Linkages of volatile fatty acids and polyhexamethylene guanidine stress during sludge fermentation:Metagenomic insights of microbial metabolic traits and adaptation

The massive use of polyhexamethylene guanidine(PHMG),as a typical bactericidal agent,raised environmental concerns to the public.This work comprehensively revealed the hormesis effects of PHMG occurred in waste activated sludge(WAS)on the generation of volatile fatty acids(VFAs)during anaerobic fermentation.The low level of PHMG(100 mg/g TSS)significantly promoted the VFAs generation(1283 mg COD/L,compared with 337 mg COD/L in the control)via synchronously facilitating the solubilization,hydrolysis,and acidification steps but inhibiting methanogenesis.Metagenomic analysis showed that the functional anaerobe(i.e.,Bacteroides,Macellibacteroide and Parabacteroide)and corresponding genetic expressions responsible for extracellular hydrolysis(i.e.,clp P),membrane transport(i.e.,ffh and gsp F),intracellular substrates metabolism(i.e.,ald and paa F)and VFAs biosynthesis(i.e.,ACACA and FASN)were enhanced in the optimal presence of PHMG.Moreover,the anaerobic species could respond and adapt to low PHMG stimuli via quorum sensing(i.e.,cqs A,rpf C and rpf G),and thus maintain the high microbial metabolic activities.However,they were unable to tolerate the toxicity of excessive PHMG,resulting in the extremely low VFAs production.This work enlightened the effects of emerging pollutants on WAS fermentation at the genetic levels,and provided guidance on the WAS treatment and resource recovery.

Co-fermentation of waste activated sludge with food waste for short-chain fatty acids production:effect of pH at ambient temperature

Effect of pH ranging from 4.0 to 11.0 on cofermentation of waste activated sludge(WAS)with food waste for short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)production at ambient temperature was investigated in this study.Experimental results showed that the addition of food waste significantly improved the performance of WAS fermentation system,which resulted in the increases of SCFAs production and substrate reduction.The SCFAs production at pH 6.0,7.0,8.0,and 9.0 and fermentation time of 4 d was respectively 5022.7,6540.5,8236.6,and 7911.7 mg COD·L^(-1),whereas in the blank tests(no pH adjustment,pH 8.0(blank test 1),no food waste addition,pH 8.0(blank test 2),and no WAS addition(blank test 3))it was only 1006.9,971.1,and 1468.5 mg COD·L^(-1),respectively.The composition of SCFAs at pH from 6.0 to 9.0 was also different from other conditions and propionic acid was the most prevalent SCFA,which was followed by acetic and n-butyric acids,while acetic acid was the top product under other conditions.At pH 8.0 a higher volatile suspended solids(VSS)reduction of 16.6%for the mixture of WAS and food waste than the sole WAS indicated a synergistic effect existing in fermentation system with WAS and food waste.The influence of pH on the variations of nutrient content was also studied during anaerobic fermentation of the mixture of WAS and food waste at different pH conditions.The release of NH_(4)^(+)-N increased with fermentation time at all pH values investigated except 4.0,5.0 and in blank test one.The concentrations of soluble phosphorus at acidic pHs and in the blank test one were higher than those obtained at alkaline pHs.Ammonia and phosphorus need to be removed before the SCFAsenriched fermentation liquid from WAS and food waste was used as the carbon source.

Waste activated sludge hydrolysis and acidification： A comparison between sodium hydroxide and steel slag addition

Alkaline treatment with steel slag and NaOH addition were investigated under different pH conditions for the fermentation of waste activated sludge. Better performance was achieved in steel slag addition scenarios for both sludge hydrolysis and acidification. More solubilization of organic matters and much production of higher VFA （volatile fatty acid） in a shorter time can be achieved at pH 10 when adjusted by steel slag. Higher enzyme activities were also observed in steel slag addition scenarios under the same pH conditions. Phosphorus concentration in the supematant increased with fermentation time and pH in NaOH addition scenarios, while in contrast most phosphorus was released and captured by steel slag simultaneously in steel slag addition scenarios. These results suggest that steel slag can be used as a substitute for NaOH in sludge alkaline treatment.