Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion Research Articles

Energy balance survey for the design and auto-thermal thermophilic aerobic digestion of algal-based membrane bioreactor for Landfill Leachate Treatment(under organic loading rates): Experimental and simulation-based ANN and NSGA-II

Although algal-based membrane bioreactors (AMBRs) have been demonstrated to be effective in treating wastewater (landfill leachate), there needs to be more research into the effectiveness of these systems. This study aims to determine whether AMBR is effective in treating landfill leachate with hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 8, 12, 14, 16, 21, and 24 h to maximize AMBR's energy efficiency, microalgal biomass production, and removal efficiency using artificial neural network (ANN) models. Experimental results and simulations indicate that biomass production in bioreactors depends heavily on HRT. A decrease in HRT increases algal (Chlorella vulgaris) biomass productivity. Results also showed that 80% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was removed from algal biomass by bioreactors. To determine the most efficient way to process the features as mentioned above, nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) techniques were applied. A mesophilic, suspended-thermophilic, and attached-thermophilic organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.28, 1.06, and 2 kg/m3/day was obtained for each method. Compared to suspended-thermophilic growth (3.43 kg/m3.day) and mesophilic growth (1.28 kg/m3.day), attached-thermophilic growth has a critical loading rate of 10.5 kg/m3.day. An energy audit and an assessment of the system's auto-thermality were performed at the end of the calculation using the Monod equation for biomass production rate (Y) and bacteria death constant (Kd). According to the results, a high removal level of COD (at least 4000 mg COD/liter) leads to auto-thermality.

Effect of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment on the stabilization of sludge with different solid contents during autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion

Sludge stabilization was affected by solid content during autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD). Thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) could alleviate the issues of high viscosity, slow solubilization and low ATAD efficiency caused by increased solid content. The influence of THP on the stabilization of sludge with different solid contents (5.24%–17.14%) during ATAD was investigated in this study. The results demonstrated that stabilization was achieved with volatile solid (VS) removal of 39.0%–40.4% after 7–9 days of ATAD for sludge with solid content of 5.24%–17.14%. The solubilization of sludge with different solid contents reached 40.1%–45.0% after THP. The rheological analysis indicated that the apparent viscosity of sludge was obviously reduced after THP at different solid contents. The increase in fluorescence intensity of fulvic acid-like organics, soluble microbial by-products and humic acid-like organics in the supernatant after THP and the decrease in fluorescence intensity of soluble microbial by-products after ATAD were detected by excitation emission matrix (EEM). The molecular weight (MW) distribution in the supernatant elucidated that the proportion of 50 kDa < MW < 100 kDa increased to 16%–34% after THP and the proportion of 10 kDa < MW < 50 kDa decreased to 8%–24% after ATAD. High throughput sequencing showed that the dominant bacterial genera shifted from Acinetobacter, Defluviicoccus and Norank_f__norank_o__PeM15 to Sphaerobacter and Bacillus during ATAD. This work revealed that solid content of 13%–17% was appropriate for efficient ATAD and rapid stabilization under THP.

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from leachates after autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion using effective microorganisms

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from leachates after autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion using effective microorganisms

Lab-scale autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion can maintain and remove nitrogen by controlling shear stress and oxygen supply system

Lab-scale autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion can maintain and remove nitrogen by controlling shear stress and oxygen supply system

Biodegradation Kinetics of Organic Matter in Water from Sludge Dewatering after Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion

The study presents the research results on the rejected water generated in dewatering sludge stabilised in Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (ATAD) technology. The research was carried out in three municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), with a capacity of 1500 to 3260 m3 d−1 and a sludge node capacity of 835 to 2000 kg DM d−1. The mean content of Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) in the rejected water samples taken from each object ranged from 485 to 1573 mg N L−1, ammonium nitrogen 318 to 736 mg N L−1, and the average concentration of total phosphorus ranged from 96 to 281 mg P L−1. The average content of organic matter expressed as five-day biological oxygen demand (BOD5) ranged from 205 to 730 mg O2 L−1, while chemical oxygen demand (COD) ranged from 767 to 4884 mg O2 L−1. The study determined the kinetics of the biochemical decomposition of organic matter, assuming that it follows the first-order equation. The average reaction rate constant k in subsequent treatment plants was estimated at 0.424, 0.513 and 0.782 d−1. The R2 coefficient determining the model’s adjustment to empirical values was not lower than 0.952. The organic matter biodegradability index average values ranged from 0.17 to 0.26.

Accelerated stabilization of high solid sludge by thermal hydrolysis pretreatment in autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) process.

Autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) is a rapid biological treatment technology for sludge stabilization. To improve digestion efficiency and shorten stabilization time, thermal hydrolysis pretreatment was employed before ATAD of high solid sludge. The results showed that accelerated stabilization of high solid sludge (total solid=10.1%) was achieved by thermal hydrolysis pretreatment with volatile solid removal efficiency of 40.3% after 8 days of ATAD, 11 days earlier than unpretreated sludge. The enhanced release and hydrolysis of intracellular organics resulted in a solubilization degree of 45.3%. The reduced sludge viscosity and improved fluidity after thermal hydrolysis facilitated mixing, aeration and organics degradation during ATAD. Excitation emission matrix analysis indicated that the fluorescence intensity of soluble microbial byproduct and tyrosine-like protein increased markedly after thermal hydrolysis and decreased after ATAD. The proportion of high molecular weight (MW>10kDa) substances in the supernatant increased significantly after thermal hydrolysis, while the low MW (MW<1kDa) substances decreased after ATAD. The significant difference in microbial composition between the pretreatment and control groups elucidated the accelerated sludge stabilization under thermal hydrolysis. This work provides an efficient and practical strategy to achieve rapid stabilization of high solid sludge.

Clarification of the Dynamic Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion Process Using Metagenomic Analysis.

ABSTRACTThis study details a unique process of autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) of human excreta useful in producing nitrogen-rich and pathogen-free organic fertilizer. The process was divided into initial, middle, and final phases, based on changes in temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and bacterial community structure. The aim of this study was to determine bacterial factors that would affect liquid fertilizer production in the process, using shotgun metagenomic analysis of each phase. Although the abundances of all 28 gene categories include 4 categories in SEED subsystems level 1 were similar to those in another type of wastewater treatment system, the abundances of 4 gene categories changed remarkably. Among them, a decrease in the abundance of the phage-related gene category and the presence of antibacterial substances in secondary metabolism may explain the change in bacterial community structure from the material to the initial phase. Increases in the abundances of two gene categories, phage-related and secondary metabolism, coincided with a decrease in alpha diversity from the material to the initial phase. A potential increase in the abundance of genes in the category of sporulation from the middle to the final phase was correlated with deterioration of growth conditions and stabilization processes. In addition, prompt consumption of short-chain fatty acids in the initial phase and unusually stable ammonia accumulation throughout the process could be explained by the presence/absence of related metabolic genes. In conclusion, the relationships between bacterial function and unique characteristics of ATAD were revealed; our findings support the enhancement of liquid fertilizer production from wastewater.IMPORTANCE Metagenome analysis was performed to determine the microbial dynamics of the unique autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion process of human excreta, which includes initial, middle, and final phases. In this study, we revealed the details of functional genes related to physicochemical and bacterial characteristics in the ATAD process. Four gene categories showed increases and decreases during the digestion process. In addition, the unusual stable accumulation of ammonia and prompt consumption of short-chain fatty acids were explained by the absence or presence of related metabolic genes. In addition to revealing the relationships between bacteria and physicochemical properties, the results of this research may support improving wastewater management systems worldwide by using the ATAD process in liquid fertilizer production systems.

Solid and Soluble Organic Compounds Changes During Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge

Over the past decade, thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) has been considered a practical approach to treating highstrength wastewater because of its several advantages. In this study, batch-mode TAD of sewage sludge was conducted using a lab-scale bioreactor to evaluate the changes in solid and soluble organic compounds. The TAD process achieved rapid degradation of the solid compound at 55oC. The removal efficiency of volatile suspended solids (VSS) increased rapidly at the early operation stage and achieved 25% at 48 h. Then, the VSS removal efficiency increased gradually up to approximately 40% at the end of the digestion (168 h). As a result of VSS degradation, the soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) increased significantly up to 12 g/L at 36 h and then showed a slow decline pattern. Furthermore, the pattern of protease activity was similar to that of the SCOD. This result indicates that the rapid degradation of VSS is highly linked to the increase of protease activity and thermophilic conditions. This study used acetic acid and propionic acid. The variation patterns were similar under both acetic acid and propionic acid. The concentrations of acetic acid and propionic acid rapidly increased up to 3.05 g COD/L at 48 h and 2.51 g COD/L at 36 h, respectively. Then, major volatile fatty acids concentrations declined sharply and became undetectable after 144 h. Similar to the SCOD variation pattern, the soluble total nitrogen and NH4+-N also decreased sharply after 72 h. This might be because ammonia stripping is enhanced by pH rising and continuous aeration during the TAD.

