Material flow analysis of feedstock for enhancing its conversion efficiency during continuous photo‐hydrogen production

The practical application of photofermentative hydrogen production process has been generally limited by the low feedstock conversion efficiency. In this work, material flow analysis (MFA) was applied into continuous photohydrogen to investigate the material flow of feedstock. Maximum feedstock utilization for hydrogen production (31.87%) was obtained at an hydraulic retention time of 60 h and influent acetate concentration of 40 mmol l^?1, corresponding to maximum hydrogen yield of 1.89 mol H₂ mol^?1 acetate. MFA showed that due to the poor flocculation, photofermentative bacteria (PFB) cannot be efficiently separated from supernatant and rushed out with effluent continuously. To replenish the biomass washout, most of feedstock was continuously utilized for cell growth rather than hydrogen production, which caused low feedstock conversion efficiency. The results showed that poor flocculation of PFB resulting in low biomass retention capacity of photobioreactor was the origin of low feedstock conversion efficiency. Therefore, enhancing flocculation of PFB and using high biomass retaining operation modes are essential to further develop photofermentative hydrogen production process.     

过氧化氢预处理对褐煤物化性质及生物产气的影响

【目的】研究过氧化氢预处理对褐煤物化性质及生物产气的影响。【方法】以胜利5号褐煤为研究对象,利用正交试验对过氧化氢预处理褐煤条件进行优化,在最优条件下处理褐煤得到处理后的残煤和处理液,通过X射线衍射分析(X-ray diffraction, XRD)、扫描电镜分析(scanning electron microscopy, SEM)、比表面积分析及孔隙分析(brunauer-emmett-teller, BET)、气相色谱-质谱分析(GC-MS)、高效液相色谱分析(HPLC)等方法对原煤、残煤和处理液的物化性质进行比较分析。【结果】经过氧化氢预处理,褐煤的最优条件为过氧化氢浓度5.0%、预处理时间20 d、液固比30:1,处理液中总有机碳含量为105 mg/L。在最优条件下,过氧化氢处理后残煤表面裂痕、凹陷增多,表面结构变得松散;煤的芳香面网间距增加,芳环结构更加疏松,晶核结构变小;孔隙度和比表面积均增大。处理后残煤中的固定碳、C元素和镜质组的相对含量降低,而灰分、挥发分、O和H元素及惰质组含量增加,残煤中O=C-O、C=C、C=O官能团含量增加,而N-H、C-H官能团含量则减少。生物产气结果表明反应液和残煤产气量均低于原煤,分别减少了39.13%和94.46%。过氧化氢预处理主要作用于煤中镜质组,使其有机碳溶解,煤中大分子结构的官能团发生变化,改变煤的芳环结构,在氧化作用下煤结构中的小分子溶解进入处理液。处理液中有机物以短链脂肪酸为主。经生物产气后,反应液中小分子酸以及有机物种类减少,被微生物利用产气。而各产气试验组中优势菌门及优势菌属的菌群丰度呈现出显著差异,古菌中原煤产气组盐杆菌门(Halobacteriota)为优势菌门,甲烷八叠球菌属(Methanosarcina)为优势菌属;反应液产气组热变形菌(Thermoprotei)为优势菌门,深古菌属(Bathyarchaeia)为优势菌属;细菌中原煤产气组放线菌门(Actinomycetota)为优势菌门,Gaiellales为优势菌属;反应液产气试验组假单胞菌门(Pseudomonadota)为优势菌门,代尔夫特菌属(Delftia)为优势菌属。【结论】煤溶解有机碳可以被微生物利用产气,但是煤中有机组分的过氧化脱除导致生物产气量减少。     

Anaerobic treatment of kraft bleaching plant effluent

Anaerobic treatment of a kraft bleaching plant effluent was studied with focus on the removal of chlorinated organic compounds and biochemical O₂ demand (BOD). Experiments were carried out using a laboratory-scale anaerobic fixed-film process operated at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs). The process efficiently removed a variety of chloro-organic compounds when the HRT was 10 h or longer. However, a very long treatment time was required for significant removal of chlorofor; in fact, at the shortest HRT tested (6 h), there was a net production of chloroform. The overall removal of organically bound chlorine, measured as adsorbable organic halogens, was about 50%, and 60% removal of the extractable organic chlorine was achieved at an HRT of 15 h. About 70% of the BOD₇ and 20% of the chemical O₂ demand (COD) were removed. Up to 0.19 Nl of methane was produced per gram of COD removed by the treatment. When th HRT of the anaerobic process was shortened from 10 to 6 h, the methane production ceased. Correspondence to: Peijie Yu     

