IWA Anaerobic Digestion SG Newsletter - 2014-09

Specialist Group on
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
Newsletter: September 2014

CONTENTS
Chairmans note.......................................................................................................................................................2
Contributions to the Newsletter ...............................................................................................................................3
Management comitee of the AD Specialist Group ..................................................................................................4
How to join the Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion......................................................................................4
Update from the Task Groups on Anaerobic Digestion...........................................................................................5
News from the world on Anaerobic Digestion ........................................................................................................6
Past and coming conferences and events .................................................................................................................7
PhD and MSc theses on anaerobic digestion .........................................................................................................13
Anaerobic digestion projects .................................................................................................................................34
Anaerobic URL sites .............................................................................................................................................35
News from IWA HQ..............................................................................................................................................36
News from IWA Publishing ..................................................................................................................................38
Disclaimer: This is not a journal, but a Newsletter issued by the IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion.
Statements made in this Newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of the Specialist Group or those of the IWA.
The use of information supplied in the Newsletter is at the sole risk of the user, as the Specialist Group and the IWA do
not accept any responsibility or liability.
IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

Issue - September 2014 Newsletter
CHAIRMANS NOTE
There has certainly been a lot happening in the last year since AD13 in
Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where we had a fantastic conference

organised by the chair Prof Juan Lema and his outstanding organising
and scientific committee. It was the largest AD13 conference yet, with
800 attendees, 200 platform presentation, and 400 posters. We also
saw continuation of the Lettinga award, with the prize awarded to Shiva
Salek from TU Delft. Due to the large numbers, and strong activity in
the area, we have now moved this conference to a biennial conference,
with AD14 (2015) being in Via del Mar, Chile, chaired by Prof. Rolando
Chamy, and AD15 (2017) being in China, chaired by Prof. Nanqi Ren,
and Prof. Aijie Wang. We will be seeking nominees for AD16 early next
year, and potential nominees are welcome to ask myself or Henri for
input. We also continue to have a wide range of other specialised
conferences. The Latin America AD conference is in Havana, Cuba, this year 24-27 November and the solid
waste conference lives on as Biogas 2014 in Vienna, Austria, in October this year. We have also seen a
number of additional IWA AD sponsored activities, including formation of a Resource Recovery Cluster, as
well as continued sponsorship of the Physicochemical Modelling Taskgroup and a number of working
groups. Additional activities listed in this newsletter, including exciting PhD graduates, new books, and the
strong network we have built continue to build and expand on our strong and historic capabilities in the
specialist group. It will be very exciting to see how this area grows to address the new requirements of
technology and social demands.

Issue September 2014 Newsletter
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER

Contributions to the Newsletter should be submitted by e-mail in Ms Word editable format to the Newsletter
Editor at jrodriguez@masdar.ac.ae
Alternatively contributions can be sent to the Group Chairman or to the Group Secretary.
Group Chairman
Group Secretary
Dr Damien Batstone
Dr Henri Spanjers
St Lucia, 4072
Stevinweg 1, P.O Box 5048, NL-2600 GA Delft,
Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC)

The University of Queensland
Australia
fax: +61-7-33654726
e-mail: damienb@awmc.uq.edu.au
TU Delft / Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water management - Sanitary Engineering
The Netherlands
T +31 15 2789128, M +31 6 10116953

E h.l.f.m.Spanjers@tudelft.nl
Editors note: The best care was taken to avoid typing errors during the editing of the contributions received
from SG members. However, should the reader find some mistake please report it to the editor and it will be
corrected in the next issue.
MANAGEMENT COMITEE OF THE AD SPECIALIST GROUP

Current composition of the Management Committee for the IWA Anaerobic Digestion Specialist Group:
MANAG. COMMITTEE ROLE
Chair
Secretary
Newsletter Editor
REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
Northern Europe
Western Europe
Southern Europe
Central & Eastern Europe
North America
Central America
South America
Middle East
Central Asia
Asia
Australia
PERSON ELECTED
Damien Batstone
Henri Spanjers
Jorge Rodrguez
Irini Angelidaki
Jules van Lier
Alan Guwy
Jean-Philippe Steyer
Pavel Jenicek
Daniel Zitomer
Toshio Shimada
Ivan Moreno
David Jeison;
Liliana Borzacconi
Afnan Din
Jorge Rodrguez
Makarand M. Ghangrekar
Aiji Wang
Raman Saravanane
Jurg Keller
E-MAIL
d.batstone@awmc.uq.edu.au
h.l.f.m.Spanjers@tudelft.nl
jrodriguez@masdar.ac.ae
iria@env.dtu.dk
j.b.vanlier@tudelft.nl
alan.guwy@southwales.ac.uk
Jean-Philippe.Steyer@supagro.inra.fr
pavel.jenicek@vscht.cz
daniel.zitomer@mu.edu
TShimada@carollo.com
imorenoa@ii.unam.mx
djeison@ufro.cl
lilianab@fing.edu.uy
adin@headworksusa.com
jrodriguez@masdar.ac.ae
ghangrekar@civil.iitkgp.ernet.in
waj0578@hit.edu.cn
rsaravanane@pec.edu
j.keller@awmc.uq.edu.au
HOW TO JOIN THE SPECIALIST GROUP ON ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

All members of IWA are welcome to join the Specialist Group. With the IWA registration, you can indicate
which Specialist Group(s) you wish to join.
If you wish to become member of the Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion and you did not have indicated
it on your IWA registration form, please contact the Chairman or the Secretary.
You may also directly contact IWA:
Hong Li (Hong.Li@iwahq.org)

UPDATE FROM THE TASK GROUPS ON ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
IWA Working Group on Mathematical Modelling of Anaerobic Digestion

AD13 very productive for the working group in defining academic and industry needs for next generation
modelling. This will require further review, but there is now a consensus opinion, that specific aspects,
particularly around input definition and utilisation of extensions needs clarification.
Damien Batstone, Chair of ADM Working Group
IWA Task Group towards a Generalised Physicochemical Modelling Framework (PCM)

The Task Group has been working effectively on all three major aspects of gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, and
liquid-solid processes, with a draft platform now established, and being applied to whole plant modelling
with the PCM1 replacing all acid-base and precipitation reactions in both activated sludge and anaerobic
zones. A number of publications are starting to appear in both conferences and journal publications,
including a position paper in Water Science and Technology, and publications at WWTMod 2014 and
Watermatex 2013. The Task Group plans to release the final model at Watermatex 2015 in Gold Coast,
Australia.

Damien Batstone, Chair of PCM Task Group
NEWS FROM THE WORLD ON ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Winner of Lettinga Award 2013 announced
The winner of the Lettinga Award 2013, a prize of 25,000 euro, has been announced: Shiva Salek, PhD
student from TU Delft, with her project proposal: Adding value to Anaerobic Digestion technology by
production of biobased materials (biocement and fertilizer) and methane enriched biogas using alkaline
silicate minerals.
In the winning project proposal, the TU Delft team will investigate the production of biobased materials
by the anaerobic digestion (AD) process when applying minerals for CO 2 sequestration. The impact on the
biogas composition and value will be evaluated as well as the cement quality. The economical values
received from production of these materials can further rationalize the costs of CO 2 sequestration for climate
change mitigation purposes. The use of minerals in AD seems promising. Other research groups are also
exploring its potential.
The Lettinga Award was initiated in 2001 and is granted every three years. The focus of the call for 2013
was on Breakthrough Innovation in Anaerobic Technology. The award committee called for innovative
approaches, putting anaerobic digestion technologies in the core of the foreseen sustainable society. The
following sponsors were fully convinced of the potential of AD technologies in this development and decided
to support the fifth Lettinga Award: Paques, Nijhuis Water Technology, Waterleau, Veolia Water Biothane
and LeAF.
The jury consisted of representatives of the sponsors and academia. From many applications that met the
criteria, the jury had the challenging task to select one winner. Nevertheless, they unanimously agreed. The
winning proposal was described by some of the judges as:
An elegant combination of anaerobic sludge treatment, biobased product and green gas quality.
Also, it was described as A very bold proposal; as bold as Gatze Lettinga approached his research topics
in the past. This was the only proposal using AD to produce bio-based products, and not even simple organic
building blocks or bio-fuels, but for society crucial inorganic chemicals like cement and fertilizers, while
simultaneously also developing a very interesting CO2 sequestration technology.
The latter will further contribute to the carbon-foot-print reduction which AD already provides so
strongly. The proposal crosses the existing research borders of AD, for which the applicants should be
complimented and should receive support. If successful; many research groups will follow in their footsteps.
The proposal is a small project, with potentially large implications.
The winner of the Lettinga Award 2013 was announced at the very successful 13th World Congress on
Anaerobic Digestion, that took place 25 - 28 June 2013 in Santiago De Compostela in Spain.
More information about the Lettinga Award can be found at the LeAF website.
http://www.leaf-wageningen.nl/en/leaf/Lettinga-Award.htm

PAST AND COMING CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

th
The 13 IWA World Congress in Anaerobic Digestion AD13

25th-28th June 2013, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
The IWA World Congress in Anaerobic Digestion has been taking place tri-annually for already 13 editions
with great attendance levels and success. The AD13 congress aimed in this occasion at attracting as many
researchers and industrialists working on anaerobic bioprocesses as possible. Previous editions suggested
that an emphasis in quality of oral presentations was desirable and that was also at the top priority for the
organisers in this event.
This strategy proved well accepted by the scientific and technical community as the proposals and
delegates in AD13 reached considerably higher numbers than in any other previous conference: not far from
800 attendees from 54 countries and in excess of 740 abstract submissions. The selection of conference
themes did take into consideration both traditional topics and new tendencies, including interface fields with
other technologies. The four invited Plenaries were aimed at exploring new ideas: Biorefinery, AD and
Climate change, Innovation in industry and Biomolecular tools for a better understanding of AD processes.
Workshops were conceived as a place to discuss controversial topics, such as the role of Microalgae, the
opportunities for Biorefinery processes and the Legal and economic constrains. Considering the number and
quality of proposals in each topic, the final program was organised in 21 Full Platform sessions (including 8
key notes and 97 full platform presentations) and 9 Short presentation sessions (including 108 short
platform presentations). The fact that only about 15% of proposals were selected for Full platform and other
15% for Short platform presentations serves as indicator of the highly competitive peer review and selection
process in AD13 when compared to other Congresses.
As a novelty, three specialised seminars were organised prior to the Congress on three topics: Innovative
Pretreatment technologies (in University of Valladolid, Spain), Biomolecular tools applied to AD (in
University of Minho, Portugal), and Instrumentation, Modelling & Control (in University of Santiago de
Compostela, Spain). 75 early-stage researchers (25 in each seminar) were trained by recognised specialists.
A special session (The Three Giants session) was organised as a tribute to three outstanding researchers
(Gatze Lettinga, Willy Verstraete and Perry McCarty) whose contributions over the last 40 years have shaped
the current role of anaerobic digestion technologies and their applications. The very important participation
of companies as sponsors (1 platinum, 2 gold and 5 silver), exhibitors (8) and contributors to the sessions
(almost 15% of the full-platform sessions) must be also highlighted. In addition one of the four plenaries was
delivered by industry and companies representatives actively participated in the pre-conference workshops.
The conference in numbers
A total of 776 delegates from 54 countries
attended the AD13 conference in Santiago de
Compostela, the largest number in IWA AD

conference series. 744 abstracts were received,
from which 540 were for consideration for oral

presentation. Among these only 209 were
selected for some form of oral presentation be it
keynote, full or short platform presentation. A
total of 476 posters were presented at the

conference. Three preconference workshops were
held in three venues in Spain and Portugal.
Key findings
Through the diverse conference activities, including plenary, platform, short and poster sessions as well as
three targeted workshops, a number of interesting conclusions were drawn out summarised below:
- AD profitability can be expanded under the umbrella of the biorefinery concept (making use of VFAs, CO 2,
etc.) in which AD can play a central key role.
- New interesting biomasses have been identified for AD including microalgae and halophyte plants.
- Potential has been identified on thermal energy to improve AD profitability.
- The impact of molecular tools on AD monitoring and control remains unclear. A gap has been identified on
how those new research tools will be brought into industry as useful and accessible. A gap has also been
highlighted as remaining between the lack of understanding of the microbial ecology and its role in AD
process performance for practical purposes.
- The synergies between AD and other processes, such as anammox-based systems for nitrogen removal,
open new possibilities for expanding the applicability to new concepts for waste and wastewater treatment.
- Anaerobic Co-Digestion is as a powerful concept for integrating water and wastewater treatment processes.
- A diversity of mathematical models modifications around the well developed ADM1 indicates that there is
room for a next generation model based on ADM1.
To be passed on to Practitioners
- Importance of innovation, where factors other than technology are required (passion, cooperation, market, etc.).
- On the role of market for AD technologies, emphasis on the fact that we, practitioners, must "make" the market.
To be passed onto Regulators
- A need for holistic approach to face AD processes was identified with the aim at decreasing GHG emissions.
- A need to support biogas incentives as a mean to counteract fossil fuel subsidies (through their huge
economic externalities) was highlighted.
To be subject of IWA Advocacy to international agencies
- AD is a clearly very sustainable technology at all levels.
Best AD13 moments: http://www.ad13.org/content/photos

