scholarly journals A Review of Pretreatment Methods to Enhance Solids Reduction during Anaerobic Digestion of Municipal Wastewater Sludges and the Resulting Digester Performance: Implications to Future Urban Biorefineries

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 9141
Author(s):  
Bimi Shrestha ◽  
Rafael Hernandez ◽  
Dhan Lord B. Fortela ◽  
Wayne Sharp ◽  
Andrei Chistoserdov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Industrial Wastewater ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Organic Loading Rate ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
The Us ◽  
Disposal Options ◽  
Wastewater Sludges

The rapid increase in the population is expected to result in the approaching of design capacity for many US wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) over the next decade. WWTPs treat both municipal and industrial wastewater influents, resulting in the production of biosolids after digestion. Biogas, a potential recovered alternative energy source, is also produced as an output from successful anaerobic digestion. More than 7M of dry tons/year of biosolids produced in the US are most often disposed in either landfills or land-applied (~80%). These options are becoming more challenging to implement due to increases in transportation costs and tipping fees, decreases in the availability of landfill/landfarm space, and most importantly, increased regulations. This situation is strongly encouraging WWTPs to find alternatives for the disposal of biosolids. Developing alternative management/disposal options for biosolids are evolving. One of the most attractive alternative option from a sustainability perspective are biorefineries (converts waste to commercial products), which are a fast-growing option given the push toward circular urban source economies (little to no waste generation). Anaerobic digestion has been widely applied in WWTPs to reduce the volume of activated sludge due to its low energy requirements, effective handling of fluctuations due to organic loading rate, relative flexibility with temperature and pH changes, and since biogas is produced that can be transformed into energy. Various pretreatment methods for waste sludges prior to digestion that have been studied to reduce solids production and increase the energetic content of the biogas are presented and discussed. Solids handling and management, which comprises ~60% of the operational cost of a WWTP, is estimated to save more than $100 M annually by achieving at least 20% reduction in the annual production of biosolids within the US. This review incorporates an assessment of various pretreatment methods to optimize the anaerobic digestion of waste sludges with a focus on maximizing both biosolids reduction and biogas quality.

scholarly journals Ultrasonic pretreatment for anaerobic digestion of suspended and attached growth sludges

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Roebuck ◽  
Kevin Kennedy ◽  
Robert Delatolla
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Biofilm Reactor ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Ultrasonic Pretreatment ◽  
Conventional Activated Sludge ◽  
Digestion Kinetics ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a proven technology for energy production from the stabilization and reduction of sewage waste. The AD and impact of ultrasonic pretreatment of four waste activated sludges (WASs) from conventional and three non-conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants were investigated. WAS from a conventional activated sludge (CAS) system, a rotating biological contactor (RBC), a lagoon, and a nitrifying moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) were pretreated with ultrasonic energies of 800–6,550 kJ/kg total solids to illustrate the impact of sludge type and ultrasonic pretreatment on biogas production (BGP), solubilization, and digestion kinetics. The greatest increase in BGP over the control of pretreated sludge did not coincide consistently with greater sonication energy but occurred within a solubilization range of 2.9–7.4% degree of disintegration and are as follows: 5% ± 3 biogas increase for CAS, 12% ± 9 for lagoon, 15% ± 2 for nitrifying MBBR, and 20% ± 2 for RBC. The effect of sonication on digestion kinetics was inconclusive with the application of modified Gompertz, reaction curve, and first-order models to biogas production. These results illustrate the unique response of differing sludges to the same levels of sonication energies. This article has been made Open Access thanks to the kind support of CAWQ/ACQE (https://www.cawq.ca).

