[Optimization of analysis methods for Astragali Radix and quality evaluation of standard decoction of Astragali Radix].

Astragali Radix is commonly used as bulk medicinal materials. Chinese Pharmacopoeia contains about 150 compound preparations of Astragali Radix, but the sample preparation method under the determination of Astragali Radix content in Chinese Pharmacopoeia is tedious and time-consuming, not convenient for the test of a large number of samples. Therefore, it is of great significance to simplify the sample preparation method and improve the practicability of the method for the quality control of Astragali Radix and its preparations. In this study, ultrasonic extraction method was used instead of heated reflux extraction, and solid phase extraction method was used to enrich and prepare the samples. A set of practical quality evaluation method was established for Astragali Radix slices and standard decoction, greatly shortening the sample preparation time and improving the accuracy of the method. The results of Astragali Radix standard decoction analysis showed that the transfer rate of calycosin 7-O-ß-D-glucospyranoside,(96.5±28.7)%, had great variation, which was found to be related to the conversion of mulberry isoflavone glucoside into calycosin 7-O-ß-D-glucospyranoside during the preparation of standard decoction. The transfer rates were(59.4±14.4)% and(101.3±12.3)% for calycosin and astragaloside Ⅳ respectively, which were relatively stable. Therefore, it is suggested that Astragali Radix slices and water decoction preparations should be evaluated by using calycosin and astragaloside Ⅳ as the quality evaluation index. The results provide a scientific and practical method for quality control of Astragali Radix slices and its standard decoction, and also provide scientific evidence for quality evaluation of the preparations.

[Optimization Study on the Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal of Modified Two- sludge System Under the Condition of Low Carbon Source].

This paper explored the method of resolving insufficient carbon source in urban sewage by comparing and analyzing denitrification and phosphorus removal (NPR) effect between modified two-sludge system and traditional anaerobic-aerobic-anoxic process under the condition of low carbon source wastewater. The modified two-sludge system was the experimental reactor, which was optimized by adding two stages of micro-aeration (aeration rate 0.5 L · mm⁻¹) in the anoxic period of the original two-sludge system, and multi-stage anaerobic-aerobic-anoxic SBR was the control reactor. When the influent COD, ammonia nitrogen, SOP concentration were respectively 200, 35, 10 mg · L⁻¹, the NPR effect of the experimental reactor was hetter than that of thecontrol reactor with the removal efficiency of TN being 94.8% vs 60.9%, and TP removal being 96.5% vs 75%, respectively. The effluent SOP, ammonia, TN concentration of the experimental reactor were 0.35, 0.50, 1.82 mg · L⁻¹, respectively, which could fully meet the first class of A standard of the Pollutants Emission Standard of Urban Wastewater Treatment Firm (GB 18918-2002). Using the optimized treatment process, the largest amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus removal per unit carbon source (as COD) were 0.17 g · g⁻¹ and 0.048 g · g⁻¹ respectively, which could furthest solve the lower carbon concentration in current municipal wastewater.

Enhancement of post-anoxic denitrification for biological nutrient removal: effect of different carbon sources.

Previous research has demonstrated that post-anoxic denitrification and biological nutrient removal could be achieved in the oxic/anoxic/extended-idle wastewater treatment regime. This study further investigated the effect of different carbon sources on post-anoxic denitrification and biological nutrient removal. Acetate, propionate (volatile fatty acids (VFAs)), glucose (carbohydrate), methanol, and ethanol (alcohol) were used as the sole carbon source, respectively. The experimental results showed that VFA substrates led to an improvement in nitrogen and phosphorus removal. The total nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiency values driven by acetate achieved 93 and 99%, respectively. In contrast, glucose present in mixed liquor deteriorated total nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiency values to 72 and 54%. In the reactors cultured with methanol and ethanol, 66 and 63% of the total nitrogen were removed, and phosphorus removal efficiency values were 78 and 71%, respectively. The mechanism studies revealed that different carbon sources affected the transformations of intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and glycogen. PHAs are the dominant storages for microorganisms cultured with VFA substrates. Though glycogen is not the favorable energy and carbon source for polyphosphate-accumulating organisms, it can be consumed by microorganisms related to biological nitrogen removal and is able to serve as the electron donor for post-anoxic denitrification.

Effects of Cd(II) on wastewater biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal.

