Solids Solubilization Research Articles

Enhanced biohydrogen production from thermally hydrolysed pulp and paper sludge via Al2O3 and Fe3O4 nanoparticles

The growing demand for sustainable and green energy sources has led to increasing interest in biohydrogen production from renewable biomass feedstocks. In this study, pulp and paper sludge (PPS), a widely available waste residue, was thermally treated at different temperatures (90°C, 130°C, and 165°C) for varying durations (15, 30, and 60 min). Thermal hydrolysis of PPS increased the chemical oxygen demand (COD) solubilization from 11 % to 24.7 %, and volatile suspended solids (VSS) solubilization up to 15 % with increasing both hydrolysis temperature and reaction time. The resulting thermally treated samples were then evaluated for biohydrogen production through a batch assay. Among the different thermal treatment conditions, the sample treated at 165°C for 60 min exhibited the highest biohydrogen production potential and yield (1287 mL-H2 and 201 mL-H2/g volatile solids (VS)), which is 72 % higher the control untreated PPS (747 mL-H2 and 117 mL-H2/gVS). To further enhance the biohydrogen yield, this optimal sample was mixed with two types of chemically synthesized nanoparticles, namely aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4), at various concentrations (50, 100, and 200 mg/g VS). The addition of nanoparticles significantly influenced the biohydrogen production from the thermal-treated PPS. Remarkably, the batch assay mixed with 200 mg of Fe3O4 nanoparticles per gram of VS demonstrated the highest biohydrogen production potential, compared to the thermally treated PPS (1577 vs. 1226 mL-H2). This finding suggests that the presence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles enhances the biohydrogen production process, possibly through improved microbial activity and substrate accessibility. The results of this study highlight the potential of utilizing PPS, an abundant waste product, as a valuable feedstock for biohydrogen production. Overall, this study contributes to the advancement of green energy technologies and underscores the potential of biohydrogen as a renewable and sustainable energy source.

Lime pretreatment of maize stover and solubilization of pretreated solids by enzymatic hydrolysis and Clostridium thermocellum fermentation

Lime pretreatment of maize stover and solubilization of pretreated solids by enzymatic hydrolysis and Clostridium thermocellum fermentation

Simultaneous ammonia recovery and treatment of sludge digestate using the vacuum stripping and absorption process: Scale-up design and pilot study

The paradigm of wastewater treatment is shifting from costly pollutant removal in mainstream to resource recovery from sidestream. This paradigm shift, nevertheless, is retarded by the lack of scalable, cost-effective ammonia recovery technologies. The vacuum stripping and absorption (VaSA) process has unrivaled features to recover ammonia and treat digestate simultaneously. The present study introduced a multi-pool boiling mode of vacuum stripping for scale-up design and conducted pilot tests at a water resource recovery facility using a 250-L/batch 3-pool system. It stripped 80.7 % of ammonia in sludge digestate and 91.5 % in pressate in 5-h batch operation. Ammonia mass transfer coefficient reached 0.319–0.485 1/h in digestate and 0.386–0.608 1/h in pressate. The operating challenge was to properly maintain vacuum and configure the demister where vapor–liquid equilibrium changed as it was scaled up. In contrast to the optimum vacuum pressure of 25–27 kPa and feed boiling temperature of 65 °C in the single-pool boiling stripper, the vacuum pressure in the 3-pool boiling stripper was increased to 46.3–46.9 kPa by the higher demister temperature (74 °C). The recovered crystals contained 98.4–103.7 % of (NH4)2SO4. Vacuum-assisted alkali/thermal treatment of digestate under the VaSA conditions increased the dissolved fraction of volatile solids from 7.5 % to 32.8–34.1 % and decreased fecal coliform to mostly undetected. Solids solubilization also resulted in generation of volatile organic compounds, primarily allyl chloride, methylene chloride, 2,5-octadecadiynoic acid methyl ester, and (E)-1,2-dichloroethylene. The low concentrations and small vapor pressures of these compounds were unfavorable for co-stripping. The co-stripped compounds were largely retained in condensate and absent in vacuum exhaust. This study validated the scalability of multi-pool boiling design of VaSA for efficient ammonia recovery and elucidated the effects on digestate treatment.