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants in the Removal of Common Antibiotics from Municipal Wastewater in Hamadan, Iran

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 10921-10921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Shokoohi ◽  
Abdollah Dargahi ◽  
Razieh Khamutian ◽  
Yaser Vaziri
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Removal Efficiency ◽  
Industrial Wastewater ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Direct And Indirect Effects ◽  
Major Health

The presence of antibiotics in the environment, especially aquatic environments, is a major health and environmental concern.Wastewater treatment plants play an important role in the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater and removal of contaminants.The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of prevalent antibiotics in municipal wastewater of Hamadan,Iran and to evaluate the removal efficiency of wastewater treatment plants. During 3 months (April, May, and June 2016), a total of 12 composite influent and effluent samples were collected from the wastewater treatment plants. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) was used for preparing the samples, which were then analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection.Based on the analysis of 6 antibiotics, three antibiotics, including amoxicillin, imipenem, and cefixime, were detected, and their concentrations were measured at 1.6, 10.7, and 5.8 ug/L, respectively. The removal efficiency of these antibiotics in wastewater treatment plants was 55.66%, 34.01%, and 24.33%, respectively. Due to the presence of examined antibiotics in the effluent and influent wastewater treatment plants, they might cause direct and indirect effects on human health and environment if proper measures are not taken by the authorities. Since the removal of these antibiotics from wastewater treatment plants is relatively poor, it is suggested to use advanced wastewater treatment plants to reduce antibiotics in effluent wastewater and decrease the adverse effects of these micropollutants.

Struvite control through process and facility design as well as operation strategy

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.B. Neethling ◽  
M. Benisch
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Secondary Treatment ◽  
Operation Strategy ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Facility Design ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

Struvite deposition is a common problem in municipal wastewater treatment plants and can be signi?cant if not anticipated, but struvite deposits are completely manageable if properly addressed. This paper summarises experiences from a number of facilities that have dealt successfully with struvite problems, elaborates on the interrelations between secondary treatment and anaerobic digestion, and outlines an approach to control struvite and available alternatives.

Simulation of DEHP biodegradation and sorption during the anaerobic digestion of secondary sludge

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 119-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Fountoulakis ◽  
K. Stamatelatou ◽  
D.J. Batstone ◽  
G. Lyberatos
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Solid Matrix ◽  
Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Secondary Sludge ◽  
Mass Transfer Processes ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Ethylhexyl Phthalate

Di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) has commonly been found in the sludge of municipal wastewater treatment plants especially during anaerobic processing. It is slowly biodegradable under anaerobic conditions. Due to its high hydrophobicity, sorption-desorption processes can be rate-limiting for the compound biodegradation. In this study, the anaerobic biodegradation of DEHP was investigated through batch kinetic experiments and dynamic transitions of a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) fed with secondary sludge contaminated with DEHP. A widely accepted model (ADM1) was used to fit the anaerobic digestion of secondary sludge and was properly extended to account for DEHP removal, in which mass transfer processes are also involved. It was shown that DEHP removal was limited by the transfer of DEHP within the solid fraction. The criterion selected for the distinction of the two sites was whether the compound sorbed in those sites was bioavailable for biodegradation or not. Thus, the aqueous phase and the surface of the biosolids were considered as suitable sites for the compound to be bioavailable and the main bulk of the solid matrix was regarded as sites, where the compound remains “protected” against biodegradation. The model, fitted to the batch experimental data, was able to predict DEHP removal in the CSTR operated at various HRTs.

Anaerobic digestion of a nonionic surfactant: inhibition effect and biodegradation

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 175-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Jiménez-González ◽  
M. Salazar-González ◽  
M. Gutiérrez-Rojas ◽  
O. Monroy
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Nonionic Surfactant ◽  
Industrial Wastewater ◽  
Nonionic Surfactants ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Competitive Inhibitor ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Uasb Reactor ◽  
Surfactant Inhibition ◽  
Triton X

Nonionic surfactants are used worldwide in various industrial and household applications. Since these compounds are used in aqueous solutions, they primarily enter the environment through sewage and industrial wastewater treatment plants. The objective of this work was to evaluate the inhibitory effect of Triton X-100, a commercial nonionic surfactant, on the anaerobic digestion of lactose. Thus non-ionic surfactants acts as a non-competitive inhibitor with KI = 250 mgL−1 and a inhibition order of 2.4. Nonetheless if give enough time the sludge was able to degrade 79% of Triton at 0.1 gL−1 d−1 in a UASB reactor. An activity test of this sludge showed that Triton inhibited the acetogenic (both propionic and butyric) and acetoclastic activities, while there were high fermentative and hydrogenotrophic activities (80% and 95%, respectively).

