-Gaudy model was conducted. Short-term experiments were conducted at various dilution rates (1/9, 1/6, 1/3, 1/1.5, and 1/1.0 hr^?1) by using two recycle solids concentration values (5000 and 10,000 mg/liter). The influent substrate was an actual industrial organic wastewater (soft drink waste) and its concentration was maintained at 1000 mg/liter COD. The hydraulic recycle ratio, α, was maintained at 0.30. It was found that for CMOAS system with constant recycle cell concentration, a “steady state” with respect to reactor biological solids and effluent COD at different dilution rates could be attained. No appreciable dilute-out of reactor biological solids and substrate was observed up to the dilution rate of 1 hr^?1 for both systems of different X_R (5000 and 10,000 mg/liter). For the system of X_R = 5000 mg/liter, except the dilution rate of hr^?1, the effluent filtrate COD was lower than 100 mg/liter, the aerator biological solids concentration was about 1550 mg/liter, and the COD removal efficiency was higher than 90% for all dilution rates. For the system of X_R = 10,000 mg/liter, the effluent filtrate COD was lower than 71 mg/liter, the aerator biological solids concentration was about 2750 mg/liter, and the COD removal efficiency was higher than 90% throughout all the dilution rates selection in the present study. The value of the Sludge Volume Index (SVI) was the range of 37.0 to 58.5 and provided good settleability of sludge. The sludge yield was 0.53 for the system of X_R = 5000 mg/liter and 0.57 for the system of X_R = 10,000 mg/liter. The carbohydrate and the protein content of the cells were 10.1–21.6% and 35.6–50.6%, respectively. For predicting the reactor biological solid and effluent COD of the CMOAS system by using the Ramanathan-Gaudy model, two sets of values for the biological kinetic constants should be considered since it provided the best fit of predicted values of the observed values. In the present study, μ_m = 0.4 hr^?1, k_s = 92 mg/liter for 1/3 ? D ? 1, and μ_m = 0.05 hr^?1, k_s = 11.1 mg/liter for 1/9 ? D < 1/3 were used to calculate the predicted values of reactor biological solid and effluent filtrate COD.     

Effect of sludge recycle on performance of a rotating biodisc contactor treating saline wastewater

A rotating biodisc contactor (RBC) was used for biological treatment of synthetic saline wastewater with and without sludge (cell) recycle. Synthetic wastewater composed of diluted molasses, urea, KH_zPO₄, MgSO₄ and 3% salt (NaCl) was fed to the RBC unit with different flow rates. Underflow from a sedimentation tank placed at the end of RBC unit was recycled to the RBC unit with a constant flow rate. COD removal rates and efficiencies were determined for the cases of with and without sludge recycle and compared. COD removal efficiencies and rates obtained with sludge recycle were higher than those obtained without sludge recycle at low A/Q ratios (high flow rate) because of extra residence time provided by sedimentation tank. However, no significant difference was observed in the performance of RBC with and without sludge recycle at high A/Q ratios (low flow rates). Because of poor sedimentation characteristics of the culture no significant increase in biomass concentration in the RBC was observed when the system was operated with sludge recycle.     

Biological kinetic behaviors and operational performances in aerated and oxygenated systems

Biological kinetic behaviors of the oxygenated and aerated activated sludge process were studied and compared in both once-through and constant sludge recycle systems. The models derived by Herbert, Elsworth, and Telling [J. Gen. Microbiol., 14 , 601 (1956)] and Ramanathan and Gaudy [Biotechnol. Bioeng., 11 , 207 (1969)] were used for the studies of once-through and constant sludge recycle systems, respectively. Soft drink waste water was used for the growth limiting substrate. Temperature was controlled within 30 ± 2°C. The influent substrate concentration was maintained at 1,000 mg/liter. The experiments were conducted at various dilution rates (from \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \frac{1}{9} $\end{document} to 1/1.0 hr^?1), and recycle solids concentration values (from 5,000 to 10,000 mg/liter), with hydraulic recycle ratio, α, at 0.3. Biological kinetic constants were evaluated and compared. It was found that these constants were different for the aerated and oxygenated systems within a certain range of dilution rates studied. The critical dilution rates for diluting out effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD) occurred at 0.1 and 0.2 hr^?1in the once-through operation, and 0.2 and 0.4 hr^?1in the sludge recycle operation for aerated and oxygenated systems, respectively. Observed sludge yield values and specific growth rate were varied with the type of aeration and with and without constant sludge recycle concentration applied. Sludge carbohydrates and proteins content in the oxygenation system (cell recycle) were 10.1–21.6% and 35.6–52.2%. Sludge volume index in the air and oxygenation systems varied from 41.4 to 354 and 31.9 to 58.5, respectively.     

