Agronomic and phytotoxicity test with biosolids from anaerobic CO-DIGESTION with temperature and micro-organism phase separation, based on sewage sludge, vinasse and poultry manure.

This study deals with energy and agronomic valorisation by anaerobic co-digestion with temperature and microorganism phase separation of sewage sludge, vinasse and poultry manure, with the aim of achieving an integral waste management, obtaining bioenergy and biofertilizer that returns nutrients to the soil in a natural way. The yields obtained were 40 mL H2/gVS and 391 mLCH4/gVS. The resulting effluent showed more than 98 % removal of E. coli and Total Coliforms, as well as total removal of Salmonella. The results obtained in the phytotoxicity tests showed that all the proportions studied had phytostimulant and phytonutrient properties, with 20 % having the highest germination index (GI) with mean values of 145.30 %. Finally, the agronomic trial carried out with strawberry crops (Fragaria sp.) showed that the addition of this biosolid has fertilising properties and can be used as an agronomic amendment, with an increase of 145 % in fresh weight and 102.5 % in dry weight, and fruit production doubled with respect to the control. The ANOVA statistical study corroborated that there were significant differences in crop growth when applying different proportions of biofertilizer in the fertilizer. Therefore, these results show that this technology is promising and would contribute environmentally, socially and economically to the transfer towards a circular economy model.

Techno-economic analysis of single-stage and temperature-phase anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge, wine vinasse, and poultry manure.

Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) is a mature and consolidated waste management technology that can transform agro-industrial by-products into biogas and digestate. This study conducted a techno-economic assessment of bioenergy and agricultural fertilizer production from AcoD of sewage sludge, wine vinasse, and poultry manure. In this case study, three configurations were investigated: i) Scenario 1, AcoD in thermophilic temperature; ii) Scenario 2, AcoD in mesophilic temperature; and iii) Scenario 3, AcoD in a temperature phase (TPAD) system, where the digestate produced in the first reactor (thermophilic) feeds the second reactor (mesophilic). The process was designed to manage 24,022 m³ wine vinasse y-1, 24,022 m³ sewage sludge y-1, and 480 m³ poultry manure y-1. The major cost was the fixed capital investment for the single-stage (320,981 USD) and TPAD processes (379,698 USD). The TPAD process produced the highest electricity (1058.99 MWh y-1) and heat (4765.47 GJ y-1) with the lowest cost of manufacturing for electricity (84.99 USD MWh-1), heat (0.019 USD MJ-1), and fertilizer (30.91 USD t-1). Regarding the profitability indicators, the highest net present value (509,011 USD) and the lowest payback time (4.24 y) were achieved for Scenario 3. In conclusion, TPAD is a profitable and sustainable waste-to-energy management technology that can be applied in a circular economy framework to recover bioenergy and fertilizer, contributing to decreasing the carbon footprint of the agri-food sector.

First approaches to valorizate fat, oil and grease (FOG) as anaerobic co-substrate with slaughterhouse wastewater: Biomethane potential, settling capacity and microbial dynamics.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the biological preferred treatment applied to Slaughterhouse wastewaters (SWW) due to its effectiveness. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of different percentages of fats, oil and grease (FOG) on biomethane production in anaerobic co-digestion with slaughterhouse wastewater using BMP tests under mesophilic conditions (35 °C). For this purpose, three percentages of FOG from 1% to 10% were tested. Biodegradability, biomethane production and the microbial population were studied. In addition, settling capacity has been evaluated at different conditions: i) before and after anaerobic co-digestion; ii) at different temperature 25 °C and 35 °C. The settling rates as well as the characterization of the digestate were recorded. Experimental results showed that all the co-digestion mixtures (FOG percentages = 1-10%) enhanced biomethane production and biodegradability compared to AD of sole SWW. The best conditions were achieved at 5-10% of FOG, showing biodegradability of 66-70% CODtremoval and specific biomethane productions of 562 and 777 mLCH4·g-1CODsremoved, respectively. Regarding microbial dynamics, Eubacteria was reduced with the increase in %FOG but Acetate utilizing methanogens was increased. Regarding settling capacity, mesophilic temperatures (35 °C) increased the settling rate of digestate in 1.76 times and reduced the lag-phase to 0.92 min; obtaining a more concentrated sludge and leaving a clarified whose TSS represent only 8% of TS.

