Loading macroalgae into existing anaerobic digestion (AD) plants allows us to overcome challenges such as low digestion efficiencies, trace elements limitation, excessive salinity levels and accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), observed while digesting algae as a single substrate. In this work, the co-digestion of the brown macroalgae Saccharina latissima with mixed municipal wastewater sludge (WWS) was investigated in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) and the organic loading rate (OLR) were fixed at 19 days and 2.1 g l-1 d-1of volatile solids (VS), respectively. Initially, WWS was digested alone. Subsequently, a percentage of the total OLR (20%, 50% and finally 80%) was replaced by S. latissima biomass. Optimal digestion conditions were observed at medium-low algae loading (=50% of total OLR) with an average methane yield close to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively. The conductivity values increased with the algae loading without inhibiting the digestion process. The viscosities of the reactor sludges revealed decreasing values with reduced WWS loading at both temperatures, enhancing mixing properties.

This study examined whether the abundance and expression of microbial 16S rRNA genes were associated with elemental concentrations and substrate conversion biokinetics in 20 full-scale anaerobic digesters, including seven municipal sewage sludge (SS) digesters and 13 industrial codigesters. SS digester contents had higher methane production rates from acetate, propionate and phenyl acetate compared to industrial codigesters. SS digesters and industrial codigesters were distinctly clustered based on their elemental concentrations, with higher concentrations of NH3-N, Cl, K and Na observed in codigesters. Amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and reverse-transcribed 16S rRNA revealed divergent grouping of microbial communities between mesophilic SS digesters, mesophilic codigesters and thermophilic digesters. Higher intradigester distances between Archaea 16S rRNA and rRNA gene profiles were observed in mesophilic codigesters, which also had the lowest acetate utilization biokinetics. Constrained ordination showed that microbial rRNA and rRNA gene profiles were significantly associated with maximum methane production rates from acetate, propionate, oleate and phenyl acetate, as well as concentrations of NH3-N, Fe, S, Mo and Ni. A co-occurrence network of rRNA gene expression confirmed the three main clusters of anaerobic digester communities based on active populations. Syntrophic and methanogenic taxa were highly represented within the subnetworks, indicating that obligate energy-sharing partnerships play critical roles in stabilizing the digester microbiome. Overall, these results provide new evidence showing that different feed substrates associate with different micronutrient compositions in anaerobic digesters, which in turn may influence microbial abundance, activity and function.

BACKGROUND: Chemical thermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP) mills holds a large biomethane potential in their wastewater. Their broadened market has involved increased bleaching and utilisation of different raw materials. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to obtain and maintain a stable anaerobic digestion (AD) process, with a high methane yield and total organic carbon (TOC) reduction, when digesting CTMP wastewater, from different production protocols including shifts in raw material and bleaching. A lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor was used for the tests.

RESULTS: The variations in raw material (aspen, birch and spruce) and consequently in TOC-loading (3.6-6.6 kg TOC m^-3 and day^-1) did not affect the UASB process negatively. Methane production values from 360 to 500 NmL g TOC^-1 were obtained, with the highest yield for wastewater from the production of birch- followed by aspenand spruce pulp. The acetic acid and fTOC reduction ranged 90 to 95% and 61 to 73%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The stable process performance maintained during shifts in raw material for pulp production show that AD is feasible for CTMP mills with a diversified product portfolio. Furthermore, the increased use of hardwood and bleaching will most likely increase their potential as a biomethane producer.

This article deals with the interrelationship between overall chemical speciation of S, Fe, Co, and Ni in relation to metals bio-uptake processes in continuous stirred tank biogas reactors (CSTBR). To address this topic, laboratory CSTBRs digesting sulfur(S)-rich stillage, as well as full-scale CSTBRs treating sewage sludge and various combinations of organic wastes, termed co-digestion, were targeted. Sulfur speciation was evaluated using acid volatile sulfide extraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Metal speciation was evaluated by chemical fractionation, kinetic and thermodynamic analyses. Relative Fe to S content is identified as a critical factor for chemical speciation and bio-uptake of metals. In reactors treating sewage sludge, quantity of Fe exceeds that of S, inducing Fe-dominated conditions, while sulfide dominates in laboratory and co-digestion reactors due to an excess of S over Fe. Under sulfide-dominated conditions, metals availability for microorganisms is restricted due to formation of metal-sulfide precipitates. However, aqueous concentrations of different Co and Ni species were shown to be sufficient to support metal acquisition by microorganisms under sulfidic conditions. Concentrations of free metal ions and labile metal complexes in aqueous phase, which directly participate in bio-uptake processes, are higher under Fe-dominated conditions. This in turn enhances metal adsorption on cell surfaces and bio-uptake rates.

