Fermentative volatile fatty acid production and recovery from grass using a novel combination of solids separation, pervaporation, and electrodialysis technologies

A novel combination of solids screening, centrifugation, microfiltration, pervaporation, and electrodialysis were used for the targeted and exclusive recovery of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from an 80L bioreactor. The bioreactor was continually-fed with grass waste, containing 40gL^-1 total solids, over three, seven-day, hydraulic retention times. A VFA solution with a concentration up to 4,500 mgL^-1 was recovered. VFA yields were also increased from 707 to 875 mg of VFA per gram of volatile solids by alleviating end-product inhibition. Both these accomplishments are significant step-changes in adding value to waste, and increased substrate utilisation rates will be attractive from a waste remediation perspective.

An improved titration model reducing over estimation of total volatile fatty acids in anaerobic digestion of energy crop, animal slurry and food waste

Titration methodologies have been used for the many years for low cost routine monitoring of full scale anaerobic digestion plants. These methodologies have been correlated to indicate the carbonate alkalinity and the volatile fatty acids (VFA) content within digesters. Two commonly used two end-point titration methods were compared using a dataset of 154 samples from energy crop and animal slurry digestates and were shown to be inaccurate in the estimation of tVFA. Using this dataset correlated with HPLC VFA analysis, two empirical bivariate linear regression equations were derived, where the validation dataset showed an absolute tVFA mean error improvement from ±3386 and ±3324 mg kg(-1) tVFA to ±410 and ±286 mg kg(-1) tVFA, respectively. The same equation was then applied to a food waste dataset where an absolute tVFA mean error was improved from ±3828 to ±576 mg kg(-1) tVFA. The newly derived titration equations can provide greater confidence in digester performance monitoring and are tools that can improve digester management.

Factors affecting microbial fuel cell acclimation and operation in temperate climates

For the successful scale-up of microbial fuel cell (MFC) systems, enrichment strategies are required that not only maximise reactor performance but also allow anodic biofilms to be robust to environmental change. Cluster analysis of Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis community fingerprints showed that anodic biofilms were enriched according to substrate type and temperature. Acetate produced the highest power density of 7.2 W m(-3) and butyrate the lowest at 0.29 W m(-3), but it was also found that the trophic conditions used to acclimate the electrogenic biofilms also determined the MFC response to different substrate types, with both acetate and butyrate substrates recording power densities of 1.07 and 1.0 W m(-3) respectively in a sucrose enriched reactor. When temperature perturbations were introduced to investigate the stability of the different substrate acclimated electrogenic biofilms, the 20 °C acclimated acetate reactor was unaffected by 10 °C operation but all reactors acclimated at 35 °C were adversely affected. When the operating temperature was raised back to 35 °C both the acetate and butyrate reactors recovered electrogenic activity but the sucrose reactor did not. It is thought that this was due to the more complex syntropic interactions that are required to occur when metabolising more complex substrate types.

Fermentative biohydrogen production systems integration

Acidogenic fermentation can be used to produce hydrogen from a range of biomass sources. The effluent from this process can be utilised in a number of biological processes enabling further recovery of energy from the biomass. In this review a number of candidate technologies are assessed including conventional methanogenic anaerobic digestion, dark fermentative hydrogen production, photo-fermentation, and bioelectrochemical systems. The principles, benefits and challenges associated with integrating these technologies are discussed, with particular emphasis on integration with fermentative hydrogen production, and the current state of integrative development is presented. The various system configurations for potential integrations presented here may simultaneously permit an increase in the conversion efficiency of biomass to energy, improved adaptability to varying operating conditions, and improved stability. Such integration, while increasing system complexity, may mean that these bioprocesses could be deployed in a wider range of scenarios and be used with a greater range of substrates.

