Comparison between MBR and SBR on Anammox start-up process from the conventional activated sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tao; Zhang, Hanmin; Gao, Dawen; Yang, Fenglin; Zhang, Guangyi

2012-10-01

Anammox start-up performances from the conventional activated sludge were compared between a MBR and SBR. Both the reactors successfully started up Anammox process. The start-up period in the MBR (59 days) was notably shorter than that in the SBR (101 days), and the max nitrogen (NH(4)(+)+NO(2)(-)) removal capacity of 345.2 mg N L(-1) d(-1) in the MBR was also higher than that of 292.0 mg N L(-1) d(-1) in the SBR. FISH analysis showed that Anammox bacteria predominated in both reactors. Phylogenetic analysis further disclosed that the MBR had the better biodiversity of Anammox bacteria and gained a higher ecological stability. Generally, the results showed that MBR exhibited a more excellent performance for Anammox start-up. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term preservation of anammox bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothrock, Michael J; Vanotti, Matias B; Szögi, Ariel A; Gonzalez, Maria Cruz Garcia; Fujii, Takao

2011-10-01

Deposit of useful microorganisms in culture collections requires long-term preservation and successful reactivation techniques. The goal of this study was to develop a simple preservation protocol for the long-term storage and reactivation of the anammox biomass. To achieve this, anammox biomass was frozen or lyophilized at two different freezing temperatures (-60°C and in liquid nitrogen (-200°C)) in skim milk media (with and without glycerol), and the reactivation of anammox activity was monitored after a 4-month storage period. Of the different preservation treatments tested, only anammox biomass preserved via freezing in liquid nitrogen followed by lyophilization in skim milk media without glycerol achieved stoichiometric ratios for the anammox reaction similar to the biomass in both the parent bioreactor and in the freshly harvested control treatment. A freezing temperature of -60°C alone, or in conjunction with lyophilization, resulted in the partial recovery of the anammox bacteria, with an equal mixture of anammox and nitrifying bacteria in the reactivated biomass. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the successful reactivation of anammox biomass preserved via sub-zero freezing and/or lyophilization. The simple preservation protocol developed from this study could be beneficial to accelerate the integration of anammox-based processes into current treatment systems through a highly efficient starting anammox biomass.

Ecophysiology of the Anammox Bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kartal, M.B.

2008-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria oxidize ammonium to dinitrogen gas with nitrite as the electron acceptor. These bacteria are the key players in the global nitrogen cycle, responsible for the most of nitrogen production in natural ecosystems. The anammox process is also a

Growth and metabolism of Anammox Bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Star, W.R.L.

2008-01-01

The anoxic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process is the conversion of nitrite and ammonium under anoxic conditions- to form dinitrogen gas. The process is performed by deep-branching Planctomycetes. The startup of the first full-scale anammox reactor in the world is described in Chapter 2. The

Evaluating the potential for dissimilatory nitrate reduction by anammox bacteria for municipal wastewater treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Castro-Barros, Celia M; Jia, Mingsheng; van Loosdrecht, Mark C M; Volcke, Eveline I P; Winkler, Mari K H

2017-06-01

Anammox bacteria can perform dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) with nitrite as intermediate coupled to the oxidation of volatile fatty acids (VFA). Batch tests with enriched anammox and a co-culture of anammox and heterotrophic bacteria showed the capacity of Candidatus 'Brocadia fulgida' to perform the DNRA coupled to the anammox reaction (DNRA-anammox) at a high rate although the culture was not previously adapted to VFA. From thermodynamic calculations it could be stated that low COD/N influent ratios favour the DNRA-anammox transformation over heterotrophic conversions since more free energy is gained. A process scheme is proposed for an innovative nitrogen removal system in which the nitrate produced by nitrite oxidizing bacteria and/or anammox bacteria is converted during DNRA-anammox pathway, resulting in a sustainable nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater while circumventing the troublesome out-selection of nitrite oxidizing bacteria encountered in mainstream applications. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

[Hydroxylamine conversion by anammox enrichment].

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Anhui; Zheng, Ping; Lu, Huifeng; Ding, Shuang; Wang, Caihua

2010-04-01

Hydroxylamine is an important intermediate product of anammox. This study was focused on the characteristics of hydroxylamine and nitrite conversions by anammox enrichment. The changes of nitrogenous substrates and related products with time were measured using batch tests with anammox enrichment as inoculum. Since hydroxylamine didn't react with nitrite in uninoculated control culture, these two compounds were chemically stable. Both of them decreased with time in anammox enrichment inoculated cultures, in which ammonia as intermediate product would be produced and converted with the maximum concentration being 0.338 mg/L. The total nitrogen concentration decreased from 4.694 mmol/L to 0.812 mmol/L with conversion rate 82.7% in the end. When hydroxylamine and nitrite concentrations were about 2.5 mmol/L respectively, the maximum specific sludge conversion rates of hydroxylamine was 0.535 mmol/(gVSS.h), which was 1.81 times bigger than that of ammonia in ammonia reaction system; the maximum specific sludge rate of total nitrogen was slightly higher than that in ammonia reaction system. When hydroxylamine concentration increased to 5.0 mmol/L, the hydroxylamine and nitrite conversion rates promoted by 26.7% and 120.7% respectively; and the maximum ammonia accumulated was 1.810 mmol/L. When nitrite concentration increased to 5.0 mmol/L, the hydroxylamine and nitrite conversion rates promoted by 6.9% and 9.0% respectively; and the maximum ammonia accumulated was 0.795 mmol/L. Anammox enrichment was capable of converting hydroxylamine and nitrite simultaneously and had the higher conversion rate of hydroxylamine than ammonia conversion rate. Hydroxylamine and nitrite conversion rates were less affected by increase in nitrite concentration, but more significantly influenced by increase in hydroxylamine. The maximum ammonia concentration accumulated would rise as the result of increasing both hydroxylamine and nitrite. The result of experiment was consistent with pathway

Influencing factors analysis of anammox bacteria cultured by mixing denitrifying-anammox

OpenAIRE

Sihui WANG; Yuanyuan SONG; Yunman LIU; Yankai GUO; Jing LIAN; Jianbo GUO

2017-01-01

In order to get the optimal growth conditions of anammox bacteria, the mature-cultured anammox granule sludge is used to investigate the influencing factors. The effects of temperature, pH value, COD and influent substrate (NO-2-N and NH+4-N) on anammox bacteria activity are investigated. The results demonstrate that the optimal temperature is 40 ℃ and the optimal pH value is between 7.0~8.0 for anammox bacteria. The anammox bacteria activity is not inhibited severely when COD concentration i...

High-rate nitrogen removal from waste brine by marine anammox bacteria in a pilot-scale UASB reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokota, Nobuyuki; Watanabe, Yasutsugu; Tokutomi, Takaaki; Kiyokawa, Tomohiro; Hori, Tomoyuki; Ikeda, Daisuke; Song, Kang; Hosomi, Masaaki; Terada, Akihiko

2018-02-01

The goal of this study was to develop a startup strategy for a high-rate anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reactor to treat waste brine with high concentrations of ammonium from a natural gas plant. An upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) anammox reactor with an effective volume of 294 L was fed continuously with waste brine with a salinity of 3% and a NH 4 + concentration of 180 mg-N/L, as well as a NaNO 2 solution. By inoculating a methanogenic granular biomass as a biomass carrier, the reactor attained the maximum volumetric nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 10.7 kg-N/m 3 /day on day 209, which was 1.7 times higher than the highest reported NRR for wastewater of comparable salinity. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons revealed that Candidatus Scalindua wagneri was enriched successfully in granules in the UASB, and it replaced Methanosaeta and became dominant in the granule. The inhibitory effect of NO 2 - on the anammox reaction in the granules was assessed by a 15 N tracer method, and the results showed that anammox activity was maintained at 60% after exposure to 300 mg-N/L of NO 2 - for 24 h. Compared with previous studies of the susceptibilities of Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia to NO 2 - , the enriched marine anammox bacteria were proven to have comparable or even higher tolerances for high NO 2 - concentrations after a long exposure.

Effect of Different Filling Materials in Anammox Bacteria Enrichment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dilek ÖZGÜN

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox is a process that ammonium as electron donor is oxidized to nitrogen gas using nitrite as electron acceptor. Compared to conventional nitrification-denitrification processes, this process is used less oxygen and no organic material (methanol, glucose. However, the slow growth rate of Anammox bacteria (11-30 days is disadvantages. Therefore, batch reactors have been carried out in these bacteria enrichment. In this study continuously operated upflow anaerobic sludge reactor (UASB using different filling materials disposing of sensitive and slow-growing Anammox bacteria out of the system is purposed. Design and Methods: System is operated up-flow column reactor at 2 days hydraulic retention time (HRT in 45 days. In this study, ceramic stones and Linpor filling material are used. Using synthetic wastewater containing ammonium and nitrite, Ar/CO2 anaerobic conditions (95/5% supplied with gas. System is operated at a temperature 253 C in UASB. Temperature, pH, ammonia-nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen are measured. Results: Both filling material reactors are operated in 45 days. Ceramic stones filling reactor is observed quickly reaches 90% were used reactor ammonium removal. The ammonium nitrogen removal was slower in Linpor filling materials reactor. Nitrite removal is reached up to 90% in both the reactor. When compared to the stoichiometric equation in Linpor was composed of large amounts of nitrate. At the end of 25 days the results were similar to ceramic stone filling reactor with Linpor filling material reactors. Conclusions and Original Value: Anammox process as from nitrogen removal processes was discovered in 1995. Anammox bacteria that make up this process due to very low growth rates of microbial bacteria in the system must be kept in the system. Most of the studies in the literature, these bacteria enrichment stage is started instead of a continuous batch reactor system. In this study

Impact of partial nitritation degree and C/N ratio on simultaneous Sludge Fermentation, Denitrification and Anammox process.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bo; Peng, Yongzhen; Guo, Yuanyuan; Yuan, Yue; Zhao, Mengyue; Wang, Shuying

2016-11-01

This study presents a novel process (i.e. PN/SFDA) to remove nitrogen from low C/N domestic wastewater. The process mainly involves two reactors, a pre-Sequencing Batch Reactor for partial nitritation (termed as PN-SBR) and an anoxic reactor for integrated Denitrification and Anammox with carbon sources produced from Sludge Fermentation (termed as SFDA). During long-term Runs, NO2(-)/NH4(+) ratio (i.e. NO2(-)-N/NH4(+)-N calculated by mole) in the PN-SBR effluent was gradually increased from 0.2 to 37 by extending aerobic duration, meaning that partial nitritation turning to full nitritation could be achieved. Impact of partial nitritation degree on SFDA process was investigated and the result showed that, NO2(-)/NH4(+) ratios between 2 and 10 were appropriate for the co-existence of denitrification and anammox together in the SFDA reactor, and denitrification instead of anammox contributed greater for nitrogen removal. Further batch tests indicated that anammox collaborated well with denitrification at low C/N (1.0 in this study). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Achieving mainstream nitrogen removal through simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification process in an integrated fixed film activated sludge reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Liu, Sitong; Xu, Xiaochen; Zhang, Chaolei; Wang, Dong; Yang, Fenglin

2018-07-01

The anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is becoming a critical technology for energy neutral in mainstream wastewater treatment. However, the presence of chemical oxygen demanding in influent would result in a poor nitrogen removal efficiency during the deammonification process. In this study, the simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification process (SNAD) for mainstream nitrogen removal was investigated in an integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor. SNAD-IFAS process achieved a total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of 72 ± 2% and an average COD removal efficiency was 88%. The optimum COD/N ratio for mainstream wastewater treatment was 1.2 ± 0.2. Illumina sequencing analysis and activity tests showed that anammox and denitrifying bacteria were the dominant nitrogen removal microorganism in the biofilm and the high COD/N ratios (≥2.0) leaded to the proliferation of heterotrophic bacteria (Hydrogenophaga) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrospira) in the suspended sludge. Network analysis confirmed that anammox bacteria (Candidatus Kuenenia) could survive in organic matter environment due to that anammox bacteria displayed significant co-occurrence through positive correlations with some heterotrophic bacteria (Limnobacter) which could protect anammox bacteria from hostile environments. Overall, the results of this study provided more comprehensive information regarding the community composition and assemblies in SNAD-IFAS process for mainstream nitrogen removal. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relationship between anammox and denitrification in the sediment of an inland river

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Sheng, E-mail: zhous@outlook.com [Eco-environmental Protection Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1000 Jinqi Road, Shanghai 201403 (China); Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588 (Japan); Borjigin, Sodbilig; Riya, Shohei; Terada, Akihiko; Hosomi, Masaaki [Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588 (Japan)

2014-08-15

This study measured the microbial processes of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and denitrification in sediment sampled from two sites in the estuary of an inland river (Koisegawa River, Ibaragi prefecture, Japan) using a nitrogen isotope pairing technique (IPT). The responses of anammox and denitrification activities to temperature and nitrate concentration were also evaluated. Further, to elucidate the correlation between anammox and denitrification processes, an inhibition experiment was conducted, using chlorate to inhibit the first step of denitrification. Denitrification activity was much higher than anammox activity, and it reached a maximum at the surface layer in February 2012. Denitrification activity decreased as sediment depth increased, and a similar phenomenon was observed for anammox activity in the sediment of site A, where aquatic plants were absent from the surroundings. The activities of both denitrification and anammox were temperature-dependent, but they responded differently to changes in incubation temperature. Compared to a linear increase in denitrification as temperature rose to 35 °C, the optimal temperature for anammox was 25 °C, after which the activity decreased sharply. At the same time, both anammox and denitrification activities increased with NO{sub 3}{sup −} concentration. The Michaelis–Menten kinetic constants (V{sub max} and K{sub m}) of denitrification were significantly higher than those of the anammox process. Furthermore, anammox activity decreased accordingly when the first step of denitrification was inhibited, which probably reduced the amount of the intermediate NO{sub 2}{sup −}. Our study provides the first direct exploration of the denitrification-dependent correlation of anammox activity in the sediment of inland river. - Highlights: • The activity of denitrification in river sediment was much higher than anammox. • Denitrification and anammox respond differently to changes in temperature. �

Establishment of anammox process in sludge samples collected from swine wastewater treatment system Estabelecimento do processo anammox a partir de lodo de sistema de tratamento de efluente da suinocultura

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline G Casagrande

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The high load of nitrogen present in swine wastewater is one of the biggest management challenges of the activity. The Anammox process emerges as a good alternative for biological removal of nitrogen. This study aims to acclimate sludge collected from swine effluent treatment systems to establish the Anammox process. Two sludge samples were collected at Embrapa Swine and Poultry, Concordia - SC, Brazil, one from the bottom of an inactive anaerobic pond (inoculum A and another from an aeration tank (inoculum B. Both were acclimated until the depletion of NO3-N, being subsequently inoculated in two reactors (Reactor A - Inoculum A and Reactor B - Inoculum B. The Reactor A showed activity after 110 days of operation, while the Reactor B needed 170 days. The difference in the start-up time could be explained by the different environmental conditions to which each sludge was submitted. FISH and PCR analyses confirmed the presence of microorganisms with Anammox activity, demonstrating that the sludge of swine wastewater treatment systems is a good source of inoculum for the development of the Anammox process.A elevada carga de nitrogênio presente em efluentes da suinocultura é um dos maiores desafios de manejo da atividade. O processo Anammox surge como boa alternativa para a remoção biológica desse nutriente. Este trabalho teve como objetivo aclimatar diferentes amostras de lodos de sistemas de tratamento de efluentes da suinocultura com vistas ao estabelecimento do processo Anammox. Dois inóculos foram coletados na Embrapa Suínos e Aves, Concórdia - SC, um dos quais no fundo de uma lagoa anaeróbia inativa (Inóculo A e o outro, em um tanque de aeração (Inóculo B. Ambos foram aclimatados até cessar o consumo de N-NO3- e, posteriormente, inoculados em dois reatores (Reator A - Inóculo A e Reator B - Inóculo B. O Reator A apresentou atividade, após aproximadamente 110 dias de operação, enquanto o Reator B precisou de aproximadamente

Evaluation of anaerobic digestion processes for short sludge-age waste activated sludge combined with anammox treatment of digestate liquor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Huoqing; Batstone, Damien; Keller, Jurg

2016-01-01

The need to reduce energy input and enhance energy recovery from wastewater is driving renewed interest in high-rate activated sludge treatment (i.e. short hydraulic and solids retention times (HRT and SRT, respectively)). This process generates short SRT activated sludge stream, which should be highly degradable. However, the evaluation of anaerobic digestion of short SRT sludge has been limited. This paper assesses anaerobic digestion of short SRT sludge digestion derived from meat processing wastewater under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions. The thermophilic digestion system (55°C) achieved 60 and 68% volatile solids destruction at 8 day and 10 day HRT, respectively, compared with 50% in the mesophilic digestion system (35°C, 10 day HRT). The digestion effluents from the thermophilic (8-10 day HRT) and mesophilic systems were stable, as assessed by residual methane potentials. The ammonia rich sludge dewatering liquor was effectively treated by a batch anammox process, which exhibited comparable nitrogen removal rate as the tests using a control synthetic ammonia solution, indicating that the dewatering liquor did not have inhibiting/toxic effects on the anammox activity.

Using low frequency and intensity ultrasound to enhance start-up and operation performance of Anammox process inoculated with the conventional sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tao; Zhang, Diandian; Sun, Yating; Zhou, Shanshan; Li, Lin; Shao, Jingjing

2018-04-01

A lab-scale ultrasound enhancing Anammox reactor (R1) was established and irradiated once a week by ultrasound with the optimal parameter (frequency of 25 kHz, intensity of 0.2 W cm -2 and exposure time of 3 min) obtained by batch experiments. R1 and the controlled Anammox reactor (R2) without exposure to the ultrasound were operated in parallel. The start-up period of Anammox process (53 days) in R1 was shorter than that (61 days) in R2. The nitrogen loading-enhancing period (day 53-day 135) in R1 was also shorter than that (day 61-day 151) in R2. At the end of the nitrogen loading-enhancing period, NLR (0.76 kg N m -3  d -1 ) and NRR (0.68 kg N m -3  d -1 ) of R1 were both higher than NLR (0.66 kg N m -3  d -1 ) and NRR (0.56 kg N m -3  d -1 ) of R2. Moreover, The stability of Anammox process in R1 was better than that in R2. The results demonstrated that the periodical irradiation of ultrasound enhanced the start-up and operational performance of Anammox reactor. Microbial community analysis indicated that the ultrasound accelerated the microbial succession from some other bacteria to Anammox bacteria so that shorten the start-up period of Anammox process from the conventional activated sludge. It also indicated that the ultrasound strengthened the competitive advantage of Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis in Anammox bacteria of the mature sludge so as to enhance the nitrogen removal performance of the Anammox reactor under the operation condition of high nitrogen loading. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Systematic design of an optimal control system for the SHARON-Anammox process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valverde Perez, Borja; Mauricio Iglesias, Miguel; Sin, Gürkan

2016-01-01

A systematic design of an optimal control structure for the SHARON-Anammox nitrogen removal process is studied. The methodology incorporates two novel features to assess the controllability of the design variables candidate for the regulatory control layer: (i) H- control method, which formulates...

Oxygen sensitivity of anammox and coupled N-cycle processes in oxygen minimum zones.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim Kalvelage

Full Text Available Nutrient measurements indicate that 30-50% of the total nitrogen (N loss in the ocean occurs in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs. This pelagic N-removal takes place within only ~0.1% of the ocean volume, hence moderate variations in the extent of OMZs due to global warming may have a large impact on the global N-cycle. We examined the effect of oxygen (O(2 on anammox, NH(3 oxidation and NO(3(- reduction in (15N-labeling experiments with varying O(2 concentrations (0-25 µmol L(-1 in the Namibian and Peruvian OMZs. Our results show that O(2 is a major controlling factor for anammox activity in OMZ waters. Based on our O(2 assays we estimate the upper limit for anammox to be ~20 µmol L(-1. In contrast, NH(3 oxidation to NO(2(- and NO(3(- reduction to NO(2(- as the main NH(4(+ and NO(2(- sources for anammox were only moderately affected by changing O(2 concentrations. Intriguingly, aerobic NH(3 oxidation was active at non-detectable concentrations of O(2, while anaerobic NO(3(- reduction was fully active up to at least 25 µmol L(-1 O(2. Hence, aerobic and anaerobic N-cycle pathways in OMZs can co-occur over a larger range of O(2 concentrations than previously assumed. The zone where N-loss can occur is primarily controlled by the O(2-sensitivity of anammox itself, and not by any effects of O(2 on the tightly coupled pathways of aerobic NH(3 oxidation and NO(3(- reduction. With anammox bacteria in the marine environment being active at O(2 levels ~20 times higher than those known to inhibit their cultured counterparts, the oceanic volume potentially acting as a N-sink increases tenfold. The predicted expansion of OMZs may enlarge this volume even further. Our study provides the first robust estimates of O(2 sensitivities for processes directly and indirectly connected with N-loss. These are essential to assess the effects of ocean de-oxygenation on oceanic N-cycling.

Summary of the preservation techniques and the evolution of the anammox bacteria characteristics during preservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hui; Jin, Ren-Cun

2017-06-01

The anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process is a promising wastewater treatment method for biological nitrogen removal. A sufficient amount of active anammox sludge as a seed is crucial to the fast establishment and stability of the anammox process. Anammox bacteria is a kind of microorganism which is sensitive to the environmental conditions, e.g., oxygen, temperature. The optimum temperature and pH for the growth of the anammox bacteria are 30-40 °C and 6.7-8.3. A proper preservation technique allows fast start-up of the anammox process, overcoming the long doubling time of anammox biomass. The preservation of the anammox sludge is influenced by various factors, e.g., preservation techniques, duration, temperature, substrates, and protective agents. During preservation, the characteristics of the anammox biomass, including the bioactivity, heme c content, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and sludge morphology, change with time. The optimum preservation technique is not invariable and it depends on the purpose of preservation (precedence of bioactivity or quantity), the bacterial community, and other parameters. It is important for the preserved anammox biomass to achieve reactivation so that stable anammox reactors can be established as soon as possible. However, because the preservation process is complicated, the knowledge regarding preservation is far from complete, and much future work will be required to increase the understanding of preservation.

Upgrading of the symbiosis of Nitrosomanas and anammox bacteria in a novel single-stage partial nitritation-anammox system: Nitrogen removal potential and Microbial characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuan; Niu, Qigui; Wang, Shaopo; Ji, Jiayuan; Zhang, Yu; Yang, Min; Hojo, Toshimasa; Li, Yu-You

2017-11-01

A novel single-stage partial nitritation-anammox process equipped with porous functional suspended carriers was developed at 25°C in a CSTR by controlling dissolved oxygen <0.3mg/L. The nitrogen removal performance was almost unchanged over a nitrogen loading rate ranging from 0.5 to 2.5kgNH 4 + -N/m 3 /d with a high nitrogen removal efficiency of 81.1%. The specific activity of AOB and anammox bacteria was of 3.00g-N/g-MLVSS/d (the suspended sludge), 3.56g-N/g-MLVSS/d (the biofilm sludge), respectively. The results of pyrosequencing revealed that Nitrosomonas (5.66%) and Candidatus_Kuenenia (4.95%) were symbiotic in carriers while Nitrosomonas (40.70%) was predominant in the suspended flocs. Besides, two specific types of heterotrophic filamentous bacteria in the suspended flocs (Haliscomenobacter) and the functional carrier biofilm (Longilinea) were shown to confer structural integrity to the aggregates. The novel single-stage partial nitritation-anammox process equipped with functional suspended carriers was shown to have good potential for the nitrogen-rich wastewater treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Bacterial anaerobic ammonia oxidation (Anammox) in the marine nitrogen cycle--a review].

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Yiguo; Li, Meng; Gu, Jidong

2009-03-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) is a microbial oxidation process of ammonium, with nitrite as the electron acceptor and dinitrogen gas as the main product, and is performed by a clade of deeply branched Planctomycetes, which possess an intracytoplasmic membrane-bounded organelle, the anammoxosome, for the Anammox process. The wide distribution of Anammox bacteria in different natural environments has been greatly modified the traditional view of biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen, in which microbial denitrifier is considered as the only organism to respire nitrate and nitrite to produce nitric and nitrous oxides, and eventually nitrogen gas. More evidences indicate that Anammox is responsible for the production of more than 50% of oceanic N2 and plays an important role in global nitrogen cycling. Moreover, due to the close relationship between nitrogen and carbon cycling, it is anticipated that Anammox process might also affect the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, and influence the global climate change. In addition, the simultaneous transformation of nitrite and ammonium in wastewater treatment by Anammox would allow a 90% reduction in operational costs and provide a much more effective biotechnological process for wastewater treatment.

Bacterial community evolutions driven by organic matter and powder activated carbon in simultaneous anammox and denitrification (SAD) process.

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Cheng-Hao; Sun, Na; Kang, Qi; Ren, Long-Fei; Ahmad, Hafiz Adeel; Ni, Shou-Qing; Wang, Zhibin

2018-03-01

A distinct shift of bacterial community driven by organic matter (OM) and powder activated carbon (PAC) was discovered in the simultaneous anammox and denitrification (SAD) process which was operated in an anti-fouling submerged anaerobic membrane bio-reactor. Based on anammox performance, optimal OM dose (50 mg/L) was advised to start up SAD process successfully. The results of qPCR and high throughput sequencing analysis indicated that OM played a key role in microbial community evolutions, impelling denitrifiers to challenge anammox's dominance. The addition of PAC not only mitigated the membrane fouling, but also stimulated the enrichment of denitrifiers, accounting for the predominant phylum changing from Planctomycetes to Proteobacteria in SAD process. Functional genes forecasts based on KEGG database and COG database showed that the expressions of full denitrification functional genes were highly promoted in R C , which demonstrated the enhanced full denitrification pathway driven by OM and PAC under low COD/N value (0.11). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inactivation of ANAMMOX communities under concurrent operation of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) and denitrification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chamchoi, N.; Nitisoravut, S.; Schmidt, Jens Ejbye

2008-01-01

of Amx 820 and EUB 338 mixed. Denitrification was observed through the reductions of both COD and nitrate–nitrite concentrations under anaerobic/anoxic conditions. By providing a stoichiometric ratio of nitrite to ammonium nitrogen with addition nitrate nitrogen, a gradual reduction of ANAMMOX activity...... was found with an increase of COD concentration in a range of 100–400 mg l−1. This is equivalent to the COD to N ratio of 0.9–2.0. The COD concentration was found to be a control variable for process selection between ANAMMOX reaction and denitrification. A reduction of COD and nitrite–nitrate...

The transformation from anammox granules to deammonification granules in micro-aerobic system by facilitating indigenous ammonia oxidizing bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaolong; Gao, Dawen

2018-02-01

Granular deammonification process is a good way to retain aerobic and anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB and anammox bacteria) and exhaust flocculent nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In this study, to facilitate indigenous AOB growth on anammox granules, by stepwise reducing influent nitrite, anammox granules were effectively transformed into deammonification granules in a micro-aerobic EGSB in 100 days. Total nitrogen removal efficiency of 90% and nitrogen removal rate of 2.3 g N/L/d were reached at stable deammonification stage. High influent FA and limited oxygen supply contributed suppression for Nitrospira-like NOB. In transition stages, Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi were always dominated. Anammox abundance decreased, while AOB abundance grew fast. Anammox bacteria and AOB were dominated by Brocadia fulgida and Nitrosomonas europaea, respectively. Denitrification activity and bacteria existed although without influent organic. The final AOB abundance was about 4.55-13.8 times more than anammox bacteria abundance, with almost equal potential activities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Startup and operating characteristics of an external air-lift reflux partial nitritation-ANAMMOX integrative reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiang; Huang, Yong; Yuan, Yi; Bi, Zhen; Liu, Xin

2017-08-01

The differences in the physiological characteristics between AOB and ANAMMOX bacteria lead to suboptimal performance when used in a single reactor. In this study, aerobic and anaerobic zones with different survival environments were constructed in a single reactor to realize partitioned culture of AOB and ANAMMOX bacteria. An external air-lift reflux system was formed which used the exhaust from the aeration zone as power to return the effluent to the aeration zone. The reflux system effectively alleviated the large pH fluctuations and promoted NO 2 - -N to rapidly use by ANAMMOX bacteria, effectively inhibiting the activity of NOB. After 95d of running, the nitrogen removal rate increased from the initial 0.21kg/(m 3 ·d) to 3.1kg/(m 3 ·d). FISH analyses further demonstrated that AOB and ANAMMOX bacteria acquired efficient enrichment in the corresponding zone. Thus, this type of integrative reactor may create the environments needed for the partial nitritation-ANAMMOX processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stoichiometric evaluation of partial nitritation, anammox and denitrification processes in a sequencing batch reactor and interpretation of online monitoring parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

Langone, Michela; Ferrentino, Roberta; Cadonna, Maria; Andreottola, Gianni

2016-12-01

A laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) performing partial nitritation - anammox and denitrification was used to treat anaerobic digester effluents. The SBR cycle consisted of a short mixing filling phase followed by oxic and anoxic reaction phases. Working at 25 °C, an ammonium conversion efficiency of 96.5%, a total nitrogen removal efficiency of 88.6%, and an organic carbon removal efficiency of 63.5% were obtained at a nitrogen loading rate of 0.15 kg N m -3 d -1 , and a biodegradable organic carbon to nitrogen ratio of 0.37. The potential contribution of each biological process was evaluated by using a stoichiometric model. The nitritation contribution decreased as the temperature decreased, while the contribution from anammox depended on the wastewater type and soluble carbon to nitrogen ratio. Denitrification improved the total nitrogen removal efficiency, and it was influenced by the biodegradable organic carbon to nitrogen ratio. The characteristic patterns of conductivity, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and pH in the SBR cycle were well related to biological processes. Conductivity profiles were found to be directly related to the decreasing profiles of ammonium. Positive ORP values at the end of the anoxic phases were detected for total nitrogen removal efficiency of lower than 85%, and the occurrence of bending points on the ORP curves during the anoxic phases was associated with nitrite depletion by the anammox process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short-and long-term effects of ammonia and nitrite on the anammox process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, I.; Campos, J. L.; Mosquera-Corral, A.; Mendez, R.

2009-01-01

Auto trophic anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process is a feasible alternative to treat industrial wastewater with high ammonia concentration but low content of organic matter. In this process ammonium and nitrite are used by Planctomycete-type bacteria under anoxic conditions to generate nitrogen gas. Both substrates can exert inhibitory effects on the process, causing the decrease of the specific activity of the biomass and the loss of the performance and stability of reactors. (Author)

Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Sediment Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox) Bacteria in Freshwater Lakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yuyin; Dai, Yu; Li, Ningning; Li, Bingxin; Xie, Shuguang; Liu, Yong

2017-02-01

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) process can play an important role in freshwater nitrogen cycle. However, the distribution of anammox bacteria in freshwater lake and the associated environmental factors remain essentially unclear. The present study investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics of sediment anammox bacterial populations in eutrotrophic Dianchi Lake and mesotrophic Erhai Lake on the Yunnan Plateau (southwestern China). The remarkable spatial change of anammox bacterial abundance was found in Dianchi Lake, while the relatively slight spatial shift occurred in Erhai Lake. Dianchi Lake had greater anammox bacterial abundance than Erhai Lake. In both Dianchi Lake and Erhai Lake, anammox bacteria were much more abundant in summer than in spring. Anammox bacterial community richness, diversity, and structure in these two freshwater lakes were subjected to temporal and spatial variations. Sediment anammox bacterial communities in Dianchi Lake and Erhai Lake were dominated by Candidatus Brocadia and a novel phylotype followed by Candidatus Kuenenia; however, these two lakes had distinct anammox bacterial community structure. In addition, trophic status determined sediment anammox bacterial community structure.

Microbial resource management for the mitigation of nitrous oxide emissions from the Partial Nitritation- Anammox process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blum, Jan-Michael

Urban wastewater treatment plants are designed to remove pathogens and pollutants from wastewater in order to provide sanitation and to protect receiving water bodies from eutrophication. Reactive nitrogen, mainly in the form of ammonium, is one of the components in wastewater that is converted...... to dinitrogen gas during treatment. The Partial Nitritation-Anammox process (PNA) uses the capacity of autotrophic aerobic and anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB and AnAOB) to perform this task. The process is mainly applied to treat ammonium-rich wastewater streams with low concentrations of organic...... with the specific ammonia removal rate, while during non-aerated phases net N2O production rates were positively correlated with the nitrite concentration (NO2-). Operation of PNA at reduced specific ammonia removal rates is, therefore, a feasible strategy to mitigate N2O emissions. However, when high ammonium...

Environmental and Microbial Features Affecting Denitrification and Anammox Hotspots in an Estuarine Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Lisa, J.; Song, B.; Lefcheck, J. S.; Tobias, C. R.

