Review
Environmental Sciences
Ashutosh Kumar Pandey, S. Pilli, P. Bhunia, R. D. Tyagi, Y. Rao Surampalli, C. Tian Zhang, Sang-Hyoun Kim, Ashok Pandey
Summary: VFAs are the building blocks of the chemical industry and play a key role in the planet's organic carbon cycle. To address the issues of unsustainable VFA production from fossil fuels, it is crucial to develop alternate sources through anaerobic digestion. By researching accessible feedstocks, influencing parameters, and utilizing VFAs to create consumer products, economic stability can be achieved through traditional and advanced production methods.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Juan Cubero-Cardoso, Egidio Russo, Antonio Serrano, Angeles Trujillo-Reyes, Denys Villa-Gomez, Giovanni Esposito, Fernando G. Fermoso
Summary: This study assessed the potential use of strawberry extrudate (SE) as a carbon source for volatile fatty acid (VFA) production under different pH conditions. Anaerobic digestion at pH 7 resulted in methane production, while at pH 9 and 5, VFA accumulated with acetic acid being the predominant VFA at pH 9 and propionic and butyric acids being the major VFAs at pH 5.
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Junwei Yang, Huiwen Zhang, Jishi Zhang, Chen Zhou, Yun Zhang, Lihua Zang
Summary: Carbamazepine significantly disturbs the anaerobic digestion process of lactic acid synthesis wastewater, leading to a significant decrease in methane yield. It promotes the solubilization of inoculum, releasing polysaccharides and proteins, but restricts the rate-limiting step of hydrolysis and causes a disturbance in acidification, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis. High-throughput sequencing reveals the abundance of Chloroflexi as the main contributor to volatile acid accumulation, while acetoclastic methanogen Methanosaeta decreases and hydrogenotrophic methanogens Methanobacterium and Methanomassiliicoccus increase.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Kamran Jawed, Victor Uhunoma Irorere, Rajesh Reddy Bommareddy, Nigel P. Minton, Katalin Kovacs
Summary: The facultative chemolithoautotroph Cupriavidus necator H16 can grow aerobically with organic substrates or H-2 and CO2, and accumulate a large amount of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHA). This study investigated the ability of this organism to co-utilize volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and CO2 for carbon sources under mixotrophic growth conditions, and monitored PHA production. The results showed that PHA accumulation was significantly higher when cultures were grown mixotrophically with H-2 as an additional energy source. A two-step VFA feeding regime using a VFA mixture derived from an anaerobic digestor (AD) was found to be the most effective method for PHA accumulation.
FERMENTATION-BASEL
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Magdalena Cwiertniewicz-Wojciechowska, Grzegorz Cema, Aleksandra Ziembinska-Buczynska
Summary: Sewage sludge is a problem for wastewater treatment plants in terms of finances and management, but the most popular disposal method is methane fermentation. The composition of sewage sludge varies, and different substrates treated in methane fermentation produce varying amounts and qualities of biogas. Depending on the capabilities and equipment, different pretreatment methods are available.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Farokh Laqa Kakar, Steven N. Liss, Elsayed Elbeshbishy
Summary: This study investigated the impact of solid sludge content concentrations on hydrothermal pretreatment before fermentation and anaerobic digestion. The results showed that combining supernatant with a certain concentration of solid sludge content led to higher overall efficiency. However, the optimal concentration and the type of products obtained varied in different scenarios.
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Siran Feng, Huu Hao Ngo, Wenshan Guo, Soon Woong Chang, Dinh Duc Nguyen, Yi Liu, Shicheng Zhang, Hoang Nhat Phong Vo, Xuan Thanh Bui, Bich Ngoc Hoang
Summary: This review provides an overview of the roles and applications of enzymes in volatile fatty acids production, as well as feasible measures to enhance enzyme processes. It critically evaluates the major obstacles and possible future research directions for the better utilization of enzymatic processes in promoting volatile fatty acids production from wastewater.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
D. Liakos, G. Altiparmaki, A. Kalampokidis, D. F. Lekkas, S. Vakalis
Summary: The food production industry on Lesvos island generates a significant amount of liquid biowaste, including olive mill wastewater, cheese whey wastewater, and wine sludge. Co-utilizing different food waste sources supports the Circular Economy concept and offers alternative routes in the waste valorization field. The study focused on the hydrothermal treatment of high-phenolic sources to produce hydrochar, which was then used in Anaerobic Digestion of cheese whey wastewater. The addition of hydrochar from wine sludge led to the highest biogas production but mitigated biogas production at higher concentrations. The hydrochars also had an impact on the phenolic content of the digestates and facilitated the production of medium-chain VFAs, which was statistically significant according to ANOVA.
SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hatice Yesil, Rahim Molaey, Baris Calli, Adile Evren Tugtas
Summary: This study found that a combination of ultrasonication pretreatment and alkaline fermentation can achieve high hydrolysis rate, metal leaching rate, and reduced bioavailability of potentially toxic heavy metals in sewage sludge. The supported liquid membrane recovery method can effectively recover metals from bioleaching effluent.