Havana, with its habitual hospitality, has great pleasure to receive warmly in an ideal and warmly
environment, the scientific and related-technologies interchange concerning the anaerobic treatment of
waste matter and the production and use of the biogas in the XI Latinamerican Symposium of Anaerobic
Digestion to be celebrated from November 24th to November 27th, 2014. Cuba, as a Latin American country
and faithful exponent of efforts that are carried out in the search of the most balanced and possible
development, already has a tradition of work with the anaerobic technologies. This event is organized by the
Politechnical Superior Institute Jos Antonio Echeverra (CUJAE), together with other Cuban institutions
which work in themes linked to the anaerobic digestion. During the event the all-comers will have the
opportunity to enjoy the attributes that Habana evidences as the Caribbean jewel from the tourist and social
points of view. Technical visits will be also organized to places where the anaerobic option to give
environmental and energetic solutions has been developed.
Themes and Topics.
Automatization and control of anaerobic digestion process
New developments in Anaerobic Digestion Recuperation of nutrients related with the anaerobic
Microbial ecology and molecular biology
digestion
Biodegradation of recalcitrant chemicals
Anaerobic digestion and biosolids s production
Biogas s production and its utilization
Anaerobic digestion of solid and liquid waste matters
Recuperation of energy from waste matter Experiences of plants at industrial scale
Combustible microbial cells
Anoxic processes. Denitrification
Modelling of anaerobic digestion
Important Dates
Deadline for Submission of papers
30th July 2014
Assistance notification
15th August 2014
Notification of acceptance
Deadline for paper submission

Opening for registration
Early registration
Preliminary Program
Final Program
XI DAAl 2014
1st September 2014

1st October 2014
15th August 2014
15th September 2014

30th September 2014
1st November 2014
24-27th November 2014
Organizing Committee Head

Dra. Ileana Pereda Reyes Cuba (Chair)
Dr. Jos A. Guardado Cuba (Vice-Chair)
Dr. Roberto Sosa Cceres - Cuba (Vice-Chair)
More information:
Scientific Committee Head

Dr. Silvio Montalvo (Chile) (Chair)
Dr. Marcelo Zaiat (Brasil) (Vice-Chair)
Dr. Gonzalo Ruiz (Chile) (Vice-Chair)
http://www.11daal2014.com
Contact us:
Dra. Ileana Pereda (Ileana@quimica.cujae.edu.cu) / Dr. Silvio Montalvo (silvio.montalvo@usach.cl)

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we are delighted to invite you to the 14th World Congress on Anaerobic
Digestion to be held in Via del Mar, Chile, during November 2015. This event is part of the IWA Anaerobic
Digestion Specialist Group conference series, which are conceived as an international forum for discussion on stateof-art of the anaerobic bioprocesses
Topics
The conference will cover a wide range of topics related with the application of Anaerobic Digestion, with the aim
of attracting experts in different fields of knowledge from all over the world. With this wide perspective, the topics
covered by the conference will include:
Reuse of effluent and digestate
Biogas upgrading and management
Microbiology of anaerobic digestion
Resource recovery
New products, novel process configuration and emerging technologies
Modeling, instrumentation and control
Environmental management (life cycle assessment, clean development mechanisms)
Upstream and downstream processes; pre-treatments and post-treatments
Low-tech solutions for developing countries
Important dates
Specialized Courses
Five Specialized Courses will be launched prior to the Conference under following topics:
Climate change and anaerobic digestion (San Pedro de Atacama)
Instrumentation, modelling, control and automation in anaerobic digestion (Santiago)
Pre-treatment for anaerobic digestion (Santiago)
Anaerobic digestion and bio-business (Pucn)
Processes with extremophile microorganisms (Patagonia)
These courses will be held before the Conference. Their duration will be 12 hours in 1.5 days (Thursday 12th and
Friday 13th November 2015) and includes a tour on Saturday November 14th.
10

Organising Committee
Rolando Chamy
Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Valparaso
Lea Cabrol
Andrea Carvajal
Universidad Tcnica Federico Santa Mara
Andrs Donoso
Mara Espinal
Ncleo de Biotecnologa Curauma
Lorna Guerrero
Universidad Tcnica Federico Santa Mara
David Jeison
Universidad de La Frontera
Programme Committee
Rolando Chamy
Damien Batstone
The University of Queensland
Juan Manuel Lema
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
Adalberto Noyola
Universidad Autnoma de Mxico
Silvio Montalvo
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Claudia Pabn
Universidad Adolfo Ibez
Jos Luis Campos
Universidad Adolfo Ibez
Francisca Rosenkranz
Ncleo de Biotecnologa Curauma
Gonzalo Ruiz
Gladys Vidal
Universidad de Concepcin
David Jeison
Universidad de La Frontera
Gonzalo Ruiz
Marta Carballa
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
Jean-Philippe Steyer
INRA
Venue
For its privileged coastline, Via del Mar is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in South America and
for a decade it has become one of the major cities of the southern hemisphere to receive conferences, events and
conventions. The reasons for this are the high quality of its conference centers, variety in accommodations,
excellent national and international connectivity, and especially, the warmth and professionalism of its community.
Via del Mar is located one hour far from the countys principal airport and only ninety minutes far from
Santiago. All of them are connected by modern roads and highways.
The 14th Anaerobic Digestion World Congress website is already available for those who need accuracy
information about this world event. You will find full information about topics, special grades, organizing
committee, scientists guests and step by step forms of application on AD14, in the official website
www.ad14chile.com

11
Progress in Biogas III

We would like to welcome you to our International Conference "Progress in Biogas" held for the 3rd time in
Germany, September 10-12th. More than 80 experts on biogas from almost 30 countries representing all the
continents will discuss the progress in biogas at the Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart this September.
In addition we will offer a 4-day International biogas Study Tour through Germany with focus on WASTE
DIGESTION the following week of the conference 15-18 September. www.biogastraining.com
During the conference a practitioners forum, an Oral-Poster-Session with more than 20 speakers, posters
sessions and an exhibition will take place. In the exhibition companies and organizations will present their
products, services and technical innovations to the international audience experts. According to the
attendance to the last two conferences, we expect to have about 400 participants.
More information at http://www.progress-in-biogas.com/
The 12th annual short course on Anaerobic Treatment of High-Strength Industrial Waste
will be held September 10-11, 2014 at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The course is
designed for both practitioners and student to learn the fundamentals and full-scale application of anaerobic
biotechnology. This years keynote speaker is Dr. Jean-Philippe Steyer, Director of the Environmental
Biotechnology Laboratory, French National Institute for Agricultural Research (Narbonne, France). Other
speakers will include Dr. Daniel Zitomer (Marquette University) and Dennis Totzke (Applied Technologies,
Inc.). Presentations will address anaerobic microbiology and chemistry fundamentals, anaerobic process
operation and design, biogas conditioning and utilization, construction/start-up guidelines and case studies
of operating anaerobic treatment systems. For the course schedule/content and other information, see
http://www.marquette.edu/ANT after June 1, 2014 or email Daniel Zitomer (daniel.zitomer@mu.edu). A

limited number of fellowships are available to cover registration costs for graduate students studying
anaerobic biotechnology. Students interested in applying should contact Dr. Zitomer.
12

PHD AND MSC THESES ON ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Modeling biotechnological processes under uncertainty.
Anaerobic digestion as case study
PhD by ivko Junic-Zonta (jzivko@gmail.com)
Institution
GIRO Joint Research Unit IRTA-UPC
Universitat Politcnica de Catalunya. UPC BarcelonaTECH
Supervisors
Prof. Xavier Flotats. Department of Agrifood Engineering and
Biotechnology. UPC BarcelonaTECH, Castelldefels (Spain).
Xavier.flotats@upc.edu
Dr. Albert Magr. IRSTEA, Rennes (France).
Albert.magri@irstea.fr
PhD dissertation: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/97039
Abstract: Any approximation of the observed reality within an explicit model necessary implies uncertainty, which
should be characterized and quantified to build confidence over model results. Uncertainty associated with modelparameter and its implications for bio-process optimization are of main concern in this PhD work. As a bio-process
case study, the anaerobic digestion is considered for modeling. The production of biogas by controlled anaerobic
digestion could be a profitable activity, apart of being a renewable energy source. However, the margins to improve
this technology are wide. Anaerobic co-digestion with two or more input materials is a way to make low biogas
yield biomass applicable at industrial scale. Among the possible co-substrates, lipids-rich wastes are attractive for
their high energetic potential. The main limiting factor for this strategy is the inhibition of anaerobic digestion by
long chain fatty acids. Modeling provides a useful approximation of the complex and delicate microbiology activity
of this anaerobic digestion system. The underlying goal of the PhD project is to improve biotechnological processes
with the aid of modeling and uncertainty analysis. With this goal in mind, a general purpose, user-friendly,
simulation environment called virtual plant (VP) was build and applied to anaerobic co-digestion and activated
sludge modeling. Within the VP tool, new core dynamics of the long chain fatty acids (LCFA) inhibition process
were proposed and tested and different inferential procedures for the estimation of parameter-uncertainty were
compared. Finally, a proposed multi-criteria analysis under uncertainty and multiplicity was applied to an industrial
anaerobic co-digestion biogas plant. In conclusion, the developed VP toolkit was found reliable and user-friendly
when modeling activated sludge and anaerobic digestion systems. The proposed LCFA-inhibition model was able
to reproduce correctly the experimental data at hand and enabled its interpretation. However, uncertainty estimation
of parameters and falsification of the proposed model of LCFA-inhibition are still missing. The Bayesian procedure
was proved useful when addressing the estimation of parameter uncertainty of anaerobic digestion and activated
sludge models. A considerable improvement in the operation efficiency and reliability of an industrial biogas plant
was possible within the proposed multi-criteria analysis. However, future work is needed to improve the procedure
of elicitation of the inputs for this multi-criteria analysis and decrease its computational burden.

