This work examined how adding one of three polyelectrolyte flocculants (T3052: cationic, T2000: non-ionic, and T1052: anionic) affected the anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge. Methane production, floc characteristics (morphology and zeta-potential) and process parameters (soluble chemical oxygen demands (SCODs) and reductive potentials) were monitored along the digestion tests. The digest...

Quorum sensing is a concentration-sensing mechanism that plays a vital role in sludge granulation. In this study, the regularities of distribution of different signal molecules, including intra- and interspecific signal molecules (diffusible signal factor, DSF), interspecific signal molecules (autoinducter-2, AI-2) and intraspecific signal molecules (acyl-homoserine lactones, AHLs), from three ...

Effects of different pretreatment methods on sludge dewaterability and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) degradation during petrochemical sludge anaerobic digestion were studied. Results showed that the total biogas production volume in the thermal pretreatment system was 4 and 5 times higher than that in the ultrasound pretreatment and in the control system, and the corresponding volatil...

With the deterioration of the water resources of the world, looking for an economically viable solution to treat wastewater is a challenge, especially in developing countries, where the costs of setting up, operation and maintenance of conventional aerobic treatment plants are difficult to be met with. The various advantages of the anaerobic treatment technologies over the existing aerobic trea...

The deposit feeding sea cucumber Parastichopus tremulus is an underutilised resource in North Atlantic waters. Geographically it distributed from the Barents Sea north to Canary Islands south. At present performance of P. aquaculture largely unknown. Species and stage specific biological knowledge gaps need be filled for a potential industry develop, feeds that support growth needs special atte...

Bulking of activated sludge is a world-wide problem which negatively affects wastewater treatment efficiency. The most common reasons of bulking are bacterial community changes, especially excessive growth of filamentous bacteria (filamentous bulking) or excess of biopolymers on the surface of non-filamentous microbes (non-filamentous or Zoogleal bulking). Because of the complex nature of the b...

The removal of Total and Volatile Suspended Solids (TSS/VSS) was studied in a pilot-scale UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed) reactor treating settled sewage under subtropical conditions (Salta, Argentina). The effect of sludge bed height (hsb) and upflow velocity (Vup) on the removal of TSS and VSS was assessed. TSS and VSS removal efficiencies of up to 95% have been achieved when Vup ≤ 0.43 m/...

Lightweight aggregate (LWA) production with sewage sludge and municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash is an effective approach for waste disposal. This study investigated the stability of heavy metals in LWA made from sewage sludge and MSWI fly ash. Leaching tests were conducted to find out the effects of MSWI fly ash/sewage sludge (MSWI FA/SS) ratio, sintering temperature and sinteri...