Photoproduction of hydrogen by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodobacter capsulatus</Emphasis> from thermophilic fermentation effluent

Rhodobacter capsulatus was used for the phototrophic hydrogen production on effluent solution derived from the thermophilic fermentation of Miscanthus hydrolysate by Thermotoga neapolitana. Pretreatments such as centrifugation, dilution, buffer addition, pH adjustment and sterilization were suggested for the effluent before being fed to the photofermentation. Batch-wise experiments showed that R. capsulatus grows and produces hydrogen on the pretreated effluent solution. Moreover, it was found that the hydrogen yield increased from 0.3 to 1.0 L/L_culture by addition of iron to the effluent solution.     

Treatment of leachate from a solid waste landfill site using a two-stage anaerobic filter

Raw leachate was treated using a two-stage upflow anaerobic filter process. Leachate from a solid waste landfill site, which received both municipal and industrial wastes, contained high organic matter (17-21 g/L COD, 13-14 g/L BOD, and 3.5-4.6 g/L volatile acids), and low metal (Zn and Fe) concentrations. Depending on sampling time, leachate composition and characteristics varied considerably. At an organic loading up to 4 g COD/day(2) media area, the BOD and COD removal percentages were 98 and 91%, respectively. The biofilters were also effective for metal removal. However, the filter effluent contained a high concentration of ammonia. System overloading was characterized by the accumulation of large quantities of volatile acids and by a now ratio of alkalinity/volatile acids, resulting in low COD removal and reduced gas production. Once the first filter was upset, the second stage could only partially respond to the volatile acids accumulated in the effluent of first filter.     

Photo-fermentation of Rhodobacter sphaeroides for hydrogen production using lignocellulose-derived organic acids

In this study, the corn stover was pretreated, enzymatically hydrolyzed, and then fermented in the lipid production fermentation. The corn stover fermentation effluent was utilized for the photo-fermentation of a Rhodobacter sphaeroides ZX-5 for hydrogen production. The hydrogen production was more than twofolds greater than that in the synthetic medium under the similar organic acid concentration range. The synergism among the pure organic acids was found to facilitate cell growth and hydrogen production, although some organic acid was not utilized for hydrogen production directly. The synergism among the components in the corn stover fermentation effluent was also found. The initial pH value was found to be an important parameter for the photo-fermentation of R. sphaeroide ZX-5 using the corn stover fermentation effluent. The results provided a possible way to utilize lignocellulose-derived organic acids for hydrogen production, and to treat fermentation wastewater in biofuel production using lignocellulose.     

An integrated process for the treatment of CETP wastewater using coagulation, anaerobic and aerobic process

The aim of this study was to treat the wastewater collected from equalization tank of Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), which was a mixture of waste coming from 525 small-scale industries manufacturing textile and dyestuff intermediate, pigments and pharmaceuticals. Initially a pretreatment using ferric chloride and lime was carried out to increase the biodegradability (BOD(5)/COD) of the effluent, which showed color removal of 74% and COD reduction of 75% at a concentration of 10 and 4 g/L. respectively. The biological treatment system using anaerobic fixed film reactor was investigated as secondary treatment. A mixture of bacterial consortium DMAB and cowdung slurry was used for the formation of biofilm. The effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and organic loading rate (OLR) on the efficiency of treatment of anaerobic reactor was analysed. Subsequent aerobic treatment after anaerobic step using aerobic culture Pseudomonas aeroginosa helped in further removal of COD and color. Formation of aromatic amines during anaerobic treatment was mineralized by sequential aerobic treatment.     