Performance parameter prediction for sewage sludge digesters using reflectance FT-NIR spectroscopy

This study investigates the use of Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy combined with principle components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares regression (PLS-R) as part of a possible process monitoring system for sewage sludge anaerobic digesters. The ability of FT-NIR with PCA to distinguish between different stages of the AD process was investigated, it was found that waste activated sludge (WAS), primary, feed (Primary:WAS 70:30) and digested sludge were distinguishable from each other using this technique. PLS-R was used successfully to track differing proportions of primary:WAS in feedstocks of 5% total solids (Coefficient of Efficiency (CE) = 0.93). The study also looked at the ability of reflectance mode NIR spectroscopy to track process parameters important for stability. Temperature and organic loading rate variations were employed to stress the digesters. Predictive models were produced for volatile fatty acids (VFA), bicarbonate alkalinity (BA) and total and volatile solids (TS and VS) and independently validated for each digester. The models were able to track the relevant process parameters: TS (CE = 0.75), VS (CE = 0.75), BA (CE = 0.71), and VFA (CE = 0.69). This technique could be used to improve the performance of sewage sludge anaerobic digesters.

The effect of acid pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion and dewatering of waste activated sludge

Waste activated sludge (WAS) is difficult to degrade in anaerobic digestion systems and pretreatments have been shown to speed up the hydrolysis stage. Here the effects of acid pretreatment (pH 6-1) using HCl on subsequent digestion and dewatering of WAS have been investigated. Optimisation of acid dosing was performed considering digestibility benefits and level of acid required. Pretreatment to pH 2 was concluded to be the most effective. In batch digestion this yielded the same biogas after 13 days as compared to untreated WAS at 21 days digestion. In semi-continuous digestion experiments (12 day hydraulic retention time at 35°C) it resulted in a 14.3% increase in methane yield compared to untreated WAS, also Salmonella was eradicated in the digestate. Dewatering investigations suggested that the acid pretreated WAS required 40% less cationic polymer addition to achieve the same cake solid content. A cost analysis was also carried out.

Defining the biomethane potential (BMP) of solid organic wastes and energy crops: a proposed protocol for batch assays

The application of anaerobic digestion technology is growing worldwide because of its economic and environmental benefits. As a consequence, a number of studies and research activities dealing with the determination of the biogas potential of solid organic substrates have been carrying out in the recent years. Therefore, it is of particular importance to define a protocol for the determination of the ultimate methane potential for a given solid substrates. In fact, this parameter determines, to a certain extent, both design and economic details of a biogas plant. Furthermore, the definition of common units to be used in anaerobic assays is increasingly requested from the scientific and engineering community. This paper presents some guidelines for biomethane potential assays prepared by the Task Group for the Anaerobic Biodegradation, Activity and Inhibition Assays of the Anaerobic Digestion Specialist Group of the International Water Association. This is the first step for the definition of a standard protocol.

An implementation framework for wastewater treatment models requiring a minimum programming expertise

Mathematical modelling in environmental biotechnology has been a traditionally difficult resource to access for researchers and students without programming expertise. The great degree of flexibility required from model implementation platforms to be suitable for research applications restricts their use to programming expert users. More user friendly software packages however do not normally incorporate the necessary flexibility for most research applications. This work presents a methodology based on Excel and Matlab-Simulink for both flexible and accessible implementation of mathematical models by researchers with and without programming expertise. The models are almost fully defined in an Excel file in which the names and values of the state variables and parameters are easily created. This information is automatically processed in Matlab to create the model structure and almost immediate model simulation, after only a minimum Matlab code definition, is possible. The framework proposed also provides programming expert researchers with a highly flexible and modifiable platform on which to base more complex model implementations. The method takes advantage of structural generalities in most mathematical models of environmental bioprocesses while enabling the integration of advanced elements (e.g. heuristic functions, correlations). The methodology has already been successfully used in a number of research studies.