13
Study of methods for the improvement of the anaerobic digestion

of lipids and long chain fatty acids
PhD by Rim Affes Salah (rayoum10@hotmail.com)
Institution
Supervisors
Dr. Jordi Palatsi, GIRO program, IRTA, Caldes de Montbui (Spain).
Jordi.palatsi@gmail.com
PhD dissertation: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/116545
Abstract: Lipid-rich waste and wastewaters have a high energy potential, however efficient methane recovery with
conventional anaerobic digestion technology is not easy to achieve because of a wide assortment of operational
problems mainly related to the accumulation of long chain fatty acids (LCFA), products of lipids hydrolysis, in the
system. The objective of the present dissertation is to test and to evaluate new methodologies and strategies to
improve the anaerobic digestion of high-strength lipid waste. The results of studies submitting anaerobic reactors to
increasing concentrations of lipids/LCFA underlined the importance of the adsorption of LCFA onto the microbial
cell membrane as limiting factor, guiding further research to found new technical approaches in order to control the
biomass-LCFA adsorption dynamics. The use of inorganic adsorbents to capture LCFA prior to the anaerobic
digestion process or the application of sequential low-energy ultrasonic pulses in order to control the adsorptiondesorption kinetics were tested with interesting results. However, the effectiveness of these strategies was limited
by the proportion of inorganic adsorbent/LCFA and the cumulative damaging effect of ultrasonic treatment over
biomass, respectively. Efficient conversion of complex high-strength lipid waste to methane was proved to be
possible in a novel reactor system configuration combining saponification pre-treatment and digested solids
recirculation to the anaerobic digestion process, to increase solids retention time. A start-up step consisting on
pulse-feeding cycles of the fatty waste prior to the semi-continuous process promoted an adapted microbial
community for LCFA mineralization. The feasibility of this system configuration for solid slaughterhouse fatty
waste was evidenced at lab scale reactors, reaching organic matter removal efficiencies higher than 90%. The
comparison of this configuration with systems without saponification or without digested solids recirculation
confirmed the synergistic effect of both strategies. The use of high throughput sequencing approach (454pyrosequencing) to characterize the evolution of the biodiversity and the phylogenetic structure of the microbial
community during the operation of the tested configurations concluded that a selection of a defined functional
acidogenic population (-oxidizers) was induced by substrate pretreatment. Contrary, the solids recirculation
resulted in an enrichment of the methanogenic biodiversity, mainly of hydrogenotrophic archaea. Based on the
satisfactory results obtained with the strategies studied in the present dissertation, it is expected that lipid-rich waste
valorization will be a real alternative to increase renewable energy production through anaerobic digestion process.
14

Anaerobic digestion of animal by-products. Pre-treatments and co-digestion

PhD by ngela Rodrguez Abalde (arodriguez.abalde@gmail.com)
Institution
Supervisors
Dr. Beln Fernndez, GIRO program, IRTA, Caldes de Montbui (Spain).
Belen.fernandez@irta.cat
PhD dissertation: http://upcommons.upc.edu/?locale=en
Abstract: The meat sector is associated with the generation of large quantities of animal by-products not intended
for human consumption (ABPs). The increasing demand of renewable energy sources and reuse of wastes require
good technological solutions for energy production such as anaerobic digestion (AD), which is included in the
current European regulation as one of the allowed methods to valorize ABPs. Due to their composition, with high
fat and protein content, ABPs can be considered good substrates for the AD process, according to the high potential
methane yield. Although slow hydrolysis rates and inhibitory process have been reported, with a suitable pretreatment to improve particulate materials solubility and/or co-digestion process of complementary materials the
anaerobic digestion can be improved.
Hence, the aim of this thesis was to evaluate the feasibility of different ABPs for AD. Emphasis was placed on the
effect of pre-treatments on the organic matter, methane yield and methane production rate. Within this scope,
thermal (pasteurization and sterilization) and high pressure pre-treatments (200, 400 and 600 MPa) were applied.
Thermogravimetric and spectroscopy techniques where used to determine the effects on the organic matter besides
to a classical characterization. The effects on the methane yield and methane production rates, including the
disintegration parameters, were obtained by means of batch test with different inoculum to substrate ratios (ISR).
The suitability of ABP for anaerobic digestion was confirmed with samples from different origin (poultry and
piggery slaughterhouses) but the results showed that methane yield depends on the relative substrate composition
(proteins, fats and carbohydrates), especially when a thermal pre-treatment is applied. The results of the
disintegration kinetics determination underline the positive effects on the methane production rate being increased
after pasteurization. In parallel, continuous co-digestion of pasteurized ABP with pig manure and glycerin was
studied, optimizing the production of biogas by controlling the composition of the mixture of wastes to be treated.
Changes in the microbial populations (monitored by DGGE) were determined. In conclusion, the production of
biogas from SANDACH has proved to be feasible by improving their AD by means of co-digestion with other
wastes which balance the composition and by thermal pretreatment, being its effectiveness highly dependent on the
composition of proteins and carbohydrates.

15
Relating methanogen community structure and function in anaerobic digesters

PhD by Benjamin T.W. Bocher
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin Platteville, 1 University Plaza,
Platteville, WI 53217 (BenBocher@hotmail.com) +001 414.254.0297Marquette University, 2012
Advisor: Daniel Zitomer, Ph.D., P.E., Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering,
Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53233 U.S.A. (daniel.zitomer@marquette.edu)
A deeper understanding of how microbial community structure relates to process function would help improve
anaerobic digester design. This dissertation describes both qualitative and quantitative relationships between
anaerobic digester function and microbial community structure. Community structure was characterized using
banding pattern intensities from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) for the mcrA gene of
methanogenic Archaea.
The first project compared a single-stage continuously mixed stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and staging with an
acidogenic CSTR followed by a methanogenic CSTR. After seeding with the same biomass, these unique process
configurations exhibited different function and qualitatively different methanogen communities. Compared to a
single-stage CSTR, staging increased the maximum rate of methane production by 41, 26, and 57% with
propionate, acetate, and hydrogen, respectively. Additionally, the staged digester produced 10% more methane and
achieved 10% greater volatile solids (VS) destruction.
The second project also provided a qualitative relationship: methanogen community structure impacted digester
function upon bioaugmentation. Specific methanogenic activity (SMA) with propionate statistically increased (up
to 57%) in six of nine bioaugmented anaerobic cultures. These increases correlated to methanogen community
structure above the 98% level (rs = 0.770) using Spearmans Rank Correlation Coefficient (two-tailed).
In the third project, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) was established between methanogen
community structure and two activities using multiple linear regression (MLR). Two different QSARs were
predictive of SMA values with propionate (q2 = 0.52) and with glucose (q2 = 0.56), respectively. A MLR model
may be applicable to other biological communities when trophic redundancy and a ubiquitous gene are present and
when a linear model is appropriate.
Greater understanding of anaerobic digester microbial communities is possible using these QSARs. This research
serves as a template that can be used to construct additional QSARs for other complex microbial communities in
engineered systems.
16

Bio-carbon Source Recovery and Sustainable Reutilization of Waste Activated

Sludge
By Aijuan Zhou
Harbin Institute of Technology
With the development of the economy, the amount of municipal wastewater discharge increased year by year. At
the end of 2008, many municipal sewage treatment plants have been put into operation with a daily capacity of
averaged approximately 66,998,000 m3 in China. However, large amounts of waste activated sludge production
associated with sewage treatment process, including proliferation of microorganisms and adsorbed organic
compounds inside, will bring secondary pollution to the environment without dispose. In 2008, residual sludge
production up to 18 million tons a year ( 80% moisture content ) , followed by a rapid growth of an annual rate of
10% , its treatment and disposal costs typically account for 20 to 50% , even 70% of the total operating costs of
sewage treatment. (..)
The comparison between chemical and biological surfactant addition on sludge acidification and fermentation
performance were investigated. The acidification and fermentation of WAS were apparently enhanced by external
rhamnolipid (RL) addition, which were better than that obtained in sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) and
sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The concentrations of VFAs for carbohydrate conversion were 1648, 4890 and 5972
mgCOD/L in SDBS, SDS and RL pretreatment tests, respectively. Pyrosequencing analysis based on the bacterial
16S rRNA gene showed that dominant population in different surfactant pretreatment tests was significantly
changed. Hierarchical cluster analysis further revealed that SDBS and control samples had a similar bacterial
community composition, although partly of genus were changed. Megasphaera was only observed in RL samples,
which was related to the production of acetic (HAc), propionic (HPr), butyric (HBu) and valeric (HVa) by
carbohydrate and lactic acid fermentation. Oscillibacter was proved had a direct relationship with D-glucose and
partly pentaglucose metabolism and VFAs production.
()
WAS fermentation liquid enriched VFAs with different pretreatments was used as substrates for hydrogen
production in microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) to achieve efficient utilization. The effects of substrates
concentration by bi-frequency ultrasonic pretreatment on hydrogen production in MEC were investigated. The
experiment tests with twice diluted SFL2 obtained the maximal H2 yield (1.2 mL H2/mg COD), the total H2
recovery rate reached 10 mmol H2/mg VSS from WAS. Meanwhile, the effects of different surfactant pretreatments
on hydrogen production in MEC were also investigated. Considering the utilization of partly substrates (higher than
C4 VFAs and protein), the degradation rate with SDS addition was higher. Lower than C3 VFAs and carbohydrate
was utilized efficiently with RL addition. Compared with the results of H2 yield and energy efficiency, biological
surfactant was better than chemical surfactant on hydrogen production in MEC. The maximal H2 yield (0.92 mL
H2/mg COD) was obtained in biological surfactant addition test, which was 0.01 and 0.75 mL H2/mg COD in
SDBS and SDS addition tests. The corresponding energy efficiency were 2.0% for SDBS, 51% for SDS and 64%
for RL, respectively.

17
Azo Dye Containing Wastewater Treatment in Anaerobic System Coupled with

Biocatalyzed Electrolysis module
By Dan Cui
Azo dyes are the largest chemical class of dyes and are frequently used for textile dying and paper printing industries
due to cheap costs, firmness, and a variety of colors compared to natural dyes. However, azo dyes are highly toxic and
persistent to biodegradation. Besides, the intensive color of dye-containing wastewater leads to severe aesthetic
problems and obstructs light penetration and oxygen transfer into water bodies, adversely affecting aquatic life. For
these reasons, the color removal from dye-containing wastewater is one of major concerns in China where textile
industry has grown exponentially in recent years. Azo dyes should be removed from wastewater before being
discharged to water body. More recently, Bioelectrochemical system (BES) is emerging as a promising technology in
which microorganisms function as catalysts to convert chemical energy into electrical energy. BES has been tested for
many potential applications besides electricity generation, including biohydrogen production, metal reduction and
recovery, desalination, organic products synthesis and treatment of various wastewaters. In this study, we developed
an economical BES lacking membrane (an up-flow biocatalyzed electrolysis reactor (UBER)) for treating azo dye
wastewater. Alizarin Yellow R (AYR) was used as a model dye. With the supply of external power source 0.5 V in the
UBER, AYR decolorization efficiency reached up to 94.8 1.5%. (.) Decolorization efficiency was improved with
increasing cathode size in UBERs, but AYR removal rate and current density were not increased in proportion to
cathode size, mainly due to the limitation of anodic reactions. AYR decolorization rate was optimized at a cathode size
of 90 cm3 in an UBER where the charge transfer resistance Rct (39.5) was minimal. AYR and its reductive products
were further mineralized in the subsequent aerobic bio-contact oxidation reactor (ABOR). We assessed the effect of
hydraulic retention time (HRT: 6.5 h, 4.5 h, 3.5 h, 2.0 h) on the removal of residual by-products (PPD) and (5-ASA) in
the ABOR. The concentrations of PPD and 5-ASA decreased down to 0.28 0.01 and 0.27 0.03 mg L-1,
respectively, in an optimum HRT 3.5 h. Decolorization
efficiency andCOD removal efficiency
was
93.8
0.7% and 93.0 0.5% in the combined process of UBER and ABOR in overall HRT 6 h (HRT 2.5 h in UBER +
HRT 3.5 h in ABOR). The Chroma in ABOR effluent was 80 times. Based on the design of UBER, we developed a
new system integrating UBER with ABR by installing UBER module into each compartment of ABR (called, ABRBES) and tested this novel process at a small pilot-scale for the treatment of azo dye (AYR) wastewater. The ABRBES was operated without and with external power supply to examine AYR reduction process and reductive
intermediates with different external voltages (0.3, 0.5 and 0.7V) and hydraulic retention times (HRT: 8, 6 and 4h).
The decolorization efficiency in the ABR-BES (8h HRT, 0.5V) was higher than that in ABR-BES without electrolysis,
i.e. 95.11.5% versus 86.96.3%. Incorporation of BES with ABR accelerated the consumption of VFAs (mainly
acetate) and attenuated biogas (methane) production. Higher power supply (0.7V) enhanced AYR decolorization
efficiency (96.41.8%), VFAs removal, and current density (24.1A m-3 TCV). Shorter HRT increased volumetric
AYR decolorization rates, but decrease AYR decolorization efficiency. The novel ABR-BES with membrane-free
provided a new concept for BES scaling-up to energy-efficient treatment of azo dye wastewater.
18

