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.

Study Progress Analysis of Effluent Quality Prediction in Activated Sludge Process Based on CiteSpace

In this paper, CiteSpace, a bibliometrics software, was adopted to collect research papers published on the Web of Science, which are relevant to biological model and effluent quality prediction in activated sludge process in the wastewater treatment. By the way of trend map, keyword knowledge map, and co-cited knowledge map, specific visualization analysis and identification of the authors, institutions and regions were concluded. Furthermore, the topics and hotspots of water quality prediction in activated sludge process through the literature-co-citation-based cluster analysis and literature citation burst analysis were also determined, which not only reflected the historical evolution progress to a certain extent, but also provided the direction and insight of the knowledge structure of water quality prediction and activated sludge process for future research.

Effects of Potassium Ferrate and Low-Temperature Thermal Hydrolysis Co-Pretreatment on the Hydrolysis and Anaerobic Digestion Process of Waste Activated Sludge

This study evaluated the effect of potassium ferrate(PF)and low-temperature thermal hydrolysis co-pretreatment on the promotion of sludge hydrolysis process and the impact on acid production in the subsequent anaerobic digestion process.The analytical investigations showed that co-pretreatment significantly facilitated the hydrolysis process of the sludge and contributed to the accumulation of short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs).The pretreatment conditions under the optimal leaching of organic matter from sludge were hydrothermal temperature of 75℃,hydrothermal treatment time of 12 h,and PF dosage of 0.25 g g^(−1)TSS(total suspended solids),according to the results of orthogonal experiments.By pretreatment under proper conditions,the removal rate of soluble chemical oxygen demand(SCOD)achieved 71.8%at the end of fermentation and the removal rate of total phosphorus(TP)was 69.1%.The maximum yield of SCFAs was 750.3 mg L^(−1),7.45 times greater than that of the blank group.Based on the analysis of the anaerobic digestion mechanism,it was indicated that the co-pretreatment could destroy the floc structure on the sludge surface and improve organic matter dissolving,resulting in more soluble organic substances for the acidification process.Furthermore,microbial community research revealed that the main cause of enhanced SCFAs generation was an increase in acidogenic bacteria and a reduction of methanogenic bacteria.

Preliminary Study on the Treatment Efficiency of Pasteurized Lime Thermal Alkaline Hydrolysis for Excess Activated Sludge and Reduction of Tetracycline Resistance Genes

Thermal alkaline hydrolysis is a common pretreatment method for the utilization of excess activated sludge(EAS).Owing to strict environment laws and need for better energy utilization,new methods were developed in this study to improve the efficiency of pretreatment method.Direct thermal hydrolysis(TH),pasteurized thermal hydrolysis(PTH),and alkaline pasteurized thermal hydrolysis(PTH+CaO and PTH+NaOH)methods were used to treat EAS.Each method was compared and analyzed in terms of dissolution in ammonium nitrogen(NH_(4)^(+)-N)and soluble COD(SCOD)in EAS.Furthermore,the removal of tetracycline resistance genes(TRGs)and class 1 transposon gene intI1 from EAS was investigated.The NH_(4)^(+)-N and SCOD concentrations in EAS treated by PTH were 1.24 and 2.58 times higher than those of TH.However,the removal efficiency of total TRGs and intI1 between the groups was comparable.The SCOD concentration of the PTH+NaOH group was 4.37 times higher than that of the PTH group,and the removal efficiency of total TRGs was increased by 9.52%compared with that by PTH.The NH_(4)^(+)-N and SCOD concentrations of the PTH+CaO group could reach 85.04%and 92.14%of the PTH+NaOH group,but the removal efficiency of total TRGs by PTH+CaO was 19.78%lower than that by PTH+NaOH.Thus,to reduce the financial cost in actual operation,lime(CaO)can be used instead of a strong alkali(NaOH),and pasteurized steam at 70℃ instead of conventional high-temperature heating to treat EAS.This study provides a reference for the development of alkaline hydrolysis under moderate temperatures along with the removal of TRGs in EAS.

Functions and behaviors of activated sludge extracellular polymeric substances (EPS): a promising environmental interest

Extracellular polymeric substances （EPS） are the predominant constituents of activated sludge and represent up to 80% of the mass of activated sludge. They play a crucial role in the flocculation, settling and dewatering of activated sludge. Furthermore, EPS also show great efficiency in binding heavy metals. So EPS are key factors influencing reduction in sludge volume and mass, as well as activity and utilization of sludge. EPS are of considerable environmental interest and hundreds of articles on EPS have been published abroad, while information on EPS in China is limited. In this paper, results of over 60 publications related to constituents and characteristics of EPS and their influences on flocculation, settling and dewatering of sludge are compiled and analyzed. Metal-binding ability of EPS is also discussed, together with a brief consideration of possible research interests in the future.

