Quantification and characterization of β-lactam resistance genes in 15 sewage treatment plants from East Asia and North America.

The emerging antibiotic resistance genes in the aquatic environment have aroused public concern. As β-lactam is the most widely used group of antibiotics, β-lactam resistance genes were selected to investigate their distribution and diversity in the activated sludge from 15 geographically different sewage treatment plants (STPs) of China, Singapore, USA, and Canada. Specific PCR and quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR) were used to investigate the occurrence and abundance of nine β-lactam resistance genes.

Eliminating methanogenic activity in hydrogen reactor to improve biogas production in a two-stage anaerobic digestion process co-digesting municipal food waste and sewage sludge.

Laboratory scale two-stage anaerobic digestion process model was operated for 280 days to investigate the feasibility to produce both hydrogen and methane from a mixture feedstock (1:1 (v/v)) of municipal food waste and sewage sludge. The maximum hydrogen and methane yields obtained in the two stages were 0.93 and 9.

Buffer requirements for enhanced hydrogen production in acidogenic digestion of food wastes.

The requirements for pH buffer addition for hydrogen production and acidogenesis in batch acidogenic digestion of a food waste (FW) feedstock with limited alkalinity was studied at various initial pH conditions (6.0-8.0).

Co-production of hydrogen and methane from potato waste using a two-stage anaerobic digestion process.

Hydrogen and methane co-production from potato waste was examined using a two-stage process of anaerobic digestion. The hydrogen stage was operated in continuous flow under a pH of 5.5 and a HRT of 6h.

Potential for hydrogen and methane production from biomass residues in Canada.

Canada generates approximately 1.45 x 10(8)t of residual biomass per year, containing an estimated energy value of 2.28 x 10(9)GJ, which is equivalent to about 22% of Canada's current annual energy use.