How performance of a recycle plug flow reactor is optimized for protease-driven autocatalytic reactions

The balance equations to a continuous plug flow recycle reactor performing a protease-mediated autocatalytic reaction were analytically developed under the assumption of a Michaelis-Menten type of mechanism. The necessary condition for the recycle ratio that leads to the minimum reactor volume was set up and the resulting expression was numerically solved for the optimum ratio of recycle, R _opt, as a function of the desired conversion of reactant (or pro-enzyme) into product (or enzyme), X _PE, for selected values of the relevant dimensionless parameters, i.e. the ratio of total concentrations of enzyme and product moieties, γ, and the ratio of the Michaelis-Menten parameter to the total concentration of product moiety, K _m ^*. It was numerically proven that variation of K _m ^* by five orders of magnitude centered around unity did not affect R _opt to a significant extent, whereas an empirical expression for R _opt versus γ and X _PE could be found and successfully fitted to the results of several numerical runs.     

Reactivation of effluent granular sludge from a high-rate Anammox reactor after storage

In this study, effluent sludge from a high-rate Anammox reactor was used to re-start new Anammox reactors for the reactivation of Anammox granular sludge. Different start-up strategies were evaluated in six upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors (R₁–R₆) for their effect on nitrogen removal performance. Maximal nitrogen removal rates (NRRs) greater than 20 kg N/m³/day were obtained in reactors R₃–R₅, which were seeded with mixed Anammox sludge previously stored for approximately 6 months and 1 month. A modified Boltzmann model describing the evolution of the NRR fit the experimental data well. An amount of sludge added to the UASB reactor or decreasing the loading rate proved effective in relieving the substrate inhibition and increasing the NRR. The modified Stover–Kincannon model fit the nitrogen removal data in the Anammox reactors well, and the simulation results showed that the Anammox process has great nitrogen removal potential. The observed inhibition in the Anammox reactors may have been caused by high levels of free ammonia. The sludge used to seed the reactors did not settle well; sludge flotation was observed even after the reactors were operated for a long time at a floating upward velocity (F_s) of greater than 100 m/h. The settling sludge, however, exhibited good settling properties. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the Anammox granules consisted mainly of spherical and elliptical bacteria with abundant filaments on their surface. Hollows in the granules were also present, which may have contributed to sludge floatation.     

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation process in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor with granular sludge selected from an anaerobic digestor

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the development of the anammox process by the use of granular sludge selected from a digestion reactor as a potential seed source in a lab-scale UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket) reactor system. The reactor was operated for approximately 11 months and was fed by synthetic wastewater. After 200 days of feeding with NH₄ ⁺ and NO₂ ⁻ as the main substrates, the biomass showed steady signs of ammonium consumption, resulting in over 60% of ammonium nitrogen removal. This report aims to present the results and to more closely examine what occurs after the onset of anammox activity, while the previous work described the start-up experiment and the presence of anammox bacteria in the enriched community using the fluorescencein situ hybridization (FISH) technique. By the last month of operation, the consumed NO₂ ⁻N/NH₄ ⁺-N ratio in the UASB reactor was close to 1.32, the stoichiometric ratio of the anammox reaction. The obtained results from the influentshutdown test suggested that nitrite concentration would be one key parameter that promotes the anammox reaction during the start-up enrichment of anammox bacteria from granular sludge. During the study period, the sludge color gradually changed from black to red-brownish.     