Biosorption of cadmium(II) and lead(II) ions from aqueous solutions onto dried activated sludge

The removal of heavy-metal ions from aqueous solutions by using dried activated sludge has been investigated in batch systems. Effect of solution pH, initial metal ion concentration, and temperature were determined. The results of the kinetic studies showed that the uptake processes of the two metal ions（Cd（Ⅱ） and Pb（Ⅱ）） followed the pseudo-second-order rate expression. The equilibrium data fitted very well to both the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. The FT-IR analysis showed that the main mechanism of Cd（Ⅱ） and Pb（Ⅱ） biosorption onto dried activated sludge was their binding with amide I group.

Community analysis of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in activated sludge of eight wastewater treatment systems

We investigated the communities of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria （AOB） in activated sludge collected from eight wastewater treatment systems using polymerase chain reaction （PCR） followed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism （T-RFLP）, cloning, and sequencing of the α-subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase gene （amoA）. The T-RFLP fingerprint analyses showed that different wastewater treatment systems harbored distinct AOB communities. However, there was no remarkable difference among the AOB T- RFLP profiles from different parts of the same system. The T-RFLP fingerprints showed that a full-scale wastewater treatment plant （WWTP） contained a larger number of dominant AOB species than a pilot-scale reactor. The source of influent affected the AOB community, and the WWTPs treating domestic wastewater contained a higher AOB diversity than those receiving mixed domestic and industrial wastewater. However, the AOB community structure was little affected by the treatment process in this study. Phylogenetic analysis of the cloned amoA genes clearly indicated that all the dominant AOB in the systems was closely related to Nitrosomonas spp. not to Nitrosospira spp. Members of the Nitrosomonas oligotropha and Nitrosomonas communis clusters were found in all samples, while members of Nitrosomonas europaea cluster occurred in some systems.

Immobilization study of biosorption of heavy metal ions onto activated sludge

Activated sludge was immobilized into Ca-alginate beads via entrapment, and biosorption of three heavy metal ions, copper(Ⅱ), zinc(Ⅱ), and chromimum(Ⅱ), from aqueous solution in the concentration range of 10\_100 mg/L was studied by using both entrapped activated sludge and inactivated free biomass at pH≤5. A biphasic metal adsorption pattern was observed in all immobilized biomass experiments. The biosorption of metal ions by the biosorbents increased with the initial concentration increased in the medium. The adsorption rate of immobilized pre-treated activated sludge(PAS) was much lower than that of free PAS due to the increase in mass transfer resistance resulting from the polymeric matrix. Biosorption equilibrium of beads was established in about 20 h and the adsorbed heavy metal ions did not change further with time. No significant effect of temperature was observed in the test for free biomass while immobilized PAS appeared to be strong temperature dependent in the test range of 10 and 40℃. Besides, the content of activated sludge in the calcium alginate bead has an influence on the uptake of heavy metals. The sorption equilibrium was well modeled by Langmuir isotherm, implying monomolecular adsorption mechanism. Carboxyl group in cell wall played an important role in surface adsorption of heavy metal ions on PAS.

Start-up of anaerobic ammonia oxidation bioreactor with nitrifying activated sludge

The anaerobic ammonia oxidation(Anammox) bioreactor was successfully started up with the nitrifying activated sludge. After anaerobically operated for 105 d, the bioreactor reached a good performance with removal percentage of both ammonia and nitrite higher than 95% and volumetric total nitrogen removal as high as 149.55 mmol/(L·d). The soft padding made an important contribution to the high efficiency and stability because it held a large amount of biomass in the bioreactor.

Kinetic analysis of waste activated sludge hydrolysis and short-chain fatty acids production at pH 10

The accumulation of short-chain fatty acids （SCFAs）, a preferred carbon source for enhanced biological phosphorus removal microbes, was significantly improved when waste activated sludge （WAS） was fermented at pH 10. The kinetics of WAS hydrolysis and SCFAs production at pH 10 was investigated. It was observed that during WAS anaerobic fermentation the accumulation of SCFAs was limited by the hydrolysis process, and both the hydrolysis of WAS particulate COD and the accumulation of SCFAs followed first-order kinetics. The hydrolysis and SCFAs accumulation rate constants increased with increasing temperature from 10 to 35℃, which could be described by the Arrhenius equation. The kinetic data further indicated that SCFAs production at pH 10 was a biological process. Compared with the experiment of pH uncontrolled （blank test）, both the rate constants of WAS hydrolysis and SCFAs accumulation at 20℃ were improved significantly when WAS was fermented at pH 10.

