Synergetic Bioproduction of Short-Chain Fatty Acids from Waste Activated Sludge Intensified by the Combined Use of Potassium Ferrate and Biosurfactants

The synergetic effect and underlying mechanism of potassium ferrate(PF)with tea saponin(TS,a biosurfactant)in producing short chain fatty acids(SCFAs)from anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge(WAS)were explored in this work.Experimental results showed that 0.2 g PF(g TSS)^(-1)(total suspended solid)combined with 0.02 g TS(g TSS)^(-1) could further improve SCFAs’production,and the maximum SCFAs content reached 2008.7 mg COD L^(-1),which is 1.2 and 4.5 times higher than those with PF and TS individually added,respectively,and 5.3 times higher than that of blank WAS on Day 12.In the model substrates experiments,the degradation rates of bovine serum albumin and dextran with combination of PF and TS were 41.3%±0.1% and 48.5%±0.06%,respectively,on Day 3,which are lower than those in blank WAS(with degradation rates of 72.3%±0.5%and 90.3%±0.3%).It was revealed that the oxidative effect of PF and the solubilization of TS caused more organic matters to be dissolved out from WAS,providing a large number of biodegradable substances for subsequent SCFAs production.While WAS pretreated with the combination of PF and TS,the relative abundances of Firmicutes increased from 6.4%(blank)to 38.6%,and that of Proteobacteria decreased from 41.8%(blank)to 21.8%.The combination of PF and TS promoted the hydrolysis process of WAS by enriching Firmicutes,and then increased acetic acid production by inhibiting Proteobacteria that consumed SCFAs.Meanwhile,at the genus level,acidogenesis bacteria(e.g.,Proteiniclasticum and Petrimonas)were enriched whereas SCFAs consuming bacteria(e.g.,Dokdonella)were inhibited.

Consideration and development of anaerobic fermentation equipment on solid organic rejectamenta

This article, based on investigation and analysis, existed anaerobic fermentation equipment, with a view to the production of high-latitude area, pointed out the thought of exploiting efficient anaerobic fermentation equipment, including： the settting independent equipment of acidogenic phase and methanogenic phase; the applying conbination of AF and UASB in methanogenic phase; adopting efficient sludge inverse flowing equipment and the technique of flora enrichment, and efficient method of saving energy and thermal retardation; adopting autocontrol which could make the equipment run efficiently and stably.

Production of Biogas from Olive Mill Waste Waters Treated by Cow Manure

The olive mill waste waters (OMWW) generated from olive oil extraction is a major environmental concern since they are characterized by their role as a pollutant (high organic and mineral matters) and their pH acid. The aim of this study was to valorize (OMWW) by anaerobic fermentation in the presence of cow manure in order to produce biogas and reduce their toxic load. Many tests were carried out by fermenting (OMWW) with polyphenols in the presence of cow manure in thermophile temperatures. The performance of this treatment was valuated through measurements of biogas production and by the determination of different parameters of fermented media (pH, volume of the biogas and polyphenols).

Effects of thermally pretreated temperature on bio-hydrogen production from sewage sludge

Hydrogen can be obtained by anaerobic fermentation of sewage sludge. Therefore, in this paper the effects of thermally pretreated temperatures on hydrogen production from sewage sludge were investigated under different pre-treatment conditions. In the thermal pretreatment, some microbial matters of sludge were converted into soluble matters from insoluble ones. As a result, the suspended solid（SS） and volatile suspended solid（VSS） of sludge decreased and the concentration of soluble COD（SCOD） increased, including soluble carbohydrates and proteins. The experimental results showed that all of those pretreated sludge could produce hydrogen by anaerobic fermentation and the hydrogen yields under the temperatures of 121℃ and 50℃ were 12.23 ml/g VS（most） and 1.17 ml/g VS （least）, respectively. It illuminated that the hydrogen yield of sludge was affected by the thermally pretreated temperatures. Additionally, the endurance of high hydrogen yield depended on the translation of microbial matters and inhibition of methanogens in the sludge. The temperatures of 100℃ and 121℃ （treated time, 30 min） could kill or inhibit completely the methanogens while the others could not. To produce hydrogen and save energy, 100℃ was chosen as the optimal temperature for thermal pretrcatment. The composition changes in liquid phase in the fermentation process were also discussed. The SCOD of sludge increased, which was affected by the pretreatment temperature. The production of volatile fatty acids in the anaerobic fermentation increased with the pretreatment temperature.

