Enhancing biohydrogen production from mono-substrates and co-substrates using a novel bacterial strains

The staggering increase in pollution associated with a sharp tightening in global energy demand is a major concern for organic substances. Renewable biofuel production through simultaneous waste reduction is a sustainable approach to meet this energy demand. This study co-fermentation of dairy whey and SCB was performed using mixed and pure bacterial cultures of Salmonella bongori, Escherichia coli, and Shewanella oneidensis by dark fermentation process for hydrogen production. The maximum H2 production was 202.7 ± 5.5 H2/mL/L, 237.3 ± 6.0 H2/mL/L, and 198 ± 9.9 H2/mL/L obtained in fermentation reactions containing dairy whey, solid and liquid hydrolysis of pretreated sugarcane bagasse as mono-substrates. The H2 production was greater in co-substrate by 347.3 ± 18.5 H2/mL/L under optimized conditions (pH 7.0, temperature 37 °C, substrate concentration 30:50 g/L) than expected in mono-substrate conditions, which confirms that co-fermentation of different substrates enhances the H2 potential. Fermentation medium during bio-H2 production under GC analysis has stated that using mixed cultures in dark fermentation favored acetic acid and butyric acid. Co-substrate degradation produces ethyl alcohol, benzoic acid, propionic acid, and butanol as metabolic by-products. The difference in the treated and untreated substrate and carbon enrichment in the substrates was evaluated by FT-IR analysis. The present study justifies that rather than the usage of mono-substrate for bio-H2 production, the co-substrate provided highly stable H2 production by mixed bacterial cultures. Fabricate the homemade single-chamber microbial fuel cell to generate electricity.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03687-9.

Ascorbic acid-mediated zero-valent iron enhanced hydrogen production potential of bean dregs and corn stover by photo fermentation

Ascorbic acid was introduced to enhance the performance of zero-valent iron (Fe(0)) in hydrogen production by photo fermentation of bean dregs and corn stover. The highest hydrogen production of 664.0 ± 5.3 mL and hydrogen production rate of 34.6 ± 0.1 mL/h was achieved at 150 mg/L ascorbic acid, which was 10.1% and 11.5% higher than that of 400 mg/L Fe(0) alone. The supplement of ascorbic acid to Fe(0) system accelerated the formation of Fe(Ⅱ) in solution due to its reducing and chelating ability. Hydrogen production of Fe(0) and ascorbic acid-Fe(0) (AA-Fe(0)) systems at different initial pH (5, 6, 7, 8 and 9) was studied. Result showed that hydrogen produced from AA-Fe(0) system was improved by 2.7-27.5% compared with Fe(0) system. The maximum hydrogen production of 767.5 ± 2.8 mL was achieved with initial pH 9 in the AA-Fe(0) system. This study provided a strategy for enhancing biohydrogen production.

Strategy for economical and enhanced polyhydroxyalkanoate production from synergistic utilization of palm oil and derived wastewater by activated sludge

The potential of palm oil and derived wastewater pretreated by enzyme as co-substrates to accumulate polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) rich in short and medium-chain-length monomers under two feeding strategies was evaluated batchwise through mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) in activated sludge. A terpolymer with the maximum PHA content of 30.5 wt%, volumetric yield of 0.372 g COD/g COD and composition of ca. 84.7 ∼ 97.4/0.5 ∼ 1.6/2.1 ∼ 13.7 (3-hydroxybutyrate/ 3-hydroxyvalerate/ 3-hydroxyoctanoate, %) was achieved as a result of co-substrate incorporation. From the perspective of economic benefits, PHA accumulated via adopting strategy of supplementing carbon source to the same initial concentration per cycle saved 42.7 % of carbon consumption, along with a reduction in culture time (72 h). The above discoveries signify that the combination of palm oil and derived wastewater plus MMCs provides an alternative to the plastics industries for a more sustainable and efficient utilization of biological resources and an economic PHA accumulation approach.

Enhancing anaerobic co-digestion of primary settled-nightsoil sludge and food waste for phosphorus extraction and biogas production: effect of operating parameters and determining phosphorus transformation

The study aimed to comprehensively determine P extraction efficiency and co-digestion of food waste (FW) and primary settled-nightsoil sludge (PSNS) process performance influenced by different hydraulic retention times (4, 7, 10, and 15 days) and mixture ratios of FW:PSNS in substrates (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100). P-transformation was evaluated to identify P fractionation in both supernatant and sludge accumulated in reactors. The results showed that anaerobic co-digestion was inhibited by the accumulation of undigested feedstock due to higher %PSNS found in AD4 (25FW:75PSNS) and AD5 (100PSNS). A more stable process was found in AD2 (75FW:25PSNS) under hydraulic retention time (HRT) 15 days in which COD removal efficiency and P release were 97.2 and 80.2%, respectively. This recommended condition allowed a high organic loading rate (OLR) at 12 gVS/L/day resulting in the highest biogas yield of 0.93 L/L/day. Distribution of P data demonstrated that most of P in feedstock was deposited and accumulated in sediment up to 97.8%. Poor biodegradability resulting from using shortened HRT led to high increased P-solid content in effluent. In addition, available P in effluents and accumulated P-solids in sediment obtained from the AcoD process has the potential to serve as sources for P recovery.

with in-situ co-substrates: A mechanistic analysis based on pathway, genomics, and enzyme activity

Using co-substrates to enhance the metabolic activity of microbes is an effective way for high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons removal in petroleum-contaminated environments. However, the long degradation period and exhausting substrates limit the enhancement of metabolic activity. In this study, Altererythrobacter sp. N1 was screened from petroleum-contaminated soil in Shengli Oilfield, China, which could utilize pyrene as the sole carbon source and energy source. Saturated aromatic fractions and crude oils were used as in-situ co-substrates to enhance pyrene degradation. Enzyme activity was influenced by the different co-substrates. The highest degradation rate (75.98%) was achieved when crude oil was used as the substrate because strain N1 could utilize saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons from crude oil simultaneously to enhance the degrading enzyme activity. Moreover, the phthalate pathway was dominant, while the salicylate pathway was secondary. Furthermore, the Rieske-type aromatic cyclo-dioxygenase gene was annotated in the Altererythrobacter sp. N1 genome for the first time. Therefore, the co-metabolism of pyrene was sustained to achieve a long degradation period without the addition of exogenous substrates. This study is valuable as a potential method for the biodegradation of high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Enhanced sulfonamides removal via microalgae-bacteria consortium via co-substrate supplementation

Both co-cultivation and co-substrate addition strategies have exhibited massive potential in microalgae-based antibiotic bioremediation. In this study, glucose and sodium acetate were employed as co-substrate in the cultivation of microalgae-bacteria consortium for enhanced sulfadiazine (SDZ) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) removal. Glucose demonstrated a two-fold increase in biomass production with a maximum specific growth rate of 0.63 ± 0.01 d^-1 compared with sodium acetate. The supplementation of co-substrate enhanced the degradation of SDZ significantly up to 703 ± 18% for sodium acetate and 290 ± 22% for glucose, but had almost no effect on SMX. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, including peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase decreased with co-substrate supplementation. Chlorophyll a was associated with protection against sulfonamides and chlorophyll b might contribute to SDZ degradation. The addition of co-substrates influenced bacterial community structure greatly. Glucose enhanced the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, while sodium acetate improved the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes significantly.