Metabolic models to investigate energy limited anaerobic ecosystems

Anaerobic wastewater treatment is shifting from a philosophy of solely pollutants removal to a philosophy of combined resource recovery and waste treatment. Simultaneous wastewater treatment with energy recovery in the form of energy rich products, brings renewed interest to non-methanogenic anaerobic bioprocesses such as the anaerobic production of hydrogen, ethanol, solvents, VFAs, bioplastics and even electricity from microbial fuel cells. The existing kinetic-based modelling approaches, widely used in aerobic and methanogenic wastewater treatment processes, do not seem adequate in investigating such energy limited microbial ecosystems. The great diversity of similar microbial species, which share many of the fermentative reaction pathways, makes quantify microbial groups very difficult and causes identifiability problems. A modelling approach based on the consideration of metabolic reaction networks instead of on separated microbial groups is suggested as an alternative to describe anaerobic microbial ecosystems and in particular for the prediction of product formation as a function of environmental conditions imposed. The limited number of existing relevant fermentative pathways in conjunction with the fact that anaerobic reactions proceed very close to thermodynamic equilibrium reduces the complexity of such approach and the degrees of freedom in terms of product formation fluxes. In addition, energy limitation in these anaerobic microbial ecosystems makes plausible that selective forces associated with energy further define the system activity by favouring those conversions/microorganisms which provide the most energy for growth under the conditions imposed.

Direct fermentation of fodder maize, chicory fructans and perennial ryegrass to hydrogen using mixed microflora

This study examined the feasibility of producing hydrogen by direct fermentation of fodder maize, chicory fructooligosaccharides and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) in batch culture (pH 5.2-5.3, 35 degrees C, heat-treated anaerobically digested sludge inoculum). Gas was produced from each substrate and contained up to 50-80% hydrogen during the peak periods of gas production with the remainder carbon dioxide. Hydrogen yields obtained were 62.4+/-6.1mL/g dry matter added for fodder maize, 218+/-28mL/g chicory fructooligosaccharides added, 75.6+/-8.8mL H(2)/g dry matter added for wilted perennial ryegrass and 21.8+/-8mL H(2)/g dry matter added for fresh perennial ryegrass. Butyrate, acetate and ethanol were the main soluble fermentation products. Hydrogen yields of 392-501m(3)/hectare of perennial ryegrass per year and 1060-1309m(3)/hectare of fodder maize per year can be obtained based on the UK annual yield per hectare of these crops. These results significantly extend the range of substrates that can be used for hydrogen production without pre-treatment.

Multi-residue method for the determination of basic/neutral pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in surface water by solid-phase extraction and ultra performance liquid chromatography–positive electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry

The paper presents the development and validation of a new multi-residue method for the determination of 28 basic/neutral pharmaceuticals (antiepileptics, antibacterial drugs, beta-blockers, analgesics, lipid-regulating agents, bronchodilators, histamine-2-blockers, anti-inflammatory agents, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin-II antagonists and antidepressants) and illicit drugs in surface water with the usage of a new technique: ultra performance liquid chromatography-positive electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The usage of the novel UPLC system with 1.7 microm particle size and 1mm internal diameter column allowed for low mobile phase flow rates (0.07 mL min(-1)) and short retention times (from 1.3 to 15.5 min) for all compounds analysed. As a result, a fast and cost-effective method was developed. SPE with the usage of Oasis MCX strong cation-exchange mixed-mode polymeric sorbent was chosen for pharmaceuticals extraction from environmental samples. The influence of matrix-assisted ion suppression and low SPE recovery on the sensitivity of the method was studied. The instrumental limits of quantification varied from 0.2 to 10 microg L(-1). The method limits of quantification were at low nanogram per litre levels and ranged from 0.3 to 50 ng L(-1). The instrumental and method intra- and inter-day repeatabilities were on average less than 10%. The method was applied for the determination of pharmaceuticals in Rivers Taff (UK) and Warta (Poland). Fifteen compounds were determined in river water at levels ranging from single nanograms to single micrograms per litre.

