Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs, prion diseases) are a class of fatal neurodegenerative diseases affecting a variety of mammalian species including humans. A misfolded form of the prion protein (PrP(TSE)) is the major, if not sole, component of the infectious agent. Prions are highly resistant to degradation and to many disinfection procedures suggesting that, if prions enter wa...

Heavy metals affect the biochemical reactions that take place during anaerobic digestion processes of organic matter. In this review, the different effects observed in anaerobic digestion processes and during the production of biomethane and biohydrogen from several substrates contaminated with and/or inheriting heavy metals from the substrates themselves were discussed. It has been found that ...

Oil refinery waste activated sludge produced from oil wastewater biological treatment is a major industrial sludge. Two-phase anaerobic digestion of oil refinery waste activated sludge was studied for the first time. Thermal pretreatment under 170 °C is effective on sludge solubilization. At the optimum hydrolytic-acidogenic condition which was pH of 6.5, temperature of 55 °C and HRT of 2 days,...

In this study anaerobic digestion of selected lignocellulosic substrate, namely brewery spent grain (BSG), was studied. In order to facilitate anaerobic digestion several types of pretreatment methods were tested such as: mechanical, chemical (alkali and acid) and thermo-chemical. The anaerobic digestion experiments were carried out in a semi-continuous stirred bioreactors with the organic load...

Extensive use of nanoparticles (NPs) in consumer and industrial products has led to concerns about their potential environmental impacts; however, the influences of different NPs (e.g., nZVI (nano zero-valent iron), Ag NPs, Fe2O3 NPs and MgO NPs) on the anaerobic digestion of sludge have not yet been studied in depth. Additionally, a new guideline or the use of different NPs in the anaerobic di...

The efficient biosynthesis of methane from renewable biomass resources is discussed in this paper. Herbal-extraction process residues (HPR) are an excellent raw material for anaerobic digestion because of their abundant trace elements and fermentation stability. Anaerobic codigestion of wheat straw with HPR was evaluated at HPR/wheat straw ratios (based on total solids (TS), of wheat straw) of ...

The effect of ammonia pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion performance of rice straw was investigated. The rice straw was pretreated with four different moisture contents (30%, 50%, 70%, and 90%) and three concentrations of ammonia (2%, 4%, and 6%). The results showed that the anaerobic digestion achieved best performance for the rice straw pretreated by ammonia concentration of 4% and moist...

In this study, a short pre-aeration step was investigated as pre-treatment for thermophilic anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). It was found that pre-aeration of 48 h generated enough biological heat to increase the temperature of bulk OFMSW to 60 degrees C. This was sufficient self-heating of the bulk OFMSW for the start-up of thermophilic anaerobic di...

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of biowastes is one of the most common ways to produce methane-rich biogas, which has considerable potential to replace the fossil fuel used in multiple applications, such as vehicular transportation, internal combustion engines, cogeneration of heat and power systems and many other systems. Many companies are involved in the design and construction of anaerobic digesti...

Background.  In Ghana, faecal sludge (FS) from on-site sanitation facilities is often discharged untreated into the environment, leading to significant insults to environmental and human health. Anaerobic digestion offers an attractive pathway for FS treatment with the concomitant production of energy in the form of methane. Another innovative option includes separating digestion into acidogene...