Lab-scale autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion can maintain and remove nitrogen by controlling shear stress and oxygen supply system

Autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) is used to treat human excreta hygienically. We previously reported a unique full-scale ATAD, showing distinctive bacterial community transitions and producing high-nitrogen-content liquid fertilizer; nevertheless, the mechanism remains unclear. One hypothesis involves using a gas-inducing (GI) agitator. We designed a lab-scale GI system and compared it with a disk-turbine (DT) agitator system by mimicking the temperature shift of full-scale ATAD. The agitation system and its agitation speed greatly affected physicochemical properties and bacterial community structure. GI system at 1000rpm (GI1000; high total carbon removal efficiency, 88.3%), with few nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, maintained a high ammoniacal nitrogen concentration and had more shared operational taxonomic units related to Acinetobacter sp., Arcobacter sp., and Longimicrobium sp. with the full-scale ATAD compared with the GI system at 490rpm and DT system at 1000rpm (DT1000). Furthermore, DT1000, with a high abundance of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria such as Alcaligenes aquatilis and Pseudomonas caeni, removed 94.7% total nitrogen with 71.9% total carbon removal efficiency. These results suggested that shear stress and oxygen supply system would change the bacterial community structure, thus affected ATAD performances. Consequently, it is possible that ATAD can be applied for not only production of highly nitrogen-containing liquid fertilizer but also extremely nitrogen removal of wastewater.

Production of Biosolids by Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (ATAD) from a Municipal Sewage Sludge: The Polish Case Study

This manuscript analyzed the process of autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) used in installations of municipal sewage treatment plants in Poland. Additionally, solutions for sludge management and the parameters of operating installations were presented. Attention was also put to the energy consumption of the process, where the energy consumption for 1 m3 of sludge treated was between 18.4 and 27.79 kWh. The amount of sewage flowing into the analyzed plants was between 1500 and 14,000 m3/d. On the basis of research carried out in the years 2003–2019 in the selected plants, the characteristics of sludge after the ATAD process were presented. The parameters that determine the usefulness of the sludge as an organic fertilizer were indicated above all. The content of total nitrogen, which was from 2.4 to 8.1% of dry matter, ammonium nitrogen, which was from 0.8 to 1.8% of dry matter, and total phosphorus, which was from 1.1 to 4.2% of dry matter, recommended using sludge for fertilization. It was also pointed out that sewage sludge should be regularly tested for the dynamics of changes in chemical composition and biological parameters. These are the factors that increase risk and limit the use of sludge for fertilization.

Impact on degradation of antibiotics from poultry litter using Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (ATAD).

Tetracycline (TC) is one of the common antibiotics which is widely used in livestock growth promotion. The prevalent application TC may pave way to progression of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The main objective of this study is to determine the effect of Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (ATAD) on the fate of TC residues found in digested poultry litter. For the determination of TC in poultry litter, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were done. TLC result revealed that the Rf value of standard TC on TLC plate was 0.97 which correlates with the Rf value of TC at 0, 12, 24 and 36 h of digested poultry litter sample and not at 48, 60 and 72 h. HPLC chromatogram revealed that the limits of detection and the recovery were 5 µg/kg and 96% for standard TC. Linear correlation curves were obtained over the series of 100–500 µg/mL with correlation coefficient of 0.996 and the calibration curve was Y = 0.001X + 0.066. These results confirmed the degradation of TC in ATAD digestion of poultry litter by abiotic processes.

Heat integration of two-stage autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion system for reducing the impact of uncertainty

The operation of Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (ATAD) wastewater treatment systems is subjected to daily uncertainties regarding the parameters of the inlet streams, which lead to prolongation of the process and increase the energy consumption. This, together with the heat loss in the environment from the product tank, makes the ATAD system energy inefficient. Heat integration plays an important role in improving the sustainability of ATAD systems. In this study an approach for optimal redesign of heat integrated two-stage ATAD system operating under uncertainties is presented. It includes a two-stage stochastic optimization model for heat integration with an optimization criterion - the annual capital cost for redesign of the heat integrated system and its operating costs. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models of the bioreactors are used for simulation of the system operation. They are combined with the heat integration model for the obtained with the stochastic approach values of design parameters of the heat integration equipment. The simulation results show a thermal shock reduction of 5–6 °C, an increase of the inlet sludge temperature of 8–10 °C, achievement of close to normal operating temperatures in the ATAD system and reduction of solids in both bioreactors by about 2 wt%.

