Optimization of a digested sludge-derived mesoporous material as an efficient and stable heterogeneous catalyst for the photo-Fenton reaction

The anaerobic digestion of sludge has recently received increased interest because of the potential to transform organic matter into methane‐rich biogas. However, digested sludge, the residue produced in that process, still contains high levels of heavy metals and other harmful substances that might make traditional disposal difficult. We have devised a facile method of converting digested sludge into a mesoporous material that acts as an effective and stable heterogeneous catalyst for the photo‐Fenton reaction. A comparison of the removal of rhodamine B under different conditions showed that FAS‐1‐350, which was synthesized by mixing the digested sludge with a 1 mol/L（NH4）2Fe（SO4）2 solution followed by calcination at 350 °C, exhibited the best catalytic activity owing to its faster reaction rate and lower degree of Fe leaching. The results indicate that Fe^（2＋）‐loaded catalysts have significant potential to act as stable and efficient heterogeneous promoters for the photo‐Fenton reaction, with better performance than Fe^3＋‐loaded catalysts because the Fe（II）/Fe（III）compounds formed in the calcination process are necessary to sustain the Fenton reaction. This protocol provides an alternative, environmentally friendly method of reusing digested sludge and demonstrates an easily synthesized mesoporous material that effectively degrades azo dyes.

Simulation and assessment of sludge concentration and rheology in the process of waste activated sludge treatment

The process of using flat-sheet membrane for simultaneous sludge thickening and digestion （MSTD） was employed. The variations of sludge concentration and rheology were characterized and simulated. Based on mass balance analysis, mathematical models were developed and successfully used to predict and evaluate the variations of sludge concentration and the digestion efficiency in the MSTD process. The apparent viscosity of sludge could be modeled as functions of mixed liquor suspended solids and shear rates. The sludge in the MSTD process showed both shear-thinning and viscoplastic behaviour, and under various shear rates different rheological models could be chosen to predict their flow behaviour. It was also found that sludge concentration and viscosity had significant correlations with membrane fouling in the MSTD process.

Advances in Sludge Treatment Technology

In recent years,sewage treatment has become a common concern of cities,and proper sewage treatment will directly benefit cities by facilitating their healthy and fast development. In this study,the principles of sludge treatment and disposal such as reduction,stabilization,harmlessness,resource utilization,and low carbonization were introduced. Afterwards,the advantages and disadvantages of ways to dispose sewage were analyzed,and some new techniques were also introduced. In a word,it was advisable to treat sewage properly based on actual conditions.

Effects of treatment time and temperature on the DC corona pretreatment performance of waste activated sludge

In order to improve the anaerobic digestion efficiency of waste activated sludge（WAS）,a pretreatment procedure should be carried out so as to disrupt the microbial cell structure,thus releasing intracellular organic matters.In this paper,a corona discharge triggered by a DC voltage was employed to pre-treat WAS for various time periods under different temperatures.The magnitude of the DC voltage was 4 k V at both negative and positive polarities.The changes in the soluble chemical oxygen demand,phosphorus and nitrogen content,and p H value within the WAS were utilized to estimate the pretreatment performance of the DC corona.It was found that with increasing treatment time,the pretreatment efficiency tends to be reduced.With increased temperature,the pretreatment efficiency appears to be better.It is suggested that the oxidative species and the active particles generated in the corona discharge play an important role in disrupting the microbial cell structure,which is dependent upon the treatment time and the temperature.

Effect of Digested Sewage Sludge on the Ventilation and Coughing Rates of Two Fresh Water Fish

Addition of digested sewage sludge at concentrations of 2% and 10% (v/v) to the water increased coughing rate in big head and tilapia (P<0.05). Ventilation rate was significantly decreased (P<0.05) in big head and tilapia at sludge concentrations of 6% and 2% (v/v)respectively. Copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) are trace metals which are commonly found in sludge. Cu caused a significant increase (P<0.05) in coughing rate in both tilapia and big head at concentrations of 0.3 and 0.2 μg/ml respectively. Zn caused significant increase (P<0.05) in coughing rate only in big head at 2 μg/ml. Neither fish responded to Cd of up to 2μg/ml in the water. However, when the levels of these trace metals in the digested sludge were measured, they were below that which can cause significant changes in the respiratory movements. Therefore, the changes in ventilation and coughing rates after addition of sludge may be due to the presence of substances other than these metals. The results of this experiment provides a guideline to control the level of sludge that can be used in rearing these fresh water fish in ponds

