Monitoring biological sulphide oxidation processes using combined respirometric and titrimetric techniques

Model-Based Analysis of Feedback Control Strategies in Aerobic Biotrickling Filters for Biogas Desulfurization

Biotrickling filters are one of the most widely used biological technologies to perform biogas desulfurization. Their industrial application has been hampered due to the difficulty to achieve a robust and reliable operation of this bioreactor. Specifically, biotrickling filters process performance is affected mostly by fluctuations in the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) loading rate due to changes in the gas inlet concentration or in the volumetric gas flowrate. The process can be controlled by means of the regulation of the air flowrate (AFR) to control the oxygen (O2) gas outlet concentration ([O2]out) and the trickling liquid velocity (TLV) to control the H2S gas outlet concentration ([H2S]out). In this work, efforts were placed towards the understanding and development of control strategies in biological H2S removal in a biotrickling filter under aerobic conditions. Classical proportional and proportional-integral feedback controllers were applied in a model of an aerobic biotrickling filter for biogas desulfurization. Two different control loops were studied: (i) AFR Closed-Loop based on AFR regulation to control the [O2]out, and (ii) TLV Closed-Loop based on TLV regulation to control the [H2S]out. AFR regulation span was limited to values so that corresponds to biogas dilution factors that would give a biogas mixture with a minimum methane content in air, far from those values required to obtain an explosive mixture. A minimum TLV of 5.9 m h−1 was applied to provide the nutrients and moisture to the packed bed and a maximum TLV of 28.3 m h−1 was set to prevent biotrickling filter (BTF) flooding. Control loops were evaluated with a stepwise increase from 2000 ppmv until 6000 ppmv and with changes in the biogas flowrate using stepwise increments from 61.5 L h−1 (EBRT = 118 s) to 184.5 L h−1 (EBRT = 48.4 s). Controller parameters were determined based on time-integral criteria and simple criteria such as stability and oscillatory controller response. Before implementing the control strategies, two different mass transfer correlations were evaluated to study the effect of the manipulable variables. Open-loop behavior was also studied to determine the impact of control strategies on process performance variables such as removal efficiency, sulfate and sulfur selectivity, and oxygen consumption. AFR regulation efficiently controlled [O2]out; however, the impact on process performance parameters was not as great as when TLV was regulated to control [H2S]out. This model-based analysis provided valuable information about the controllability limits of each strategy and the impact that each strategy can have on the process performance.

Role of Microalgae in the Recovery of Nutrients from Pig Manure

Animal production inevitably causes the emission of greenhouse gases and the generation of large amounts of slurry, both representing a serious environmental problem. Photosynthetic microorganisms such as microalgae and cyanobacteria have been proposed as alternative strategies to bioremediate agricultural waste while consuming carbon dioxide and producing valuable biomass. The current study assessed the potential of the microalga Scenedesmus sp. to remove nutrients from piggery wastewater (PWW) and the influence of the microalga on the microbial consortia. Maximum N-NH4+ consumption was 55.3 ± 3.7 mg·L−1·day−1 while P-PO43− removal rates were in the range 0.1–1.9 mg·L−1·day−1. N-NH4+ removal was partially caused by the action of nitrifying bacteria, which led to the production of N-NO3−. N-NO3− production values where lower when microalgae were more active. This work demonstrated that the photosynthetic activity of microalgae allows us to increase nutrient removal rates from PWW and to reduce the coliform bacterial load of the effluent, minimising both their environmental impact and health risks. Microalgae assimilated part of the N-NH4+ present in the media to produce biomass and did not to convert it into N-NO3− as in traditional processes.

Review on microaeration-based anaerobic digestion: State of the art, challenges, and prospectives

Microaeration (dosing small quantities of air or oxygen) is an effective approach to facilitate anaerobic digestion (AD) process and has gained increased attention in recent years. The underlying mechanisms of the facilitation effect of microaeration on AD process were reviewed in terms of accelerating hydrolysis, scavenging hydrogen sulfide, and affecting microbial diversity. Process parameters and control strategies were summarized to reveal considerable factors in implementing microaeration-based AD process. In addition, current applications, including lab-, pilot- and full-scale level cases, were summarized to provide guidance for further improvement in large-scale applications. The challenges and future perspectives were also highlighted to promote the development of AD process associated with microaeration.