Microbiological quality of sewage sludge after digestion treatment: A pilot scale case of study

In the frame of the water circular economy, the reuse of the treated sewage sludge supposes a good action. Nevertheless, the reuse might suppose a human health risk because of the presence of pathogen germs, concentrated in the generated sludge during urban wastewater treatment. For this reason, sludge treatments, conventional or advanced, should be focused on the reduction of fermentation capacity and microorganisms presence. This research assess the microbiological quality of the treated sludge, based on the use of faecal pollution indicators such as total coliforms, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Staphylococcus aureus and total mesophilic bacteria, after the application of different digestion treatments, and their final aptitude to be reused. Three different pilot scale plants were used: two anaerobic digestion plants with a volume of 2.75 m3 working in mesophilic (35-37 °C) and thermophilic (55-57 °C) conditions, and hydraulic retention times (HRT) ranging from 5 to 20 days; and a autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion plant (ATAD) with a volume of treatment of 3.9 m3 working at 55-57 °C for an HRT of 5–15 days. The raw sludge to be treated came from a full-operative WWTP located in the region of Navarra (Spain), laid within Ebro River Basin. It was concluded that both treatments studied obeyed the current European legislation in therms of E. coli concentration and absence of Salmonella spp., being available for agricultural purposes. Considering other microbiological parameters, the anaerobic thermophilic treatment had the best conditions to reduce the Enterococcus sp. concentrations and the aerobic thermophilic treatment was the best one reducing E. coli, being non-significant the influence of HRT to microbial reduction. For this reason, it is strongly recommended the use of both faecal indicators to assess the microbial quality of the treated sludge.

Effects of sludge properties in a combined process of mesophilic anaerobic digestion and thermophilic aerobic digestion

The combination of mesophilic anaerobic digestion and thermophilic aerobic digestion (MAN-TAD) has been recognized as a suitable technology to deal with conventional activated sludge. The MAN-TAD system can make sludge achieve better stability. The retention time of anaerobic digestion (AD-time) had an important role in the sludge stabilization process. With the extension of anaerobic digestion retention time, MAN-TAD system can make sludge achieve better stability. In comparison, volatile/total solids ratio (VS/TS) at AD-time of 38 d presented the lowest values among the three different AD-time with the value of 0.32. Long retention time of anaerobic digestion resulted in high amounts of soluble organic compounds (SCOD), and extracellular polymers (EPS) in the supernatant. Such high amount of organic compounds caused deterioration in sludge dewaterability. Compared with sludges of AD-time 17 d and 24 d, sludge of AD-time 38 d became extremely difficult to dewater due to its high capillary water absorption time (CST) at the end of digestion.

Benchmarking the sustainability of sludge handling systems in small wastewater treatment plants

A benchmarking strategy was developed to assess all aspects of sludge handling in small wastewater treatment plants and tested on a cross-section of Ontario facilities. Using operational data and on-site measurements, sustainability metrics that addressed energy consumption, chemical use, biosolids quality and disposition, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were estimated. Electricity consumption for sludge handling ranged from 0.9 to 3.9 kW-hours per dry kilogram of raw sludge (kWh/dry kg) with thermo-alkali hydrolysis and auto-thermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) processes consuming the least and most electricity for stabilization, respectively. Mechanical dewatering processes consumed between 2 and 5% of total sludge handling electricity, however, associated polymer dosages were higher than literature values in some cases. Disposition fuel requirements for plants with dewatering were up to 85% lower than facilities without dewatering. Biosolids contaminant (pathogen/metals) contents were observed to be substantially below Non-Agricultural Source Material (NASM) requirements. The copper content of the hauled biosolids exhibited the highest concentration relative to the NASM limit among all plants studied, ranging from 14 to 37% among facilities practicing land application of biosolids. Four biosolid products met Class A requirements for E. coli content, including one product generated via long-term storage. Carbon emissions ranged from −119 to 299 kg CO2 equivalents per dry tonne of raw sludge (g CO2 eq./kg). Six facilities that practiced land application exhibited net-negative GHG emissions; the carbon credits gained from fertilizer production avoidance outweighed emissions associated with sludge processing and transportation. The results provide evidence that this practice is sustainable from a GHG emissions standpoint. The benchmarking approach developed and information gathered is beneficial to plant owners and operators seeking to better understand how their utility is performing relative to peers, identify areas of need and further investigation, and improve the sustainability of their operations.