Biochemical methane potential (BMP) test for thickened sludge using anaerobic granular sludge at different inoculum/substrate ratios

The biochemical methane potential (BMP) test for thickened sludge was evaluated at three different inoculum/substrate (I:S) ratios. The cumulative methane yield was 51.4 mL CH₄/g VS_added at an I:S ratio of 1:1, 76.3 mL CH₄/g VS_added at an I:S ratio of 1:3, and 21.9 mL CH₄/g VS_added at an I:S ratio of 1:8. The greatest ultimate methane yield and methane production rate constant were achieved at an I:S ratio of 1:3, whereas the least was obtained at an I:S ratio of 1:8. The maximum methane production rate constant was 0.38/day and the minimum methane production rate constant was 0.0016/day. For the case of a lower I:S ratio, the biomass activity may be affected due to the low substrate concentration. On the other hand, for the case of higher I:S ratios, anaerobic digestion of thickened sludge was inhibited by higher concentrations of volatile fatty acids and lower pH.     

Effect of high substrate concentration and cell feedback on kinetic behavior of heterogeneous populations in completely mixed systems

Growth kinetics of heterogeneous populations of sewage origin were studied in completely mixed reactors of the once-through type at a high concentration of incoming substrate, 3000 mg/l glucose, and in systems employing cell feedback or sludge recycle at an incoming substrate concentration of 1000 mg/1 glucose. The recycle flow rate employed was 25% of the incoming feed flow, and the concentration of cells in the recycle was maintained as closely as possible at 150% of the cell concentration in the reactor. Studies were made at various dilution rates. Throughout these studies, batch experiments using cells grown at the various dilution rates were made to determine k_s and μ_m values. As in previous studios using heterogeneous populations, the relationship between specific growth rates μ and substrate concentration S was represented better by the Monod equation than by any other which was tested. The growth “constants” μ_m, k_s, and Y were found to fall in the same general range as those determined in previous studies in once-through systems operated at 1000 mg/l glucose. It was observed that cell recycle, even at the relatively low concentration factor employed in these studies, greatly enhanced the flocculating and settling characteristics of the cells.     

Circularly polarized luminescence of Eu(III) complexes with chiral 1,1′-bi-2-naphtol-derived bisphosphate ligands

The interest for lanthanide circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) has been quickly growing for 10 years. However, very few of these studies have involved correlation between the dissymmetry factor (g_lum) and the chemical modifications in a series of chiral ligands. Four polymeric compounds of Eu(III) were prepared by using a series of binaphtyl derivatives for which the size of the π system as well as the number of stereogenic elements (i.e., the binaphtyl moiety) are modulated. The resulting {[Eu(hfac)₃((S)/(R)-L^x)]}_n (x = 1 and 3) and {[Eu(hfac)₃((S,S,S)/(R,R,R)-L^x)]}_n (x = 2 and 4) have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction by comparison with the X-ray structures on single crystal of the Dy(III) analogs. In solution, the structure of the complexes is deeply modified and becomes monomeric. The nature of the ligand induces change in the shape of the CPL spectra in CH₂Cl₂ solution. Furthermore, a large |g_lum| = 0.12 of the magnetic-dipole transition for the [Eu(hfac)₃((S,S,S)/(R,R,R)-L²)] complex involving the ligand with three stereogenic elements and an extended ?? system has been measured. This report also shows CPL measurements in solid state for the series of {[Eu(hfac)₃((S)/(R)-L^x)]}_n (x = 1 and 3) and {[Eu(hfac)₃((S,S,S)/(R,R,R)-L^x)]}_n (x = 2 and 4) polymers.     