Potential prebiotic effects of nonabsorptive components of Keemun and Dianhong black tea:an in vitro study

Black tea is a healthy and popular tea beverage.However,its main bioactive compounds(theaflavins and thearubigins)are not easily absorbed.The aim of this study was to investigate the modulation of intestinal microbiota by the nonabsorptive components of Keemun black tea(KBT)and Dianhong black tea(DBT),and fructooligosaccharide(FOS)was selected for use in the control group.KBT,DBT,and FOS significantly increased total short-chain acid production.Specifically,FOS treatment predominantly increased the production of acetic acids and black tea treatments increased the production of acetic,propionic,and butyric acids at similar rates.Moreover,FOS exerted a strong bifidogenic effect after 24 h of fermentation;KBT and DBT increased the abundance of the beneficial genus Bacteroides and Roseburia.In summary,the nonabsorptive components of KBT and DBT could serve as novel prebiotics,the underlying mechanisms of which are quite different from those of FOS.

Effects of Ultrasonic and Acid Pretreatment on Food Waste Disintegration and Volatile Fatty Acid Production

This study aims at investigating the effects of ultrasonic and acid pretreatment on food waste( FW)disintegration and volatile fatty acid( VFA) production. Single-factor experiments are carried out to obtain optimal conditions of individual ultrasonic and acid pretreatment,and response surface method( RSM) is applied to optimize the conditions of the combination of ultrasonic and acid( UA) pretreatment. Results show that the optimal acid,ultrasonic and UA pretreatments conditions are individual pH 2,individual ultrasonic energy density of 1. 0 W / mL and the combination of ultrasonic energy density1. 11 W / mL and pH 1. 43,respectively. Correspondingly,the maximum disintegration degrees( DD) of 46. 90%,57. 38% and68. 83%are obtained by acid,ultrasonic and UA pretreatments,respectively. After optimizing pretreatment conditions,batch experiments are operated to produce VFA from raw and pretreated FW under anaerobic fermentation process. Both the maximum VFA production( 976. 17 mg COD / gV S) and VFA / SCOD( 72. 89%) are obtained with ultrasonic pretreatment, followed by UA pretreatment, non-pretreatment and acid pretreatment,respectively. This observation demonstrates that a higher acidity on acid and UA pretreatments inhibits the generation of VFA. Results suggest that ultrasonic pretreatment is preferable to promote the disintegration degree of FW and VFA production.

Direct-fed microbial: Animal nutrition and reproduction responses

Manipulating the gastrointestinal microbial ecosystem to enhance animal performance and reproductive responses has been one of the main goals of animal science researchers and veterinarians.Recent restrictions to the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters led researchers to seek alternative practices that can show promise both from the standpoint of efficacy as well as from the practical and economic aspects.One of the alternatives that surfaced as very promising in the last few decades is the use of direct-fed microbials （DFM） as a means to modulate the effects of the gastrointestinal microbiome on the host immune status, health and productivity.

Effect of vacuum negative pressure aerobic hydrolysis pretreatment on corn stover anaerobic fermentation

Lignin degradation restricts corn stover anaerobic fermentation efficiency.The vacuum negative pressure aerobic hydrolysis pretreatment of corn stover was tested,and the optimal combined pretreatment conditions were presented in this paper.Because of the physical characteristics of light weight and large specific porosity of stover,it led to the formation of a scum layer during the fermentation process and thus reduced the gas production rate.In the pretreatment design,the vacuum conditions(0.02-0.08 MPa)and dwell time(5-20 min)were selected to see the changes of volumetric weight,swelling and specific porosity of corn stover,resulting in an increase of the volumetric weight by 7.18%-28.72%,an increase of the swelling by 3.18%-58.59%,and a decrease of the specific porosity by 9.34%-38.59%,as compared with the CK group.Continuous vacuum negative pressure treatment could discharge the air inside the stover destroy the microstructure,and cause the stover to settle more easily during the aerobic hydrolysis process.The optimal aerobic hydrolysis temperature and time were determined to be 39°C and 12.65 h,respectively.With the optimal pretreatment,the corn stover anaerobic fermentation test realized a cumulative methane yield of 260.44 mL/g VS,22.71%higher than CK group;meanwhile,the hydraulic retention time was shortened by 32.39%.

