Application of enzymes, sodium tripolyphosphate and cation exchange resin for the release of extracellular polymeric substances from sewage sludge. Characterization of the extracted polysaccharides/glycoconjugates by a panel of lectins

Innovative cation exchange-driven carbon migration and recovery patterns in anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge

Despite numerous treatments have been developed to enhance anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge, the innovative cation exchange (CE) approach has been rarely reported, little attempt was conducted to revealcarbon source fate. The interphase carbon balance was illustrated to clarify endogenous carbon dissolution, biotransformation,and recovery patterns. By CE-mediated divalent cation removal, almost 34.72 % of particulate carbon sources were dissolved in 2-day treatment, corresponding to soluble carbon content of 1165.58 mg C/L. Most of the originally dissolved carbon sources (58.01-66.81 %) were bio-transformed to volatile fatty acids with high bioavailability, while the further transformation to biogas was inhibited, contributing to recoverable carbon source accumulation. Overall, 21.38 % of total solid carbon sources were recovered through 8-day fermentation, the carbon extraction was implemented by solid-liquid separation with carbon loss of 14.21-22.91 %, manifesting the valid carbon recovery of 85.05-87.96 mg C/g VSS. Such CE-driven carbon recovery provided negentropy benefits in sustainable cycle economy.

Microbial glycoconjugates in organic pollutant bioremediation: recent advances and applications

The large-scale application of organic pollutants (OPs) has contaminated the air, soil, and water. Persistent OPs enter the food supply chain and create several hazardous effects on living systems. Thus, there is a need to manage the environmental levels of these toxicants. Microbial glycoconjugates pave the way for the enhanced degradation of these toxic pollutants from the environment. Microbial glycoconjugates increase the bioavailability of these OPs by reducing surface tension and creating a solvent interface. To date, very little emphasis has been given to the scope of glycoconjugates in the biodegradation of OPs. Glycoconjugates create a bridge between microbes and OPs, which helps to accelerate degradation through microbial metabolism. This review provides an in-depth overview of glycoconjugates, their role in biofilm formation, and their applications in the bioremediation of OP-contaminated environments.

Evaluating the effect of enzymatic pretreatment on the anaerobic digestibility of pulp and paper biosludge

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A new and rigorous approach for assessing the effect of enzymatic pretreatment on AD is proposed.

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Enzymes can improve anaerobic digestion increasing biogas yields by up to 26%.

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First study to isolate the effect of catalytic activity and organic load from enzymes to evaluate enzymatic pretreatment.

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Enzymes did not appear to be inhibited or denatured in the presence of biosludge.

Anaerobic digestion of biosludge has not yet been implemented in pulp mills due to low biogas yields. Enzymatic pretreatment of biosludge has shown improvements in biogas yields but results are varied. A key limitation of previous studies is that they fail to consider the COD contribution from the enzyme solutions. The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the potential for enzymatic pretreatment on the anaerobic digestibility of pulp mill biosludge. Out of the six enzymes tested, four enhanced the anaerobic digestibility of biosludge. At the end of the BMP, a maximum improvement of 26% in biogas yield was observed with protease from B. licheniformis. There was no correlation between enzymatic activities on standard substrates and/or on biosludge and the effect of enzymes on biogas yields. Enzymes have potential for improving biosludge anaerobic digestibility but more research on optimal conditions and potential synergies with other pretreatment is needed.

Shear stress effects on production of exopolymeric substances and biofilm characteristics during phenol biodegradation by immobilized Pseudomonas desmolyticum (NCIM2112) cells in a pulsed plate bioreactor

This article reports studies on a continuous pulsed plate bioreactor (PPBR) with the cells of Pseudomonas desmolyticum (NCIM2112) immobilized on granular activated carbon (GAC) used as a biofilm reactor for biodegradation of phenol. Almost complete removal of 200 ppm phenol could be achieved in this bioreactor. Biofilm structure and characteristics are influenced by hydrodynamic and shear conditions in bioreactors. In this article, the effect of shear stress induced by frequency of pulsation on biofilm characteristics during the startup period in the PPBR is reported. The startup time decreased with the increase in frequency of pulsation. The formation of biofilm in PPBR was found to have three phases: accumulation, compaction, and plateau. The effect of frequency on production of exoploymeric substances (EPS) such as, protein, carbohydrate, and humic substance is reported. An increase in shear stress induced by the frequency of pulsation increased the production of exopolymeric substances in the biofilm during startup of the bioreactor. Increase in shear stress caused a decrease in biofilm thickness and an increase in dry density of the biofilm. Increase in shear stress resulted in a smoother and thinner biofilm surface with more compact and dense structure.

