Anaerobic Digestion Performance Research Articles

Reduction of inhibitory effect of lignin via degradation and improvement of anaerobic digestion performance of maize straw by oxidative pretreatment with Fe2+-activated persulfate

The stable aromatic structure of lignin is one of the factors that limit the utilization of maize straw. In this study, pretreatment with Fe2+/persulfate (PS) was used to remove lignin while reducing the contents of lignin derivatives produced in the pretreatment. In comparison with the original straw, the lignin and hemicellulose contents of the pretreated straw were reduced to 54.58 % and 72.91 %, respectively. In the Fourier transform infrared spectrum, the characteristic peaks of both syringyl and guaiacyl units were significantly weaker after pretreatment with Fe2+/PS, which indicated that the pretreatment destroyed the structure of lignin. The pretreatment products were examined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and the results indicated that the present pretreatment method reduced the contents of soluble inhibitors produced from lignin. After pretreatment, only levulinic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, xylose, coumaric acid, and 4-coumaric acid were produce, whereas more than 20 soluble inhibitors are known to be produced from lignin. In anaerobic fermentation experiments, in comparison with the control group, the pretreated group exhibited higher gas production (an increase of 18.09 %) and a significantly higher methane content. This indicates that pretreatment with Fe2+/PS can improve the efficiency of the resource utilization of maize straw by degrading lignin.

Exceptional contribution of iron nanoparticle and aloe vera biomass additives to biogas production from anaerobic digestion of waste sludge

This study aims to investigate, for the first time, the improvement of the anaerobic digestion (AD) performance of waste sludge (WS) by utilizing Aloe vera waste (AVW) and Fe0 nanoparticles. Accordingly, a series of biogas generation experiments were conducted at different mixing ratios (AVW:WS = 0:1, 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1), to find out the optimum ratio for maximizing biogas generation. To gain insights into the improved biogas generation by the addition of AVW, pH value was monitored during the fermentation process and adjusted to different initial values (3, 7, and 12). Moreover, the effect of different concentrations (10 and 50 mg/L) and dosing times (0, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h) of Fe0 nanoparticles on the digestion of the optimized ratio (AVW:WS = 2:1) were investigated. Results showed that the optimum ratio (AVW:WS = 2:1) resulted in improving biogas and methane generation by 62.5 % and 96.0 %, respectively, which is an excellent improvement rate of biogas and methane generation compared with the previously reported values in the literature. The addition of Fe0 at the optimum concentration (10 mg/L) and dosing time (12 h) to the optimized ratio (AVW:WS = 2:1) resulted in enhancing methane generation by 146.9 %.

Characterization of Sludge for Biogas Production Using Anaerobic Digestion: A Literature Review Approach

This article conducts bibliographic research to characterize sludge for biogas production. The focus is on identifying key components such as organic matter, nutrients, pH, and chemical composition. Additionally, parameters such as the carbon/nitrogen ratio, inhibitory compounds, and biological activity are explored to assess their impact on anaerobic digestion performance. This bibliographic approach seeks to establish optimal parameter ranges for sludge utilization in biogas production. By comprehensively understanding the composition and properties of the sludge, this study contributes to enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of anaerobic digestion processes.

Enhancing anaerobic digestion of actual papermaking wastewater with addition of Fenton sludge

The effect of Fenton sludge on anaerobic digestion of actual papermaking wastewater was investigated in this study. The results showed the iron in the Fenton sludge primarily exists in the form of needle-like iron oxide (FeOOH) and showed high electron transfer capability. Fenton sludge promoted electron transport in anaerobic digestion and electron transport system activity increased by 59 %. Fenton sludge enhanced the metabolic activity of anaerobic microorganisms, especially that of the hydrogenotrophic methanogens, the content of coenzyme F420 increased by 48.9 %. Besides, the microbial community structure in anaerobic digestion was affected by Fenton sludge, the quantity of microorganisms increased significantly. The dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria (Desulfobacterota) and hydrogenotrophic methanogens (Methanobacterium and Methanolinea) were enriched, which promoted the methane production. As a result, the anaerobic digestion performance of papermaking wastewater was promoted significantly by adding Fenton sludge, the organic matter removal efficiency and methane production increased by 11.17 % and 15.12 %. This study provided an effective solution for the optimisation of anaerobic treatment of actual refractory organic wastewater.