Selective Reduction of Nitrobenzene in Bioelectrochemical System and the

Feasibility of Energy Loop Compensation
By Haoyi Cheng
Nitrobenzene (NB), one of typical recalcitrant organic compounds, is reported as possible mutagens, teratogens or
carcinogens and has been listed in 58 Chinas priority control organic pollutants. As the electrophilic effect of nitryl
decreases the electron density of the benzene, NB is only to a limited extent degraded in aerobic biological
processes. An effective strategy is to transform NB to aniline (AN) first, which is considerably easier mineralized
than NB. The electrochemical reduction of NB is an efficient and controllable approach, however, the conventional
process suffer from the requirement of special electrode materials or noble metal catalysts to achieve the selective
transformation of NB to AN, which limited its application in practice. Recent developed bioelectrochemical system
(BES) is proposed as a perspective process in wastewater treatment, since bacteria, as catalyst, hold the inherent
advantages of low-cost, self-regeneration and evironment-friendly. The present study demonstrated bacteria can use
the cathode as the sole electron donor to selective reduce NB to AN. The introduction of organic carbon to
biocathode further enhanced this selective transformation capability. Based on above findings, the study went on
developing novel process that enabled energy internal loop compensation by recovery energy from aniline at
bioanode. The important role of oxygen in the process was demonstrated and the involved mechanism was than
discussed.
When cathode was served as sole electron donor, the transformation efficiency and rate from NB to AN was
dramatically increased with microbial catalysis. 93% of AN formation efficiency was achieved in biocathode at the
cathode potential of -0.4 V, which was 6.16 times as high as that obtained in abiotic cathode. In addition, the
maximum accumulation of toxic nitrosobenzene (NOB), the intermediate during NB reduction to AN, was
decreased by 38.7% in biocathode compared to that in abiotic cathode. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) revealed that an
unidentified redox compound with the midpoint potential around -0.315 V could be responsible for the electron
transfer from cathode to bacteria. Based on the apparent first-order kinetic model, biocathode was suggested to both
catalyze the reduction of NB and NOB. The corresponding apparent first-order kinetic constant was increased by
62% and 100%, respectively. Moreover, the community of the inoculum and the biocathode sample was analyzed
based on the pyrosequencing. The results indicated microbial community was changed dramatically under the
evolutionary pressure provied by cathode served as sole electron donor. The predominant bacteria in biocathode
community consisted of Rhizobium sp., Leucobacter sp., Achromobacter sp., Mycobacterium sp., Dysgonomonas
sp. and Pseudomonas sp.. The functions of selective nitrobenzene reduction, carbon fixation and the possible
cathodic extracellular electron transfer in the microbial community might feature the catalyzed selective reduction
of NB to AN in biocathode. (.)
To achieve the energy internal loop compensation, the process of NB reduction with electrons partial fed-back from
AN oxidation was proposed. The saved external electron donor and internal loop compensated energy was
estimated as 22%~53% and 17%~40%, respectively, based on the experiment results and the thermodynamic and
stoichiometric calculation.

19
A Novel Approach for Efficient Biomethane Production from Bio-wastes in A

Compact System
By Haoyu Wang
Organic solid wastes are worldwide produced in high amounts and increasingly considered as bioenergy-container
more than as a waste product. As a method to convert organic wastes into biofuels, anaerobic digestion (AD) can
benefit to ease the worldwide environmental problems and fossil fuel constraints. However, the complexity and
recalcitrance of organic solids make the hydrolysis process inefficient and thus a rate limiting step to many AD
technologies. Although much effort has been made to enhance the hydrolysis efficiency, such as applying extreme
temperature, different pH conditions or using enzyme(s) to catalyze the hydrolysis process, most of those studies
aim to treat energy-profitable crops, while less focus has been paid to waste solids. In this study, a novel method to
efficiently convert organic solid wastes into methane is proposed and proved to be more favorable compared to
conventional methods. Brewery spent grain (BSG) and pig manure (PM) were used to test the feasibility and
efficiency of the method. BSG and PM were enzymatically hydrolyzed and solubilized, after which the
hydrolysates were used for AD using different bioreactor designs. It was shown that complex organic solids, such
as cellulose, hemicellulose, proteins and lipids are efficiently hydrolyzed and provided easy biodegradable/bioconvertible influents for the subsequent AD step. Methane production from the BSG and PM was eventually about
56% and 45% of their total COD content. High organic loading rates (OLRs), reaching 19 kgCODm -3d-1 and 21
kgCODm-3d-1 were achieved for the expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) type lab reactors, fed with BSG and
PM, respectively. This is 5-7 times higher than usually obtained with direct digestion of raw materials. The current
approach represents a promising technique for industrial-scale treatment of organic solid wastes with a small
footprint.
Harvesting bioenergy from organic biomass have been proven to be a promising alternative to fossil fuels.
Although the liquid biofuels (e.g. bioethanol or biodiesel), harvested from agro-energy feedstocks bring
considerable profit, there have been some criticism due to its potential threat to the global food balance. Some
wastes, such as spent grains and pig manure, are high energy-containing organic solids and can be used to produce
energy carriers like methane. Traditional methanisation approaches, such as continuous anaerobic digesters, require
lengthy residence times because of (1) slow (rate limiting) hydrolysis and (2) easy loss of slow growing
microorganisms. This work introduces a novel method to methanise the solid bio-wastes spent grains and pig
manure at a high rate and high yield by coupling a separate, enzymatic hydrolysis step to a high efficiency
methanisation system. This method could be suitable for other types of organic solid wastes, such as the organic
fraction of municipal wastes, excess sludge of wastewater treatment, bio-energy containing plants or various
poultry manure.
20

Processes Control on Partial Nitritation Coupled with Anaerobic Ammonium

Oxidation and Its Application to Nitrogen Removal from Landfill Leachate
By Huosheng Li
South China University of Technology
Leachate generated from landfill contains high concentrations of ammonium and organic compounds, varies
significantly in composition and flow rate, thus making its treatment energy-gobbling and highly expensive when
using conventional nitrification and denitrification processes. Due to the high cost-effectiveness and efficiency,
combined partial nitritation (PN)-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) process, is a promising alternative
to conventional nitrification and denitrification for nitrogen removal from landfill leachate. However, the PNANAMMOX technology has not yet been fully investigated; there have still been some barriers remained to be
solved. Both ammonia oxidation bacteria (AOB) and ANAMMOX bacteria (AnAOB) are slow growers, and are
susceptible to the variation in wastewater compositions and operational conditions, thus resulting in a slow reactor
startup and a difficult process control and a frequent instability in operation. The overarching goal of this research
was to solve the above issues: to investigate the fast startup, loading enhancement and process control of the PN
and ANAMMOX units, to examine the rules of the process control on combining PN-ANAMMOX by means of
two-stage and one-stage modes. The results are listed as follows.
(1) By using conventional fixed-time control in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), partial nitritation of landfill
leachate was achieved under both intermittent and continuous aeration modes. The adjustment of total air flux
(TAF)/ influent loading rate (ILR) ratio was observed to be effective to inhibiting nitrate formation. The effluent pH
was found to be an indicator for effluent NO2--N/NH4+-N molar ratio. Due to more granules formed in the reactor
operated under intermittent aeration mode, the nitrogen and COD removal performance were superior to those
observed in continuous aeration mode.
(2) During the PN experiment in an SBR with a 10 times bigger volume (50 L), combination of partial nitritation
and denitrification was achieved by using flocculent activated sludge. Inhibition of nitrate formation can also be
achieved by adjusting the TAF/ILR ratio; effluent pH was also observed as an effective indicator for effluent NO 2-N/NH4+-N molar ratio. The analysis of the state in an SBR cycle showed that simultaneous nitrification and
denitrification occurred in the first aeration stage.
(3) Endpoint pH control technique was used in the PN-SBR system for landfill leachate treatment by combination
of partial nitritation and denitrification, resulting in a stable performance during long-term operation. Dynamically
setting a suitable endpoint pH was the key to achieving optimal effluent NO2--N/NH4+-N molar ratio. Air flow rates
at 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6 m /h had unnoticeable effect on effluent NO2--N/NH4+-N molar ratio. Reaction temperatures at
30C, 33C and 36C had also unnoticeable effect on effluent NO 2--N/NH4+-N molar ratio. Influent flow rate had
no obvious effect on effluent NO2--N/NH4+-N molar ratio as well.
(.)