2016-02-01

Biogeochemical hotspots are characterized as a few sites that exhibit extremely high reaction rates relative to surrounding area, and often account for a high percentage of the overall reaction rates in an ecosystem. Criteria for quantitatively identifying these sites have not been well established. Further, the underlying mechanisms of hotspots have been described in terms of environmental conditions, with little attention paid to the microbial community. The objectives of this study were to establish quantitative criteria to identify denitrification and anammox hotspots, and determine the underlying microbial and environmental factors responsible for elevated N2 production. We used 15N isotope pairing incubation experiments to measure denitrification and anammox rates in the New River Estuary, NC. Quantitative PCR assays of nitrous oxide reductase (nosZ Clades I and II) and hydrazine oxidoreductase (hzo) genes were conducted to estimate denitrifier and anammox abundance. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to elucidate complex causal relationships between environmental and biological variables. Denitrification hotspots, quantitatively defined as statistical outliers, accounted for 35.6% total denitrification while comprising only 7.3% of the sites. Anammox hotspots,10.6% of the sites, accounted for 60.9% of total anammox. SEM revealed increased sediment organics at lower salinities supported higher functional gene abundance, which in turn resulted in higher N2 production. Surprisingly, denitrification rates were significantly and positively correlated with nosZ Clade II gene abundance, after accounting for the non-significant contributions of the naturally more abundant nosZ Clade I, and other environmental covariates. This is the first time that a quantitative definition of biogeochemical hotspots was put forth and used to determine the importance of anammox and denitrification hotspots in estuarine nitrogen removal capacity. Despite the low area

Metatranscriptomics reveals the molecular mechanism of large granule formation in granular anammox reactor

KAUST Repository

Bagchi, Samik

2016-06-20

Granules enriched with anammox bacteria are essential in enhancing the treatment of ammonia-rich wastewater, but little is known about how anammox bacteria grow and multiply inside granules. Here, we combined metatranscriptomics, quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing to study the changes in community composition, metabolic gene content and gene expression in a granular anammox reactor with the objective of understanding the molecular mechanism of anammox growth and multiplication that led to formation of large granules. Size distribution analysis revealed the spatial distribution of granules in which large granules having higher abundance of anammox bacteria (genus Brocadia) dominated the bottom biomass. Metatranscriptomics analysis detected all the essential transcripts for anammox metabolism. During the later stage of reactor operation, higher expression of ammonia and nitrite transport proteins and key metabolic enzymes mainly in the bottom large granules facilitated anammox bacteria activity. The high activity resulted in higher growth and multiplication of anammox bacteria and expanded the size of the granules. This conceptual model for large granule formation proposed here may assist in the future design of anammox processes for mainstream wastewater treatment.

Microbial Community Composition and Ultrastructure of Granules from a Full-Scale Anammox Reactor

KAUST Repository

Gonzalez-Gil, Graciela

2014-12-11

Granules in anammox reactors contain besides anammox bacteria other microbial communities whose identity and relationship with the anammox bacteria are not well understood. High calcium concentrations are often supplied to anammox reactors to obtain sufficient bacterial aggregation and biomass retention. The aim of this study was to provide the first characterization of bacterial and archaeal communities in anammox granules from a full-scale anammox reactor and to explore on the possible role of calcium in such aggregates. High magnification imaging using backscattered electrons revealed that anammox bacteria may be embedded in calcium phosphate precipitates. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments showed, besides anammox bacteria (Brocadiacea, 32 %), substantial numbers of heterotrophic bacteria Ignavibacteriacea (18 %) and Anaerolinea (7 %) along with heterotrophic denitrifiers Rhodocyclacea (9 %), Comamonadacea (3 %), and Shewanellacea (3 %) in the granules. It is hypothesized that these bacteria may form a network in which heterotrophic denitrifiers cooperate to achieve a well-functioning denitrification system as they can utilize the nitrate intrinsically produced by the anammox reaction. This network may provide a niche for the proliferation of archaea. Hydrogenotrophic methananogens, which scavenge the key fermentation product H2, were the most abundant archaea detected. Cells resembling the polygon-shaped denitrifying methanotroph Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera were observed by electron microscopy. It is hypothesized that the anammox process in a full-scale reactor triggers various reactions overall leading to efficient denitrification and a sink of carbon as biomass in anammox granules.

Microbial community composition and ultrastructure of granules from a full-scale anammox reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Gil, Graciela; Sougrat, Rachid; Behzad, Ali R; Lens, Piet N L; Saikaly, Pascal E

2015-07-01

Granules in anammox reactors contain besides anammox bacteria other microbial communities whose identity and relationship with the anammox bacteria are not well understood. High calcium concentrations are often supplied to anammox reactors to obtain sufficient bacterial aggregation and biomass retention. The aim of this study was to provide the first characterization of bacterial and archaeal communities in anammox granules from a full-scale anammox reactor and to explore on the possible role of calcium in such aggregates. High magnification imaging using backscattered electrons revealed that anammox bacteria may be embedded in calcium phosphate precipitates. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments showed, besides anammox bacteria (Brocadiacea, 32%), substantial numbers of heterotrophic bacteria Ignavibacteriacea (18%) and Anaerolinea (7%) along with heterotrophic denitrifiers Rhodocyclacea (9%), Comamonadacea (3%), and Shewanellacea (3%) in the granules. It is hypothesized that these bacteria may form a network in which heterotrophic denitrifiers cooperate to achieve a well-functioning denitrification system as they can utilize the nitrate intrinsically produced by the anammox reaction. This network may provide a niche for the proliferation of archaea. Hydrogenotrophic methananogens, which scavenge the key fermentation product H2, were the most abundant archaea detected. Cells resembling the polygon-shaped denitrifying methanotroph Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera were observed by electron microscopy. It is hypothesized that the anammox process in a full-scale reactor triggers various reactions overall leading to efficient denitrification and a sink of carbon as biomass in anammox granules.

Start-up of simultaneous removal of ammonium and sulfate from an anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process in an anaerobic up-flow bioreactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang Zhiquan [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006 (China); Zhou Shaoqi, E-mail: fesqzhou@scut.edu.cn [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006 (China); State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510640 (China); Sun Yanbo [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006 (China)

2009-09-30

A laboratory testing of simultaneous removal of ammonium and sulfate (SRAS) was studied from an anammox process in an anaerobic bioreactor filled with granular activated carbon. Two different phases of experiment were investigated to start up the SRAS process, and final batch tests were performed to analyze the SRAS process. The experiment included an anammox process and an SRAS process. During the anammox process, the highest removal efficiency of ammonium and nitrite was up to 97 and 98%, respectively. After 160 days in the stationary phase of anammox process, the ratio of ammonium to nitrite consumption was approximately 1:1.15, which is much higher than 1:1.32 in the traditional anammox process. The extra electron acceptor, such as sulfate, was thought to react with ammonium by bacteria. Synthetic wastewater containing ammonium chlorine and sodium sulfate was used as the feed for the bioreactor in the second phase of experiment. During the SRAS process, the influent concentrations of ammonium and sulfate were controlled to be 50-60 and 210-240 mg L{sup -1} respectively. After start-up and acclimatization of this process for 60 days, the average effluent concentrations of ammonium and sulfate were 30 and 160 mg L{sup -1}, respectively. The simultaneous ammonium and sulfate removal was detected in the reactor. In order to further validate the biochemical interaction between ammonium and sulfate, batch tests was carried out. Abiotic tests were carried out to demonstrate that the pure chemical action between ammonium and sulfate without microorganism was not possible. Biotic assays with different ammonium and sulfate concentrations were further investigated that high concentrations of ammonium and sulfate could promote simultaneous removal of ammonium and sulfate. And elemental sulfur and nitrogen gas as the products measured in the SRAS process helped to demonstrate the occurrence of new interaction between nitrogen and sulfur. The new process of SRAS in the

Start-up of simultaneous removal of ammonium and sulfate from an anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process in an anaerobic up-flow bioreactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Zhiquan; Zhou Shaoqi; Sun Yanbo

2009-01-01

A laboratory testing of simultaneous removal of ammonium and sulfate (SRAS) was studied from an anammox process in an anaerobic bioreactor filled with granular activated carbon. Two different phases of experiment were investigated to start up the SRAS process, and final batch tests were performed to analyze the SRAS process. The experiment included an anammox process and an SRAS process. During the anammox process, the highest removal efficiency of ammonium and nitrite was up to 97 and 98%, respectively. After 160 days in the stationary phase of anammox process, the ratio of ammonium to nitrite consumption was approximately 1:1.15, which is much higher than 1:1.32 in the traditional anammox process. The extra electron acceptor, such as sulfate, was thought to react with ammonium by bacteria. Synthetic wastewater containing ammonium chlorine and sodium sulfate was used as the feed for the bioreactor in the second phase of experiment. During the SRAS process, the influent concentrations of ammonium and sulfate were controlled to be 50-60 and 210-240 mg L -1 respectively. After start-up and acclimatization of this process for 60 days, the average effluent concentrations of ammonium and sulfate were 30 and 160 mg L -1 , respectively. The simultaneous ammonium and sulfate removal was detected in the reactor. In order to further validate the biochemical interaction between ammonium and sulfate, batch tests was carried out. Abiotic tests were carried out to demonstrate that the pure chemical action between ammonium and sulfate without microorganism was not possible. Biotic assays with different ammonium and sulfate concentrations were further investigated that high concentrations of ammonium and sulfate could promote simultaneous removal of ammonium and sulfate. And elemental sulfur and nitrogen gas as the products measured in the SRAS process helped to demonstrate the occurrence of new interaction between nitrogen and sulfur. The new process of SRAS in the inorganic

Biological nitrogen removal from sewage via anammox: Recent advances.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Bin; Wang, Shanyun; Cao, Shenbin; Miao, Yuanyuan; Jia, Fangxu; Du, Rui; Peng, Yongzhen

2016-01-01

Biological nitrogen removal from sewage via anammox is a promising and feasible technology to make sewage treatment energy-neutral or energy-positive. Good retention of anammox bacteria is the premise of achieving sewage treatment via anammox. Therefore the anammox metabolism and its factors were critically reviewed so as to form biofilm/granules for retaining anammox bacteria. A stable supply of nitrite for anammox bacteria is a real bottleneck for applying anammox in sewage treatment. Nitritation and partial-denitrification are two promising methods of offering nitrite. As such, the strategies for achieving nitritation in sewage treatment were summarized by reviewing the factors affecting nitrite oxidation bacteria growth. Meanwhile, the methods of achieving partial-denitrification have been developed through understanding the microorganisms related with nitrite accumulation and their factors. Furthermore, two cases of applying anammox in the mainstream sewage treatment plants were documented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Roles of EDTA washing and Ca{sup 2+} regulation on the restoration of anammox granules inhibited by copper(II)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Zheng-Zhe; Cheng, Ya-Fei; Zhou, Yu-Huang; Buayi, Xiemuguli [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China); Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China); Jin, Ren-Cun, E-mail: jrczju@aliyun.com [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China); Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China)

2016-01-15

Highlights: • 80.5% of the Cu in anammox granules was introduced via adsorption. • Cu(II) internalized on/into AnAOB cells plays a crucial role in toxicity. • EDTA washing contributes to the detoxification of anammox granules. • Ca{sup 2+} can stimulate the re-growth of damaged anammox consortium. - Abstract: We investigated the feasibility of using ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) washing followed by Ca{sup 2+} enhancement for the recovery of anammox reactors inhibited by Cu(II). Kinetic experiments and batch activity assays were employed to determine the optimal concentration of EDTA and washing time; and the performance and physiological dynamics were tracked by continuous-flow monitoring to evaluate the long-term effects. The two-step desorption process revealed that the Cu in anammox granules was primarily introduced via adsorption (approximately, 80.5%), and the portion of Cu in the dispersible layer was predominant (accounting for 71.1%). Afterwards, the Cu internalized in the cells (approximately, 14.7%) could diffuse out of the cells and be gradually washed out of the reactor over the next 20 days. The Ca{sup 2+} addition that followed led to an accelerated nitrogen removal rate recovery slope (0.1491 kgN m{sup −3} d{sup −2}) and a normal biomass growth rate (0.054 d{sup −1}). The nitrogen removal rate returned to normal levels within 90 days and gradual improvements in granular characteristics were also achieved. Therefore, this study provides a new insight that externally removing the adsorbed heavy metals followed by internally repairing the metabolic system may represent an optimal restoration strategy for anammox consortium damaged by heavy metals.

Isolation and characterization of a prokaryotic cell organelle from the anammox bacterium

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neumann, S.; Wessels, H.J.C.T.; Rijpstra, W.I.C.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Kartal, B.; Jetten, M.S.M.; van Niftrik, L.

2014-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria oxidize ammonium with nitrite to nitrogen gas in the absence of oxygen. These microorganisms form a significant sink for fixed nitrogen in the oceans and the anammox process is applied as a cost-effective and environment-friendly nitrogen removal

Selection of controlled variables in bioprocesses. Application to a SHARON-Anammox process for autotrophic nitrogen removal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mauricio Iglesias, Miguel; Valverde Perez, Borja; Sin, Gürkan

Selecting the right controlled variables in a bioprocess is challenging since the objectives of the process (yields, product or substrate concentration) are difficult to relate with a given actuator. We apply here process control tools that can be used to assist in the selection of controlled var...... variables to the case of the SHARON-Anammox process for autotrophic nitrogen removal....

The anammoxosome: an intracytoplasmic compartment in anammox bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niftrik, L.A.M.P. van; Fuerst, J.A.; Damste, J.S.S.; Kuenen, J.G.; Jetten, M.S.M.; Strous, M.

2004-01-01

Anammox bacteria belong to the phylum Planctomycetes and perform anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox); they oxidize ammonium with nitrite as the electron acceptor to yield dinitrogen gas. The anammox reaction takes place inside the anammoxosome: an intracytoplasmic compartment bounded by a single

The anammoxosome : An intracytoplasmic compartment in anammox bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Niftrik, L.A. van; Fuerst, J.A.; Kuenen, J.G.; Jetten, M.S.M.; Strous, M.

2004-01-01

Anammox bacteria belong to the phylum Planctomycetes and perform anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox); they oxidize ammonium with nitrite as the electron acceptor to yield dinitrogen gas. The anammox reaction takes place inside the anammoxosome: an intracytoplasmic compartment bounded by a single

Reduction of nitric oxide catalyzed by hydroxylamine oxidoreductase from an anammox bacterium.

Science.gov (United States)

Irisa, Tatsuya; Hira, Daisuke; Furukawa, Kenji; Fujii, Takao

2014-12-01

The hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) from the anammox bacterium, Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis has been reported to catalyze the oxidation of hydroxylamine (NH2OH) to nitric oxide (NO) by using bovine cytochrome c as an oxidant. In contrast, we investigated whether the HAO from anammox bacterium strain KSU-1 could catalyze the reduction of NO with reduced benzyl viologen (BVred) and the NO-releasing reagent, NOC 7. The reduction proceeded, resulting in the formation of NH2OH as a product. The oxidation rate of BVred was proportional to the concentration of BVred itself for a short period in each experiment, a situation that was termed quasi-steady state. The analyses of the states at various concentrations of HAO allowed us to determine the rate constant for the catalytic reaction, (2.85 ± 0.19) × 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), governing NO reduction by BVred and HAO, which was comparable to that reported for the HAO from the ammonium oxidizer, Nitrosomonas with reduced methyl viologen. These results suggest that the anammox HAO functions to adjust anammox by inter-conversion of NO and NH2OH depending on the redox potential of the physiological electron transfer protein in anammox bacteria. Copyright © 2014 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Illumina MiSeq sequencing reveals the key microorganisms involved in partial nitritation followed by simultaneous sludge fermentation, denitrification and anammox process.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bo; Peng, Yongzhen; Guo, Yuanyuan; Zhao, Mengyue; Wang, Shuying

2016-05-01

A combined process including a partial nitritation SBR (PN-SBR) followed by a simultaneous sludge fermentation, denitrification and anammox reactor (SFDA) was established to treat low C/N domestic wastewater in this study. An average nitrite accumulation rate of 97.8% and total nitrogen of 9.4mg/L in the effluent was achieved during 140days' operation. The underlying mechanisms were investigated by using Illumina MiSeq sequencing to analyze the microbial community structures in the PN-SBR and SFDA. Results showed that the predominant bacterial phylum was Proteobacteria in the external waste activated sludge (WAS, added to the SFDA) and SFDA while Bacteroidetes in the PN-SBR. Further study indicated that in the PN-SBR, the dominant nitrobacteria, Nitrosomonas genus, facilitated nitritation and little nitrate was generated in the PN-SBR effluent. In the SFDA, the co-existence of functional microorganisms Thauera, Candidatus Anammoximicrobium and Pseudomonas were found to contribute to simultaneous sludge fermentation, denitrification and anammox. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial Aggregate and Functional Community Distribution in a Sequencing Batch Reactor with Anammox Granules

KAUST Repository

Sun, Shan

2013-05-01

Anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) process is a one-step conversion of ammonia into nitrogen gas with nitrite as an electron acceptor. It has been developed as a sustainable technology for ammonia removal from wastewater in the last decade. For wastewater treatment, anammox biomass was widely developed as microbial aggregate where the conditions for enrichment of anammox community must be delicately controlled and growth of other bacteria especially NOB should be suppressed to enhance nitrogen removal efficiency. Little is known about the distribution of microbial aggregates in anammox process. Thus the objective of our study was to assess whether segregation of biomass occurs in granular anammox system. In this study, a laboratory-scale sequential batch reactor (SBR) was successfully operated for a period of 80 days with granular anammox biomass. Temporal and spatial distribution of microbial aggregates was studied by particle characterization system and the distribution of functional microbial communities was studied with qPCR and 16s rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing. Our study revealed the spatial and temporal distribution of biomass aggregates based on their sizes and density. Granules (>200 μm) preferentially accumulated in the bottom of the reactor while floccules (30-200 μm) were relatively rich at the top layer. The average density of aggregate was higher at the bottom than the density of those at the top layer. Degranulation caused by lack of hydrodynamic shear force in the top layer was considered responsible for this phenomenon. NOB was relatively rich in the top layer while percentage of anammox population was higher at the bottom, and anammox bacteria population gradually increased over a period of time. NOB growth was supposed to be associated with the increase of floccules based on the concurrent occurrence. Thus, segregation of biomass can be utilized to develop an effective strategy to enrich anammox and wash out NOB by shortening the settling

Anammox biofilm in activated sludge swine wastewater treatment plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Suto, Ryu; Ishimoto, Chikako; Chikyu, Mikio; Aihara, Yoshito; Matsumoto, Toshimi; Uenishi, Hirohide; Yasuda, Tomoko; Fukumoto, Yasuyuki; Waki, Miyoko

2017-01-01

We investigated anammox with a focus on biofilm in 10 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that use activated sludge treatment of swine wastewater. In three plants, we found red biofilms in aeration tanks or final sedimentation tanks. The biofilm had higher anammox 16S rRNA gene copy numbers (up to 1.35 × 10 12 copies/g-VSS) and higher anammox activity (up to 295 μmoL/g-ignition loss/h) than suspended solids in the same tank. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed that Planctomycetes accounted for up to 17.7% of total reads in the biofilm. Most of them were related to Candidatus Brocadia or Ca. Jettenia. The highest copy number and the highest proportion of Planctomycetes were comparable to those of enriched anammox sludge. Thus, swine WWTPs that use activated sludge treatment can fortuitously acquire anammox biofilm. Thus, concentrated anammox can be detected by focusing on red biofilm. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel anammox bacteria and nitrogen loss from Lake Superior

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Crowe, Sean A.; Treusch, Alexander H.; Forth, Michael

2017-01-01

and diversity of anammox bacteria in the world's largest freshwater lake - Lake Superior. We found that anammox performed by previously undiscovered bacteria is an important contributor to sediment N2 production. We observed striking differences in the anammox bacterial populations found at different locations...... within Lake Superior and those described from other locations. Our data thus reveal that novel anammox bacteria underpin N-loss from Lake Superior, and if more broadly distributed across inland waters would play an important role in continental N-cycling and mitigation of fixed nitrogen transfer from...

Differentiation in the microbial ecology and activity of suspended and attached bacteria in a nitritation-anammox process.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hongkeun; Sundar, Suneethi; Ma, Yiwei; Chandran, Kartik

2015-02-01

A directed differentiation between the biofilm and suspension was observed in the molecular microbial ecology and gene expression of different bacteria in a biofilm nitritation-anammox process operated at varying hydraulic residence times (HRT) and nitrogen loading rates (NLR). The highest degree of enrichment observed in the biofilm was of anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AMX) followed by that of Nitrospira spp. related nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). For AMX, a major shift from Candidatus "Brocadia fulgida" to Candidatus "Kuenenia stuttgartiensis" in both suspension and biofilm was observed with progressively shorter HRT, using discriminatory biomarkers targeting the hydrazine synthase (hzsA) gene. In parallel, expression of the hydrazine oxidoreductase gene (hzo), a functional biomarker for AMX energy metabolism, became progressively prominent in the biofilm. A marginal but statistically significant enrichment in the biofilm was observed for Nitrosomonas europaea related ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). In direct contrast to AMX, the gene expression of ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA), a functional biomarker for AOB energy metabolism, progressively increased in suspension. Using gene expression and biomass concentration measures in conjunction, it was determined that signatures of AOB metabolism were primarily present in the biofilm throughout the study. On the other hand, AMX metabolism gradually shifted from being uniformly distributed in both the biofilm and suspension to primarily the biofilm at shorter HRTs and higher NLRs. These results therefore highlight the complexity and key differences in the microbial ecology, gene expression and activity between the biofilm and suspension of a nitritation-anammox process and the biokinetic and metabolic drivers for such niche segregation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Coexistence of nitrifying, anammox and denitrifying bacteria in a sequencing batch reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michela eLangone

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Elevated nitrogen removal efficiencies from ammonium-rich wastewaters have been demonstrated by several applications, that combine nitritation and anammox processes. Denitrification will occur simultaneously when organic carbon is also present. In this study, the activity of aerobic ammonia oxidizing, anammox and denitrifying bacteria in a full scale Sequencing Batch Reactor, treating digester supernatants, was studied by means of batch-assays. AOB and anammox activities were maximum at pH of 8.0 and 7.8-8.0, rispectively. Short term effect of nitrite on anammox activity was studied, showing nitrite up to 42 mg/L did not result in inhibition. Both denitrification via nitrate and nitrite were measured. To reduce nitrite-oxidizing activity, high of NH3 – N (1.9-10 mg N-NH3/L and low nitrite (3-8 mg TNN/L are required conditions during the whole SBR cycle.Molecular analysis showed the nitritation-anammox sludge harbored a high microbial diversity, where each microorganism has a specific role. Using ammonia monooxygenase α –subunit (amoA gene as a marker, our analyses suggested different macro- and micro-environments in the reactor strongly affect the AOB community, allowing the development of different AOB species, such as N. europaea/eutropha and N. oligotropha groups, which improve the stability of nitritation process. A specific PCR primer set, used to target the 16S rRNA gene of anammox bacteria, confirmed the presence of the Ca. Brocadia fulgida type, able to grow in precence of organic matter and to tolerate high nitrite concentrations. The diversity of denitrifiers was assessed by using dissimilatory nitrite reductase (nirS gene-based analyses, who showed denitifiers were related to different betaproteobacterial genera, such as Thauera, Pseudomonas, Dechloromonas and Aromatoleum, able to assist in forming microbial aggregates. Concerning possible secondary processes, no n-damo bacteria were found while NOB from the genus of Nitrobacter

Long-term operation of oxygen-limiting membrane bioreactor (MBR) for the development of simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification (SNAD) process.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chuanqi; Wang, Gang; Xu, Xiaochen; Yang, Yuesuo; Yang, Fenglin

2017-07-18

In this study, an oxygen-limiting membrane bioreactor (MBR) with recirculation of biogas for relieving membrane fouling was successfully operated to realize the simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification (SNAD) process. The MBR operation was considered effective in the long-term test with total nitrogen (TN) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies of 94.86% and 98.91%, respectively. Membrane fouling was significantly alleviated due to the recirculation of biogas and the membrane had been cleaned four times with a normal filtration period of 52 days. The co-existence of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), anammox and denitrifying bacteria in MBR was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence in situ hybridizations (FISH) analysis. Furthermore, AOB were found close to the granule surface, while denitrifying bacteria and anammox were in the deeper layer of granules. Potential in excellent TN and COD removal, operational stability and sustainability, as well as in alleviating membrane fouling is expected by using this oxygen-limiting MBR.

Molecular detection of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria in high-temperature petroleum reservoirs.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hui; Chen, Shuo; Mu, Bo-Zhong; Gu, Ji-Dong

2010-11-01

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) process plays an important role in the nitrogen cycle of the worldwide anoxic and mesophilic habitats. Recently, the existence and activity of anammox bacteria have been detected in some thermophilic environments, but their existence in the geothermal subterranean oil reservoirs is still not reported. This study investigated the abundance, distribution and functional diversity of anammox bacteria in nine out of 17 high-temperature oil reservoirs by molecular ecology analysis. High concentration (5.31-39.2 mg l(-1)) of ammonium was detected in the production water from these oilfields with temperatures between 55°C and 75°C. Both 16S rRNA and hzo molecular biomarkers indicated the occurrence of anammox bacteria in nine out of 17 samples. Most of 16S rRNA gene phylotypes are closely related to the known anammox bacterial genera Candidatus Brocadia, Candidatus Kuenenia, Candidatus Scalindua, and Candidatus Jettenia, while hzo gene phylotypes are closely related to the genera Candidatus Anammoxoglobus, Candidatus Kuenenia, Candidatus Scalindua, and Candidatus Jettenia. The total bacterial and anammox bacterial densities were 6.4 ± 0.5 × 10(3) to 2.0 ± 0.18 × 10(6) cells ml(-1) and 6.6 ± 0.51 × 10(2) to 4.9 ± 0.36 × 10(4) cell ml(-1), respectively. The cluster I of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed distant identity (<92%) to the known Candidatus Scalindua species, inferring this cluster of anammox bacteria to be a new species, and a tentative name Candidatus "Scalindua sinooilfield" was proposed. The results extended the existence of anammox bacteria to the high-temperature oil reservoirs.

Analysis of Anammox Bacterial Comunity Structure and Habitat of the Yangcheng Lake

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y.; Ruan, X.

2011-12-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a new pathway of nitrogen transformation processed by anammox bacteria. It produces dinitrogen gas under anoxic conditions by combining ammonium and nitrite. Recently, most of anammox bacteria species have been identified in freshwater systems around the world. However, little is known about the anammox bacteria abundance and diversity under different habitats. Yangcheng Lake, located in Yangtze River Delta, is a middle-pattern shallow lake (average depth 2.05 m) containing three interconnected lakes. The average sediment thickness is about 10 cm. Thirteen sediment and corresponding overlying water samples were collected in different seasons for physicochemical and molecular analysis. Anammox specified sequences were amplified from the 16S rRNA of sediment bacteria with anammox specific primers by nest PCR. The sequences were cloned into T-vector to establish the gene library and assigned to operational taxonomic units (OTUs) by cluster analysis. Sequences were blasted in NCBI (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), to construct the phylogenetic tree. Anammox-specific sequences were amplified from all 13 sediment samples. The sequences were mainly affiliated to the Candidatus Brocadia spp., and then affiliated to the Candidatus Kuenenia spp., both of them were the popular anammox species in freshwater systems. Results of physiochemical analysis of the overlying water and sediment pore-water showed that ammonia was the main component of the total inorganic nitrogen. The nitrogen concentrations of the overlying water and pore-water were ranged from 0.18 mg/L to 3.18 mg/L and 6.5 mg/L to 33.71 mg/L for ammonium , 0.01 mg/L to 0.09 mg/L and 0.02 mg/L to 0.20 mg/L for nitrite and 0.05 mg/L to 1.11 mg/L and 0.08 mg/L to 3.27 mg/L for nitrate, respectively. Relationships between the anammox bacterial community structure and environmental factors were analyzed by Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). The results shows that, the higher

Enrichment of marine anammox bacteria from seawater-related samples and bacterial community study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawagoshi, Y; Nakamura, Y; Kawashima, H; Fujisaki, K; Furukawa, K; Fujimoto, A

2010-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a novel nitrogen pathway catalyzed by anammox bacteria which are obligate anaerobic chemoautotrophs. In this study, enrichment culture of marine anammox bacteria (MAAOB) from the samples related to seawater was conducted. Simultaneous removal of ammonium and nitrite was confirmed in continuous culture inoculated with sediment of a sea-based waste disposal site within 50 days. However, no simultaneous nitrogen removal was observed in cultures inoculated with seawater-acclimated denitrifying sludge or with muddy sediment of tideland even during 200 days. Nitrogen removal rate of 0.13 kg/m(3)/day was achieved at nitrogen loading rate of 0.16 kg/m(3)/day after 320th days in the culture inoculated with the sediment of waste disposal site. The nitrogen removal ratio between ammonium nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen was 1:1.07. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis indicated that an abundance of the bacteria close to MAAOB and coexistence of ammonium oxidizing bacteria and denitrifying bacteria in the culture.

Effect of organic matter strength on anammox for modified greenhouse turtle breeding wastewater treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chongjun; Huang, Xiaoxiao; Lei, Chenxiao; Zhang, Tian C; Wu, Weixiang

2013-11-01

Anaerobic ammonium-N removal from modified greenhouse turtle breeding wastewater with different chemical oxygen demand (COD) strengths (194.0-577.8 mg L(-1)) at relatively fixed C/N ratios (≈ 2) was investigated using a lab-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) anammox reactor. During the entire experiment, the total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency was about 85% or higher, while the average COD removal efficiency was around 56.5 ± 7.9%. Based on the nitrogen and carbon balance, the nitrogen removal contribution was 79.6 ± 4.2% for anammox, 12.7 ± 3.0% for denitrification+denitritation and 7.7 ± 4.9% for other mechanisms. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses revealed that Planctomycete, Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi bacteria were coexisted in the reactor. Anammox was always dominant when the reactor was fed with different COD concentrations, which indicated the stability of the anammox process with the coexistence of the denitrification process in treating greenhouse turtle breeding wastewater. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enrichment of anammox bacteria fro marine environment for the construction of a bioremediation reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakajima, Jun; Sakka, Makiko; Kimura, Tetsuya; Sakka, Kazuo [Mie Univ., Tsu (Japan). Graduate School of Bioresources; Furukawa, Kenji [Kumamoto Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Civil Engineering and Architecture

2008-01-15

In the global ocean nitrogen cycle, the anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) process is recognized as important. In this study, we established an enrichment culture of marine anammox bacteria (MAB) in a column-type reactor. The reactor, which included a porous polyester non-woven fabric that had been placed at the sea floor in advance for enrichment, was continuously fed with NH{sub 4}Cl and NaNO{sub 2} for more than 1 year. Anammox activity in the MAB reactor was confirmed by {sup 15}N tracer analysis using {sup 15}NH{sub 4}Cl and Na{sup 14}NO{sub 2}. We identified two 16S rRNA genes in the amplified DNA fragments derived from MAB, which were highly homologous with those from Candidatus ''Scalindua wagneri'' and an uncultured planctomycete clone. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis using an anammox-specific probe also confirmed that MAB predominated in the reactor. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the establishment of an enrichment culture of anammox bacteria from the marine environment using a continuous culture system. (orig.)

Advances in methods for detection of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Meng; Gu, Ji-Dong

2011-05-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), the biochemical process oxidizing ammonium into dinitrogen gas using nitrite as an electron acceptor, has only been recognized for its significant role in the global nitrogen cycle not long ago, and its ubiquitous distribution in a wide range of environments has changed our knowledge about the contributors to the global nitrogen cycle. Currently, several groups of methods are used in detection of anammox bacteria based on their physiological and biochemical characteristics, cellular chemical composition, and both 16S rRNA gene and selective functional genes as biomarkers, including hydrazine oxidoreductase and nitrite reductase encoding genes hzo and nirS, respectively. Results from these methods coupling with advances in quantitative PCR, reverse transcription of mRNA genes and stable isotope labeling have improved our understanding on the distribution, diversity, and activity of anammox bacteria in different environments both natural and engineered ones. In this review, we summarize these methods used in detection of anammox bacteria from various environments, highlight the strengths and weakness of these methods, and also discuss the new development potentials on the existing and new techniques in the future.