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Yijie Wang, Zhenxing Huang, Mingxing Zhao, Hengfeng Miao, Wansheng Shi, Wenquan Ruan
Summary: This study proposes a new process for producing chloride-free snow-melting agents by converting organic wastewater into total volatile fatty acids and concentrating the solution through forward osmosis. The obtained chloride-free snow-melting agents have better ice-melting capacity, less corrosion, and lower damage to plant seed germination compared to chloride salts. This method provides a new direction for the high-value conversion of organic wastewater.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Farokh Laqa Kakar, Steven N. Liss, Elsayed Elbeshbishy
Summary: This study investigated the impact of high temperature thermochemical pretreatment on volatile fatty acids (VFA) production and methane recovery in wastewater sludge treatment. The results showed that acidic and alkaline conditions during the pretreatment increased sludge solubilization and methane production. Alkaline sludge has shown technical and economic feasibility for sludge carbon recovery.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zheng Chen, Yue Rao, Muhammad Usman, Huihui Chen, Andrzej Bialowiec, Shicheng Zhang, Gang Luo
Summary: Hydrothermal conversion is a promising technology for producing bio-fuels from dewatered sewage sludge, but it also generates a significant amount of wastewater. The composition of organic compounds in the wastewater obtained at different temperatures affects the yields of volatile fatty acids through anaerobic fermentation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Qi Lu, Mingting Du, Qing Xu, Xunkuo Zhang, Xuran Liu, Guojing Yang, Dongbo Wang
Summary: The study developed a sulfite-based pretreatment method to enhance the production of VFAs from anaerobic fermentation of microalgae. The pretreatment released more easily biodegradable organics, destroyed the cell wall of microalgae, and facilitated the acetate generation pathway.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rodrigo B. Carneiro, Gisele M. Gomes, Marcelo Zaiat, Alvaro J. Santos-Neto
Summary: This study investigates the impact of phase separation on the performance of anaerobic digestion (AD) by operating different configurations of anaerobic fixed bed biofilm reactors. The results show that feeding the effluent stream from the acidogenic reactor to the methanogenic reactor improves system start-up, alkalinity generation, and biomethane production. The COD removal kinetics is also enhanced in the sequential two-phase system. Hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis is the predominant pathway in the methanogenic reactor, while the Methanosaeta-driven acetoclastic pathway predominates in the acidogenic reactor. The higher diversity of bacteria and archaea in the methanogenic reactor indicates a better balance between volatile organic acid degradation and methane generation.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Siyi Chen, Zunaira Habib, Zhiwei Wang, Pin Zhao, Weilong Song, Xinhua Wang
Summary: A novel wastewater treatment technology was developed using a two-stage forward osmosis process and anaerobic acidification membrane bioreactor to improve the recovery efficiency of organic matter and nutrients in wastewater.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ghizlane Enaime, Abdelaziz Bacaoui, Abdelrani Yaacoubi, Marc Wichern, Manfred Luebken
Summary: In this study, the OS filter bed used for filtering OMWW was converted into solid biofuel through HTC, with hydrochars prepared at 240 and 300 degrees C showing promising fuel properties. The temperature of 240 degrees C was chosen as optimal for producing hydrochar with enhanced biofuel properties and lower energy consumption for treating OMWW/OS-FR. Compared to LTP, HTC proved to be more energy-efficient for managing moisture in OMWW/OS-FR.
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tobias Weide, Jens Peitzmeier, Christof Wetter, Marc Wichern, Elmar Bruegging
Summary: In this study, dark fermentation and subsequent mesophilic methanogenesis were conducted at different temperature conditions, showing variations in hydrogen and methane production rates, as well as discovering a hydrogen-producing organism.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Roberto Eloy Hernandez Regalado, Tobias Weide, Daniel Baumkoetter, Lukas Wettwer, Jurek Haener, Elmar Bruegging, Jens Traenckner
Summary: Anaerobic co-digestion is a commonly used technique for biogas production, but selecting the optimal substrate proportions in the mixtures is challenging. This study employed a mixture design to investigate interactions between different biomasses and used a modified Gompertz model to identify key parameters for methane production curves. The research successfully determined optimal mixture compositions and validated the suitability of the method for practical applications.
Article
Water Resources
S. Ulutas, M. Wichern, B. Bosseler
Summary: Leak tightness is a permanent functional objective for wastewater pipes, and tests for that can sometimes produce debatable results. Different test methods may lead to various errors, but overall, the accuracy of the tests in determining the tightness of connection pipes was confirmed. However, visual inspection quality was found to be unreliable in fulfilling normative requirements for damage detection and classification.