Purification of total DNA extracted from activated sludge

Purification of the total DNA extracted from activated sludge samples was studied. The effects of extraction buffers and lysis treatments （lysozyme, sodium dodecyl sulfate （SDS）, sonication, mechanical mill and thermal shock） on yield and purity of the total DNA extracted from activated sludge were investigated. It was found that SDS and mechanical mill were the most effective ways for cell lysis, and both gave the highest DNA yields, while by SDS and thermal shock, the purest DNA extract could be obtained. The combination of SDS with other lysis treatment, such as sonication and thermal shock, could apparently increase the DNA yields but also result in severe shearing. For the purification of the crude DNA extract, polyvinyl polypyrrolidone was used for the removal of humic contaminants. Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, potassium acetate and phenol/chloroform were used to remove proteins and polysaccharides from crude DNA. Crude DNA was further purified by isopropanol precipitation. Thus, a suitable protocol was proposed for DNA extraction, yielding about 49.9 mg （total DNA）/g volatile suspended solids, and the DNA extracts were successfully used in PCR amplifications for 16S rDNA and 16S rDNA V3 region. The PCR products of 16S rDNA V3 region allowed the DGGE analysis （denatured gradient gel electrophoresis） to be possible.

Optimization of process parameters for the bioconversion of activated sludge by Penicillium corylophilum, using response surface methodology

The optimization of process parameters for the bioconversion of activated sludge by Penicillium corylophilum was investigated using response surface methodology （RSM）. The three parameters namely temperature of 33℃, agitation of 150 r/min, and pH of 5 were chosen as center point from the previous study of fungal treatment. The experimental data on chemical oxygen demand （COD） removal （%） were fitted into a quadratic polynomial model using multiple regression analysis. The optimum process conditions were determined by analyzing response surface three-dimensional surface plot and contour plot and by solving the regression model equation with Design Expert software. Box-Behnken design technique under RSM was used to optimize their interactions, which showed that an incubation temperature of 32.5℃, agitation of 105 r/min, and pH of 5.5 were the best conditions. Under these conditions, the maximum predicted yield of COD removal was 98.43%. These optimum conditions were used to evaluate the trail experiment, and the maximum yield of COD removal was recorded as 98.5%.

Biosorption of zinc(Ⅱ) from aqueous solution by dried activated sludge

The biosorption potential of dried activated sludge as a biosorbent for zinc（Ⅱ） removal from aqueous solution was investigated.The effects of initial pH,contact time,initial zinc ion concentration,and adsorbent dosage on the biosorption processes were determined,and the equilibrium data were modeled by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms.The Langmuir isotherm model （R 2=0.999） was proved to fit the equilibrium data much better than the Freundlich isotherm model （R 2=0.918）.The monolayer adsorption capacity of dried activated sludge for zinc（Ⅱ） was found to be 17.86 mg/g at pH of 5 and 25°C.The kinetic data were tested using pseudo firstand second-order models.The results suggested that the pseudo second-order model （R 2 〉 0.999） was better for the description of the adsorption behavior of zinc（Ⅱ） onto the dried activated sludge.Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis showed that the dominant mechanism of zinc（Ⅱ） biosorption onto the dried activated sludge was the binding between amide groups and zinc ions.

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.

Effect of Salinity Variations on the Performance of Activated Sludge System

To investigate the influence of salinity variations on the performance of activated sludge systems, treating domestic wastewater. Methods The completely mixed reactor was used and operated in a batch-wise mode. The activated sludge taken from the Gaobeidian Wastewater Treatment Plant was used as a seeding sludge. Total organic carbon (TOC), oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and suspended solids (SS) were used as parameters to characterize the performance of the treatment systems. TOC was measured using a TOC-analyzer (TOC-5000, Japan). The OUR value was measured with a dissolved oxygen meter (YSI model-58). SS was measured gravimetrically. Results The TOC removal efficiency and the OUR value of activated sludge were not deteriorated when the NaCl shock concentration was less than 0.5 g/L. However, when the NaCl shock concentrations were up to 10g/L and 20 g/L, the OUR of activated sludge was reduced by 35% and TOC removal efficiency was dropped by 30%, compared with the control experiment without NaCl shock loading. Conclusion The effect of NaCl shock loading on the activated sludge wastewater treatment system is dependant upon the NaCl concentrations and the degree of influence can be inferred through the change of substrate utilization rate at different shock NaCl loadings.