Performance and microbial community of anammox in presence of micro-molecule carbon source.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Shilong; Yang, Wan; Qin, Meng; Mao, Zhen; Niu, Qigui; Han, Ming

2018-08-01

Because ammonium (NH 4 + -N) coexists with organic matter in some wastewaters, the possible adverse influences of organic matter become a major concern in the applications of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). In this study, the effects of acetate, as a representative of micro-molecule organic matter, on anammox were investigated. Efficient nitrogen removal was realized because denitrifying bacteria and anammox bacteria (AnAOB) had a better synergistic effect under the condition of chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations lower than 251 ± 7 mg L -1 . Furthermore, the nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) decreased to 82.02 ± 3.14% when COD was increased to 730 ± 9 mg L -1 , and effluent free ammonia (FA) reached 21.93 ± 4.71 mg L -1 might be one of factors leading to inhibition. However, the nitrogen-removal contribution rate of anammox remained steady at 61.97 ± 2.84% at COD of 730 ± 9 mg L -1 , which indicated that anammox was still dominant in the system. AnAOB, such as Ca. Kuenenia and Ca. Jettenia, and denitrifying bacteria, such as Denitratisoma and Thauera, were found to coexist in the reactor. Interestingly, Ca. Kuenenia presented in the trend of first decreased then increased with the increasing of organic matter concentration, which might be one of reasons that anammox played an important role in nitrogen removal at high COD concentration. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plant-wide (BSM2) evaluation of reject water treatment with a SHARON-Anammox process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Volcke, Eveline; Gernaey, Krist; Vrecko, Darko

2006-01-01

treatment plant, reject water treatment with a combined SHARON-Anammox process seems a promising option. The simulation results indicate that significant improvements of the effluent quality of the main wastewater treatment plant can be realized. An economic evaluation of the different scenarios......In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) equipped with sludge digestion and dewatering systems, the reject water originating from these facilities contributes significantly to the nitrogen load of the activated sludge tanks, to which it is typically recycled. In this paper, the impact of reject water...

Anammox revisited: thermodynamic considerations in early studies of the microbial nitrogen cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Oren, Aharon

2015-08-01

This paper explores the early literature on the thermodynamics of processes in the microbial nitrogen cycle, evaluating parameters of transfer of energy which depends on the initial and final states of the system, the mechanism of the reactions involved and the rates of these reactions. Processes discussed include the anaerobic oxidation of ammonium (the anammox reaction), the use of inorganic nitrogen compounds as electron donors for anoxygenic photosynthesis, and the mechanism and bioenergetics of biological nitrogen fixation. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Nitrous oxide production in intermittently aerated Partial Nitritation-Anammox reactor: oxic N₂O production dominates and relates with ammonia removal rate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blum, Jan-Michael; Jensen, Marlene Mark; Smets, Barth F.

2018-01-01

Emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide from the Partial Nitritation-Anammox process are of concern and can determine the carbon footprint of the process. In order to reduce nitrous oxide emissions intermittent aeration regimes have been shown to be a promising mode of operation, possibly due...

Denitrification, anammox and fixed nitrogen removal in the water column of a tropical great lake

Science.gov (United States)

Darchambeau, François; Roland, Fleur; Crowe, Sean A.; De Brabandere, Loreto; Llirós, Marc; Garcia-Armisen, Tamara; Inceoglu, Ozgul; Michiels, Céline; Servais, Pierre; Morana, Cédric D. T.; Bouillon, Steven; Meysman, Filip; Veuger, Bart; Masilya, Pascal M.; Descy, Jean-Pierre; Borges, Alberto V.

2013-04-01

If rates of microbial denitrification in aquatic systems are poorly constrained, it is much more the case for tropical water bodies. Lake Kivu [2.50° S 1.59° S, 29.37° E 28.83° E] is one of the great lakes of the East African Rift. It is an oligotrophic lake characterized by anoxic deep waters rich in dissolved gases (methane and carbon dioxide) and nutrients, and by well oxygenated and nutrient-depleted surface waters. During the seasonally stratified rainy season (October to May), a nitrogenous zone characterized by the accumulation of nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) is often observed in the lower layer of the mixolimnion. It results from nitrification of ammonium released by decaying organic matter. With the seasonal uplift of the oxygen minimum zone, the nitrogenous zone becomes anoxic and might be the most preferential area for fixed nitrogen (N) removal in Lake Kivu. Our work aimed at identifying and quantifying the processes of N losses by denitrification and/or anammox in the nitrogenous zone of the Lake Kivu water column. During 5 sampling campaigns (March 2010, October 2010, June 2011, February 2012 and September 2012), isotopic labelling experiments were used to quantify denitrification and anammox rates along vertical profiles at two pelagic stations of the main lake. Moreover, N2:Ar ratios were estimated during the September 2012 campaign, and 16S rDNA pyrosequencing was used to describe bacterial community composition during the last 2 campaigns. No bacteria related to organisms performing anammox was observed and labelling experiments failed to detect anammox at any locations and any depths. In Lake Kivu, denitrifying bacteria were mainly related to Denitratisoma and Thiobacillus genus. Significant denitrification rates were observed at several occasions, especially under the oxic-anoxic interface in the bottom of the nitracline. The annual average denitrification rate was estimated at ~150 μmoles N m-2 d-1. Denitrification was not the only

Molecular detection of Candidatus Scalindua pacifica and environmental responses of sediment anammox bacterial community in the Bohai Sea, China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongyue Dang

Full Text Available The Bohai Sea is a large semi-enclosed shallow water basin, which receives extensive river discharges of various terrestrial and anthropogenic materials such as sediments, nutrients and contaminants. How these terrigenous inputs may influence the diversity, community structure, biogeographical distribution, abundance and ecophysiology of the sediment anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox bacteria was unknown. To answer this question, an investigation employing both 16S rRNA and hzo gene biomarkers was carried out. Ca. Scalindua bacteria were predominant in the surface sediments of the Bohai Sea, while non-Scalindua anammox bacteria were also detected in the Yellow River estuary and inner part of Liaodong Bay that received strong riverine and anthropogenic impacts. A novel 16S rRNA gene sequence clade was identified, putatively representing an anammox bacterial new candidate species tentatively named "Ca. Scalindua pacifica". Several groups of environmental factors, usually with distinct physicochemical or biogeochemical natures, including general marine and estuarine physicochemical properties, availability of anammox substrates (inorganic N compounds, alternative reductants and oxidants, environmental variations caused by river discharges and associated contaminants such as heavy metals, were identified to likely play important roles in influencing the ecology and biogeochemical functioning of the sediment anammox bacteria. In addition to inorganic N compounds that might play a key role in shaping the anammox microbiota, organic carbon, organic nitrogen, sulfate, sulfide and metals all showed the potentials to participate in the anammox process, releasing the strict dependence of the anammox bacteria upon the direct availability of inorganic N nutrients that might be limiting in certain areas of the Bohai Sea. The importance of inorganic N nutrients and certain other environmental factors to the sediment anammox microbiota suggests that these

Anammox for ammonia removal from pig manure effluents: Effect of organic matter content on process performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salces, Beatriz Molinuevo; García, M. C.; Karakashev, Dimitar Borisov

2009-01-01

oxidation) diluted with synthetic wastewater. High ammonium removal was achieved, up to 92.1 +/- 4.9% for diluted UASB-post-digested effluent (95 mg COD L-1) and up to 98.5 +/- 0.8% for diluted partially oxidized effluent (121 mg COD L-1). Mass balance clearly showed that an increase in organic loading......The anammox process, under different organic loading rates (COD), was evaluated using a semi-continous UASB reactor at 37 degrees C. Three different substrates were used: initially, synthetic wastewater, and later, two different pig manure effluents (after UASB-post-digestion and after partial...... improved ammonium removal at high organic matter concentration. Up to threshold organic load concentration of 142 mg COD L-1 of UASB-post-digested effluent and 242 mg COD L-1 of partially oxidized effluent, no effect of organic loading on ammonia removal was registered (ammonium removal was above 80...

Abundance and Diversity of Denitrifying and Anammox Bacteria in Seasonally Hypoxic and Sulfidic Sediments of the Saline Lake Grevelingen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lipsewers, Y.A.; Hopmans, E.C.; Meysman, F.J.R.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Villanueva, L.

2016-01-01

Denitrifying and anammox bacteria are involved in the nitrogen cycling in marine sediments but the environmental factors that regulate the relative importance of these processes are not well constrained. Here, we evaluated the abundance, diversity, and potential activity of denitrifying, anammox,

Abundance and diversity of denitrifying and anammox bacteria in seasonally hypoxic and sulfidic sediments of the saline lake grevelingen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lipsewers, Yvonne A.; Hopmans, Ellen C.; Meysman, Filip J.R.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/07401370X; Villanueva, Laura

2016-01-01

Denitrifying and anammox bacteria are involved in the nitrogen cycling in marine sediments but the environmental factors that regulate the relative importance of these processes are not well constrained. Here, we evaluated the abundance, diversity, and potential activity of denitrifying, anammox,

Source identification of nitrous oxide emission pathways from a single-stage nitritation-anammox granular reactor

KAUST Repository

Ali, Muhammad; Rathnayake, Rathnayake M.L.D.; Zhang, Lei; Ishii, Satoshi; Kindaichi, Tomonori; Satoh, Hisashi; Toyoda, Sakae; Yoshida, Naohiro; Okabe, Satoshi

2016-01-01

Nitrous oxide (N2O) production pathway in a signal-stage nitritation-anammox sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was investigated based on a multilateral approach including real-time N2O monitoring, N2O isotopic composition analysis, and in-situ analyses of spatial distribution of N2O production rate and microbial populations in granular biomass. N2O emission rate was high in the initial phase of the operation cycle and gradually decreased with decreasing NH4+ concentration. The average emission of N2O was 0.98 ± 0.42% and 1.35 ± 0.72% of the incoming nitrogen load and removed nitrogen, respectively. The N2O isotopic composition analysis revealed that N2O was produced via NH2OH oxidation and NO2− reduction pathways equally, although there is an unknown influence from N2O reduction and/or anammox N2O production. However, the N2O isotopomer analysis could not discriminate the relative contribution of nitrifier denitrification and heterotrophic denitrification in the NO2− reduction pathway. Various in-situ techniques (e.g. microsensor measurements and FISH (fluorescent in-situ hybridization) analysis) were therefore applied to further identify N2O producers. Microsensor measurements revealed that approximately 70% of N2O was produced in the oxic surface zone, where nitrifiers were predominantly localized. Thus, NH2OH oxidation and NO2 reduction by nitrifiers (nitrifier-denitrification) could be responsible for the N2O production in the oxic zone. The rest of N2O (ca. 30%) was produced in the anammox bacteria-dominated anoxic zone, probably suggesting that NO2− reduction by coexisting putative heterotrophic denitrifiers and some other unknown pathway(s) including the possibility of anammox process account for the anaerobic N2O production. Further study is required to identify the anaerobic N2O production pathways. Our multilateral approach can be useful to quantitatively examine the relative contributions of N2O production pathways. Good understanding of the key N2O

Source identification of nitrous oxide emission pathways from a single-stage nitritation-anammox granular reactor

KAUST Repository

Ali, Muhammad

2016-06-16

Nitrous oxide (N2O) production pathway in a signal-stage nitritation-anammox sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was investigated based on a multilateral approach including real-time N2O monitoring, N2O isotopic composition analysis, and in-situ analyses of spatial distribution of N2O production rate and microbial populations in granular biomass. N2O emission rate was high in the initial phase of the operation cycle and gradually decreased with decreasing NH4+ concentration. The average emission of N2O was 0.98 ± 0.42% and 1.35 ± 0.72% of the incoming nitrogen load and removed nitrogen, respectively. The N2O isotopic composition analysis revealed that N2O was produced via NH2OH oxidation and NO2− reduction pathways equally, although there is an unknown influence from N2O reduction and/or anammox N2O production. However, the N2O isotopomer analysis could not discriminate the relative contribution of nitrifier denitrification and heterotrophic denitrification in the NO2− reduction pathway. Various in-situ techniques (e.g. microsensor measurements and FISH (fluorescent in-situ hybridization) analysis) were therefore applied to further identify N2O producers. Microsensor measurements revealed that approximately 70% of N2O was produced in the oxic surface zone, where nitrifiers were predominantly localized. Thus, NH2OH oxidation and NO2 reduction by nitrifiers (nitrifier-denitrification) could be responsible for the N2O production in the oxic zone. The rest of N2O (ca. 30%) was produced in the anammox bacteria-dominated anoxic zone, probably suggesting that NO2− reduction by coexisting putative heterotrophic denitrifiers and some other unknown pathway(s) including the possibility of anammox process account for the anaerobic N2O production. Further study is required to identify the anaerobic N2O production pathways. Our multilateral approach can be useful to quantitatively examine the relative contributions of N2O production pathways. Good understanding of the key N2O

Symbiotic relationship analysis of predominant bacteria in a lab-scale anammox UASB bioreactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yujia; Hu, Xiaomin; Jiang, Binhui; Song, Zhenhui; Ma, Yongguang

2016-04-01

In order to provide the comprehensive insight into the key microbial groups in anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process, high-throughput sequencing analysis has been used for the investigation of the bacterial communities of a lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) anammox bioreactor. Results revealed that 109 operational taxonomic units (OTUs; out of 14,820 reads) were identified and a domination of anammox bacteria of Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis (OTU474, 35.42 %), along with heterotrophs of Limnobacter sp. MED105 (OTU951, 14.98 %), Anerolinea thermophila UNI-1 (OTU465 and OTU833, 6.60 and 3.93 %), Azoarcus sp. B72 (OTU26, 9.47 %), and Ignavibacterium sp. JCM 16511 (OTU459, 8.33 %) were detected. Metabolic pathway analysis showed that Candidatus K. stuttgartiensis encountered gene defect in synthesizing a series of metabolic cofactors for growth, implying that K. stuttgartiensis is auxotrophic. Coincidentally, the other dominant species severally showed complete metabolic pathways with full set gene encoding to corresponding cofactors presented in the surrounding environment. Furthermore, it was likely that the survival of heterotrophs in the autotrophic system indicates the existence of a symbiotic and mutual relationship in anammox system.

Incremental design of control system of SHARON-Anammox process for autotrophic nitrogen removal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mauricio Iglesias, Miguel; Valverde Perez, Borja; Sin, Gürkan

2012-01-01

With the perspective of investigating a suitable control design for autotrophic nitrogen removal, this work explores the control design for a SHARON-Anammox reactor sequence. With this aim, a full model is developed, including the pH dependency, in order to simulate the reactor and determine...

Oxygen sensitivity of anammox and coupled N-cycle processes in oxygen minimum zones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kalvelage, Tim; Jensen, Marlene Mark; Contreras, Sergio

2011-01-01

Nutrient measurements indicate that 30–50% of the total nitrogen (N) loss in the ocean occurs in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). This pelagic N-removal takes place within only ,0.1% of the ocean volume, hence moderate variations in the extent of OMZs due to global warming may have a large impact...... at non-detectable concentrations of O2, while anaerobic NO3 2 reduction was fully active up to at least 25 mmol L21 O2. Hence, aerobic and anaerobic N-cycle pathways in OMZs can co-occur over a larger range of O2 concentrations than previously assumed. The zone where N-loss can occur is primarily...... controlled by the O2-sensitivity of anammox itself, and not by any effects of O2 on the tightly coupled pathways of aerobic NH3 oxidation and NO3 2 reduction. With anammox bacteria in the marine environment being active at O2 levels ,20 times higher than those known to inhibit their cultured counterparts...

Microbial competition among anammox bacteria in nitrite-limited bioreactors

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Lei

2017-08-26

Phylogenetically diverse anammox bacteria have been detected in most of anoxic natural and engineered ecosystems and thus regarded as key players in the global nitrogen cycle. However, ecological niche differentiation of anammox bacteria remains unresolved despite its ecological and practical importance. In this study, the microbial competitions for a common substrate (nitrite) among three anammox species (i.e. “Candidatus Brocadia sinica”, “Candidatus Jettenia caeni” and “Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis”) were systematically investigated in nitrite-limited gel-immobilized column reactors (GICR) and membrane bioreactors (MBRs) under different nitrogen loading rates (NLRs). 16 S rRNA gene-based population dynamics revealed that “Ca. J. caeni” could proliferate only at low NLRs, whereas “Ca. B. sinica” outcompeted other two species at higher NLRs in both types of reactors. Furthermore, FISH analysis revealed that “Ca. J. caeni” was mainly present as spherical microclusters at the inner part (low NO2− environment), whereas “Ca. B. sinica” was present throughout the gel beads and granules. This spatial distribution supports the outcomes of the competition experiments. However, the successful competition of “Ca. J. caeni” at low NLR could not be explained with the Monod model probably due to inaccuracy of kinetic parameters such as half saturation constant (Ks) for nitrite and a difference in the maintenance rate (m). In addition, the growth of “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis” could not be observed in any experimental conditions, suggesting possible unknown factor(s) is missing. Taken together, NLR was one of factors determining ecological niche differentiation of “Ca. B. sinica” and “Ca. J. caeni”.

Microbial competition among anammox bacteria in nitrite-limited bioreactors

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Lei; Narita, Yuko; Gao, Lin; Ali, Muhammad; Oshiki, Mamoru; Ishii, Satoshi; Okabe, Satoshi

2017-01-01

Phylogenetically diverse anammox bacteria have been detected in most of anoxic natural and engineered ecosystems and thus regarded as key players in the global nitrogen cycle. However, ecological niche differentiation of anammox bacteria remains unresolved despite its ecological and practical importance. In this study, the microbial competitions for a common substrate (nitrite) among three anammox species (i.e. “Candidatus Brocadia sinica”, “Candidatus Jettenia caeni” and “Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis”) were systematically investigated in nitrite-limited gel-immobilized column reactors (GICR) and membrane bioreactors (MBRs) under different nitrogen loading rates (NLRs). 16 S rRNA gene-based population dynamics revealed that “Ca. J. caeni” could proliferate only at low NLRs, whereas “Ca. B. sinica” outcompeted other two species at higher NLRs in both types of reactors. Furthermore, FISH analysis revealed that “Ca. J. caeni” was mainly present as spherical microclusters at the inner part (low NO2− environment), whereas “Ca. B. sinica” was present throughout the gel beads and granules. This spatial distribution supports the outcomes of the competition experiments. However, the successful competition of “Ca. J. caeni” at low NLR could not be explained with the Monod model probably due to inaccuracy of kinetic parameters such as half saturation constant (Ks) for nitrite and a difference in the maintenance rate (m). In addition, the growth of “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis” could not be observed in any experimental conditions, suggesting possible unknown factor(s) is missing. Taken together, NLR was one of factors determining ecological niche differentiation of “Ca. B. sinica” and “Ca. J. caeni”.

Enrichment using an up-flow column reactor and community structure of marine anammox bacteria from coastal sediment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kindaichi, Tomonori; Awata, Takanori; Suzuki, Yuji; Tanabe, Katsuichiro; Hatamoto, Masashi; Ozaki, Noriatsu; Ohashi, Akiyoshi

2011-01-01

We established an enrichment culture of marine anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria using an up-flow column reactor fed with artificial sea water supplemented with nitrogen and minerals and inoculated with coastal surface sediment collected from Hiroshima Bay. After 2 months of reactor operation, simultaneous removal of NH(4)(+) and NO(2)(-) was observed, suggesting that an anammox reaction was proceeding. A total nitrogen removal rate of 2.17 g-N L(-1) day(-1) was attained on day 594 while the nitrogen loading rate was 3.33 g-N L(-1) day(-1). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that at least two dominant "Candidatus Scalindua" species were present in this reactor. Moreover, many uncultured bacteria and archaea, including candidate division or ammonia-oxidizing archaea, were present. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed that anammox bacteria accounted for 85.5 ± 4.5% of the total bacteria at day 393. We also designed two oligonucleotide probes specific to each dominant "Candidatus Scalindua" species. A simultaneous FISH analysis using both probes showed that two different "Candidatus Scalindua" species were clearly recognizable and coexisted during reactor operation, although there was some variation in their abundance. The marine anammox bacteria enriched in this study have potential applications to the treatment of industrial wastewater containing high levels of ammonium and salt.

Quantitative evaluation of inhibitory effect of various substances on anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox).

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Tomotaka; Harigaya, Yuhki; Kimura, Yuya; Kuroiwa, Megumi; Kurata, Yuhri; Isaka, Kazuichi; Suwa, Yuichi

2017-09-01

The inhibitory effect of 20 substances of various chemical species on the anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) activity of an enrichment culture, predominated by Candidatus Brocadia, was determined systematically by using a 15 N tracer technique. The initial anammox rate was determined during first 25 min with a small-scale anaerobic batch incubation supplemented with possible inhibitors. Although Cu 2+ and Mn 2+ did not inhibit anammox, the remaining 18 substances [Ni 2+ , Zn 2+ , Co 2+ , [Formula: see text] , Fe 2+ , 4 amines, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), ethylenediamine-N,N'-bis (2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) (EDDHA), citric acid, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), 1,4-dioxane, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and tetrahydrofuran (THF)] were inhibitory. Inhibitory effect of NTA, EDDHA, THF, DMF, DMA and amines on anammox was first determined in this study. Inhibitory effects of metals were re-evaluated because chelators, which may interfere inhibitory effect, have been used to dissolve metal salts into assay solution. The relative anammox activities as a function of concentration of each substance were described successfully (R 2  > 0.91) either with a linear inhibition model or with a Michaelis-Menten-based inhibition model. IC 50 values were estimated based on either model, and were compared. The IC 50 values of the 4 chelators (0.06-2.7 mM) and 5 metal ions (0.02-1.09 mM) were significantly lower than those of the 4 amines (10.6-29.1 mM) and 5 organic solvents (3.5-82 mM). Although it did not show any inhibition within 25 min, 0.1 mM Cu 2+ completely inhibited anammox activity in 240 min, suggesting that the inhibitory effect caused by Cu 2+ is time-dependent. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rapid startup and high rate nitrogen removal from anaerobic sludge digester liquor using a SNAP process.

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Qiao, Sen; Nishiyama, Takashi; Fujii, Tatsuo; Bhatti, Zafar; Furukawa, Kenji

2012-02-01

In this study, a single-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal reactor, packed with a novel acrylic fiber biomass carrier material (Biofix), was applied for nitrogen removal from sludge digester liquor. For rapid start-up, conventional activated sludge was added to the reactor soon after the attachment of anammox biomass on the Biofix carriers, which allowed conventional activated sludge to form a protective layer of biofilm around the anammox biomass. The Nitrogen removal efficiency reached 75% within 1 week at a nitrogen loading rate of 0.46 kg-N/m(3)/day for synthetic wastewater treatment. By the end of the synthetic wastewater treatment period, the maximum nitrogen removal rate had increased to 0.92 kg-N/m(3)/day at a nitrogen loading rate of 1.0 kg-N/m(3)/day. High nitrogen removal rate was also achieved during the actual raw digester liquor treatment with the highest nitrogen removal rate being 0.83 kg-N/m(3)/day at a nitrogen loading rate of 0.93 kg-N/m(3)/day. The thick biofilm on Biofix carriers allowed anammox bacteria to survive under high DO concentration of 5-6 mg/l resulting in stable and high nitrogen removal performance. FISH and CLSM analysis demonstrated that anammox bacteria coexisted and surrounded by ammonium oxidizing bacteria.

Start-Up Characteristics of a Granule-Based Anammox UASB Reactor Seeded with Anaerobic Granular Sludge

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Lei Xiong

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The granulation of anammox sludge plays an important role in the high nitrogen removal performance of the anammox reactor. In this study, anaerobic granular sludge was selected as the seeding sludge to start up anammox reactor in order to directly obtain anammox granules. Results showed that the anammox UASB reactor was successfully started up by inoculating anaerobic granular sludge, with substrate capacity of 4435.2 mg/(L·d and average ammonium and nitrite removal efficiency of 90.36% and 93.29%, respectively. During the start-up course, the granular sludge initially disintegrated and then reaggregated and turned red, suggesting the high anammox performance. Zn-Fe precipitation was observed on the surface of granules during the operation by SEM-EDS, which would impose inhibition to the anammox activity of the granules. Accordingly, it is suggested to relatively reduce the trace metals concentrations, of Fe and Zn in the conventional medium. The findings of this study are expected to be used for a shorter start-up and more stable operation of anammox system.

Start-Up Characteristics of a Granule-Based Anammox UASB Reactor Seeded with Anaerobic Granular Sludge

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Wang, Yun-Yan; Tang, Chong-Jian; Chai, Li-Yuan; Xu, Kang-Que; Song, Yu-Xia

2013-01-01

The granulation of anammox sludge plays an important role in the high nitrogen removal performance of the anammox reactor. In this study, anaerobic granular sludge was selected as the seeding sludge to start up anammox reactor in order to directly obtain anammox granules. Results showed that the anammox UASB reactor was successfully started up by inoculating anaerobic granular sludge, with substrate capacity of 4435.2 mg/(L·d) and average ammonium and nitrite removal efficiency of 90.36% and 93.29%, respectively. During the start-up course, the granular sludge initially disintegrated and then reaggregated and turned red, suggesting the high anammox performance. Zn-Fe precipitation was observed on the surface of granules during the operation by SEM-EDS, which would impose inhibition to the anammox activity of the granules. Accordingly, it is suggested to relatively reduce the trace metals concentrations, of Fe and Zn in the conventional medium. The findings of this study are expected to be used for a shorter start-up and more stable operation of anammox system. PMID:24455691

Enrichment of anammox bacteria from three sludge sources for the startup of monosodium glutamate industrial wastewater treatment system.

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Li-dong, Shen; An-hui, Hu; Ren-cun, Jin; Dong-qing, Cheng; Ping, Zheng; Xiang-yang, Xu; Bao-lan, Hu

2012-01-15

Three activated sludges from a landfill leachate treatment plant (S1), a municipal sewage treatment plant (S2) and a monosodium glutamate (MSG) wastewater treatment plant (S3) were used as inocula to enrich anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria for the startup of MSG industrial wastewater treatment system. After 360 days of cultivation using MSG wastewater, obvious anammox activity was observed in all three cultures. The maximum specific anammox activities of cultures S1, S2 and S3 were 0.11 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1), 0.09 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1) and 0.16 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1), respectively. Brownish-red anammox granules having diameters in the range of 0.2-1.0mm were visible in cultures S1 and S2, and large red granules having diameters in the range of 0.5-2.5mm were formed in culture S3 after 420 days of cultivation. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that Kuenenia organisms were the dominant anammox species in all three cultures. The copy numbers of 16S rRNA genes of anammox bacteria in cultures S1, S2 and S3 were 6.8 × 10(7) copies mL(-1), 9.4 × 10(7) copies mL(-1) and 7.5 × 10(8) copies mL(-1), respectively. The results of this study demonstrated that anammox cultivation from conventional activated sludges was highly possible using MSG wastewater. Thus the anammox process has possibility of applying to the nitrogen removal from MSG wastewater. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of biomass acclimation on the performance of a partial nitritation-anammox reactor treating industrial saline effluents.

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Giustinianovich, Elisa A; Campos, José-Luis; Roeckel, Marlene D; Estrada, Alejandro J; Mosquera-Corral, Anuska; Val Del Río, Ángeles

2018-03-01

The performance of the partial nitritation/anammox processes was evaluated for the treatment of fish canning effluents. A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was fed with industrial wastewater, with variable salt and total ammonium nitrogen (TAN) concentrations in the range of 1.75-18.00 g-NaCl L -1 and 112 - 267 mg-TAN L -1 . The SBR operation was divided into two experiments: (A) progressive increase of salt concentrations from 1.75 to 18.33 g-NaCl L -1 ; (B) direct application of high salt concentration (18 g-NaCl L -1 ). The progressive increase of NaCl concentration provoked the inhibition of the anammox biomass by up to 94% when 18 g-NaCl L -1 were added. The stable operation of the processes was achieved after 154 days when the nitrogen removal rate was 0.021 ± 0.007 g N/L·d (corresponding to 30% of removal efficiency). To avoid the development of NOB activity at low salt concentrations and to stabilize the performance of the processes dissolved oxygen was supplied by intermittent aeration. A greater removal rate of 0.029 ± 0.017 g-N L -1 d -1 was obtained with direct exposure of the inoculum to 18 g-NaCl L -1 in less than 40 days. Also, higher specific activities than those from the inoculum were achieved for salt concentrations of 15 and 20 g-NaCl L -1 after 39 days of operation. This first study of the performance of the partial nitritation/anammox processes, to treat saline wastewaters, indicates that the acclimation period can be avoided to shorten the start-up period for industrial application purposes. Nevertheless, further experiments are needed in order to improve the efficiency of the processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-throughput profiling of microbial community structures in an ANAMMOX-UASB reactor treating high-strength wastewater.

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Cao, Shenbin; Du, Rui; Li, Baikun; Ren, Nanqi; Peng, Yongzhen

2016-07-01

In this study, the microbial community structure was assessed in an anaerobic ammonium oxidation-upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (ANAMMOX-UASB) reactor treating high-strength wastewater (approximately 700 mg N L(-1) in total nitrogen) by employing Illumina high-throughput sequencing analysis. The reactor was started up and reached a steady state in 26 days by seeding mature ANAMMOX granules, and a high nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 2.96 kg N m(-3) day(-1) was obtained at 13.2∼17.6 °C. Results revealed that the abundance of ANAMMOX bacteria increased during the operation, though it occupied a low proportion in the system. The phylum Planctomycetes was only 8.39 % on day 148 and Candidatus Brocadia was identified as the dominant ANAMMOX species with a percentage of 2.70 %. The phylum of Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria constituted a percentage up to 70 % in the community, of which the Chloroflexi and Bacteroidetes were likely to be related to the sludge granulation. In addition, it was found that heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria of Denitratisoma belonging to Proteobacteria phylum occupied a large proportion (22.1∼23.58 %), which was likely caused by the bacteria lysis and decay with the internal carbon source production. The SEM images also showed that plenty of other microorganisms existed in the ANAMMOX-UASB reactor.

Mainstream upflow nitritation-anammox system with hybrid anaerobic pretreatment: Long-term performance and microbial community dynamics.

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Li, Xiaojin; Sun, Shan; Yuan, Heyang; Badgley, Brian D; He, Zhen

2017-11-15

Mainstream nitritation-anammox is of strong interest to energy- and resource-efficient domestic wastewater treatment. However, there lack in-depth studies of pretreatment, tests of actual wastewater, and examination of long-term performance. Herein, an upflow nitritation-anammox granular reactor has been investigated to treat primary effluent with a hybrid anaerobic reactor (HAR) as pretreatment for more than 300 days. This system achieved 92% of COD removal, 75% of which was accomplished by the HAR, and had an average final effluent COD concentration of 22 mg L -1 . More than 90% of ammonium was removed in the nitritation-anammox reactor, achieving a nitrogen removal rate of 81.0 g N m -3  d -1 in the last stage. The accumulation of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the HAR evidenced the effect of sulfate on COD removal and subsequent nitrogen removal. Anammox bacteria (predominantly Ca. Jettenia asiatica) accounted for up to 40.2% of total granular communities, but their abundance decreased over time in the suspended communities. The dynamics of major metabolisms and functional genes involved in nitrogen conversion were predicted by PICRUSt based on the taxonomic data, providing more insights into the functions of the microbial communities. These results have demonstrated the effectiveness and importance of anaerobic pretreatment to successful mainstream nitritation-anammox. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enriquecimento de bactérias anaeróbias oxidadoras de amônia - anammox Enrichment of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria - anammox

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Juliana Calábria de Araújo

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Bactérias anaeróbias oxidadoras de amônia (bactérias Anammox, do inglês anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria foram enriquecidas em reator em batelada sequencial (RBS, a partir de lodo proveniente de um sistema convencional de lodos ativados tratando esgoto doméstico de Belo Horizonte (MG. Após três meses de cultivo, atividade Anammox foi detectada no sistema pelo consumo de quantidades estequiométricas de NO2- e NH4+. Análises de hibridação in situ fluorescente (FISH, do inglês fluorescent in situ hybridization confirmaram a presença de bactérias Anammox, provavelmente Candidatus Brocadia anammoxidans, e revelaram que estas representavam 53% do total de células (após 6 meses de cultivo. O desempenho do reator ao longo dos sete meses de operação demonstrou remoção quase que total de nitrito, baseada em concentração afluente de 61 a 95 mg N-NO2-/L. A eficiência máxima de remoção de amônia alcançada foi de 95%, a partir de concentração afluente de 55 a 82 mg N-NH4+/L.Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (Anammox bacteria were enriched from sludge collected at a conventional activated sludge system treating domestic wastewater of Belo Horizonte(MG, Brazil, employing a sequencing batch reactor (SBR. After three months of cultivation, Anammox activity was detected in the system by the consumption of stoichiometric amounts of NO2- and NH4+. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH results revealed the presence of Anammox bacteria (probably Candidatus Brocadia anammoxidans and showed that they accounted for 53% of the total bacterial population (after 6 months of cultivation. The reactor performance during the seven months of operation showed a near perfect removal of nitrite, based on the influent NO2--N concentration of 61-95 mg/L. The maximum ammonia removal efficiency was 95% from the influent N-NH4+ concentration of 55-82 mg/L.