Short-term and long-term effects of Cd(II) on wastewater biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal were investigated with respect to microorganism abundances, enzyme activities, and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and glycogen transformations. Though no obvious effects on wastewater biological nutrient removal were observed after short-term exposure, the long-term exposure of 10 mg L(-)(1) Cd(II) inhibited nitrification and phosphorus uptake. Compared with the absence of Cd(II), the presence of 10 mg L(-1) of Cd(II) decreased total nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies from 97% and 98% to 88% and 18%, respectively. Mechanism studies revealed that Cd(II) affected the transformations of intracellular PHAs and glycogen, and the activities of oxidoreductase and polyphosphate kinase, resulted in the decrease of nitrite oxidizing bacteria and polyphosphate accumulating organisms abundance, which might be the major reason for the negative effects of long-term exposure to 10 mg L(-1) Cd(II) on biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal.

Biological nutrient removal in a sequencing batch reactor operated as oxic/anoxic/extended-idle regime.

Previous researches have demonstrated that biological phosphorus removal from wastewater could be induced by oxic/extended-idle (O/EI) regime. In this study, an anoxic period was introduced after the aeration to realize biological nutrient removal. High nitrite accumulation ratio and polyhydroxyalkanoates biosynthesis were obtained in the aeration and biological nutrient removal could be well achieved in oxic/anoxic/extended-idle (O/A/EI) regime for the wastewater used. In addition, nitrogen and phosphorus removal performance in O/A/EI regime was compared with that in conventional anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic (A(2)/O) and O/EI processes. The results showed that O/A/EI regime exhibited higher nitrogen and phosphorus removal than A(2)/O and O/EI processes. More ammonium oxidizing bacteria and polyphosphate accumulating organisms and less glycogen accumulating organisms containing in the biomass might be the principal reason for the better nitrogen and phosphorus removal in O/A/EI regime. Furthermore, biological nutrient removal with O/A/EI regime was demonstrated with municipal wastewater. The average TN, SOP and COD removal efficiencies were 93%, 95% and 87%, respectively.

Temperature influence on biological phosphorus removal induced by aerobic/extended-idle regime.

Previous researches have demonstrated that biological phosphorus removal (BPR) from wastewater could be driven by the aerobic/extended-idle (A/EI) regime. This study further investigated temperature effects on phosphorus removal performance in six A/EI sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) operated at temperatures ranging from 5 to 30 °C. The results showed that phosphorus removal efficiency increased with temperature increasing from 5 to 20 °C but slightly decreased when temperature continually increased to 30 °C. The highest phosphorus removal rate of 97.1 % was obtained at 20 °C. The biomass cultured at 20 °C contained more polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) and less glycogen accumulating organisms (GAO) than that cultured at any other temperatures investigated. The mechanism studies revealed that temperature affected the transformations of glycogen and polyhydroxyalkanoates, and the activities of exopolyphosphatase and polyphosphate kinase activities. In addition, phosphorus removal performances of the A/EI and traditional anaerobic/oxic (A/O) SBRs were compared at 5 and 20 °C, respectively. The results showed the A/EI regime drove better phosphorus removal than the A/O regime at both 5 and 20 °C, and more PAO and less GAO abundances in the biomass might be the principal reason for the higher BPR in the A/EI SBRs as compared with the A/O SBRs.

Microbial community analysis involved in the aerobic/extended-idle process performing biological phosphorus removal.

Recently, it has been found that biological phosphorus removal can be achieved in an aerobic/extended-idle (AEI) process using both glucose and acetate as the sole substrate. However, the microbial consortiums involved in glucose-fed and acetate-fed systems have not yet been characterized. Thus the aims of this paper were to investigate the diversities and dynamics of bacterial communities during the acclimation period, and to quantify polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) in the systems. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the microbial communities were mainly composed of phylum Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chlorobi and another six kinds of unclassified bacteria. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) analysis revealed that PAOs and GAOs accounted for 43 ± 7 and 16 ± 3% of all bacteria in the glucose-fed system, and 19 ± 4 and 35 ± 5% of total bacteria in the acetate-fed system, respectively. The results showed that the conventional PAOs could thrive in the AEI process, and a defined anaerobic zone was not necessarily required for putative PAOs growth.

