Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China.
Research Center of Energy Conservation for New Generation of Residential, Commercial, And Industrial Sectors, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 10608, Taiwan, China; Department of Energy and Refrigerating Air-Conditioning Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 10608, Taiwan, China.
J Environ Manage. 2023 Nov 1;345:118704. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118704. Epub 2023 Aug 2.
Anaerobic digestion is widely employed for the treatment of waste activated sludge (WAS) due to its advantages like simultaneous energy recovery and sludge stabilization, promoting carbon-neutral operation of wastewater treatment plants. Natural zeolite, a low-cost and eco-friendly additive, has the potential to improve methane production from anaerobic digestion. This study investigated the effects of natural zeolite on anaerobic digestion when the substrate was WAS. It was found that methane production potential in response to natural zeolite was dosage-dependent. The optimal dosage was 0.1 g zeolite/g volatile suspended solids (VSS), with a methane yield of 181.89 ± 6.75 mL/g VSS, which increased by 20.1% compared to that of the control. Although the methane yields with other dosages of natural zeolite were higher than that of control, they were lesser than that with 0.1 g zeolite/g VSS. Natural zeolite affected transfer and conversion of proteins much more than polysaccharides in liquid phase and extracellular polymeric substances. In anaerobic digestion, natural zeolite had with little effects on WAS solubilization, while it improved hydrolysis, acidification, and methanogenesis. The dosages of natural zeolite did have significant effects on bacterial communities in biofilm rather than suspension, while the archaeal communities in biofilm and suspension were all greatly related to natural zeolite dosages. The developed biofilms promoted richness and functionality of microbial communities. The syntrophic metabolism relationships between methanogens and bacteria were improved, which was proved by selective enrichment of Methanosarcina, Syntrophomonas, and Petrimonas. The findings of this work provided some new solutions for promoting methane production from WAS, and the roles of natural zeolite in anaerobic digestion.
厌氧消化因具有能源回收和污泥稳定等优点而被广泛应用于处理废活性污泥(WAS),有助于实现污水处理厂的碳中性运行。天然沸石作为一种低成本、环保的添加剂,具有提高厌氧消化产甲烷的潜力。本研究考察了天然沸石作为 WAS 底物时对厌氧消化的影响。结果表明,甲烷生成潜力与天然沸石的剂量有关。最佳剂量为 0.1 g 沸石/g 挥发性悬浮固体(VSS),甲烷产率为 181.89±6.75 mL/g VSS,比对照提高了 20.1%。虽然其他剂量天然沸石的甲烷产率高于对照,但低于 0.1 g 沸石/g VSS。天然沸石对液相和细胞外聚合物中蛋白质的转移和转化的影响大于多糖。在厌氧消化中,天然沸石对 WAS 溶解的影响较小,但能促进水解、酸化和产甲烷作用。天然沸石的剂量对生物膜而非悬浮液中的细菌群落有显著影响,而生物膜和悬浮液中的古菌群落都与天然沸石的剂量密切相关。天然沸石促进了生物膜中微生物群落的丰富度和功能。产甲烷菌和细菌之间的共代谢关系得到改善,这被证明是通过 Methanosarcina、Syntrophomonas 和 Petrimonas 的选择性富集。本研究结果为提高 WAS 产甲烷提供了一些新的解决方案,也为天然沸石在厌氧消化中的作用提供了新的认识。