Effective anaerobic digestion performance from kitchen wastewater by nanoscale zero-valent iron composite materials: Hydrogen corrosion capability and biological biogas upgrading

In this study, nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) was modified by carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), which were compared for the ability of hydrogen corrosion and then for the biogas upgrading during kitchen wastewater anaerobic digestion. The results showed that three nZVI composite materials addition could increase hydrogen evolution performance by 6.11∼10.30 % compared with nZVI. Especially, the hydrogen evolution from sodium dodecyl sulfate modified composite material reached 121.0 mL/g. The continuous release of hydrogen promoted the biogas yield to 510.96 mL/gVS in reaction group with SDS12-nZVI10 addition (N4), with CH4 content reached 93.37 %. Microbial community analysis showed that the total relative abundance of Methanothrix and Methanolinea was 43.60 % in N4, which was higher than other groups. It was indicated that H2-assisted biogas upgrading with nZVI composite materials addition was achievable, particularly in N4.

Plasticizers inhibit food waste anaerobic digestion performance by affecting microbial succession and metabolism

The widely existed plastic additives plasticizers in organic wastes possibly pose negative influences on anaerobic digestion (AD) performance, the direct evidence about the effects of plasticizers on AD performance is still lacking. This study evaluated the influencing mechanism of two typical plasticizers bisphenol A (BPA) and dioctyl phthalate on the whole AD process. Results indicated that plasticizers addition inhibited methane production, and the inhibiting effects were reinforced with the increase of concentration. By contrast, 50 mg/L BPA exhibited the strongest inhibition on methane production. Physicochemical analysis showed plasticizers inhibited the metabolism efficiency of soluble polysaccharide and volatile fatty acids. Microbial communities analyses suggested that plasticizers inhibited the direct interspecies electron transfer participators of methanogenic archaea (especially Methanosarcina) and syntrophic bacteria. Furthermore, plasticizers inhibited the methane metabolisms, key coenzymes (CoB, CoM, CoF420 and methanofuran) biosynthesis and the metabolisms of major organic matters. This study shed light on the effects of plasticizers on AD performance and provided new insights for assessing the influences of plasticizers or plastic additives on the disposal of organic wastes.

Enhanced anaerobic digestion performance and sludge filterability by membrane microaeration for anaerobic membrane bioreactor application

Slow dissolution/hydrolysis of insoluble/macromolecular organics and poor sludge filterability restrict the application potential of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). Bubble-free membrane microaeration was firstly proposed to overcome these obstacles in this study. The batch anaerobic digestion tests feeding insoluble starch and soluble peptone with and without microaeration showed that microaeration led to a 65.7–144.8% increase in methane production and increased critical flux of microfiltration membrane via driving the formation of large sludge flocs and the resultant improvement of sludge settleability. The metagenomic and bioinformatic analyses showed that microaeration significantly enriched the functional genes and bacteria for polysaccharide and protein hydrolysis, microaeration showed little negative effects on the functional genes involved in anaerobic metabolisms, and substrate transfer from starch to peptone significantly affected the functional genes and microbial community. This study demonstrates the dual synergism of microaeration to enhance the dissolution/hydrolysis/acidification of insoluble/macromolecular organics and sludge filterability for AnMBR application.

Improving anaerobic digestion performance after severe acidification: Unveiling the impacts of Fe3O4-bentonite composites in co-digestion of waste activated sludge and food waste

Acidification recovery in anaerobic digestion of food waste is challenging. This study explored its in-situ recovery using a co-substrate of food waste and waste activated sludge. Fe3O4 and bentonite were used as conductor and carrier, respectively, to enhance AD performance under severe acidification. The application of Fe3O4-bentonite resulted in a 152% increase in cumulative methane in the Fe3O4-bentonite 10 digester, demonstrating its effectiveness in restoring the acidified AD system. In acidified systems, bentonite enhanced the diversity and richness of microbial communities due to its buffering capacity. The excessive non-conductive polysaccharides excreted by bacteria in extracellular polymeric substances reduced the possibility of electron transfer by Fe3O4. However, in the synergistic application of Fe3O4 and bentonite, this resistance was alleviated, increasing the possibility of direct interspecies electron transfer, and accelerating the consumption of volatile fatty acids. This approach of integrating carrier and conductive materials is significant for in-situ restoration of acidified systems.