Characteristics of microfauna and their relationships with the performance of an activated sludge plant in China

The occurrence and abundance of the microfauna groups were compared with the physico-chemical and operational parameters of the Baoding Lugang Sewage Treatment Plant in China. Attached and crawling ciliates were the dominant groups of ciliates. Crawling ciliates and testate amoebae showed a strong association with effluent BOD5 （biochemical oxygen demand）. Therefore, these two groups are likely to be useful bioindicators since their number decreased as the process produced poor quality effluent. Testate amoebae also had significant negative correlations with effluent TN （total nitrogen）, NH4^＋-N, SS （suspended solids） and SVI （sludge volumetric index）, which means that this group of ciliates may be indicators of good performance of the activated sludge system. Carnivorous ciliates and flagellates had significant positive correlations with SVI, suggesting that these two groups may be indicators of bad settlement conditions of sludge. As identification of the microfauna species is difficult and time-consuming, we recommend using microfauna functional groups to evaluate the performance of the activated sludge system.

Sorption of biodegradation end products of nonylphenol polyethoxylates onto activated sludge

Nonylphenol(NP), nonylphenoxy acetic acid(NP1EC), nonylphenol monoethoxy acetic acid(NP2EC), nonylphenol monoethoxylate(NP1EO) and nonylphenol diethoxylate(NP2EO) are biodegradation end products(BEPs) of nonionic surfactant nonylphenolpolyethoxylates (NPnEO). In this research, sorption of these compounds onto model activated sludge was characterized. Sorption equilibrium experiments showed that NP, NP1EO and NP2EO reached equilibrium in about 12 h, while equilibrium of NP1EC and NP2EC were reached earlier, in about 4 h. In sorption isotherm experiments, obtained equilibrium data at 28℃ fitted well to Freundlich sorption model for all investigated compounds. For NP1EC, in addition to Freundlich, equilibrium data also fitted well to Langmuir model. Linear sorption model was also tried, and equilibrium data of all NP, NP1EO, NP2EO and NP2EC except NP1EC fitted well to this model. Calculated Freundlich coefficient(K F) and linear sorption coefficient(K D) showed that sorption capacity of the investigated compounds were in order NP>NP2EO>NP1EO>NP1EC≈NP2EC. For NP, NP1EO and NP2EO, high values of calculated K F and K D indicated an easy uptake of these compounds from aqueous phase onto activated sludge. Whereas, NP1EC and NP2EC with low values of K F and K D absorbed weakly to activated sludge and tended to preferably remain in aqueous phase.

Intercross real-time control strategy in alternating activated sludge process for short-cut biological nitrogen removal treating domestic wastewater

To develop technically feasible and economically favorable dynamic process control(DPC)strategies for an alternating activated sludge(AAS)system,a bench-scale continuous-flow alternating aerobic and anoxic reactor,performing short-cut nitrogen removal from real domestic wastewater was operated under different control strategies for more than five months.A fixed-time control(FTC) study showed that bending-points on pH and oxidation-reduction potential(ORP)profiles accurately coincided with the major biologic...

Degradation of malathion by Pseudomonas during activated sludge treatment system using principal component analysis (PCA)

Popular descriptive multivariate statistical method currently employed is the principal component analyses （PCA） method. PCA is used to develop linear combinations that successively maximize the total variance of a sample where there is no known group structure. This study aimed at demonstrating the performance evaluation of pilot activated sludge treatment system by inoculating a strain of Pseudomonas capable of degrading malathion which was isolated by enrichment technique. An intensive analytical program was followed for evaluating the efficiency of biosimulator by maintaining the dissolved oxygen （DO） concentration at 4.0 mg/L. Analyses by high performance liquid chromatographic technique revealed that 90% of malathion removal was achieved within 29 h of treatment whereas COD got reduced considerably during the treatment process and mean removal efficiency was found to be 78%. The mean pH values increased gradually during the treatment process ranging from 7.36-8.54. Similarly the mean ammonia-nitrogen （NH3-N） values were found to be fluctuating between 19.425-28.488 mg/L, mean nitrite-nitrogen （NO3-N） ranging between 1.301- 2.940 mg/L and mean nitrate-nitrogen （NO3-N） ranging between 0.0071-0.0711 mg/L. The study revealed that inoculation of bacterial culture under laboratory conditions could be used in bioremediation of environmental pollution caused by xenobiotics. The PCA analyses showed that pH, COD, organic load and total malathion concentration were highly correlated and emerged as the variables controlling the first component, whereas dissolved oxygen, NO3-N and NH3-N governed the second component. The third component repeated the trend exhibited by the first two components.

Characterization of the fate of lipids in activated sludge

Experiments were carded out to characterize the transformation of lipids in activated sludge under aerobic conditions. Results showed that the overall lipid content in the effluent could not be reduced to values below 300 mg/L from an initial content of 2,000 mg/L. However, the contents of individual fatty acids underwent drastic decreases and increases during all microbial growth phases. These changes in contents of individual fatty acids showed that fatty acids were used as substrates by microorganisms as well as released into the wastewater as by-products. We have therefore suggested a novel model of transformation of lipids in activated sludge, showing that utilization of microbial activity for complete removal of lipids from wastewater is limited.