Simulation of Heat-integrated Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion System Operating under Uncertainties through Artificial Neural Network

The aim of the study is verification of a stochastic optimization approach for redesign of heat-integrated two-stage Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (ATAD) bioreactors system for municipal wastewater treatment operating under uncertainties. It was implemented through simulation of the ATAD system operation using feed-forward Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) for bioreactors modelling of the both stages and heat integration model of ATAD system with one heat storage tank. For the simulation purpose the design parameters values of the heat integration equipment associated with the obtained optimal solution of the stochastic approach were used. The ANN models were applied for prediction of the thermal shock occurred in the first bioreactor stage at incoming of each new portion of raw sludge, the expected temperature of the sludge at the end of the process and the volatile solids reduction at constant parameters of the inlet flows. They were included in two sequentially linked modules for simulation of the bioreactors operation. An appropriate data transfer between the modules, simulating the bioreactors and the Heat Integration module was provided. The simulation was carried out for two 15 d winter and summer periods. The simulation results have shown that applying the heat-integration of the process can lead to an increase in the temperatures of the inlet raw sludge about 6-8 °? and a decrease in the depth of thermal shock in both bioreactors about 5-7 °?. It also can provide higher and sustainable temperatures of the hot treated sludge at the end of the process which get much closer to the optimal of 55 °? for the first bioreactor and 65 °? for the second bioreactor and higher volatile solids reduction in both bioreactors about 1.5 wt.%.

Application of Flexibility Index Approach for Sustainable Operation of Heat-integrated Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion System

The present study proposes a decision-making approach based on flexibility index calculation of already obtained solutions of a stochastic multi-scenario optimization model for redesign of heat-integrated two-stage Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (ATAD) bioreactors system for municipal wastewater treatment operating under uncertainties. Obtained solutions with minimal costs for redesign were presented in Vladova et al. (2018). Aiming to find the solution which provides sustainable operation of the heat-integrated ATAD system within the widest range of variation of its uncertain parameters, the Flexibility Index (FI) approach should be applied. A fast approach for evaluation of the flexibility index by presenting it as an inscribed a hyper-rectangle in the scaled hyper-space of variation of the uncertain parameters so as to ensure no violation of the process feasibility constraints is proposed. An optimization problem for determining the maximal flexibility index is formulated and solved for each solution obtained in Vladova et al. (2018). Decision making is carried out to choose most sustainable solutions for redesigned ATAD system. Analyzing the results obtained, it can be concluded that not always the solutions with the minimal annual costs for redesigning provide the sustainable operation of the ATAD system.

Methodology for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Improvement of Batch Production Systems on the Example of Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion Systems

Methodology for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Improvement of Batch Production Systems on the Example of Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion Systems

Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (ATAD) for Heat, Gas, and Production of a Class A Biosolids with Fertilizer Potential.

Autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) is a microbial fermentation process characterized as a tertiary treatment of waste material carried out in jacketed reactors. The process can be carried out on a variety of waste sludge ranging from human, animal, food, or pharmaceutical waste where the addition of air initiates aerobic digestion of the secondary treated sludge material. Digestion of the sludge substrates generates heat, which is retained within the reactor resulting in elevation of the reactor temperature to 70–75 °C. During the process, deamination of proteinaceous materials also occurs resulting in liberation of ammonia and elevation of pH to typically pH 8.4. These conditions result in a unique microbial consortium, which undergoes considerable dynamic change during the heat-up and holding phases. The change in pH and substrate as digestion occurs also contributes to this dynamic change. Because the large reactors are not optimized for aeration, and because low oxygen solubility at elevated temperatures occurs, there are considerable numbers of anaerobes recovered which also contributes to the overall digestion. As the reactors are operated in a semi-continuous mode, the reactors are rarely washed, resulting in considerable biofilm formation. Equally, because of the fibrous nature of the sludge, fiber adhering organisms are frequently found which play a major role in the overall digestion process. Here, we review molecular tools needed to examine the ATAD sludge consortia, what has been determined through phylogenetic analysis of the consortia and the nature of the dynamics occurring within this unique fermentation environment.

Additional reduction of antibiotic resistance genes and human bacterial pathogens via thermophilic aerobic digestion of anaerobically digested sludge

Thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) was applied to further reduce ARGs and heavy metal resistance genes (HMRGs) as well as class 1 integrons (intI1) in sludge from anaerobic digestion (AnD). Unlike after AnD, there was no enrichment of ARGs, HMRGs and intI1 after TAD. Residual gene fractions of intI1 and total ARGs (sum of targeted ARGs) were 0.03 and 0.08, respectively. Two kinetic models (Collins-Selleck and first-order) described the decay patterns of targeted genes, revealing rapid removal of intI1 during TAD. After TAD, the relative abundance of human bacterial pathogens (HBPs) and the numbers of HBPs species decreased to approximately 68% and 64% compared to anaerobically digested sludge, respectively. Thus, TAD, subsequent to AnD, may possess high potential for reducing biological risks resulting from ARGs, HMRGs, intI1 and HBPs in sewage sludge.