Green synthesis of Fe3O4@ceramsite from sludge improving anaerobic digestion performance of waste activated sludge

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising technique for waste management, which can achieve sludge stabilization and energy recovery. This study successfully prepared Fe3O4@ceramsite from WAS and applied it as an additive in sludge digestion, aiming to improve the conversion of organics to biomethane efficiency. Results showed that after adding the Fe3O4@ceramsite, the methane production was enhanced by 34.7% compared with the control group (88.0 ± 0.1 mL/g VS). Further mechanisms investigation revealed that Fe3O4@ceramsite enhanced digesta stability by strong buffering capacity, improved sludge conductivity, and promoted Fe (III) reduction. Moreover, Fe3O4@ceramsite has a larger surface area and better porous structure, which also facilitated AD performance. Microbial community analysis showed that some functional anaerobes related to AD such as Spirochaeta and Smithella were enriched with Fe3O4@ceramsite treatment. Potential syntrophic metabolisms between syntrophic bacteria (Syntrophomonas, associated with DIET) and methanogens were also detected in the Fe3O4@ceramsite treatment AD system.

Biotic and abiotic factors acting on community assembly in parallel anaerobic digestion systems from a brewery wastewater treatment plant

ABSTRACT Anaerobic digestion is a complex microbial process that mediates the transformation of organic waste into biogas. The performance and stability of anaerobic digesters relies on the structure and function of the microbial community. In this study, we asked whether the deterministic effect of wastewater composition outweighs the effect of reactor configuration on the structure and dynamics of anaerobic digester archaeal and bacterial communities. Biotic and abiotic factors acting on microbial community assembly in two parallel anaerobic digestion systems, an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digestor (UASB) and a closed digester tank with a solid recycling system (CDSR), from a brewery WWTP were analysed utilizing 16S rDNA and mcrA amplicon sequencing and genome-centric metagenomics. This study confirmed the deterministic effect of the wastewater composition on bacterial community structure, while the archaeal community composition resulted better explained by organic loading rate (ORL) and volatile free acids (VFA). According to the functions assigned to the differentially abundant metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) between reactors, CDSR was enriched in genes related to methanol and methylamines methanogenesis, protein degradation, and sulphate and alcohol utilization. Conversely, the UASB reactor was enriched in genes associated with carbohydrate and lipid degradation, as well as amino acid, fatty acid, and propionate fermentation. By comparing interactions derived from the co-occurrence network with predicted metabolic interactions of the prokaryotic communities in both anaerobic digesters, we conclude that the overall community structure is mainly determined by habitat filtering.

Prediction of anaerobic digestion performance by quantum convolutional reconstruction gated recurrent neural network* *This work was supported by the Open Fund of Advanced Cryptography and System Security Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province (Grant No. SKLACSS202208), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.61772295),and the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (Grant no.KJZD-M202000501).

Methane as a renewable energy source has become a hot topic in recent years. Methane is a bioenergy source produced during the anaerobic digestion of organic waste, and the anaerobic digestion process must be monitored and controlled to produce the required amount of methane in a stable manner. Mathematical modeling is used to simulate digester operation to predict the biogas production from anaerobic digestion, to avoid reactor loading or performance degradation, and to ensure efficient operation of the system. In this paper, a Quantum Convolutional Reconstruction Gated Recurrent Neural Network is proposed. The original data features are extracted by convolutional neural network to reduce the dimensionality and retain the information, the parameterized quantum circuit is integrated in the gating recurrent unit, and the quantum reset gate and quantum update gate are constructed. The information extracted by the Convolution Neural networks is input into the quantum gated recurrent neural network, and the quantum storage unit integrates the information into the hidden layer state, thus processing the hidden layer state information more efficiently. The experimental results show that the prediction accuracy of the A Quantum Convolution Reconstructed Gated Recurrent Neural Network is improved from 81.95 to 88.21%, and the MAE value is reduced from 54.53% to 37.38%.