Enhanced bioremediation of sediment contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by combined stimulation with sodium acetate/phthalic acid

In this study, four groups of laboratory scale experiments were performed by adding sodium acetate (SA), phthalic acid (PA), and SA-PA to river sediment to observe the microbial response and biodegradation efficiency of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results showed that the amount of total organic carbon consumed and the amount of sulfate reduction were both positively correlated (p < 0.01) with the biodegradation efficiency of the sum (∑) PAHs (∼40.5%). The lower the number of rings, the more PAHs were biodegraded, with an efficiency of 63.0% for ∑ (2 + 3) ring PAHs. Based on high-throughput sequencing and molecular ecological network analysis, it was found that the combined stimulation of SA and PA not only increased the relative abundance of PAHs-degrading bacterial (eg., Proteobacteria, Desulfobacterota, Campilobacterota and Firmicutes), but also had a strengthening effect on microbes in sediments. The altered microbial structure caused a variation in metabolic functions, which increased the amino acid metabolism to 12.2%, thus increasing the positive correlations among genera and improving the connectivity of the microbial network (p < 0.01). These changes may be responsible for the enhanced biodegradation of PAHs under SA-PA dosing in comparison to SA or PA dosing alone. This study revealed that the microbial community was stimulated by the combined addition of SA and PA, and indicated its role in enhancing biodegradation of PAHs in contaminated river sediments.

Measuring the NQO2: Melatonin Complex by Native Nano-Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Melatonin exerts its effects through a series of target proteins/receptors and enzymes. Its antioxidant capacity might be due to its capacity to inhibit a quinone reductase (NQO2) at high concentration (50 μM). Demonstrating the existence of a complex between a compound and a protein is often not easy. It requires either that the compound is an inhibitor-and the complex translates by an inhibition of the catalytic activity-or the compound is radiolabeled-and the complex translates in standard binding approaches, such as in receptology. Outside these two cases, the detection of the protein:small molecule complexes by mass spectrometry has recently been made possible, thanks to the development of so-called native mass spectrometry. Using this approach, one can measure masses corresponding to an intact noncovalent complex between a compound and its target, usually after titration or competition experiments. In the present chapter, we detail the characterization of NQO2:melatonin interaction using native mass spectrometry.

Evaluation of methane production from the anaerobic co-digestion of manure of guinea pig with lignocellulosic Andean residues

The objective of this research was to evaluate anaerobic co-digestion of guinea pig manure (GP) with Andean agricultural residues such as amaranth (AM), quinoa (QU) and wheat (TR) in batch biodigesters under mesophilic conditions (37 ⁰C) for 40 days. As microbial inoculum, sewage treatment sludge was used in two inoculum/substrate ratios (ISR of 1 and 2). In terms of methane production, the best results occurred in treatments containing AM and QU as co-substrate and an ISR of 2. Thus, the highest methane production yield in the GP:AM biodigesters (25:75) and GP:QU (25:75) with 341.86 mlCH₄/g VS added and 341.05 mlCH₄/g VS added, respectively. On the other hand, the results showed that methane production with an ISR of 2 generated higher yields for guinea pig waste and the methane fraction of the biogas generated was in a range from 57 to 69%. Methane production kinetics from these raw materials was studied using five kinetic models: modified Gompertz, logistic equation, transfer, cone and Richards. The cone model adjusted best to the experimental values ​​with those observed with r² of 0.999 and RMSE of 1.16 mlCH₄/g VS added. Finally, the highest biodegradability (experimental yield/theoretical yield) was obtained in the GP-AM biodigesters (25:75) with 67.92%.

Co-composting materials can further affect the attenuation of antibiotic resistome in soil application

This study investigated the effects of representative co-substrate (corncob particles) and additive (brick granules) alone on antibiotic resistome of swine manure during composting and subsequent compost application. For relative abundances, four antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) types encoding resistance to aminoglycoside, multidrug, florfenicol-chloramphenicol-amphenicol-fluoroquinolone-quinolone, and sulfonamide increased remarkably during composting, whereas all the ARG types decreased after compost application. Interestingly, much more ARG subtypes (50.1% in total) were reduced in corncob addition treatment. Meanwhile, the addition of corncob particles lowered the relative abundance and diversity of ARGs more significantly. Microbial community exhibited conspicuous changes across the manure, compost, and soil samples where the dominant genera were completely different. Procrustes test proved the co-occurrence and driving effect of microbial community on resistome variation, especially in corncob addition treatment during composting. Network analysis demonstrated that the dissipation of the dominant genera such as Ruminofilibacter, Luteimonas, and Pseudidiomarina in the composts after application contributed greatly to the reduction in ARG relative abundance. Besides, the low abundance of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in soil also accounted for the attenuation of ARGs to some extent. Our findings clearly proved that co-composting materials can further affect the attenuation of antibiotic resistome in soil application, which can help in understanding the spread and control of ARGs during agricultural process.

Insights into enhanced polyhydroxyalkanoate production by the synergistic use of waste wood hydrolysate and volatile fatty acids by mixed microbial cultures

The feasibility of producing polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) from pretreated waste wood hydrolysate and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from sewage fermented products as co-substrate feedstock through mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) process was explored. The results showed that the addition of co-substrate shortened the cycle of PHA reaching the maximum and increased the proportion of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) monomer. Compared with N-excess supply, almost 1.6 times increased PHA accumulation was realized under N-limitation, and simultaneously the highest proportion of 3HV monomer with 51% was also obtained. Additionally, PHA production in S1400 reactor reached a maximum value of about 3088 mg COD/L with culture time to 36 h. The microbial community also displayed a high diversity, which was composed of 65 bacterial genera. It is a novel attempt to accumulate PHA from pretreated waste wood hydrolysate and VFAs co-substrate through MMCs, providing an effective green approach to reduce its expensive cost and achieve mass production.

Could co-substrate sodium acetate simultaneously promote Chlorella to degrade amoxicillin and produce bioresources?

Integrating microalgae culture and wastewater purification is a promising technology for sustainable bioresource production. However, the challenge is that toxins in wastewater usually limit risk elimination and cause poor bioresource production. Easy-to-biodegrade substrates could alleviate the resistant stress on a bacterial community but we know little about how they function with microalgae. In this study, we tested if Easy-to-biodegrade substrates could simultaneously promote Chlorella to degrade antibiotic amoxicillin (AMO) and produce bioresources. Sodium acetate (NaAC) was used as the representative co-substrate. The results showed NaAC could enhance AMO removal by 76%. The β-lactam structure was destroyed and detoxified to small molecules, due to the up-regulation of hydrolase, oxidoreductase, reductase, and transferase. Chlorella biomass production increased by 36%. The genes encoding the glutathione metabolism and peroxisome pathways were significantly up-regulated to alleviate the antibiotic stress, and the DNA replication pathway was activated. As a result, the production of lipid, carbohydrate, and protein was enhanced by 61%, 122%, and 34%, respectively. This study provides new insights for using microalgae to recover bioresources from toxic wastewater and reveals the critical underlying mechanisms.

Creating biotransformation of volatile fatty acids and octanoate as co-substrate to high yield medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate

Using mixed microbial consortium (MMC) to accumulate polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is an effective strategy to solve high production cost and reduce the amount of excess sludge. In this study, a process for the production of short-chain-length and medium-chain-length PHA using volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from pretreated wood hydrolysate synergistic with octanoate as co-substrate was proposed. The effects of co-substrate ratios on PHA accumulation ability and physical properties were investigated. The incorporation of co-substrate accelerated the time of PHA and 3-hydroxyoctanoate reaching the maximum production (1834 and 280 mg COD/L). The highest PHA content was 53.0% (w/w), which was equivalent to that reported previously. The biopolymer films possessed high tensile strength, Young's modulus, and could be used in the field of water vapor barrier requirements. The accumulation strategy applied for converting fermentation products VFAs and octanoate co-substrate into high value and yield PHA could potentially demonstrate the valuable for low-cost large-scale production.

