Effect of oxygen dosing point and mixing on the microaerobic removal of hydrogen sulphide in sludge digesters

Limited oxygen supply to anaerobic sludge digesters to remove hydrogen sulphide from biogas was studied. Micro-oxygenation showed competitive performance to reduce considerably the additional equipment necessary to perform biogas desulphurization. Two pilot-plant digesters with an HRT of ∼ 20 d were micro-oxygenated at a rate of 0.25 NL per L of feed sludge with a removal efficiency higher than 98%. The way of mixing (sludge or biogas recirculation) and the point of oxygen supply (headspace or liquid phase) played an important role on hydrogen sulphide oxidation. While micro-oxygenation with sludge recirculation removed only hydrogen sulphide from the biogas, dissolved sulphide was removed if micro-oxygenation was performed with biogas recirculation. Dosage in the headspace resulted in a more stable operation. The result of the hydrogen sulphide oxidation was mostly elemental sulphur, partially accumulated in the headspace of the digester, where different sulphide-oxidising bacteria were found.

Determination of the optimal rate for the microaerobic treatment of several H2S concentrations in biogas from sludge digesters

The treatment of H2S in the biogas produced during anaerobic digestion has to be carried out to ensure the efficient long-lasting use of its energetic potential. The microaerobic removal of H2S was studied to determine the treatment capacity at low and high H2S concentrations in the biogas (0.33 and 3.38% v/v) and to determine the optimal O2 rate that achieved a concentration of H2S of 150 mg/Nm3 or lower. Research was performed in pilot-plant scale digesters of sewage sludge, with 200 L of working volume, in mesophilic conditions with a hydraulic retention time of 20 d. O2 was supplied at different rates to the headspace of the digester to create the microaerobic conditions. The treatment successfully removed H2S from the biogas with efficacies of 97% for the low concentration and 99% for the highest, in both cases achieving a concentration below 150 mg/Nm3. An optimal O2 rate of 6.4 NLO2/Nm3 of biogas when treating the biogas was found with 0.33% (v/v) of H2S and 118 NLO2/ Nm3 of biogas for the 3.38% (v/v) concentration. This relation may be employed to control the H2S content in the biogas while optimising the O2 supply.

Performance evaluation of oxygen, air and nitrate for the microaerobic removal of hydrogen sulphide in biogas from sludge digestion

The removal performance of hydrogen sulphide in severely polluted biogas produced during the anaerobic digestion of sludge was studied by employing pure oxygen, air and nitrate as oxidant reactives supplied to the biodigester. Research was performed in a 200-L digester with an hydraulic retention time (HRT) of ∼20 days under mesophilic conditions. The oxygen supply (0.25 N m³/m³ feed) to the bioreactor successfully reduced the hydrogen sulphide content from 15,811 mg/N m³ to less than 400 mg/N m³. The introduction of air (1.27 N m³/m³ feed) removed more than 99% of the hydrogen sulphide content, with a final concentration of ∼55 mg/N m³. COD removal, VS reduction and methane yield were not affected under microaerobic conditions; however, methane concentration in the biogas decreased when air was employed as a result of nitrogen dilution. The nitrate addition was not effective for hydrogen sulphide removal in the biogas.

Hydrogen sulphide removal in the anaerobic digestion of sludge by micro-aerobic processes: pilot plant experience

H(2)S removal from biogas produced in anaerobic digestion of sludge through the introduction of oxygen under micro-aerobic conditions is studied. Research was carried out in two pilot plant reactors (working volume, 200 L each) treating sludge from WWTP with HRT of 20 days. Mixing was provided via sludge or biogas recirculation. Introduction of very low oxygen flow (0.013-0.024 L/L(reactor) d) successfully removed H(2)S content in biogas with an efficiency above 99%. Reactor performance during micro-aerobic operation in terms of biogas production, methane yield and COD removal were not affected by the amount of oxygen supplied, remaining stable and similar to the anaerobic behaviour. Sludge recirculation ( approximately 50 L/h) and biogas recirculation ( approximately 3.5 L/min) as mixing methods were found not significant in H(2)S removal from biogas while biogas recirculation reduced by 10 times dissolved sulphide concentration compared to sludge recirculation.

Major viral diseases affecting fish aquaculture in Spain

The number of viruses isolated from fish has grown in the last few years as a reflection of the increasing interest in fish diseases, particularly those occurring in aquaculture facilities. Of all the described viruses, only a few are considered to be of serious concern and economic importance; they are described in this review, drawing special attention to the four families of viruses (Birnaviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Iridoviridae and Reoviridae) that have been reported in Spanish aquaculture. Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, a member of the first family, is the most spread virus with a prevalence of 39%. Viral diseases are untreatable and because effective and safe vaccines for fish are not yet commercially available, a great care needs to be exercised when moving fish or eggs from one site or country to another. Some fish health control regulations have been legislated in Europe and USA.

Descriptive epidemiology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in Puerto Ricans

This study comprised 134 patients who had developed head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC), and attended the cancer clinics of the Otolaryngology Department at the Isaac González Martínez Oncologic Hospital between August 1993 and November 1995. In-person interviews, and medical record review of the HNSCC patients provided data on demography, family history of cancer, history of a second primary cancer, history of environmental, tobacco and ethanol exposure, and current disease status. The average age at the time of diagnosis was 62.3 (range 18-94), and eighty percent of the subjects were male. Most (59%) of the patients had moderately differentiated tumors and 14% had a recurrence of the carcinoma. The most frequent primary site in males was the laryngeal area, and the oral cavity in females. Exposure to alcohol and smoking were identified as predisposing factors in 95% of the patients.

Study of a viral-dual infection in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by seroneutralization, western blot and polymerase chain reaction assays

Viral-dual infections in fish are of interest to aquaculture practices but they are rarely described and studied. Several methods were applied in this work to demonstrate a case of coinfection in a reared rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) population. Inoculation in cell cultures and cross-neutralization tests were the standard procedures that made it possible to isolate and identify a birnavirus, the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), and suspect of a second virus. Western blotting with both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, and reverse transcriptional-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) demonstrate coexistence of both, IPNV and a rhabdovirus.