Evaluation of the aerobic and anaerobic biodegradability of the antibiotic norfloxacin

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucilaine Valéria de Souza Santos ◽  
Danusa Campos Teixeira ◽  
Raquel Sampaio Jacob ◽  
Míriam Cristina Santos do Amaral ◽  
Liséte Celina Lange
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Industrial Wastewater ◽  
Biological Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Test Organism ◽  
Pharmaceutical Compounds ◽  
Treatment Processes ◽  
Anaerobic Biodegradability ◽  
Aliivibrio Fischeri ◽  
Aerobic And Anaerobic

The purpose of studying the biodegradability of pharmaceutical compounds is to evaluate their behaviors in relation to the treatment processes generally used in domestic and industrial wastewater treatment plants. The antibiotic norfloxacin was found to be a recalcitrant compound. The studies conducted showed norfloxacin removal rates of 12% and 18% when biomasses from treatments with activated sludge and anaerobic biodigesters, respectively, were used without acclimatization. This suggests that anaerobic digestion shows better performance for norfloxacin removal. Ecotoxicological tests, using the luminescent marine bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri as the test organism, show that anaerobic digestion could eliminate the toxicity of the antibiotic norfloxacin, even though total degradation of the drug was not observed. The release of norfloxacin during cell lysis suggests the importance of controlling this phenomenon in biological treatment systems that handle wastewater contaminated with norfloxacin, thus preventing the return of this drug to the environment.

Chemical characterization of municipal wastewater sludges produced by two-phase anaerobic digestion for biogas production

2010 ◽  
Vol 175 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 740-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ornella Francioso ◽  
Maria Teresa Rodriguez-Estrada ◽  
Daniela Montecchio ◽  
Cesare Salomoni ◽  
Armando Caputo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Chemical Characterization ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Wastewater Sludges

Fate of pathogen indicators in a domestic blend of food waste and wastewater through a two-stage anaerobic digestion system

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 366-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Rounsefell ◽  
C. A. O'Sullivan ◽  
N. Chinivasagam ◽  
D. Batstone ◽  
W. P. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Food Waste ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Organic Loading Rate ◽  
Stable Operation ◽  
Treatment Technology ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Pathogen Indicators

Anaerobic digestion is a viable on-site treatment technology for rich organic waste streams such as food waste and blackwater. In contrast to large-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants which are typically located away from the community, the effluent from any type of on-site system is a potential pathogenic hazard because of the intimacy of the system to the community. The native concentrations of the pathogen indicators Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens and somatic coliphage were tracked for 30 days under stable operation (organic loading rate (OLR) = 1.8 kgCOD m−3 day−1, methane yield = 52% on a chemical oxygen demand (COD) basis) of a two-stage laboratory-scale digester treating a mixture of food waste and blackwater. E. coli numbers were reduced by a factor of 106.4 in the thermophilic stage, from 107.5±0.3 to 101.1±0.1 cfu 100 mL−1, but regenerated by a factor of 104 in the mesophilic stage. Neither the thermophilic nor mesophilic stages had any significant impact on C. perfringens concentrations. Coliphage concentrations were reduced by a factor of 101.4 across the two stages. The study shows that anaerobic digestion only reduces pathogen counts marginally but that counts in effluent samples could be readily reduced to below detection limits by filtration through a 0.22 µm membrane, to investigate membrane filtration as a possible sanitation technique.

scholarly journals A STUDY ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Venkata Raju ◽  
K Madhusudhana
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

Renewable energy is the energy created by sources, which are naturally replenished such as sunlight, rain, wind and tides. Although there is much debate about how  to define and distinguish renewable energy from non-renewable, other energy types such as biomass, biofuel and anaerobic digestion are also widely considered as renewable energy. Microbial fuel cells(MFCs) that generate electricity by the break-down of organic matter(e.g. wastewater) have a great potential for the future energy and environmental challenges. MFCs are often compared with anaerobic digestion, which also uses microbial activity for breaking down organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Unlike anaerobic digestion, which is relatively well understood and already widely used in municipal wastewater treatment plants, MFCs have received far less attention and funding, hence the technology is still at laboratory level in its development.

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