Influence of deflocculation on microwave disintegration and anaerobic biodegradability of waste activated sludge

In the present study, the potential benefits of deflocculation on microwave pretreatment of waste activated sludge were investigated. Deflocculation in the absence of cell lysis was achieved through the removal of extra polymeric substances (EPS) by sodium citrate (0.1g sodium citrate/g suspended solids), and DNA was used as a marker for monitoring cell lysis. Subsequent microwave pretreatment yielded a chemical oxygen demand (COD) solubilisation of 31% and 21%, suspended solids (SS) reduction of 37% and 22%, for deflocculated and flocculated sludge, respectively, with energy input of 14,000kJ/kg TS. When microwave pretreated sludge was subjected to anaerobic fermentation, greater accumulation of volatile fatty acid (860mg/L) was noticed in deflocculated sludge, indicating better hydrolysis. Among the samples subjected to BMP (Biochemical methane potential test), deflocculated microwave pretreated sludge showed better amenability towards anaerobic digestion with high methane production potential of 0.615L (gVS)(-1).

Biological pretreatment of non-flocculated sludge augments the biogas production in the anaerobic digestion of the pretreated waste activated sludge

High-efficiency resource recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) has been a focus of attention. The objective of this research is to develop a bio-pretreatment process for application prior to the anaerobic digestion of MSW to improve methane productivity. Bacillus licheniformis was used for pretreating MSW (non-flocculated with 0.07% citric acid), followed by anaerobic digestion. Laboratory-scale experiments were carried out in semi-continuous bioreactors, with a total volume of 5 L and working volume of 3 L. Among the nine organic loading rates (OLRs) investigated, the OLR of 0.84 kg SS m(-3) reactor day(-1) was found to be the most appropriate for economic operation of the reactor. Pretreatment of MSW prior to anaerobic digestion led to 55% and 64% increase of suspended solids (SS) and volatile solids reduction, respectively, with an improvement of 57% in biogas production. The results indicate that the pretreatment of non-flocculated sludge with Bacillus licheniformis which consumes less energy compared to other pretreatment techniques could be a cost-effective and environmentally sound method for producing methane from MSW.

Development and application of an enzymatic and cell flotation treatment for the recovery of viable microbial cells from environmental matrices such as anaerobic sludge

Efficient dissociation of microorganisms from their aggregate matrix is required to study the microorganisms without interaction with their native environment (e.g., biofilms, flocs, granules, etc.) and to assess their community composition through the application of molecular or microscopy techniques. To this end, we combined enzymatic treatments and a cell extraction by density gradient to efficiently recover anaerobic microorganisms from urban wastewater treatment plant sludge. The enzymes employed (amylase, cellulase, DNase, and pectinase) as a pretreatment softly disintegrated the extrapolymeric substances (EPS) interlocked with the microorganisms. The potential damaging effects of the applied procedure on bacterial and archaeal communities were assessed by studying the variations in density (using quantitative PCR), diversity (using capillary electrophoresis single-strand conformation polymorphism fingerprinting [CE-SSCP]), and activity (using a standard anaerobic activity test) of the extracted microorganisms. The protocol preserved the general capacity of the microbial community to produce methane under anaerobic conditions and its diversity; particularly the archaeal community was not affected in terms of either density or structure. This cell extraction procedure from the matrix materials offers interesting perspectives for metabolic, microscopic, and molecular assays of microbial communities present in complex matrices constituted by bioaggregates or biofilms.

The function of cation-binding agents in the enzymatic treatment of municipal sludge

Treatment of sludge with enzymes has previously been shown to efficiently release organic matter. However, the added enzymes were partially adsorbed to, entrapped by or bound to the sludge structure. Simultaneous decrease of enzymes activities was observed. Reduced adsorption and more effective, lower, enzyme dose was achieved in sludge pre-treated with three cation-binding agents. The enzymatic solubilisation of sludge was improved by 150%, 240% and 290%, by 50mM sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), 25mM citric acid (CA) or 50mM ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA), respectively. With cation binders, the lower relative enzyme dose 0.2 (13.7mg/g total solids (TS)) released 3.5 times higher COD than enzyme dose 1 (68.5mg/g TS) alone. In the presence of 25mM CA, 75% added protease remained soluble. In the presence of 50mM CA, EDTA or STPP, 50% of alpha-amylase and cellulase remained soluble. At 200mM STPP, alpha-amylase was inactive, and the efficiency of enzymatic sludge hydrolysis decreased. CA was the most effective of the three cation-binding agents tested. It is biodegradable and can be produced endogenously by the microorganisms in sludge. CA has the greatest potential for the practical application to enhance biogas production. This paper reports on the possible mechanisms of enzymes adsorption to the sludge matrix and possible methods of decreasing the adsorption. We suggest that steric hindrances were responsible for the decreased enzymatic sludge solubilisation and that polyvalent metal ions were directly involved in adsorption of enzymes to sludge matrix. The addition of cation binders eliminated both phenomena and thereby improved the enzymatic solubilisation of sludge.