A new approach to enhance the conventional two-phase anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge

BACKGROUND

Two-phase anaerobic co-digestion (TAcoD) is a versatile technology for the simultaneous treatment of organic materials and biogas production. However, the produced digestate and supernatant of the system contain heavy metals and organic substances that need to be treated prior to discharge or land application. Therefore, in this study, an innovative TAcoD for organic fertilizer and high supernatant quality achievement was proposed.

METHODS

In the conventional TAcoD, mixed sewage sludge (SS) and food waste (FW) were first hydrolyzed in the acidogenic reactor, and then the hydrolyzate substrate was subjected to the methanogenic reactor (TAcoD 1). In the modified TAcoD (TAcoD 2), only FW was fed into the acidogenic reactor, and the produced hydrolyzed solid was directly converted to the organic fertilizer, while the supernatant with high soluble chemical demand (SCOD) concentration was further co-digested with SS in the methanogenic reactor.

RESULTS

Although TAcoD 1 produced bio-methane yield and potential energy of 56.18% and 1.6-fold higher than TAcoD 2, the economical valorization of TAcoD 2 was 9-fold of that from TAcoD 1. The supernatant quality of TAcoD 2 was far better than TAcoD 1, since the SCOD, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphor (TP) removal in TAcoD 2 and TAcoD 1 were 94.3%, 79.4%, 90.7%, and 68.9%, 28%, 46%, respectively. In terms of solid waste management, the modified TAcoD converted FW to organic fertilizer and achieved a solid reduction of 43.62% higher than that of conventional TAcoD.

CONCLUSIONS

This new modification in two-phase anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge provides a potentially feasible practice for simultaneous bio-methane, organic fertilizer, and high supernatant quality achievement.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40201-020-00603-8.

Simultaneous elimination of amoxicillin and antibiotic resistance genes in activated sludge process: Contributions of easy-to-biodegrade food

Antibiotics are continuously released into aquatic environments and ecosystems where they accumulate, which increases risks from the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, it is difficult to completely remove antibiotics by conventional biological methods, and during such treatment, ARGs may spread via the activated sludge process. Easy-to-biodegrade food have been reported to improve the removal of toxic pollutants, and therefore, this study investigated whether such co-substrates may also decrease the abundance of ARGs and their transferal. This study investigated amoxicillin (AMO) degradation using 0-100 mg/L acetate sodium as co-substrate in a sequencing biological reactor. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria were identified as dominant phyla for AMO removal and mineralization. Furthermore, acetate addition increased the abundances of adeF and mdsC as efflux resistance genes, which improved microbial resistance, the coping ability of AMO toxicity, and the repair of the damage from AMO. As a result, acetate addition contributed to almost 100% AMO removal and stabilized the chemical oxygen demand (~20 mg/L) in effluents when the influent AMO fluctuated from 20 to 100 mg/L. Moreover, the total abundance of ARGs decreased by approximately ~30%, and the proportion of the most dominant antibiotic resistance bacteria Proteobacteria decreased by ~9%. The total abundance of plasmids that encode ARGs decreased by as much as ~30%, implying that the ARG spreading risks were alleviated. In summary, easy-to-biodegrade food contributed to the simultaneous elimination of antibiotics and ARGs in an activated sludge process.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-3-hydroxyvalerate) production from pretreated waste lignocellulosic hydrolysates and acetate co-substrate

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of producing Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) by mixed microbial culture (MMC) with lignocellulosic hydrolysates and acetate co-substrate as feedstock. The addition of co-substrate acetate led to the introduction of HV monomer into the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), and the initial mixed sludge suspension (MLSS) increased with the increase of acetate. Almost 1.91-fold increase in the yield of PHA was achieved with limited nitrogen medium (the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) was 33) compared to the normal nitrogen medium (C/N = 20). Limiting nitrogen source and micro alkaline culture environment was more conducive to the accumulation of PHBV. PHA production achieved to the highest value of about 2308.45 mg/L under the condition of optimized technology. Acidovorax was the dominant genus of all bioreactors using co-substrate. Further, utilizing lignocellulosic hydrolysate and acetate co-substrate as feedstock in mixed microbial culture was a promising approach in a low-cost large-scale PHA production.

Irrigation of Zea mays with UASB-treated textile wastewater; effect on early irrigation of Zea mays with UASB-treated textile wastewater; effect on early growth and physiology

In this study, mature seeds of Zea mays (Malka 16) were irrigated with untreated and UASB-treated wastewater with combination of 50% textile and 50% sewage at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 0, 5, 10, and 15 h. Four other treatments diluted with distilled water (DW) were also evaluated. Eight-week analysis of irrigation revealed very small differences in the results of plant biomass and growth parameters of control and those irrigated with 15 h (HRT) treatments. The values of both types of water were observed as chlorophyll a and b contents, 5.9, 3.4, vs 5.5, 3.1 mg g^-1, total chlorophyll 9.4 vs 8.8 mg g^-1, carotenoids 9.5 vs 8.7 mg g^-1, spad values 61.4 vs 56.3, net photosynthetic rate (A) 15.6 vs 14.5 μmol m^-2 S^-1, transpiration rate (E) 3.98 vs 3.8 μmol m^-2 S^-1, stomatal conductance 5.9 vs 5.8 μmol m^-2 S^-1, water use efficiency 10.3 vs 9.7 mmol Cmm^-1 H₂O, electrolyte leakage 115 vs 98% and total soluble proteins 385 vs 354 in leaves and 260 vs 231 g^-1 FW in roots. While this stress enhanced H₂O₂ 92 vs 115 and 195 vs 224 Units g^-1, MDA 6.8 vs 9.1 and 5.9 vs 8.3 Units g^-1, activities of enzymatic antioxidants SOD 25 vs 63 and 54 vs 63 Units g^-1, POD 1170 vs 1310 and 570 vs 650 Units g^-1, CAT 570 vs 820 and 880 vs 1040 Units g^-1, and APX 235 vs 278 and 134 vs 187 Units g^-1 in leaves and roots, respectively. Heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, and Zn) in such plants were mostly within or about permissible limits of NEQS. The results obtained were more close to that of control. This practice may lead to clean environment and its reuse shall also reduce the stress on fresh water. Early researches transpire a little work done on the reuse of UASB-treated textile wastewater with co substrate, for irrigation purpose.

Synergistic effects of co-trace elements on anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge at high organic load

Trace elements play an indispensable role in stabilizing the performance of anaerobic co-digestion (Co-AD) of food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS) at greater organic load (OL). The results of high organic-loaded reactors showed that the stability of the system failed due to the buildup of volatile fatty acid (VFA) and ammonia. At the OL of 6.5 g/L, the stability of the system failed due to the buildup of propionic acid. The optimum dosage of Fe (5000 mg/L), Ni (200 mg/L), Zn (320 mg/L), and Mo (2.2 mg/L) was experimentally determined and added to reduce the inhibition condition. Consequently, the propionic acid concentration, which was above 1500 mg/L reduced to under 500 mg/L during Co-AD. Hence, higher biogas production, and biodegradability of 236 ± 23 mL/g VS, and 41.75%, respectively, were obtained. Increasing OL (9.5 g/L), the stability of the system was hindered due to only the buildup of ammonia (up to 188 ± 6 NH₃-N mg/L). Therefore, the trace elements of Cu (250 mg/L) and Co (3 mg/L) were experimentally determined and added into the Co-AD to diminish ammonia accumulation and process instability. The experimental results showed that at OL of 14 g/L, biogas production, low ammonia concentration and biodegradability of 332 ± 21 mL/g VS, and 70 NH3-N mg/L, and 57.89%, respectively, were achieved. However, the performance and stability of the system failed at the higher OL due to the more increased ammonia and VFA concentration, and the greater dosages of trace elements did not enhance the process stability.

