In situ methane enrichment with vacuum application to produce biogas with higher methane content.

Sludge produced in sewage treatment plants is an important source of organic matter to be used in anaerobic digestion to produce energy-rich biogas. The biogas produced in anaerobic digesters has a critical impact on achieving carbon neutrality and improving energy self-sufficiency. After effective upgrading, biogas can be converted into biomethane with an increased CH content, resulting in a higher volumetric energy value.

Enhancement of hydrazine accumulation in anammox bioreactors.

The role of hydrazine (NH) in anammox metabolism has been widely studied; however, studies on NH biosynthesis by anammox bacteria are limited in the literature. In this context, the current research aims to investigate the enhancement of biological NH production in the anammox process in a long-term manner. The experimental studies started with the optimization of the operating conditions to achieve maximum NH accumulation.

Influence of ionic liquids on the electronic environment of atomically dispersed Ir on (MgO)(100).

Recently, ionic liquids (ILs) have been used as ligands for single-site Ir(CO) complexes bound to metal-oxide supports because of their electron-donor/acceptor capacities. The combined effects of supports and ILs as ligands may pave the way to the tuning of the surrounding electronic properties to increase electron-donor/acceptor efficiency in metal-oxide supported Ir(CO) complexes. Herein, we have used Density Functional Theory to model Ir(CO) complexes bound to MgO supports with and without the presence of an IL to explain the role of ILs in modifying the electronic structure of the supported complex.

Recovery profile of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria inhibited by ZnO nanoparticles.

The potential effects of nanoparticles (NPs) on biological treatment processes have become significant due to their increasing industrial applications. The purpose of this research was to investigate the self-recovery ability of anammox bacteria following acute ZnO NPs toxicity. In this context, a 2-liter lab-scale anammox reactor was operated for 550 days to enrich the biomass required to the batch exposure tests.

Assessment of Anammox process against acute and long-term exposure of ZnO nanoparticles.

The impacts of nanoparticles (NPs) on wastewater treatment have become a great concern because of their widespread applications. Although the acute responses of anammox bacteria to NPs have enhanced the knowledge about the potential risks of them, deep understanding of the cumulative impacts of NPs must be assessed. The purpose of this research was therefore to further extend the current knowledge by evaluating both acute and long-term effects of Zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs on Anammox process based on nitrogen removal performance, self-recovery ability and microbial community structure.

Role of ionic liquids on the selectivity and the rate of organic reactions: A computational approach.

In the last years, ionic liquids have been used as substitutes to common solvents since they combine good solubility properties with small vapor pressures. Herein, the Diels-Alder reactions of cyclopentadiene (CP) with acrolein, methyl acrylate and acrylonitrile in ionic liquids ([Emim][N(Tf)]), ([Hbim][N(Tf)]) and ([Bmim][OTf]) have been modeled with density functional theory to explore the effect of ionic liquids on the endo selectivity in the adducts. Besides the hydogen bonding interactions between the cation and the diene in all the structures, endo transition structures are slightly better stabilized than exo transition structures because of the favorable interactions between the H's of the CP ring and the O's of the [N(Tf)] and [OTf] anions of the IL's.

Assessing iron and aluminum-based coagulants for odour and pathogen reductions in sludge digesters and enhanced digestate dewaterability.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an effective way of recovering energy and nutrients from organic waste. However, several issues including the production of corrosive, highly odorous and toxic volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in digester biogas, and long digestion times to achieve sufficient pathogen reductions can limit its wider adoption. In this study, Kemira™ PIX-311 (ferric chloride), PAX XL-6 (aluminum chloride hydroxide sulfate), and PAX XL-19 (polyaluminum chlorohydrate) were added to the digester feeds to evaluate the effects on digester stability, organic removal, VSCs formation in digester headspace, pathogen removal and sludge dewaterability.

Assessment of microbial viability in municipal sludge following ultrasound and microwave pretreatments and resulting impacts on the efficiency of anaerobic sludge digestion.

A range of ultrasonication (US) and microwave irradiation (MW) sludge pretreatments were compared to determine the extent of cellular destruction in micro-organisms within secondary sludge and how this cellular destruction translated to anaerobic digestion (AD). Cellular lysis/inactivation was measured using two microbial viability assays, (1) Syto 16® Green and Sytox® Orange counter-assay to discern the integrity of cellular membranes and (2) a fluorescein diacetate assay to understand relative enzymatic activity. A range of MW intensities (2.

Treatment of landfill leachate using UASB-MBR-SHARON-Anammox configuration.

Leachate treatment is a challenging issue due to its high pollutant loads. There are several studies on feasible treatment methods of leachate. In the scope of this study, high organic content of young leachate was eliminated using an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) and a membrane bioreactor (MBR) in sequence and effluent of the system was given to single reactor for high activity ammonia removal over nitrite (SHARON) and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (Anammox) reactors to remove nitrogen content.

Solidification/stabilization of landfill leachate concentrate using different aggregate materials.

The application of reverse osmosis for the treatment of landfill leachate is becoming widespread in Turkey as well as in Europe. A major drawback of this process is the production of concentrate, which could be as much as 30% of the feed stream, and high concentrations of salts and contaminants. The reverse osmosis concentrate is disposed of by using several methods including re-infiltration, drying, incineration and solidification/stabilization.