Thermal hydrolysis of sewage sludge: Improvement in biogas generation and prediction of global warming potential.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a prominent treatment method for the sludge produced from sewage treatment plants. Poor solid reduction and longer retention time are the main drawbacks of AD. Thermal hydrolysis (TH) is a potential pretreatment method for solubilization of sewage sludge (SS) solids thereby improving biogas production during AD post-treatment. In this study, the SS sample (total solids = 1.75 wt% and total chemical oxygen demand (COD) = 15,450 mg L-1) was subjected to TH pretreatment (temperature = 140-180°C and reaction time = 60 minutes) in a 0.7-L capacity stainless-steel high-pressure reactor. At a reaction temperature of 180°C, the maximum solid solubilization (total dissolved solids = 4652 mg L-1) and improved dewaterability (time to filter = 4.7 s.L g-1) were observed. The biochemical methane potential test results showed almost doubling of methane generation from 145 to 284 mL gCOD-1 after TH pretreatment at 180°C. The life cycle assessment approach was used to compare various SS treatment and disposal scenarios, two of which included hydrothermal pretreatment. The scenarios involving hydrothermal pretreatments showed the least global warming potential.

Differential impact of acidic and alkaline conditions on hydrothermal pretreatment, fermentation and anaerobic digestion of sludge.

Anaerobic digestion and fermentation processes in wastewater sludge treatment are limited by several factors, including the slow breakdown of complex organic matter and solubilization of solids. In this study, thermochemical pretreatment of thickened waste activated sludge using high temperature (>170 °C) was investigated to understand the impact of the pretreatment on the volatile fatty acids (VFA) production and its fractions during the fermentation process. Furthermore, the influence the thermochemical pretreatment on sludge disintegration and methane recovery was investigated. A range of acidic and alkaline conditions over the pH range of 4.5-10 was examined. Sludge (pH adjusted) was exposed to hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP) at a temperature of 170 °C for 30 min. Pretreated samples were then subjected to batch fermentation and methane potential tests which revealed that acidic and alkaline conditions resulted in increased sludge solubilization during HTP. Acidic conditions were associated with a higher VFA production yield of up to 185 mg chemical oxygen demand/g total chemical oxygen demand. Alkaline conditions led to a higher methane production yield where the maximum yield (276 mL CH4/g total chemical oxygen demandadded) was found to occur at pH 10. Therefore, alkaline sludge used for fermentation has shown technical and economic feasibility for sludge carbon recovery.

Stable, high-rate anaerobic digestion through vacuum stripping of digestate

This study coupled anaerobic digestion with vacuum stripping to achieve stable digestion at higher organic loading rates. Besides mitigation of ammonia inhibition, vacuum stripping of digestate improves solids solubilization and dewaterability due to vacuum-enhanced low-temperature thermal and mild-alkaline treatment under the vacuum stripping conditions (65 °C, 25–27 kPa, and pH 9). Batch vacuum stripping for 8 h removed 97.4–99.4% of ammonia, increased the dissolved fraction of volatile solids (VS) by 72.5%, and improved dewaterability with 30% decreases in time-to-filter and viscosity. The digesters having 2.9% of digestate replaced daily by vacuum stripped digestate were stable up to organic loading rate of 4.3 g-VS/Lreactor/d with biogas production at 3.15 L/Lreactor/d, while the digesters without stripping attained biogas production of 1.90 L/Lreactor/d at its highest stable organic loading rate of 2.5 g-VS/Lreactor/d. Acetoclastic Methanosaeta were the dominant methanogens, which became more resistant to ammonia stress in the digesters with vacuum stripping.

Improved dewaterability of drilling waste sludge by ultrasonic and potassium permanganate co-treatment

The drilling waste sludge, as a colloidal suspension, would cause secondary pollution to environment if it’s inappropriately disposed. Dewatering pretreatment could reduce the volume and costs before final disposal. In this study, ultrasonic and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) co-treatment was investigated in drilling waste sludge dewatering pretreatment. The results showed that the water content (WC) was significantly reduced to 27.09%, and the dewatering time and SRF decreased by 46.67% and 17.68% after pretreating by 60 W of US and 12 mg/g DS (dry solid) of KMnO4 in 5 min. The volatile suspended solid (VSS) solubilization revealed that KMnO4 could easily disintegrated organic matters and further elevated VSS solubilization to 41.05% with the assistance of US. The mechanistic investigation illustrated that ultrasonic helped decompose sludge flocs and KMnO4 further oxidized recalcitrant organic matters, consequently enhancing sludge dewatering performance. In addition, the electrostatic repulsion was reduced and Zeta potential was elevated, which prompted particle size, flocculation and viscosity of drilling waste sludge. After US+KMnO4 pretreatment, the electronegativity, flocculation, hydrophobicity, and porous structure were strengthened, which enhanced the dewaterability of drilling waste sludge. The result in this study illustrates that ultrasonic and KMnO4 co-treatment is efficacious in drilling waste sludge dewatering pretreating.