Sweden has the ambition to increase its annual biogas production from the current level of 1.9 to 15 TWh by 2030. The unused capacity of existing anaerobic digesters at wastewater treatment plants is among the options to accomplish this goal. This study investigated the feasibility of utilizing the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) as a co-substrate, with primary and waste-activated sewage sludge (PWASS) for production of biogas, corresponding to 3:1 ratio on volatile solid (VS) basis. The results demonstrated that co-digestion of OFMSW with PWASS at an organic loading rate of 5 gVS l−1 day−1 has the potential to increase the biogas production approximately four times. The daily biogas production increased from 1.0 ± 0.1 to 3.8 ± 0.3 l biogasl−1 day−1, corresponding to a specific methane production of 420 ± 30 Nml methane gVS−1 during the laboratory experiment. Co-digestion of OFMSW with PWASS showed a 50:50 distribution of hydrogenotrophic and aceticlastic methanogens in the digester and enhanced the turnover kinetics of intermediate products (acetate, propionate, and oleate). Practical limitations potentially include the need for sludge dewatering to maintain a sufficient hydraulic retention time (17 days in this study), as well as additional energy consumption for mixing due to an increased sludge apparent viscosity (from 1.8 ± 0.1 to 45 ± 4.8 mPa*s in this study) at elevated OFMSW-loading rates.

Linköpings Universitet har tillsammans med Pöyry och Scandinavian Biogas Fuels drivit projektet ”Etablering/effektivisering av  biogasproduktion inom svensk pappers- och massaproduktion”. Potentialen hos det organiska materialet i avloppsvatten från svensk pappers- och massaindustri (PMI) till biogasproduktion skattades vid projektstart till 100 milj. Nm3 metan per år (1 TWh). Denna rapport är en syntes av resultaten från projektet med syfte att ge visa hur de genererade resultaten kan omsättas i teknisk praktik med tillhörande ekonomiska insatser. Syftet är att ge underlag och stöd till PMI-branschen och externa intressenter, som överväger att implementera biogasproduktion inom PMI.

Substraten för biogasproduktion som återfinns i pappers- och massaindustrins avloppsvatten och slam kännetecknas av stora volymer med låga COD-halter. Detta kräver rötningstekniker, som tillåter mycket korta uppehållstider jämfört med mer traditionellt utformade biogasanläggningar för att inte tankstorleken ska bli för stor. Två tekniker, som utvecklats inom projektet, klarar detta: EGSB (expanded granular sludge bed) och CSTR (completely stirred tank reactor) med slamåterföring. Dessa tekniker har därför utvärderats för tre olika typbruk, ett CTMP-bruk, ett TMP-bruk och ett sulfatmassabruk. Resultaten från dessa experimentella studier är utgångspunkten för i utvärderingen i föreliggande rapport. För varje processkoncept har en grov kostnadsuppskattning (±20 %) gjorts för den investering som krävs för biogasproduktion.

En EGSB på ett TMP-bruk med ett totalavlopp på 1500 m³/h, där hela blekeriavloppet från peroxidblekningen och en del av det övriga avloppet behandlas i en 4000 m³ reaktor förväntas ge 2,5 milj Nm³ metan/år. Investeringskostnaden för anläggningen uppskattas till 75 milj. SEK (±20 %).

En EGSB på ett CTMP-bruk med ett totalavlopp på 170 m³/h där hela avloppet behandlas i en 3000 m³ reaktor förväntas ge 1,8 milj Nm³ metan/år. Investeringskostnaden för anläggningen uppskattas till 64 milj. SEK (±20%).