Substrate consumption and excess sludge reduction of activated sludge in the presence of uncouplers: a modeling approach

A mathematical model with a consideration of energy spilling is developed to describe the activated sludge in the presence of different levels of metabolic uncouplers. The consumption of substrate and oxygen via energy spilling process is modeled with a Monod term, which is dependent on substrate and inhibitor. The sensitivity of the developed model is analyzed. Three parameters, maximum specific growth rate (μ _max), energy spilling coefficient (q _max), and sludge yield coefficient (Y _H) are estimated with experimental data of different studies. The values of μ _max, q _max, and Y _H are found to be 6.72 day^-1, 5.52 day^-1, and 0.60 mg COD mg^-1 COD for 2, 4-dinitrophenol and 7.20 day^-1, 1.58 day^-1, and 0.62 mg COD mg^-1 COD for 2, 4-dichlorophenol. Substrate degradation and sludge yield could be predicted with this model. The activated sludge process in the presence of uncouplers that is described more reasonably by the new model with a consideration of energy spilling. The effects of uncouplers on substrate consumption inhibition and excess sludge reduction in activated sludge are quantified with this model.     

Chemical flocculability of sludge organisms in response to growth conditions

The effect of waste characteristics on the removal of suspended solids and soluble phosphorus by alum, Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O, was investigated in an activated sludge system with no cellular recycle. Under the conditions presently studied, it was found that sludge organisms grown in nitrogen- and phosphorus-restricted media possess exceptionally large capsules and produce a higher surface electric charge per unit of fry weight. Chemical demand for separation of these capsulated cells is obviously higher than those solids cultivated under a well-balanced nutrient condition. For phosphorus removal, the molar ratio of Al⁺³:P is a function of the initial concentrations of soluble phosphorus and suspended solids in solution. The relationship between percent phosphorus removal and the quantity of chemical coagulent used shows nonstoichiometric relationship; that is, the required molar ratio of Al⁺³:P is always greater than one and directly depends upon the content of suspended solids in the flocculated media. Moreover, the present study indicated that chemical separation of dispersed microorganisms occurred following phosphorus removal.     

Effect of internal recycle on the nitrogen removal efficiency of an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2/O) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)

Internal recycle ratio is an important parameter in anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A²/O) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operation. An increase in this ratio decreases nitrate and nitrite concentration in the effluent and hence improves the nitrogen removal efficiency, even though the economical cost increases simultaneously. Determining the most favourable recycle ratio taking into account both considerations is an important item in A²/O WWTP operational optimisation. In this work, the effect of recycle ratio on nitrogen removal when using different influent nitrogen loads was tested in a pilot A²/O WWTP. Experimental results obtained show how increasing the internal recycle ratio from 0 to 5 produced a 12% increase in nitrogen removal. This increase was achieved by improving N–NO_x removal by 9% with an increase in N–NH₄⁺ removal of 3%.     

Effects of cationic surfactants on settling properties of sewage activated sludge

Various alkyltrimethylammonium bromides ATABs, R = C₁ to C₆ were added to a mixed liquor of sewage activated sludge and the effects on settling properties were investigated. The 30-min settled sludge volume decreased from 28% to 24, 20, 17, and 15% on addition of 1 mM C₁₀, C₁₂, C₁₄, and C₁₆ compounds to mixed liquor (sludge concentration, 1.28 g/l), respectively. With increasing alkyl chain length, the amounts of ATABs adsorbed by the sludge, and metal ions released from the sludge, increased. However, a quantitative correlation was not observed between the two. In addition, the adsorption of ATABs resulted in a small decrease in sludge wet weight. However, such a change was not observed on addition of ATABs bearing short alkyl chains. A good correlation was observed between the amounts of ATABs adsorbed and their organic solvent/water partition coefficients. These results indicated that the effectiveness of ATABs as sludge conditioners depends on their hydrophobicity.     

Detecting and mapping repulsion-phase linkage in polyploids with polysomic inheritance

It has been suggested that ratios of coupling- to repulsion-phase linked markers can be used to distinguish between allopolyploids and autopolyploids, because repulsion-phase linkages are much more difficult to detect in autopolyploids with polysomic inheritance than allopolyploids with disomic inheritance. In this report, we analyze the segregation pattern of repulsion-phase linked markers in polyploids without complete preferential pairing. The observed repulsion-phase recombination fraction (R) in such polyploids is composed of a fraction due to crossing-over (R_c) and another fraction due to independent assortment (R_i). R_i is the minimum distance that can be detected between repulsion-phase linked markers. Because R_i is high in autopolyploids (0.3373, 0.4000, 0.4286 and 0.4444) for autopolyploids of 2n=4x, 6x, 8x and 10x), large population sizes are required to reliably detect repulsion linkages. In addition, the default linkage used in mapping-programs must be greater than the corresponding R_i to determine whether a polyploid is a true autopolyploid. Unfortunately, much lower default linkages than the R_is have been used in recent polyploid studies to determine polyploid type, and markers have been incorporated into polyploid maps based on the R values. Herein, we describe how mapping repulsion linkages can result in spurious results, and present methods to accurately detect the degree of preferential pairing in polyploids using repulsion linkage analysis. Received: 29 February 2000 / Accepted: 17 July 2000     