Evaluating the impact of sulfamethoxazole on hydrogen production during dark anaerobic sludge fermentation

The impact of antibiotics on the environmental protection and sludge treatment fields has been widely studied.The recovery of hydrogen from waste activated sludge(WAS)has become an issue of great interest.Nevertheless,few studies have focused on the impact of antibiotics present in WAS on hydrogen production during dark anaerobic fermentation.To explore the mechanisms,sulfamethoxazole(SMX)was chosen as a representative antibiotic to evaluate how SMX influenced hydrogen production during dark anaerobic fermentation of WAS.The results demonstrated SMX promoted hydrogen production.With increasing additions of SMX from 0 to 500 mg/kg TSS,the cumulative hydrogen production elevated from 8.07±0.37 to 11.89±0.19 mL/g VSS.A modified Gompertz model further verified that both the maximum potential of hydrogen production(Pm)and the maximum rate of hydrogen production(R_(m))were promoted.SMX did not affected sludge solubilization,but promoted hydrolysis and acidification processes to produce more hydrogen.Moreover,the methanogenesis process was inhibited so that hydrogen consumption was reduced.Microbial community analysis further demonstrated that the introduction of SMX improved the abundance of hydrolysis bacteria and hydrogen-volatile fatty acids(VFAs)producers.SMX synergistically influenced hydrolysis,acidification and acetogenesis to facilitate the hydrogen production.

The use of Phanerochaete chrysosporium,Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma viride for biogas production

The expanding cost of ordinary fuel in urban zones requires the investigation of other vitality sources.The exploitation of agricultural wastes for biogas production could protect our environment and can also solve emerging energy crises problems.Phanerochaete chrysosporium,Trichoderma virdie and Trichoderma harzianum were used to ferment rice straw and cattle dung for production of compost and biogas.Biogas yield was determined using displacement technique,using acidified water(1 N H_(2)SO_(4))to prevent solubilization of carbon dioxide contained in the biogas.Current results showed that the highest rate of biogas and methane were recorded with treated rice straw mixed with cattle dung where the amount of production from the total gas was 51.84 of biogas and 37.86 of methane per Liter(L)/Kilogram(Kg)of fermented material.Also,the results showed that the consumed biogas and methane related to volatile solids gave the highest amount with untreated rice straw(86.32 and 56.72 L/Kg respectively)followed by treated rice straw and untreated and treated mixtures of rice straw and cattle dung respectively.The results also showed that the highest bacterial count was obtained from fungi treated rice straw mixed with cattle dung(125×10^(3)cells/g)followed by treated rice straw(32×10^(3)cells/g).This study confirms that P.chrysosporium,T.virdie and T.harzianum significantly speed up the process of aerobic and anaerobic fermentation of rice straw in respect to biogas and methane production.

High-solid anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge:achievements and perspectives

High-solid anaerobic digestion(HS-AD)has been applied extensively during the last few decades for treating various organic wastes,such as agricultural wastes,organic fractions of municipal solid wastes,and kitchen wastes.However,the application of HS-AD to the processing of sewage sludge(SS)remains limited,which is largely attributable to its poor process stability and performance.Extensive research has been conducted to attempt to surmount these limitations.In this review,the main factors affecting process stability and performance in the HS-AD of SS are comprehensively reviewed,and the improved methods in current use,such as HS sludge pre-treatment and anaerobic co-digestion with other organic wastes,are summarised.Besides,this paper also discusses the characteristics of substance transformation in the HS-AD of SS with and without thermal pre-treatment.Research has shown that the HS effect is due to the presence of high concentrations of substances that may inhibit the function of anaerobic microorganisms,and that it also results in poor mass transfer,a low diffusion coefficient,and high viscosity.Finally,knowledge gaps in the current research on HS-AD of SS are identified.Based on these,it proposes that future efforts should be devoted to standardising the definition of HS sludge,revealing the law of migration and transformation of pollutants,describing the metabolic pathways by which specific substances are degraded,and establishing accurate mathematical models.Moreover,developing green sludge dewatering agents,obtaining high value-added products,and revealing effects of the above two on HS-AD of SS can also be considered in future.