Co-metabolism for enhanced phenol degradation and bioelectricity generation in microbial fuel cell

Co-metabolism is one of the effective approaches to increase the removal of refractory pollutants in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), but studies on the links between the co-substrates and biodegradation remain limited. In this study, four external carbon resources were used as co-substrates for phenol removal and power generation in MFC. The result demonstrated that acetate was the most efficient co-substrate with an initial phenol degradation of 78.8% and the voltage output of 389.0 mV. Polarization curves and cyclic voltammogram analysis indicated that acetate significantly increased the activity of extracellular electron transfer (EET) enzyme of the anodic microorganism, such as cytochrome c OmcA. GC-MS and LC-MS results suggested that phenol was biodegraded via catechol, 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde, and pyruvic acid, and these intermediates were reduced apparently in acetate feeding MFC. The microbial community analysis by high-throughput sequencing showed that Acidovorax, Geobacter, and Thauera were predominant species when using acetate as co-substrate. It can be concluded that the efficient removal of phenol was contributed to the positive interactions between electrochemically active bacteria and phenolic degradation bacteria. This study might provide new insight into the positive role of the co-substrate during the treatment of phenolic wastewater by MFC.

Feeding control of anaerobic co-digestion of waste activated sludge and corn silage performed by rule-based PID control with ADM1

Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) of corn silage (CS) and waste activated sludge (WAS) co-substrates, compared with anaerobic digestion (AD) of mono-substrate WAS, was simulated under mesophilic conditions with the adapted IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1), and a rule-based PID control system for control of the AcoD of CS and WAS, through control of their ratios in the feed, was developed, implemented with the model as a test platform. Tests on AcoD of co-substrates were conducted at the COD mass-based feeding ratios of CS to WAS 1:2.5, 1:2.0 and 1:1.2. The maximal biogas production was 0.94 m³/kgVS·d at the feeding ratio 1:1.2. The ADM1 was adapted, and the high-sensitivity kinetic parameters were calibrated and optimised using the data from the tests of steady state mono-digestion of WAS and AcoD of CS and WAS. The simulated data of biogas and methane production, methane content, VFA and pH agreed well with the test data. The rule-based PID control was developed with an additional expert system, in which the lower level controller operated the level of VFA/TIC and the upper level controller manipulated the setpoints of methane production. The feeding ratio of CS to WAS was used as a manipulated variable. With the constraint boundaries, the test on the control system showed that it could keep methane production stable to the setpoint and maximise methane production while resisting the disturbances to AcoD by adjusting the feeding ratios of CS to WAS.

Combination of multi-enzyme expression fine-tuning and co-substrates addition improves phenyllactic acid production with an Escherichia coli whole-cell biocatalyst

The aim of this study was to develop an environmentally safe and efficient method for phenyllactic acid (PLA) production using whole-cell cascade catalysis with l-amino acid deaminase (l-AAD), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and formate dehydrogenase (FDH). The PPA titer was low due to relatively low expression of LDH, intermediate accumulation, and lack of cofactors. To address this issue, ribosome binding site regulation, gene duplication, and induction optimization were performed to increased the PLA titer to 43.8 g/L. Then co-substrates (glucose, yeast extract, and glycerol) were used to increase NADH concentration and cell stability, resulting that the PLA titer was increased to 54.0 g/L, which is the highest reported production by biocatalyst. Finally, glucose was replaced with wheat straw hydrolysate as co-substrate to decrease the cost. Notably, the strategies reported herein may be generally applicable to other whole-cell cascade biocatalysts.

Co-feeding spent coffee grounds in anaerobic food waste digesters: Effects of co-substrate and stabilization strategy

Anaerobic digestion of spent coffee grounds (SCG) is considered disadvantageous, particularly under mono-digestion conditions, owing to slow degradation and nutrient imbalance. This study investigated the effect of co-feeding of SCG at a low ratio into food waste (FW) digesters, with the aim to determine whether SCG can be effectively treated and valorized using the spare capacity of existing digesters. Duplicate reactors showed stable performance under FW mono-digestion conditions but manifested severe deterioration in three volume turnovers after co-feeding of SCG (FW:SCG at 10:1 on a volatile solids basis). The reactors failed to recover despite repeated interrupted feeding and stabilization, and Ulva was added (FW:SCG:Ulva at 20:2:1) for nutrient supplementation. The two reactors subjected to different stabilization strategies (i.e., timing and intervals of interrupted feeding) responded differently to Ulva co-feeding: one recovered and maintained stable albeit suboptimal performance, whereas the other failed. Furthermore, the microbial communities developed differently in the reactors.

Bioelectrogenesis from Raw Algal Biomass Through Microbial Fuel Cells: Effect of Acetate as Co-substrate

Algae are autotrophic organisms that are widespread in water bodies. Increased pollution in water bodies leads to eutrophication. However, algae growing in lakes undergoing eutrophication could be utilized towards the generation of added-value bio-electricity using microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In the present study, two methods of electricity generation using raw algae (RA) and RA + acetate (AC) as co-substrate were analyzed in single chamber air cathode MFCs. MFCs supplemented with RA and RA + AC clearly showed higher power density, greater current generation, and improved COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal, which demonstrated the feasibility of using AC as substrate for MFC. The MFC-RA + AC (0.48 mA) generated 28% higher current relative to that generated by MFC with RA alone. Notably, the maximum power densities generated by MFC-RA and MFC-RA + AC were 230 and 410 mW/m2, respectively. MFC-RA and MFC-RA + AC exhibited TCOD (total chemical oxygen reduction) removal values of 77% and 86.6%, respectively. Despite the high influent TCOD (758 mg/l) concentration, the MFC-RA + AC exhibited an 8.5% higher COD removal relative to that of MFC-RA (525 mg/l). Our current findings demonstrated effective energy generation using algae biomass with a co-substrate.

Degradation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and determination of bacterial community structure by micro-electrical stimulation with or without external organic carbon source

This study aimed to investigate the degradation efficiency of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol through a batch of potentiostatic experiments (0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl). Efficiencies in the presence and absence of acetate and glucose were compared through open-circuit reference experiments. Significant differences in degradation efficiency were observed in six reactors. The highest and lowest degradation efficiencies were observed in the closed-circuit reactor fed with glucose and in the open-circuit reactor, respectively. This finding was due to the enhanced bacterial metabolism caused by the application of micro-electrical field and degradable organics as co-substrates. The different treatment efficiencies were also caused by the distinct bacterial communities. The composition of bacterial community was affected by adding different organics as co-substrates. At the phylum level, the most dominant bacteria in the reactor with the added acetate and glucose were Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, respectively.

