Characterization and biological abatement of diffuse methane emissions and odour in an innovative wastewater treatment plant.

An innovative and patented process for medium-high strength sewage which comprises an anaerobic step followed by a hybrid anoxic-aerobic chamber and a final ultrafiltration stage was characterized in terms of methane fugitive emissions as well as odours. The operation at ambient temperature implies higher methane content in the liquid anaerobic effluent, which finally causes concentrations around 0.01-2.4% in the off-gas released in the anoxic-aerobic chamber (1.25% average). Mass balances indicate that these emissions account for up to 30-35% of the total methane generated in the anaerobic reactor. A conventional biofilter (BF) operated at an empty bed residence time of 4 min was used to treat these emissions for 70 d. In spite of the fluctuations in the methane inlet concentrations derived from the operation of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), it was possible to operate at pseudo-steady-state conditions, achieving average removal efficiencies of 76.5% and maximum elimination capacities of 30.1 g m(-3) h(-1). Odour removal was quantified as 99.1%. Fluorescence in situ hybridization probes as well as metabolic activity assays demonstrated the suitability of the biomass developed in the WWTP as inoculum to start up the BF due to the presence of methanotrophic bacteria.

Molecular and physiological approaches to understand the ecology of methanol degradation during the biofiltration of air streams.

A 13.4 L biofilter treating an off-gas stream supplemented with methanol under two different situations was studied in terms of MeOH removal efficiency, microbial ecology and odor removal. During Period 1 (P1) the reactor was packed with wood bark chips with no pH control, treating an off-gas resulting from the aerobic chamber of a membrane biological reactor treating sewage and located outdoor, whereas during Period 2 (P2) a compressed air stream fed with MeOH was treated using PVC rings and maintaining pH at neutral values. Both systems operated at 96 g MeOH m(-3) h(-1) achieving removal efficiencies of around 90% during P1 and 99.9% during P2. The relative activity of biomass developed in both systems was assessed using respirometric analysis with samples obtained from both biofilms. Higher biomass activity was obtained during P2 (0.25-0.35 kg MeOH kg(-1) VSS d(-1)) whereas 1.1 kg MeOH kg(-1) VSS d(-1) was obtained in the case of P1. The application of molecular and microscopic techniques showed that the eukaryotes were predominant during P1, being the yeast Candida boidinii the most abundant microorganism. A specific Fluorescence in situ hybridization probe was designed for C. boidinii and tested successfully. As a result of the neutral pH, a clear predominance of prokaryotes was detected during P2. Interestingly, some anaerobic bacteria were detected such as Desulfovibrio, Desulfobacteraceae species and also some archaea such as Methanosarcina.