Slaughterhouse wastewater treatment by combined chemical coagulation and electrocoagulation process

Slaughterhouse wastewater contains various and high amounts of organic matter (e.g., proteins, blood, fat and lard). In order to produce an effluent suitable for stream discharge, chemical coagulation and electrocoagulation techniques have been particularly explored at the laboratory pilot scale for organic compounds removal from slaughterhouse effluent. The purpose of this work was to investigate the feasibility of treating cattle-slaughterhouse wastewater by combined chemical coagulation and electrocoagulation process to achieve the required standards. The influence of the operating variables such as coagulant dose, electrical potential and reaction time on the removal efficiencies of major pollutants was determined. The rate of removal of pollutants linearly increased with increasing doses of PACl and applied voltage. COD and BOD(5) removal of more than 99% was obtained by adding 100 mg/L PACl and applied voltage 40 V. The experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of chemical and electrochemical techniques for the treatment of slaughterhouse wastewaters. Consequently, combined processes are inferred to be superior to electrocoagulation alone for the removal of both organic and inorganic compounds from cattle-slaughterhouse wastewater.     

Improvement in post-treatment of digested swine wastewater

The performance of sequencing batch reactor (SBR) during post-treatment of digested effluent of swine wastewater was investigated. While operating SBR to treat the digested effluent directly, the performance was very poor with COD removal rate about 10%, and NH4+-N removal rate nearly 50%, with a scarce removal of total phosphorus. The performance apparently improved after adding raw swine wastewater or alkali to digested effluent. Although similar results for NH4+-N removal were achieved adopting both measures, the addition of raw wastewater proved superior in removing total nitrogen and total phosphorus. The addition of raw wastewater obtained effluent COD around 300 mg/L which was lower than that after alkali addition i.e. around 550 mg/L. Judged from the investment, oxygen demand, sludge yield, biogas production and running cost, the traditional combined anaerobic-SBR process is unfeasible to treat swine wastewater, while the combined anaerobic-SBR process with addition of raw swine wastewater can be a suitable biotechnology.     

Power generation from cassava alcohol wastewater: effects of pretreatment and anode aeration

Cassava alcohol wastewater produced from the bioethanol production industry is carbohydrate-rich wastewater with large quantities of insoluble organic compounds. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were used for electricity recovery and pollutants removal from this wastewater. Different pretreatment methods (solid–liquid separation, ultrasonication, pre-fermentation) and anode-aeration modes were explored in MFCs aimed to enhance the efficiency of power generation and pollutants removal. Pre-fermentation was found to be the most effective pretreatment method. A maximum power density of 437.13 ± 15.6 mW/m² and TCOD removal of 62.5 ± 3.5 % were achieved using the pre-fermented wastewater, 150 and 20 % higher than the un-pretreated control. Aeration in anode chamber could promote the hydrolysis of organic matter and production of VFAs in the raw wastewater, and increase TCOD removal and power density. Pre-fermentation coupled with halfway anode aeration may be a feasible strategy to enhance power generation and pollutants removal from the cassava wastewater in MFCs.     

Effects of pH and carbon sources on biohydrogen production by co-culture of Clostridium butyricum and Rhodobacter sphaeroides

To improve the hydrogen yield from biological fermentation of organic wastewater, a co-culture system of dark- and photo-fermentation bacteria was investigated. In a pureculture system of the dark-fermentation bacterium Clostridium butyricum, a pH of 6.25 was found to be optimal, resulting in a hydrogen production rate of 18.7 ml-H?/l/h. On the other hand, the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides could produce the most hydrogen at 1.81 mol-H?/mol-glucose at pH 7.0. The maximum specific growth rate of R. sphaeroides was determined to be 2.93 h?1 when acetic acid was used as the carbon source, a result that was significantly higher than that obtained using either glucose or a mixture of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Acetic acid best supported R. sphaeroides cell growth but not hydrogen production. In the co-culture system with glucose, hydrogen could be steadily produced without any lag phase. There were distinguishable inflection points in a plot of accumulated hydrogen over time, resulting from the dynamic production or consumption of VFAs by the interaction between the dark- and photofermentation bacteria. Lastly, the hydrogen production rate of a repeated fed-batch run was 15.9 ml-H?/l/h, which was achievable in a sustainable manner.     