Leaching hazards of tire wear particles in hydrothermal treatment of sludge: Exploring molecular composition, transformation mechanism, and ecological effects of tire wear particle-derived compounds

Tire wear particles (TWPs) are considered a significant contributor of microplastics (MPs) in the sludge during heavy rainfall events. Numerous studies have shown that hydrothermal treatment (HT) of sludge can accelerate the leaching of MP-derived compound into hydrothermal liquid, thus impairing the performance of subsequent anaerobic digestion and the quality of the hydrothermal liquid fertilizer. However, the leaching behavior of TWPs in the HT of sludge remains inadequately explored. This study examined the molecular composition of TWP-derived compounds and transformation pathways of representative tire-related additives under different hydrothermal temperatures using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) combined with mass difference analysis. The acute toxicity and phytotoxicity of TWP leachates were assessed using Vibrio qinghaiensis Q67 and rice hydroponics experiments. The results indicated that elevating the hydrothermal temperature not only amplified the leaching behavior of TWPs but also enhanced the chemical complexity of the TWP leachate. Utilizing both suspect and non-target screenings, a total of 144 compounds were identified as additives, including N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6-PDD), hexa(methoxymethyl)melamine (HMMM), dibutyl phthalate (DBP). These additives underwent various reactions, such as desaturation, acetylation, and other reactions, leading to the formation of different transformation products (TPs). Moreover, certain additives, including caprolactam and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinol, demonstrated the potential to form conjugate products with amino acids or Maillard products. Meanwhile, TWP-derived compounds showed significant acute toxicity and detrimental effects on plant growth. This study systematically investigated the environmental fate of TWPs and their derived compounds during the HT of sludge, offering novel insights into the intricate interactions between the micropollutants and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in sludge.

Understanding of the potential role of carbon dots in promoting interspecies electron transfer process in anaerobic co-digestion under magnetic field: Focusing on methane and hydrogen production

Anaerobic digestion shows great potential for biomass energy recovery, however, the low electron transfer efficiency between microorganisms limits overall anaerobic digestion performance. In this work, aloe peel-derived carbon dots (carbon quantum dots, CQDs) were designed and investigated as accelerants for anaerobic digestion systems under an applied magnetic field to promote the interspecific electron transfer (IET) efficiency in methane and hydrogen production processes. Compared with the control group (188.9 mL/g VS, 4.2 mL/g VS, 34.7 %, and 26.3 %), the applied magnetic field (5 mT) significantly increased methane yield (256.1 mL/g VS), hydrogen yield (7.0 mL/g VS), total chemical oxygen demand reduction (41.7 %), and energy conversion efficiency (35.7 %). The introduction of the CQDs (0.18–0.45 wt.%) under a magnetic field (5 mT) has further positive effects on digestion performance. The experimental group incorporating 0.36 wt.% CQDs under a 5 mT magnetic field obtained the highest methane yield (348.9 mL/g VS), hydrogen yield (9.9 mL/g VS), and total chemical oxygen demand reduction (58.4 %), and thus the energy recovery efficiency was increased by 85 % compared with control group. The digestate incorporating 0.36 wt.% CQDs exhibited excellent thermal stability (59.71 %) and total nutrient content (38.17 g/kg), and has great potential as a main ingredient in compound fertilizer. The potential role of the magnetic field and CQDs in enhancing hydrogen interspecies electron transfer (HIET) and direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) for methane and hydrogen production is further illustrated, providing a feasible solution for improving energy recovery from biomass.

