Assessment and parameter identification of simplified models to describe the kinetics of semi continuous biomethane production from anaerobic digestion of green and food waste

Biochemical reactions occurring during anaerobic digestion have been modelled using reaction kinetic equations such as first-order, Contois and Monod which are then combined to form mechanistic models. This work considers models which include between one and three biochemical reactions to investigate if the choice of the reaction rate equation, complexity of the model structure as well as the inclusion of inhibition plays a key role in the ability of the model to describe the methane production from the semi-continuous anaerobic digestion of green waste (GW) and food waste (FW). A parameter estimation method was used to investigate the most important phenomena influencing the biogas production process. Experimental data were used to numerically estimate the model parameters and the quality of fit was quantified. Results obtained reveal that the model structure (i.e. number of reactions, inhibition) has a much stronger influence on the quality of fit compared with the choice of kinetic rate equations. In the case of GW there was only a marginal improvement when moving from a one to two reaction model, and none with inclusion of inhibition or three reactions. However, the behaviour of FW digestion was more complex and required either a two or three reaction model with inhibition functions for both ammonia and volatile fatty acids. Parameter values for the best fitting models are given for use by other authors

A Robust and Universal Metaproteomics Workflow for Research Studies and Routine Diagnostics Within 24 h Using Phenol Extraction, FASP Digest, and the MetaProteomeAnalyzer

The investigation of microbial proteins by mass spectrometry (metaproteomics) is a key technology for simultaneously assessing the taxonomic composition and the functionality of microbial communities in medical, environmental, and biotechnological applications. We present an improved metaproteomics workflow using an updated sample preparation and a new version of the MetaProteomeAnalyzer software for data analysis. High resolution by multidimensional separation (GeLC, MudPIT) was sacrificed to aim at fast analysis of a broad range of different samples in less than 24 h. The improved workflow generated at least two times as many protein identifications than our previous workflow, and a drastic increase of taxonomic and functional annotations. Improvements of all aspects of the workflow, particularly the speed, are first steps toward potential routine clinical diagnostics (i.e., fecal samples) and analysis of technical and environmental samples. The MetaProteomeAnalyzer is provided to the scientific community as a central remote server solution at www.mpa.ovgu.de.Peer Reviewe

Instrumentation and control of anaerobic digestion processes: a review and some research challenges

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11157-015-9382-6[EN] To enhance energy production from methane or resource recovery from digestate, anaerobic digestion processes require advanced instrumentation and control tools. Over the years, research on these topics has evolved and followed the main fields of application of anaerobic digestion processes: from municipal sewage sludge to liquid mainly industrial then municipal organic fraction of solid waste and agricultural residues. Time constants of the processes have also changed with respect to the treated waste from minutes or hours to weeks or months. Since fast closed loop control is needed for short time constant processes, human operator is now included in the loop when taking decisions to optimize anaerobic digestion plants dealing with complex solid waste over a long retention time. Control objectives have also moved from the regulation of key variables measured online to the prediction of overall process perfor- mance based on global off-line measurements to optimize the feeding of the processes. Additionally, the need for more accurate prediction of methane production and organic matter biodegradation has impacted the complexity of instrumentation and should include a more detailed characterization of the waste (e.g., biochemical fractions like proteins, lipids and carbohydrates)andtheirbioaccessibility andbiodegradability characteristics. However, even if in the literature several methodologies have been developed to determine biodegradability based on organic matter characterization, only a few papers deal with bioaccessibility assessment. In this review, we emphasize the high potential of some promising techniques, such as spectral analysis, and we discuss issues that could appear in the near future concerning control of AD processes.The authors acknowledge the financial support of INRA (the French National Institute for Agricultural Research), the French National Research Agency (ANR) for the "Phycover" project (project ANR-14-CE04-0011) and ADEME for Inter-laboratory assay financial support.Jimenez, J.; Latrille, E.; Harmand, J.; Robles Martínez, Á.; Ferrer Polo, J.; Gaida, D.; Wolf, C.... (2015). Instrumentation and control of anaerobic digestion processes: a review and some research challenges. Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology. 14(4):615-648. doi:10.1007/s11157-015-9382-6S615648144Aceves-Lara CA, Latrille E, Steyer JP (2010) Optimal control of hydrogen production in a continuous anaerobic fermentation bioreactor. 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Integration of biology, ecology and engineering for sustainable algal‑based biofuel and bioproduct biorefinery