Roles of an easily biodegradable co-substrate in enhancing tetracycline treatment in an intimately coupled photocatalytic-biological reactor

Intimately coupled photocatalysis and biodegradation (ICPB) was realized in a macroporous carrier in which a photocatalyst was present on the outer surface, while a biofilm accumulated inside the carrier. In ICPB, photocatalysis products are rapidly biodegraded by a protected biofilm, leading to mineralization of the refractory organics, such as antibiotics. However, mineralization in ICPB could be compromised if the photocatalysis products remain refractory or are inhibitory. To address this, we attempted to increase metabolic activity by providing a readily biodegradable co-substrate (acetate) that could act as a source of energy and electrons to improve biotransformation and mineralization of the refractory antibiotic tetracycline (TCH). When we added acetate during ICPB of TCH, TCH removal increased by ∼5%, mineralization increased by ∼20%, and almost all photocatalysis products disappeared. Acetate addition also led to an increase in active biomass, an increase in the biomass's respiratory activity, and evolution of the microbial community to having more members able to biodegrade photocatalysis and biotransformation intermediates. Thus, providing an easily biodegradable co-substrate was an effective means for enhancing TCH removal and mineralization with the ICPB technology.

Inactivation of enteric indicator bacteria and system stability during dry co-digestion of food waste and pig manure

Provision of digestate with satisfactory biosafety is critical to land application of digestate and to the anaerobic digestion approach to treating manure and food waste (FW). No studies have been conducted on digestate biosafety in dry co-digestion systems. The aim of this study was to assess the inactivation efficiency and possible inactivation mechanism for three enteric indicator bacteria and the system stability during dry mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of FW and pig manure (PM). The effects of two different inocula were examined at a rate of 50% based on volatile solids (VS): digestate taken from existing dry co-digestion digesters and dewatered anaerobic sludge from a local wastewater treatment plant. The FW/PM ratios of 50:50 and 75:25 on a VS basis were also assessed. The results showed that using digestate as the inoculum and a FW/PM ratio of 50:50 led to stable dry co-digestion, with the specific methane yield (SMY) of 252mL/gVS_added. Total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration was a significant inhibition factor for methane production during dry co-digestion (P<0.001). The data also showed that dry co-digestion of FW and PM effectively inactivated enteric indicator bacteria. E. coli and total coliforms counts decreased below the limit of detection (LOD, 10²CFU/g) within 4-7days, with free VFA identified as a significant inactivation factor. Enterococci were more resistant but nonetheless the counts decreased below the LOD within 12days in the digestate inoculum systems and 26-31days in the sludge inoculum systems. The residence time was the most significant inactivation factor for enterococci, with the free VFA concentration playing a secondary role at high FW/PM ratio in the sludge inoculum system. In conclusion, digestate as inoculum and the FW/PM ratio of 50:50 were preferable operation conditions to realize system stability, methane production and enteric indicator bacteria inactivation.

High-yield production of 1,3-propanediol from glycerol by metabolically engineered Klebsiella pneumoniae

BACKGROUND

Glycerol is a major byproduct of the biodiesel industry and can be converted to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) by microorganisms through a two-step enzymatic reaction. The production of 1,3-PDO from glycerol using microorganisms is accompanied by formation of unwanted byproducts, including lactate and 2,3-butanediol, resulting in a low-conversion yield.

RESULTS

Klebsiella pneumoniae was metabolically engineered to produce high-molar yield of 1,3-PDO from glycerol. First, the pathway genes for byproduct formation were deleted in K. pneumoniae. Then, glycerol assimilation pathways were eliminated and mannitol was co-fed to the medium. Finally, transcriptional regulation of the dha operon were genetically modified for enhancing 1,3-propanediol production. The batch fermentation of the engineered strain with co-feeding of a small amount of mannitol yielded 0.76 mol 1,3-PDO from 1 mol glycerol.

CONCLUSIONS

Klebsiella pneumoniae is useful microorganism for producing 1,3-PDO from glycerol. Implemented engineering in this study successfully improved 1,3-PDO production yield, which is significantly higher than those reported in previous studies.

Reduced use of phosphorus and water in sequential dark fermentation and anaerobic digestion of wheat straw and the application of ensiled steam-pretreated lucerne as a macronutrient provider in anaerobic digestion

BACKGROUND

Current EU directives demand increased use of renewable fuels in the transportation sector but restrict governmental support for production of biofuels produced from crops. The use of intercropped lucerne and wheat may comply with the directives. In the current study, the combination of ensiled lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) and wheat straw as substrate for hydrogen and methane production was investigated. Steam-pretreated and enzymatically hydrolysed wheat straw [WSH, 76% of total chemical oxygen demand (COD)] and ensiled lucerne (LH, 24% of total COD) were used for sequential hydrogen production through dark fermentation and methane production through anaerobic digestion and directly for anaerobic digestion. Synthetic co-cultures of extreme thermophilic Caldicellulosiruptor species adapted to elevated osmolalities were used for dark fermentation.

RESULTS

Based on 6 tested steam pretreatment conditions, 5 min at 200 °C was chosen for the ensiled lucerne. The same conditions as applied for wheat straw (10 min at 200 °C with 1% acetic acid) would give similar sugar yields. Volumetric hydrogen productivities of 6.7 and 4.3 mmol/L/h and hydrogen yields of 1.9 and 1.8 mol/mol hexose were observed using WSH and the combination of WSH and LH, respectively, which were relatively low compared to those of the wild-type strains. The combinations of WSH plus LH and the effluent from dark fermentation of WSH plus LH were efficiently converted to methane in anaerobic digestion with COD removal of 85-89% at organic loading rates of COD 5.4 and 8.5 g/L/day, respectively, in UASB reactors. The nutrients in the combined hydrolysates could support this conversion.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates the possibility of reducing the water addition to WSH by 26% and the phosphorus addition by 80% in dark fermentation with Caldicellulosiruptor species, compared to previous reports. WSH and combined WSH and LH were well tolerated by osmotolerant co-cultures. The yield was not significantly different when using defined media or hydrolysates with the same concentrations of sugars. However, the sugar concentration was negatively correlated with the hydrogen yield when comparing the results to previous reports. Hydrolysates and effluents from dark fermentation can be efficiently converted to methane. Lucerne can serve as macronutrient provider in anaerobic digestion. Intercropping with wheat is promising.

Bioremediation of PAHs contaminated river sediment by an integrated approach with sequential injection of co-substrate and electron acceptor: Lab-scale study

In this study, the feasibility of employing an integrated bioremediation approach in contaminated river sediment was evaluated. Sequential addition of co-substrate (acetate) and electron acceptor (NO₃^-) in a two-phase treatment was capable of effectively removing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in river sediment. The residual concentration of total PAHs decreased to far below effect range low (ERL) value within 91 days of incubation, at which concentration it could rarely pose biological impairment. The biodegradation of high molecular weight PAHs were found to be mainly occurred in the sediment treated with co-substrates (i.e. acetate or methanol), in which acetate was found to be more suitable for PAHs degradation. The role of co-substrates in influencing PAHs biodegradation was tentatively discussed herein. Additionally, the sediment odorous problem and blackish appearance were intensively addressed by NO₃^- injection. The results of this study demonstrated that integrating two or more approaches/processes would be a helpful option in sediment remediation. It can lead to a more effective remediation performance, handle multiple contamination issues, as well as mitigate environmental risks caused by one of the single methods.

Ulva biomass as a co-substrate for stable anaerobic digestion of spent coffee grounds in continuous mode

Ulva biomass was evaluated as a co-substrate for anaerobic digestion of spent coffee grounds at varying organic loads (0.7-1.6g chemical oxygen demand (COD)/Ld) and substrate compositions. Co-digestion with Ulva (25%, COD basis) proved beneficial for SCG biomethanation in both terms of process performance and stability. The beneficial effect is much more pronounced at higher organic and hydraulic loads, with the highest COD removal and methane yield being 51.8% and 0.19L/g COD fed, respectively. The reactor microbial community structure changed dynamically during the experiment, and a dominance shift from hydrogenotrophic to aceticlastic methanogens occurred with increase in organic loading rate. Network analysis provides a comprehensive view of the microbial interactions involved in the system and confirms a direct positive correlation between Ulva input and methane productivity. A group of populations, including Methanobacterium- and Methanoculleus-related methanogens, was identified as a possible indicator for monitoring the biomethanation performance.

Anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge with grease trap sludge and municipal solid waste as co-substrates

The feasibility of simultaneous treatment of multiple wastes via co-digestion was studied in semi-continuous mode at mesophilic conditions. The obtained results indicated that sewage sludge, organic fraction of municipal waste (OFMSW) and grease trap sludge (GTS) possess complementary properties that can be combined for successful anaerobic digestion. During the co-digestion period, methane yield and VS removal were significantly higher in comparison to digestion of sewage sludge alone. Addition of GTS to digesters treating sewage sludge resulted in increased VS removal and methane yield up to 13% (from 50 to 56.4) and 52% (from 300 to 456,547m³/Mg VS_add), respectively. While the use of OFMSW as the next co-substrate in the feedstock, can boost methane yield and VS removal up to 82% (300-547m³/Mg VS_add) and approximately 29% (from 50% to 64.7%), respectively. Moreover, the results of the present laboratory study revealed that the addition of co-substrates to the feedstock had a significant influence on biogas composition. During the experiment methane content in biogas ranged from 67% to 69%. While, the concentration of LCFAs was increasing with the gradual increase in the share of co-substrates in the mixtures, wherein only the oleic acid was higher than some inhibition concentrations which have been reported in the literature. However, it did not significantly affect the efficiency of the co-digestion process.

Improvement of whole-cell transamination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae using metabolic engineering and cell pre-adaptation

Background

Whole-cell biocatalysis based on metabolically active baker’s yeast with engineered transamination activity can be used to generate molecules carrying a chiral amine moiety. A prerequisite is though to express efficient ω-transaminases and to reach sufficient intracellular precursor levels.

Results

Herein, the efficiency of three different ω-transaminases originating from Capsicum chinense, Chromobacterium violaceum, and Ochrobactrum anthropi was compared for whole-cell catalyzed kinetic resolution of racemic 1-phenylethylamine to (R)-1-phenylethylamine. The gene from the most promising candidate, C. violaceum ω-transaminase (CV-TA), was expressed in a strain lacking pyruvate decarboxylase activity, which thereby accumulate the co-substrate pyruvate during glucose assimilation. However, the conversion increased only slightly under the applied reaction conditions. In parallel, the effect of increasing the intracellular pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (PLP) level by omission of thiamine during cultivation was investigated. It was found that without thiamine, PLP supplementation was redundant to keep high in vivo transamination activity. Furthermore, higher reaction rates were achieved using a strain containing several copies of CV-TA gene, highlighting the necessity to also increase the intracellular transaminase level. At last, this strain was also investigated for asymmetric whole-cell bioconversion of acetophenone to (S)-1-phenylethylamine using l-alanine as amine donor. Although functionality could be demonstrated, the activity was extremely low indicating that the native co-product removal system was unable to drive the reaction towards the amine under the applied reaction conditions.

Conclusions

Altogether, our results demonstrate that (R)-1-phenylethylamine with >99% ee can be obtained via kinetic resolution at concentrations above 25 mM racemic substrate with glucose as sole co-substrate when combining appropriate genetic and process engineering approaches. Furthermore, the engineered yeast strain with highest transaminase activity was also shown to be operational as whole-cell catalyst for the production of (S)-1-phenylethylamine via asymmetric transamination of acetophenone, albeit with very low conversion.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-016-0615-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Reviewing the anaerobic digestion and co-digestion process of food waste from the perspectives on biogas production performance and environmental impacts

In this paper, factors that affect biogas production in the anaerobic digestion (AD) and anaerobic co-digestion (coAD) processes of food waste are reviewed with the aim to improve biogas production performance. These factors include the composition of substrates in food waste coAD as well as pre-treatment methods and anaerobic reactor system designs in both food waste AD and coAD. Due to the characteristics of the substrates used, the biogas production performance varies as different effects are exhibited on nutrient balance, inhibitory substance dilution, and trace metal element supplement. Various types of pre-treatment methods such as mechanical, chemical, thermal, and biological methods are discussed to improve the rate-limiting hydrolytic step in the digestion processes. The operation parameters of a reactor system are also reviewed with consideration of the characteristics of the substrates. Since the environmental awareness and concerns for waste management systems have been increasing, this paper also addresses possible environmental impacts of AD and coAD in food waste treatment and recommends feasible methods to reduce the impacts. In addition, uncertainties in the life cycle assessment (LCA) studies are also discussed.

Deciphering how LIP2 and POX2 promoters can optimally regulate recombinant protein production in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

Background

In recent years, the non-conventional model yeast species Yarrowia lipolytica has received much attention because it is a useful cell factory for producing recombinant proteins. In this species, expression vectors involving LIP2 and POX2 promoters have been developed and used successfully for protein production at yields similar to or even higher than those of other cell factories, such as Pichia pastoris. However, production processes involving these promoters can be difficult to manage, especially if carried out at large scales in fed-batch bioreactors, because they require hydrophobic inducers, such as oleic acid or methyl oleate. Thus, the challenge has become to reduce loads of hydrophobic substrates while simultaneously promoting recombinant protein production. One possible solution is to replace a portion of the inducer with a co-substrate that can serve as an alternative energy source. However, implementing such an approach would require detailed knowledge of how carbon sources impact promoter regulation, which is surprisingly still lacking for the LIP2 and POX2 promoters. This study’s aim was thus to better characterize promoter regulation and cell metabolism in Y. lipolytica cultures grown in media supplemented with different carbon sources.

Results

pPOX2 induction could be detected when glucose or glycerol was used as sole carbon source, which meant these carbon source could not prevent promoter induction. In addition, when a mixture of glucose and oleic acid was used in complex medium, pPOX2 induction level was lower that that of pLIP2. In contrast, pLIP2 induction was absent when glucose was present in the culture medium, which meant that cell growth could occur without any recombinant gene expression. When a 40/60 mixture of glucose and oleic acid (w/w) was used, a tenfold increase in promoter induction, as compared to when an oleic-acid-only medium was observed. It was also clear that individual cells were adapting metabolically to use both glucose and oleic acid. Indeed, no distinct subpopulations that specialized on glucose versus oleic acid were observed; such an outcome would have led to producer and non-producer phenotypes. In medium containing both glucose and oleic acid, cells tended to directly metabolize oleic acid instead of storing it in lipid bodies.

Conclusions

This study found that pLIP2 is a promoter of choice as compared to pPOX2 to drive gene expression for recombinant protein production by Y. lipolytica used as cell factory.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-016-0558-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Integrated biological and advanced oxidation based treatment of hexamine bearing wastewater: Effect of cow-dung as a co-substrate

This work examines the treatment of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) bearing effluent from N, N-dinitroso pentamethylene tetra-mine producing industrial plants in India. Chemical treatment using Fenton's reagent and aerobic treatment using batch reactors with co-substrate were investigated. Aerobic batch reactors integrated with advanced oxidation process of Fenton's reagent provides effective treatment of HMT effluents. Influence of Fenton's reagent dose reaction/contact and effect of varying co-substrate with effluent initial concentration was observed. Higher dose 100 mL of Fenton's reagent with higher reaction time 20 h resulted better degradation (34.88%) of wastewater. HMT hydrolyzes in acidic environment to ammonia and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde under normal conditions is toxic for biological treatment processes. When hydrolysis and acidification in the reactors are accompanied by low pH, aerobic batch reactors with use of co-substrates glucose, sucrose, and cow-dung extract separately in different proportion to wastewater ranging from 0.67 to 4.00, degraded wastewater effectively. Higher proportion of co-substrate to wastewater resulted better degradation. The relationships between nitrate, pH, turbidity and COD are discussed.