[Comparison study on phosphorus removal between single-stage oxic process and anaerobic/aerobic process].

To compare the efficiency of phosphorus removal between anaerobic/aerobic process (SBR1) and single-stage oxic process (SBR2), two SBRs were conducted using acetate as the sole carbon source which is the most extensive substrate in municipal wastewater. The results obtained from three months experiment showed that the phosphorus removal efficiency and the TP removed on a unit MLSS were 91.72%, 3.23 mg x g(-1) (SBR1)and 71.70%, 2.91 mg x g(-1) (SBR2) respectively during steady operation. The further study found that a significant increase of PHA associated with an decrease of glycogen in SBR1 while a significant synthesis of PHA increased with the accumulation of glycogen in SBR2, indicating glycogen was not essential for the synthesis of PHA in single-stage oxic process. Furthermore, obvious phosphorus release was observed in both SBRs during idle period, but the content of phosphorus released in SBR2 (13.28 mg x L(-1)) was significantly higher than that in SBR1 (2.6 mg x L(-1)). The possible reason for SBR1 and SBR2 exhibited different phosphorus removal efficiencies was that microorganisms in both SBRs had different cyclic storage and consumption process of energy storages during metabolic process.

Coal cinder filtration as pretreatment with biological processes to treat pharmaceutical wastewater.

This study aims at coupling coal cinder filter with biological process to improve pharmaceutical wastewater quality and reduce the disposal cost. In the coal cinder filter, the removal efficiencies of COD, BOD(5), SS and color were 90+/-2%, 72+/-2%, 95+/-2% and 80+/-2%, respectively. The results attribute to the big specific surface area and strong adsorption ability. Coal cinder filter removes a large portion of the pollutants in the influent wastewater, which would strongly stable the effluent waste water quality, and reduce the load of follow-up biological treatment process. The average removal efficiencies for COD, BOD(5), SS and color of the combined process were about 99.7+/-3%, 98.2+/-4%, 98.5+/-3% and 96.3+/-2%, respectively, with the average effluent quality of COD 16+/-1 mg/L, BOD(5) 11+/-1 mg/L, SS 10+/-0.6 mg/L and color 22+/-1 (multiple), which are consistent with the national requirements of the waste pollutants for pharmaceutical industry of chinese traditional medicine discharge standard (GB 21906-2008). The results indicated that the combined procedure could offer an attractive solution for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment with considerable low cost.

[Effects of two typical substrates as the sole carbon source on biological phosphorus removal with a single-stage oxic process].

To investigate the performances of phosphorus removal in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with single-stage oxic process using synthetical wastewater, glucose (R1) and acetate (R2) were fed to two SBRs as the sole carbon source, respectively. The operation run mode was determined to be: influent --> aeration (4 h) --> settling (8 h) --> effluent. The results showed that the performance of phosphorus removal in R1 was higher than that in R2 after steady-operation. Total phosphorus (TP) removed per MLVSS in R1 and R2 were 7.2-7.7 and 3.8-4.6 mg x g(-1) during aeration, respectively, but the rate of phosphorus release at the two reactors were 3.6-3.8 and 2.7-3.1 mg x g(-1) during the idle zone, respectively. The energy storage of poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) was constant nearly in R1 during the whole period, but glycogen was accumulated to the maximum value at 30 minutes of aeration, and then was decreased to the initial level. However in R2, PHA and glycogen were both accumulated at about 45 minutes of aeration. This phenomenon suggested that glycogen is the main energy source for metabolism during aerobic period in R1, and the main energy resource come from the decomposition of PHA and the hydrolysis of glycogen in R2. The facts showed that glycogen could replace PHAs to supply energy for phosphate uptake and polyphosphate accumulation in such a single-stage oxic process. Since glycogen accumulated in R1 was more than that in R2, the efficiency of phosphorus removal in R1 was higher than that in R2.

Nitrogen and phosphorus recovery from wastewater and the supernate of dewatered sludge.

Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus supply to freshwater negatively affects water quality and ecosystem balance through a process known as eutrophication. This can lead to increased wastewater treatment costs, a reduction in the biological diversity and recreational value of natural water bodies. Besides, algal blooms can result in loss of livestock and human health issues. Therefore, efficient and reliable nitrogen and phosphorus removal methods are required. In wastewater containing relatively high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus (e.g. wastewater from chemical fertilizer plant, the supernate of dewatered sludge, etc.), these elements are difficult to remove economically to reach the appropriate compliance limits by biological methods. On the other hand, both nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients for the plants, and recently, nitrogen and phosphorus recovery by precipitation (e.g. struvite) has drawn much attention, because nitrogen and phosphorus precipitates can be utilized as a fertilizer and both phosphorus and ammonium can be simultaneously removed. Thus, this review summarized nitrogen and phosphorus recovery methods, during which nitrogen and phosphorus compounds can be used as a raw material for the fertilizer industry, including the options of struvite and hydroxyapatite formation and other feasible using options. In this article most important patents are also discussed.

[Biological phosphorus removal in sequencing batch reactor without anaerobic phase].

The performance of phosphorus removal with a sequencing batch reactor was investigated by simulated municipal wastewater. The experimental results showed that phosphorus removal could be achieved in sequencing batch reactor without anaerobic phase, which was conventionally considered as a key phase for phosphorus removal. Phosphorus concentration in the effluent was 1.0 mg x L(-1) below after 4 h aeration, during which pH was 7.0 +/- 0.2. Which indicated the removal rate of phosphorus was above 90% when the COD and phosphorus concentrationof influent were about 400 mg x L(-1), 15-20 mg x L(-1), respectively. Intracellular storage of poly-phosphate (poly-P) was increasing in the aeration after decreasing in first hour aeration (the content of poly-P was 83.034 mg x g(-1) at the beginning of aerobic phase, 79.980 mg x g(-1) in first aeration and 83.086 mg x g(-1) in end), but the energy storage poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) was constant nearly and the content was very low (PHA concentration was about 5 mg x L(-1)). The researches indicated that phosphate could be transformed to poly-P by poly-phosphate-accumulating organisms without anaerobic zone and PHA, biological phosphorus removal was obtained by removing sludge with rich phosphorus, and this phenomenon could not be explained by conventional theory.

Biological phosphorus removal in sequencing batch reactor with single-stage oxic process.

The performance of biological phosphorus removal (BPR) in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with single-stage oxic process was investigated using simulated municipal wastewater. The experimental results showed that BPR could be achieved in a SBR without anaerobic phase, which was conventionally considered as a key phase for BPR. Phosphorus (P) concentration 0.22-1.79 mg L(-1) in effluent can be obtained after 4h aeration when P concentration in influent was about 15-20 mg L(-1), the dissolved oxygen (DO) was controlled at 3+/-0.2 mg L(-1) during aerobic phase and pH was maintained 7+/-0.1, which indicated the efficiencies of P removal were achieved 90% above. Experimental results also showed that P was mainly stored in the form of intracellular storage of polyphosphate (poly-P), and about 207.235 mg phosphates have been removed by the discharge of rich-phosphorus sludge for each SBR cycle. However, the energy storage poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) was almost kept constant at a low level (5-6 mg L(-1)) during the process. Those results showed that phosphate could be transformed to poly-P with single-stage oxic process without PHA accumulation, and BPR could be realized in net phosphate removal.

[Simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal in the reactor of inner loop SBR without anaerobic phase].

The performance of simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal with an inner loop sequencing batch reactor were investigated by simulated municipal wastewater. The experimental results showed that COD, NH4(+) -N, and TP can be removed efficiently after four hours aeration, during which dissolved oxygen concentration was at 6 mg/L at the beginning of aerobic phase and pH was in the rang of 7 - 8. The COD and NH4+ -N as well as TP concentration in the effluent were about at 4 - 48 mg x L(1), 0 - 2.0 mg x L(-1), and 0 - 1.4 mg x L(-1) respectively, which indicated the removal rate for each item were about 89.7% +/- 6.5%, 97.4% +/- 3.6%, 95.6% +/- 4.4% when the concentration of influent were about 170 - 260 mg x L(-1), 20 - 30 mg- L(-1), 8 - 20 mg L(-1), respectively. The removal rate of TIN( NH4 -N + NO3(-) -N + NO2(-) -N) was also reached about 70%. It was found during the research process that phosphorus removal can be achieved without anaerobic phase, which was conventionally considered as a key phase for phosphorus removal, and this phenomena can not be explained by traditional theory.