Bulking agent in dry anaerobic digestion as a key factor for the enhancement of biogas production.

Dry anaerobic digestion (dry-AD) is an attractive process for solid wastes such as agri-food waste. However, some limitations mainly associated to lack of effective mixing, can hinder the methane production capacity of the systems. Bulking agent (BA) has been proposed as a solution to the compaction issues in systems without mechanical agitation, such as leaching bed reactors.

A Rare and Urgent Consequence After a Snake Bite.

Snake bites (ophidism) constitute a public health problem in tropical and subtropical countries, due to their lethality, and the lack of access to prompt treatment in these regions. Catastrophic consequences follow the injection of the venom due to its proteolytic, procoagulant, hemorrhagic, nephrotoxic, vasculotoxic, and myonecrotizing properties, which can lead to severe complications if not managed promptly and adequately. In this report, we present the case of a 26-year-old male patient who suffered a snake bite (Bothrops asper) on the back of his right foot.

Performance evaluation of a control strategy for photosynthetic biogas upgrading in a semi-industrial scale photobioreactor.

The validation of a control strategy for biogas upgrading via light-driven CO consumption by microalgae and HS oxidation by oxidizing bacteria using the oxygen photosynthetically generated was performed in a semi-industrial scale (9.6 m) photobioreactor. The control system was able to support CO concentrations lower than 2% with O contents ≤ 1% regardless of the pH in the cultivation broth (ranging from 9.

Fly ash as stimulant for anaerobic digestion: effect over hydrolytic stage and methane generation rate.

Thermoelectric fly ash was used as a micronutrient source for microorganisms in the anaerobic digestion process of thermally pretreated (1 hour, 120 °C) secondary sludge. The obtained results not only suggest that fly ash improves methane generation in the conversion of volatile fatty acids into methane, but also show a new observation, that the fly ash contributes in the particulate organic solubilization. The maximum methane production rate increased from 6.

Anoxic denitrification of BTEX: Biodegradation kinetics and pollutant interactions.

Anoxic mineralization of BTEX represents a promising alternative for their abatement from O-deprived emissions. However, the kinetics of anoxic BTEX biodegradation and the interactions underlying the treatment of BTEX mixtures are still unknown. An activated sludge inoculum was used for the anoxic abatement of single, dual and quaternary BTEX mixtures, being acclimated prior performing the biodegradation kinetic tests.

Lignocellulosic waste valorisation strategy through enzyme and biogas production.

Lignocellulosic wastes are generally pre-treated to facilitate the hydrolysis stage during the anaerobic digestion process. A process consisting of solid state fermentation carried out by white rot fungi and anaerobic digestion was evaluated on corn stover to produce ligninolytic enzymes and biogas. The enzyme production was quantified every 3d for a month at 30°C, and three fungal strains and two particle sizes of waste were compared.

Anoxic biodegradation of BTEX in a biotrickling filter.

Emissions of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) from the petrochemical industry are characterized by a low pollutants concentration and the absence of oxygen. Biodegradation of these pollutants using nitrate as the electron acceptor is of key interest to reuse the residual gas for inertization purposes. However, the biological mineralization of BTEX is often limited by their recalcitrant nature and the toxicity of the secondary metabolites produced.

Thermochemical pretreatment of lignocellulose residues: assessment of the effect on operational conditions and their interactions on the characteristics of leachable fraction.

Annually, large amounts of agricultural residues are produced in Chile, which can be turned into a good opportunity to diversify the energy matrix. These residues have a slow hydrolysis stage during anaerobic digestion; therefore, the application of a pretreatment seems to be an alternative to improve the process. This work focused on applying a thermochemical pretreatment with NaOH on two lignocellulosic residues.

Method for the stabilization and immobilization of enzymatic extracts and its application to the decolorization of textile dyes.

Peroxidases from Pleurotus eryngii have been investigated for their ability to degrade recalcitrant, phenolic pollutants. The use of crude enzymatic extracts can reduce the high costs associated with enzyme purification, and enzyme immobilization can enhance enzyme stability and recovery. The present study tests the effectiveness of various conditions for crude enzyme stabilization in polyethylene glycol and glycine solutions, and immobilization on monofunctional and heterofunctional agarose solid supports.

ADM1 calibration using BMP tests for modeling the effect of autohydrolysis pretreatment on the performance of continuous sludge digesters.

Improving anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge through pretreatment techniques is a suitable solution for better sludge management. In this sense, modeling may present itself as an important tool to assess and predict process performance and pretreatment effects. In this study, the feasibility of using biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests data for calibrating the Anaerobic Digestion Model No.