Influence of the operating conditions of the intermediate thermal hydrolysis on the energetic efficiency of the sludge treatment process.

The application of steam explosion between two stages of anaerobic digestion may improve energy recovery from sludge while increasing organic matter removal. The influence of the operating conditions of the thermal process: temperature (130-210 °C), retention time (5-45 min) and TS concentration (5.4-10.

H addition through a submerged membrane for in-situ biogas upgrading in the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge.

In-situ upgrading of biogas in a mesophilic anaerobic digester of sewage sludge by sparging H through a membrane was studied. Large gas recirculation rates were required to facilitate H transfer to the bulk liquid phase; at  ∼200 L L d, H utilization efficiency averaged 94% and the specific CH production increased from 0.38 L L d, during conventional digestion, to 0.

Evaluation of process performance, energy consumption and microbiota characterization in a ceramic membrane bioreactor for ex-situ biomethanation of H and CO.

The performance of a pilot ceramic membrane bioreactor for the bioconversion of H and CO to bioCH was evaluated in thermophilic conditions. The loading rate was between 10 and 30 m H/m d and the system transformed 95% of H fed. The highest methane yield found was 0.

Review of lignocellulolytic enzyme activity analyses and scale-down to microplate-based assays.

With the increasing use of enzymes in environmental applications, there is a need for analytical methods adapted to large factorial experiments. Existing reference methods are chemical and labor intensive and unsuitable to analyze in parallel a large number of samples. Based on an extensive literature review and on experimental results, this work compares reference and microplate adapted methods to define the most adequate filter paper, carboxymethylcellulase, β-glucosidase and xylanase activity tests.

Molecular analysis of the biomass of a fluidized bed reactor treating synthetic vinasse at anaerobic and micro-aerobic conditions.

The microbial communities (Bacteria and Archaea) established in an anaerobic fluidized bed reactor used to treat synthetic vinasse (betaine, glucose, acetate, propionate, and butyrate) were characterized by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and phylogenetic analysis. This study was focused on the competitive and syntrophic interactions between the different microbial groups at varying influent substrate to sulfate ratios of 8, 4, and 2 and anaerobic or micro-aerobic conditions. Acetogens detected along the anaerobic phases at substrate to sulfate ratios of 8 and 4 seemed to be mainly involved in the fermentation of glucose and betaine, but they were substituted by other sugar or betaine degraders after oxygen application.