21
Study on the Full-Scale Experiment of Integrated Sludge Thickening and

Digestion Reactor Treating Sewage Sludge
By Jiang Li
Chongqing University
Currently, sludge treatment and disposal has become one of the urgent problems presented in the field of
wastewater treatment, especially in small towns of China. Due to the unstable quantity and quality of inflows in
wastewater treatment plants (WWPTs) in small towns, which result in a low sludge production and the unsteady
properties, it is required that some simple, cost-effective and innovative sludge treatment technologies and facilities
should be developed. Aiming at the problems in sludge treatment in small towns, our research team has developed
an integrated sludge thickening and digestion reactor. Three generations of the reactor have been modified and
improved successfully through investigations of small-scale experiments. Moreover, on the basis of the numeric
simulation and optimization of flow condition, the pilot-scale reactor has been developed. Study on the pilot-scale
experiment has been carried out in a WWPT. Optimized operation conditions have been obtained and the
disadvantages of the reactor have been analyzed simultaneously. After improvement of the pilot-scale reactor, the
full-scale reactor has been developed and studied in Dadukou WWPT of Chongqing. The efficiency of sludge
thickening and digestion, stabilization of heavy metals and macrobiotic population diversities in the full-scale
reactor have been investigated and studied. The results are shown as follows:
The flow test is carried out to study the characteristics of flow condition in the pilot-scale reactor using NaCl as
tracer. The results illustrate that the dimensionless variance (2) in the lower section and base of inner reactor are
0.63, 0.67 and 0.34, 0.44 in the upper section and mid-upper section under no gas recirculation. The inner reactor
from upper section to base under 8L/min, 12 L/min and 16 L/min are 0.60-0.63, 0.64-0.68, and 0.65-0.66,
respectively. And the flow condition has a tendency to a mixing flow condition completely. For the purpose of
completely mixing in inner reactor and the operation cost, 12.0L/min of gas flow has been adopted in the operation
test of the pilot-scale reactor. ()
The microbial population diversity in the full-scale reactor has been investigated by the PCR-DGGE technology.
The results illustrate that microbial diversity distribution is shown in the reactor. Amount of microbial in the area of
outlet sludge is more than that in the inner reactor, so the outlet sludge can be recycled into the inner reactor to
increase the amount of microbial. The microbial population diversity is similar under different inlet sludge ratios. In
fact, the only difference is the quantity. It is concluded that the microbial population diversity do not change with
inlet sludge ratio. The microbial population diversity is more than that in the outer reactor, and it can be concluded
that there is functional difference between the inner reactor and outer reactor. The same microbial populations exist
both in the inner reactor and anaerobic digester, but four special microbial populations are found in the inner
reactor. The results from this study can be the basis of practical application for the integrated sludge thickening and
digestion reactor, including design, start-up and operating of reactor, which will be of great significance to
engineering application of integrated sludge digestion and thickening processing technology in the future.
22

Research of Microbial Community Eclogy and Thetrophic Link During Acidogenic

Fermentation
By Jin Wang
Jiangnan University
Acidogenic fermentation is a critical step in the process of anaerobic fermentation of organic matter. Volatile
organic acids (VAFAs) is not only one of the main intermediate product, but also an important raw material for the
organic chemical industry. Productions of VAFAs is closely contact with organic matter degradation and biogas
generation. Hydrolysis microorganisms & acidogenic microorganisms, methane-producing microorganisms &
VFAs-producing microorganisms have complex mutual camps relations. In recent years, high-throughput
sequencing technology has been used by a growing number of micro-organisms workers and has been a very
promising biotechnology. Unlike traditional sequencing methods with nucleotide specificity of the DNA fragments,
high-throughput sequencing technology can parallel sequence to hundreds of thousands to millions of DNA
molecules. In VFAs-producing reactor, VFAs -producing microorganism population ecology was study. The
methanogenic inhibitor addition which does not affect the acid-producing microorganisms, volatile fatty acids and
other intermediate metabolites is a common technique method.
For our study, VFAs-producing microorganisms from the population and community levels in the anaerobic
fermentation was used by environment molecular microbial ecology technology, such as high-throughput
sequencing, the population structure of the VFAs-producing bacteria was determined, the contribution of various
flora acetic acid was clarified, the yield of VFAs production was enhanced by flora structure and regulation. On
these basis the optimal operating conditions of the process was identified, and a dynamic model was constructed.
This study should enrich the theory and application of the anaerobic fermentation process.. The main findings are as
follows:
1 Glucose-degrading microorganisms in activated sludge under methanogenic conditions.
Monosaccharide
degradation is an important step in the anaerobic fermentation of organic matter, the case for BES inhibition of
methanogenesis, anaerobic sludge glucose degradation plays a critical role in microbial less. The modes of
anaerobic acid production and the production of methane was studied by DNA-SIP, clone library and highthroughput sequencing technology, The results showed that Clostridia was dominant in the inhibition of methaneproducing anaerobic fermentation, whose abundance accounted for 51.88% of the total bacteria and Bacilli was
dominant in the inhibition of methanogenic anaerobic fermentation, whose abundance accounted for 50%; The
abundance of Peptococcaceae, Syntrophomonadaceae and Syntrophobacterale genus in the methanogenic culture is
significantly larger than the culture of inhibit methanogenis. The trophic link between hydrogen-producing
acetogenic bacteria and methanogenic bacteria play an important role in anaerobic methane-producing system.
(.)
5 The kinetic model of the system of homoacetogens enrichment.
The kinetic model of homoacetogens enrichment based on ADM1 model was builded and the kinetic model was
simulated and verified to experimental data. The result showed that the this model can be used as the basis to design
the process of homoacetogens enrichment.

23
Performance and Characteristics of Compartmentalized Anaerobic Reactor

By Junyuan Ji
Zhejiang University
Energy shortage and environmental pollution are two major survival pressures in the world,and the application of
anaerobic digestion technology to organic wastewater treatment can eliminate pollutants as well as produce
bioenergy, which will play a great role in energy-saving and emission-reduction. Anaerobic reactor is the core of
digestion technology, the research of high-rate anaerobic reactor have forcefully promoted the development of
anaerobic digestion technology.
Compartmentalized Anaerobic Reactor (CAR) is a novel high-rate anaerobic reactor designed by our laboratory. In
this paper,the performance, vertical distribution, early warning and flow patterns of CAR were investigated and the
toxicity of pharmaceutical wastewater containing antibiotics and its anaerobic digestion intermediates was assayed.
The main achievements were as follows.
(1) Having revealed the working performance of CAR.
CAR could reach a high volumetric efficiency. The organic loading rate, volumetric COD removal rate and
volumetric biogas production were 100.46 gCODL-1d-1, 84.35 gCODL-1d-1 and 57.00 LL-1d-1, respectively.
CAR could provide a greater driving force for the anaerobic digestion reaction. The average concentrations of
COD and volatile fatty acids (VFA) in a high-rate CAR were 2447 mg L-1 and 1638 mgL-1, respectively, which
were 18.49 and 37.52 times as high as their counterparts in a common-rate CAR.
The performance stability of CAR at high loading rate was worse than that at common loading rate. At normal
loading rate, the fluctuation of effluent COD concentration and volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration was
synchronous with that of influent COD concentration. The average relative standard deviation of effluent COD
concentration and VFA concentration was 24.57% and 23.03% respectively, while that of influent COD
concentration was 23.92%. nevertheless, the fluctuation of effluent COD concentration and VFA concentration was
large as compared with regard to that of influent COD concentration at high loading rate. (.)
(4) Having assayed the acute toxicity of pharmaceutical wastewater containing antibiotics and its anaerobic
digestion intermediates.
The 15min-IC50 of aureomycin, polymyxin and Chloromycetin were 12.06, 6.24 and 429.90 mgL-1, the toxicity
descended in the order of polymyxin, aureomycin and Chloromycetin. The 15min-IC50 of ethanol, acetate,
propionate and butyrate were 19.40, 20.71, 10.47 and 12.17 gL-1 respectively, the toxicity descended in the order
of propionate, butyrate, ethanol and acetate.
The R values of anaerobic digestion intermediates (quad mixtures), intermediates together with polymyxin
(penta mixtures), intermediates together with Chloromycetin (penta mixtures) were 0.779, 1.684, 2.384
respectively, their joint effects were all additive. The R values of intermediates together with aureomycin (penta
mixtures),intermediates together with three antibiotics (hepta mixtures) were 3.005, 3.827 respectively, their joint
effect were synergistic.
24

Study on Conversion of the Mass and Energy and Microecological Characters in

A+OSA Excess Sludge Reduction Process
By Li Jia
Chongqing University
At present, excess sludge produced by has been a restriction of development for municipal wastewater treatment
plants (WWTPs) in the world. The way to solve the problem from the root, is one of the urgent problems for the
environmentalists. And excess sludge reduction in-Situ, a important way to solve the problem of excess sludge, has
been gained great attentions. Our previous research showed that the A+OSA system, a modification of the
anoxic/oxic (A/O) process via insertion of a sludge holding tank into a sludge return line, has been demonstrated to
be capable of achieving simultaneous nutrient removal and sludge reduction. Also, the lower sludge yields of the
A+OSA system resulted from both the sludge holding tank and the main reaction units. In order to identify the
primary mechanisms involved, the research presented here was undertaken to: 1) the sludge characteristic and
microbial community structure in the two process; 2) the characteristics of cell synthesis under alternate
oxic/anoxic and its influence on the sludge reduction3) the physiological characteristics of the sludge in the two
process; 4) carbon and energy transport and transformation in the A+OSA technology. The main results are as
follows:
Compared to the reference system, the A+OSA system can reduce excess sludge by 13%~27%. Moreover, the
insertion of a sludge holding tank into the A/O process, had no obvious effect on the removal of nutrients. The
hydraulic retention time (HRT) is an important parameters which affected the sludge reduction, and the effect of
sludge reduction in whole system appeared an peak near the HRT 5.56h. The contribution factors to sludge
reduction differed under different HRT. When HRT is about less than 5.56h, the excess sludge reduction, resulted
from the lower yields of the main reaction units, but when HRT is more than 5.56h, the amount of sludge
compensative proliferation in the main reaction unit helped by the backflowed increasing organic loading offsets
the amount of sludge reduced by decay. Also, The longer the HRT in the sludge holding tank, the greater
contribution to the excess sludge reduction the sludge decay, the less contribution the bacterial of lower yields in
the sludge holding tank.
(.) The element analysis showed that the compozation are different between the two process, and the
compozation between the different reaction units also differed. Based on balances of carbon element, we found that
the content of carbon element was lowest. And this result showed the decayed in the sludge holding tank. The
sludge decayed increased sharply when the HRT prolonged. Compared with the reference, the carbon output in the
main reaction units of the A+OSA system was less, and the carbon used for organism synthesis was less either. But
the rate of cell synthesis in main reaction units of the A+OSA process was higher than it in the reference, while the
carbon output in gas form was just oppost. The energy balance indicated that the less energy was used to synthetize
organism in the A+OSA process. The loss of energy in form of power , heat, and spill in the reference was less than
it in the reduction process, but whether the energy spill or the energy uncoupling need further study.

25
Hydrogen Generation from Organic Wastewater in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

and Function Analysis of Anodophilic Communities
By Wenzong Liu
Nowadays, energy consumption and environmental pollution is a pair of paradoxical problems in the world. We
are confronted an increasing energy requirement and an inevitable environmental damage from fossil energy
utilization. An all-round solution is one of the important issues for the subject of environmental science and
engineering. New technologies are developing on waste water treatment and energy recovery. Microbial
electrolysis cells (MEC) have recently been developed as a new technology for organic wastewater treatment and
energy recovery. Exoelectrogenic bacteria are employed to effectively degrade wide organic substrates and produce
hydrogen by given a small external voltage.
Targeting at efficiency improvement of waste treatment and hydrogen conversion, this study was carried out as
follows: Reactor improvement and key factor analysis for higher hydrogen production; Dominant bacteria analysis
during reactor operating using single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP); Methane production and methane
control to reduce hydrogen lose in single chamber MECs; Effects of different startup modes on MEC performances
based on functional gene analysis, and to find out the connections among reactor performances and community
structures; To elucidate microbial ecology questions in functional bacteria of MEC and explain the determination
of community structures to reactor performances.
(.)
After MEC reactors were updated to single chamber structure, COD removal and coulombic efficiency were
increased to 90% and hydrogen yield to 3 mole/mole acetate when applied voltage was higher than 0.5 V. Energy
efficiency came up to 180%. Targeting at methane production and damage to hydrogen loss in MEC, it was
possible to increase external voltage to control methane production. Results showed that methane could be
controlled below 4% when voltage enhanced to 0.6 V or more, but over 10% methane was got in gas production
when voltage was lower than 0.4 V in the experiment.
(.)
In the study, we tried to understand MEC process from community mechanism and inner regularity. Different
reactor performances were analysed in related to anodophilic community structures and it was tried to explain the
phenomenon of alternative stable states in the view of microbial ecology. It was found that community assembly
presented a stochastic process and formed various stable states in numbers of MEC reactors under the same
operations and conditions. Analysis indicated that reactor performance on energy gas production significantly
reflected community structures by canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Moreover, the results disclosed microbial
function structures determined reactor performance accordingly. These results were meaningful to build high
efficient functional communities and apply to practical waste water treatment in future.
26