Final products and kinetics of biochemical and chemical sulfide oxidation under microaerobic conditions

Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic and usually undesirable by-product of the anaerobic treatment of sulfate-containing wastewater. It can be removed through microaeration, a simple and cost-effective method involving the application of oxygen-limiting conditions (i.e., dissolved oxygen below 0.1 mg L^-1). However, the exact transformation pathways of sulfide under microaerobic conditions are still unclear. In this paper, batch experiments were performed to study biochemical and chemical sulfide oxidation under microaerobic conditions. The biochemical experiments were conducted using a strain of Sulfuricurvum kujiense. Under microaerobic conditions, the biochemical sulfide oxidation rate (in mg S L^-1 d^-1) was approximately 2.5 times faster than the chemical sulfide oxidation rate. Elemental sulfur was the major end-product of both biochemical and chemical sulfide oxidation. During biochemical sulfide oxidation elemental sulfur was in the form of white flakes, while during chemical sulfide oxidation elemental sulfur created a white suspension. Moreover, a mathematical model describing biochemical and chemical sulfide oxidation was developed and calibrated by the experimental results.

Activity assessment of microalgal-bacterial consortia based on respirometric tests

Respirometric techniques are useful tools to evaluate bacterial activities in activated sludge processes due to their fast execution and the possibility to obtain several kinetic parameters from a single test. Using such techniques in microalgae-bacteria consortia treating wastewater could allow a better understanding of mutual interactions between the microbial populations as a function of environmental parameters. This work aims at developing and testing a novel experimental respirometric protocol to determine oxygen uptake rates and oxygen production rates by a microalgae-bacteria consortium. The defined protocol is characterized by alternating light/dark regimes and by dosing substrates/inhibitors to selectively activate/inactivate microalgal and bacterial metabolisms. The protocol was then applied on microalgal and bacterial consortia, which were grown on the liquid fraction of black water from biogas plants fed on agricultural and municipal waste sludge. Results elucidate the presence and activity of microalgae and nitrifying bacteria in the tested systems, suggesting that the respirometric tests could be included into monitoring procedures of photobioreactors/algal ponds.

Respirometric characterization of aerobic sulfide, thiosulfate and elemental sulfur oxidation by S-oxidizing biomass

Respirometry was used to reveal the mechanisms involved in aerobic biological sulfide oxidation and to characterize the kinetics and stoichiometry of a microbial culture obtained from a desulfurizing biotrickling filter. Physical-chemical processes such as stripping and chemical oxidation of hydrogen sulfide were characterized since they contributed significantly to the conversions observed in respirometric tests. Mass transfer coefficient for hydrogen sulfide and the kinetic parameters for chemical oxidation of sulfide with oxygen were estimated. The stoichiometry of the process was determined and the different steps in the sulfide oxidation process were identified. The conversion scheme proposed includes intermediate production of elemental sulfur and thiosulfate and the subsequent oxidation of both compounds to sulfate. A kinetic model describing each of the reactions observed during sulfide oxidation was calibrated and validated. The product selectivity was found to be independent of the dissolved oxygen to hydrogen sulfide concentration ratio in the medium at sulfide concentrations ranging from 3 to 30 mg S L(-1). Sulfide was preferentially consumed (SOURmax = 49.2 mg DO g(-1) VSS min(-1)) and oxidized to elemental sulfur at dissolved oxygen concentrations above 0.8 mg DO L(-1). Substrate inhibition of sulfide oxidation was observed (K(i,S(2-))= 42.4 mg S L(-1)). Intracellular sulfur accumulation also affected negatively the sulfide oxidation rate. The maximum fraction of elemental sulfur accumulated inside cells was estimated (25.6% w/w) and a shrinking particle equation was included in the kinetic model to describe elemental sulfur oxidation. The microbial diversity obtained through pyrosequencing analysis revealed that Thiothrix sp. was the main species present in the culture (>95%).