Control strategy of shortcut nitrification

Shortcut nitrification for ammonium-rich wastewater is energy-saving and cost-effective procedure that has become one of the hotspots in the field of biological denitrogenation. An orthogonal experiment was performed to study the combined effects of operational parameters on the performance of internal-loop airlift bioreactor for shortcut nitrification. The optimum operational parameters for the shortcut nitrification were fotmd as temperature 35 ℃, pH 8.0, dissolved oxygen concentration 1.0 mg/L, ammonium concentration 4 mmol/L and HRT 16 h, which have different influence on the performance of shortcut nitrification reactor. The pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration have significant bearing on the process. The results showed that the shortcut nitrification reactor could be successfully started up within 42 d, and the reactor performance is steady with minimum NO2-/NOx- of 85.2%, maximum 93.4% and average value of 91.4% in effluent. Based on the analysis of experimental data, a new control strategy named “priority ＋ combination” for shortcut nitrification was suggested. Through this strategy, the startup and operation of shortcut nitrification for ammonium-rich sludge digester liquids were optimized. The control strategy works well to keep the reactor operation in steady state and in achieving high-efficiency for shortcut nitrification.

Treatment of methanol wastewater in external circulation anaerobic reactor with different inoculums

In order to guide the inoculums selection for the anaerobic treatment of methanol wastewater in the engineering application,two 7 L bench-scale external circulation (EC) anaerobic reactors were operated to investigate the inoculums of anaerobic granular sludge and anaerobic digested sludge,focusing on the efficiency and process stability.The effect of impact concentration and temperature on the performance was studied.The results demonstrated that anaerobic granular sludge as the inoculums could complete the start-up more rapidly than the anaerobic digested sludge,and above 90% COD removal were achieved at the organic loading rate of 10 to 15 kgCOD/(m3·d).The effect of impact COD on the methanogenic activity of sludge was weak and the removal efficiencies recovered gradually in the two reactors.The COD removal efficiencies reduced swiftly to 50%-60% due to the impact temperature.The results indicated that the complex bacterial groups in anaerobic digested sludge benefited to enhance the reactor's capacity for withstanding the temperature shock at some extent.

Physical characteristics of conditioned anaerobic digested sludge-A fractal, transient and dynamic rheological viewpoint

The changes in the physical characteristics of unconditioned and conditioned anaerobic digested sludge （ADS） biosolids, such as capillary suction time （CST）, yield stress, average size and fractal dimensions, were investigated through a CST test, transient and dynamic rheological test and image analysis. The results showed that the optimum polymer dose range was observed when CST or its reciprocal value was employed as an indicator. There were good correlations between the yield stresses determined from both a controlled shear stress test and a strain amplitude sweep test. The yield stress and storage modulus （G＇） increased as the polymer dose increased in most cases. A frequency sweep test revealed that polymer conditioning could extend the frequency sweep ranges for their elastic behaviors over viscous behaviors as well as the gel-like structure in the linear viscoelastic range. These results implied that more deformation energy was stored in this rigid structure, and that elastic behavior became increasingly dominant with the addition of the polymer in most cases, In addition, both the average sizes and two-dimensional fractal dimensions for conditioned ADS biosolids presented a similar up-climax-down variation trend as the polymer doses increased, whereas the critical polymer doses at the highest average sizes or two-dimensional fractal dimensions, were different. Correlation analysis revealed that the conditioned ADS dewaterability was not correlated with the yield stresses, while the average sizes or the two-dimensional fractal dimensions for conditioned ADS biosolids could be taken as the indication parameters for ADS dewaterability.

Effects of solution conditions on the physicochemical properties of stratification components of extracellular polymeric substances in anaerobic digested sludge

The composition and effects of solution conditions on the physicochemical properties of the stratification components of extracellular polymeric substances （EPS） in anaerobic digested sludge were determined. The total EPS in anaerobic digested sludge were extracted by the cation exchange resin method. Another EPS extraction method, the ceutrifugation and sonication technique was employed to stratify the EPS into three fractions： slime, loosely bound （LB）-EPS, and tightly bound （TB）-EPS from the outside to the inside of the anaerobic digested sludge. Proteins and polysaccharides were dispersed uniformly across the different EPS fractions, and humic-like substances were mainly partitioned in the slime, with TB-EPS second. Protein was the major constituent of the LB-EPS and TB-EPS, and the corresponding ratios ranged from 54.0% to 65.6%. The hydrophobic part in the EPS chemical components was primarily comprised of protein and DNA, while the hydrophilic part was mainly composed of polysaccharide. In the slime, the hydrophobic values of several EPS chemical components （protein, polysaccharide, humic-like substances and DNA） were all below 50%. The protein/polysaccharide ratio had a significant influence on the Zeta potentials and isoelectric point values of the EPS： the greater the protein/polysaccharide ratio of the EPS was, the greater the Zeta potential and the higher the isoelectric point value were. All Zeta potentials of the EPS showed a decreasing trend with increasing pH. The corresponding isoelectric point values （pH） were 2.8 for total EPS, 2.2 for slime, 2.7 for LB-EPS, and 2.6 for TB-EPS. As the ionic strength increased, the Zeta potentials sharply increased and then gradually became constant without charge reversal. In addition, as the temperature increased （〈 40℃）, the apparent viscosity of the EPS decreased monotonically and then gradually became stable between 40 and 60℃.

