Enhanced biogas production from anaerobic co-digestion of palm oil mill effluent using solar-assisted bioreactor

Anaerobic co-digestion (ACoD), a sustainable green technology, presents an outstanding opportunity for energy conversion and environmental pollution control. It has become a core method of treating organic wastes on account of its environmental and economic benefits of energy production. Prolonged start-up period, slow reactions, and methanogenesis are highly inhibited in the ACoD process which prevents enhancement in energy production. Instead, oxidization by hydrogen peroxide (OHP) had substantial impacts on biological break down and enhancing biogas production by ACoD methods. Again, lack of nitrogenous substrate and buffering potential has been known as an obstruction for the treatment of POME in the ACoD process. The key objective of this study was to investigate the potential of the ACoD for palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment with cattle manure (CM) in a solar-assisted bioreactor (SABr) to produce enhanced biogas. Finally, this study developed the artificial neural network (ANN) model which is an appropriate and uncomplicated modeling approach for ACoD applications to predict the outcomes of biogas production using experimental data. Standard American Public Health Association (APHA) methods analyzed the characterization of the samples. The solar panel first converted solar radiation into electricity, which warmed up the POME and CM mixture to maintain the required reactor temperature (35°C). The produced energy was analyzed at 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0 mixing ratios of POME and CM. The total biogas amount was collected in a gas bag and biogas volume was measured by the water displacement method. The mixture with equal proportions of POME and CM produced the maximum amount of biogas, i.e., 1567.00 mL, while the methane content was 64.13%. The effect of OHP at 1.00% dose with 1 mM FeCl3 addition for Fenton reaction on the POME at 30 min exposure on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) removal was 33.80% and 28.31%. The improvement of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) was 59% more for POME at 1.00% OHP doses and thus, BOD/COD was also enhanced up to 0.72 for POME. Biogas and biomethane production can be enhanced up to 46.00% and 64.83% if treated by 1.00% OHP doses. The methane composition is also enhanced up to 72.4% compared to control which was 64.13%. Biogas yield was indicated as the consequence of NH4+ toxicity. To regulate the toxicity impact of the ammonium bicarbonate on the ACoD system, a cycle of dosing from 10 to 40 mg/L was supplemented. The cumulative biogas production of 2034.00 mL was found with the addition of 10 mg/L ammonium bicarbonate and 29.80% more which are higher than that of the control ACoD operation. In ANN, the proposed multi-layered feed-forward neural network model could predict the outcomes of biogas production from the ACoD process with a mean squared error for validation of 0.0562 and an R-value for validation of 0.97733. The approach was found to be effective, flexible and versatile in coping with the non-linear relationships using available information. The economic impact of constructing a biogas plant has been successfully analyzed and predicted as well. The proposed biogas plant seems to be economically feasible because an approximately 3-year payback period, internal rate of return of 23.62% and benefitcost ratio of 1.34 on investment could be achieved if this technology is used on a large scale. So, overall this study may help in minimizing the adverse environmental effects of POME by ACoD treatment in the future and demonstrated that a complete solution to the application of SABr in the integration of different features for enhanced biogas production

Challenges and emerging approaches in life cycle assessment of engineered nanomaterials usage in anaerobic bioreactor

Nanotechnology has wide applications in all areas such as agriculture, the environment, and industry energy pharmaceuticals. The use of nanoparticles (NPs) is increasing, positive and negative effects in various environmental areas, including air, water, and soil, have recently been discovered. Various types of engineered NPs (ENPs) have been used in the renewable energy production system. Anaerobic digestion (AD) process is cost-effective and waste-to-energy production. Different types ENPs are applied in the AD method for improving biogas yield with suitable conditions. ENPs have their excellent performance in understanding their presence, behavior, and impact on water is critical during the AD process. This study aims to understand the consequence of ENPs on the biogas production rate in the AD system. ENPs interaction with bacteria in the AD process for increasing biogas yield rate in the AD process has been discussed. Cost-effective ENPs production, life cycle assessment, and challenges have been elaborated. Finally, the positive effect of ENPs in the AD system for enhancing biogas yield has been conclud

Environmental and economic life cycle assessment of biochar use in anaerobic digestion for biogas production