Effect of Different Pretreatments on Sludge Solubilization and Estimation of Bioenergy Potential

Most of the conventional treatments of waste-activated sludge (WAS) are devoted to their minimization and destruction. On the other hand, the biomass contained in WAS can be utilized as a valuable source of renewable carbon. In this study, the influence of different pretreatments (ultrasonication, chemical, thermal, and combined pretreatments) was explored for sludge solubilization. Effects of the pretreatments were investigated as a function of the solubilization of total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Concentrations of soluble carbohydrates and total nitrogen were also measured. The most effective pretreatment to hydrolyze sludge was found to be the combined alkali–thermal (pH 12, 75 °C) pretreatment method, leading to TS and vs. solubilization of 9.6% and 17.2%, respectively. Soluble COD, carbohydrates, total nitrogen, and proteins estimated in the liquid phase were 5235 mg/L, 732 mg/L, 430 mg/L, and 2688 mg/L, respectively. Thus, the alkali–thermal method could be used for efficient valorization of WAS. Moreover, the solid fraction from all pretreated samples was further subjected to thermogravimetric analysis to estimate its potential for bioenergy from its higher heating value (HHV), which was found to be in the range of 10–11.82 MJ/kg. This study can provide better insight into the efficient valorization of liquid and solid phases of sludge after pretreatment.

Effects of using lactic acid bacteria in the storage and subsequent anaerobic co-digestion of crushed kitchen garbage

Anaerobic co-digestion of wastewater sludge and other types of organic waste with high moisture content is a promising approach for energy recovery. A novel organic waste collection system that stores disposer-crushed kitchen garbage with lactic acid fermentation in personal wastewater treatment systems, such as Johkasou, is proposed for centralized anaerobic co-digestion. In storage experiments, lactic acid fermentation of artificial kitchen garbage, which was seeded with lactic acid bacteria at the beginning of storage, lowered the pH to 3, and suppressed the solubilization of suspended solids (SS). The addition of household wastewater sludge did not affect these processes. The SS preservation ratio and the biogas production potential ratio in the subsequent anaerobic digestion were approximately 0.8. These results indicate that the storage of crushed kitchen garbage by lactic acid fermentation is an accessible and effective option for the collection and anaerobic co-digestion of kitchen garbage from Johkasou.

Cast Aluminum Surface Reinforced with Carbon Nanotube via Solubilization Treatment

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are noteworthy, as they reinforce the metallic matrix, due to mechanical properties, such as the ~ 1.0 TPa Young module. To improve the maintenance of the commercially pure aluminum surface, multi-walled carbon nanotubes were incorporated into the aluminum surface with heat treatment by solid solubilization, in order to improve the surface properties of aluminum. The aluminum samples were chemically attacked for 30, 60 and 120 s and placed in a container with CNTs, being subjected to a temperature of 640 °C for 1 h. Then, the roughness was evaluated by a roughness meter for morphology in the scanning electron microscopy. An intensity of aggregation of CNTs was evaluated by XRD, and the Raman Spectra has evaluated the transfer of charge to the matrix. Microhardness was performed to evaluate the influence of the incorporation of CNTs in the matrix. The results obtained show that the incorporation of CNTs in the aluminum matrix increases the hardness in approximately 20% of the surface, in comparison with the control sample. The process of incorporating CNTs into the aluminum matrix by solubilization is a promising, simple and inexpensive alternative to improve the durability of the aluminum surface.