Chronic alcohol binging injures the liver and other organs by reducing NAD⁺ levels required for sirtuin's deacetylase activity

NAD(+) levels are markedly reduced when blood alcohol levels are high during binge drinking. This causes liver injury to occur because the enzymes that require NAD(+) as a cofactor such as the sirtuin de-acetylases cannot de-acetylate acetylated proteins such as acetylated histones. This prevents the epigenetic changes that regulate metabolic processes and which prevent organ injury such as fatty liver in response to alcohol abuse. Hyper acetylation of numerous regulatory proteins develops. Systemic multi-organ injury occurs when NAD(+) is reduced. For instance the Circadian clock is altered if NAD(+) is not available. Cell cycle arrest occurs due to up regulation of cell cycle inhibitors leading to DNA damage, mutations, apoptosis and tumorigenesis. NAD(+) is linked to aging in the regulation of telomere stability. NAD(+) is required for mitochondrial renewal. Alcohol dehydrogenase is present in every visceral organ in the body so that there is a systemic reduction of NAD(+) levels in all of these organs during binge drinking.

Influence of co-substrate on textile wastewater treatment and microbial community changes in the anaerobic biological sulfate reduction process

This study investigated the anaerobic treatment of sulfate-rich synthetic textile wastewater in three sulfidogenic sequential batch reactors (SBRs). The experimental protocol was designed to examine the effect of three different co-substrates (lactate, glucose, and ethanol) and their concentrations on wastewater treatment performance. Sulfate reduction and dye degradation were improved when lactate and ethanol were used as electron donors, as compared with glucose. Moreover, under co-substrate limited concentrations, color, sulfate, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies were declined. By reducing co-substrate COD gradually from 3000 to 500 mg/L, color removal efficiencies were decreased from 98.23% to 78.46%, 63.37%, and 69.10%, whereas, sulfate removal efficiencies were decreased from 98.42%, 82.35%, and 87.0%, to 30.27%, 21.50%, and 10.13%, for lactate, glucose, and ethanol fed reactors, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and total aromatic amine analysis revealed lactate to be a potential co-substrate for further biodegradation of intermediate metabolites formed after dye degradation. Pyrosequencing analysis showed that microbial community structure was significantly affected by the co-substrate. The reactor with lactate as co-substrate showed the highest relative abundance of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRBs), followed by ethanol, whereas the glucose-fed reactor showed the lowest relative abundance of SRB.

Synergistic co-digestion of solid-organic-waste and municipal-sewage-sludge: 1 plus 1 equals more than 2 in terms of biogas production and solids reduction

Making good use of existing water infrastructure by adding organic wastes to anaerobic digesters improves the energy balance of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) substantially. This paper explores co-digestion load limits targeting a good trade-off for boosting methane production, and limiting process-drawbacks on nitrogen-return loads, cake-production, solids-viscosity and polymer demand. Bio-methane potential tests using whey as a model co-substrate showed diversification and intensification of the anaerobic digestion process resulting in a synergistical enhancement in sewage sludge methanization. Full-scale case-studies demonstrate organic co-substrate addition of up to 94% of the organic sludge load resulted in tripling of the biogas production. At organic co-substrate addition of up to 25% no significant increase in cake production and only a minor increase in ammonia release of ca. 20% have been observed. Similar impacts were measured at a high-solids digester pilot with up-stream thermal hydrolyses where the organic loading rate was increased by 25% using co-substrate. Dynamic simulations were used to validate the synergistic impact of co-substrate addition on sludge methanization, and an increase in hydrolysis rate from 1.5 d(-1) to 2.5 d(-1) was identified for simulating measured gas production rate. This study demonstrates co-digestion for maximizing synergy as a step towards energy efficiency and ultimately towards carbon neutrality.

Biohydrogen production by co-fermentation of crude glycerol and apple pomace hydrolysate using co-culture of Enterobacter aerogenes and Clostridium butyricum

Co-substrate utilization of various wastes with complementary characteristics can provide a complete medium for higher hydrogen production. This study evaluated potential of apple pomace hydrolysate (APH) co-fermented with crude glycerol (CG) for increased H2 production and decreased by-products formation. The central composite design (CCD) along with response surface methodology (RSM) was used as tool for optimization and 15 g/L of CG, 5 g/L of APH and 15% (v/v) inoculum were found to be optimum to produce as high as 26.07 ± 1.57 mmol H2/L of medium. The p-value of 0.0017 indicated that APH at lower concentration had a significant effect on H2 production. By using CG as sole carbon source, reductive pathway of glycerol metabolism was favored with 19.46 mmol H2/L. However, with APH, oxidative pathway was favored with higher H2 production (26.07 ± 1.57 mmol/L) and decrease in reduced by-products (1,3-propanediol and ethanol) formation. APH inclusion enhanced H2 production, and decreased substrate inhibition.

Intimately coupling of photolysis accelerates nitrobenzene biodegradation, but sequential coupling slows biodegradation

Photo(cata)lysis coupled with biodegradation is superior to photo(cata)lysis or biodegradation alone for removal of recalcitrant organic compounds. The two steps can be carried out sequentially or simultaneously via intimate coupling. We studied nitrobenzene (NB) removal and mineralization to evaluate why intimate coupling of photolysis with biodegradation was superior to sequential coupling. Employing an internal circulation baffled biofilm reactor, we compared direct biodegradation (B), biodegradation after photolysis (P+B), simultaneous photolysis and biodegradation (P&B), and biodegradation with nitrophenol (NP) and oxalic acid (OA) added individually and simultaneously (B+NP, B+OA, and B+NP+OA); NP and OA were NB's main UV-photolysis products. Compared with B, the biodegradation rate P+B was lower by 13-29%, but intimately coupling (P&B) had a removal rate that was 10-13% higher; mineralization showed similar trends. B+OA gave results similar to P&B, B+NP gave results similar to P+B, and B+OA+NP gave results between P+B and P&B, depending on the amount of OA and NP added. The photolysis product OA accelerated NB biodegradation through a co-substrate effect, but NP was inhibitory. Although decreasing the UV photolysis time could minimize the inhibition impact of NP in P+B, P&B gave the fastest removal of NB by accentuating the co-substrate effect of OA.

Co-metabolic degradation of diazo dye- reactive blue 160 by enriched mixed cultures BDN

Mixed cultures BDN (BDN) proficient in decolourizing diazo dye-reactive blue 160 (RB160) consist of eight bacterial strains, was developed through culture enrichment method from soil samples contaminated with anthropogenic activities. The synthrophic interactions of BDN have led to complete decolourization and degradation of RB160 (100mg/L) within 4h along with co-metabolism of yeast extract (0.5%) in minimal medium. BDN microaerophilicaly decolourized even 1500mg/L of RB160 under high saline conditions (20g/L NaCl) at 37°C and pH 7.0. BDN exhibited broad substrate specificity and decolourized 27 structurally different dyes. The reductase enzymes symmetrically cleaved RB160 and oxidative enzymes further metabolised the degraded products and five different intermediates were identified using FTIR, (1)HNMR and GC-MS. The phytotoxicity assay confirmed that intact RB160 was more toxic than dye degraded intermediates. The BDN was able to colonize and decolourized RB160 in soil model system in presence of indigenous miocroflora as well as in sterile soil without any amendment of additional nutrients, which signifies it useful and potential application in bioremediation.