Due to the increasing demand for sustainable energy sources and effective management of the ever-increasing volume of organic waste, anaerobic digestion (AD) has continued to play a crucial role in biogas production in recent years. Biochar (BC) is a highly flexible material manufactured by carbonizing organic resources like biomass and trash in line with circular economy standards and “tailor-made” for certain purposes. The capacity of BC as an additive to address various well-established crucial difficulties in AD methods has been extensively studied during the last 10 years. Nevertheless, a comprehensive and credible explanation of the BC-AD link remains elusive. The life cycle analysis (LCA) of the biogas enhancement mechanism would provide a quantitative indicator of its long-term viability. The reported LCA studies of AD processes are analyzed in this chapter, showing that few systematic studies cover the whole process; thus results may be inconclusive. LCA results can be influenced by the heterogeneity of the AD method, reactor structure and conditions, and other influences. The absence of a conventional formation for LCAs utilized to the biogas yield method is a component in the inconsistent LCA results. Other considerations for instance systematic maintenance, transportation, system boundaries, temporal units, allocation preference, and waste disposal must be involved in the LCA plan. Notably, the economic pressure of both upstream and downstream systems should be included in the LCA phase. Inevitably, process design, optimization and modeling, and intensification will be the major future research subjects. This chapter provides a thorough and critical examination of the LCA and its sustainability evaluation for the whole AD procedure, which would be helpful in potential research

Challenges and emerging approaches in life cycle assessment of engineered nanomaterials usage in anaerobic bioreactor

Due to the increasing demand for sustainable energy sources and effective management of the ever-increasing volume of organic waste, anaerobic digestion (AD) has continued to play a crucial role in biogas production in recent years. Biochar (BC) is a highly flexible material manufactured by carbonizing organic resources like biomass and trash in line with circular economy standards and \“tailor-made\” for certain purposes. The capacity of BC as an additive to address various well-established crucial difficulties in AD methods has been extensively studied during the last 10 years. Nevertheless, a comprehensive and credible explanation of the BC-AD link remains elusive. The life cycle analysis (LCA) of the biogas enhancement mechanism would provide a quantitative indicator of its long-term viability. The reported LCA studies of AD processes are analyzed in this chapter, showing that few systematic studies cover the whole process; thus results may be inconclusive. LCA results can be influenced by the heterogeneity of the AD method, reactor structure and conditions, and other influences. The absence of a conventional formation for LCAs utilized to the biogas yield method is a component in the inconsistent LCA results. Other considerations for instance systematic maintenance, transportation, system boundaries, temporal units, allocation preference, and waste disposal must be involved in the LCA plan. Notably, the economic pressure of both upstream and downstream systems should be included in the LCA phase. Inevitably, process design, optimization and modeling, and intensification will be the major future research subjects. This chapter provides a thorough and critical examination of the LCA and its sustainability evaluation for the whole AD procedure, which would be helpful in potential research

Anti-fungal efficacy of aqueous leaf extracts Neem (Azadirachta indica) in the treatment of tap water

High-quality drinking water coming from treatment plants is susceptible to pollution and severe deterioration due to the drinking water delivery system prior to access to consumers’ faucets. The results of this study confirmed that Neem leaves extract and chlorine at all concentrations had antifungal activity during tap water treatment. This study has provided excellence about the ability of Neem leaves extraction and chlorine as a disinfectant for Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Aspergillus spp. in treating tap water. The most notable factors were the dosage, time, and agitation selected to evaluate their effects on reducing the development of fungal communities in drinking water using the central composite design (CCD) in the response surface methodology (RSM). The CCD was performed with a 2 complete central composite design with five different stage coordinate components. Because the Neem leaves can be processed locally and should also be encouraged for use in water treatment. This will eventually reduce the high costs and health risks associated with chemical water treatment. This technology is cheap, conventional, readily available, and suitable for rural areas, as nature’s biological methods generate no treatable waste

Assessment of physico-chemical parameters of surface water quality in Chini Lake Area, Pahang, Malaysia

Because of pollution from mining and agriculture that has been poured into the surface water, the contamination level in the Chini lake water-shed has increased. As a result, the current study was conducted to assess the surface water quality of Chini Lake in Pahang, Malaysia. The principal compo-nent analysis was utilized to classify the investigated data into five categories based on the sources of pollutants, and the correlation between all of these groups was shown. Cluster analysis, on the other hand, divided ten monitoring sites into two groups (high and moderate pollution). The experimental results were analyzed and categorised using the Department of Environment Water Quality Index (DOE-WQI) in accordance to the Malaysian National Water Quality Standard (NWQS). The most contaminated parameters in the study area were pH and ammoniacal nitrogen, according to the findings. In fact, the worst situation (class III) was found at station T4, where tributaries were heavily con-taminated, followed by farmland and mining areas at stations 3 and 4. Finally, according to the WQI Malaysia, the lake water quality was classed as class II. Furthermore, the water quality has been confirmed to be acceptable for safe human body contact and a variety of recreational activities