Fulvic acid-mediated efficient anaerobic digestion for kitchen wastewater: Electrochemical and biochemical mechanisms

Fulvic acid, prevalent in humus derived from the anaerobic digestion of kitchen wastewater, is crucial in organic matter transformation. However, its effects and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, the fate of anaerobic digestion of artificial and kitchen wastewater with different fulvic acid contents was investigated. The results showed that 125 mg/L fulvic acid resulted in a 64.02 and 51.72 % increase in methane production in synthetic and kitchen wastewater, respectively. Fulvic acid acted as an electron mediator and increased substrate oxidation by boosting NAD and ATP levels, thereby increasing microbial metabolic rates and ensuring an adequate substrate for methane generation. Isotope analysis suggested that fulvic acid boosts the conversion of volatile fatty acids to methane via the interspecies electron transfer pathway. Gene expression analysis revealed that cytochrome c, FAD, and other electron transport coenzymes were upregulated by fulvic acid, thereby enhancing substrate utilisation and biogas quality. Fulvic acid presented a dual stimulatory and inhibitory effect on anaerobic digestion, with concentrations over 125 mg/L diminishing its positive impact. This dual effect may stem from the properties and concentrations of fulvic acid. This study revealed the effect mechanism of fulvic acid and provided insights into the humus performance in anaerobic digestion

Integration of hydrothermal liquefied sludge as wastewater for anaerobic treatment and energy recovery: Aqueous phase characterization, anaerobic digestion performance and energy balance analysis

For the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process as the final method for waste activated sludge, the liquid by-product of the process, i.e., the HTL aqueous solution, poses the greatest bottleneck due to its large volume and contaminant levels. In this study, the effects of hydrothermal liquefaction pretreatment (HTL) on the performance of anaerobic digestion and energy balance of the waste-activated sludge (WAS) aqueous phase were investigated. The results showed that HTL could greatly increase the hydrolysis of WAS and enhance the protein, polysaccharide and volatile fatty acid contents in the aqueous phase. The anaerobic digestion showed that the optimal gas and methane production efficiency was achieved at 160 °C. Positive net energy gain was obtained in each process (ΔE) and the optimal HTL heat recovery rate was obtained at 160 °C. HTL was found to improve the hydrolyzing bacterial community in anaerobic digestion but had little effect on the archaeal community.

Effects of stirring time on anaerobic digestion of cattle manure-corn stover: Microbial diversity and metabolic pathways

This study optimized the stirring time of cattle manure (CM)-corn stover (CS) co-digestion to improve Anaerobic digestion (AD) performance. The results showed that the experimental (T2) with the optimum stirring time (15 min/h) determined by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation achieved the highest cumulative methane yield of 224.17 mL/g. Compared to continuous stirring (T1, 60 min/h) and intermittent stirring (T3, 5 min/h), T2 increased the cumulative methane yield by 18.65 % and 7.11 %, respectively. Additionally, microbial community analysis indicated that the relative abundance of the predominant methanogen Methanosarcina in T2 was increased by 9.56 % and 26.14 % compared to T1 and T3, respectively. Functional prediction by PICRUSt2 revealed that T2 enhanced the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis pathway, which played a major role in the methanogenesis pathway. In summary, this study provides insights for optimizing the stirring time of AD and plays an important role in improving the methane yield efficiency and reducing energy consumption of biogas projects.

Combined hydrothermal pretreatment of agricultural and forestry wastes to enhance anaerobic digestion for methane production

The dense structure and significant differences in the properties of agricultural and forestry wastes make it difficult to achieve anaerobic conversion. This study employed hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP) and combined hydrothermal pretreatment (CHTP) to enhance the anaerobic digestion (AD) performance of agricultural and forestry organic wastes. At a specific hydrothermal condition of 140℃ for 30 mins, the cumulative methane production of garden waste (GW), chicken manure (CM), duck manure (DM), and pig manure (PM) increased by 14.70%, 14.18%, 27.48%, and 21.81%, respectively. Under the same conditions, CHTP of garden waste with livestock and poultry manures showed noticeable synergistic effects, resulting in the methane production potential of garden waste mixed with chicken manure, duck manure, and pig manure increased by 28.82%, 36.59%, and 37.56%, respectively, compared with the untreated group. Metabolomic analysis showed that CHTP could significantly promote the decomposition of biomass carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, leading to increased levels of small molecular metabolites. Analysis of microbial community diversity showed that HTP and CHTP increase the abundance of specific functional microbial communities, such as hydrolysis bacteria and methanogens, thereby promoting the anaerobic production of methane from biomass waste. Energy balance analysis shows that HTP-AD and CHTP-AD have a positive net energy benefit. This study provides an efficient CHTP technology and theoretical support for the resource utilization and energy conversion of agricultural and forestry wastes.

