RESUMEN

Sludge disintegration is an environmental and industrial challenge that requires intensive research and technological development. Sludge contains a complex structure with a high yield of various chemical and biological compounds. Anaerobic digestion is the most used process for sludge disintegration to produce biogas, detoxify the sludge, and generate biosolids that can be used in agricultural. Biological cell lysis is the rate-limiting cell lysis. This review discusses the application of sonolysis as a sludge pretreatment for enhanced anaerobic digestion via three combined processes: thermal destruction, hydrochemical shear forces, and radical oxidation. The mechanistic pathways of sono-pretreatment to enhance biogas, sludge-enhanced dewatering, activation of filamentous bacteria, oxidation of organic pollutants, release of heavy metals, reduction of bulking and foaming sludge, and boosting ammonia-oxidizing bacteria activity are discussed in this report. The combination of ultrasound with other chemical processes, such as Fenton and cation binding agents for enhanced sludge disintegration, is discussed. Finally, we reviewed the most common large-scale sono-reactors available on the market for sludge disintegration.

RESUMEN

The widespread use of bisphenol A (BPA) has resulted in the emergence of new pollutants in various environments, particularly concentrated in sewage sludge. This study investigated the effects of BPA on sludge anaerobic digestion, focusing specifically on the interaction of microbial communities and their metabolic responses. While the influence of BPA on methane accumulation is not significant, BPA still enhanced the conversion of soluble COD, protein, and polysaccharides. BPA also positively influenced the hydrolysis-acidogenesis process, leading to 17% higher concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Lower BPA levels (0.2-0.5 mg/kg dw) led to decreased hydrolysis and acidogenesis gene abundance, indicating metabolic inhibition; conversely, higher concentrations (1-5 mg/kg dw) increased gene abundance, signifying metabolic enhancement. Diverse methane metabolism was observed and exhibited alterations under BPA exposure. The presence of BPA impacted both the diversity and composition of microbial populations. Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi dominated in BPA-treated groups and varied in abundance among different treatments. Changes of specific genera Sedimentibacter, Fervikobacterium, Blvii28, and Coprothermobacter in response to BPA, affecting hydrolysis and acetogenesis. Archaeal diversity declined while the hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanospirillum thrived under BPA exposure. BPA exposure enabled microorganisms to form structured community interaction networks and boost their metabolic activities during anaerobic digestion. The study also observed the enrichment of BPA biodegradation pathways at high BPA concentrations, which could interact and overlap to ensure efficient BPA degradation. The study provides insights into the digestion performance and interactions of microbial communities to BPA stress and sheds light on the potential effect of BPA during anaerobic digestion.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

This study investigated the mechanisms involved in CO2 sequestration under the sequence batch and semi-continuous operation using wollastonite in sludge anaerobic digestion. Wollastonite substantially elevated CH4 content in biogas and played a role in CO2 capture. It increased biogas yield of the glucose due to pH buffering effect but did not increase that of the hydrolysate from thermal alkali pretreated sludge. Under the semi-continuous operation, wollastonite improved the CO2 sequestration, but decreased the biogas yield from 166 to 24 mL/g soluble chemical oxygen demand, since seemingly wollastonite residues inhibited microbes in the sludge. However, the use of dialysis bags to wrap wollastonite offset the negative impact of the wollastonite residues in the sludge, thereby increased biogas yield. The present study is conducive to understanding the mechanisms involved in and proving the feasibility of the CO2 sequestration using wollastonite in sludge anaerobic digestion and its impacts on long-term operation. Consequently, the findings of the study provide key parameters and useful guidelines for scaling up and wollastonite application in anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Organic micropollutants are incompletely removed from wastewater in Water Resource Recovery Facilities using conventional methods and can therefore enter the anaerobic sludge treatment together with primary and secondary sludge. This review compiles literature data on the fate of selected micropollutants (Carbamazepine [CBZ], Diclofenac [DCF], Ibuprofen [IBP], Sulfamethoxazole [SMX], and Triclosan [TCS]) during anaerobic sludge treatment and how the fate is affected by chemical properties, phase distribution and operating conditions. CBZ was found to be persistent to anaerobic degradation in most studies, with some exceptions reporting a degradation efficiency of 60%. Removal efficiencies for DCF, IBP, and TCS varied widely (from no to [very] high removal). For SMX, most studies reported a removal above 80%. A correlation was found between the fate during anaerobic digestion and physicochemical properties (hydrophobicity and molecular structure). Sorption to sludge, affected in some cases by pH changes during digestion, is suggested to reduce bioavailability. IBP and TCS were mainly present in the liquid phase or solid phase, respectively, CBZ and DCF were present in similar proportions in both phases, while statements were contradictory for SMX. Parameters such as temperature and sludge age did not significantly influence the fate of investigated micropollutants during anaerobic digestion. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Most studies report no significant removal of CBZ during anaerobic sludge digestion. Removal efficiencies of DCF, IBP, and TCS vary from study to study between no removal and high or very high removal. Considering such heterogeneous removal efficiencies, it is recommended to conduct digestion trials to find out in which range the values will be for a specific sludge. SMX is very highly removed during anaerobic digestion in most studies. Parameters such as temperature and SRT do not significantly influence the fate of the five investigated micropollutants. Hydrophobicity, which has some effect on the liquid/solid phase distribution of micropollutants, and molecular structure influence the removal efficiencies.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

An anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR), which enabled the decoupling of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and solids retention time (SRT), was used for enhancing sludge digestion, with the associated mechanisms elucidated. With the increase of SRT, the biogas production and sludge reduction rate were both enhanced. The specific biogas production and volatile solids (VS) reduction rate were improved to 0.79 L/g VS and 55.9% under SRT 50 d, respectively. Microbial community analysis revealed that Chloroflexi, which is capable of degrading metabolites and dead cells, was enriched at longer SRT. Further analysis showed that both acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis contributed to the enhanced biogas production under higher SRT compared to the dominance of acetoclastic methanogenesis under lower SRT. The enhanced utilization of organic matter and acetate at longer SRT further confirmed the mechanisms. The results highlighted the potential of AnDMBR for high-efficient sludge digestion.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The waste sludge of municipal wastewater treatment plants is an important reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). It is necessary to explore the fate of ARG, microbial community succession, and the correlations between them. Therefore, the distribution of ARG and the microbial community structure of waste sludge from wastewater treatment plants with A2O and A2O-MBR processes during microwave pretreatment and anaerobic digestion were studied in this research. The results showed that the occurrence of ARG and the microbial community structure were quite different in the waste sludge of A2O and A2O-MBR processes. The microwave pretreatment did not change the microbial community much, whereas the community structure of the digested sludge with pretreatment showed significant differences. Anaerobic digestion had a conformity effect on the distribution of ARG and MGE in the digested sludge with or without pretreatment. Among genes, ermF, qnrS, and blaNDM-1 were the most difficult to be reduced ARG and were prone to propagation during anaerobic digestion. The influence of biomass, ammonia nitrogen, and phosphorus on the distribution of ARG and MGE was higher than that of other environmental factors. The sludge characteristics also showed important impacts on the microbial community, especially on some genera with specific functions. These results could help people to better understand the spread and control of ARG during sludge anaerobic digestion.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

This work investigated the individual and combined effects of zinc oxide, norfloxacin, and sulfamethazine on sludge anaerobic digestion-associated methane production, protein and carbohydrate metabolism, and microbial diversity. Norfloxacin and sulfamethazine (500 mg/kg) did not inhibit methane production, but inhibited its production rate. Zinc oxide nanoparticles with antibiotics inhibited hydrolysis, fermentation, and methanogenesis over varying digestion periods. Complex pollution had a greater impact on methane production than zinc oxide alone, with acute, synergistic toxicity to methanogenesis over short periods. Complex pollution also had varying effects on bacterial and archaeal communities during digestion. These results aid understanding of the toxicity of emerging contaminants in sludge digestion, with the potential to improve pollution removal and reduce associated risks.

Asunto(s)