Acidic pretreatment as a chemical approach for enhanced Photorhabdus temperata bioinsecticide production from industrial wastewater

The chemical treatment of the wastewater used for the bioinsecticide production by the bacterium Photorhabdus temperata was investigated in this study. An improvement of the volatile suspended solids (VSS) solubilization along with an increase in protein, carbohydrate, reducing sugar and nitrogen concentrations were demonstrated after alkali and thermo-alkali hydrolysis. In contrast, the application of acidic and thermo-acidic pretreatments reduced the organic matter hydrolysis. Compared to untreated wastewater, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) solubilization and the heavy metal concentration, except manganese, were enhanced in all the chemically pretreated wastewaters. Although its low contribution in the solubilization of the wastewater organic matter, the acidic-pretreated wastewater showed the highest performance in supporting P. temperata biopesticide production. Indeed, using the acidic-pretreated wastewater as a fermentation medium decreased the lag phase, enhanced the growth of the strain K122 to reach a final biomass production of 20 × 108 cells/mL, increased culturable cell count to 262 × 106 cells/mL and improved oral toxicity against Ephestia kuehniella larvae by 68.4%. Among chemical pretreatments performed, the acidic hydrolysis was demonstrated to be the unique promising one for P. temperata bioinsecticide production due to its ability to reduce aromatic compounds as shown by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.

Food waste valorization by purple phototrophic bacteria and anaerobic digestion after thermal hydrolysis

Increased demand for effective waste management strategies, along with the need for a transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a bio-based economy sharpens the need for synergies and scientific innovations. Food waste (FW) is an essential component of municipal solid waste, and its accumulation has become a global concern. This work discusses a closed-loop integrated biorefinery. It couples thermal hydrolysis with anaerobic digestion and photofermentation for the recovery of bioenergy resources and the production of value-added products. Thermal hydrolysis yielded up to 40.4% solids solubilization, allowing the separation of an organic-rich hydrolysate. This pre-treatment also improves anaerobic digestibility of the solid fraction, thus increasing biogas production, which can feed a combined heat and power plant. This approach makes the process sustainable and energy-efficient while decreasing the total volume of the disposal waste by 78.6%. Phototrophic treatment of the hydrolysate through a purple phototrophic bacteria-based mixed culture resulted in biomass growth with high protein content (65% wt.). The system also produced polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and hydrogen, accounting for a total valorization of 16.9% of the initial total solids of the raw food waste. This variety of possible products allows setting a seasonal production in a biorefinery, depending on the composition of the debris and the market demand. Modulation of the nitrogen composition of the food waste can help to choose the best option, where low Nitrogen drives PHA and hydrogen production. In contrast, high Nitrogen leads to increased protein production.

Characterization of value-added chemicals derived from the thermal hydrolysis and wet oxidation of sewage sludge

We evaluated the effect of hydrothermal pretreatments, i.e., thermal hydrolysis (TH) and wet oxidation (WO) on sewage sludge to promote resource recovery. The hydrothermal processes were performed under mild temperature conditions (140°C–180°C) in a high pressure reactor. The reaction in acidic environment (pH = 3.3) suppressed the formation of the color imparting undesirable Maillard’s compounds. The oxidative conditions resulted in higher volatile suspended solids (VSS) reduction (∼90%) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (∼55%) whereas TH caused VSS and COD removals of ∼65% and ∼27%, respectively at a temperature of 180°C. During TH, the concentrations of carbohydrates and proteins in treated sludge were 400–1000 mg/L and 1500–2500 mg/L, respectively. Whereas, WO resulted in solids solubilization followed by oxidative degradation of organics into smaller molecular weight carboxylic acids such as acetic acid (∼400–500 mg/L). Based on sludge transformation products generated during the hydrothermal pretreatments, simplified reaction pathways are predicted. Finally, the application of macromolecules (such as proteins), VFAs and nutrients present in the treated sludge are also discussed. The future study should focus on the development of economic recovery methods for various value-added compounds.

A mathematical approach to predict the solids concentration in anaerobic membrane bioreactos (AnMBR): Evaluation of the volatile solids solubilization

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors (AnMBR) are gaining attention as a suitable approach for sustainable low-strength wastewater treatment, as they bring together the advantages of both anaerobic treatments and membrane bioreactors. However, increasing the sludge retention time (SRT) necessary to favor hydrolysis increases the suspended solids concentration potentially leading to decreased permeate flux. Therefore, the availability of a mathematical approach to predict the solids concentration within an AnMBR can be very useful. In this work, a mathematical model describing the volatile solids concentration within the reactor as a function of the operating parameters and the influent characteristics is developed. The solubilization of organic particulates was clearly influenced by temperature and the SRT, whereas the hydraulic retention time influence was negligible. Furthermore, the activation energy value of about 20 kJ mol−1 confirms the idea that diffusion of hydrolytic enzymes from the bulk solution to the particle surface is the rate-limiting step of hydrolysis.