Comparison of different valent iron on anaerobic sludge digestion:Focusing on oxidation reduction potential,dissolved organic nitrogen and microbial community

This study compared effects of three different valent iron(Fe^(0),Fe(II)and Fe(III))on enhanced anaerobic sludge digestion,focusing on the changes of oxidation reduction potential(ORP),dissolved organic nitrogen(DON),and microbial community.Under the same iron dose in range of 0−160 mg/L after an incubation period of 30 days(d),the maximum methane production rate of sludge samples dosed with respective Fe^(0),Fe(II)and Fe(III)at the same concentration showed indiscernible differences at each iron dose,regardless of the different iron valence.Moreover,their behavior in changes of ORP,DON and microbial community was different:(1)the addition of Fe^(0) made the ORP of sludge more negative,and the addition of Fe(II)and Fe(III)made the ORP of sludge less negative.However,whether being more or less negative,the changes of ORP may show unobservable effects on methane yield when it ranged from−278.71 to−379.80 mV;(2)the degradation of dissolved organic nitrogen,particularly proteins,was less efficient in sludge samples dosed with Fe^(0) compared with those dosed with Fe(II)and Fe(III)after an incubation period of 30 d.At the same dose of 160 mg/L iron,more cysteine was noted in sludge samples dosed with Fe(II)(30.74 mg/L)and Fe(III)(27.92 mg/L)compared with that dosed with Fe^(0)(21.75 mg/L);(3)Fe^(0) particularly promoted the enrichment of Geobacter,and it was 6 times higher than those in sludge samples dosed with Fe(II)and Fe(III)at the same dose of 160 mg/L iron.

A hybrid membrane process for simultaneous thickening and digestion of waste activated sludge

A hybrid membrane process for simultaneous sludge thickening and digestion(MSTD)was studied.During one cycle(15 d)of operation under a hydraulic retention time of 1 d,the concentration of mixed liquor suspended solids(MLSS)continuously increased from about 4 g·L^(–1)to 34 g·L^(–1),and the mixed liquor volatile suspended solids(MLVSS)increased from about 3 g·L^(–1)to over 22 g·L^(–1).About 42%of the MLVSS and 39%of the MLSS reduction were achieved.The thickening and digestion effects in the MSTD were further analyzed based on a mass balance analysis.Test results showed that biopolymers and cations of biomass were gradually released to the bulk solution during the process.It was also found that the capillary suction time,colloidal chemical oxygen demand,soluble microbial products,viscosity,and MLSS had significant positive correlations with the membrane fouling rate,whereas extracellular polymeric substances,polysaccharides,and proteins extracted from biomass had negative impacts on membrane fouling.

Waste sludge disintegration, methanogenesis and final disposal via various pretreatments: Comparison of performance and effectiveness

This study compared the three wastewater pretreatments of ozonation,Fe2þ-S2O82and freeze-thawing(F/T)in the disintegration,anaerobic digestion(AD)and final disposal of the sludge.The F/T pretreatment increased the dewaterability and settleability of the sludge by 7.8%and 47.1%,respectively.The ozonation pretreatment formed more volatile fatty acids(VFAs),with a peak value of 320.82 mg SCOD/L and controlled the release of sulfides.The Fe2þ-S2O82pretreatment removed heavy metals through the absorption and flocculation of ferric particles formed in-situ.During the anaerobic digestion of the sludge,the ozonation pretreatment accelerated the hydrolysis rate(k)rather than the biochemical methane potential(B0)of the sludge due to the high VFA content in the supernatant.Comparatively,the F/T pretreatment facilitated the B0 with great economic efficiency by enhancing the solubilisation of the sludge.Although Fe2þ-S2O82pretreatment decreased the methane production,the ferric particle was a unique advantage in the disintegration and harmless disposal of the sludge.The digested sludge had more VFAs after ozonation pretreatment,which contributed to the recycling of carbon.In addition,the lower sludge volume could save the expense of transportation and disposal by ozonation pretreatment.Different pretreatments had different characteristics.The comparative study provided information allowing the selection of the type of pretreatment to achieve different objectives of the treatment and disposal of sludge.