Assessment of heavy metal contamination of agricultural and mining soil around Chini Lake: Implication of seasonal variation

The surface soils are the essential part of the terrestrial ecosystem which receives contaminations from many sources including plants in urban regions. In general, the quality of soil in the Tasik Chini Catchment area increased with annual rainfall, slope steepness, and land use categories. The metal-polluted surface soil adversely affects the health of humans and the ecosystem in towns and cities. Ten selected heavy metals (Mn, Cd, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Cr, Ni, Ba, and Pb) were correlated with soil properties to assess the quality of surface soil in the Tasik Chini area. Based on the result, the soil of the study area it was found that between the dry and rainy seasons, the stations showed a declining trend in Cu. In the mining zone and downstream, Co concentrations were found to be higher than the low alert level (LAL). Mn concentrations at various locations remained nearly constant across the seasons, however, station AGS1 exhibited a considerable increase during the wet period. Over the seasons, Ba concentrations were measured relatively even at different locations. Suddenly, station AGS3 displayed extremely high Ba concentration readings. This could be a result of uphill mining in that basin. Pb, on the other hand, was partially above the LAL, while the other heavy elements were not involved in the pollution. From the dry to the wet season, Pb concentrations at various locations decreased. Heavy metals were discovered in soil from the lake's farmland, mining zone, and draining area. This indicates that the heavy metals come from mining and agriculture and make their way to the lake's draining point. The statistical analysis as mean and standard deviation was calculated for all the heavy metals in soil along with ten stations as listed in. Furthermore, those values were used for the computation of correlation analysis, PCA, and CA

The antifungal efficiency of Moringa oleifera seed extracts for tap water treatment

Water must be pure and free of any contaminants for human consumption. However, due to indiscriminate human activity, its quality has worsened, resulting in many illnesses that plague humanity, particularly in developing nations. Promising water treatment procedures are considerably more expensive, and many of the disinfectants now in use are toxic, making the hunt for safer organic alternatives even more difficult. Moringa seeds have long been used to clean drinking water and minimize the health concerns associated with microorganisms in rural communities. Using central composite design (CCD) in response surface technique, the parameters identified as the essential components, dose, duration, and agitation, were chosen to assess their influence on eradicating the growth of fungal communities in the drinking water by response surface methodology (RSM). The CCD was done with two complete factorial combination components at five distinct levels. The typical two fungi widespread in the tap water samples have selected Aspergillus sp. (73%) and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa (63%). Fungal mycelia growth gradually decreased with increased concentration of Moringa oleifera seeds extract and chlorine on Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Aspergillus sp. The modified determination coefficients (adj R2) for the CFU of Moringa seeds were also 0.8122 and 0.8405. This study aims to highlight the performance activity of Moringa seeds while treating tap water instead of using rapid usage of chlorine in the traditional method. This study found that Moringa oleifera extract seeds and chlorine have antifungal action against disinfectants at all concentrations. Using Moringa oleifera seeds extract and chlorine as a disinfectant on Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Aspergillus spp. in treating tap water is a viable alternative. This method would significantly reduce the high costs and health concerns of current chemical water treatment methods. The method is traditional and simple to apply, making it suitable for rural regions. It also produces no non-treatable wastes because it is biological

Characterisation of synthesised trimetallic nanoparticles and its influence on anaerobic digestion of palm oil mill effluent