Effect of thermal pretreatment on the biogas production and microbial communities balance during anaerobic digestion of urban and industrial waste activated sludge.

The effect of thermal pre-treatment on the microbial populations balance and biogas production was studied during anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) coming from urban (US: urban sludge) and industrial (IS: industrial sludge) wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The highest biogas yields of 0.42l/gvolatile solid (VS) removed and 0.37l/gVS removed were obtained with urban and industrial sludge pre-treated at 120°C, respectively. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to quantify the major Bacteria and Archaea groups. Compared to control trails without pretreatment, Archaea content increased from 34% to 86% and from 46% to 83% for pretreated IS and US, respectively. In fact, the thermal pre-treatment of WAS enhanced the growth of hydrogen-using methanogens (HUMs), which consume rapidly the H2 generated to allow the acetogenesis. Therefore, the stable and better performance of digesters was observed involving the balance and syntrophic associations between the different microbial populations.

Anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and sugar beet pulp lixiviation in batch reactors: effect of temperature.

The feasibility of anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge (SS) and sugar beet pulp lixiviation (SBPL) was assessed. Mesophilic and thermophilic batch assays of five different SS/SBPL ratios were used to investigate the effect of temperature, providing basic data on methane yield and reduction in total volatiles. Microbe concentrations (Eubacteria and methanogenic Archaea) were linked to traditional parameters, namely biogas production and removal of total volatile solids (TVS). The relationship between Eubacteria and Archaea was analysed. Given equal masses of organic matter, net methane generation was higher in the mesophilic range on the biochemical methane potential (BMP) test. Methane yield, TVS removal data and high levels of volatile fatty acids provided further evidence of the best behaviour of the mesophilic range. At the end of testing the microbial population under of the reactors consisted of Eubacteria and Archaea, with Eubacteria predominant in all cases.

Mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and a lixiviation of sugar beet pulp: optimisation of the semi-continuous process.

This study examine the effect of an increased organic loading rate on the efficiency of the stirred tank reactor treating sewage sludge and sugar beet pellets and to report on its steady-state performance. The digester was subjected to a program of steady-state operation over a range of hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 30 to 6 days and organic loading rates (OLRs) of up to 1.7 kgCOD/m(3)d to evaluate its treatment capacity. The COD removal efficiency was found to be 84.23% COD in the digester when treating mixture sewage sludge/lixiviation of sugar beet pulp at 1.27 kgCOD/m(3)d (10-days SRT). The volumetric methane level produced in the digester reached 0.7 m(3)CH4/m(3)d and the methane yield was 0.64m(3)CH4/kgCODremoval. Therefore, anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and lixiviation of sugar beet pulp improve the biogas productivity and the organic matter removal in addition to lowering solids retention times in the system.

Agreement between theory and measurement in quantification of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.

Autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are of vital importance to wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), as well as being an intriguing group of microorganisms in their own right. To date, corroboration of quantitative measurements of AOB by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has relied on assessment of the ammonia oxidation rate per cell, relative to published values for cultured AOB. Validation of cell counts on the basis of substrate transformation rates is problematic, however, because published cell-specific ammonia oxidation rates vary by over two orders of magnitude. We present a method that uses FISH in conjunction with confocal scanning laser microscopy to quantify AOB in WWTP, where AOB are typically observed as microcolonies. The method is comparatively simple, requiring neither detailed cell counts or image analysis, and yet it can give estimates of either cell numbers or biomass. Microcolony volume and diameter were found to have a log-normal distribution. We were able to show that virtually all (>96%) of the AOB biomass occurred as microcolonies. Counts of microcolony abundance and measurement of their diameter coupled with a calibration of microcolony dimensions against cell numbers or AOB biomass were used to determine AOB cell numbers and biomass in WWTP. Cell-specific ammonia oxidation rates varied between plants by over three orders of magnitude, suggesting that cell-specific ammonia oxidation is an important process variable. Moreover, when measured AOB biomass was compared with process-based estimates of AOB biomass, the two values were in agreement.