Assessment Methodology and Regulation Pattern for Wastewater Treatment

Processes Aimed at Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction
By Xu Wang
Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wastewater treatment processes (WTPs) are facing challenges in terms of enhanced energy consumption, increased
waste production, and elevated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, current estimation schemes for WTPs
focus on treatment efficiency, effluent quality, and environmental consequences of WTPs for receiving water
bodies. These are factors that generally do not quantify the potential to convert wastewater pollutants into
recoverable resources. Therefore, the present work proposes a refined evaluation scheme that quantifies not only
adverse environmental effects, but also bioenergy and nutrient recovery indices. Subsequently, a novel regulation
pattern for pollutant transformation is proposed for facilitating energy conservation, emission reduction and
resource recovery in the WTPs.
The environmental profiles of six alternative WTPs are analyzed using life cycle assessment focused on
chemical use, energy consumption and GHG emissions. Effects of discharge standards on the environmental
impacts of WTPs are determined. Our findings reveal that the sophisticated wastewater treatment proposed for local
aquatic ecosystems can be realized at the cost of higher energy consumption, chemical use, and GHG emissions.
Thus, a multiple-target evaluation framework for WTPs is proposed, and the further estimate outcomes reveal that
the lower environmental sustainability of WTPs mentioned above can be offset by the resource recovery options
involved, even if increasingly stringent discharge standards are introduced.
Each estimate indicator in the proposed scheme has a specific significance, which may substantially affect the
final estimate results. Therefore, the definition of weighting set for each indicator is undertaken carefully, using a
global time series database. The data, collected from 52 countries between 1990 and 2010, are summarized and
analyzed. The outcomes reveal that the weighting coefficients have relative values, which vary by period and
country; weighted data of the indicators highlight the important factors during a certain period. Generally,
differences of weighted values for each indicator between developing and developed countries are remarkable, and
exhibit regularity. Next, forecasting models for the weighting coefficients are proposed on the basis of statistical
principles. According to the subsequent scenario prediction, phosphorus capture via struvite generation will be the
most sustainable option for developed countries, whereas nutrient recovery via sludge composting will be the better
choice for developing countries in the future.
The results also indicate that carbon substrates will affect energy consumption and resource recovery in
WTPs. Acetic acid is found to be dominated by substrate storage in a traditional activated sludge process, rather
than by total oxidization. This results in energy reduction in the water processing line, and facilitates phosphorus
gain in particular. Finally, the proposed regulation pattern for pollutant transformation could facilitate effluent
meeting Chinese Class 1A standards. Compared with the traditional pattern, 62.3% and 41.7% of energy
consumption and GHG emission, respectively, can be reduced with the proposed pattern. Moreover, with the new
regulation pattern, treating a cubic meter of wastewater can produce a net energy gain of 0.34 kWh.

27
Metagenomic insights into bio-functionality of 21 anaerobic biogas systems

By Yu Tao
Although abundant operational experiences has been accumulated to lead a well-functioned anaerobic digestion
(AD), the microbial reasons behind a robust/failing AD system and the community dynamics in response to
complex operational changes are still lack of insights. A balanced bacterial-archaeal community is undoubtedly a
key to successful AD. In this study, we comprehensively investigate bacterial and archaeal communities in 21 labscale AD reactors using real-time qPCR and next generation sequencing. Our purpose is to link community
differences to reactor configurations, and eventually supply with some metagenomic insights into the biofunctionality of AD reactors.
The working volume of all 21 reactors are in a range of 3.8 - 9.0 L. All reactors were inoculated with mature
sludge from pilot or full-scale AD reactors. Different substrates were fed to reactors, including enzymatically
hydrolysed brewers spent grain, pig manure, fine sieve fraction, brackish recirculation wastes and synthetic
organic medium. A total of 149 biomass samples were harvested for DNA extraction. A pair of new universal
primers (U515F and U1071R) were applied for 454 pyrosequencing (Roche 454 GS-FLX system). Another two
pairs primers, ARC787f ARC1059r; BAC516f BAC805r, were used for real-time qPCR of archaea and
bacteria.
The universal primers for pyrosequencing cover most bacterial species (92.0%) and methanogens (95.2%). A
total of 652,975 sequences were retrieved for downstream analysis. Some key discoveries are:
Top seven phyla (Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Synergistetes, Chloroflexi, OP9 and
Euryarchaeota) account for 92.6% among total 50 phyla.
Bacteroides and Clostridium are most dominant genera (average abundance 28% and 14% of 149 samples) in
all
reactors
despite
of
different
inocula
and
substrates,
indicating
AD
reactors
share
similar
saccharolytic/fermenting members.
Organic substrate availability (in kg-COD/(kg-VSSd)) can impact both methanogen abundance and real quantity. A
high availability led to a high abundance and vice versa. This indicates that substrate availability determines the
ecological position of methanogens in AD reactors.
EGSB communities have the most diverse microbial diversity (calculated in Shannon index, Chao1, observed
species number and phylogenetic distance). EGSBs also have the highest methanogen abundance (Ave. 6.4%) and
amount (~ 1011 gene copies per gram dry biomass), which are about 10 times higher than the other reactors.
Accordingly, EGSB can bare the highest organic loading rate (Approx. 21 kg-COD/m3.d), which is 7-10 times higher
than the others.
It is intriguing to find that endospore-forming bacteria prevail in digester systems while biofilm-based reactors
are dominated by non-endospore-forming bacteria. This indicates different proliferous strategies in response to
various environmental stresses inside AD reactors.
By applying next generation sequencing and real-time qPCR on 149 samples out of 21 reactors, we captured some
prevalent phyla and genera who are dominant in almost every anaerobic biogas system. Meanwhile, it is critically
necessary to link AD systems functionality to its microbial community, both of which response to key
operational/environmental factors such as organic loading (and its increasing rate), F/M ratio, salinity, temperature
and aggregation forms.
28

Increased production of hydrogen from glycerol by biokinetic control of

anaerobic sludge
PhD by Estela Tapia Venegas, Biochemical engineer, Master of science and PhD on
Biotechnology, Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Valparaso, mail: etv410@yahoo.com
Supervisor: Dr. Gonzalo Ruiz-Filippi. Escuela de Ingeniera Bioqumica, Pontificia Universidad Catlica de
Valparaso, Chile, mail: gonzalo.ruiz@ucv.cl
Glycerol from the production of biodiesel, is a promising alternative substrate for the production of
hydrogen by anaerobic digestion in the biorefinery context. The studies reported in literature show that
facultative anaerobic microorganisms produce higher yields of hydrogen from glycerol. Therefore, the
development of treatment with oxygen may isolate a larger quantity of facultative anaerobes and in turn remove
hydrogen-consuming microorganisms such as hydrogenotrophic methanogenic archaea which are strictly
anaerobic. The aim of this work was to develop a high yielding hydrogen production process using glycerol with
an anaerobic sludge subjected to treatment with oxygen in a continuous system. To carry out the general
objective were studied different inoculum treatment strategies; an un-pretreated sludge subject to a biokinetic
control (TRH of 12 h), a sludge with glycerol acclimation, a sludge treated with heat shock (2 h, 105C) and
other with oxygen treatment (24 h 8.2 ppm) in a continuous system (HRT 12 h) and the changes in microbial
diversity after each treatment were evaluated with the 16S rRNA gene and a functional gene for clostridial
populations (hydA).
The best results in hydrogen production from glycerol were, acclimated sludge and sludge treated with
oxygen, obtaining a yield of 0.35 molH2 mol-1glycerol and 0.46 molH2 molglycerol-1, respectively. The yields
obtained were as high as reported in literature for anaerobic sludge from glycerol and also highlights that the
principal metabolite produced was ethanol. Total microbial diversity (16S rRNA) and clostridial population
(hydA) showed a dominance of clostridial populations, especially after the heat shock treatment unlike the
cultivations submitted to treatment with oxygen, which may involve the participation of no clostriales
(Enterobacteriaceae populations family) in hydrogen production.
In this doctoral thesis was developed a new treatment with oxygen that increased the hydrogen yield of an
anaerobic sludge in a continuous system from glycerol. Hydrogen production with this treatment (in regards to
obtained ethanol yields, as in the functional gene of the Clostridium gender analysis) would be associated to
clostridial and non clostridial communities (generally microorganisms from the Enterobacteriaceae family).

29
Startup and Stability of Thermophilic Anaerobic Digesters Treating Organic

Waste in the Absence of an Acclimated Seed.
Sophia Abboud Ghanimeh for Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Notre Dame University, Lebanon
Successful startup and durable stability are key determinants for dissemination and longevity of thermophilic
anaerobic digesters treating the source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste (SS-OFMSW). However,
startup is often long and problematic because of lack of acclimated inocula, and system stability is challenged by
operational disturbances, such as organic shock loading. In this context, the present work attempts to improve
startup and system stability by investigating the impact of mixing and addition of hydrogenotroph-rich seeds,
namely compost and leachate.
In this context, continuous slow stirring induced a stable startup by reducing the average VFA accumulation
from 2,890 mg HAc/l to 825 mg HAc/l, propionate content from 2073 mg/l to 488 mg/l, and VFA-to-alkalinity
ratio from 0.32 to 0.07. As a result, the startup with slow mixing was faster and smoother accomplishing a
higher loading capacity of 2.5 gVS/l/d in comparison to 1.9 gVS/l/d for non-mixing. Mixing equally improved
microbial abundance from 6.6 gVSS/l to 10 gVSS/l and enhanced solids and soluble COD removal.
In addition, mixing reduced the formation of micro-environments; thus, eliminating the occurrence of niches
with high concentrations of inhibiting metabolic intermediates/wastes. As a result, the Archaea in the mixed
digester were dominated by hydrogenotrophic Methanobateriaceae (61%), with 35% acetoclastic
Methanosarcinales, and most of the methane was produced via syntrophic pathways. In contrast, Archeaea in the
non-mixed digester were predominated by Halobacteria (65%), resulting in higher acids levels and lower
allowable loading rate. Accordingly, mixing was found beneficial in dissipating potential inhibitors and in
improving stability and loading capacity, particularly when a non-aclimated seed, often lacking balanced
thermophilic microflora, is used.
On the other hand, the addition of compost and leachate induced a surge in the number of hydrogenotrophic
(3 times) and acetotrophic (1000 times) methanogens in the initial seed mix. However, this impact was
attenuated with time, resulting in 35% increase in acetotrophs and 31% reduction in hydrogenotrophs at steadystate. During the startup phase, the addition of compost and leachate induced a faster acclimation of the
microbial flora with lower soluble COD and intermediate-to-partial alkalinity ratio, implying better degradation
of soluble compounds and improved stability. At steady state, the system with added compost and leachate
exhibited lower propionate levels, resulting in lower VFA concentrations and increased buffering capacity. The
latter is necessary to (1) resist progressive shocks due to incremental loading during startup, and (2) withstand
potential disturbances during steady-state operation
Furthermore, the addition of compost and leachate to the initial seed improved the systems resistance and
resilience under a sustained organic shock-load (equal to double the regular load). While the control digester
failed after shock loading, the digester with added compost and leachate was able to restore its functionality with
90% recovery of pre-shock methane generation rate at stable pH in ~3 months.
30