Hydroxylamine-dependent anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) by "Candidatus Brocadia sinica".

Science.gov (United States)

Oshiki, Mamoru; Ali, Muhammad; Shinyako-Hata, Kaori; Satoh, Hisashi; Okabe, Satoshi

2016-09-01

Although metabolic pathways and associated enzymes of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) of 'Ca. Kuenenia stuttgartiensis' have been studied, those of other anammox bacteria are still poorly understood. NO2- reduction to NO is considered to be the first step in the anammox metabolism of 'Ca. K. stuttgartiensis', however, 'Ca. Brocadia' lacks the genes that encode canonical NO-forming nitrite reductases (NirS or NirK) in its genome, which is different from 'Ca. K. stuttgartiensis'. Here, we studied the anammox metabolism of 'Ca. Brocadia sinica'. (15) N-tracer experiments demonstrated that 'Ca. B. sinica' cells could reduce NO2- to NH2 OH, instead of NO, with as yet unidentified nitrite reductase(s). Furthermore, N2 H4 synthesis, downstream reaction of NO2- reduction, was investigated using a purified 'Ca. B. sinica' hydrazine synthase (Hzs) and intact cells. Both the 'Ca. B. sinica' Hzs and cells utilized NH2 OH and NH4+, but not NO and NH4+, for N2 H4 synthesis and further oxidized N2 H4 to N2 gas. Taken together, the metabolic pathway of 'Ca. B. sinica' is NH2 OH-dependent and different from the one of 'Ca. K. stuttgartiensis', indicating metabolic diversity of anammox bacteria. © 2016 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Abundance and Diversity of Denitrifying and Anammox Bacteria in Seasonally Hypoxic and Sulfidic Sediments of the Saline Lake Grevelingen

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Lipsewers, Yvonne A.; Hopmans, Ellen C.; Meysman, Filip J. R.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Villanueva, Laura

2016-01-01

Denitrifying and anammox bacteria are involved in the nitrogen cycling in marine sediments but the environmental factors that regulate the relative importance of these processes are not well constrained. Here, we evaluated the abundance, diversity, and potential activity of denitrifying, anammox, and sulfide-dependent denitrifying bacteria in the sediments of the seasonally hypoxic saline Lake Grevelingen, known to harbor an active microbial community involved in sulfur oxidation pathways. Depth distributions of 16S rRNA gene, nirS gene of denitrifying and anammox bacteria, aprA gene of sulfur-oxidizing and sulfate-reducing bacteria, and ladderane lipids of anammox bacteria were studied in sediments impacted by seasonally hypoxic bottom waters. Samples were collected down to 5 cm depth (1 cm resolution) at three different locations before (March) and during summer hypoxia (August). The abundance of denitrifying bacteria did not vary despite of differences in oxygen and sulfide availability in the sediments, whereas anammox bacteria were more abundant in the summer hypoxia but in those sediments with lower sulfide concentrations. The potential activity of denitrifying and anammox bacteria as well as of sulfur-oxidizing, including sulfide-dependent denitrifiers and sulfate-reducing bacteria, was potentially inhibited by the competition for nitrate and nitrite with cable and/or Beggiatoa-like bacteria in March and by the accumulation of sulfide in the summer hypoxia. The simultaneous presence and activity of organoheterotrophic denitrifying bacteria, sulfide-dependent denitrifiers, and anammox bacteria suggests a tight network of bacteria coupling carbon-, nitrogen-, and sulfur cycling in Lake Grevelingen sediments. PMID:27812355

Abundance and diversity of denitrifying and anammox bacteria in seasonally hypoxic and sulfidic sediments of the saline Lake Grevelingen

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Yvonne A. Lipsewers

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Denitrifying and anammox bacteria are involved in the nitrogen cycling in marine sediments but the environmental factors that regulate the relative importance of these processes are not well constrained. Here, we evaluated the abundance, diversity and potential activity of denitrifying, anammox, and sulfide-dependent denitrifying bacteria in the sediments of the seasonally hypoxic saline Lake Grevelingen, known to harbor an active microbial community involved in sulfur oxidation pathways. Depth distributions of 16S rRNA gene, nirS gene of denitrifying and anammox bacteria, aprA gene of sulfur-oxidizing and sulfate-reducing bacteria, and ladderane lipids of anammox bacteria were studied in sediments impacted by seasonally hypoxic bottom waters. Samples were collected down to 5 cm depth (1 cm resolution at three different locations before (March and during summer hypoxia (August. The abundance of denitrifying bacteria did not vary despite of differences in oxygen and sulfide availability in the sediments, whereas anammox bacteria were more abundant in the summer hypoxia but in those sediments with lower sulfide concentrations. The potential activity of denitrifying and anammox bacteria as well as of sulfur-oxidizing, including sulfide-dependent denitrifiers and sulfate-reducing bacteria, was potentially inhibited by the competition for nitrate and nitrite with cable and/or Beggiatoa-like bacteria in March and by the accumulation of sulfide in the summer hypoxia. The simultaneous presence and activity of organoheterotrophic denitrifying bacteria, sulfide-dependent denitrifiers and anammox bacteria suggests a tight network of bacteria coupling carbon-, nitrogen- and sulfur cycling in Lake Grevelingen sediments.

Vertical distribution and community composition of anammox bacteria in sediments of a eutrophic shallow lake.

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Qin, H; Han, C; Jin, Z; Wu, L; Deng, H; Zhu, G; Zhong, W

2018-07-01

The aim of this study was to explore the vertical distribution traits of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacterial relative abundance and community composition along the oxic/anoxic sediment profiles in a shallow lake. The Illumina Miseq-based sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reactions were utilized to analyse relative abundance of anammox hydrazine synthase (hzsB) gene in comparison with bacterial 16S rRNA genes, anammox bacterial relative abundance (the number of anammox sequences divided by total number of sequences), community composition and diversity in sediments. The relative abundance of hzsB gene at the low-nitrogen (LN) site in the lake sediments showed that the vertical distribution of anammox bacteria increased to a peak, then decreased with increasing depth. Moreover, the relative abundance of hzsB gene at the high-nitrogen site was significantly lower than that at the LN site. Additionally, the community composition results showed that Candidatus Brocadia sp. was the dominant genus. In addition, the anammox bacterial diversity was also site specific. Redundancy analysis showed that the total N and the NH 4 + -N content might be the most important factors affecting anammox bacterial community composition in the studied sites. The results revealed the specific vertical variance of anammox bacterial distribution and community composition in oxic/anoxic sediments of a eutrophic shallow lake. This is the first study to demonstrate that anammox bacteria displayed the particular distribution in freshwater sediments, which implied a strong response to the anthropogenic eutrophication. © 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Sustainable operation of submerged Anammox membrane bioreactor with recycling biogas sparging for alleviating membrane fouling.

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Li, Ziyin; Xu, Xindi; Xu, Xiaochen; Yang, FengLin; Zhang, ShuShen

2015-12-01

A submerged anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (Anammox) membrane bioreactor with recycling biogas sparging for alleviating membrane fouling has been successfully operated for 100d. Based on the batch tests, a recycling biogas sparging rate at 0.2m(3)h(-1) was fixed as an ultimate value for the sustainable operation. The mixed liquor volatile suspended solid (VSS) of the inoculum for the long operation was around 3000mgL(-1). With recycling biogas sparging rate increasing stepwise from 0 to 0.2m(3)h(-1), the reactor reached an influent total nitrogen (TN) up to 1.7gL(-1), a stable TN removal efficiency of 83% and a maximum specific Anammox activity (SAA) of 0.56kg TNkg(-1) VSSd(-1). With recycling biogas sparging rate at 0.2 m(3) h(-1) (corresponding to an aeration intensity of 118m(3)m(-2)h(-1)), the membrane operation circle could prolong by around 20 times compared to that without gas sparging. Furthermore, mechanism of membrane fouling was proposed. And with recycling biogas sparging, the VSS and EPS content increasing rate in cake layer were far less than the ones without biogas sparging. The TN removal performance and sustainable membrane operation of this system showed the appealing potential of the submerged Anammox MBR with recycling biogas sparging in treating high-strength nitrogen-containing wastewaters. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heterotrophic denitrification vs. autotrophic anammox – quantifying collateral effects on the oceanic carbon cycle

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W. Koeve

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The conversion of fixed nitrogen to N₂ in suboxic waters is estimated to contribute roughly a third to total oceanic losses of fixed nitrogen and is hence understood to be of major importance to global oceanic production and, therefore, to the role of the ocean as a sink of atmospheric CO₂. At present heterotrophic denitrification and autotrophic anammox are considered the dominant sinks of fixed nitrogen. Recently, it has been suggested that the trophic nature of pelagic N₂-production may have additional, "collateral" effects on the carbon cycle, where heterotrophic denitrification provides a shallow source of CO₂ and autotrophic anammox a shallow sink. Here, we analyse the stoichiometries of nitrogen and associated carbon conversions in marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZ focusing on heterotrophic denitrification, autotrophic anammox, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to nitrite and ammonium in order to test this hypothesis quantitatively. For open ocean OMZs the combined effects of these processes turn out to be clearly heterotrophic, even with high shares of the autotrophic anammox reaction in total N₂-production and including various combinations of dissimilatory processes which provide the substrates to anammox. In such systems, the degree of heterotrophy (ΔCO₂:ΔN₂, varying between 1.7 and 6.5, is a function of the efficiency of nitrogen conversion. On the contrary, in systems like the Black Sea, where suboxic N-conversions are supported by diffusive fluxes of NH₄⁺ originating from neighbouring waters with sulphate reduction, much lower values of ΔCO₂:ΔN₂ can be found. However, accounting for concomitant diffusive fluxes of CO₂, the ratio approaches higher values similar to those computed for open ocean OMZs. Based on this analysis, we question the significance of collateral effects concerning the trophic

Community Composition and Abundance of Anammox Bacteria in Cattail Rhizosphere Sediments at Three Phenological Stages.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xiaohong; Zhang, Jinping; Wen, Chunzi

2017-11-01

The distribution of anammox bacteria in rhizosphere sediments of cattail (Typha orientalis) at different phenological stages was investigated. Results showed that the number of 16S rRNA gene copies of the anammox bacteria was considerably higher in the rhizosphere sediment than in the nonrhizosphere sediment and control sediment. The abundances of the anammox bacteria exhibited striking temporal variations in the three different cattail phenological stages. In addition, the Chao1 and Shannon H indexes of the anammox bacteria in cattail rhizosphere sediments had evident spatial and temporal variations at different phenological stages. Four anammox genera (Brocadia, Kuenenia, Jettenia, and a new cluster) were detected and had proportions of 34.18, 45.57, 0.63, and 19.62%, respectively. The CCA analysis results indicated that Cu, TN, Pb, and Zn were pivotal factors that affect anammox bacteria composition. The PCoA analysis results indicated that the community structure at the rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere sediments collected on July was relatively specific and was different from sediments collected on other months, suggesting that cattail can influence the community structures of the anammox bacteria at the maturity stage.

The effects of oxygen on process rates and gene expression of anammox and denitrification in the Eastern South Pacific oxygen minimum zone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalsgaard, Tage; Stewart, Frank; De Brabandere, Loreto

Oxygen concentrations were consistently below our detection limit of 90 nM for a distance of > 2000 km in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) along the coasts of Chile and Peru. In most cases, anammox and denitrification were only detected when in situ oxygen concentrations were below detection...... differently to oxygen. When normalized to a housekeeping gene (rpoB), the expression of 4 out of 9 N-cycle-genes changed with increasing oxygen concentration: The expression of ammonium monooxygenase (amoC) was stimulated, whereas expression of nitrite reductase (nirS), nitric oxide reductase (nor...

Hydroxylamine-dependent Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox) by “ Candidatus Brocadia sinica”

KAUST Repository

Oshiki, Mamoru; Ali, Muhammad; Shinyako-Hata, Kaori; Satoh, Hisashi; Okabe, Satoshi

2016-01-01

Although metabolic pathways and associated enzymes of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) of “Ca. Kuenenia stuttgartiensis” have been studied, those of other anammox bacteria are still poorly understood. NO2- reduction to NO is considered to be the first step in the anammox metabolism of “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis”, however, “Ca. Brocadia” lacks the genes that encode canonical NO-forming nitrite reductases (NirS or NirK) in its genome, which is different from “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis”. Here, we studied the anammox metabolism of “Ca. Brocadia sinica”. 15N-tracer experiments demonstrated that “Ca. B. sinica” cells could reduce NO2- to NH2OH, instead of NO, with as yet unidentified nitrite reductase(s). Furthermore, N2H4 synthesis, downstream reaction of NO2- reduction, was investigated using a purified “Ca. B. sinica” hydrazine synthase (Hzs) and intact cells. Both the “Ca. B. sinica” Hzs and cells utilized NH2OH and NH4+, but not NO and NH4+, for N2H4 synthesis and further oxidized N2H4 to N2 gas. Taken together, the metabolic pathway of “Ca. B. sinica” is NH2OH-dependent and different from the one of “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis”, indicating metabolic diversity of anammox bacteria. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Hydroxylamine-dependent Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox) by “ Candidatus Brocadia sinica”

KAUST Repository

Oshiki, Mamoru

2016-04-26

Although metabolic pathways and associated enzymes of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) of “Ca. Kuenenia stuttgartiensis” have been studied, those of other anammox bacteria are still poorly understood. NO2- reduction to NO is considered to be the first step in the anammox metabolism of “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis”, however, “Ca. Brocadia” lacks the genes that encode canonical NO-forming nitrite reductases (NirS or NirK) in its genome, which is different from “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis”. Here, we studied the anammox metabolism of “Ca. Brocadia sinica”. 15N-tracer experiments demonstrated that “Ca. B. sinica” cells could reduce NO2- to NH2OH, instead of NO, with as yet unidentified nitrite reductase(s). Furthermore, N2H4 synthesis, downstream reaction of NO2- reduction, was investigated using a purified “Ca. B. sinica” hydrazine synthase (Hzs) and intact cells. Both the “Ca. B. sinica” Hzs and cells utilized NH2OH and NH4+, but not NO and NH4+, for N2H4 synthesis and further oxidized N2H4 to N2 gas. Taken together, the metabolic pathway of “Ca. B. sinica” is NH2OH-dependent and different from the one of “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis”, indicating metabolic diversity of anammox bacteria. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Investigation of the effects of hydrogenotrophic denitrification and anammox on the improvement of the quality of the drinking water supply system.

Science.gov (United States)

Khanitchaidecha, W; Koshy, P; Kamei, T; Shakya, M; Kazama, F

2013-01-01

A drinking water supply system operates at Chyasal (in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal) for purifying the groundwater that has high levels of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N). However, high NO3-N concentrations were seen in the water after treatment. To further improve the quality of the drinking water, two types of attached growth reactors were developed for the purification system: (i) a hydrogenotrophic denitrification (HD reactor) and (ii) a concurrent reactor with anammox and hydrogenotrophic denitrification (AnHD reactor). For the HD reactor fed by water containing NO3-N, the denitrification efficiency was high (95-98%) for all NO3-N feed rates (20-40 mg/L). The nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) concentrations in the effluent were ∼0.5 mg/L. On the other hand, the AnHD reactor fed with water containing NH4-N and NO2-N was operated under varying flow rates of H2(30-70 mL/min) and intermittent supply periods (1-2 h). The efficiency of the anammox process was found to increase with decreasing H2flow rates or with increasing intermittency of the H2supply, while the efficiency of denitrification decreased under these conditions. For the optimal condition of 1.5 h intermittent H2supply, the anammox and denitrification efficiencies of the AnHD reactor reached 80% and 42%, respectively, while the concentrations of both NH4-N and NO2-N in the effluent were water purification system.

Development of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) for biological nitrogen removal in domestic wastewater treatment (Case study: Surabaya City, Indonesia)

Science.gov (United States)

Wijaya, I. Made Wahyu; Soedjono, Eddy Setiadi; Fitriani, Nurina

2017-11-01

Domestic wastewater effluent is the main contributor to diverse water pollution problems. The contaminants contained in the wastewater lead the low quality of water. The presence of ammonium and nitrate along with phosphorus are potentially cause eutrophication and endanger aquatic life. Excess nutrients, mostly N and P is the main cause of eutrophication which is result in oxygen depletion, biodiversity reduction, fish kills, odor and increased toxicity. Most of the domestic wastewater in Surabaya City still contains nitrogen that exceeded the threshold. The range of ammonium and orthophosphate concentration in the domestic wastewater is between 6.29 mg/L - 38.91 mg/L and 0.44 mg/L - 1.86 mg/L, respectively. An advance biological nitrogen removal process called anammox is a sustainable and cost effective alternative to the basic method of nitrogen removal, such as nitrification and denitrification. Many research have been conducted through anammox and resulted promisingly way to remove nitrogen. In this process, ammonium will be oxidized with nitrite as an electron acceptor to produce nitrogen gas and low nitrate in anoxic condition. Anammox requires less oxygen demand, no needs external carbon source, and low operational cost. Based on its advantages, anammox is possible to apply in domestic wastewater treatment in Surabaya with many further studies.

Aeration Strategies To Mitigate Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Single-Stage Nitritation/Anammox Reactors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Domingo Felez, Carlos; Mutlu, A. Gizem; Jensen, Marlene Mark

2014-01-01

Autotrophic nitrogen removal is regarded as a resource efficient process to manage nitrogen-rich residual streams. However, nitrous oxide emissions of these processes are poorly documented and strategies to mitigate emissions unknown. In this study, two sequencing batch reactors performing single...... was noted when the duration of aeration was increased while decreasing air flow rate (10.9 +/- 3.2% Delta N2O/Delta TN). The extant ammonium oxidation activity (mgNH(4)(+)-N/gVSS.min) positively correlated with the specific N2O production rate (mgN(2)O-N/gVSS.min) of the systems. Operating under conditions......-stage nitritation/anammox were operated under different aeration strategies, gradually adjusted over six months. At constant but limiting oxygen loading, synthetic reject water was fed (0.75g-N/L.d) and high nitrogen removal efficiencies (83 +/- 5 and 88 +/- 2%) obtained. Dynamics of liquid phase nitrous (N2O...

Evaluation on the microbial interactions of anaerobic ammonium oxidizers and heterotrophs in Anammox biofilm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ni, Bing-Jie; Ruscalleda, Mael; Smets, Barth F.

2012-01-01

and the affecting factors were evaluated with both experimental and modeling approaches. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis illustrated that Anammox bacteria and heterotrophs accounted for 77% and 23% of the total bacteria, respectively, even without addition of an external carbon source....... Experimental results showed the heterotrophs could grow both on SMP and decay released substrate from the metabolism of the Anammox bacteria. However, heterotrophic growth in Anammox biofilm (23%) was significantly lower than that of nitrifying biofilm (30–50%). The model predictions matched well...... with the experimental observations of the bacterial distribution, as well as the nitrogenous transformations in batch and continuous experiments. The modeling results showed that low nitrogen surface loading resulted in a lower availability of SMP leading to low heterotrophic growth in Anammox biofilm, but high...

Modelling and control design for SHARON/Anammox reactor sequence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valverde Perez, Borja; Mauricio Iglesias, Miguel; Sin, Gürkan

2012-01-01

metabolism against fast chemical reaction and mass transfer. Likewise, the analysis of the dynamics contributed to establish qualitatively the requirements for control of the reactors, both for regulation and for optimal operation. Work in progress on quantitatively analysing different control structure......With the perspective of investigating a suitable control design for autotrophic nitrogen removal, this work presents a complete model of the SHARON/Anammox reactor sequence. The dynamics of the reactor were explored pointing out the different scales of the rates in the system: slow microbial...

Microbial Aggregate and Functional Community Distribution in a Sequencing Batch Reactor with Anammox Granules

KAUST Repository

Sun, Shan

2013-01-01

. For wastewater treatment, anammox biomass was widely developed as microbial aggregate where the conditions for enrichment of anammox community must be delicately controlled and growth of other bacteria especially NOB should be suppressed to enhance nitrogen

Engineering application of anaerobic ammonium oxidation process in wastewater treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Nianjia; Ren, Hongqiang; Geng, Jinju; Ding, Lili; Xu, Ke

2017-08-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox), a promising biological nitrogen removal process, has been verified as an efficient, sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional nitrification and denitrification processes. To date, more than 110 full-scale anammox plants have been installed and are in operation, treating industrial NH 4 + -rich wastewater worldwide, and anammox-based technologies are flourishing. This review the current state of the art for engineering applications of the anammox process, including various anammox-based technologies, reactor selection and attempts to apply it at different wastewater plants. Process control and implementation for stable performance are discussed as well as some remaining issues concerning engineering application are exposed, including the start-up period, process disturbances, greenhouse gas emissions and especially mainstream anammox applications. Finally, further development of the anammox engineering application is proposed in this review.

Startup of a Partial Nitritation-Anammox MBBR and the Implementation of pH-Based Aeration Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Klaus, Stephanie; Baumler, Rick; Rutherford, Bob; Thesing, Glenn; Zhao, Hong; Bott, Charles

2017-06-01

  The single-stage deammonification moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) is a process for treating high strength nitrogen waste streams. In this process, partial nitritation and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) occur simultaneously within a biofilm attached to plastic carriers. An existing tank at the James River Treatment Plant (76 ML/d) in Newport News, Virginia was modified to install a sidestream deammonification MBBR process. This was the second sidestream deammonification process in North America and the first MBBR type installation. After 4 months the process achieved greater than 85% ammonia removal at the design loading rate of 2.4 g /m2·d (256 kg /d) signaling the end of startup. Based on observations during startup and process optimization phases, a novel pH-based control system was developed that maximizes ammonium removal and results in stable aeration and effluent alkalinity.

Effects of pH and seasonal temperature variation on simultaneous partial nitrification and anammox in free-water surface wetlands.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yuling; Tao, Wendong; Wang, Ziyuan; Shayya, Walid

2012-11-15

Design considerations to enhance simultaneous partial nitrification and anammox in constructed wetlands are largely unknown. This study examined the effects of pH and seasonal temperature variation on simultaneous partial nitrification and anammox in two free-water surface wetlands. In order to enhance partial nitrification and inhibit nitrite oxidation, furnace slag was placed on the rooting substrate to maintain different pH levels in the wetland water. The wetlands were batch operated for dairy wastewater treatment under oxygen-limited conditions at a cycle time of 7 d. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis found that aerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria and anammox bacteria accounted for 42-73% of the bacterial populations in the wetlands, which was the highest relative abundance of ammonium oxidizing and anammox bacteria in constructed wetlands enhancing simultaneous partial nitrification and anammox. The two wetlands removed total inorganic nitrogen efficiently, 3.36-3.38 g/m(2)/d in the warm season with water temperatures at 18.9-24.9 °C and 1.09-1.50 g/m(2)/d in the cool season at 13.8-18.9 °C. Plant uptake contributed 2-45% to the total inorganic nitrogen removal in the growing season. A seasonal temperature variation of more than 6 °C would affect simultaneous partial nitrification and anammox significantly. Significant pH effects were identified only when the temperatures were below 18.9 °C. Anammox was the limiting stage of simultaneous partial nitrification and anammox in the wetlands. Water pH should be controlled along with influent ammonium concentration and temperature to avoid toxicity of free ammonia to anammox bacteria. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of increase in salinity on ANAMMOX-UASB reactor stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Hui; Wang, Han; Fang, Fang; Li, Kai; Liu, Lianwei; Chen, Youpeng; Guo, Jinsong

2017-05-01

The effect of salinity on the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) process in a UASB reactor was investigated by analysing ammonium, nitrite, nitrate and TN concentrations, and TN removal efficiency. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) and specific ANAMMOX activity (SAA) were evaluated. Results showed the effluent deteriorated after salinity was increased from 8 to 13 g/L and from 13 to 18 g/L, and TN removal efficiency decreased from 80% to 30% and 80% to 50%, respectively. However, ANAMMOX performance recovered and TN removal efficiency increased to 80% after 40 days when the influent concentrations of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were 200 mg/L and salinity levels were at 13 and 18 g/L, respectively. The amount of EPSs decreased from 58.9 to 37.1 mg/g volatile suspended solids (VSS) when the reactor was shocked by salinity of 13 g/L, and then increased to 57.2 mg/g VSS when the reactor recovered and ran stably at 13 g/L. The amount of EPSs decreased from 57.2 to 49.1 mg/g VSS when the reactor was shocked by salinity of 18 g/L, and then increased to 60.7 mg/g VSS when the reactor recovered and ran stably at 18 g/L. The amount of EPS and the amounts of polysaccharide, protein and humus showed no evident difference when the reactor recovered from different levels of salinity shocks. Batch tests showed salinity shock load from 8 to 38 g/L inhibited the SAA. However, when the reactor recovered from salinity shocks, SAA was higher compared to that when the reactor was subjected to the same level of salinity shock.

Process stability and the recovery control associated with inhibition factors in a UASB-anammox reactor with a long-term operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Qigui; He, Shilong; Zhang, Yanlong; Ma, Haiyuan; Liu, Yuan; Li, Yu-You

2016-03-01

A UASB-anammox reactor was operated for 900 days to study its process stability. The negative effects of free ammonia (FA) and free nitrous acid (FNA) were investigated over three separate inhibitions and recoveries. The IC10, IC50 and IC90 (inhibitory concentration/a 10%, 50% and 90% activity loss) of FNA and FA responding to the NH4(+)-N, NO2(-)-N and TN removal efficiency were evaluated. In the 1st inhibition, the average FNA-IC10 observed was 0.67 μg L(-1) and the FA-IC10 for TN removal was 4.85 mg L(-1). In the 2nd inhibition, an FNA-IC10 of 0.44μ g L(-1) and an FA-IC10 of 3.56 were found. In the 3rd inhibition, however, both the FNA-IC10 and FA-IC10 were found to have increased, with values of 0.50 μg L(-1) and 4.42 mg L(-1), respectively. A clear control region was established for multiple inhibitions and the recoveries, which followed (pH 7.5-8.5, FA below 10mg/100mg NH4(+)-N and an FNA below 0.005 mg/100 mg NO2(-)-N) for the purpose of optimizing the operation conditions of the UASB-anammox reactor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A coupled system of half-nitritation and ANAMMOX for mature landfill leachate nitrogen removal.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yun; Li, Jun; Zhao, Baihang; Wang, Xiujie; Zhang, Yanzhuo; Wei, Jia; Bian, Wei

2017-09-01

A coupled system of membrane bioreactor-nitritation (MBR-nitritation) and up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (UASB-ANAMMOX) was employed to treat mature landfill leachate containing high ammonia nitrogen and low C/N. MBR-nitritation was successfully realized for undiluted mature landfill leachate with initial concentrations of 900-1500 mg/L [Formula: see text] and 2000-4000 mg/L chemical oxygen demand. The effluent [Formula: see text] concentration and the [Formula: see text] accumulation efficiency were 889 mg/L and 97% at 125 d, respectively. Half-nitritation was quickly realized by adjustment of hydraulic retention time and dissolved oxygen (DO), and a low DO control strategy could allow long-term stable operation. The UASB-ANAMMOX system showed high effective nitrogen removal at a low concentration of mature landfill leachate. The nitrogen removal efficiency was inhibited at excessive influent substrate concentration and the nitrogen removal efficiency of the system decreased as the concentration of mature landfill leachate increased. The MBR-nitritation and UASB-ANAMMOX processes were coupled for mature landfill leachate treatment and together resulted in high effective nitrogen removal. The effluent average total nitrogen concentration and removal efficiency values were 176 mg/L and 83%, respectively. However, the average nitrogen removal load decreased from 2.16 to 0.77 g/(L d) at higher concentrations of mature landfill leachate.

Biophysical properties of membrane lipids of anammox bacteria : I. Ladderane phospholipids form highly organized fluid membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boumann, Henry A.; Longo, Marjorie L.; Stroeve, Pieter; Poolman, Bert; Hopmans, Ellen C.; Stuart, Marc C. A.; Damste, Jaap S. Sinninghe; Schouten, Stefan

Anammox bacteria that are capable of anaerobically oxidizing ammonium (anammox) with nitrite to nitrogen gas produce unique membrane phospholipids that comprise hydrocarbon chains with three or five linearly condensed cyclobutane rings. To gain insight into the biophysical properties of these

Removing nitrogen from wastewater with side stream anammox: What are the trade-offs between environmental impacts?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hauck, M.; Maalcke-Luesken, F.A.; Jetten, M.S.M.; Huijbregts, M.A.J.

2016-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a novel way to reduce nitrogen in ammonium rich wastewater. Although aquatic eutrophication will certainly be reduced, it is unknown how other environmental impacts may change by including anammox in the treatment of wastewater. Here, life cycle assessment

Cytochrome cd1-containing nitrite reductase encoding gene nirS as a new functional biomarker for detection of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (Anammox) bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Meng; Ford, Tim; Li, Xiaoyan; Gu, Ji-Dong

2011-04-15

A newly designed primer set (AnnirS), together with a previously published primer set (ScnirS), was used to detect anammox bacterial nirS genes from sediments collected from three marine environments. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that all retrieved sequences were clearly different from typical denitrifiers' nirS, but do group together with the known anammox bacterial nirS. Sequences targeted by ScnirS are closely related to Scalindua nirS genes recovered from the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), whereas sequences targeted by AnnirS are more closely affiliated with the nirS of Candidatus 'Kuenenia stuttgartiensis' and even form a new phylogenetic nirS clade, which might be related to other genera of the anammox bacteria. Analysis demonstrated that retrieved sequences had higher sequence identities (>60%) with known anammox bacterial nirS genes than with denitrifiers' nirS, on both nucleotide and amino acid levels. Compared to the 16S rRNA and hydrazine oxidoreductase (hzo) genes, the anammox bacterial nirS not only showed consistent phylogenetic relationships but also demonstrated more reliable quantification of anammox bacteria because of the single copy of the nirS gene in the anammox bacterial genome and the specificity of PCR primers for different genera of anammox bacteria, thus providing a suitable functional biomarker for investigation of anammox bacteria.

Comparison of nitrogen removal rates and nitrous oxide production from enriched anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria in suspended and attached growth reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Panwivia, Supaporn; Sirvithayapakorn, Sanya; Wantawin, Chalermraj; Noophan, Pongsak Lek; Munakata-Marr, Junko

2014-01-01

Attached growth-systems for the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process have been postulated for implementation in the field. However, information about the anammox process in attached growth-systems is limited. This study compared nitrogen removal rates and nitrous oxide (N2O) production of enriched anammox cultures in both suspended and attached growth sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). Suspended growth reactors (SBR-S) and attached growth reactors using polystyrene sponge as a medium (SBR-A) were used in these experiments. After inoculation with an enriched anammox culture, significant nitrogen removals of ammonium (NH4 (+)) and nitrite (NO2 (-)) were observed under NH4 (+):NO2 (-) ratios ranging from 1:1 to 1:2 in both types of SBRs. The specific rates of total nitrogen removal in SBR-S and SBR-A were 0.52 mg N/mg VSS-d and 0.44 mg N/mg VSS-d, respectively, at an NH4 (+):NO2 (-) ratio of 1:2. N2O production by the enriched anammox culture in both SBR-S and SBR-A was significantly higher at NH4 (+):NO2 (-) ratio of 1:2 than at NH4 (+):NO2 (-) ratios of 1:1 and 1:1.32. In addition, N2O production was higher at a pH of 6.8 than at pH 7.3, 7.8, and 8.3 in both SBR-S and SBR-A. The results of this investigation demonstrate that the anammox process may avoid N2O emission by maintaining an NH4 (+):NO2 (-) ratio of less than 1:2 and pH higher than 6.8.

Temporal variability and phylogenetic characterization of planktonic anammox bacteria in the coastal upwelling ecosystem off central Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Galán, Alexander; Molina, Verónica; Belmar, Lucy; Ulloa, Osvaldo

2012-01-01

The phylogenetic affiliation and temporal variability in the abundance of planktonic anammox bacteria were studied at a time-series station above the continental shelf off central Chile (∼36°S; bottom depth 93 m), a wind-driven, seasonal upwelling area, between August 2006 and April 2008. The study was carried out by cloning and sequencing the 16S rRNA gene and by using catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH). Our results showed the presence of a single anammox bacteria-like ribotype during both upwelling and non-upwelling seasons, which was phylogenetically associated with a recently described oxygen-minimum-zone subcluster within the Candidatus Scalindua clade. Moreover, clear differences were observed in the temporal and vertical distribution of anammox cells. During the upwelling season (austral spring-summer), relatively high abundances (∼5500 cells mL -1) and large cells (0.8 μm 3-75.7 fg C cell -1) were found below 20 m depth. In contrast, during the non-upwelling season (austral fall-winter), lower abundances (∼600 cells mL -1) and smaller cells (0.1 μm 3-22.8 fg C cell -1) were found, predominantly associated with the bottom layer. Overall, our results indicate that the abundance and vertical distribution of anammox planktonic assemblages are related to the occurrence of seasonal, wind-driven, coastal upwelling, which in turn appears to offer favorable conditions for the development of these microorganisms. The dominance of a unique anammox bacteria-like ribotype could be related to the high environmental variability observed in the system, which prevents the establishment of other anammox lineages.