Microorganism population in two-phase anaerobic fermentation of separated liquid of dairy manure

In order to reduce incomplete fermentation caused by high substrate viscosity and low mass transfer efficiency during fermentation process,batch and two-phase anaerobic fermentation experiments were conducted in this study.Dairy manure was separated by using solid-liquid separator firstly.Separated liquid(SL)and diluted dairy manure(DDM)as raw materials were evaluated in terms of gas production performance for both batch and two-phase anaerobic fermentation.The microorganism population was characterized by scanning electron microscope(SEM)and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis(DGGE).The results showed that Volatile Solid(VS)methane yield of SL was 124.51 L/kg VS,which was 2.09 times higher than that of DDM(59.50 L/kg VS)in batch anaerobic fermentation.The Bacteroides and Veillonella with higher activity were the majority microorganism population in acidogenic phase,whereas the Firmicutes and Corynebacterium with methanogenic properties became the predominant microorganism population in methanogenic phase.This study achieved the phase separation and improved the gas production performance.

Effects of urea ammonia pretreatment on the batch anaerobic fermentation efficiency of corn stovers

In order to enhance the biogas production and provide nitrogen sources for the growth of microorganisms,experiments on urea ammonia pretreatment of corn stovers were implemented at(35±1)°C to investigate the effects of urea ammonia pretreatment on the batch anaerobic fermentation efficiency of corn stovers.This study assessed the effects of urea ammonia contents(2%,4%,and 6%)and moisture contents(30%,50%,70%and 90%)on the physical structures of lignocelluloses and the efficiency of biogas production from anaerobic fermentation of corn stovers.The results indicated that the methane production reached 230.31 mL/g VS(volatile solids)at pretreatment with 4%urea ammonia and 70%moisture contents for the batch anaerobic fermentation,which was 26.6%higher than that of the untreated group.The degradation rates of cellulose and hemicellulose were 66.34%and 75.47%after the anaerobic fermentation,respectively,which were about 22.6%and 20.9%higher than that of the untreated group,respectively.Thus,it was concluded that urea ammonia pretreatment can improve the efficiency of biogas production from anaerobic fermentation of corn stovers.

Effect of normal and strict anaerobic fermentation on physicochemical quality and metabolomics of yogurt

Generally,yogurts on the market are usually anaerobic fermentation,but oxygen can be still dissolved in the production process,which is actually not strict anaerobic.This study explored the multiple quality indicators and the metabolomic analysis of yogurts fermented by Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus using two fermentation methods,namely,strict anaerobic and normal fermentation.The changes in flavor substances in yogurts,including 17 free amino acids,17 fatty acids,and 7 response value,were detected using principal component and multi factor analyses.Based on the results of the comparisons between basic physical and chemical indicators,strict anaerobic fermentation increased the growth and acidification of the two bacteria,the response value of sourness,umami and richness.Strict anaerobic fermentation increased the free amino acid(Fold change=1.53)and short chain fatty acid levels(Fold change=1.73),and reduced the polyunsaturated fatty acid(Fold change=0.51)levels.Furthermore,metabolomic analysis based on UPLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS showed that 92 differential metabolites were screened;45 differential metabolites were increased and 47 were decreased.The results revealed that strict anaerobic fermentation was beneficial to metabolic changes and nutritional indicators of yogurt,which may be as indicators of valuable reference to improve dairy fermentation process.

Carbon source recovery from waste sludge reduces greenhouse gas emissions in a pilot-scale industrial wastewater treatment plant

Carbon cycle regulation and greenhouse gas(GHG)emission abatement within wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)can theoretically improve sustainability.Currently,however,large amounts of external carbon sources used for deep nitrogen removal and waste sludge disposal aggravate the carbon footprint of most WWTPs.In this pilot-scale study,considerable carbon was preliminarily recovered from primary sludge(PS)through short-term(five days)acidogenic fermentation and subsequently utilized on-site for denitrification in a wool processing industrialWWTP.The recovered sludge-derived carbon sources were excellent electron donors that could be used as additional carbon supplements for commercial glucose to enhance denitrification.Additionally,improvements in carbon and nitrogen flow further contributed to GHG emission abatement.Overall,a 9.1%reduction in sludge volatile solids was achieved from carbon recovery,which offset 57.4%of external carbon sources,and the indirect GHG emissions of the target industrial WWTP were reduced by 8.05%.This study demonstrates that optimizing the allocation of carbon mass flow within a WWTP has numerous benefits.

