Biomethanation and microbial community changes in a digester treating sludge from a brackish aquaculture recirculation system

AbstractUsing a high-salinity-adapted inoculum and a moderate stepwise-increased organic loading rate (OLR), a stable digester performance was achieved in treating sludge from a brackish aquaculture recirculation system. The specific methane yield was distinctly enhanced, reaching 0.203LCH4/gCODadded, compared to literature values (0.140–0.154LCH4/gCODadded) from the salty sludges. OLR adjustment and the fecal substrate substantially influenced population changes in the digester. Within the bacterial subpopulations, the relative abundance of Bacillus and Bacteroides declined, accompanied by the increase of Clostridium and Trigonala over time. The results show Trigonala was derived from the substrate and accumulated inside the digester. The most abundant methanogen was Methanosarcina in the inoculum and the digestates. The Methanosarcina proliferation can be ascribed to its metabolic versatility, probably a feature of crucial importance for high-salinity environments. Other frequently observed methanogens were outcompeted. The population similarity at the genus level between inoculum and digestates declined during the initial stage and afterwards increased

Identification of the Methanogenesis Inhibition Mechanism Using Comparative Analysis of Mathematical Models

The application of cationic polymers to enhance membrane fluxes in anaerobic membrane bioreactors has been proposed by several authors. However, literature shows contradictory results on the influence of those chemicals on the biological activity. In this research, we studied the effect of a cationic polymer on the production of methane from acetate by acetoclastic methanogens. We assessed the effect of polymer concentration on the accumulated methane production (AMP) and the specific methanogenic activity (SMA) in batch tests. Batch tests results showed lower SMA values at higher concentrations of polymer and no effect on the final AMP. Different inhibition models were calibrated and compared to find the best fit and to hypothesize the prevailing inhibition mechanisms. The assessed inhibition models were: competitive (M1a), non-competitive (M2a), un-competitive (M3a), biocide-linear (M4a), and biocide-exponential (M5a). The parameters in the model related to the polymer characteristics were adjusted to fit the experimental data. M2a and M3a were the only models that fitted both experimental SMA and AMP. Although M1a and M4a adequately fitted the experimental SMA, M1a simulations slightly deviated from the experimental AMP, and M4a considerably underpredicted the AMP at concentrations of polymer above 0.23 gCOD L−1. M5a did not adequately fit either experimental SMA and AMP results. We compared models a (M1a to M5a), which consider the inhibition by the concentration of polymer in the bulk liquid, with models b (M1b to M5b) considering the inhibition being caused by the total concentration of polymer in the reactor. Results showed that the difference between a and b models' simulations were negligible for all kinetic models considered (M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5). Therefore, the models that better predicted the experimental data were the non-competitive (M2a and M2b) and un-competitive (M3a and M3b) inhibition models, which are biostatic inhibition models. Consequently, the decreased methanogenic activity caused by polymer additions is presumably a reversible proces

Math saves the forest

Wireless sensor networks are decentralised networks consisting of sensors that can detect events and transmit data to neighbouring sensors. Ideally, this data is eventually gathered in a central base station. Wireless sensor networks have many possible applications. For example, they can be used to detect gas leaks in houses or fires in a forest.\ud In this report, we study data gathering in wireless sensor networks with the objective of minimising the time to send event data to the base station. We focus on sensors with a limited cache and take into account both node and transmission failures. We present two cache strategies and analyse the performance of these strategies for specific networks. For the case without node failures we give the expected arrival time of event data at the base station for both a line and a 2D grid network. For the case with node failures we study the expected arrival time on two-dimensional networks through simulation, as well as the influence of the broadcast range

Application Of A Hybrid Respirometric Technique To The Characterization Of An Industrial Wastewater

Two respirometric principles are combined in an experimental setup based on a laboratory scale batch reactor and applied to the characterization of activated sludge and wastewater. In the first respirometric principle the temporary disturbance of the dissolved oxygen concentration in the reactor is used to estimate the respiration rate. To this end, the oxygen mass-transfer must be calculated and a dedicated mass-transfer estimation method was developed. In the other principle the respiration rate is calculated directly from the mass balance of dissolved oxygen over a closed vessel through which the sludge is circulated. A special arrangement eliminates the requirement for two oxygen probes, making the measurement more reliable. Since both respiration rate measurements are applied simultaneously to the same reactor, two independent outputs are obtained that can be compared and evaluated. This hybrid technique was applied to the characterization of wastewater and activated sludge of a p..