WATER PRACTICE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Tobias Littfinski, Jonas Beckmann, Tito Gehring, Max Stricker, Edith Nettmann, Stefan Krimmler, Ernst Murnleitner, Manfred Luebken, Deepak Pant, Marc Wichern
Summary: This study presents a mathematical model to quantify the contribution of ammonia volatilization to total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) removal in single-chamber microbial fuel cells (SC-MFCs). Experimental results indicate that oxygen supply and pH have a significant impact on the ammonia volatilization process.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mareike Evers, Ruben-Laurids Lange, Eva Heinz, Marc Wichern
Summary: This study investigated the application of powdered activated carbon (PAC) for removing organic micropollutants (OMP) at two different points in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The results showed that dosing PAC into the nitrification zone simultaneously reduced the concentrations of BPA, BTRs, METF, and METO by over 80% at a dosage of 20 mg/L. The post-treatment stage requires half the amount of PAC to achieve the same removal rates.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jurek Haener, Tobias Weide, Alexander Nassmacher, Roberto Eloy Hernandez Regalado, Christof Wetter, Elmar Bruegging
Summary: Conventional anaerobic digestion of animal manure suffers from low efficiency and long hydraulic retention times. This study explores the use of reactors with biomass retention to improve methane yield and production rate at shorter hydraulic retention times.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Julliana M. Araujo, Stephan Berzio, Tito Gehring, Edith Nettmann, Lourdinha Florencio, Marc Wichern
Summary: This study investigated the influence of temperature on the formation and stability of aerobic granules in sequential batch reactors. The results showed that granulation at 30 degrees C was faster and resulted in larger, more compact, and more stable granules. The operational conditions were the same for both temperatures and achieved high removal efficiency of NH4-N and COD.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Max Stricker, Tobias Littfinski, Klaus Hans Pecher, Manfred Luebken, Marc Wichern
Summary: The development of compact treatment devices (CTDs) with high removal efficiencies and low space requirements is a key objective in urban stormwater treatment. This study determines the removal efficiency of sedimentation and the expected filter load in a specific CTD designed for a catchment area of up to 10,000 m(2) using small-scale physical hydraulic modeling. The results show the importance of sedimentation upstream of a filter in CTDs.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Salahaldeen Dababat, Stephan Berzio, Marc Wichern, Manfred Luebken
Summary: There is a growing interest in integrating aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology into wastewater industries. While there are several projects on cultivating aerobic granules for continuous flow reactors (AGS-CFR), there is a scarcity of projects investigating bio-energy recovery from AGS-CFR. This research aims to examine the digestibility of AGS-CFR and the role of granule size on their digestibility. BMP tests were conducted at mesophilic conditions, showing that AGS-CFR has a lower methane potential compared to activated sludge, possibly due to the high sludge age. The average size of granules is a key factor in reducing their digestibility, with larger granules yielding significantly less methane than smaller ones.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
J. Heinrichmeier, Tobias Littfinski, Ekaterina Vasyukova, Leon Steuernagel, Marc Wichern
Summary: The reliability of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) system on an industrial scale was tested in a 1,000-litre single-chamber system at a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The use of submergible multi-electrode modules with largescale grid-segmented gas diffusion cathodes with activated carbon as a catalyst resulted in power densities above 100 mW m(Cat)(-2). Fluctuating chemical and physical wastewater characteristics had reversible effects on the MFC performance in terms of energetic efficiency.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Carolin Wehrheim, Manfred Luebken, Harro Stolpe, Marc Wichern
Summary: Urbanization, industrialization, and the loss of freshwater resources have led to an increased awareness of the importance of surface water quality worldwide. The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is facing pressure on the availability of freshwater sources due to limited ground water resources, prolonged droughts, and flooding. This study identified freshwater aquaculture and industrial activities as the main factors influencing surface water pollution in the delta region.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Pascal Kosse, Tanja Hernandez Rodriguez, Bjoern Frahm, Manfred Luebken, Marc Wichern
Summary: Visual Water is a powerful software tool that allows accurate pH calculations and automated mathematical uncertainty analysis, showing reliable performance in complex acid-base solutions.
CHEMIE INGENIEUR TECHNIK
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ramineh Rad, Tito Gehring, Kevinjeorjios Pellumbi, Daniel Siegmund, Edith Nettmann, Marc Wichern, Ulf-Peter Apfel
Summary: Hybrid electrochemical and biological systems using wastewater as the catholyte have the potential to bring bioelectrochemical methanogenesis closer to practical implementation. A zero-gap cell with a porous transport layer in the cathode is developed specifically for operating with a wastewater-fed methanogenic reactor. In-depth analysis of the electrode composition shows a significant variation in current density depending on the binder and carbon black contents. This hybrid system, equipped with a robust pentlandite-type cathode catalyst, Fe3Ni3Co3S8, produces methane over 220 days with a maximal weekly average rate of 669 LN m-2cathode d-1. The average current density sustained by the entire hybrid system is 30 mA cm -2 at a 2.2 V set potential.
CELL REPORTS PHYSICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
