Performance evaluation of ICX reactor in treatment of paper mill wastewater: a case study in South Vietnam

This study evaluates the performance of the Internal Circulation eXperience (ICX) reactor in treating high-strength paper mill wastewater in the south of Vietnam. The ICX reactor effectively managed organic concentrations (sCOD) of up to 11,800 mg/L. Results indicate a volumetric loading rate (VLR) of 26.8 kg/m3 × day, achieving processing efficiency exceeding 81% while consistently maintaining volatile fatty acids (VFA) below 300 mg/L. The study employed Monod and Stover-Kincannon kinetic modeling, revealing dynamic parameters including Ks = 56.81 kg/m3, Y = 0.121 kgVSS/kgsCOD, Kd = 0.0242 1/day, μmax = 0.372 1/day, Umax = 151 kg/m3 × day, and KB = 175.92 kg/m3 × day, underscoring the ICX reactor's superior efficiency compared to alternative technologies. Notably, the reactor's heightened sensitivity to VFA levels necessitates influent concentrations below 1,400 mg/L for effective sludge treatment. Furthermore, the influence of calcium on treatment efficiency requires post-treatment alkalinity maintenance below 19 meq/L to stabilize MLVSS/MLSS concentration. Biogas production ranged from 0.6 to 0.7 Nm3 biogas/kg sCOD; however, calcium impact diminished this ratio, reducing overall treatment efficiency and biogas production. The study contributes valuable insights into anaerobic treatment processes for complex industrial wastewaters, emphasizing the significance of controlling VFA, calcium, and alkalinity for optimal system performance.

Design, Construction, and Concept Validation of a Laboratory-Scale Two-phase Reactor to Valorize Whiskey Distillery By-products

The by-products generated from the whiskey distillation process consist of organic liquids with a high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and residues with a high solid content. Low-carbon strategies that repurpose and valorize such by-products are now imperative to reduce the carbon footprint of the food and beverage industries. The operation of a two-phase anaerobic digester to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and biogas may enable distilleries to transition toward a low-carbon bioeconomy. An example of such a system is a leach bed reactor connected to an expanded granular sludge bed (LBR-EGSB) which was designed, commissioned, and conceptually validated in this paper. Several design improvements progress the LBR-EGSB beyond previous reactor designs. An external gas-liquid-solid separator in the EGSB was used to capture any residual gases produced by the effluent and may reduce the amount of methane slippage and biomass washout. The implementation of a siphon-actuated leachate cup is a low-cost alternative that is less prone to actuation malfunction as compared to electrically actuated solenoid valves in previous reactor designs. Furthermore, replacing fresh water with distillery's liquid by-products as leachate promotes a circular repurpose and reuse philosophy. The system proved to be effective in generating VFAs (10.3 g VFAs L-1Leachate), in EGSB COD removal (96%), and in producing methane-rich biogas (75%vol), which is higher than the values achieved by traditional anaerobic digestion systems. The LBR-EGSB could ultimately provide more by-product valorization and decarbonization opportunities than traditional anaerobic digestion systems for a whiskey distillery.

A comprehensive review on current status and future perspectives of microbial volatile fatty acids production as platform chemicals

Volatile fatty acids (VFA), the secondary metabolite of microbial fermentation, are used in a wide range of industries for production of commercially valuable chemicals. In this review, the fermentative production of VFAs by both pure as well mixed microbial cultures is highlighted along with the strategies for enhancing the VFA production through innovations in existing approaches. Role of conventionally applied tools for the optimization of operational parameters such as pH, temperature, retention time, organic loading rate, and headspace pressure has been discussed. Furthermore, a comparative assessment of above strategies on VFA production has been done with alternate developments such as co-fermentation, substrate pre-treatment, and in situ removal from fermented broth. The review also highlights the applications of different bioreactor geometries in the optimum production of VFAs and how metagenomic tools could provide a detailed insight into the microbial communities and their functional attributes that could be subjected to metabolic engineering for the efficient production of VFAs.

Long-term alkaline volatile fatty acids production from waste streams: Impact of pH and dominance of Dysgonomonadaceae

Alkaline co-fermentation of primary sludge and external organic waste (OW) was studied to elucidate the influence of substrate ratios and long-term system robustness and microbial community dynamics using batch and semi-continuous reactors. Volatile fatty acid (VFA) production increased with increasing OW fraction in the substrate due to synergistic effects of co-degradation. VFA production at pH 10 increased up to 30,300 mgCOD/L (yield of 630 mg COD/gVS_fed) but reduced over time to ≈10,000 mgCOD/L. Lowering pH to 9 led to the restoration of VFA production with a maximum of 32,000 mg COD/L (676 mg COD/g VS_fed) due to changes in microbial structure. VFA was composed mainly of acetic acid, but propionic acid increased at pH 9. The microbial community was dominated by Bacillaceae (34 ± 10%) and Proteinivoracales_uncultured (16 ± 11%) at pH 10, while Dysgonomonadaceae (52 ± 8%) was enriched at pH 9. The study demonstrated a zero-waste strategy that turns organic wastes into bio-based products.