Measurement of hydrogen peroxide in an advanced oxidation process using an automated biosensor

A hydrogen peroxide biosensor was used to monitor hydrogen peroxide concentrations in a UV/hydrogen peroxide immobilised Fenton advanced oxidation process (AOP). The biosensor is based on gas phase monitoring and thus is more resistant to fouling from the liquid phase constituents of industrial processes. The biosensor is supplied with catalase continually, therefore overcoming any problems with enzyme degradation, which would occur in an immobilised enzyme biosensor. The biosensors response was linear within the experimental range 30-400mg H(2)O(2)l(-1) with a R(2) correlation of 0.99. The hydrogen peroxide monitor was used to monitor residual peroxide in an AOP, operated with a step overload of hydrogen peroxide, with correlation factors of 0.96-0.99 compared to offline hydrogen peroxide determinations by UV spectroscopy. Sparging the sample with nitrogen was found to be effective in reducing the interference from dissolved gases produced with the AOP itself. It is proposed that this biosensor could be used to improve the effectiveness of AOPs via hydrogen peroxide control.

Performance characteristics of a two-stage dark fermentative system producing hydrogen and methane continuously

The performance of a mesophilic two-stage system generating hydrogen and methane continuously from sucrose (10-30 g/L) was investigated. A hydrogen-generating CSTR followed by an upflow anaerobic filter were both inoculated with anaerobically digested sewage sludge, and ORP, pH, gas output, %H(2), %CH(4) and %CO(2) monitored. pH was controlled with NaOH, KOH or Ca(OH)(2). Using NaOH as alkali with 10 g/L sucrose, yields of 1.62 +/- 0.2 mol H(2)/mol hexose added and 323 mL CH(4)/gCOD added to the hydrogen and methane reactors respectively were achieved. The overall chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction was 92.6% with 0.90 +/- 0.1 g/L sodium and 316 +/- 40 mg/L residual acetate in the methane reactor. Operation at 20 g/L sucrose and NaOH as alkali led to impaired volatile fatty acid (VFA) degradation in the methane reactor with 2.23 +/- 0.2 g/L sodium, 1,885 mg/L residual acetate, a hydrogen yield of 1.47 +/- 0.1 mol/mol hexose added, a methane yield of 294 mL/gCOD added and an overall COD reduction of 83%. Using Ca(OH)(2) as alkali with 20 g/L sucrose gave a hydrogen yield of 1.29 +/- 0.3 mol/mol hexose added, a methane yield of 337 mL/gCOD added and improved the overall COD reduction to 91% with residual acetate concentrations of 522 +/- 87 mg/L. Operation at 30 g/L sucrose with Ca(OH)(2) gave poorer overall COD reduction (68%), a hydrogen yield of 1.47 +/- 0.2 mol/mol hexose added, a methane yield of 138 mL/gCOD added and residual acetate 7,343 +/- 715 mg/L. It was shown that sodium toxicity and overloading are important issues for successful anaerobic digestion of effluent from biohydrogen reactors in high rate systems.

Influence of substrate concentration on the stability and yield of continuous biohydrogen production

The effect of substrate concentration (sucrose) on the stability and yield of a continuous fermentative process producing hydrogen was studied. High substrate concentrations are attractive from an energy standpoint as they would minimise the energy required for heating. The reactor was a CSTR; temperature was maintained at 35 degrees C; pH was controlled between 5.2 and 5.3, and the hydraulic retention time (HRT) was 12 h. Online measurements were taken for ORP, pH, temperature, %CO2, gas output and %H2, and data logged using a MatLAB data acquisition toolbox. Steady-state operation was obtained at 10, 20 and 40 g/L of sucrose in the influent, but a subsequent step change to 50 g/L was unsustainable. The hydrogen content ranged between 50% and 60%. The yield of hydrogen decreased as the substrate concentration increased from 1.7 +/- 0.2 mol/mol hexose added at 10 g/L, to 0.8 +/- 0.1 mol/mol at 50 g/L. Sparging with nitrogen improved the hydrogen yield by at least 35% at 40 g/L and at least 33% at 50 g/L sucrose. Sparging also enabled steady-state operation at 50 g/L sucrose. Addition of an extra 4 g/L of n-butyric acid to the reactor operating at 40 g/L sucrose increased the butyrate concentration from 9,830 to 18,900 mg/L, immediately stopping gas production and initiating the production of propionate, whilst the addition of 2 g/L taking the butyrate concentration to 12,200 mg/L did not do so. It was shown that operation at 50 g/L sucrose in a CSTR in butyrate fermentation is possible.