Production of hydrogen and methane from organic solid wastes by phase-separation of anaerobic process

Phase-separated two-stage anaerobic process was examined and evaluated using artificial organic solid waste in laboratory scale. Acidogenic process, which was combined with subsequent methanogenic process using packed-bed reactor, was operated emphasizing on either hydrogen production, or solublizing efficiency of solid materials. In either effluent from hydrogenogenic, or solublizing operation, maximum allowable OLR achieved at methanogenesis was higher than the single methanogenic process. Hydrogenogenic operation was more suitable to combine methanogenic process than solublizing operation, since retention time of hydrogenogenic operation was much shorter than the solublizing operation, obtaining almost the same levels of overall removal efficiency in both COD and VSS. The combination of hydrogenogenic operation in acidogenic process and methanogenic process produced approximately 442mmoll-reactor(1)days(-1) of methane and 199mmoll-reactor(1)days(-1) of hydrogen at 25h of total retention time indicating 82% of COD removal with 96% of VSS decomposition.     

Kraft mill anaerobic effluent color enhancement by a fixed-bed adsorption system

An anaerobic reactor and a fixed-bed adsorption sequential system (FBAS) were applied to remove color from kraft mill effluent. Under anaerobic conditions, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD₅) removal was between 84 to 90% w/w, while Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal ranged between 46 to 55% w/w. Total phenolic compounds were poorly removed (8 to 15% w/w) whereas the color was not removed by anaerobic digestion. For the FBAS system, three different columns were packed with natural and activated (calcinated and acidified) allophanic soil and fed with kraft mill anaerobic effluent. In activated soil columns, color and total phenolic compounds removal were around 95% w/w, whereas in the natural soil column the values were 87% w/w and 81% w/w, respectively.     

Behavior of aromatic compounds contained in kraft mill effluents treated by an aerated lagoon

Kraft mill effluents were biologically treated in an aerated lagoon (AL) (3.4 L) to evaluate the behavior of aromatic compounds by UV-vis spectroscopy. Under aerobic conditions, biological oxygen demand (BOD(5)) removal was between 84% and 95%, whereas soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD(s)) removal ranged between 40% and 60%. A slight increase was observed in the VIS(436)/COD(s) relationship (0.101-0.110), indicating that color reduction was less than the total organic matter reduction expressed by COD(s). Additionally, low values of UV(254)/UV(280) (1.23-1.12) indicate the presence of lignin-derived compounds in the aerobic effluent relationship. Ultrafiltration (UF) analysis shows that color was concentrated in the molecular weight fraction larger than 10,000 Da. The recalcitrant fraction was found to be resistant to further biodegradation, even under optimized microbiological conditions.     

Performance improvement of raw water pretreatment process with pre-inoculation biofilm: feasibility and limiting factors

The initial formation of biofilm and the removal performance of pollutants in biological pretreatment process for polluted raw water were limited due to the oligotrophic niche in raw water. In this study, the feasibility of using pre-inoculation biofilm formed under nutrients enhanced condition for polluted raw water treatment was analyzed in nine batch reactors. Results showed that the pollutants removal performance of biofilm was improved under nutrients enhanced conditions. Ammonia oxidation rate (AOR) was exponentially increased with the increasing in NH₄ ⁺-N levels, and organic matter removal rate (ORR) was positively related to the initial total organic carbon (TOC) concentration. The biofilm formation and microbial diversity were further improved via adding more substrates, seeding river sediment and feeding effluent from a mature biofilm reactor. However, the biofilm formed under higher substrate conditions had higher half-saturation constant values (K _S) to both NH₄ ⁺-N and TOC, which decreased AOR and ORR values when it was used to treat polluted raw water. The reduction percentage of AOR and ORR showed logarithmic growth modes with the increase in K _S values. Fortunately, improvement of nutrients flux via accelerating influent replacement could enhance the start-up performance effectively and decrease the operation risk introduced by the changes in substrate affinity.     