Microwave assisted low-temperature hydrothermal treatment of solid anaerobic digestate for optimising hydrochar and energy recovery

With the growth of anaerobic digestion (AD) for biogas production, associated increasing digestate production may cause environmental problems if the increasing agricultural land required for digestate application is limited. An alternative is to valorise the digestate. Microwave assisted low-temperature hydrothermal treatment (MLHT; temperature 100 – 180 °C) was investigated as a post-treatment for AD of grass silage under two scenarios: 1) AD + MLHT and 2) Acid pre-treatment + AD + MLHT. Compared to the original grass silage, the digestates investigated required lower temperatures for carbonization in MLHT owing to their lower cellulose content. The higher MLHT temperatures (160 – 180 °C) led to significant increases in heating value and greater reductions in atomic ratios of O/C and H/C of hydrochar due to dehydration and decarboxylation reactions. As a result, higher temperatures contributed to higher sugar recovery, higher solid solubilization, and better quality of hydrochar. Under the MLHT at 180 °C, the hydrochar produced from digested grass silage in scenario 1 (AD + MLHT) exhibited a mass yield of 0.79 g/g total solid, a carbon content of 63.6% and an ash-free heating value of 27.6 kJ/g volatile solid; the biomethane potential from the process liquor was estimated as 68.7 ml CH4/g total solid. Scenario 1 is preferred over scenario 2 (acid pre-treatment + AD + MLHT) as it gave a higher yield and higher heating value of hydrochar. This study suggests that MLHT is a promising method to 1) produce hydrochar with an energy value comparable to lignite coal, and 2) recover additional biomethane through process liquor recycling.

Effect of hydrothermal pre-treatment on physical properties and co-digestion from food waste and sewage sludge mixture.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is generally considered to be an economic and environmentally friendly technology for treating waste activated sludge, but has some limitations, such as the time it takes for the sludge to be digested and also the ineffectiveness of degrading the solids. Various pre-treatment technologies have been suggested to overcome these limitations and to improve the biogas production rate by enhancing the hydrolysis of organic matter. This paper studies the use of hydrothermal pre-treatment (HTP) for a food waste and sewage sludge mixture (FW-SS mixture) as pre-treatment of co-digestion. The results of the capillary suction time, time to filter, and particle size decreased with increasing HTP temperature. These results of the assessment that was conducted in this study confirm that the HTP process indeed modifies the physical properties of the FW-SS mixture to enhance the solubilization of organic solids. A maximum increase in biogas production of 50% is achieved with a HTP temperature of 140oC. These findings show that to achieve high conversion efficiency, an accurately designed pre-treatment step must be included in the overall AD process for wastewater treatment.

Thermal hydrolysis of sewage sludge partially removes organic micropollutants but does not enhance their anaerobic biotransformation

Pretreatment technologies prior to anaerobic digestion (AD) have been developed with the aim of enhancing biogas productivity and reducing the presence of pathogens in digested sludge. Among them, thermal hydrolysis (TH) appears as the most promising one. In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) sludge is the end point of many organic micropollutants (OMPs), which was proved to lead to important environmental and human risks since sludge is commonly used in agriculture. The objective of this work is to determine the fate OMPs in TH and subsequent AD. Sewage sludge was pretreated in a TH pilot plant at 170 °C for 20 min. Afterwards, two anaerobic digesters with a working volume of 14 L fed with fresh and pretreated sludge were operated in parallel in mesophilic conditions. TH proved to be an effective technology to partially or totally remove the dissolved fraction of OMPs as well as the fraction sorbed into those suspended solids that are solubilised after this pretreatment. However, it did not affect the OMPs sorbed concentration into solids that are not solubilised. Globally, the OMPs removal efficiency during TH appears to be linked to the solids solubilisation during this process. Afterwards, the OMPs biotransformation efficiency in AD of fresh and pretreated sludge was determined. Noticeable differences between the microbiome of both reactors was determined, but the anaerobic biotransformation was not substantially different for most of the OMPs. However, it affected musk fragrances, which presented considerably lower biotransformation efficiency in the reactor fed with pretreated sludge. Therefore, TH was proved effective in partially removing OMPs but not in enhancing their bioavailability and subsequent anaerobic biotransformation.

Extraction of phenolic compounds from hazelnut shells by green processes.