Nitrite and nitrate as electron acceptors for biological sulphide oxidation

Autotrophic denitrification with sulphide using nitrate (R1) and nitrite (R2) as electron acceptor was investigated at bench scale. Different solids retention times (SRT) (5 and 20 d) have been tested in R1 while R2 was operated at SRT=13 d. The results indicated that the process allows complete sulphide removal to be achieved in all tested conditions. Tested sulphide loads were estimated from the H2S produced in a pilot-scale anaerobic digester treating vegetable tannery primary sludge; nitrogen loads originated from the nitrification of the supernatant. Average nitrogen removal efficiencies higher than 80% were observed in all the tested conditions once steady state was reached. A maximum specific nitrate removal rate equal to 0.35 g N-NO3- g VSS(-1) d(-1) was reached in R1. Due to sulphide limitation, incomplete denitrification was observed and nitrite and thiosulphate tend to accumulate especially in the presence of variable environmental conditions in both R1 and R2. Lower SRT caused higher NO2accumulated/NO3reduced ratios (0.22 and 0.24, with SRT of 5 d and 20 d, respectively) using nitrate as electron acceptor in steady-state condition. Temperature decrease caused sudden NO2accumulated/NO3reduced ratio increase in R1 and NO2- removal decrease in R2.

Examining thiosulfate-driven autotrophic denitrification through respirometry

Anoxic respirometry was applied to characterize a sulfide-oxidizing nitrate-reducing (SO-NR) culture obtained from an anoxic biogas desulfurizing biotrickling filter treating high loads of H2S. Immobilized biomass extracted from the biotrickling filter was grown in a suspended culture with thiosulfate as electron donor to obtain the biomass growth yield and the S2O3(2)(-)/NO3(-) consumed ratio. Afterward, respirometry was applied to describe thiosulfate oxidation under anoxic conditions. A pure culture of Thiobacillus denitrificans was also used as a control culture in order to validate the procedure proposed in this work to characterize the SO-NR biomass. Respirometric profiles obtained with this microbial culture showed that nitrite was formed as intermediate during nitrate reduction and revealed that no competitive inhibition appeared when both electron acceptors were present in the medium. Although final bioreaction products depended on the initial S2O3(2)(-)/NO3(-) ratio, such ratio did not affect thiosulfate oxidation or denitrification rates. Moreover, respirometric profiles showed that the specific nitrite uptake rate depended on the biomass characteristics being that of a SO-NR mixed culture (39.8mgNg(-1) VSSh(-1)) higher than that obtained from a pure culture of T. denitrificans (19.7mgNg(-1) VSSh(-1)). For the first time, the stoichiometry of the two-step denitrification mechanism with thiosulfate oxidation and biomass growth associated was solved for both reactions.

Biomass accumulation modelling in a highly loaded biotrickling filter for hydrogen sulphide removal

A pilot scale test on a biotrickling filter packed with polyurethane foam cubes was carried out for 110 d at high volumetric mass load (up to 280 g m(bed)(-3) h(-1)) with the aim of studying the accumulation of solids in the treatment of H(2)S. Removal rate up to 245 g m(bed)(-3) h(-1) was obtained; however, an accumulation of gypsum, elemental sulphur and, above all, inert biomass was identified as the cause of an increased pressure drop over the long term. A mathematical model was applied and calibrated with the experimental results to describe the accumulation of biomass. The model was capable of describing the accumulation of solids and, corresponding to a solids retention time of 50 d, the observed yield resulted in 0.07 g of solids produced g(-1) H(2)S removed. Respirometric tests showed that heterotrophic activity is inhibited at low pH (pH < 2.3), and the contribution to biomass removal through decay was negligible.

Modeling the decay of ammonium oxidizing bacteria

A bench-scale sequencing batch reactor was used to study factors affecting the endogenous decay of the ammonium oxidizing biomass (AOB) in different operating conditions. AOB decay was very sensitive to oxygen concentration, and increased up to 0.4 d(-1) for oxygen concentration of 7 mg O(2) L(-1). The decay in anaerobic conditions was shown to be very low (0.03 d(-1)) when compared to literature data. The effect of nitrite and nitrate on AOB decay was also studied. The correlation was quite weak suggesting that both nitrate and nitrite absence had little impact on decay which is contrary to what is typically assumed in some of the existing process models. A simple expression for the decay of AOB was proposed, calibrated and validated using the results of batch kinetic tests and of the continuous sequencing batch reactor monitoring.