Mechanisms of allicin exposure for the sludge fermentation enhancement:Focusing on the fermentation processes and microbial metabolic traits

As a frequently used product with antimicrobial activity,consumed allicin might be dis-charged and concentrated in waste-activated sludge(WAS).However,the influence of al-licin(as an exogenous pollutant)on WAS fermentation has not been clearly revealed.This study aimed to disclose the impacts of allicin on volatile fatty acid(VFA)generation dur-ing WAS fermentation.The results showed that the appropriate presence of allicin(10 mg/g TSS)significantly enhanced the VFA yield(1894 versus 575 mg COD/L in the control)with increased acetate proportion(24.3%).Further exploration found that allicin promoted WAS solubilization,hydrolysis and acidification simultaneously.Metagenomic analysis revealed that the key genes involved in extracellular hydrolysis metabolism(i.e.,CAZymes),mem-brane transport(i.e.,gtsA and ytfT),substrate metabolism(i.e.,yhdR and pfkC)and fatty acid synthesis(i.e.,accA and accD)were all highly expressed.Allicin also induced the bacteria to produce more signalling molecules and regulate cellular functions,thereby enhancing the microbial adaptive and regulatory capacity to the unfavourable environment.Moreover,the variations in fermentative microbes and their contributions to the upregulation of func-tional genes(i.e.,ytfR,gltL,INV,iolD and pflD)for VFA generation were disclosed.Overall,the simultaneous stimulation of functional microbial abundances and metabolic activities contributed to VFA production in allicin-conditioned reactors.

The effect of salinity on waste activated sludge alkaline fermentation and kinetic analysis

The effect of salinity on sludge alkaline fermentation at low temperature（20°C） was investigated, and a kinetic analysis was performed. Different doses of sodium chloride（Na Cl, 0–25 g/L） were added into the fermentation system. The batch-mode results showed that the soluble chemical oxygen demand（SCOD） increased with salinity. The hydrolysate（soluble protein, polysaccharide） and the acidification products（short chain fatty acids（SCFAs）, NH＋4–N, and PO_4^（3-）–P） increased with salinity initially, but slightly declined respectively at higher level salinity（20 g/L or 20–25 g/L）. However, the hydrolytic acidification performance increased in the presence of salt compared to that without salt.Furthermore, the results of Haldane inhibition kinetics analysis showed that the salt enhanced the hydrolysis rate of particulate organic matter from sludge particulate and the specific utilization of hydrolysate, and decreased the specific utilization of SCFAs. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis indicated that the importance of polysaccharide on the accumulation of SCFAs was reduced with salt addition, but the importance of protein and NH＋4–N on SCFA accumulation was increased.

Formation process and properties of hydrogen-producing granular sludge in UASB reactor

The granular sludge of microbial fermentation systems includes various biomass-degrading enzymes and different microflora,which have significant impacts on the degradation of biomass and the stability of the system.An up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket(UASB)reactor was used to grow hydrogen-producing granular sludge.The results showed that the formation of the granular sludge underwent four stages,i.e.,flocculation of the sludge,formation of the flocculent sludge,swelling of the flocculent sludge,and formation of the granular sludge.The formed granular sludge mostly had regular spherical and ellipsoidal shapes with a fractal dimension of 2.08±0.4;the settling velocities were 0.84 cm/s to 1.96 cm/s in water,the porosity was 0.67-0.95.The shear sensitivity(Kss)of the granular sludge was 0.1152.The granular sludge had a culture cycle of approximately 70 d and a hydrogen yield of 1.09 mol H2/mol glucose.

Life cycle assessment on the environmental impacts of different pig manure management techniques

The management of livestock waste is an effective way to achieve emission reduction and carbon fixation in agriculture and rural areas.At present,aerobic composting and anaerobic fermentation are widely used in livestock waste treatment technology.In this study,pig manure management was taken as an example,a comprehensive environmental load index was constructed to quantitatively evaluate the environmental impacts of global warming,environmental acidification,eutrophication,and photochemical ozone synthesis during aerobic composting and anaerobic fermentation based on the life cycle assessment.The results showed that the potential values of aerobic composting and anaerobic fermentation were similar,and the order was global warming,environmental acidification,eutrophication,and photochemical ozone synthesis.Anaerobic fermentation contributed more to global warming,while aerobic composting contributed more to environmental acidification,eutrophication,and photochemical ozone synthesis.In addition,the environmental load index of aerobic composting was significantly higher than that of anaerobic fermentation.There were certainly regional differences in the environmental load index,and the environmental impact effect of anaerobic fermentation was low and more environmentally friendly.These findings provided a technical basis for livestock manure management in different regions of China,which was conducive to promoting animal husbandry emission reduction and carbon sequestration.