Interspecies Electron Transfer in environmental and engineered syntrophic

systems
Marie Stephanie Natacha Juste-Poinapen for Doctor of Philosophy
Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland
Contact for copies: damienb@awmc.uq.edu.au
Syntrophic Interspecies Electron Transfer (IET) has been observed in anoxic
environments and mainly requires intermediates such as hydrogen or formate
as electron carriers. However direct IET (DIET) is also possible and requires
that electrons are transferred via membrane-bound proteins or conductive
appendages. Engineering of multiple artificial syntrophies was attempted to
study these concepts. Growth of cultures proved very difficult due to long
establishment times and slow adaptation. Three artificial syntrophies were
confirmed by growth curves, chemical analysis, and microscopic analysis.
These included a tri-culture of Syntrophobacter wolinii, Methanobrevibacter
smithii and Methanosaeta concilii, degrading propionate, bidirectional co cultures with Shewanella
oneidensis and Methanosarcina barkeri first growing on lactate and secondly on acetate with hydrous
ferric oxide (HFO) or a carbon anode. Bidirectional syntrophies indicated that syntrophic associations can
extend beyond those systems observed and isolated to date. This work also focused on the possibilities of
stimulating and enhancing DIET in environmental cultures. A number of hypotheses were tested,
including the presence of proton carrying buffers and increase in salinity. Since direct electron transport
requires cation/proton transport, the presence of buffers such as phosphate should enhance rates where
DIET dominates. This was tested by varying initial conductivity (1.5mS/cm, X10, X30) and total
phosphate: chloride ratios (1:0, 1:1, 2:1, 1:2 and 0:1), in a square factorial analysis, during propionic acid
oxidation and ethanol oxidation, with crushed anaerobic granules as inoculum. Microbial communities
were analysed through 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH). With
propionic acid oxidation, key microbial shifts with increasing salinity were from Syntrophomonas sp to
Syntrophobacter sp and Candidatus Cloacamonas sp within bacteria and Methanobacterium sp to
Methanolinea sp. Results suggested an indirect IET (IIET) system. With ethanol, there was a higher
percentage of Geobacter sp, capable of DIET, and Methanosaeta sp, especially at 1:1 and X10 conductivity
where the best rate was recorded. Low methane yield was observed at X30 conductivity, likely due to the
reduction of ethanol to higher organic acids. In both assays, responses were better at 1:1 ratio, with the
best kinetic values recorded at X10 conductivity. Acclimatisation with propionic acid at high
conductivities (X30), over 6 months was also tested to reduce the impact of salt shock. New granules were
acclimatised at 1:0, 1:1 and 0:1 ratios. Activity was low at ratio 1:0 but improved at 1:1. Complete
oxidation with KCl only was attributed to emerging Comamonas sp as presumptive oxidiser.

31
A high-rate high temperature anaerobic digestion system for sludge treatment

Dang Phuong Dung Ho for Doctor of Philosophy
Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland
Contact for copies: damienb@awmc.uq.edu.au
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an established technology for the treatment of
sewage sludge and solid organic wastes such as animal manure, residuals and
energy crops. AD converts organics in these solid streams to a renewable
source of energy in the form of methane, with the concomitant reduction of
the amount of final biosolids to be disposed. The application of AD on organic
solids treatment generally requires long retention times (2030 days) that
result in high capital costs and represent a major opportunity for process
improvement. High-rate AD requires rapid hydrolysis and enhanced
methanogenic growth rates which can be achieved through elevated
temperature (>55 oC) at short sludge retention times (SRT). However, there
is currently limited understanding on the impact of varying temperature in
the thermophilic range, particularly on methanogenesis. In response, this thesis investigates the effect of
temperatures (5565 oC) and SRT (24 days) on the multiple aspects of performance, methanogenic
capacity, community and pathway using a combination of reactor studies, microbial community analyses
by pyrosequencing, and methanogenic pathway analyses by stable isotope fractionation. It was
demonstrated that thermophilic AD could be operated effectively at 55 oC and short SRT of 3 or 4 days,
achieving comparable volatile solids (VS) destruction (37%) with those of mesophilic AD (2030 days
SRT). Increasing temperature did not enhance methanogenesis to the same extent as hydrolysis, with
hydrolysis being limiting at 55 oC and methanogenesis limiting at 65 oC. Acetate is an important
intermediate in the anaerobic degradation and can be converted to methane via two pathways:
acetoclastic methanogenesis (AM) dominating at mesophilic temperature and syntrophic acetate
oxidation (SAO) dominating at thermophilic temperature. SAO is a two-step process, consisting of acetate
oxidation to carbon dioxide by syntrophic acetate-oxidisers, followed by conversion of these products to
methane by hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Using stable carbon isotopic signature to quantify the
relative contribution of these two pathways indicated that elevated temperature promoted SAO, which
accounted for 60% of methane formation at 55 C and increased substantially to 100% at 65 C. Acetate
consumption capacity dropped with increasing temperature based on specific methanogenic activity
testing of digester contents. Statistical analysis showed a strong correlation between reactor temperature
and microbial community; in particular, increased temperature correlated to the increased relative
abundance of Coprothermobacter and the decreased relative abundance of Methanosarcina. RNA directed
stable isotope probing (SIP) was further applied with RNA directed real-time polymerase chain reaction
(q-PCR) and pyrosequencing. This identified a switch from Methanosarcina and Coprothermobacter at 55
and 60 C and Methanothermobacter and Coprothermobacter at high temperature (6065 C). In
particular, Methanothermobacter contained the 13C label despite (presumptively) being a nonacetotrophic methanogen. This work confirmed the role of Methanosarcina at lower temperature, possibly
as both acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogen. Microscopic analyses using nanoscale secondary
ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) coupled with fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) successfully
detected and visualised uptake of 13C-labelled acetate by Methanosarcina. Coprothermobacter was also
the key acetate oxidiser given SIP and sequencing results, but visualisation of Coprothermobacter by
nanoSIMS remains to be elucidated due to the lack of specific probes for this group.
32

Increased production of hydrogen from glycerol by biokinetic control of

anaerobic sludge
MSc by Joao Marcus Uratani
Supervisor: Dr Jorge Rodrguez,
Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Salicornia bigelovii is a halophyte with potential usage as feedstock for bioenergy generation. It can be
cultivated without need for fresh water irrigation or arable land, and oil-rich seeds could be used for
biodiesel production. In the haloagriculture of S. bigelovii for seed harvest, Salicornia biomass waste
(SBW) can be converted into biogas and recyclable nutrients. A technical assessment of the feasibility of
the anaerobic digestion conversion of halophytic plant residues from Salicornia sp. (SBW) into biogas,
along with nutrient recovery is assessed via experimental analyses and mathematical model simulation.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) of a mild aqueous extraction of SBW, using salt water containing 50 gNaCl/L,
resulted in bioconversion of over 50% of the total COD into methane after 30 days with adapted inoculum.
The yields of conversion measured are comparable with controls using a very bioavailable substrate
(glucose). These results indicate the potential energy recoverability from SBW after mild pre-treatment
without using fresh water neither for crop cultivation nor for bioprocessing of the plant residues. Further
process optimization and best design guidelines of the AD system based on the laboratory experiments
and model simulation are proposed, along with a comprehensive literature review of halophilic
microorganisms of interest that might present biotechnological application potential for the enhancement
of this and related bioprocesses.

33
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PROJECTS

Novel monitoring and process control system for efficient production of VFA and biogas in
anaerobic digestion plant
The OPTI-VFA project focuses on improving the reliability, efficiency and profitability of AD processes by
novel process monitoring and controlling tools. The main emphasis in the project will be in the
development of production of VFA (Volatile Fatty Acids) as a route to bio-based materials, i.e. so-called
VFA platform. In the VFA platform, the real time monitoring of VFA production will be of fundamental
importance in the success of the further development of this process scheme. In the future scenarios, this
platform is foreseen to play an important role in the material recycling in the bio-based economy. The
tools are also applied in the conventional biogas production. The main challenges in the traditional biogas
production are high investment costs of digesters, low profitability of biogas and energy production as
well as the stability problems of operation especially in co-digestion plants. In this process scheme, the
more efficient process control provides an approach to reduce the size and price of newly-built digesters,
or to improve the performance and profitability of existing AD plants. The technological development in
the process instrumentation in the OPTI-VFA project will focus on the Piezo Fabry-Perot based
spectrometer and the science based calibration (SBC) method together with supervisory control and data
acquisition systems for the effective control and optimization of both VFA and conventional biogas
production.
In all, an OPTI-VFA prototype with these new process instrumentation and automation features will be
designed, fabricated, calibrated and tested in a modern AD pilot plant. The participating SMEs in the OPTIVFA consortium cover the entire value chain in the monitoring and controlling business including subcontractors for instrument vendors, a monitoring instrument vendor, a process automation company, AD
process equipment vendor and an end-user companyan AD operator. http://www.opti-vfa.eu/index.php
34

ANAEROBIC URL SITES

Anaerobic knowledge centres:
www.leaf-water.org/UK/
www.walesadcentre.org.uk
Anaerobic digestion companies
ADI
Aquatec Maxcon
Biotec
Biotecs
Biothane Systems International
Biotim
Ecomembrane
Ecovation
Entec Biogas GmbH
Global Water Engineering
Grontmij
IBTech
JB Ingenieros
NewBio, Inc
Ondeo Degrmont
Paques
Proserpol
Purac
Rains
http://www.adi.ca
http://www.aquatecmaxcon.com.au
http://www.bio-tec.net
http://www.biotecs.com.br
http://www.biothane.com
http://www.biotim.be
http://www.ecomembrane.com
http://www.ecolab.com/
http://www.entec-biogas.at
http://www.globalwaterengineering.com
http://www.grontmij.nl
http://www.ibtech.com.mx
http://www.jbingenieros.es
http://www.newbio.com
http://www.degremont.fr
http://www.paques.nl
http://www.proserpol.com
http://purac.se
http://www.rainsgroup.com
Other sites with AD links:

http://www.ad-nett.org/
Video How to design, build, and operate lab-scale digesters
www.jove.com/video/3978/continuously-stirred-anaerobic-digester-to-convert-organic-wastes
or from Europe and US
angenent.bee.cornell.edu/AnaerobicDigestion.html

35
NEWS FROM IWA HQ

IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, 21-26 September 2014, Lisbon, Portugal
www.iwa2014lisbon.org
The International Water Association will gather under the same roof 5,000 world water professionals
from over 100 countries, in Lisbon, Portugal, from 21 to 26 September 2014.
The World Water Congress & Exhibition is the event of excellence for professional networking and cross
sector knowledge transference. In such a rapidly evolving field, no one can afford to be left behind when it
comes to the latest research and technological trends. Water professionals, both researchers and
corporate visitors will create new, inspiring solutions to the Worlds water related challenges.
With the rapid evolution of science and technology the water sector is expected to raise the bar, using
collective solutions that defend everyones right to safe drinking water and sanitation provided by
effective and sustainable services. In Lisbon, the frontiers of science and practice will be explored,
bringing to life leading edge, pragmatics and innovative solutions for urban and basis wide water and
sanitation challenges.
The 2014 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition benefits from its host city, Lisbon. The city is the
closest European capital both to Africa and America and an inexpensive favourite with travellers from the
world over. Lisbon is ready to host the best international ideas and the most dynamic global water
professionals, who will be showcasing successful examples of enterprising regional systems, national
policy initiatives, balancing private and public sectors, financial sustainability, and the regulation and
benchmarking of water systems.
The diversified programme will include 400 platform presentations, 800 posters, workshops, precongress training courses and workshop, as well as presentations from world leading experts. Please note
that there are also pre-Congress workshops and training courses. The 7000 m 2 exhibition will display over
200 global companies and 15 country pavilions.
Join us in Lisbon, to help shaping our water future.
For Technical Programme, please click

http://www.iwa2014lisbon.org/conference/technical-sessions/.
For registration, please click

http://www.iwa2014lisbon.org/registration-hotels-travel/register-as-delegate/.
36

The IWA Water Wiki!