Reversibility of the structure and dewaterability of anaerobic digested sludge

The reversibility of the structure and dewaterability of broken anaerobic digested sludge（ADS）is important to ensure the efficiency of sludge treatment or management processes.This study investigated the effect of continuous strong shear（CSS）and multipulse shear（MPS）on the zeta potential,size（median size,d（50））,mass fractal dimension（DF）,and capillary suction time（CST）of ADS aggregates.Moreover,the self-regrowth（SR）of broken ADS aggregates during slow mixing was also analyzed.The results show that raw ADS with d（50） of 56.5μm was insensitive to CSS–SR or MPS–SR,though the size slightly decreased after the breakage phase.For conditioned ADS with d（50） larger than 600μm,the breakage in small-scale surface erosion changed to large-scale fragmentation as the CSS strength increased.In most cases,after CSS or MPS,the broken ADS had a relatively more compact structure than before and d（50） is at least 200μm.The CST of the broken fragments from optimally dosed ADS increased,whereas that corresponding to overdosed ADS decreased.MPS treatment resulted in larger and more compact broken ADS fragments with a lower CST value than CSS.During the subsequent slow mixing,the broken ADS aggregates did not recover their charge,size,and dewaterability to the initial values before breakage.In addition,less than 15%self-regrowth in terms of percentage of the regrowth factor was observed in broken ADS after CSS at average velocity gradient no less than 1905.6 sec^（-1）.

Determination of the archaeal and bacterial communities in two-phase and single-stage anaerobic systems by 454 pyrosequencing

2-Phase anaerobic digestion（AD）, where the acidogenic phase was operated at 2 day hydraulic retention time（HRT） and the methanogenic phase at 10 days HRT, had been evaluated to determine if it could provide higher organic reduction and methane production than the conventional single-stage AD（also operated at 12 days HRT）. 454 pyrosequencing was performed to determine and compare the microbial communities. The acidogenic reactor of the 2-phase system yielded a unique bacterial community of the lowest richness and diversity, while bacterial profiles of the methanogenic reactor closely followed the single-stage reactor. All reactors were predominated by hydrogenotrophic methanogens, mainly Methanolinea. Unusually, the acidogenic reactor contributed up to 24%of total methane production in the 2-phase system. This could be explained by the presence of Methanosarcina and Methanobrevibacter, and their activities could also help regulate reactor alkalinity during high loading conditions through carbon dioxide production. The enrichment of hydrolytic and acidogenic Porphyromonadaceae, Prevotellaceae, Ruminococcaceae and unclassified Bacteroidetes in the acidogenic reactor would have contributed to the improved sludge volatile solids degradation, and ultimately the overall 2-phase system＇s performance. Syntrophic acetogenic microorganisms were absent in the acidogenic reactor but present in the downstream methanogenic reactor, indicating the retention of various metabolic pathways also found in a single-stage system. The determination of key microorganisms further expands our understanding of the complex biological functions in AD process.

Impact of roxarsone on the UASB reactor performance and its degradation

Roxarsone （3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid, ROX） has been widely used for decades as an organoarsenic feed additive to control intestinal parasites and improve feed efficiency in animal production. However, most of the ROX is excreted into the manure, causing arsenic contamination in wastewater. The arsenic compounds are toxic to microorganisms, but the influence of continuous ROX loading on upflow anaerobic sludge blanket （UASB） reactor is still unknown. In this study, the impact of ROX and its degradation products on the performance of the UASB reactor and the degradation and speciation of ROX in the reactor were investigated. The UASB reactor （hydraulic retention time： 1.75 d） was operated using synthetic wastewater supplemented with ROX for a period of 260 days. With continuous ROX addition at 25.0 mg.L-1, severe inhibition to methanogenic activity occurred after 87 days operation accompanied with an accumulation of volatile fatty acids （VFAs） and a decline in pH. The decrease of added ROX concentration to 13.2 mg.L-1 did not mediate the inhibition. As（III）, As （V）, MMA（V）, DMA（V）, HAPA and an unknown arsenic compound were detected in the reactor, and a possible biotransformation pathway of ROX was proposed. Mass balance analysis of arsenic indicated that 60%-70% of the arsenic was discharged into the effluent, and 30%-40% was precipitated in the reactor. The results from this study suggest that we need to pay attention to the stability in the UASB reactors treating organoarsenic-contaminated manure and wastewater, and the effluent and sludge from the reactor tO avoid diffusion of arsenic contamination.