Mechanism of ball milling pretreatment to improve the anaerobic digestion performance and energy conversion efficiency of corn straw

In this study, the effects of ball-milling (BM) pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion (AD) performance and energy conversion efficiency of corn straw (CS) were explored. The AD testing was conducted by varying BM times (0–120 min) and TS (4–10 %). The results showed that BM pretreatment increased microbial and enzyme accessibility to the CS and facilitated the hydrolytic acidification process of AD. The peak concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) (5325.69 mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) (14524 mg/L) were increased, resulting in more substrates available for methanogenic bacteria. The lag phase time was shortened (37.41–56.12 %) and the cumulative methane production was increased (45.63–104.11 %). Accelerated rate of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) release resulted in increased buffering capacity of the digestion system. Reduced the initial density of the digestive slurry (6.91–9.58 %) and altered the water distribution (maximum increase in free water content to 70.4 %), which facilitated the agitation of the AD process. Excessive BM times (>60 min) and TS (>8%) are not recommended. The BM60-6 presented the highest volatile solids (VS) removal (78.79 %), cellulose degradation (92.07 %) and biochemical methane potential (BMP) (309.69 mL/g VS). The BM pretreatment also improved the rheological characteristics of digestive slurry and reduced the stirring power consumption of the AD process. The BM60-6 showed the largest net energy benefit (28.2101 KJ/g VS) and net residual value (0.5000), and the high energy input of the pretreatment was balanced. This discovery breaks the conventional wisdom that mechanical pretreatment is meaningless because of higher power consumption.

Effect of Biochar in Modulating Anaerobic Digestion Performance and Microbial Structure Community of Different Inoculum Sources

Biochar has attracted increasing attention as an additive for enhancing the performance of anaerobic digestion (AD), but the effect of biochar on microbial regulatory mechanisms in enhancing AD performance is unclear. To investigate how biochar modulates the process of AD, different inoculum sources including cellulose–peptone–swine inoculum (CPI) and swine manure inoculum (SMI) were designed to determine the effect of biochar on the performance and microbial communities of anaerobic digestion of the feedstock concentration from 1 to 6%. The results showed that the methane yields of CPI seeds were higher 20.3–38.7% than those of SMI seeds without a biochar addition, whereas the biochar addition reduced 5.3 and 23.1% of the corresponding methane yield of CPI and SMI, respectively. The biochar enhances the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and weakens the potential ammonia inhibition by adsorption, and it can improve the degradation rate of organic content of soluble COD for different inoculum sources. Microbial community analyses showed that the biochar addition could facilitate the growth of Bacteroidetes and Clostridiales, and it enriched the relative abundance of hydrogenotrophic methanogens Methanobrevibacter and Methanobacterium. Overall, although the modulation of biochar possessed different effects on the anaerobic digestion performance, it contributed to the stability and degradation efficiency of the digestion system. The recycling implication of biochar is critical to realizing a low-carbon and renewable treatment system for organic wastes.

BioWin Modeling of CalPrex Phosphorus Recovery from Wastewater Predicts Substantial Nuisance Struvite Reduction

The wastewater treatment industry could benefit from new technologies for the removal and recovery of phosphorus (P). The CalPrex precipitation reactor has the potential to recover P in a readily land-applicable form by treating organic acid digestate with calcium hydroxide to produce brushite. Using data from a pilot-scale reactor at the local Nine Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant in Madison, WI, we modified the plant’s BioWin configuration using BioWin 6.2 to model the CalPrex technology and estimate performance under a variety of conditions. We produced dose/response curves for a range of possible lime dosages to estimate the impact of reagent dosage on the quantity and composition of precipitate produced by the CalPrex reactor and characterize the effects on downstream anaerobic digester performance. CalPrex was found to capture 46% of the plant’s influent P, reducing nuisance struvite precipitates by 57% and biosolid sludge production by 14%. The CalPrex module was also tested in two predesigned plant configurations in the BioWin cabinet with the intention of testing applicability to other configurations and searching for the impacts of CalPrex on treatment train performance. This is the first work simulating a full-scale implementation of CalPrex and the first to model interactions of CalPrex with other treatment processes.