Behavior and fate of copper ions in an anammox granular sludge reactor and strategies for remediation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Zheng-Zhe; Deng, Rui; Cheng, Ya-Fei; Zhou, Yu-Huang; Buayi, Xiemuguli [College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China); Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China); Zhang, Xian; Wang, Hui-Zhong [College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China); Jin, Ren-Cun, E-mail: jrczju@aliyun.com [College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China); Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036 (China)

2015-12-30

Highlights: • The Cu partition in an anammox UASB reactor was predicted by models. • The distribution and form dynamics of Cu in anammox reactors were tracked. • The response of the EPS to Cu(II) was characterized by 3D-EEM spectra. • The mechanism of Cu inhibition on anammox granules was updated. • The feasibilities of two novel remediation strategies were investigated. - Abstract: In this study, the behavior, distribution and form dynamics of overloaded Cu(II) in anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) granular sludge reactors were investigated. The performance and physiological characteristics were tracked by continuous-flow monitoring to evaluate the long-term effects. High Cu loading (0.24 g L{sup −1} d{sup −1}) exceeded sludge bearing capacity, and precipitation dominated the removal pathway. The Cu distribution migrated from the extracellular polymeric substances-bound to the cell-associated Cu and the Cu forms shifted from the weakly bound to strongly bound fractions over time. Pearson correlation and fluorescence spectra analyses showed that the increase in protein concentrations in the EPS was a clear self-defense response to Cu(II) stress. Two remediation strategies, i.e., ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) washing and ultrasound-enhanced EDTA washing, weakened the equilibrium metal partition coefficient from 5.8 to 0.45 and 0.34 L mg{sup −1}SS, respectively, thereby accelerating the external diffusion of the Cu that had accumulated in the anammox granules.

Behavior and fate of copper ions in an anammox granular sludge reactor and strategies for remediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Zheng-Zhe; Deng, Rui; Cheng, Ya-Fei; Zhou, Yu-Huang; Buayi, Xiemuguli; Zhang, Xian; Wang, Hui-Zhong; Jin, Ren-Cun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The Cu partition in an anammox UASB reactor was predicted by models. • The distribution and form dynamics of Cu in anammox reactors were tracked. • The response of the EPS to Cu(II) was characterized by 3D-EEM spectra. • The mechanism of Cu inhibition on anammox granules was updated. • The feasibilities of two novel remediation strategies were investigated. - Abstract: In this study, the behavior, distribution and form dynamics of overloaded Cu(II) in anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) granular sludge reactors were investigated. The performance and physiological characteristics were tracked by continuous-flow monitoring to evaluate the long-term effects. High Cu loading (0.24 g L −1 d −1 ) exceeded sludge bearing capacity, and precipitation dominated the removal pathway. The Cu distribution migrated from the extracellular polymeric substances-bound to the cell-associated Cu and the Cu forms shifted from the weakly bound to strongly bound fractions over time. Pearson correlation and fluorescence spectra analyses showed that the increase in protein concentrations in the EPS was a clear self-defense response to Cu(II) stress. Two remediation strategies, i.e., ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) washing and ultrasound-enhanced EDTA washing, weakened the equilibrium metal partition coefficient from 5.8 to 0.45 and 0.34 L mg −1 SS, respectively, thereby accelerating the external diffusion of the Cu that had accumulated in the anammox granules.

Endogenous influences on anammox and sulfocompound-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification coupling system (A/SAD) and dynamic operating strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xinbo; Du, Lingfeng; Hou, Yuqian; Cheng, Shaoju; Zhang, Xuxiang; Liu, Bo

2018-02-21

The anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) and sulfocompound-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification coupling system (A/SAD) was initiated in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor for nitrogen removal from high-strength wastewater. Owing to cooperation between anammox and partial sulfocompound-oxidation autotrophic denitrification coupling system (PSAD), the highest nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) of 98.1% ± 0.4% achieved at the optimal influent conditions of conversion efficiency of ammonium (CEA) of 55% and S 2 O 3 2- -S/NO 3 - -N (S/N) of 1.4 mol mol -1 . The activity of the short-cut sulfocompound-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification (SSAD) was also regulated to cope with dynamic CEA in the influent by changing the S/N, which was demonstrated to be effective in alleviating nitrite accumulation when the CEA was between 57% and 61%. Both the anammox and SAD bacteria enriched in the reactor after long-term incubation. Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Jettenia might be potentially contributing the most to anammox, while the Thiobacillus was the dominant taxa related to SAD. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Isotopic evidence for nitrous oxide production pathways in a partial nitritation-anammox reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Eliza; Joss, Adriano; Emmenegger, Lukas; Kipf, Marco; Wolf, Benjamin; Mohn, Joachim; Wunderlin, Pascal

2015-10-15

Nitrous oxide (N2O) production pathways in a single stage, continuously fed partial nitritation-anammox reactor were investigated using online isotopic analysis of offgas N2O with quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS). N2O emissions increased when reactor operating conditions were not optimal, for example, high dissolved oxygen concentration. SP measurements indicated that the increase in N2O was due to enhanced nitrifier denitrification, generally related to nitrite build-up in the reactor. The results of this study confirm that process control via online N2O monitoring is an ideal method to detect imbalances in reactor operation and regulate aeration, to ensure optimal reactor conditions and minimise N2O emissions. Under normal operating conditions, the N2O isotopic site preference (SP) was much higher than expected - up to 40‰ - which could not be explained within the current understanding of N2O production pathways. Various targeted experiments were conducted to investigate the characteristics of N2O formation in the reactor. The high SP measurements during both normal operating and experimental conditions could potentially be explained by a number of hypotheses: i) unexpectedly strong heterotrophic N2O reduction, ii) unknown inorganic or anammox-associated N2O production pathway, iii) previous underestimation of SP fractionation during N2O production from NH2OH, or strong variations in SP from this pathway depending on reactor conditions. The second hypothesis - an unknown or incompletely characterised production pathway - was most consistent with results, however the other possibilities cannot be discounted. Further experiments are needed to distinguish between these hypotheses and fully resolve N2O production pathways in PN-anammox systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new mathematical model for nitrogen gas production with special emphasis on the role of attached growth media in anammox hybrid reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomar, Swati; Gupta, Sunil Kumar

2015-11-01

The present study emphasised on the development of new mathematical models based on mass balance and stoichiometry of nitrogen removal in anammox hybrid reactor (AHR). The performance of AHR at varying hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and nitrogen loading rates (NLRs) revealed that nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) increases with increase in HRT and was found optimal (89 %) at HRT of 2 days. Mass balance of nitrogen revealed that major fraction (74.1 %) of input nitrogen is converted into N2 gas followed by 11.2 % utilised in biomass synthesis. Attached growth media (AGM) in AHR contributed to an additional 15.4 % ammonium removal and reduced the sludge washout rate by 29 %. This also enhanced the sludge retention capacity of AHR and thus minimised the formation of nitrate in the treated effluent, which is one of the bottlenecks of anammox process. Process kinetics was also studied using various mathematical models. The mass balance model derived from total nitrogen was found most precise and predicted N2 gas with least error (1.68 ± 4.44 %). Model validation for substrate removal kinetics dictated comparatively higher correlation for Grau second-order model (0.952) than modified Stover-Kincannon model (0.920). The study concluded that owing to features of high biomass retention, less nitrate formation and consistently higher nitrogen removal efficiency, this reactor configuration is techno-economically most efficient and viable. The study opens the door for researchers and scientists for pilot-scale testing of AHR leading to its wide industrial application.

Presence and diversity of anammox bacteria in cold hydrocarbon-rich seeps and hydrothermal vent sediments of the Guaymas Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lina eRuss

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Hydrothermally active sediments are highly productive, chemosynthetic areas which are characterized by the rapid turnover of particulate organic matter under extreme conditions in which ammonia is liberated. These systems might be suitable habitats for anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox bacteria but this has not been investigated in detail. Here we report the diversity and abundance of anammox bacteria in sediments that seep cold hydrocarbon-rich fluids and hydrothermal vent areas of the Guaymas Basin in the Cortés Sea using the unique functional anammox marker gene, hydrazine synthase (hzsA. All clones retrieved were closely associated to the ‘Candidatus Scalindua’ genus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct clusters of hzsA sequences (Ca. Scalindua hzsA cluster I and II. Comparison of individual sequences from both clusters showed that several of these sequences had a similarity as low as 76% on nucleotide level. Based on the analysis of this phylomarker, a very high interspecies diversity within the marine anammox group is apparent. Absolute numbers of anammox bacteria in the sediments samples were determined by amplification of a 257 bp fragment of the hszA gene in a qPCR assay. The results indicate that numbers of anammox bacteria are generally higher in cold hydrocarbon-rich sediments compared to the vent areas and the reference zone. Ladderanes, lipids unique to anammox bacteria were also detected in several of the sediment samples corroborating the hzsA analysis. Due to the high concentrations of reduced sulfur compounds and its potential impact on the cycling of nitrogen we aimed to get an indication about the key players in the oxidation of sulfide in the Guaymas Basin sediments using the alpha subunit of the adenosine-5’-phosphosulfate (APS reductase (aprA. Amplification of the aprA gene revealed a high number of gammaproteobacterial aprA genes covering the two sulfur-oxidizing bacteria aprA lineages as well as

Presence and diversity of anammox bacteria in cold hydrocarbon-rich seeps and hydrothermal vent sediments of the Guaymas Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Russ, Lina; Kartal, Boran; Op den Camp, Huub J M; Sollai, Martina; Le Bruchec, Julie; Caprais, Jean-Claude; Godfroy, Anne; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S; Jetten, Mike S M

2013-01-01

Hydrothermally active sediments are highly productive, chemosynthetic areas which are characterized by the rapid turnover of particulate organic matter under extreme conditions in which ammonia is liberated. These systems might be suitable habitats for anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria but this has not been investigated in detail. Here we report the diversity and abundance of anammox bacteria in sediments that seep cold hydrocarbon-rich fluids and hydrothermal vent areas of the Guaymas Basin in the Cortés Sea using the unique functional anammox marker gene, hydrazine synthase (hzsA). All clones retrieved were closely associated to the "Candidatus Scalindua" genus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct clusters of hzsA sequences (Ca. Scalindua hzsA cluster I and II). Comparison of individual sequences from both clusters showed that several of these sequences had a similarity as low as 76% on nucleotide level. Based on the analysis of this phylomarker, a very high interspecies diversity within the marine anammox group is apparent. Absolute numbers of anammox bacteria in the sediments samples were determined by amplification of a 257 bp fragment of the hszA gene in a qPCR assay. The results indicate that numbers of anammox bacteria are generally higher in cold hydrocarbon-rich sediments compared to the vent areas and the reference zone. Ladderanes, lipids unique to anammox bacteria were also detected in several of the sediment samples corroborating the hzsA analysis. Due to the high concentrations of reduced sulfur compounds and its potential impact on the cycling of nitrogen we aimed to get an indication about the key players in the oxidation of sulfide in the Guaymas Basin sediments using the alpha subunit of the adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (APS) reductase (aprA). Amplification of the aprA gene revealed a high number of gammaproteobacterial aprA genes covering the two sulfur-oxidizing bacteria aprA lineages as well as sulfate-reducers.

Model-based evaluation of the role of Anammox on nitric oxide and nitrous oxide productions in membrane aerated biofilm reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ni, Bing-Jie; Smets, Barth F.; Yuan, Zhiguo

2013-01-01

A multispecies one-dimensional biofilm model considering nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N2O) productions for membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) that remove nitrogen autotrophically through aerobic ammonia oxidation followed by Anammox is used to study the role of Anammox activity...... on the total nitrogen (TN) removal and the productions of NO and N2O. The model is applied to evaluate how periodic aeration as a control parameter reduces NO and N2O production but maintains high TN removal in MABR. The simulation results show over 3.5% of the removed TN could be attributed to NO and N2O...... production in MABR under the operational conditions optimal for TN removal (72%). An analysis of factors governing the Anammox activity in MABR shows that enhancing Anammox activity not only helps to achieve a high level of nitrogen removal but also reduces NO and N2O productions. Comparison of aeration...

Treatment capability of an up-flow anammox column reactor using polyethylene sponge strips as biomass carrier.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Li; Yang, Jiachun; Ma, Yongguang; Li, Zhigang; Fujii, Takao; Zhang, Wenjie; Takashi, Nishiyama; Furukawa, Kenji

2010-07-01

The feasibility of applying a polyethylene (PE) sponge as a biomass carrier in an anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reactor and its nitrogen removal performance were also investigated. Experiments were carried out in an up-flow column reactor with synthetic inorganic wastewater. Experimental results indicate that reactor containing PE sponge biomass carriers showed a high nitrogen removal capability and exhibited stable performance. In addition, the reactor with 8 strips PE sponge as biomass carrier exhibited greater adaptation capacity compared to that with 6 strips and could achieve a high TN removal rate within a very short period. The ratio of NO(2)-N removal and NO(3)-N production to NH(4)-N removal for the reactor was 1.26:0.21. Furthermore, to investigate the bacterial composition of the mature community, 16S rRNA sequences were amplified by PCR and analyses were conducted using DNA databases. Results showed that a new kind of anammox microorganism (Kumadai-1) was the dominant species in the reactor when using PE sponge as a biomass carrier. 2009 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous enrichment of denitrifying anaerobic methane-oxidizing microorganisms and anammox bacteria in a hollow-fiber membrane biofilm reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Zhao-Wei; Lu, Yong-Ze; Fu, Liang; Ding, Jing; Zeng, Raymond J

2017-01-01

In this study, the coculture system of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) microbes and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria was successfully enriched in a hollow-fiber membrane biofilm reactor (HfMBR) using freshwater sediment as the inoculum. The maximal removal rates of nitrate and ammonium were 78 mg N/L/day (131 mg N/m 2 /day) and 26 mg N/L/day (43 mg N/m 2 /day), respectively. Due to the high rate of methane mass transfer in HfMBR, the activity of DAMO archaea continued to increase during the enrichment period, indicating that HfMBR could be a powerful tool to enrich DAMO microorganisms. Effects of partial methane pressure, temperature, and pH on the cocultures were obvious. However, the microbial activity in HfMBR could be recovered quickly after the shock change of environmental factors. Furthermore, the result also found that DAMO bacteria likely had a stronger competitive advantage than anammox bacteria under the operating conditions in this study. High-throughput sequencing 16S rRNA genes illustrated that the dominant microbes were NC10, Euryarchaeota, Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Chlorobi with relative abundance of 38.8, 26.2, 13.78, 6.2, and 3.6 %, respectively.

Shotgun metagenomic data reveals signifcant abundance but low diversity of Candidatus Scalindua marine anammox bacteria in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

laura eVillanueva

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox bacteria are responsible for a significant portion of the loss of fixed nitrogen from the oceans, making them important players in the global nitrogen cycle. To date, marine anammox bacteria found in both water columns and sediments worldwide belong almost exclusively to Candidatus Scalindua species. Recently the genome assembly of a marine anammox enrichment culture dominated by Candidatus Scalindua profunda became available and can now be used as a template to study metagenome data obtained from various oxygen minimum zones. Here, we sequenced genomic DNA from suspended particulate matter recovered at the upper (170 m deep and center (600 m area of the oxygen minimum zone in the Arabian Sea by SOLiD and Ion Torrent technology. The genome of Candidatus Scalindua profunda served as a template to collect reads. Based on the mapped reads marine anammox Abundance was estimated to be at least 0.4% in the upper and 1.7% in the center area. Single nucleotide variation (SNV analysis was performed to assess diversity of the Candidatus Scalindua populations. Most highly covered were the two diagnostic anammox genes hydrazine synthase (scal_01318c, hzsA and hydrazine dehydrogenase (scal_03295, hdh, while other genes involved in anammox metabolism (narGH, nirS, amtB, focA and ACS had a lower coverage but could still be assembled and analyzed. The results show that Candidatus Scalindua is abundantly present in the Arabian Sea OMZ, but that the diversity within the ecosystem is relatively low.

Development of a simultaneous partial nitrification and anaerobic ammonia oxidation process in a single reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Sunja; Fujii, Naoki; Lee, Taeho; Okabe, Satoshi

2011-01-01

Up-flow oxygen-controlled biofilm reactors equipped with a non-woven fabric support were used as a single reactor system for autotrophic nitrogen removal based on a combined partial nitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reaction. The up-flow biofilm reactors were initiated as either a partial nitrifying reactor or an anammox reactor, respectively, and simultaneous partial nitrification and anammox was established by careful control of the aeration rate. The combined partial nitrification and anammox reaction was successfully developed in both biofilm reactors without additional biomass inoculation. The reactor initiated as the anammox reactor gave a slightly higher and more stable mean nitrogen removal rate of 0.35 (±0.19) kg-N m(-3) d(-1) than the reactor initiated as the partial nitrifying reactor (0.23 (±0.16) kg-N m(-3) d(-1)). FISH analysis revealed that the biofilm in the reactor started as the anammox reactor were composed of anammox bacteria located in inner anoxic layers that were surrounded by surface aerobic AOB layers, whereas AOB and anammox bacteria were mixed without a distinguishable niche in the biofilm in the reactor started as the partial nitrifying reactor. However, it was difficult to efficiently maintain the stable partial nitrification owing to inefficient aeration in the reactor, which is a key to development of the combined partial nitrification and anammox reaction in a single biofilm reactor. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High rates of denitrification and nitrous oxide emission in arid biological soil crusts from the Sultanate of Oman

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abed, Raeid M M; Lam, Phyllis; De Beer, Dirk

2013-01-01

Using a combination of process rate determination, microsensor profiling and molecular techniques, we demonstrated that denitrification, and not anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), is the major nitrogen loss process in biological soil crusts from Oman. Potential denitrification rates were 584...... that nitrogen loss via denitrification is a dominant process in crusts from Oman, which leads to N 2 O gas emission and potentially reduces desert soil fertility....

Metatranscriptomics reveals the molecular mechanism of large granule formation in granular anammox reactor

KAUST Repository

Bagchi, Samik; Lamendella, Regina; Strutt, Steven; Van Loosdrecht, Mark C. M.; Saikaly, Pascal

2016-01-01

to formation of large granules. Size distribution analysis revealed the spatial distribution of granules in which large granules having higher abundance of anammox bacteria (genus Brocadia) dominated the bottom biomass. Metatranscriptomics analysis detected all

Draft Genome of Scalindua rubra, Obtained from the Interface Above the Discovery Deep Brine in the Red Sea, Sheds Light on Potential Salt Adaptation Strategies in Anammox Bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Speth, Daan R; Lagkouvardos, Ilias; Wang, Yong; Qian, Pei-Yuan; Dutilh, Bas E; Jetten, Mike S M

2017-07-01

Several recent studies have indicated that members of the phylum Planctomycetes are abundantly present at the brine-seawater interface (BSI) above multiple brine pools in the Red Sea. Planctomycetes include bacteria capable of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Here, we investigated the possibility of anammox at BSI sites using metagenomic shotgun sequencing of DNA obtained from the BSI above the Discovery Deep brine pool. Analysis of sequencing reads matching the 16S rRNA and hzsA genes confirmed presence of anammox bacteria of the genus Scalindua. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that this Scalindua sp. belongs to a distinct group, separate from the anammox bacteria in the seawater column, that contains mostly sequences retrieved from high-salt environments. Using coverage- and composition-based binning, we extracted and assembled the draft genome of the dominant anammox bacterium. Comparative genomic analysis indicated that this Scalindua species uses compatible solutes for osmoadaptation, in contrast to other marine anammox bacteria that likely use a salt-in strategy. We propose the name Candidatus Scalindua rubra for this novel species, alluding to its discovery in the Red Sea.

The first report of a microdiverse anammox bacteria community in waters of Colombian Pacific, a transition area between prominent oxygen minimum zones of the eastern tropical Pacific.

Science.gov (United States)

Castro-González, M; Molina, V; Rodríguez-Rubio, E; Ulloa, O

2014-12-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidizers contribute to the removal of fixed nitrogen in oxygen-deficient marine ecosystems such as oxygen minimum zones (OMZ). Here we surveyed for the first time the occurrence and diversity of anammox bacteria in the Colombian Pacific, a transition area between the prominent South and North Pacific OMZs. Anammox bacteria were detected in the coastal and oceanic areas of the Colombian Pacific in low oxygen (Chile and Arabian Sea) within Candidatus ‘Scalindua spp’. Moreover, some anammox bacteria OTUs shared a low similarity with environmental phylotypes (86–94%). Our results indicated that a microdiverse anammox community inhabits the Colombian Pacific, generating new questions about the ecological and biogeochemical differences influencing its community structure.

Treatment of anaerobic sludge digester effluents by the CANON process in an air pulsing SBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vazquez-Padin, J.R.; Pozo, M.J.; Jarpa, M.; Figueroa, M.; Franco, A.; Mosquera-Corral, A.; Campos, J.L.; Mendez, R.

2009-01-01

The CANON (Completely Autotrophic Nitrogen removal Over Nitrite) process was successfully developed in an air pulsing reactor type SBR fed with the supernatant from an anaerobic sludge digester and operated at moderately low temperatures (18-24 o C). The SBR was started up as a nitrifying reactor, lowering progressively the dissolved oxygen concentration until reaching partial nitrification. Afterwards, an inoculation with sludge containing Anammox biomass was carried out. Nitrogen volumetric removal rates of 0.25 g N L -1 d -1 due to Anammox activity were measured 35 d after inoculation even though the inoculum constituted only 8% (w/w) of the biomass present in the reactor and it was poorly enriched in Anammox bacteria. The maximal nitrogen removal rate was of 0.45 g N L -1 d -1 . By working at a dissolved oxygen concentration of 0.5 mg L -1 in the bulk liquid, nitrogen removal percentages up to 85% were achieved. The reactor presented good biomass retention capacity allowing the accumulation of 4.5 g VSS L -1 . The biomass was composed by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) forming fluffy structures and granules with an average diameter of 1.6 mm. These granules were composed by Anammox bacteria located in internal anoxic layers surrounded by an external aerobic layer where AOB were placed.

Achieve efficient nitrogen removal from real sewage in a plug-flow integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor via partial nitritation/anammox pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yandong; Zhang, Liang; Cheng, Jun; Zhang, Shujun; Li, Baikun; Peng, Yongzhen

2017-09-01

This study tested the feasibility of plug-flow integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor in applying sewage partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process. The IFAS reactor was fed with real pre-treated sewage (C/N ratio=1.3) and operated for 200days. High nitrogen removal efficiency of 82% was achieved with nitrogen removal rates of 0.097±0.019kgN/(m 3 ·d). Therefore, plug-flow IFAS reactor could be an alternative to applying sewage PN/A process. Besides, it was found that the stability of sewage PN/A process was significantly affected by residual ammonium. Nitrate accumulated in effluent and PN/A performance deteriorated when residual ammonium was below 1mg/L. On the contrary, long-term stable PN/A operation was achieved when residual ammonium was over 3mg/L. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pathways and Controls of N₂O Production in Nitritation-Anammox Biomass

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ma, Chun; Jensen, Marlene Mark; Smets, Barth F.

2017-01-01

to investigate pathways and controls of N2O production by biomass taken from a full-scale nitritation-anammox reactor. The experiments showed that heterotrophic denitrification was a negligible source of N2O under oxic conditions (≥0.2 mg O2 L-1). Both hydroxylamine oxidation and nitrifier denitrification...... of N2O production from hydroxylamine oxidation at low O2 was unexpected and suggests that more than one enzymatic pathway may be involved in this process. N2O production by hydroxylamine oxidation was further stimulated by NH4+, whereas nitrifier denitrification at low O2 levels was stimulated by NO2...

Glocal assessment of integrated wastewater treatment and recovery concepts using partial nitritation/Anammox and microalgae for environmental impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Khiewwijit, Rungnapha; Rijnaarts, Huub; Temmink, Hardy; Keesman, Karel J

2018-07-01

This study explored the feasibility and estimated the environmental impacts of two novel wastewater treatment configurations. Both include combined bioflocculation and anaerobic digestion but apply different nutrient removal technologies, i.e. partial nitritation/Anammox or microalgae treatment. The feasibility of such configurations was investigated for 16 locations worldwide with respect to environmental impacts, such as net energy yield, nutrient recovery and effluent quality, CO 2 emission, and area requirements. The results quantitatively support the applicability of partial nitritation/Anammox in tropical regions and some locations in temperate regions, whereas microalgae treatment is only applicable the whole year round in tropical regions that are close to the equator line. Microalgae treatment has an advantage over the configuration with partial nitritation/Anammox with respect to aeration energy and nutrient recovery, but not with area requirements. Differential sensitivity analysis points out the dominant influence of microalgal biomass yield and wastewater nutrient concentrations on area requirements and effluent quality. This study provides initial selection criteria for worldwide feasibility and corresponding environmental impacts of these novel municipal wastewater treatment plant configurations. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Hydrologic controls on nitrogen cycling processes and functional gene abundance in sediments of a groundwater flow-through lake

Science.gov (United States)

Stoliker, Deborah L.; Repert, Deborah A.; Smith, Richard L.; Song, Bongkeun; LeBlanc, Denis R.; McCobb, Timothy D.; Conaway, Christopher; Hyun, Sung Pil; Koh, Dong-Chan; Moon, Hee Sun; Kent, Douglas B.

2016-01-01

The fate and transport of inorganic nitrogen (N) is a critically important issue for human and aquatic ecosystem health because discharging N-contaminated groundwater can foul drinking water and cause algal blooms. Factors controlling N-processing were examined in sediments at three sites with contrasting hydrologic regimes at a lake on Cape Cod, MA. These factors included water chemistry, seepage rates and direction of groundwater flow, and the abundance and potential rates of activity of N-cycling microbial communities. Genes coding for denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), and nitrification were identified at all sites regardless of flow direction or groundwater dissolved oxygen concentrations. Flow direction was, however, a controlling factor in the potential for N-attenuation via denitrification in the sediments. Potential rates of denitrification varied from 6 to 4500 pmol N/g/h from the inflow to the outflow side of the lake, owing to fundamental differences in the supply of labile organic matter. The results of laboratory incubations suggested that when anoxia and limiting labile organic matter prevailed, the potential existed for concomitant anammox and denitrification. Where oxic lake water was downwelling, potential rates of nitrification at shallow depths were substantial (1640 pmol N/g/h). Rates of anammox, denitrification, and nitrification may be linked to rates of organic N-mineralization, serving to increase N-mobility and transport downgradient.

Genome-based microbial ecology of anammox granules in a full-scale wastewater treatment system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Speth, D.R.; Zandt, M.H. in 't; Guerrero Cruz, S.; Dutilh, B.E.; Jetten, M.S.M.

2016-01-01

Partial-nitritation anammox (PNA) is a novel wastewater treatment procedure for energy-efficient ammonium removal. Here we use genome-resolved metagenomics to build a genome-based ecological model of the microbial community in a full-scale PNA reactor. Sludge from the bioreactor examined here is

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation and its contribution to nitrogen removal in China’s coastal wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Lijun; Zheng, Yanling; Liu, Min; Li, Xiaofei; Lin, Xianbiao; Yin, Guoyu; Gao, Juan; Deng, Fengyu; Chen, Fei; Jiang, Xiaofen

2015-01-01

Over the past several decades, human activities have caused substantial enrichment of reactive nitrogen in China’s coastal wetlands. Although anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), the process of oxidizing ammonium into dinitrogen gas through the reduction of nitrite, is identified as an important process for removing reactive nitrogen, little is known about the dynamics of anammox and its contribution to nitrogen removal in nitrogen-enriched environments. Here, we examine potential rates of anammox and associate them with bacterial diversity and abundance across the coastal wetlands of China using molecular and isotope tracing techniques. High anammox bacterial diversity was detected in China’s coastal wetlands and included Candidatus Scalindua, Kuenenia, Brocadia, and Jettenia. Potential anammox rates were more closely associated with the abundance of anammox bacteria than to their diversity. Among all measured environmental variables, temperature was a key environmental factor, causing a latitudinal distribution of the anammox bacterial community composition, biodiversity and activity along the coastal wetlands of China. Based on nitrogen isotope tracing experiments, anammox was estimated to account for approximately 3.8–10.7% of the total reactive nitrogen removal in the study area. Combined with denitrification, anammox can remove 20.7% of the total external terrigenous inorganic nitrogen annually transported into China’s coastal wetland ecosystems. PMID:26494435

Denitrification exceeds anammox as a nitrogen loss pathway in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bulow, S.E.; Rich, J.J.; Naik, H.; Pratihary, A.K.; Ward, B.B.

of anammox production (4.23 plus or minus 0.35 nmoll sup(-1) d sup(-1)) occurred near the upper boundary of the OMZ at one station. Overall, denitrification dominated N sub(2) production at this time in the Arabian Sea OMZ...

Reverse-transcriptional gene expression of anammox and ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria in soybean and rice paddy soils of Northeast China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Dong, Hailiang; Wang, Weidong; Gu, Ji-Dong

2014-03-01

The relative gene expression of hydrazine oxidoreductase encoding gene (hzo) for anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria (anammox) and ammonia monooxygenase encoding gene (amoA) for both ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in Sanjiang Plain soybean and rice paddy soils of Northeast China was investigated by using real-time reverse-transcriptional quantitative PCR. Metabolically active populations of anammox, AOA, and AOB in rice paddy soils were evident by the presence and successful quantification of hzo mRNA and amoA mRNA genes. The expression ratio of amoA gene for both AOA and AOB varied between soybean soils and different rice paddy soils while the expression of hzo gene for anammox was detectable only in rice paddy soils by showing a diverse relative expression ratio in each soil sample. Gene expression of both archaeal and bacterial amoA genes in rice paddy soils differed among the three sampling depths, but that of hzo was not. Both archaeal and bacterial amoA genes showed an increase trend of expression level with continuation of rice paddy cultivation, but the low expression ratio of hzo gene indicated a relatively small contribution of anammox in overall removal of inorganic nitrogen through N2 even under anoxic and high nitrogen input in agriculture. Bacterial amoA gene from two soybean fields and three rice paddy fields were also analyzed for community composition by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprint. Community shift was observed between soybean and paddy fields and within each of them. The consistent occurrence of three bands 5, 6, and 7 in all samples showed their high adaptability for both arid cultivation and continuous rice paddy cultivation. Our data suggest that AOA and AOB are playing a more important role in nitrogen transformation in agricultural soils in oxic or anoxic environment and anammox bacteria may also contribute but in a less extent to N transformation in these agricultural soils

A network model shows the importance of coupled processes in the microbial N cycle in the Cape Fear River Estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Hines, David E.; Lisa, Jessica A.; Song, Bongkeun; Tobias, Craig R.; Borrett, Stuart R.

2012-06-01

Estuaries serve important ecological and economic functions including habitat provision and the removal of nutrients. Eutrophication can overwhelm the nutrient removal capacity of estuaries and poses a widely recognized threat to the health and function of these ecosystems. Denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) are microbial processes responsible for the removal of fixed nitrogen and diminish the effects of eutrophication. Both of these microbial removal processes can be influenced by direct inputs of dissolved inorganic nitrogen substrates or supported by microbial interactions with other nitrogen transforming pathways such as nitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). The coupling of nitrogen removal pathways to other transformation pathways facilitates the removal of some forms of inorganic nitrogen; however, differentiating between direct and coupled nitrogen removal is difficult. Network modeling provides a tool to examine interactions among microbial nitrogen cycling processes and to determine the within-system history of nitrogen involved in denitrification and anammox. To examine the coupling of nitrogen cycling processes, we built a nitrogen budget mass balance network model in two adjacent 1 cm3 sections of bottom water and sediment in the oligohaline portion of the Cape Fear River Estuary, NC, USA. Pathway, flow, and environ ecological network analyses were conducted to characterize the organization of nitrogen flow in the estuary and to estimate the coupling of nitrification to denitrification and of nitrification and DNRA to anammox. Centrality analysis indicated NH4+ is the most important form of nitrogen involved in removal processes. The model analysis further suggested that direct denitrification and coupled nitrification-denitrification had similar contributions to nitrogen removal while direct anammox was dominant to coupled forms of anammox. Finally, results also indicated that partial

Distribution and activity of anaerobic ammonium-oxidising bacteria in natural freshwater wetland soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Li-dong; Wu, Hong-sheng; Gao, Zhi-qiu; Cheng, Hai-xiang; Li, Ji; Liu, Xu; Ren, Qian-qi

2016-04-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process plays a significant role in the marine nitrogen cycle. However, the quantitative importance of this process in nitrogen removal in wetland systems, particularly in natural freshwater wetlands, is still not determined. In the present study, we provided the evidence of the distribution and activity of anammox bacteria in a natural freshwater wetland, located in southeastern China, by using (15)N stable isotope measurements, quantitative PCR assays and 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. The potential anammox rates measured in this wetland system ranged between 2.5 and 25.5 nmol N2 g(-1) soil day(-1), and up to 20% soil dinitrogen gas production could be attributed to the anammox process. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that anammox bacteria related to Candidatus Brocadia, Candidatus Kuenenia, Candidatus Anammoxoglobus and two novel anammox clusters coexisted in the collected soil cores, with Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia being the dominant anammox genera. Quantitative PCR of hydrazine synthase genes showed that the abundance of anammox bacteria varied from 2.3 × 10(5) to 2.2 × 10(6) copies g(-1) soil in the examined soil cores. Correlation analyses suggested that the soil ammonium concentration had significant influence on the activity of anammox bacteria. On the basis of (15)N tracing technology, it is estimated that a total loss of 31.1 g N m(-2) per year could be linked the anammox process in the examined wetland.