Photofermentative hydrogen production from wastes

In many respects, hydrogen is an ideal biofuel. However, practical, sustainable means of its production are presently lacking. Here we review recent efforts to apply the capacity of photosynthetic bacteria to capture solar energy and use it to drive the nearly complete conversion of substrates to hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This process, called photofermentation, has the potential capacity to use a variety of feedstocks, including the effluents of dark fermentations, leading to the development of various configurations of two-stage systems, or various industrial and agricultural waste streams rich in sugars or organic acids. The metabolic and enzymatic properties of this system are presented and the possible waste streams that might be successfully used are discussed. Recently, various immobilized systems have been developed and their advantages and disadvantages are examined.     

以毒性鉴别评价法评价化工废水处理效果的研究

江苏省某化工厂废水处理设施进、出水经大型Sou（Daphnia magna）急性毒性试验的结果表明,废水在处理前、后均显示毒性。采用毒性鉴别评价的试验程序,对处理设施的进、出水进行了关键毒物的鉴别和评价。发现进水中存在的关键毒物为金属铜离子并共存多种金属和极性有机毒物,而出水中存在的毒物为酸性条件下易被氧化的有毒有机物。该废水处理工艺对废水毒性去除率为77.6%。由此可见,该处理工艺对金属离子有较好的去除,而对有毒有机化合物的去除效果不甚理想,因此,该厂生产工艺和废水处理工艺还有待进一步改进。     

Degradation and characteristic changes of organic matter in sewage sludge using microbial fuel cell with ultrasound pretreatment

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) could be an efficient sludge treatment unit in regard of rates and extents of total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal, particularly when ultrasound was applied to pretreat the sludge. This study characterized the organic matter in sludge before and after MFC treatment, with or without ultrasound as a pretreatment stage. The 5-d MFC tests with electric load significantly enhanced TCOD removal rate from 11.3% to 19.2% for raw sludge and from 25% to 57% for sludge pretreated with >0.6 W ml^?1 ultrasound, using conventional anaerobic digestion test (without electric load) as control. The aromatic proteins, soluble microbial byproduct-like fluorescent compounds and carboxylic components, aliphatic components (C–H related), hydrocarbon and carbohydrate materials were identified to be principally released by ultrasound pretreatment and the fuels in the present MFC study.     

Simultaneous nutrient removal and lipid production from pretreated piggery wastewater by Chlorella vulgaris YSW-04

The feasibility of using a microalga Chlorella vulgaris YSW-04 was investigated for removal of nutrients from piggery wastewater effluent. The consequent lipid production by the microalga was also identified and quantitatively determined. The wastewater effluent was diluted to different concentrations ranging from 20 to 80 % of the original using either synthetic media or distilled water. The dilution effect on both lipid production and nutrient removal was evaluated, and growth rate of C. vulgaris was also monitored. Dilution of the wastewater effluent improved microalgal growth, lipid productivity, and nutrient removal. The growth rate of C. vulgaris was increased with decreased concentration of piggery wastewater in the culture media regardless of the diluent type. Lipid production was relatively higher when using synthetic media than using distilled water for dilution of wastewater. The composition of fatty acids accumulated in microalgal biomass was dependent upon both dilution ratio and diluent type. The microalga grown on a 20 % concentration of wastewater effluent diluted with distilled water was more promising for generating high-efficient biodiesel compared to the other culture conditions. The highest removal of inorganic nutrients was also achieved at the same dilution condition. Our results revealed the optimal pretreatment condition for the biodegradation of piggery wastewater with microalgae for subsequent production of high-efficient biodiesel.     

Biological oxidation of organic constituents in tar-sand combustion-process water

A study was performed to characterize a sample of reverse-forward, tar-sand combustion process water, and to conduct an initial evaluation of activated sludge treatment of the process water. No pretreatment of the wastewater was considered necessary prior to biological oxidation other than addition of ca. 0.006M caustic/L influent to maintain reactor pH in the desired range of 7.0-7.5. The process water was treated successfully by biological oxidation, achieving an 88% reduction of both COD and soluble organic carbon and a 97% reduction of BOD. The disposition of about 150 organic compounds was evaluated and it was shown that a variety of carboxylic acids and aromatic compounds were removed by treatment. Quinolines and certain higher molecular weight carboxylic acids were not removed as effectively as other compounds. These preliminary results should assist in the design of future investigations with tar-sand process water for purposes of optimizing process treatment and improving sample characterization.