En CSTR med slamåterföring som körs på bioslam från ett sulfatmassabruk där ett bioslamflöde på 46 m³/h behandlas i en 4000 m³ reaktor förväntas ge 1,0 milj Nm3 metan/år. I denna design är strategin för den aeroba bioreningen ändrad för att producera ett bioslam optimerat för att ge högsta möjliga biogaspotential. Detta innebär produktion av större mängd slam, som i största mån kan rötas till metan, dvs mängd metan per mängd rötat organiskt material samtidigt som COD-reduktionen i vattenreningen bibehålls. Investeringskostnaden för anläggningen uppskattas till 32 milj. SEK (±20%).

Baserat på de COD-kvantiteter som når de luftade dammarna inom PMIs vattenreningssystem förbrukas årligen ca 0,8 TWh el. Införande av biogasproduktion i massaindustrins spillvattenrening skulle reducera mängden COD med mellan 30-50%, vilket får till följd att den årliga elförbrukningen i samband med den aeroba reningen går ner med ca 0,2-0,4 TWh. Detta innebär alltså ett energitillskott av 0,9 – 1,1 TWh givet att hela den tillgängliga biogaspotentialen skulle byggas ut. Till detta kommer eventuella vinster relaterade till slamhanteringen.

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This study used semi-continuous laboratory scale biogas reactors to simulate the effects of trace-element addition in different combinations, while degrading the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and slaughterhouse waste. The results show that the combined addition of Fe, Co and Ni was superior to the addition of only Fe, Fe and Co or Fe and Ni. However, the addition of only Fe resulted in a more stable process than the combined addition of Fe and Co, perhaps indicating a too efficient acidogenesis and/or homoacetogenesis in relation to a Ni-deprived methanogenic population. The results were observed in terms of higher biogas production (+9%), biogas production rates (+35%) and reduced VFA concentration for combined addition compared to only Fe and Ni. The higher stability was supported by observations of differences in viscosity, intraday WA-and biogas kinetics as well as by the 16S rRNA gene and 16S rRNA of the methanogens.(c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geochemical parameters and major ion concentrations from sediments of a freshwater lake in the town of angstrom tvidaberg, southeastern, Sweden, were used to identify the geochemical processes that control the water chemistry. The lake sediments are anoxic, characterized by reduced sulfur and sulfidic minerals. The hypothesis tested is that in sulfidic-anaerobic contaminated sediments, the presence of redox potential changes creates a favorable condition for sulfide oxidation, resulting in the release of potentially toxic metals. The acid volatile sulfide (AVS) contents ranged from 5.5mol/g to 16mol/g of dry sediment. Comparison of total mine tailing metals (Sigma mine tailing metals) with simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) in sediments indicates that up to 20% of the Sigma mine tailing metals are bound to the solid phase as AVS. Consequently, the AVS and SEM analysis classified all sediment samples as potentially toxic in terms of heavy metal concentrations (i.e., SEM to AVS ratio distribution>1). Evaluation of hydrogeochemical data suggests that calcite dissolution, iron (III) oxyhydroxysulfate mineral jarosite (H-jarosite) precipitation, hematite precipitation, and siderite precipitation are the most prevailing geochemical processes that control the geochemical interactions between the water column and sediment in a mine-impacted lake. The geochemical processes were verified and quantified using a chemical equilibrium modeling program, Visual MINTEQ, Ver 3.1, beta. The identified geochemical processes create an environment in which the characteristics of sulfate-rich waters and acidic-iron produce the geochemical conditions for acid mine drainage and mobilization of toxic metals. (c) 2015 SETAC

Anaerobic digestion of alkaline kraft elemental chlorine-free bleaching wastewater in two mesophilic, lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactors resulted in significantly higher biogas production (250 ± 50 vs. 120 ± 30 NmL g [Formula: see text]) and reduction of filtered total organic carbon (fTOC) (60 ± 5 vs. 43 ± 6%) for wastewater from processing of hardwood (HW) compared with softwood (SW). In all cases, the gas production was likely underestimated due to poor gas separation in the reactors. Despite changes in wastewater characteristics, a stable anaerobic process was maintained with hydraulic retention times (HRTs) between 7 and 14 h. Lowering the HRT (from 13.5 to 8.5 h) did not significantly affect the process, and the stable performance at 8.5 h leaves room for further decreases in HRT. The results show that this type of wastewater is suitable for a full-scale implementation, but the difference in methane potential between SW and HW is important to consider both regarding process dimensioning and biogas yield optimization.