The nut industries generate a high amount of by-products that can be valorized as feedstocks for new processes using green technologies. Hazelnut shells have potential as source of antioxidant compounds with commercial interest in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries. Antioxidants from hazelnut shells can be solubilized in autohydrolysis processes and recovered using resins. The autohydrolysis study led to achieve the highest solid solubilization of 26.7 g of non-volatile compounds (NVC)/100 g of hazelnut shells at 220 °C. Higher temperatures improved the release of phenolic compounds in the aqueous phase up to 3.37 g of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g of hazelnut shells. The DPPH free radical scavenging capacity allowed to determine the potential activity of the extracted phenolic compounds, and increasing temperatures improved the antioxidant capacity of extracts up to 1.64 g GAE/100 g of NVC in the range 210–230 °C. The phenolic compounds in aqueous phase after autohydrolysis were recovered by adsorption, and the sorption kinetics and the equilibrium isotherms were evaluated. The maximum sorption capacities of assayed resins were 8.9 and 7.7 mg GAE/g resin for Amberlite XAD4 and XAD16HP, respectively. The knowledge provided for this study should be helpful to further exploit and apply phenolic compounds from hazelnut shells as source of natural antioxidant compounds.

Performance of non-catalytic thermal hydrolysis and wet oxidation for sewage sludge degradation under moderate operating conditions

Land disposal of waste activated sludge pose environmental risks due to the presence of heavy metals, pathogens and organic pollutants. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one of the preferred treatment methods for sludge treatment. However, sludge hydrolysis is often found the rate-limiting step thereby reducing the biogas generation potential. Therefore, an effort was made to determine the optimum conditions for sludge solubilization by means of hydrothermal pretreatment. In this study, response surface methodology using Box Behnken design approach was used to optimize four hydrothermal reaction variables (i.e., initial pH, time, temperature, and oxidation coefficient) for sludge solubilization and total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) reduction. Temperature and pH were found to be the most significant parameters. The maximum tCOD reduction and volatile suspended solids solubilization of 58% and 52%, respectively, were obtained at the following optimum conditions: temperature = 180 °C, time = 5 h, pH = 3.3 and oxidation coefficient = 0.5. Under similar conditions and alkaline pH, Maillard's reaction occurs which may have adverse impact on the performance of downstream AD process. The highest NH4+N and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentrations were detected in the treated sludge at the optimum conditions. The future studies should be aimed at the recovery of proteins, VFAs and biogas using appropriate methods.

Cocrystal solubility-pH and drug solubilization capacity of sodium dodecyl sulfate – mass action model for data analysis and simulation to improve design of experiments

This review discusses the disposition of the anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS; i.e., sodium lauryl sulfate), to solubilize sparingly-soluble drugs above the surfactant critical micelle concentration (CMC), as quantitated by the solubilization capacity (k). A compilation of 101 published SDS k values of mostly poorly-soluble drug molecules was used to develop a prediction model as a function of the drug’s intrinsic solubility, S0, and its calculated H-bond acceptor/donor potential. In almost all cases, the surfactant was found to solubilize the neutral form of the drug. Using the mass action model, the k values were converted to drug-micelle stoichiometric binding constants, Kn, corresponding to drug-micelle equilibria in drug-saturated solutions. An in-depth case study (data from published sources) considered the micellization reactions as a function of pH of a weak base, B, (pKa 3.58, S0 52 μg/mL), where at pH 1 the BH.SDS salt was predicted to precipitate both below and above the CMC. At low SDS concentrations, two drug salts were predicted to co-precipitate: BH.Cl and BH.SDS. Solubility products of both were determined from the analysis of the reported solubility-surfactant data. Above the CMC, in a rare example, the charged form of the drug (BH+) appeared to be strongly solubilized by the surfactant. The constant for that reaction was also determined. At pH 7, the reactions were simpler, as only the neutral form of the drug was solubilized, to a significantly lesser extent than at pH 1. Case studies also featured examples of solubilization of solids in the form of cocrystals. For many cocrystal systems studied in aqueous solution, the anticipated supersaturated state is not long-lasting, as the drug component precipitates to a thermodynamically stable form, thus lowering the amount of the active ingredient available for intestinal absorption. Use of surfactant can prevent this. A recently-described method for predicting the solubility product of cocrystals (coupled with predicted k values described here) allowed for simulations of solubility-pH speciation profiles of cocrystal systems in the presence of SDS. Well in advance of any actual measurements, these simulations can be used to probe conditions favorable to the design of cocrystal experiments where SDS stabilizes cocrystal suspensions against drug precipitation over a predicted range of pH values.