Despite years of concerted research efforts, an industrial-scale technology has yet to emerge for production and conversion of algal biomass into biofuels and bioproducts. The objective of this review is to explore the ways of possible integration of biology, ecology and engineering for sustainable large algal cultivation and biofuel production systems. Beside the costs of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, and fresh water, upstream technologies which are not ready for commercialization both impede economic feasibility and conflict with the ecological benefits in the sector. Focusing mainly on the engineering side of chemical conversion of algae to biodiesel has also become obstacle. However, to reduce the costs, one potential strategy has been progressing steadily to synergistically link algal aquaculture to the governmentally mandated reduction of nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations in municipal wastewater. Recent research also supports the suppositions of scalability and cost reduction. Noticeably, less is known of the economic impact of conversion of the whole algae-based biorefinery sector with additional biochemical and thermochemical processes and integration with ecological constraints. This review finds that a biorefinery approach with integrated biology, ecology, and engineering could lead to a feasible algal-based technology for variety of biofuels and bioproducts

Optimization of fed-batch fermentation processes using the Backtracking Search Algorithm

Fed-batch fermentation has gained attention in recent years due to its beneficial impact in the economy and productivity of bioprocesses. However, the complexity of these processes requires an expert system that involves swarm intelligence-based metaheuristics such as Artificial Algae Algorithm (AAA), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMAES) and Differential Evolution (DE) for simulation and optimization of the feeding trajectories. DE traditionally performs better than other evolutionary algorithms and swarm intelligence techniques in optimization of fed-batch fermentation. In this work, an improved version of DE namely Backtracking Search Algorithm (BSA) has edged DE and other recent metaheuristics to emerge as superior optimization method. This is shown by the results obtained by comparing the performance of BSA, DE, CMAES, AAA and ABC in solving six fed batch fermentation case studies. BSA gave the best overall performance by showing improved solutions and more robust convergence in comparison with various metaheuristics used in this work. Also, there is a gap in the study of fed-batch application of wastewater and sewage sludge treatment. Thus, the fed batch fermentation problems in winery wastewater treatment and biogas generation from sewage sludge are investigated and reformulated for optimization

Fuzzy Control Strategy for an Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment Process

In this paper, a fuzzy control strategy (FCS) for an anaerobic wastewater treatment process is proposed in order to reject large disturbances on input substrate allowing a high methane production. This strategy is composed of: i) a state observer, which is based on a principal components analysis (PCA) and Takagi-Sugeno (TS) algorithm; it is designed to estimate variables hard to measure: biomass and substrate, ii) proportional-integral (PI) controllers based on a combination of the L/A(logarithm/antilogarithm) and fuzzy approaches; these controllers have variable gains and are designed to regulate bicarbonate in the reactor by two control actions: a base supplying (binc) and dilution rate (D) changes, iii) a TS supervisor which detects the process state, selects and applies the most adequate control action, allowing a smooth switching between open loop and closed loop. Applicability of the proposed structure in a completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) is illustrated via simulations. The obtained results show that the process works in open loop in presence of small disturbances. For large disturbances, the supervisor allows the control actions to be applied avoiding washout; after that, the process returns to open loop operation. In general, the FCS improves the performances of the anaerobic process and is feasible for application in real processes, since the control scheme shows a good compromise between efficiency and complexity

Biological processing in oscillatory baffled reactors (OBRs)

EngD ThesisBioprocessing involves using complete cells or any of their components for the manufacture of products such as pharmaceuticals, fuel, health products and precursor compounds for plastics. Bioprocessing can provide sustainable routes for the manufacture of products which are traditionally manufactured from fossil-derived chemicals. The stirred tank reactor (STR) is the prevalent fermenter/reaction vessel in industry due to its simplicity and cost. However; the basic design has not changed for centuries. This thesis describes the use of oscillatory baffled reactors (OBRs) for bioprocessing. Generally, the “niche application” of OBRs is in performing ‘long’ processes in plug flow conditions, so they should be suitable for many bioprocesses. In this thesis, four research projects using OBRs are presented: modelling of plug flow and OBR design; enzymatic saccharification; microalgae culture; and anaerobic digestion (AD). A robust method to maximise plug flow in various OBR designs is described. Second order, polynomial models (R2=92.1% and 97.3%) were used to maximise plug flow at Ψ=1.9. The net flow rate (Q) was shown to affect the quality of plug flow which has implications for OBR design. Enzymatic saccharification was conducted in reactors based on OBR and STR technology. The OBR required 94-99% less power to achieve the necessary mixing intensities to maximise glucose production. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was cultured in a modified OBR for use as a photobioreactor (PBR). Maximum growth rates were increased by 95% in the OBR compared to cultures conducted in T-flasks. A flotation effect was observed that suggests that a dual culture and harvest device for microalgae is possible. Anaerobic digestion of dairy slurry and co-digestion with glycerol was conducted in digesters based on OBR and STR technology. The OBR achieved a maximum specific methane yield 28% higher than the STR. However, blockages occurred in the OBR and 89% less power was required for temperature control in the STR, predominantly due to differences in surface areas to volume ratios. Overall, OBR technology was successfully used in three bioprocesses, with improvements demonstrated over traditional technologies such as STR and/or T- flasks. Commercial systems based on OBR technology could be designed, provided that sufficient data is generated to overcome the risks associated with adoption of a novel technology such as OBRs.The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI): EPSRC