Zinc phytoavailability after remediation in soils contaminated by sphalerite-containing pyritic sludge

Zinc can be toxic to plants growing on soils in areas of the Guadiamar River valley (southwestern Spain) affected by the spillage of pyritic sludge in April 1998. The shoots and the soil around the roots of two wild plants (viz. Amaranthus blitoides S. Wats., November 2000; and Xanthium strumarium L., June 2001) growing in the sludge-affected areas were sampled with the purpose of relating Zn phytoavailability to soil properties. The soils were calcareous and non-calcareous Entisols and Inceptisols which, after remediation, contained ploughed-in residual sludge and unevenly distributed industrial lime. Chemical extracts from the soils suggested that much of the sphalerite (ZnS) originally present in the sludge had weathered and Zn was partly bound to carbonates and Fe oxides, the total Zn concentration ranging from 37 to 2407 mg kg ^–1. To identify the soil properties that influenced Zn phytoavailability under controlled conditions, the soil samples (n=63) were homogenized and oilseed rape (Brassica napus var. Karola) was pot-grown on them in a growth chamber. The concentrations of Zn in oilseed rape shoots and roots were below phytotoxic levels, with mean ± standard deviation values of 142 ± 128 and 244 ± 328 mg kg ^–1 dry matter, respectively. Citrate/bicarbonate-extractable Zn in soil (Zn _cb) was found to be the best predictor for the Zn concentration in both shoots and roots. Also, the Zn _cb/Olsen P ratio exhibited a high predictive power for Zn in shoots as the likely result of the Zn-P interaction in soil. The shoot Zn concentration in the wild plants, generally lay below phytotoxic levels (the mean ± standard deviation values were 261 ± 255 and 200 ± 228 mg kg ^–1 dry matter for Amaranthus blitoides and Xanthium strumarium, respectively) and was not correlated with soil properties – by exception, there was slight correlation between the Zn concentration in Amaranthus blitoides and Zn _cb/Olsen P. Such a lack of correlation can be ascribed to the local small-scale soil heterogeneity caused by remediation practices. The Zn concentration in wild plants growing on CaCO ₃-poor soils was weakly correlated with Zn _cb/Olsen P; no similar correlation was found in CaCO ₃-rich soils, however. The wild plants growing on CaCO ₃-poor and CaCO ₃-rich soils differed little in Zn concentration; this suggests that further addition of lime to reduce Zn phytoavailability may be unjustified.     

Effect of low power ultrasonic radiation on anaerobic biodegradability of sewage sludge

The effect of low power ultrasonic radiation on anaerobic biodegradability of sewage sludge was investigated. For this purpose, soluble substances and variation of microbial system of sewage sludge subjected to low power ultrasonic radiation were tested. The well known hydromechanical shear forces and heating effect of low frequency ultrasound plays a major role in the sludge pre treatment process. More, the increase of soluble substance may partly result from the destruction of microbial cell by excess ultrasonic pretreatment, which will inhibit the anaerobic process. By orthogonal tests, the optimal parameters were found to be an exposure time of 15 min, ultrasonic intensity of 0.35 W/cm² and ultrasonic power density of 0.25 W/ml. Under the optimal condition, anaerobic biodegradability of sewage sludge (R_(vss/ss) %) was increased by 67.6%. Consequently, it can be concluded that low power ultrasonic pretreatment is a valid method for improving anaerobic biodegradability of sewage sludge.     