Invitation to Participate
www.iwawaterwiki.org
This month on the WaterWiki

Journal Authors Profile Series:
We have been asking the authors of recently published IWA Publishing journal papers to
contribute short WaterWiki articles profiling their papers.
We asked the authors to tell us more about why they chose their particular area of study and what
their next project might involve.
All profiles correspond to the most popular WaterWiki subject areas, allowing WaterWiki users the
opportunity to learn more about the work of published authors within their preferred research area.
These profiles, featuring contributions on papers published in journals including Water Science and
Technology, Water Research and the Journal of Water and Health, are now available in the Articles
section of the site and can be accessed via the Journal Authors Profile Series tag.
We hope to continue adding to this resource! If you would like to contribute a profile on your paper
then contact the Community Manager for more information.
Author Interviews on the WaterWiki Blog:

This month the WaterWiki blog features interviews with authors of forthcoming books due for
publication in October 2014:
Jaime Melo Baptista - member of the board of directors of IWA and President of the World
Water Congress of the IWA in Lisbon and author of The Regulation of Water and Waste Services:
An Integrated Approach (Rita-Ersar), to be published by IWAP in October 2014.
Click here to read this post
Mathjis Bonte - hydrogeologist at Shell Global Solutions and author of Impacts of Shallow
Geothermal Energy on Groundwater Quality, to be published by IWAP in October 2014.
Charles Carneiro - Research & Development Manager in Water and Sanitation Company of
Paran State Brazil and co-author, with Cleverson Vitorio Andreoli,Cynara de Lourdes da Nobrega
Cunha and Eduardo F Gobbi, Federal University of Parana, Brazil, of Reservoir Eutrophication:
Preventive Management - An applied example of Integrated Basin Management Interdisciplinary
Research, to be published by IWAP in October 2014.
Faecal Sludge Management Now Available to Download:

Faecal Sludge Management: Systems Approach for Implementation and Operation by Linda Strande,
Mariska Ronteltap and Damir Brdjanovic is now available to download free via the WaterWiki free
eBook resource.
The book addresses the organization of the entire faecal sludge management service chain,
from the collection and transport of sludge, and the current state of knowledge of treatment options, to
the final end use or disposal of treated sludge.
37
The book also presents important factors to consider when evaluating and upscaling new
treatment technology options.
The book is designed for undergraduate and graduate students, and engineers and
practitioners in the field who have some basic knowledge of environmental and/or wastewater
engineering.
To access the eBook, via Volume 2 of the free eBook resource, click here.
Want to get involved?

We would like to invite members of the Anaerobic Digestion Specialist Group to set up their own
private Group Space on the Wiki.
We would also welcome your submissions! Click here to register on the site and begin uploading your
materials.
Please feel free to contact me (cparker@iwap.co.uk) with any questions.
Chloe Parker
IWA WaterWiki Community Manager
cparker@iwap.co.uk
NEWS FROM IWA PUBLISHING

New and Forthcoming Publications on Wastewater and Anaerobic Digestion
Faecal Sludge Management

Systems Approach for Implementation and Operation
Linda Strande, Mariska Ronteltap and Damir Brdjanovic
ISBN: 9781780404721
Aug 2014 432 pages Hardback
IWA Members price: 93.75 / US$ 168.75 / 126.56
http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn9781780404721&type=category
It is estimated that literally billions of residents in urban and peri-urban areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin
America are served by onsite sanitation systems (e.g. various types of latrines and septic tanks). Until
recently, the management of faecal sludge from these onsite systems has been grossly neglected,
partially as a result of them being considered temporary solutions until sewer-based systems could be
implemented. However, the perception of onsite or decentralized sanitation technologies for urban
areas is gradually changing, and is increasingly being considered as long-term, sustainable options in
urban areas, especially in low- and middle-income countries that lack sewer infrastructures. This is the
first book dedicated to faecal sludge management. It compiles the current state of knowledge of the
rapidly evolving field of faecal sludge management, and presents an integrated approach that includes
technology, management, and planning based on Sandecs 20 years of experience in the field.
38

Activated Sludge - 100 Years and Counting

David Jenkins, University of California at Berkeley, USA and Jiri Wanner, Institute
of Chemical Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
ISBN: 9781780404936
Jun 2014 464 pages Hardback
Activated Sludge - 100 Years and Counting covers the current status of all aspects of the activated
sludge process and looks forward to its further development in the future. It celebrates 100 years of
the Activated Sludge process, from the time that the early developers presented the seminal works
that led to its eventual worldwide adoption.
The book assembles contributions from renowned world leaders in activated sludge research,
development, technology and application. The objective of the book is to summarise the knowledge of
all aspects of the activated sludge process and to present and discuss anticipated future
developments.
Applications of Activated Sludge Models

D. Brdjanovic, S.C.F Meijer, C.M. Lopez-Vazquez, C.M. Hooijmans, M.C.M. van
Loosdrecht
Mar 2015 400 pages Hardback
http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn9781780404639__&type=category
In 1982 the International Association on Water Pollution Research and Control (IAWPRC), as it was
then called, established a Task Group on Mathematical Modelling for Design and Operation of
Activated Sludge Processes. The aim of the Task Group was to create a common platform that could
be used for the future development of models for COD and N removal with a minimum of complexity.
As the collaborative result of the work of several modelling groups, the Activated Sludge Model No. 1
(ASM1) was published in 1987, exactly 25 years ago. The ASM1 can be considered as the reference
model, since this model triggered the general acceptance of wastewater treatment modelling, first in
the research community and later on also in practice. ASM1 has become a reference for many
scientific and practical projects, and has been implemented (in some cases with modifications) in most
of the commercial software available for modelling and simulation of plants for N removal. The models
have grown more complex over the years, from ASM1, including N removal processes, to ASM2 (and
its variations) including P removal processes, and ASM3 that corrects the deficiencies of ASM1 and is
based on a metabolic approach to modelling. So far, ASM1 is the most widely applied.

39
Experimental Methods in Wastewater Treatment

Editors: M.C.M. van Loosdrecht, J. Keller, P.H. Nielsen, C.M. Lopez-Vazquez
and D. Brdjanovic
ISBN: 9781780404745
May 2015 300 pages Hardback
http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn9781780404745_&type=category
Over the past twenty years, the knowledge and understanding of wastewater treatment has advanced
extensively and moved away from empirically based approaches to a fundamentally-based first
principles approach embracing chemistry, microbiology, and physical and bioprocess engineering,
often involving experimental laboratory work and techniques. Many of these experimental methods
and techniques have matured to the degree that they have been accepted as reliable tools in
wastewater treatment research and practice. For sector professionals, especially a new generation of
young scientists and engineers entering the wastewater treatment profession, the quantity, complexity
and diversity of these new developments can be overwhelming, particularly in developing countries
where access to advanced level laboratory courses in wastewater treatment is not readily available. In
addition, information on innovative experimental methods is scattered across scientific literature and
only partially available in the form of textbooks or guidelines. This book seeks to address these
deficiencies. It assembles and integrates the innovative experimental methods developed by research
groups and practitioners around the world.
Energy and Resource Recovery from Sludge

Y. Kalogo and H. Monteith
ISBN: 9781780404653
Oct 2012 192 pages eBook only
There is general consensus among sanitary engineering professionals that municipal wastewater and
wastewater sludge is not a waste, but a potential source of valuable resources.
Energy and Resource Recovery from Sludge provides essential knowledge on energy and resource
recovery from sludge and focuses on:
The international situation of energy and resource recovery from sludge,

How the use of different sludge treatment processes affects the possibility of recovering
energy and/or materials from the residual sludge,
The influence of market and regulatory drivers on the fate of the sludge end-product,
The feasibility of energy and resource recovery from sludge,
The social, economic and environmental performance (triple bottom line or TBL assessment)
of current alternatives technologies.
International cases studies of established technologies existing at full-scale with commercial

applications, as well as those that can potentially be commercialized are provided. Emerging
technologies that have been demonstrated only at pilot-scale or bench (laboratory) scale are included.
40

SELECTED RESEARCH REPORTS

Use of Nanoparticles for Reduction of Odorant Production and Improvements in Dewaterability
of Biosolids
WERF Report U3R08
Author(s): Rajagopalan Ganesh
Publication Date: 15 Jul 2014 ISBN: 9781780400174
Pages: 100
Reduction, Modification and Valorisation of Sludge
REMOVALS
Editor(s): Azael Fabregat, Christophe Bengoa, Josep Font and Frank Stueber
Publication Date: 15 Mar 2011 ISBN: 9781843393450
Pages: 232 Paperback
For more information on IWA Publishing products or to buy online visit www.iwapublishing.com
Or contact one of IWA Publishing's distributors:
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41
IWA Head Office:

Alliance House
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IWA Global Operational Office:

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42


IWA Anaerobic Digestion SG Newsletter - 2014-09

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IWA Anaerobic Digestion SG Newsletter - 2014-09

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Specialist Group on

Newsletter: September 2014

IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where we had a fantastic conference

800 attendees, 200 platform presentation, and 400 posters. We also

input. We also continue to have a wide range of other specialised

IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER

Stevinweg 1, P.O Box 5048, NL-2600 GA Delft,

Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC)

TU Delft / Civil Engineering and Geosciences

T +31 15 2789128, M +31 6 10116953

MANAGEMENT COMITEE OF THE AD SPECIALIST GROUP

HOW TO JOIN THE SPECIALIST GROUP ON ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

UPDATE FROM THE TASK GROUPS ON ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

IWA Working Group on Mathematical Modelling of Anaerobic Digestion

Damien Batstone, Chair of ADM Working Group

IWA Task Group towards a Generalised Physicochemical Modelling Framework (PCM)

IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

Damien Batstone, Chair of PCM Task Group

NEWS FROM THE WORLD ON ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

PAST AND COMING CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

The 13 IWA World Congress in Anaerobic Digestion AD13

A total of 776 delegates from 54 countries

attended the AD13 conference in Santiago de

Compostela, the largest number in IWA AD

from which 540 were for consideration for oral

keynote, full or short platform presentation. A

total of 476 posters were presented at the

To be subject of IWA Advocacy to international agencies

- AD is a clearly very sustainable technology at all levels.

Best AD13 moments: http://www.ad13.org/content/photos

IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

Deadline for Submission of papers

30th July 2014

15th August 2014

Deadline for paper submission

1st September 2014

15th August 2014

15th September 2014

24-27th November 2014

Organizing Committee Head

Scientific Committee Head

Dra. Ileana Pereda (Ileana@quimica.cujae.edu.cu) / Dr. Silvio Montalvo (silvio.montalvo@usach.cl)

Reuse of effluent and digestate

Biogas upgrading and management

Microbiology of anaerobic digestion

New products, novel process configuration and emerging technologies

Modeling, instrumentation and control

Environmental management (life cycle assessment, clean development mechanisms)

Upstream and downstream processes; pre-treatments and post-treatments

Low-tech solutions for developing countries

Climate change and anaerobic digestion (San Pedro de Atacama)

Instrumentation, modelling, control and automation in anaerobic digestion (Santiago)

Pre-treatment for anaerobic digestion (Santiago)

Anaerobic digestion and bio-business (Pucn)

Processes with extremophile microorganisms (Patagonia)

IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

IWA Specialist Group on Anaerobic Digestion

Progress in Biogas III

http://www.marquette.edu/ANT after June 1, 2014 or email Daniel Zitomer (daniel.zitomer@mu.edu). A