Efficient simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification (SNAD) system equipped with a real-time dissolved oxygen (DO) intelligent control system and microbial community shifts of different substrate concentrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Xin; Gong, Benzhou; Zhou, Jian; He, Qiang; Qing, Xiaoxia

2017-08-01

Simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification (SNAD) process was studied in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) fed with synthetic wastewater in a range of 2200 mgN/L ∼ 50 mgN/L. Important was an external real-time precision dissolved oxygen (DO) intelligent control system that consisted of feed forward control system and feedback control system. This DO control system permitted close control of oxygen supply according to influent concentration, effluent quality and other environmental factors in the reactor. In this study the operation was divided into six phases according to influent nitrogen applied. SNAD system was successfully set up after adding COD into a CANON system. And the presence of COD enabled the survival of denitrifiers, and made Thauera and Pseudomonas predominant as functional denitrifiers in this system. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and 16S rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing were used to analyze the microbial variations of different substrate concentrations. Results indicated that the relative population of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) members decreased when influent ammonia concentration decreased from 2200 mg/L to 50 mg/L, while no dramatic drop of the percent of anammox bacteria was seen. And Nitrosomonas europaea was the predominant AOB in SNAD system treating sewage, while Candidatus Brocadia was the dominant anammox bacteria. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Success of mainstream partial nitritation/anammox demands integration of engineering, microbiome and modeling insights.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Shelesh; Seuntjens, Dries; Cocker, Pieter De; Lackner, Susanne; Vlaeminck, Siegfried E

2018-04-01

Twenty years ago, mainstream partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) was conceptually proposed as pivotal for a more sustainable treatment of municipal wastewater. Its economic potential spurred research, yet practice awaits a comprehensive recipe for microbial resource management. Implementing mainstream PN/A requires transferable and operable ways to steer microbial competition as to meet discharge requirements on a year-round basis at satisfactory conversion rates. In essence, the competition for nitrogen, organic carbon and oxygen is grouped into 'ON/OFF' (suppression/promotion) and 'IN/OUT' (wash-out/retention and seeding) strategies, selecting for desirable conversions and microbes. Some insights need mechanistic understanding, while empirical observations suffice elsewhere. The provided methodological R&D framework integrates insights in engineering, microbiome and modeling. Such synergism should catalyze the implementation of energy-positive sewage treatment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation by anammox bacteria in the Black Sea RID B-8834-2011

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuypers, MMM; Sliekers, AO; Lavik, G.

2003-01-01

The availability of fixed inorganic nitrogen (nitrate, nitrite and ammonium) limits primary productivity in many oceanic regions(1). The conversion of nitrate to N(2) by heterotrophic bacteria (denitrification) is believed to be the only important sink for fixed inorganic nitrogen in the ocean(2......). Here we provide evidence for bacteria that anaerobically oxidize ammonium with nitrite to N(2) in the world's largest anoxic basin, the Black Sea. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences shows that these bacteria are related to members of the order Planctomycetales performing...... the anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) process in ammonium-removing bioreactors(3). Nutrient profiles, fluorescently labelled RNA probes, (15)N tracer experiments and the distribution of specific 'ladderane' membrane lipids(4) indicate that ammonium diffusing upwards from the anoxic deep water is consumed...

Nitrous oxide production pathways in a partial nitritation-anammox reactor: Isotopic evidence for nitrous oxide production associated anaerobic ammonium oxidation?

Science.gov (United States)

Wunderlin, P.; Harris, E. J.; Joss, A.; Emmenegger, L.; Kipf, M.; Mohn, J.; Siegrist, H.

2014-12-01

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a strong greenhouse gas and a major sink for stratospheric ozone. In biological wastewater treatment N2O can be produced via several pathways. This study investigates the dynamics of N2O emissions from a nitritation-anammox reactor, and links its interpretation to the nitrogen and oxygen isotopic signature of the emitted N2O. A 400-litre single-stage nitritation-anammox reactor was operated and continuously fed with digester liquid. The isotopic composition of N2O emissions was monitored online with quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS; Aerodyne Research, Inc.; Waechter et al., 2008). Dissolved ammonium and nitrate were monitored online (ISEmax, Endress + Hauser), while nitrite was measured with test strips (Nitrite-test 0-24mgN/l, Merck). Table 1. Summary of experiments conducted to understand N2O emissions Experimental conditions O2[mgO2/L] NO2-[mgN/L] NH4+[mgN/L] N2O/NH4+[%] Normal operation production pathway, which is hypothesized to be mediated by anammox activity (Figure 1). A less likely explanation is that the SP of N2O was increased by partial N2O reduction by heterotrophic denitrification. Various experiments were conducted to further investigate N2O formation pathways in the reactor. Our data reveal that N2O emissions increased when reactor operation was not ideal, for example when dissolved oxygen was too high (Table 1). SP measurements confirmed that these N2O peaks were due to enhanced nitrifier denitrification, generally related to nitrite build-up in the reactor (Figure 1; Table 1). Overall, process control via online N2O monitoring was confirmed to be an ideal method to detect imbalances in reactor operation and regulate aeration, to ensure optimal reactor conditions and minimise N2O emissions. ReferencesWaechter H. et al. (2008) Optics Express, 16: 9239-9244. Wunderlin, P et al. (2013) Environmental Science & Technology 47: 1339-1348.

Increased hydrazine during partial nitritation process in upflow air-lift reactor fed with supernatant of anaerobic digester effluent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jeongdong [University of Alberta, Alberta (Canada); Jung, Sokhee [Samsung SDS, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Young-Ho [Yeungnam University, Gyungsan (Korea, Republic of)

2013-06-15

The optimal balance of ammonium and nitrite is essential for successful operation of the subsequent anammox process. We conducted a partial nitritation experiment using an upflow air-lift reactor to provide operational parameters for achieving the optimal ratio of ammonium to nitrite, by feeding supernatant of anaerobic digester effluent, high-nitrogen containing rejection water. Semi-continuous operation results show that HRT should be set between 15 and 17 hours to achieve the optimum ration of 1.3 of NO{sub 2}-N/NH{sub 4}-N. In the UAR, nitritation was the dominant reaction due to high concentration of ammonia and low biodegradable organics. The influent contained low concentrations of hydroxylamine and hydrazine. However, hydrazine increased during partial nitritation by ⁓60-130% although there was no potential anammox activity in the reactor. The partial nitritation process successfully provided the ratio of nitrogen species for the anammox reaction, and relived the nitrite restraint on the anammox activity by increasing hydrazine concentration.

Occurrence and importance of anaerobic ammonium-oxidising bacteria in vegetable soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Li-dong; Wu, Hong-sheng; Gao, Zhi-qiu; Xu, Xiang-hua; Chen, Tie-xi; Liu, Shuai; Cheng, Hai-xiang

2015-07-01

The quantitative importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) has been described in paddy fields, while the presence and importance of anammox in subsurface soil from vegetable fields have not been determined yet. Here, we investigated the occurrence and activity of anammox bacteria in five different types of vegetable fields located in Jiangsu Province, China. Stable isotope experiments confirmed the anammox activity in the examined soils, with the potential rates of 2.1 and 23.2 nmol N2 g(-1) dry soil day(-1), and the anammox accounted for 5.9-20.5% of total soil dinitrogen gas production. It is estimated that a total loss of 7.1-78.2 g N m(-2) year(-1) could be linked to the anammox process in the examined vegetable fields. Phylogenetic analyses showed that multiple co-occurring anammox genera were present in the examined soils, including Candidatus Brocadia, Candidatus Kuenenia, Candidatus Anammoxoglobus and Candidatus Jettenia, and Candidatus Brocadia appeared to be the most common anammox genus. Quantitative PCR further confirmed the presence of anammox bacteria in the examined soils, with the abundance varying from 2.8 × 10(5) to 3.0 × 10(6) copies g(-1) dry soil. Correlation analyses suggested that the soil ammonium concentration had significant influence on the activity and abundance of anammox bacteria in the examined soils. The results of our study showed the presence of diverse anammox bacteria and indicated that the anammox process could serve as an important nitrogen loss pathway in vegetable fields.

Long-term dynamic and pseudo-state modeling of complete partial nitrification process at high nitrogen loading rates in a sequential batch reactor (SBR).

Science.gov (United States)

Soliman, Moomen; Eldyasti, Ahmed

2017-06-01

Recently, partial nitrification has been adopted widely either for the nitrite shunt process or intermediate nitrite generation step for the Anammox process. However, partial nitrification has been hindered by the complexity of maintaining stable nitrite accumulation at high nitrogen loading rates (NLR) which affect the feasibility of the process for high nitrogen content wastewater. Thus, the operational data of a lab scale SBR performing complete partial nitrification as a first step of nitrite shunt process at NLRs of 0.3-1.2kg/(m 3 d) have been used to calibrate and validate a process model developed using BioWin® in order to describe the long-term dynamic behavior of the SBR. Moreover, an identifiability analysis step has been introduced to the calibration protocol to eliminate the needs of the respirometric analysis for SBR models. The calibrated model was able to predict accurately the daily effluent ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity concentrations and pH during all different operational conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Presence and diversity of anammox bacteria in cold hydrocarbon-rich seeps and hydrothermal vent sediments of the Guaymas Basin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Russ, L.; Kartal, B.; Op den Camp, H.J.M.; Sollai, M.; Le Bruchec, J.; Caprais, J.-C.; Godfroy, A.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Jetten, M.S.M.

2013-01-01

Hydrothermally active sediments are highly productive, chemosynthetic areas which are characterized by the rapid turnover of particulate organic matter under extreme conditions in which ammonia is liberated. These systems might be suitable habitats for anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria

Genome-based microbial ecology of anammox granules in a full-scale wastewater treatment system

OpenAIRE

Speth, D.R.; Zandt, M.H. in 't; Guerrero Cruz, S.; Dutilh, B.E.; Jetten, M.S.M.

2016-01-01

Partial-nitritation anammox (PNA) is a novel wastewater treatment procedure for energy-efficient ammonium removal. Here we use genome-resolved metagenomics to build a genome-based ecological model of the microbial community in a full-scale PNA reactor. Sludge from the bioreactor examined here is used to seed reactors in wastewater treatment plants around the world; however, the role of most of its microbial community in ammonium removal remains unknown. Our analysis yielded 23 near-complete d...

Propionate oxidation by and methanol inhibition of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Güven, Didem; Dapena, Ana; Kartal, Boran; Schmid, Markus C; Maas, Bart; van de Pas-Schoonen, Katinka; Sozen, Seval; Mendez, Ramon; Op den Camp, Huub J M; Jetten, Mike S M; Strous, Marc; Schmidt, Ingo

2005-02-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a recently discovered microbial pathway and a cost-effective way to remove ammonium from wastewater. Anammox bacteria have been described as obligate chemolithoautotrophs. However, many chemolithoautotrophs (i.e., nitrifiers) can use organic compounds as a supplementary carbon source. In this study, the effect of organic compounds on anammox bacteria was investigated. It was shown that alcohols inhibited anammox bacteria, while organic acids were converted by them. Methanol was the most potent inhibitor, leading to complete and irreversible loss of activity at concentrations as low as 0.5 mM. Of the organic acids acetate and propionate, propionate was consumed at a higher rate (0.8 nmol min(-1) mg of protein(-1)) by Percoll-purified anammox cells. Glucose, formate, and alanine had no effect on the anammox process. It was shown that propionate was oxidized mainly to CO(2), with nitrate and/or nitrite as the electron acceptor. The anammox bacteria carried out propionate oxidation simultaneously with anaerobic ammonium oxidation. In an anammox enrichment culture fed with propionate for 150 days, the relative amounts of anammox cells and denitrifiers did not change significantly over time, indicating that anammox bacteria could compete successfully with heterotrophic denitrifiers for propionate. In conclusion, this study shows that anammox bacteria have a more versatile metabolism than previously assumed.

Denitrification pathways and rates in the sandy sediments of the Georgia continental shelf, USA

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Ingall Ellery

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Denitrification in continental shelf sediments has been estimated to be a significant sink of oceanic fixed nitrogen (N. The significance and mechanisms of denitrification in organic-poor sands, which comprise 70% of continental shelf sediments, are not well known. Core incubations and isotope tracer techniques were employed to determine processes and rates of denitrification in the coarse-grained, sandy sediments of the Georgia continental shelf. In these sediments, heterotrophic denitrification was the dominant process for fixed N removal. Processes such as coupled nitrification-denitrification, anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation, and oxygen-limited autotrophic nitrification-denitrification were not evident over the 24 and 48 h time scale of the incubation experiments. Heterotrophic denitrification processes produce 22.8–34.1 μmole N m-2 d-1 of N2 in these coarse-grained sediments. These denitrification rates are approximately two orders of magnitude lower than rates determined in fine-grained shelf sediments. These lower rates may help reconcile unbalanced marine N budgets which calculate global N losses exceeding N inputs.

More than a decade of experience of landfill leachate treatment with a full-scale anammox plant combining activated sludge and activated carbon biofilm.

Science.gov (United States)

Azari, Mohammad; Walter, Uwe; Rekers, Volker; Gu, Ji-Dong; Denecke, Martin

2017-05-01

The performance of biological treatment for high ammonium removal from landfill leachate has been demonstrated. The plant was upgraded combining the activated sludge process followed by activated carbon reactor. Based on a long-term analysis of data collected from 2006 to 2015, the average total nitrogen removal efficiency of 94% was achieved for wastewaters with a C: N ratio varying from 1 to 5 kg-COD kg-TN -1 . But without the presence of activated carbon reactor, the average of biological removal efficiency for total nitrogen was only 82% ± 6% for the activated sludge stage. It means that up to 20% of the nitrogen in the influent can only be eliminated by microorganisms attached to granular activated carbon. After upgrades of the plant, the energy efficiency showed a reduction in the specific energy demand from 1.6 to less than 0.2 kWh m -3 . Methanol consumption and sludge production was reduced by 91% and 96%, respectively. Fluorescent in situ Hybridization was used for microbial diversity analysis on floccular sludge and granular biofilm samples. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria and nitrifiers were detected and Candidatus Scalindua was found in two forms of flocs and biofilms. Due to stochastic risk assessment based on the long-term data analysis given in this research, the treatment criteria were achieved and the combination of granular activated carbon biofilm process and activated sludge can be a novel and sought approach to better enrich anammox biomass for full-scale treatment applications to reduce operating costs and promote nutrient removal stability and efficiency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrogen removal from sludge digester liquids by nitrification/denitrification or partial nitritation/anammox: environmental and economical considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Fux, C; Siegrist, H

2004-01-01

In wastewater treatment plants with anaerobic sludge digestion, 15-20% of the nitrogen load is recirculated to the main stream with the return liquors from dewatering. Separate treatment of this ammonium-rich digester supernatant significantly reduces the nitrogen load of the activated sludge system. Two biological applications are considered for nitrogen elimination: (i) classical autotrophic nitrification/heterotrophic denitrification and (ii) partial nitritation/autotrophic anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). With both applications 85-90% nitrogen removal can be achieved, but there are considerable differences in terms of sustainability and costs. The final gaseous products for heterotrophic denitrification are generally not measured and are assumed to be nitrogen gas (N2). However, significant nitrous oxide (N2O) production can occur at elevated nitrite concentrations in the reactor. Denitrification via nitrite instead of nitrate has been promoted in recent years in order to reduce the oxygen and the organic carbon requirements. Obviously this "achievement" turns out to be rather disadvantageous from an overall environmental point of view. On the other hand no unfavorable intermediates are emitted during anaerobic ammonium oxidation. A cost estimate for both applications demonstrates that partial nitritation/anammox is also more economical than classical nitrification/denitrification. Therefore autotrophic nitrogen elimination should be used in future to treat ammonium-rich sludge liquors.

Community composition and activity of anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria in the rhizosphere of salt-marsh grass Spartina alterniflora.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yanling; Hou, Lijun; Liu, Min; Yin, Guoyu; Gao, Juan; Jiang, Xiaofen; Lin, Xianbiao; Li, Xiaofei; Yu, Chendi; Wang, Rong

2016-09-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) as an important nitrogen removal pathway has been investigated in intertidal marshes. However, the rhizosphere-driven anammox process in these ecosystems is largely overlooked so far. In this study, the community dynamics and activities of anammox bacteria in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere sediments of salt-marsh grass Spartina alterniflora (a widely distributed plant in estuaries and intertidal ecosystems) were investigated using clone library analysis, quantitative PCR assay, and isotope-tracing technique. Phylogenetic analysis showed that anammox bacterial diversity was higher in the non-rhizosphere sediments (Scalindua and Kuenenia) compared with the rhizosphere zone (only Scalindua genus). Higher abundance of anammox bacteria was detected in the rhizosphere (6.46 × 10(6)-1.56 × 10(7) copies g(-1)), which was about 1.5-fold higher in comparison with that in the non-rhizosphere zone (4.22 × 10(6)-1.12 × 10(7) copies g(-1)). Nitrogen isotope-tracing experiments indicated that the anammox process in the rhizosphere contributed to 12-14 % N2 generation with rates of 0.43-1.58 nmol N g(-1) h(-1), while anammox activity in the non-rhizosphere zone contributed to only 4-7 % N2 production with significantly lower activities (0.28-0.83 nmol N g(-1) h(-1)). Overall, we propose that the rhizosphere microenvironment in intertidal marshes might provide a favorable niche for anammox bacteria and thus plays an important role in nitrogen cycling.

Cultivation, detection, and ecophysiology of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Kartal, Boran; Geerts, Wim; Jetten, Mike S M

2011-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria oxidize ammonium with nitrite under anoxic conditions. The anammox process is currently used to remove ammonium from wastewater and contributes significantly to the loss of fixed nitrogen from the oceans. In this chapter, we focus on the ecophysiology of anammox bacteria and describe new methodologies to grow these microorganisms. Now, it is possible to enrich anammox bacteria up to 95% with a membrane bioreactor that removes forces of selection for fast settling aggregates and facilitates the growth of planktonic cells. The biomass from this system has a high anaerobic ammonium oxidation rate (50 fmol NH(4)(+) · cell(-1) day(-1)) and is suitable for many ecophysiological and molecular experiments. A high throughput Percoll density gradient centrifugation protocol may be applied on this biomass for further enrichment (>99.5%) of anammox bacteria. Furthermore, we provide an up-to-date list of commonly used primers and introduce protocols for quantification and detection of functional genes of anammox bacteria in their natural environment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Benthic nitrogen loss in the Arabian Sea off Pakistan

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Sarah eSokoll

2012-11-01

Full Text Available A pronounced deficit of nitrogen (N in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ of theArabian Sea suggests the occurrence of heavy N-loss that is commonly attributed to pelagicprocesses. However, the OMZ water is in direct contact with sediments on three sides of thebasin. Contribution from benthic N-loss to the total N-loss in the Arabian Sea remains largelyunassessed. In October 2007, we sampled the water column and surface sediments along atransect cross-cutting the Arabian Sea OMZ at the Pakistan continental margin, covering arange of station depths from 360 to 1430 m. Benthic denitrification and anammox rates weredetermined by using 15N-stable isotope pairing experiments. Intact core incubations showeddeclining rates of total benthic N-loss with water depth from 0.55 to 0.18 mmol N m-2 d-1.While denitrification rates measured in slurry incubations decreased from 2.73 to 1.46 mmolN m-2 d-1 with water depth, anammox rates increased from 0.21 to 0.89 mmol N m-2 d-1.Hence, the contribution from anammox to total benthic N-loss increased from 7% at 360 m to40% at 1430 m. This trend is further supported by the quantification of nirS, the biomarkerfunctional gene encoding for cytochrome cd1-nitrite reductases of microorganisms involved inboth N-loss processes. Anammox-like nirS genes within the sediments increased in proportionto total nirS gene copies with water depth. Moreover, phylogenetic analyses of nirS revealeddifferent communities of both denitrifying and anammox bacteria between shallow and deepstations. Together, rate measurement and nirS analyses showed that anammox, determined forthe first time in the Arabian Sea sediments, is an important benthic N-loss process at thecontinental margin off Pakistan, especially in the sediments at deeper water depths.Extrapolation from the measured benthic N-loss to all shelf sediments within the basinsuggests that benthic N-loss may be responsible for about half of the overall N-loss in theArabian Sea.

Effect of substrate availability on nitrous oxide production by deammonification processes under anoxic conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Yvonne; Beier, Maike; Rosenwinkel, Karl-Heinz

2012-05-01

Due to its high global warming potential, nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emissions from wastewater treatment processes have recently received a high degree of attention. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of information regarding the microbiological processes leading to N(2)O production. In this study, two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors were operated with deammonification biomass to investigate the role of denitrification and the influence of substrate availability regarding N(2)O formation during the anoxic phase of deammonification. Three different operational phases were established: within the first phase conversion by anammox was favoured and after a transition phase, denitrification activity was promoted. Low nitrous oxide production was observed during stable operation aiming for anammox conversion. Pulsed inflow of the wastewater containing ammonium (NH(4)(+)) and nitrite (NO(2)(-)) led to increased N(2)O production rates. Within the period of denitrification as dominating nitrogen conversion process, the nitrous oxide concentration level was higher during continuous inflow conditions, but the reaction to pulsed inflow was less pronounced. The results indicated that denitrification was responsible for N(2)O formation from the deammonification biomass. Operational settings to achieve suppression of denitrification processes to a large extend were deducted from the results of the experiments. © 2012 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology © 2012 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Nitrogen source effects on the denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation culture and anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria enrichment process.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Liang; Ding, Jing; Lu, Yong-Ze; Ding, Zhao-Wei; Zeng, Raymond J

2017-05-01

The co-culture system of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) has a potential application in wastewater treatment plant. This study explored the effects of permutation and combination of nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium on the culture enrichment from freshwater sediments. The co-existence of NO 3 - , NO 2 - , and NH 4 + shortened the enrichment time from 75 to 30 days and achieved a total nitrogen removal rate of 106.5 mg/L/day on day 132. Even though ammonium addition led to Anammox bacteria increase and a higher nitrogen removal rate, DAMO bacteria still dominated in different reactors with the highest proportion of 64.7% and the maximum abundance was 3.07 ± 0.25 × 10 8 copies/L (increased by five orders of magnitude) in the nitrite reactor. DAMO bacteria showed greater diversity in the nitrate reactor, and one was similar to M. oxyfera; DAMO bacteria in the nitrite reactor were relatively unified and similar to M. sinica. Interestingly, no DAMO archaea were found in the nitrate reactor. This study will improve the understanding of the impact of nitrogen source on DAMO and Anammox co-culture enrichment.

N2 production rates limited by nitrite availability in the Bay of Bengal oxygen minimum zone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bristow, Laura A.; Callbeck, C. M.; Larsen, M

2017-01-01

with isotopically labelled nitrogen compounds and analyse geochemical signatures of these processes in the water column. We find that the Bay of Bengal supports denitrifier and anammox microbial populations, mediating low, but significant N loss. Yet, unlike other oxygen minimum zones, our measurements using...

Characterization of Anammox Hydrazine Dehydrogenase, a Key N2-producing Enzyme in the Global Nitrogen Cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Maalcke, Wouter J; Reimann, Joachim; de Vries, Simon; Butt, Julea N; Dietl, Andreas; Kip, Nardy; Mersdorf, Ulrike; Barends, Thomas R M; Jetten, Mike S M; Keltjens, Jan T; Kartal, Boran

2016-08-12

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria derive their energy for growth from the oxidation of ammonium with nitrite as the electron acceptor. N2, the end product of this metabolism, is produced from the oxidation of the intermediate, hydrazine (N2H4). Previously, we identified N2-producing hydrazine dehydrogenase (KsHDH) from the anammox organism Kuenenia stuttgartiensis as the gene product of kustc0694 and determined some of its catalytic properties. In the genome of K. stuttgartiensis, kustc0694 is one of 10 paralogs related to octaheme hydroxylamine (NH2OH) oxidoreductase (HAO). Here, we characterized KsHDH as a covalently cross-linked homotrimeric octaheme protein as found for HAO and HAO-related hydroxylamine-oxidizing enzyme kustc1061 from K. stuttgartiensis Interestingly, the HDH trimers formed octamers in solution, each octamer harboring an amazing 192 c-type heme moieties. Whereas HAO and kustc1061 are capable of hydrazine oxidation as well, KsHDH was highly specific for this activity. To understand this specificity, we performed detailed amino acid sequence analyses and investigated the catalytic and spectroscopic (electronic absorbance, EPR) properties of KsHDH in comparison with the well defined HAO and kustc1061. We conclude that HDH specificity is most likely derived from structural changes around the catalytic heme 4 (P460) and of the electron-wiring circuit comprising seven His/His-ligated c-type hemes in each subunit. These nuances make HDH a globally prominent N2-producing enzyme, next to nitrous oxide (N2O) reductase from denitrifying microorganisms. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Draft Genome of Scalindua rubra, Obtained from the Interface Above the Discovery Deep Brine in the Red Sea, Sheds Light on Potential Salt Adaptation Strategies in Anammox Bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Speth, Daan R.; Lagkouvardos, Ilias; Wang, Yong; Qian, Pei Yuan; Dutilh, Bas E.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304546313; Jetten, Mike S M

2017-01-01

Several recent studies have indicated that members of the phylum Planctomycetes are abundantly present at the brine-seawater interface (BSI) above multiple brine pools in the Red Sea. Planctomycetes include bacteria capable of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Here, we investigated the

Draft Genome of Scalindua rubra, Obtained from the Interface Above the Discovery Deep Brine in the Red Sea, Sheds Light on Potential Salt Adaptation Strategies in Anammox Bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Speth, Daan R.; Lagkouvardos, Ilias; Wang, Yong; Qian, Pei Yuan; Dutilh, Bas E.; Jetten, M.S.M.

2017-01-01

Several recent studies have indicated that members of the phylum Planctomycetes are abundantly present at the brine-seawater interface (BSI) above multiple brine pools in the Red Sea. Planctomycetes include bacteria capable of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Here, we investigated the

The Experiment Study of Anaerobic Ammonia Oxidation Start-up by Using the Upflow Double Layer Anaerobic Filter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YAO Li

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Anammox is an efficient nitrogen removal process, but it is difficult to start-up and operate, and ananammox reactor is the efficient way to resolve this problem. The start-up of anammox reactor by upflow anaerobic filter was studied. Denitrifying sludge, anaerobic sludge, and mixed sludge was inoculated on the packing materials, respectively and an autotrophic denitrification condition was provided by the simulated wastewater influent. Along with the gradual increase of matrix concentration and hydraulic load, the microflora was converted to the anaerobic ammonium oxidation(anammoxreaction. The results showed that the anammox reaction could be started by all the three sludge, and the time of start-up of denitrifying sludge, anaerobic sludge, mixed sludge was 42, 54 days and 45 days, respectively. The best result was that inoculated with denitrifying sludge with 82.2% of the total nitrogen removal rate, which started-up quickly and nitrogen was removed efficiently. Double packing effectively improved the stability of anammox process in the reactor, in which the suitable influent concentration loading for the anammox bacteria was 270 mg·L-1 and 360 mg·L-1 for ammonia nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen, respectively, and the COD concentration could not be more than 150 mg· L-1. Furthermore, there was a coexist-effect for anaerobic ammonia oxidation and methanation in this reactor system.

Nitrogen fate in a subtropical mangrove swamp: Potential association with seawater-groundwater exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Kai; Wu, Jiapeng; Li, Hailong; Hong, Yiguo; Wilson, Alicia M; Jiao, Jiu Jimmy; Shananan, Meghan

2018-04-18

Coastal mangrove swamps play an important role in nutrient cycling at the land-ocean boundary. However, little is known about the role of periodic seawater-groundwater exchange in the nitrogen cycling processes. Seawater-groundwater exchange rates and inorganic nitrogen concentrations were investigated along a shore-perpendicular intertidal transect in Daya Bay, China. The intertidal transect comprises three hydrologic subzones (tidal creek, mangrove and bare mudflat zones), each with different physicochemical characteristics. Salinity and hydraulic head measurements taken along the transect were used to estimate the exchange rates between seawater and groundwater over a spring-neap tidal cycle. Results showed that the maximum seawater-groundwater exchange occurred within the tidal creek zone, which facilitated high-oxygen seawater infiltration and subsequent nitrification. In contrast, the lowest exchange rate found in the mangrove zone caused over-loading of organic matter and longer groundwater residence times. This created an anoxic environment conducive to nitrogen loss through the anammox and denitrification processes. Potential oxidation rates of ammonia and nitrite were measured by the rapid and high-throughput method and rates of denitrification and anammox were measured by the modified membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) with isotope pairing, respectively. In the whole transect, denitrification accounted for 90% of the total nitrogen loss, and anammox accounted for the remaining 10%. The average nitrogen removal rate was about 2.07g per day per cubic meter of mangrove sediments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A multi-proxy study of anaerobic ammonium oxidation in marine sediments of the Gullmar Fjord, Sweden

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brandsma, J.; van de Vossenberg, J.; Risgaard-Petersen, N.; Schmid, M.C.; Engstrom, P.; Eurenius, K.; Hulth, S.; Jaeschke, A.; Abbas, B.; Hopmans, E.C.; Strous, M.; Schouten, S.; Jetten, M.S.M.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.

2011-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is an important process for nitrogen removal in marine pelagic and benthic environments and represents a major sink in the global nitrogen cycle. We applied a suite of complementary methods for the detection and enumeration of anammox activity and anammox

A multi-proxy study of anaerobic ammonium oxidation in marine sediments of the Gullmar Fjord, Sweden

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandsma, Joost; van de Vossenberg; Risgaard-Petersen, Nils

2011-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is an important process for nitrogen removal in marine pelagic and benthic environments and represents a major sink in the global nitrogen cycle. We applied a suite of complementary methods for the detection and enumeration of anammox activity and anammox...

Modelling nitrite dynamics and associated feedback processes in the Benguela oxygen minimum zone

Science.gov (United States)

Mashifane, T. B.; Vichi, M.; Waldron, H. N.; Machu, E.; Garçonc, V.