Performance,kinetics, and substrate utilization in a continuous yeast fermentation with cell recycle by ultrafiltration membranes

Summary A continuous single stage yeast fermentation with cell recycle by ultrafiltration membranes was operated at various recycle ratios. Cell concentration was increased 10.6 times, and ethanol concentration and fermentor productivity both 5.3 times with 97% recycle as compared to no recycle. Both specific growth rate and specific ethanol productivity followed the exponential ethanol inhibition form (specific productivity was constant up to 37.5 g/l of ethanol before decreasing), similar to that obtained without recycle, but with greater inhibition constants most likely due to toxins retained in the system at hight recycle ratios.By analyzing steady state data, the fractions of substrate used for cell growth, ethanol formation, and what which were wasted were accounted for. Yeast metabolism varied from mostly aerobic at low recycle ratios to mostly anaerobic at high recycle ratios at a constant dissolved oxygen concentration of 0.8 mg/kg. By increasing the cell recycle ratio, wasted substrate was reduced. When applied to ethanol fermentation, the familiar terminology of substrate used for Maintenance must be used with caution: it is not the same as the wasted substrate reported here.A general method for determining the best recycle ratio is presented; a balance among fermentor productivity, specific productivity, and wasted substrate needs to be made in recycle systems to approach an optimal design.Nomenclature B Bleed flow rate, l/h - C _T Concentration of toxins, arbitrary units - D Dilution rate, h^-1 - F Filtrate or permeate flow rate, removed from system, l/h - F _o Total feed flow rate to system, l/h - K _s Monod form constant, g/l - P Product (ethanol) concentration, g/l - P _o Ethanol concentration in feed, g/l - PP} Adjusted product concentration, g/l - PD Fermentor productivity, g/l-h - R Recycle ratio, F/F _o - S Substrate concentration in fermentor, g/l - S _o Substrate concentration in feed, g/l - V Working volume of fermentor, l - V _MB Viability based on methylene blue test - X Cell concentration, g dry cell/l - X _o Cell concentration in feed, g/l - Y _ATP Cellular yield from ATP, g cells/mol ATP - Y _ATPS Yield of ATP from substrate, mole ATP/mole glucose - Y _G True growth yield or maximum yield of cells from substrate, g cell/g glucose - Y _P Maximum theoretical yield of ethanol from glucose, 0.511 g ethanol/g glucose - Y _P/S Experimental yield of product from substrate, g ethanol/g glucose - Y _x/s Experimental yield of cells from substrate, g cell/g glucose - S _NP/X Non-product associated substrate utilization, g glucose/g cell - k ₁, k₂, k₃, k₄ Constants - k ₁ ^APP , k ₂ ^APP Apparent k ₁, k₃ - k ₁ ^TRUE True k ₁ - m Maintenance coefficient, g glucose/g cell-h - m ^* Coefficient of substrate not used for growth nor for ethanol formation, g glucose/g cell-h - Specific growth rate, g cells/g cells-h, reported as h^-1 - _m Maximum specific growth rate, h^-1 - v Specific productivity, g ethanol/g cell-h, reported as h^-1 - v _m Maximum specific productivity, h^-1     

Influence of bulking agent on sewage sludge composting process

Four types of compost, consisting of mixtures of Acacia dealbata (A) with sewage sludge (SS) were studied in a laboratory reactor. Composting time was 80 days and parameters monitored over this period included temperature, organic matter, pH, CO₂, O₂, C/N ratio, Kjeldahl-N, as well as maturity indexes. All the studied parameters were influenced by the bulking amount used. The highest profile temperature measured was for the A/SS 1/2 (w/w) mixture that reached a maxima temperature of 67 °C and lower maximum temperatures of 52, 48 and 46 °C were observed for A/SS 1/3, 1/1 and 1/0 composts, respectively. The kinetic model used showed that a descent of sewage sludge in the composting mixtures favored the enzyme–substrate affinity. However, an increase in depending on the parameters of the process factors was observed when the sewage sludge ratio was increased in mixtures. The optimal amounts of sewage sludge for co-composting with Acacia indicate that moderate amounts of sludge (1/1) would be the best compromise.