The augmentation of biogas production can be achieved by incorporating metallic nanoparticles as additives within anaerobic digestion. The objective of this current study is to examine the synthesis of Fe–Ni–Zn and Fe–Co–Zn trimetallic nanoparticles using the co-precipitation technique and assess its impact on anaerobic digestion using palm oil mill effluent (POME) as carbon source. The structural morphology and size of the synthesised trimetallic nanoparticles were analysed using a range of characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The average size of Fe–Ni–Zn and Fe–Co–Zn were 19–25.5 nm and 19.1–30.5 nm respectively. Further, investigation focused on examining the diverse concentrations of trimetallic nanoparticles, ranging from 0 to 50 mgL−1. The biogas production increased by 55.55% and 60.11% with Fe–Ni–Zn and Fe–Co–Zn trimetallic nanoparticles at 40 mgL−1 and 20 mgL−1, respectively. Moreover, the lowest biogas of 11.11% and 38.11% were found with 10 mgL-1 of Fe–Ni–Zn and Fe–Co–Zn trimetallic nanoparticles. The findings of this study indicated that the trimetallic nanoparticles exhibited interactions with anaerobes, thereby enhancing the degradation process of palm oil mill effluent (POME) and biogas production. The study underscores the potential efficacy of trimetallic nanoparticles as a viable supplement for the promotion of sustainable biogas generation

PRIKAZ UNUTRAŠNJEG SFINKTERA URETRE I VAGINE U ZDRAVIH ŽENA I OBOLJELIH OD STRES INKONTINENCIJE MOKRAĆE I PROLAPSA VAGINE

Introduction. The internal urethral sphincter (IUS) is a cylinder formation that extends from the urinary bladder neck to the urogenital diaphragm. It is composed of a strong collagen sheet with muscle fibers that intermingle with the collagen in the middle of the cylinder’s thickness. The strong collagen sheet gives the IUS the high wall tension necessary to create the high urethral pressure. The muscle fibers, innervated by alpha sympathetic nerves (T10-L2) are responsible for closure and opening the urethra. Urinary continence depends on the presence of an intact and strong IUS and of an acquired behavior, gained by learning and training in early childhood, how to maintain a high alpha sympathetic tone at the IUS keeping it closed until there is a need. Normal vagina is a cylinder of collageno-elastic-muscular tissues. Its strong collagen sheet is responsible for keeping it in its normal upward position. Labors cause redundancy and weakness of the vaginal walls with subsequent prolapse and lacerations of the IUS which is intimately overlying the anterior vaginal wall resulting in stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Objectives. To image by 3D-US and MRI the IUS and the vagina; and to examine their histopathology. Methods. Histopathology as well as 3D-US and MR imaging are done. Results. Images show the IUS as a compact tissue cylinder that extends from the bladder neck to the urogenital diaphragm in continent women; IUS is torn in women with SUI. Conclusion. The anterior vaginal wall and the IUS are torn in patients with SUI and with vaginal prolapse. They are intact in continent women.Uvod. Unutrašnji uretralni sfinkter (IUS) je cilindričnog oblika, proteže se od vrata mokraćnog mjegura do urogenitalne dijafragme. Sastoji se od čvrstog kolagenog sloja s mišićnim vlaknima koja su izmiješana s kolagenom u sredini debljine cilindra. Jaki kolageni sloj daje IUS-u snažnu napetost stijenke potrebnu da stvori visoki intrauretralni tlak. Mišićna vlakna, inervirana alfa simpatičnim živcima (Th10-L2) su odgovorna za zatvaranje i otvaranje uretre. Kontinencija mokraće ovisi o postojanju intaktnog i jakog IUS-a te o stečenom ponašanju, učeći i vježbajući u ranom djetinjstvu kako održati visoki alfa simpatički tonus IUS-a, držeći ga zatvorenim dok je potrebno. Normalna vagina je cilindrična cijev kolageno-elastično-mišićnog tkiva. Njen jaki kolageni sloj je odgovoran za njen uspravni položaj. Porod uzrokuje suvišak i slabost vaginalne stijenke s posljedičnim prolapsom i laceracijom IUS-a, koji intimno prileži prednjoj vaginalnoj stijenci, što rezultira stresnom mokraćnom inkontinencijom (SUI). Cilj istraživanja. Prikazati trodimenzionalnim ultrazvukom (3D-UZ) i magnetskom rezonancijom (MR) te histopatološkim pregledom intrauretralni sfinkter i vaginu. Metode. Histopatološka tehnika te 3D-UZ i MR prikazi. Rezultati. Prikazi pokazuju IUS kao kompaktni tkivni cilindar koji se proteže od vrata mokraćnog mjehura do urogenitalne dijafragme u kontinentnih žena; IUS je oštećen u žena sa SUI. Zaključak. Prednja vaginalna stijenka i IUS bivaju oštećeni (prsnuti) u pacijentica sa SUI i s vaginalnim prolapsom. Oni su intaktni u kontinentnih žena