Stability and Uniform Boundedness for a Class of Anaerobic Digestion Ecological Models

Stability, boundedness and persistence are three important aspects for an ecological model. In this paper, a further analysis of a class of anaerobic digestion ecological models is performed. Based on the Liupunov Method, the local stability of all equilibria in the system is got. According to the vector fields described by the system, the proof of the boundedness of the solution on the anaerobic digestion processes is completed in three steps. The method proposed in the discussion on the boundedness can be generalized to the similar problems. Results in this paper give information on how to run the ecological system well by adjusting the system parameters.

Characteristics of high-sulfate wastewater treatment by two-phase anaerobic digestion process with Jet-loop anaerobic fluidized bed

A new anaerobic reactor, Jet-loop anaerobic fluidized bed （JLAFB）, was designed for treating high-sulfate wastewater. The treatment characteristics, including the effect of influent COD/SO42 ratio and alkalinity and sulfide inhibition in reactors, were discussed for a JLAFB and a general anaerobic fiuidized bed （AFB） reactor used as sulfate-reducing phase and methane-producing phase, respectively, in two-phase anaerobic digestion process. The formation of granules in the two reactors was also examined. The results indicated that COD and sulfate removal had different demand of influent COD/SO4^2- ratios. When total COD removal was up to 85%, the ratio was only required up to 1.2, whereas, total sulfate removal up to 95% required it exceeding 3.0. The alkalinity in the two reactors increased linearly with the growth of influent alkalinity. Moreover, the change of influent alkalinity had no significant effect on pH and volatile fatty acids （VFA） in the two reactors. Influent alkalinity kept at 400-500 mg/L could meet the requirement of the treating process. The JLAFB reactor had great advantage in avoiding sulfide and free-H2S accumulation and toxicity inhibition on microorganisms. When sulfate loading rate was up to 8. 1 kg/（m^3.d）, the sulfide and free-H2S concentrations in JLAFB reactor were 58.6 and 49.7 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, the granules, with offwhite color, ellipse shape and diameters of 1.0-3.0 mm, could be developed in JLAFB reactor. In granules, different groups of bacteria were distributed in different layers, and some inorganic metal compounds such as Fe, Ca, Mg etc. were found.

Effects of free ammonia on volatile fatty acid accumulation and process performance in the anaerobic digestion of two typical bio-wastes

The effect of free ammonia on volatile fatty acid （VFA） accumulation and process instability was studied using a lab-scale anaerobic digester fed by two typical bio-wastes： fruit and vegetable waste （FVW） and food waste （FW） at 35℃ with an organic loading rate （OLR） of 3.0 kg VS/（m3-day）. The inhibitory effects of free ammonia on methanogenesis were observed due to the low C/N ratio of each substrate （15.6 and 17.2, respectively）. A high concentration of free ammonia inhibited methanogenesis resulting in the accumulation of VFAs and a low methane yield. In the inhibited state, acetate accumulated more quickly than propionate and was the main type of accumulated VFA. The co-accumulation of ammonia and VFAs led to an ＂inhibited steady state＂ and the ammonia was the main inhibitory substance that triggered the process perturbation. By statistical significance test and VFA fluctuation ratio analysis, the free ammonia inhibition threshold was identified as 45 mg/L. Moreover, propionate, iso-butyrate and valerate were determined to be the three most sensitive VFA parameters that were subject to ammonia inhibition.

Development of a new cleaner production process for cassava ethanol

A new cleaner production process for cassava ethanol has been developed, in which the thin stillage by-product was treated initially by anaerobic digestion, and the digestate further processed by hydrogen-form cation exchange resin before being recycled as process water to make mash for the next ethanol fermentation batch.Thus wastewater was eliminated and freshwater and energy consumption was significantly reduced. To evaluate the new process, ten consecutive batches of ethanol fermentation and anaerobic digestion at lab scale were carried out. Average ethanol production in the recycling batches was 11.43%(v/v) which was similar to the first batch, where deionized(DI) water was used as process water. The chemical oxygen demand(COD) removal rate reached 98% and the methane yield was 322 ml per gram of COD removed, suggesting an efficient and stable operation of the anaerobic digestion. In conclusion, the application of the new process can contribute to sustainable development of the cassava ethanol industry.

离子排斥色谱用于厌氧消化处理的水中脂肪族羧酸的分析(英文)

The analysis of seven aliphatic carboxylic acids(formic,acetic,propionic,iso-butyric,n-butyric,iso-valeric and n-valeric acid) in anaerobic digestion process waters for biogas production was examined by ion-exclusion chromatography with dilute acidic eluents(benzoic acid,perfluorobutyric acid(PFBA) and sulfuric acid) and non-suppressed conductivity/ultraviolet(UV) detection.The columns used were a styrene/divinylbenzene-based strongly acidic cation-exchange resin column(TSKgel SCX) and a polymethacrylate-based weakly acidic cation-exchange resin column(TSKgel Super IC-A/C).Good separation was performed on the TSKgel SCX in shorter retention times.For the TSKgel Super IC-A/C,peak shape of the acids was sharp and symmetrical in spite of longer retention times.In addition,the mutual separation of the acids was good except for iso-and n-butyric acids.The better separation and good detection was achieved by using the two columns(TSKgel SCX and TSKgel Super IC-A/C connected in series),lower concentrations of PFBA and sulfuric acid as eluents,non-suppressed conductivity detection and UV detection at 210 nm.This analysis was applied to anaerobic digestion process waters.The chromatograms with conductivity detection were relatively simpler compared with those of UV detection.The use of two columns with different selectivities for the aliphatic carboxylic acids and the two detection modes was effective for the determination and identification of the analytes in anaerobic digestion process waters containing complex matrices.