2016-08-01

Understanding nitrite dynamics in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) is a challenge as it represents an intermediary nitrogen species with a short turnover time. Nitrite is also reduced to nitrogen in OMZs, preventing its accumulation. This creates difficulties in detecting nitrite with colorimetric methods as concentrations may occur below detection limits in some regions. Nitrite concentrations are key to understanding intermediate nitrogen processes and their implication for nitrogen loss in OMZs. A coupled physical-biogeochemical model is applied in the Benguela OMZ to study nitrite dynamics and its associated feedback processes. Simulated results show occurrence of primary and secondary nitrite maxima in the Benguela shelf waters. The primary nitrite maxima in the Benguela are attributed to nitrification and nitrate assimilation as they occur in association with the nitracline. Secondary nitrite maxima accumulate in the Angola-Benguela Front (ABF) OMZ and are attributed to denitrification. The secondary nitrite maxima are consumed by anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) off Walvis Bay. Nitrite maxima are restricted to the shelf off Walvis Bay and advected offshore in the ABF region. Interchanges between the poleward South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) and the equatorward, well-aerated Eastern South Atlantic Central Water (ESACW) drive the seasonality of nitrogen processes in the Benguela. Subsequent nitrite reduction in the Benguela OMZ leads to nitrous oxide production, with high concentrations occurring in the ABF region as a result of nitrification and denitrification. Off Walvis Bay, nitrous oxide production is low since nitrite is consumed by anammox. Nitrous oxide production occurs in thermocline, intermediate and deeper water masses in the ABF region. High N fluxes in the Benguela are attributed to nitrification as compared to anammox and denitrification. Results from this study demonstrate the role of intermediate nitrogen species in nitrogen feedback

Enrichment and physiological characterization of an anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacterium ‘ Candidatus Brocadia sapporoensis’

KAUST Repository

Narita, Yuko; Zhang, Lei; Kimura, Zen-ichiro; Ali, Muhammad; Fujii, Takao; Okabe, Satoshi

2017-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidation (anammox) is recognized as an important microbial process in the global nitrogen cycle and wastewater treatment. In this study, we successfully enriched a novel anammox bacterium affiliated with the genus ‘Candidatus Brocadia’ with high purity (>90%) in a membrane bioreactor (MBR). The enriched bacterium was distantly related to the hitherto characterized ‘Ca. Brocadia fulgida’ and ‘Ca. Brocadia sinica’ with 96% and 93% of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence identity, respectively. The bacterium exhibited the common structural features of anammox bacteria and the production of hydrazine in the presence of hydroxylamine under anoxic conditions. The temperature range of anammox activity was 20 − 45°C with a maximum activity at 37°C. The maximum specific growth rate (μmax) was determined to be 0.0082h−1 at 37°C, corresponding to a doubling time of 3.5 days. The half-saturation constant (KS) for nitrite was 5±2.5μM. The anammox activity was inhibited by nitrite with 11.6mM representing the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) but no significant inhibition was observed in the presence of formate and acetate. The major respiratory quinone was identified to be menaquinone-7 (MK-7). Comparative genome analysis revealed that the anammox bacterium enriched in present study shared nearly half of genes with ‘Ca. Brocadia sinica’ and ‘Ca. Brocadia fulgida’. The bacterium enriched in this study showed all known physiological characteristics of anammox bacteria and can be distinguished from the close relatives by its rRNA gene sequences. Therefore, we proposed the name ‘Ca. Brocadia sapporoensis’ sp. nov.

Enrichment and physiological characterization of an anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacterium ‘ Candidatus Brocadia sapporoensis’

KAUST Repository

Narita, Yuko

2017-08-18

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidation (anammox) is recognized as an important microbial process in the global nitrogen cycle and wastewater treatment. In this study, we successfully enriched a novel anammox bacterium affiliated with the genus ‘Candidatus Brocadia’ with high purity (>90%) in a membrane bioreactor (MBR). The enriched bacterium was distantly related to the hitherto characterized ‘Ca. Brocadia fulgida’ and ‘Ca. Brocadia sinica’ with 96% and 93% of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence identity, respectively. The bacterium exhibited the common structural features of anammox bacteria and the production of hydrazine in the presence of hydroxylamine under anoxic conditions. The temperature range of anammox activity was 20 − 45°C with a maximum activity at 37°C. The maximum specific growth rate (μmax) was determined to be 0.0082h−1 at 37°C, corresponding to a doubling time of 3.5 days. The half-saturation constant (KS) for nitrite was 5±2.5μM. The anammox activity was inhibited by nitrite with 11.6mM representing the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) but no significant inhibition was observed in the presence of formate and acetate. The major respiratory quinone was identified to be menaquinone-7 (MK-7). Comparative genome analysis revealed that the anammox bacterium enriched in present study shared nearly half of genes with ‘Ca. Brocadia sinica’ and ‘Ca. Brocadia fulgida’. The bacterium enriched in this study showed all known physiological characteristics of anammox bacteria and can be distinguished from the close relatives by its rRNA gene sequences. Therefore, we proposed the name ‘Ca. Brocadia sapporoensis’ sp. nov.

An operational protocol for facilitating start-up of single-stage autotrophic nitrogen-removing reactors based on process stoichiometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mutlu, Ayten Gizem; Vangsgaard, Anna Katrine; Sin, Gürkan

2013-01-01

Start-up and operation of single-stage nitritation–anammox sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) for completely autotrophic nitrogen removal can be challenging and far from trivial. In this study, a step-wise procedure is developed based on stoichiometric analysis of the process performance from...

Technical Note: Simultaneous measurement of sedimentary N2 and N2O production and a modified 15N isotope pairing technique

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, T.-C.; Kao, S.-J.

2013-12-01

Dinitrogen (N2) and/or nitrous oxide (N2O) are produced through denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) or nitrification in sediments, of which entangled processes complicate the absolute rate estimations of gaseous nitrogen production from individual pathways. The classical isotope pairing technique (IPT), the most common 15N nitrate enrichment method to quantify denitrification, has recently been modified by different researchers to (1) discriminate between the N2 produced by denitrification and anammox or to (2) provide a more accurate denitrification rate under considering production of both N2O and N2. In case 1, the revised IPT focused on N2 production being suitable for the environments of a low N2O-to-N2 production ratio, while in case 2, anammox was neglected. This paper develops a modified method to refine previous versions of IPT. Cryogenic traps were installed to separately preconcentrate N2 and N2O, thus allowing for subsequent measurement of the two gases generated in one sample vial. The precision is better than 2% for N2 (m/z 28, m/z 29 and m/z 30), and 1.5% for N2O (m/z 44, m/z 45 and m/z 46). Based on the six m/z peaks of the two gases, the 15N nitrate traceable processes including N2 and N2O from denitrification and N2 from anammox were estimated. Meanwhile, N2O produced by nitrification was estimated via the production rate of unlabeled 44N2O. To validate the applicability of our modified method, incubation experiments were conducted using sediment cores taken from the Danshuei Estuary in Taiwan. Rates of the aforementioned nitrogen removal processes were successfully determined. Moreover, N2O yield was as high as 66%, which would significantly bias previous IPT approaches if N2O was not considered. Our modified method not only complements previous versions of IPT but also provides more comprehensive information to advance our understanding of nitrogen dynamics of the water-sediment interface.

Genome-based microbial ecology of anammox granules in a full-scale wastewater treatment system.

Science.gov (United States)

Speth, Daan R; In 't Zandt, Michiel H; Guerrero-Cruz, Simon; Dutilh, Bas E; Jetten, Mike S M

2016-03-31

Partial-nitritation anammox (PNA) is a novel wastewater treatment procedure for energy-efficient ammonium removal. Here we use genome-resolved metagenomics to build a genome-based ecological model of the microbial community in a full-scale PNA reactor. Sludge from the bioreactor examined here is used to seed reactors in wastewater treatment plants around the world; however, the role of most of its microbial community in ammonium removal remains unknown. Our analysis yielded 23 near-complete draft genomes that together represent the majority of the microbial community. We assign these genomes to distinct anaerobic and aerobic microbial communities. In the aerobic community, nitrifying organisms and heterotrophs predominate. In the anaerobic community, widespread potential for partial denitrification suggests a nitrite loop increases treatment efficiency. Of our genomes, 19 have no previously cultivated or sequenced close relatives and six belong to bacterial phyla without any cultivated members, including the most complete Omnitrophica (formerly OP3) genome to date.

Organic Matter Loading Modifies the Microbial Community Responsible for Nitrogen Loss in Estuarine Sediments.

Science.gov (United States)

Babbin, Andrew R; Jayakumar, Amal; Ward, Bess B

2016-04-01

Coastal marine sediments, as locations of substantial fixed nitrogen loss, are very important to the nitrogen budget and to the primary productivity of the oceans. Coastal sediment systems are also highly dynamic and subject to periodic natural and anthropogenic organic substrate additions. The response to organic matter by the microbial community involved in nitrogen loss processes was evaluated using mesocosms of Chesapeake Bay sediments. Over the course of a 50-day incubation, rates of anammox and denitrification were measured weekly using (15)N tracer incubations, and samples were collected for genetic analysis. Rates of both nitrogen loss processes and gene abundances associated with them corresponded loosely, probably because heterogeneities in sediments obscured a clear relationship. The rates of denitrification were stimulated more, and the fraction of nitrogen loss attributed to anammox slightly reduced, by the higher organic matter addition. Furthermore, the large organic matter pulse drove a significant and rapid shift in the denitrifier community composition as determined using a nirS microarray, indicating that the diversity of these organisms plays an essential role in responding to anthropogenic inputs. We also suggest that the proportion of nitrogen loss due to anammox in these coastal estuarine sediments may be underestimated due to temporal dynamics as well as from methodological artifacts related to conventional sediment slurry incubation approaches.

Potential roles of anaerobic ammonium and methane oxidation in the nitrogen cycle of wetland ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Guibing; Jetten, Mike S M; Kuschk, Peter; Ettwig, Katharina F; Yin, Chengqing

2010-04-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and anaerobic methane oxidation (ANME coupled to denitrification) with nitrite as electron acceptor are two of the most recent discoveries in the microbial nitrogen cycle. Currently the anammox process has been relatively well investigated in a number of natural and man-made ecosystems, while ANME coupled to denitrification has only been observed in a limited number of freshwater ecosystems. The ubiquitous presence of anammox bacteria in marine ecosystems has changed our knowledge of the global nitrogen cycle. Up to 50% of N(2) production in marine sediments and oxygen-depleted zones may be attributed to anammox bacteria. However, there are only few indications of anammox in natural and constructed freshwater wetlands. In this paper, the potential role of anammox and denitrifying methanotrophic bacteria in natural and artificial wetlands is discussed in relation to global warming. The focus of the review is to explore and analyze if suitable environmental conditions exist for anammox and denitrifying methanotrophic bacteria in nitrogen-rich freshwater wetlands.

Deforestation for oil palm alters the fundamental balance of the soil N cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Liz; Trimmer, Mark; Bradley, Chris; Pinay, Gilles

2016-04-01

Expansion of commercial agriculture in equatorial regions has significant implications for regional nitrogen (N) budgets, particularly nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions, produced largely by microbial nitrification and denitrification. However, current estimates of soil N turnover are poorly constrained in Southeast Asia for nitrogen gas (N2) production and lesser known N transformations such as nitrate ammonification (DNRA) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). We investigated changes in N availability and turnover following replacement of tropical forest with oil palm plantations along a chronosequence of oil palm maturity (3-months to 15-year-old stands) and secondary to primary forest succession in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Samples were taken from ten sites during March and April 2012. Using 15N tracing techniques, we measured rates of gross ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) production (mineralisation and nitrification) and consumption (n= 8), potential denitrification, DNRA and anammox (n= 12) in soil cores and slurries respectively. Gross mineralisation rates (0.05 - 3.08 g N m-2 d-1) remained unchanged in oil palm relative to forests. However, a significant reduction in gross nitrification (0.04 - 2.31 g N m-2 d-1) and an increase in NH4+ immobilisation disrupt the pathway to N2 production substantially reducing (by > 90%) rates of denitrification and anammox in recently planted oil palm relative to primary forest. In forests, N2 produced via anammox was ˜30% of that from denitrification highlighting the potential for anammox to contribute significantly to N2 production. NH4+ production rates from DNRA were over two orders of magnitude less than N2 production rates indicating that denitrification is the primary dissimilatory nitrate consumption process in these soils. Potential N2O emissions were greater than potential N2 production, remaining unchanged across the chronosequence and indicating an increased N2O:N2 emission ratio when

Diversity and distribution of planktonic anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria in the Dongjiang River, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wei; Xia, Chunyu; Xu, Meiying; Guo, Jun; Wang, Aijie; Sun, Guoping

2014-12-01

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) process has recently been recognized as an important pathway for removing fixed nitrogen (N) from aquatic ecosystems. Anammox organisms are widely distributed in freshwater environments. However, little is known about their presence in the water column of riverine ecosystems. Here, the existence of a diverse anammox community was revealed in the water column of the Dongjiang River by analyzing 16S rRNA and hydrazine oxidation (hzo) genes of anammox bacteria. Phylogenetic analyses of hzo genes showed that Candidatus Jettenia related clades of anammox bacteria were dominant in the river, suggesting the ecological microniche distinction from freshwater/estuary and marine anammox bacteria with Ca. Brocadia and Kuenenia genera mainly detected in freshwater/estuary ecosystems, and Ca. Scalindua genus mainly detected in marine ecosystems. The abundance and diversity of anammox bacteria along the river were both significantly correlated with concentrations of NH4(+)-N based on Pearson and partial correlation analyses. Redundancy analyses showed the contents of NH4(+)-N, NO3(-)-N and the ratio of NH4(+)-N to NO2(-)-N significantly influenced the spatial distributions of anammox bacteria in the water column of the Dongjiang River. These results expanded our understanding of the distribution and potential roles of anammox bacteria in the water column of the river ecosystem. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kalvelage, Tim; Lavik, Gaute; Jensen, Marlene Mark

2015-01-01

Oxygen minimum zones are major sites of fixed nitrogen loss in the ocean. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox, in pelagic nitrogen removal. Sources of ammonium for the anammox reaction, however, remain controversial, as heterotrophic denitrifica......Oxygen minimum zones are major sites of fixed nitrogen loss in the ocean. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox, in pelagic nitrogen removal. Sources of ammonium for the anammox reaction, however, remain controversial, as heterotrophic...... denitrification and alternative anaerobic pathways of organic matter remineralization cannot account for the ammonium requirements of reported anammox rates. Here, we explore the significance of microaerobic respiration as a source of ammonium during organic matter degradation in the oxygen-deficient waters off...... Namibia and Peru. Experiments with additions of double-labelled oxygen revealed high aerobic activity in the upper OMZs, likely controlled by surface organic matter export. Consistently observed oxygen consumption in samples retrieved throughout the lower OMZs hints at efficient exploitation of vertically...

Massive nitrogen loss from the Benguela upwelling system through anaerobic ammonium oxidation RID B-8834-2011

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuypers, MMM; Lavik, G.; Woebken, D.

2005-01-01

) and is commonly attributed to denitrification (reduction of nitrate to N-2 by heterotrophic bacteria). Here, we show that instead, the anammox process (the anaerobic oxidation of ammonium by nitrite to yield N-2) is mainly responsible for nitrogen loss in the OMZ waters of one of the most productive regions......In many oceanic regions, growth of phytoplankton is nitrogen-limited because fixation of N-2 cannot make up for the removal of fixed inorganic nitrogen (NH4+, NO2-, and NO3-) by anaerobic microbial processes. Globally, 30-50% of the total nitrogen loss occurs in oxygen-minimum zones (OMZs...... that anammox bacteria are responsible for massive losses of fixed nitrogen. We have identified and directly linked anammox bacteria to the removal of fixed inorganic nitrogen in the OMZ waters of an open-ocean setting. We hypothesize that anammox could also be responsible for substantial nitrogen loss from...

Nitrogen Losses in Sediments of the East China Sea: Spatiotemporal Variations, Controlling Factors, and Environmental Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Xianbiao; Liu, Min; Hou, Lijun; Gao, Dengzhou; Li, Xiaofei; Lu, Kaijun; Gao, Juan

2017-10-01

Global reactive nitrogen (N) has increased dramatically in coastal marine ecosystems over the past decades and caused numerous eco-environmental problems. Coastal marine sediment plays a critical role in N losses via denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and release of nitrous oxide (N2O). However, both the magnitude and contributions of denitrification, anammox, and N2O production in sediments still remain unclear, causing uncertainty in defining the N budget for coastal marine ecosystems. Here potential rates of N losses, and their contributions and controlling factors, were investigated in surface sediments during six cruises from 429 sites of the East China Sea. The potential rates of denitrification, anammox, and N2O production varied both spatially and seasonally, but the contribution of anammmox to total N2 production (%anammox) and N2O:N2 ratio only varied spatially. Both organic carbon and nitrate (NO3-) were important factors controlling N losses, N2O:N2 ratio, and %anammox. Our results also showed that marine organic carbon induced by eutrophication plays an important role in stimulating reactive N removal and increasing N2O production in warm seasons. The sediment N loss caused by denitrification, anammox, and N2O production in the study area were estimated at 2.2 × 106 t N yr-1, 4.6 × 105 t N yr-1, and 8 × 103 t N yr-1, respectively. Although sediments remove large quantities of reactive N, they act as an important source of N2O in this region influenced by NO3--laden rivers.

Evaluation of granular anaerobic ammonium oxidation process for the disposal of pre-treated swine manure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shou-Qing Ni

2014-04-01

Full Text Available With rising environmental concerns on potable water safety and eutrophication, increased media attention and tighter environmental regulations, managing animal waste in an environmentally responsible and economically feasible way can be a challenge. In this study, the possibility of using granular anammox process for ammonia removal from swine waste treatment water was investigated. A rapid decrease of NO2−–N and NH4+–N was observed during incubation with wastewater from an activated sludge deodorization reactor and anaerobic digestion-partial oxidation treatment process treating swine manure and its corresponding control artificial wastewaters. Ammonium removal dropped from 98.0 ± 0.6% to 66.9 ± 2.7% and nearly absent when the organic load in the feeding increased from 232 mg COD/L to 1160 mg COD/L and 2320 mg COD/L. The presence of organic carbon had limited effect on nitrite and total nitrogen removal. At a COD to N ratio of 0.9, COD inhibitory organic load threshold concentration was 727 mg COD/L. Mass balance indicated that denitrifiers played an important role in nitrite, nitrate and organic carbon removal. These results demonstrated that anammox system had the potential to effectively treat swine manure that can achieve high nitrogen standards at reduced costs.

Effect of Tidal Cycling Rate on the Distribution and Abundance of Nitrogen-Oxidizing Bacteria in a Bench-Scale Fill-and-Drain Bioreactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph M. Battistelli

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Most domestic wastewater can be effectively treated for secondary uses by engineered biological systems. These systems rely on microbial activity to reduce nitrogen (N content of the reclaimed water. Such systems often employ a tidal-flow process to minimize space requirements for the coupling of aerobic and anaerobic metabolic processes. In this study, laboratory-scale tidal-flow treatment systems were studied to determine how the frequency and duration of tidal cycling may impact reactor performance. Fluorescent in situ hybridization and epifluorescence microscopy were used to enumerate the key functional groups of bacteria responsible for nitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox, and N-removal efficiency was calculated via a mass-balance approach. When water was cycled (i.e., reactors were filled and drained at high frequencies (16–24 cycles day−1, nitrate accumulated in the columns—presumably due to inadequate periods of anoxia that limited denitrification. At lower frequencies, such as 4 cycles day−1, nearly complete N removal was achieved (80–90%. These fill-and-drain systems enriched heavily for nitrifiers, with relatively few anammox-capable organisms. The microbial community produced was robust, surviving well through short (up to 3 h anaerobic periods and frequent system-wide perturbation.

Nitrogen reduction pathways in estuarine sediments: Influences of organic carbon and sulfide

Science.gov (United States)

Plummer, Patrick; Tobias, Craig; Cady, David

2015-10-01

Potential rates of sediment denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) were mapped across the entire Niantic River Estuary, CT, USA, at 100-200 m scale resolution consisting of 60 stations. On the estuary scale, denitrification accounted for ~ 90% of the nitrogen reduction, followed by DNRA and anammox. However, the relative importance of these reactions to each other was not evenly distributed through the estuary. A Nitrogen Retention Index (NIRI) was calculated from the rate data (DNRA/(denitrification + anammox)) as a metric to assess the relative amounts of reactive nitrogen being recycled versus retained in the sediments following reduction. The distribution of rates and accompanying sediment geochemical analytes suggested variable controls on specific reactions, and on the NIRI, depending on position in the estuary and that these controls were linked to organic carbon abundance, organic carbon source, and pore water sulfide concentration. The relationship between NIRI and organic carbon abundance was dependent on organic carbon source. Sulfide proved the single best predictor of NIRI, accounting for 44% of its observed variance throughout the whole estuary. We suggest that as a single metric, sulfide may have utility as a proxy for gauging the distribution of denitrification, anammox, and DNRA.

[Effect of Elodea nuttallii-immobilized Nitrogen Cycling Bacteria on Nitrogen Removal Mechanism in an Inflow River, Gonghu Bay].

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Hua-yang; Li, Zheng-kui; Wang, Hao; Zhu, Qian

2016-04-15

Undisturbed sediment cores and surface water from Qinshui River in Gonghu Bay were collected to carry out a simulation experiment in our laboratory. The remediation effect of Elodea nuttallii-Immobilized Nitrogen Cycling Bacteria (INCB) was applied in the polluted inflow river. The denitrification rate, ANAMMOX rate and nitrogen microorganism diversity were measured by ¹⁵N isotope pairing technology and high-throughput sequencing technology based on 16S rRNA. The TN, NH₄⁺-N, NO₃⁻-N concentrations were reduced by 72.03%, 46.67% and 76.65% in the treatment with addition of Elodea nuttallii and INCB in our laboratory experiment. Meanwhile, denitrification bacteria and ANAMMOX bacteria had synergistic effect with each other. The denitrification and ANAMMOX rates were increased by 165 µmol (m² · h)⁻¹ and 269.7 µmol · (m² · h)⁻¹, respectively. The diversities of denitrification and ANAMMOX bacteria also increased in our experiment. From the level of major phylum, Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, Acidobbacteria and Bacteroidetes all increased significantly. The results showed that the Elodea nuttallii-INCB assemblage technology could increase the bio-diversity of nitrogen cycling bacteria and promote the ability of nitrogen removal in Qinshui River.

Microbial removal of fixed nitrogen in an oceanic oxygen minimum zone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalsgaard, Tage; Thamdrup, Bo; Revsbech, Niels Peter

We quantified the removal of fixed nitrogen as N2 production by anammox and N2 and N2O production by denitrification over a distance of 1900 km along the coast of Chile and Peru, using short-term incubations with 15N-labeled substrates. The eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP) holds an oxygen...... and that denitrification is needed for the mineralization of organic matter and production of NH4+ for anammox. Our data from frequent sampling along a 1900 km cruise track parallel to the coast of Chile and Peru show that denitrification does indeed occur, but less frequent and at higher rates than anammox...

Preservation and reactivation of Candidatus Jettenia asiatica and Anammoxoglobus propionicus using different preservative agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Viancelli, A; Pra, M C; Scussiato, L A; Cantão, M; Ibelli, A M G; Kunz, A

2017-11-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria have peculiar characteristics that make them difficult to cultivate. The conservation of these microorganisms in culture collections or laboratories requires successful preservation and reactivation techniques. Furthermore, studies have shown that successful reactivation may be preservative dependent. Considering this, the present study aimed to evaluate the preservation and reactivation of anammox consortia enriched from swine manure treatment lagoons, by using different preservative agents at different temperatures: KNO 3 (at 4 °C), glycerol (-20 °C, -80 °C), and skimmed cow milk (-20 °C, -80 °C, -200 °C). After 4 months, the biomass was thawed (except for KNO 3 ), and the reestablishment of anammox activity was evaluated by stoichiometric coefficients. Microbial community transformation during the reactivation process was also studied by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The results showed that the anammox biomass preserved with glycerol or skimmed cow milk at -80 °C recovered activity, while the biomass preserved with other methodologies did not reestablish activity during the studied time (90 days). The bacterial community from the biomass with anammox activity was characterized and showed the presence of Candidatus Brocadia anammoxidans, Candidatus Jettenia asiatica, and Candidatus Anammoxoglobus propionicus. Preservation with skimmed cow milk at -80 °C favored the selection of Candidatus Anammoxoglobus propionicus, while preservation with glycerol at -80 °C was successful for Candidatus Jettenia asiatica. The present study was effective on anammox sludge preservation and reactivation using low-cost processes for anammox cultures preservation, which is important for biomass transport and deammonification reactor start up. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of granular anaerobic ammonium oxidation process for the disposal of pre-treated swine manure

OpenAIRE

Shou-Qing Ni; Ning Yang

2014-01-01

With rising environmental concerns on potable water safety and eutrophication, increased media attention and tighter environmental regulations, managing animal waste in an environmentally responsible and economically feasible way can be a challenge. In this study, the possibility of using granular anammox process for ammonia removal from swine waste treatment water was investigated. A rapid decrease of NO2 −–N and NH4 +–N was observed during incubation with wastewater from an activated sludge...

The indeterminate rate problem for birth-death processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Doorn, Erik A.

1987-01-01

A birth-death process is completely determined by its set of rates if and only if this set satisfies a certain condition C, say. If for a set of rates R the condition C is not fulfilled, then the problem arises of characterizing all birth-death processes which have rate set R (the indeterminate rate

[Rapid startup and nitrogen removal characteristic of anaerobic ammonium oxidation reactor in packed bed biofilm reactor with suspended carrier].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sheng; Sun, De-zhi; Yu, Guang-lu

2010-03-01

Packed bed biofilm reactor with suspended carrier was used to cultivate ANAMMOX bacteria with sludge inoculums from WWTP secondary settler. The startup of ANAMMOX reactor was comparatively studied using high nitrogen loading method and low nitrogen loading method with aerobically biofilmed on the carrier, and the nitrogen removal characteristic was further investigated. The results showed that the reactor could be started up successfully within 90 days using low nitrogen loading method, the removal efficiencies of ammonium and nitrite were nearly 100% and the TN removal efficiencywas over 75% , however, the high nitrogen loading method was proved unsuccessfully for startup of ANAMMOX reactor probably because of the inhibition effect of high concentration of ammonium and nitrite. The pH value of effluent was slightly higher than the influent and the pH value can be used as an indicator for the process of ANAMMOX reaction. The packed bed ANAMMOX reactor with suspended carrier showed good characteristics of high nitrogen loading and high removal efficiency, 100% of removal efficiency could be achieved when the influent ammonium and nitrite concentration was lower than 800 mg/L.

Potential coupling effects of ammonia-oxidizing and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria on completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite biofilm formation induced by the second messenger cyclic diguanylate.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Liu, Sitong; Xu, Xiaochen; Zhao, Chuanqi; Yang, Fenglin; Wang, Dong

2017-05-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) on the coupling effects between ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria for the completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) biofilm formation in a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR). Analysis of the quantity of EPS and cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) confirmed that the contents of polysaccharides and c-di-GMP were correlated in the AOB sludge, anammox sludge, and CANON biofilm. The anammox sludge secreted more EPS (especially polysaccharides) than AOB with a markedly higher c-di-GMP content, which could be used by the bacteria to regulate the synthesis of exopolysaccharides that are ultimately used as a fixation matrix, for the adhesion of biomass. Indeed, increased intracellular c-di-GMP concentrations in the anammox sludge enhanced the regulation of polysaccharides to promote the adhesion of AOB and formation of the CANON biofilm. Overall, the results of this study provide new comprehensive information regarding the coupling effects of AOB and anammox bacteria for the nitrogen removal process.

Influence of substrates on nitrogen removal performance and microbiology of anaerobic ammonium oxidation by operating two UASB reactors fed with different substrate levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Chongjian; Zheng Ping; Hu Baolan; Chen Jianwei; Wang Caihua

2010-01-01

Both ammonium and nitrite act as substrates as well as potential inhibitors of anoxic ammonium-oxidizing (Anammox) bacteria. To satisfy demand of substrates for Anammox bacteria and to prevent substrate inhibition simultaneously; two strategies, namely high or low substrate concentration, were carefully compared in the operation of two Anammox upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors fed with different substrate concentrations. The reactor working at relatively low influent substrate concentration (NO 2 - N, 240 mg-N L -1 ) was shown to avoid the inhibition caused by nitrite and free ammonia. Using the strategy of low substrate concentration, a record super high volumetric nitrogen removal rate of 45.24 kg-N m -3 day -1 was noted after the operation of 230 days. To our knowledge, such a high value has not been reported previously. The evidence from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the morphology and ultrastructure of the Anammox cells in both the reactor enrichments was different.

Influence of substrates on nitrogen removal performance and microbiology of anaerobic ammonium oxidation by operating two UASB reactors fed with different substrate levels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang Chongjian [Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029 (China); Zheng Ping, E-mail: pzheng@zju.edu.cn [Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029 (China); Hu Baolan; Chen Jianwei; Wang Caihua [Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029 (China)

2010-09-15

Both ammonium and nitrite act as substrates as well as potential inhibitors of anoxic ammonium-oxidizing (Anammox) bacteria. To satisfy demand of substrates for Anammox bacteria and to prevent substrate inhibition simultaneously; two strategies, namely high or low substrate concentration, were carefully compared in the operation of two Anammox upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors fed with different substrate concentrations. The reactor working at relatively low influent substrate concentration (NO{sub 2}{sup -}N, 240 mg-N L{sup -1}) was shown to avoid the inhibition caused by nitrite and free ammonia. Using the strategy of low substrate concentration, a record super high volumetric nitrogen removal rate of 45.24 kg-N m{sup -3} day{sup -1} was noted after the operation of 230 days. To our knowledge, such a high value has not been reported previously. The evidence from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the morphology and ultrastructure of the Anammox cells in both the reactor enrichments was different.

Aerobic and anaerobic nitrogen transformation processes in N2-fixing cyanobacterial aggregates.

Science.gov (United States)

Klawonn, Isabell; Bonaglia, Stefano; Brüchert, Volker; Ploug, Helle

2015-06-01

Colonies of N(2)-fixing cyanobacteria are key players in supplying new nitrogen to the ocean, but the biological fate of this fixed nitrogen remains poorly constrained. Here, we report on aerobic and anaerobic microbial nitrogen transformation processes that co-occur within millimetre-sized cyanobacterial aggregates (Nodularia spumigena) collected in aerated surface waters in the Baltic Sea. Microelectrode profiles showed steep oxygen gradients inside the aggregates and the potential for nitrous oxide production in the aggregates' anoxic centres. (15)N-isotope labelling experiments and nutrient analyses revealed that N(2) fixation, ammonification, nitrification, nitrate reduction to ammonium, denitrification and possibly anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) can co-occur within these consortia. Thus, N. spumigena aggregates are potential sites of nitrogen gain, recycling and loss. Rates of nitrate reduction to ammonium and N(2) were limited by low internal nitrification rates and low concentrations of nitrate in the ambient water. Presumably, patterns of N-transformation processes similar to those observed in this study arise also in other phytoplankton colonies, marine snow and fecal pellets. Anoxic microniches, as a pre-condition for anaerobic nitrogen transformations, may occur within large aggregates (⩾1 mm) even when suspended in fully oxygenated waters, whereas anoxia in small aggregates (1.5 μM), O(2)-depleted water layers, for example, in the chemocline of the Baltic Sea or the oceanic mesopelagic zone, aggregates may promote N-recycling and -loss processes.

A model-based insight into the coupling of nitrogen and sulfur cycles in a coastal upwelling system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Muchamad, Al Azhar; Canfield, Donald Eugene; Fennel, Katja

2014-01-01

is masked, however, by rapid sulfide oxidation, most likely through nitrate reduction. Thus, the cryptic sulfur cycle links with the nitrogen cycle in OMZ settings. Here, we model the physical-chemical water column structure and the observed process rates as driven by formation and sinking of organic...... heterotrophic nitrate reduction and sulfate reduction are responsible for 47% and 36%, respectively, of organic remineralization in a 150 m deep zone below mixed layer. Anammox contributes to 61% of the fixed nitrogen lost to N2 gas, while the rest of the loss is through canonical denitrification...... as a combination of organic matter oxidation by nitrite reduction and sulfide-driven denitrification. Mineralization coupled to heterotrophic nitrate reduction supplies ~48% of the ammonium required by anammox. Due to active sulfate reduction, model results suggest that sulfide-driven denitrification contributes...

Co-existence of Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation Bacteria and Denitrifying Anaerobic Methane Oxidation Bacteria in Sewage Sludge: Community Diversity and Seasonal Dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Sai; Lu, Wenjing; Mustafa, Muhammad Farooq; Caicedo, Luis Miguel; Guo, Hanwen; Fu, Xindi; Wang, Hongtao

2017-11-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) and denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) have been recently discovered as relevant processes in the carbon and nitrogen cycles of wastewater treatment plants. In this study, the seasonal dynamics of ANAMMOX and DAMO bacterial community structures and their abundance in sewage sludge collected from wastewater treatment plants were analysed. Results indicated that ANAMMOX and DAMO bacteria co-existed in sewage sludge in different seasons and their abundance was positively correlated (P bacteria in autumn and winter indicated that these seasons were the preferred time to favour the growth of ANAMMOX and DAMO bacteria. The community structure of ANNAMOX and DAMO bacteria could also shift with seasonal changes. The "Candidatus Brocadia" genus of ANAMMOX bacteria was mainly recovered in spring and summer, and an unknown cluster was primarily detected in autumn and winter. Similar patterns of seasonal variation in the community structure of DAMO bacteria were also observed. Group B was the dominant in spring and summer, whereas in autumn and winter, group A and group B presented almost the same proportion. The redundancy analysis revealed that pH and nitrate were the most significant factors affecting community structures of these two groups (P < 0.01). This study reported the diversity of ANAMMOX and DAMO in wastewater treatment plants that may be the basis for new nitrogen removal technologies.