Degradation of high concentrations of nonionic surfactant (linear alcohol ethoxylate) in an anaerobic fluidized bed reactor

The removal and degradation of the nonionic surfactant linear alcohol ethoxylate (LAE)Genapol® C-100 in an anaerobic fluidized bed reactor were evaluated with 4.7 mg LAE/L to 107.4 mg LAE/L added to the synthetic substrate (535 ± 121 mg/L to 882 ± 126 mg/L of organic matter). High removal efficiencies of the COD (chemical oxygen demand) (88%) and LAE (98%) were observed even at high surfactant concentrations during the 492 days of operation. The absence of sucrose in the synthetic substrate modified the microbial community. Similarity coefficients between the phases with sucrose and without sucrose were 74% and 59% for the Archaea and Bacteria domains, respectively. The higher LAE removal (98%) was obtained for the 97.9 mg LAE/L influent in the absence of the co-substrate, as well as the greater diversity of volatile fatty acid. At the end of the reactor operation 2.05 mg of LAE was adsorbed in the biomass and 98.5% was biodegraded.

Application of a novel enzymatic pretreatment using crude hydrolytic extracellular enzyme solution to microalgal biomass for dark fermentative hydrogen production

In this study, a novel enzymatic pretreatment of Chlorella vulgaris for dark fermentative hydrogen production (DFHP) was performed using crude hydrolytic extracellular enzyme solution (CHEES) extracted from the H2 fermented effluent of food waste. It was found that the enzyme extracted at 52 h had the highest hydrolysis efficiency of microalgal biomass, resulting in the highest H2 yield of 43.1 mL H2/g dry cell weight along with shorter lag periods. Even though a high amount of VFAs was accumulated in CHEES, especially butyrate, the fermentative bacteria on the DFHP was not affected from product inhibition. It also appears that the presence of organic acids, especially lactate and acetate, contained in the CHEES facilitated enhancement of H2 production acted as a co-substrate. Therefore, all of the experimental results suggest that the enhancement of DFHP performance caused by CHEES has a dual role as the hydrolysis enhancer and the co-substrate supplier.

Co-metabolic transformation of the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid by the new soil isolate Pseudoxanthomonas indica CGMCC 6648

A new imidacloprid (IMI) degrading bacterium Z-9 (deposited number CGMCC 6648) was isolated and identified as Pseudoxanthomonas indica by 16S rRNA gene analysis. Two metabolites were identified as olefin and 5-hydroxy IMI by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. P. indica CGMCC 6648 degraded 70.1% of IMI (1.22 mmol L(-1)) and formed 0.93 mmol L(-1) 5-hydroxy IMI and 0.05 mmol L(-1) olefin IMI in 6 days and in the presence of 100 mmol L(-1) glucose. The half-life of IMI degradation was 3.6 days. P. indica CGMCC 6648 transforms IMI via a co-metabolism mechanism and different carbohydrates have significant effects on 5-hydroxy IMI formation, whereas different organic acids have substantial effects on olefin IMI production. Lactose is the best co-substrate for IMI degradation and 5-hydroxy IMI formation with 0.77 mmol L(-1) degraded and 0.67 mmol L(-1) formed in 48 h, respectively. Pyruvate is the best co-substrate for olefin IMI formation with 0.17 mmol L(-1) produced in 96 h for all carbon sources tested. Pyruvate significantly stimulates the conversion of 5-hydroxy IMI to olefin IMI, whereas glucose slightly inhibits this reaction. P. indica CGMCC 6648 rapidly degrades IMI and forms olefin IMI, which may enhance its potential for biodegradation of IMI and increase its insecticidal activity, which can decrease the IMI dosage required.

Biogas and biohydrogen production potential of high strength automobile industry wastewater during anaerobic degradation

High strength automobile industry wastewater, collected from decanters (DECA) of the pre-treatment plant after oil, grease and sludge separation, was investigated for production of methane in the absence and presence of glucose or excess aerobic sludge (AS) from a lab scale suspension reactor as co-substrates. The highest methane production from DECA wastewater was 335.4 L CH4/kg CODsoluble removal which decreased in the presence of the co-substrates to 232.5 (with 2 g/L glucose) and to 179 (with 40% AS) L CH4/kg CODsoluble removal, respectively. Around 95% of total methane was produced within 5 days of incubation of DECA at 37 °C when no co-substrate was added. Addition of co-substrates did not improve biodegradation of DECA but overall methane production from DECA + co-substrates was increased due to co-substrate biodegradation. The anaerobic inoculum, capable of producing 2.4 mol of hydrogen/mol of glucose under zinc induced inhibitory conditions, was unable to produce hydrogen from DECA as substrate under the same conditions.

Effects of co-substrate and biomass acclimation concentration on the bioregeneration of azo dye-loaded mono-amine modified silica

Bioregeneration of mono-amine modified silica gel (MAMS) adsorbent loaded with Acid Orange 7 (AO7), Acid Yellow 9 (AY9) and Acid Red 14 (AR14), respectively, was investigated under two different operational conditions, namely absence/presence of sucrose/bacto-peptone as the co-substrate and different biomass acclimation concentrations. The results revealed that the AY9- and AR14-loaded MAMS adsorbents could almost be completely bioregenerated but only in the presence of co-substrate whereas the bioregeneration of AO7-loaded MAMS could achieve up to 71% in the absence of the co-substrate. These differences could be related to the structural properties of the investigated azo dyes. In addition, the results showed that the bioregeneration duration of AO7-loaded MAMS could be progressively shortened by using biomass acclimated to increasingly higher AO7 concentration. However, the bioregeneration efficiencies were found to be relatively unchanged under different biomass acclimation concentrations.

Biodegradation of Green HE4B: Co-substrate effect, biotransformation enzymes and metabolite toxicity analysis

A high exhaust reactive dye, Green HE4B (GHE4B) was 98% degraded in nutrient medium by Pseudomonas desmolyticum NCIM 2112 (pd2112) within 72 h at static condition. Decolorization time in synthetic 10 g/l molasses. Addition of 5 g/l peptone to NaCl medium had reduced decolorization time from 108 to 72 h. Beef extract do not contribute more to the inducing effect of peptone, however it is a good co-substrate in sucrose or urea containing NaCl medium. Intracellular lignin peroxidase (Lip), laccase and tyrosinase activities were induced by 150, 355 and 212%, respectively till maximum dye removal took place. Aminopyrine N-demethylase (AND) and dichlorophenol indophenol reductase (DCIP-reductase) activities in pd2112 were induced by 130 and 20%, respectively at 72 h of incubation during GHE4B decolorization. By high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, 4-hydroxybenzene sulfonic acid and 4-amino, 6-hydroxynaphthalene 2-sulfonic acids were identified as metabolites formed during 24-72 h incubation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis supports the formation of these aromatic amines. pd2112, aerobically degraded GHE4B metabolites (formed at static condition) showing stationary phase of 6 days. There was no germination inhibition of Sorghum bicolor and Triticum aestivum by GHE4B metabolites at 3,000 ppm concentration however untreated dye showed germination inhibition at the same concentration. GHE4B metabolites did not show any microbial toxicity at 10,000 ppm concentration.