Subexponential loss rate asymptotics for Lévy processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lars Nørvang

2011-01-01

We consider a Lévy process reflected in barriers at 0 and K > 0. The loss rate is the mean of the local time at K at time 1 when the process is started in stationarity, and is a natural continuous-time analogue of the stationary expected loss rate for a reflected random walk. We derive asymptotic...... for the loss rate when K tends to infinity, when the mean of the Lévy process is negative and the positive jumps are subexponential. In the course of this derivation, we achieve a formula, which is a generalization of the celebrated Pollaczeck-Khinchine formula....

Environmental evaluation of coexistence of denitrifying anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea and bacteria in a paddy field.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Jing; Fu, Liang; Ding, Zhao-Wei; Lu, Yong-Ze; Cheng, Shuk H; Zeng, Raymond J

2016-01-01

The nitrate-dependent denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) process, which is metabolized together by anaerobic methanotrophic archaea and NC10 phylum bacteria, is expected to be important for the global carbon and nitrogen cycles. However, there are little studies about the existence of this process and the functional microbes in environments. Therefore, the coexistence of DAMO archaea and bacteria in a paddy field was evaluated in this study. Next-generation sequencing showed that the two orders, Methanosarcinales and Nitrospirales, to which DAMO archaea and DAMO bacteria belong, were detected in the four soil samples. Then the in vitro experiments demonstrated both of nitrite- and nitrate-dependent DAMO activities, which confirmed the coexistence of DAMO archaea and DAMO bacteria. It was the first report about the coexistence of DAMO archaea and bacteria in a paddy field. Furthermore, anammox bacteria were detected in two of the four samples. The in vitro experiments did not show anammox activity in the initial period but showed low anammox activity after 20 days' enrichment. These results implicated that anammox bacteria may coexist with DAMO microorganisms in this field, but at a very low percentage.

Impacts of ocean acidification on sediment processes in shallow waters of the Arctic Ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Gazeau, Frédéric; van Rijswijk, Pieter; Pozzato, Lara; Middelburg, Jack J

2014-01-01

Despite the important roles of shallow-water sediments in global biogeochemical cycling, the effects of ocean acidification on sedimentary processes have received relatively little attention. As high-latitude cold waters can absorb more CO2 and usually have a lower buffering capacity than warmer waters, acidification rates in these areas are faster than those in sub-tropical regions. The present study investigates the effects of ocean acidification on sediment composition, processes and sediment-water fluxes in an Arctic coastal system. Undisturbed sediment cores, exempt of large dwelling organisms, were collected, incubated for a period of 14 days, and subject to a gradient of pCO2 covering the range of values projected for the end of the century. On five occasions during the experimental period, the sediment cores were isolated for flux measurements (oxygen, alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and silicate). At the end of the experimental period, denitrification rates were measured and sediment samples were taken at several depth intervals for solid-phase analyses. Most of the parameters and processes (i.e. mineralization, denitrification) investigated showed no relationship with the overlying seawater pH, suggesting that ocean acidification will have limited impacts on the microbial activity and associated sediment-water fluxes on Arctic shelves, in the absence of active bio-irrigating organisms. Only following a pH decrease of 1 pH unit, not foreseen in the coming 300 years, significant enhancements of calcium carbonate dissolution and anammox rates were observed. Longer-term experiments on different sediment types are still required to confirm the limited impact of ocean acidification on shallow Arctic sediment processes as observed in this study.

Denitrification as the dominant nitrogen loss process in the Arabian Sea

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ward, B.B.; Devol, A.H.; Rich, J.J.; Chang, B.X.; Bulow, S.E.; Naik, H.; Pratihary, A.K.; Jayakumar, A.

experiments in the Arabian Sea denitrification is responsible for 87-99% of the total N sub(2) production. The dominance of denitrification is reproducible using two independent isotope incubation methods. In contrast, anammox is dominant in the Eastern...

Evaluating primers for profiling anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria within freshwater environments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Puntipar Sonthiphand

Full Text Available Anaerobic ammonia oxidizing (anammox bacteria play an important role in transforming ammonium to nitrogen gas and contribute to fixed nitrogen losses in freshwater environments. Understanding the diversity and abundance of anammox bacteria requires reliable molecular tools, and these are not yet well established for these important Planctomycetes. To help validate PCR primers for the detection of anammox bacteria within freshwater ecosystems, we analyzed representative positive controls and selected samples from Grand River and groundwater sites, both from Ontario, Canada. The objectives of this study were to identify a suitable anammox denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE fingerprint method by using GC-clamp modifications to existing primers, and to verify the specificity of anammox-specific primers used for DGGE, cloning and qPCR methods. Six primer combinations were tested from four published primer sets (i.e. A438f/A684r, Amx368f/Amx820r, An7f/An1388r, and Pla46/1392r for both direct and nested PCR amplifications. All PCR products were run subsequently on DGGE gels to compare the resulting patterns. Two anammox-specific primer combinations were also used to generate clone libraries and quantify anammox bacterial 16S rRNA genes with qPCR. The primer set A438f/A684r was highly specific to anammox bacteria, provided reliable DGGE fingerprints and generated a high proportion of anammox-related clones. A second primer set (Amx368f/Amx820r was anammox specific, based on clone library analysis, but PCR products from different candidate species of anammox bacteria resolved poorly using DGGE analysis. Both DGGE and cloning results revealed that Ca. Brocadia and an uncharacterized anammox bacterial cluster represented the majority of anammox bacteria found in Grand River sediment and groundwater samples, respectively. Together, our results demonstrate that although Amx368f/Amx820r was useful for anammox-specific qPCR and clone library

Enhanced nitrogen removal from piggery wastewater with high NH4+ and low COD/TN ratio in a novel upflow microaerobic biofilm reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Jia; Li, Jiuling; Li, Jianzheng; Antwi, Philip; Deng, Kaiwen; Nan, Jun; Xu, Pianpian

2018-02-01

To enhance nutrient removal more cost-efficiently in microaerobic process treating piggery wastewater characterized by high ammonium (NH 4 + -N) and low chemical oxygen demand (COD) to total nitrogen (TN) ratio, a novel upflow microaerobic biofilm reactor (UMBR) was constructed and the efficiency in nutrient removal was evaluated with various influent COD/TN ratios and reflux ratios. The results showed that the biofilm on the carriers had increased the biomass in the UMBR and enhanced the enrichment of slow-growth-rate bacteria such as nitrifiers, denitrifiers and anammox bacteria. The packed bed allowed the microaerobic biofilm process perform well at a low reflux ratio of 35 with a NH 4 + -N and TN removal as high as 93.1% and 89.9%, respectively. Compared with the previously developed upflow microaerobic sludge reactor, the UMBR had not changed the dominant anammox approach to nitrogen removal, but was more cost-efficiently in treating organic wastewater with high NH 4 + -N and low COD/TN ratio. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flow, diffusion, and rate processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sieniutycz, S.; Salamon, P.

1992-01-01

This volume contains recent results obtained for the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of transport and rate processes are reviewed. Kinetic equations, conservation laws, and transport coefficients are obtained for multicomponent mixtures. Thermodynamic principles are used in the design of experiments predicting heat and mass transport coefficients. Highly nonstationary conditions are analyzed in the context of transient heat transfer, nonlocal diffusion in stress fields and thermohydrodynamic oscillatory instabilities. Unification of the dynamics of chemical systems with other sorts of processes (e.g. mechanical) is given. Thermodynamics of reacting surfaces is developed. Admissible reaction paths are studied and a consistency of chemical kinetics with thermodynamics is shown. Oscillatory reactions are analyzed in a unifying approach showing explosive, conservation or damped behavior. A comprehensive review of transport processes in electrolytes and membranes is given. Applications of thermodynamics to thermoelectric systems and ionized gas (plasma) systems are reviewed

Comparison of different ecological remediation methods for removing nitrate and ammonium in Qinshui River, Gonghu Bay, Taihu Lake.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hao; Li, Zhengkui; Han, Huayang

2017-01-01

Ecological remediation is one of the most practical methods for removing nutrients from river ecosystems. In this study, transformation and fate of nitrate and ammonium among four different ecological restoration treatments were investigated by stable 15 N isotope pairing technique combined with quantitative polymerase chain reaction and high-throughput sequencing technology. The results of 15 N mass-balance model showed that there were three ways to the fate of nitrogen: precipitated in the sediment, absorbed by Elodea nuttallii (E. nuttallii), and consumed by microbial processes (denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox)). The results shown that the storage of 15 NH 4 + in sediments was about 1.5 times as much as that of 15 NO 3 - . And much more 15 NH 4 + was assimilated by E. nuttallii, about 2 times as much as 15 NO 3 - . Contrarily, the rate of microbial consuming 15 NO 3 - was higher than converting 15 NH 4 + . As for the group with 15 NO 3 - added, 29.61, 45.26, 30.66, and 51.95 % were accounted for 15 N-labeled gas emission. The proportions of 15 NH 4 + loss as 15 N-labeled gas were 16.06, 28.86, 16.93, and 33.09 % in four different treatments, respectively. Denitrification and anammox were the bacterial primary processes in N 2 and N 2 O production. The abundances of denitrifying and anammox functional genes were relatively higher in the treatment with E. nuttallii-immobilized nitrogen cycling bacteria (E-INCB) assemblage technology applied. Besides, microbial diversity increased in the treatment with E. nuttallii and INCB added. The 15 NO 3 - removal rates were 35.27, 49.42, 50.02, and 65.46 % in four different treatments. And the removal rates of 15 NH 4 + were 24, 34.38, 48.84, and 57.74 % in treatments A, B, C, and D, respectively. The results indicated that E-INCB assemblage technology could significantly promote the nitrogen cycling and improve nitrogen removal efficiency.

Rate processes with non-Markovian dynamical disorder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goychuk, Igor

2005-01-01

Rate processes with dynamical disorder are investigated within a simple framework provided by unidirectional electron transfer (ET) with fluctuating transfer rate. The rate fluctuations are assumed to be described by a non-Markovian stochastic jump process which reflects conformational dynamics of an electron transferring donor-acceptor molecular complex. A tractable analytical expression is obtained for the relaxation of the donor population (in the Laplace-transformed time domain) averaged over the stationary conformational fluctuations. The corresponding mean transfer time is also obtained in an analytical form. The case of two-state fluctuations is studied in detail for a model incorporating substate diffusion within one of the conformations. It is shown that an increase of the conformational diffusion time results in a gradual transition from the regime of fast modulation characterized by the averaged ET rate to the regime of quasistatic disorder. This transition occurs at the conformational mean residence time intervals fixed much less than the inverse of the corresponding ET rates. An explanation of this paradoxical effect is provided. Moreover, its presence is also manifested for the simplest, exactly solvable non-Markovian model with a biexponential distribution of the residence times in one of the conformations. The nontrivial conditions for this phenomenon to occur are found

Systematic design of membership functions for fuzzy-logic control: A case study on one-stage partial nitritation/anammox treatment systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Boiocchi, Riccardo; Gernaey, Krist V; Sin, Gürkan

2016-10-01

A methodology is developed to systematically design the membership functions of fuzzy-logic controllers for multivariable systems. The methodology consists of a systematic derivation of the critical points of the membership functions as a function of predefined control objectives. Several constrained optimization problems corresponding to different qualitative operation states of the system are defined and solved to identify, in a consistent manner, the critical points of the membership functions for the input variables. The consistently identified critical points, together with the linguistic rules, determine the long term reachability of the control objectives by the fuzzy logic controller. The methodology is highlighted using a single-stage side-stream partial nitritation/Anammox reactor as a case study. As a result, a new fuzzy-logic controller for high and stable total nitrogen removal efficiency is designed. Rigorous simulations are carried out to evaluate and benchmark the performance of the controller. The results demonstrate that the novel control strategy is capable of rejecting the long-term influent disturbances, and can achieve a stable and high TN removal efficiency. Additionally, the controller was tested, and showed robustness, against measurement noise levels typical for wastewater sensors. A feedforward-feedback configuration using the present controller would give even better performance. In comparison, a previously developed fuzzy-logic controller using merely expert and intuitive knowledge performed worse. This proved the importance of using a systematic methodology for the derivation of the membership functions for multivariable systems. These results are promising for future applications of the controller in real full-scale plants. Furthermore, the methodology can be used as a tool to help systematically design fuzzy logic control applications for other biological processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantum mechanics of molecular rate processes

CERN Document Server

Levine, Raphael D

1999-01-01

This survey of applications of the theory of collisions and rate processes to molecular problems explores collisions of molecules with internal structure, generalized Ehrenfest theorem, theory of reactive collisions, and role of symmetry. It also reviews partitioning technique, equivalent potentials and quasibound states, theory of direct reactions, more. 1969 edition.

A Cryptic Sulfur Cycle in Oxygen-Minimum-Zone Waters off the Chilean Coast

Science.gov (United States)

Canfield, Don E.; Stewart, Frank J.; Thamdrup, Bo; De Brabandere, Loreto; Dalsgaard, Tage; Delong, Edward F.; Revsbech, Niels Peter; Ulloa, Osvaldo

2010-12-01

Nitrogen cycling is normally thought to dominate the biogeochemistry and microbial ecology of oxygen-minimum zones in marine environments. Through a combination of molecular techniques and process rate measurements, we showed that both sulfate reduction and sulfide oxidation contribute to energy flux and elemental cycling in oxygen-free waters off the coast of northern Chile. These processes may have been overlooked because in nature, the sulfide produced by sulfate reduction immediately oxidizes back to sulfate. This cryptic sulfur cycle is linked to anammox and other nitrogen cycling processes, suggesting that it may influence biogeochemical cycling in the global ocean.

Nitrogen fixation in denitrified marine waters.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camila Fernandez

Full Text Available Nitrogen fixation is an essential process that biologically transforms atmospheric dinitrogen gas to ammonia, therefore compensating for nitrogen losses occurring via denitrification and anammox. Currently, inputs and losses of nitrogen to the ocean resulting from these processes are thought to be spatially separated: nitrogen fixation takes place primarily in open ocean environments (mainly through diazotrophic cyanobacteria, whereas nitrogen losses occur in oxygen-depleted intermediate waters and sediments (mostly via denitrifying and anammox bacteria. Here we report on rates of nitrogen fixation obtained during two oceanographic cruises in 2005 and 2007 in the eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP, a region characterized by the presence of coastal upwelling and a major permanent oxygen minimum zone (OMZ. Our results show significant rates of nitrogen fixation in the water column; however, integrated rates from the surface down to 120 m varied by ∼30 fold between cruises (7.5±4.6 versus 190±82.3 µmol m(-2 d(-1. Moreover, rates were measured down to 400 m depth in 2007, indicating that the contribution to the integrated rates of the subsurface oxygen-deficient layer was ∼5 times higher (574±294 µmol m(-2 d(-1 than the oxic euphotic layer (48±68 µmol m(-2 d(-1. Concurrent molecular measurements detected the dinitrogenase reductase gene nifH in surface and subsurface waters. Phylogenetic analysis of the nifH sequences showed the presence of a diverse diazotrophic community at the time of the highest measured nitrogen fixation rates. Our results thus demonstrate the occurrence of nitrogen fixation in nutrient-rich coastal upwelling systems and, importantly, within the underlying OMZ. They also suggest that nitrogen fixation is a widespread process that can sporadically provide a supplementary source of fixed nitrogen in these regions.

Nitrogen Fixation in Denitrified Marine Waters

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Camila; Farías, Laura; Ulloa, Osvaldo

2011-01-01

Nitrogen fixation is an essential process that biologically transforms atmospheric dinitrogen gas to ammonia, therefore compensating for nitrogen losses occurring via denitrification and anammox. Currently, inputs and losses of nitrogen to the ocean resulting from these processes are thought to be spatially separated: nitrogen fixation takes place primarily in open ocean environments (mainly through diazotrophic cyanobacteria), whereas nitrogen losses occur in oxygen-depleted intermediate waters and sediments (mostly via denitrifying and anammox bacteria). Here we report on rates of nitrogen fixation obtained during two oceanographic cruises in 2005 and 2007 in the eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP), a region characterized by the presence of coastal upwelling and a major permanent oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Our results show significant rates of nitrogen fixation in the water column; however, integrated rates from the surface down to 120 m varied by ∼30 fold between cruises (7.5±4.6 versus 190±82.3 µmol m−2 d−1). Moreover, rates were measured down to 400 m depth in 2007, indicating that the contribution to the integrated rates of the subsurface oxygen-deficient layer was ∼5 times higher (574±294 µmol m−2 d−1) than the oxic euphotic layer (48±68 µmol m−2 d−1). Concurrent molecular measurements detected the dinitrogenase reductase gene nifH in surface and subsurface waters. Phylogenetic analysis of the nifH sequences showed the presence of a diverse diazotrophic community at the time of the highest measured nitrogen fixation rates. Our results thus demonstrate the occurrence of nitrogen fixation in nutrient-rich coastal upwelling systems and, importantly, within the underlying OMZ. They also suggest that nitrogen fixation is a widespread process that can sporadically provide a supplementary source of fixed nitrogen in these regions. PMID:21687726

Ammonium and nitrite oxidation at nanomolar oxygen concentrations in oxygen minimum zone waters.

Science.gov (United States)

Bristow, Laura A; Dalsgaard, Tage; Tiano, Laura; Mills, Daniel B; Bertagnolli, Anthony D; Wright, Jody J; Hallam, Steven J; Ulloa, Osvaldo; Canfield, Donald E; Revsbech, Niels Peter; Thamdrup, Bo

2016-09-20

A major percentage of fixed nitrogen (N) loss in the oceans occurs within nitrite-rich oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) via denitrification and anammox. It remains unclear to what extent ammonium and nitrite oxidation co-occur, either supplying or competing for substrates involved in nitrogen loss in the OMZ core. Assessment of the oxygen (O2) sensitivity of these processes down to the O2 concentrations present in the OMZ core (Chile at manipulated O2 levels between 5 nmol⋅L(-1) and 20 μmol⋅L(-1) Rates of both processes were detectable in the low nanomolar range (5-33 nmol⋅L(-1) O2), but demonstrated a strong dependence on O2 concentrations with apparent half-saturation constants (Kms) of 333 ± 130 nmol⋅L(-1) O2 for ammonium oxidation and 778 ± 168 nmol⋅L(-1) O2 for nitrite oxidation assuming one-component Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Nitrite oxidation rates, however, were better described with a two-component Michaelis-Menten model, indicating a high-affinity component with a Km of just a few nanomolar. As the communities of ammonium and nitrite oxidizers were similar to other OMZs, these kinetics should apply across OMZ systems. The high O2 affinities imply that ammonium and nitrite oxidation can occur within the OMZ core whenever O2 is supplied, for example, by episodic intrusions. These processes therefore compete with anammox and denitrification for ammonium and nitrite, thereby exerting an important control over nitrogen loss.

On the hazard rate process for imperfectly monitored multi-unit systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barros, A.; Berenguer, C.; Grall, A.

2005-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present a stochastic model to characterize the failure distribution of multi-unit systems when the current units state is imperfectly monitored. The definition of the hazard rate process existing with perfect monitoring is extended to the realistic case where the units failure time are not always detected (non-detection events). The so defined observed hazard rate process gives a better representation of the system behavior than the classical failure rate calculated without any information on the units state and than the hazard rate process based on perfect monitoring information. The quality of this representation is, however, conditioned by the monotony property of the process. This problem is mainly discussed and illustrated on a practical example (two parallel units). The results obtained motivate the use of the observed hazard rate process to characterize the stochastic behavior of the multi-unit systems and to optimize for example preventive maintenance policies

On the hazard rate process for imperfectly monitored multi-unit systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barros, A. [Institut des Sciences et Techonologies de l' Information de Troyes (ISTIT-CNRS), Equipe de Modelisation et Surete des Systemes, Universite de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), 12, rue Marie Curie, BP2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France)]. E-mail: anne.barros@utt.fr; Berenguer, C. [Institut des Sciences et Techonologies de l' Information de Troyes (ISTIT-CNRS), Equipe de Modelisation et Surete des Systemes, Universite de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), 12, rue Marie Curie, BP2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France); Grall, A. [Institut des Sciences et Techonologies de l' Information de Troyes (ISTIT-CNRS), Equipe de Modelisation et Surete des Systemes, Universite de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), 12, rue Marie Curie, BP2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France)

2005-12-01

The aim of this paper is to present a stochastic model to characterize the failure distribution of multi-unit systems when the current units state is imperfectly monitored. The definition of the hazard rate process existing with perfect monitoring is extended to the realistic case where the units failure time are not always detected (non-detection events). The so defined observed hazard rate process gives a better representation of the system behavior than the classical failure rate calculated without any information on the units state and than the hazard rate process based on perfect monitoring information. The quality of this representation is, however, conditioned by the monotony property of the process. This problem is mainly discussed and illustrated on a practical example (two parallel units). The results obtained motivate the use of the observed hazard rate process to characterize the stochastic behavior of the multi-unit systems and to optimize for example preventive maintenance policies.

Reaction rates for neutrino processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shalitin, D.

1978-01-01

Some integrals involved in neutrino processes are evaluated by transformation to a special system of reference - usually to the center of mass system (CM). Rather simple analytic expressions are obtained for reaction rates and, though less simple, for moments. An interesting result thus obtained is for an isotropic interaction (in CM) of a neutrino with a monoenergetic isotropic gas of extreme relativistic electrons: it is found that the probability of the scattered neutrino to have energy in a certain range is independent of this energy. (Auth.)

Nitrogen cycling process rates across urban ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Reisinger, Alexander J; Groffman, Peter M; Rosi-Marshall, Emma J

2016-09-21

Nitrogen (N) pollution of freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems is widespread and has numerous environmental and economic impacts. A portion of this excess N comes from urban watersheds comprised of natural and engineered ecosystems which can alter downstream N export. Studies of urban N cycling have focused on either specific ecosystems or on watershed-scale mass balances. Comparisons of specific N transformations across ecosystems are required to contextualize rates from individual studies. Here we reviewed urban N cycling in terrestrial, aquatic, and engineered ecosystems, and compared N processing in these urban ecosystem types to native reference ecosystems. We found that net N mineralization and net nitrification rates were enhanced in urban forests and riparian zones relative to reference ecosystems. Denitrification was highly variable across urban ecosystem types, but no significant differences were found between urban and reference denitrification rates. When focusing on urban streams, ammonium uptake was more rapid than nitrate uptake in urban streams. Additionally, reduction of stormwater runoff coupled with potential decreases in N concentration suggests that green infrastructure may reduce downstream N export. Despite multiple environmental stressors in urban environments, ecosystems within urban watersheds can process and transform N at rates similar to or higher than reference ecosystems. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Bacterial community involved in the nitrogen cycle in a down-flow sponge-based trickling filter treating UASB effluent.

Science.gov (United States)

Mac Conell, E F A; Almeida, P G S; Martins, K E L; Araújo, J C; Chernicharo, C A L

2015-01-01

The bacterial community composition of a down-flow sponge-based trickling filter treating upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) effluent was investigated by pyrosequencing. Bacterial community composition considerably changed along the reactor and over the operational period. The dominant phyla detected were Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Planctomycetes. The abundance of denitrifiers decreased from the top to the bottom and it was consistent with the organic matter concentration gradients. At lower loadings (organic and nitrogen loading rates), the abundance of anammox bacteria was higher than that of the ammonium-oxidizing bacteria in the upper portion of the reactor, suggesting that aerobic and anaerobic ammonium oxidation occurred. Nitrification occurred in all the compartments, while anammox bacteria prominently appeared even in the presence of high organic carbon to ammonia ratios (around 1.0-2.0 gCOD gN(-1)). The results suggest that denitrifiers, nitrifiers, and anammox bacteria coexisted in the reactor; thus, different metabolic pathways were involved in ammonium removal in the post-UASB reactor sponge-based.

Controlling the COD removal of an A-stage pilot study with instrumentation and automatic process control.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Mark W; Elliott, Matt; DeArmond, Jon; Kinyua, Maureen; Wett, Bernhard; Murthy, Sudhir; Bott, Charles B

2017-06-01

The pursuit of fully autotrophic nitrogen removal via the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) pathway has led to an increased interest in carbon removal technologies, particularly the A-stage of the adsorption/bio-oxidation (A/B) process. The high-rate operation of the A-stage and lack of automatic process control often results in wide variations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal that can ultimately impact nitrogen removal in the downstream B-stage process. This study evaluated the use dissolved oxygen (DO) and mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) based automatic control strategies through the use of in situ on-line sensors in the A-stage of an A/B pilot study. The objective of using these control strategies was to reduce the variability of COD removal by the A-stage and thus the variability of the effluent C/N. The use of cascade DO control in the A-stage did not impact COD removal at the conditions tested in this study, likely because the bulk DO concentration (>0.5 mg/L) was maintained above the half saturation coefficient of heterotrophic organisms for DO. MLSS-based solids retention time (SRT) control, where MLSS was used as a surrogate for SRT, did not significantly reduce the effluent C/N variability but it was able to reduce COD removal variation in the A-stage by 90%.

Autotrophic nitrogen removal process in a potable water treatment biofilter that simultaneously removes Mn and NH4(+)-N.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Yan'an; Li, Dong; Liang, Yuhai; Zeng, Huiping; Zhang, Jie

2014-11-01

Ammonia (NH4(+)-N) removal pathways were investigated in a potable water treatment biofilter that simultaneously removes manganese (Mn) and NH4(+)-N. The results indicated a significant loss of nitrogen in the biofilter. Both the completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) process and nitrification were more likely to contribute to NH4(+)-N removal. Moreover, the model calculation results demonstrated that the CANON process contributed significantly to the removal of NH4(+)-N. For influent NH4(+)-N levels of 1.030 and 1.749mg/L, the CANON process contribution was about 48.5% and 46.6%, respectively. The most important finding was that anaerobic ammonia oxidation (ANAMMOX) bacteria were detectable in the biofilter. It is interesting that the CANON process was effective even for such low NH4(+)-N concentrations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Co-existence of Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation Bacteria and Denitrifying Anaerobic Methane Oxidation Bacteria in Sewage Sludge: Community Diversity and Seasonal Dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Sai; Lu, Wenjing; Mustafa, Muhammad Farooq

2017-01-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) and denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) have been recently discovered as relevant processes in the carbon and nitrogen cycles of wastewater treatment plants. In this study, the seasonal dynamics of ANAMMOX and DAMO bacterial community structures......, and an unknown cluster was primarily detected in autumn and winter. Similar patterns of seasonal variation in the community structure of DAMO bacteria were also observed. Group B was the dominant in spring and summer, whereas in autumn and winter, group A and group B presented almost the same proportion...

Denitrification activity and oxygen dynamics in Arctic sea ice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glud, Ronnie Nøhr; Stahl, Henrik J.; Rysgaard, Søren

2008-01-01

denitrification activity (5-194 mu mol N m(-2) day(-1)) and anammox activity (3-5 mu mol N m(-2) day(-1)) in melt water from both first-year and multi-year sea ice was found. These values correspond to 27 and 7%, respectively, of the benthic denitrification and anammox activities in Arctic sediments. Although we...... a mosaic of microsites of high and low O-2 concentrations. Brine enclosures and channels were strongly O-2 depleted in actively melting sea ice, and anoxic conditions in parts of the brine system would favour anaerobic processes....

Nonlinear fluctuations-induced rate equations for linear birth-death processes

Science.gov (United States)

Honkonen, J.

2008-05-01

The Fock-space approach to the solution of master equations for one-step Markov processes is reconsidered. It is shown that in birth-death processes with an absorbing state at the bottom of the occupation-number spectrum and occupation-number independent annihilation probability of occupation-number fluctuations give rise to rate equations drastically different from the polynomial form typical of birth-death processes. The fluctuation-induced rate equations with the characteristic exponential terms are derived for Mikhailov’s ecological model and Lanchester’s model of modern warfare.

Nonlinear fluctuation-induced rate equations for linear birth-death processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honkonen, J.

2008-01-01

The Fock-space approach to the solution of master equations for the one-step Markov processes is reconsidered. It is shown that in birth-death processes with an absorbing state at the bottom of the occupation-number spectrum and occupation-number independent annihilation probability occupation-number fluctuations give rise to rate equations drastically different from the polynomial form typical of birth-death processes. The fluctuation-induced rate equations with the characteristic exponential terms are derived for Mikhailov's ecological model and Lanchester's model of modern warfare

Distribution patterns of nitrogen micro-cycle functional genes and their quantitative coupling relationships with nitrogen transformation rates in a biotrickling filter.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Honglei; Ji, Guodong; Bai, Xueyuan

2016-06-01

The present study explored the distribution patterns of nitrogen micro-cycle genes and the underlying mechanisms responsible for nitrogen transformation at the molecular level (genes) in a biotrickling filter (biofilter). The biofilter achieved high removal efficiencies for ammonium (NH4(+)-N) (80-94%), whereas nitrate accumulated at different levels under a progressive NH4(+)-N load. Combined analyses revealed the anammox, nas, napA, narG, nirS, and nxrA genes were the dominant enriched genes in different treatment layers. The presence of simultaneous nitrification, ammonium oxidation (anammox), and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) were the primary factors accounted for the robust NH4(+)-N treatment performance. The presence of DNRA, nitrification, and denitrification was determined to be a pivotal pathway that contributed to the nitrate accumulation in the biofilter. The enrichment of functional genes at different depth gradients and the multi-path coupled cooperation at the functional gene level are conducive to achieving complete nitrogen removal. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reducing RN Vacancy Rate: A Nursing Recruitment Office Process Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Hisgen, Stephanie A; Page, Nancy E; Thornlow, Deirdre K; Merwin, Elizabeth I

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to reduce the RN vacancy rate at an academic medical center by improving the hiring process in the Nursing Recruitment Office. Inability to fill RN positions can lead to higher vacancy rates and negatively impact staff and patient satisfaction, quality outcomes, and the organization's bottom line. The Model for Improvement was used to design and implement a process improvement project to improve the hiring process from time of interview through the position being filled. Number of days to interview and check references decreased significantly, but no change in overall time to hire and time to fill positions was noted. RN vacancy rate also decreased significantly. Nurse manager satisfaction with the hiring process increased significantly. Redesigning the recruitment process supported operational efficiencies of the organization related to RN recruitment.

Controls of Sediment Nitrogen Dynamics in Tropical Coastal Lagoons

Science.gov (United States)

Enrich-Prast, Alex; Figueiredo, Viviane; Esteves, Francisco de Assis; Nielsen, Lars Peter

2016-01-01

Sediment denitrification rates seem to be lower in tropical environments than in temperate environments. Using the isotope pairing technique, we measured actual denitrification rates in the sediment of tropical coastal lagoons. To explain the low denitrification rates observed at all study sites (<5 μmol N2 m-2 h-1), we also evaluated potential oxygen (O2) consumption, potential nitrification, potential denitrification, potential anammox, and estimated dissimilatory nitrate (NO3-) reduction to ammonium (NH4+; DNRA) in the sediment. 15NO3- and 15NH4+ conversion was measured in oxic and anoxic slurries from the sediment surface. Sediment potential O2 consumption was used as a proxy for overall mineralization activity. Actual denitrification rates and different potential nitrogen (N) oxidation and reduction processes were significantly correlated with potential O2 consumption. The contribution of potential nitrification to total O2 consumption decreased from contributing 9% at sites with the lowest sediment mineralization rates to less than 0.1% at sites with the highest rates. NO3- reduction switched completely from potential denitrification to estimated DNRA. Ammonium oxidation and nitrite (NO2-) reduction by potential anammox contributed up to 3% in sediments with the lowest sediment mineralization rates. The majority of these patterns could be explained by variations in the microbial environments from stable and largely oxic conditions at low sediment mineralization sites to more variable conditions and the prevalences of anaerobic microorganisms at high sediment mineralization sites. Furthermore, the presence of algal and microbial mats on the sediment had a significant effect on all studied processes. We propose a theoretical model based on low and high sediment mineralization rates to explain the growth, activity, and distribution of microorganisms carrying out denitrification and DNRA in sediments that can explain the dominance or coexistence of DNRA and

Transient simulation of regression rate on thrust regulation process in hybrid rocket motor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tian Hui

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this paper is to study the characteristics of regression rate of solid grain during thrust regulation process. For this purpose, an unsteady numerical model of regression rate is established. Gas–solid coupling is considered between the solid grain surface and combustion gas. Dynamic mesh is used to simulate the regression process of the solid fuel surface. Based on this model, numerical simulations on a H2O2/HTPB (hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene hybrid motor have been performed in the flow control process. The simulation results show that under the step change of the oxidizer mass flow rate condition, the regression rate cannot reach a stable value instantly because the flow field requires a short time period to adjust. The regression rate increases with the linear gain of oxidizer mass flow rate, and has a higher slope than the relative inlet function of oxidizer flow rate. A shorter regulation time can cause a higher regression rate during regulation process. The results also show that transient calculation can better simulate the instantaneous regression rate in the operation process.

Anaerobic Ammonium-Oxidizing Bacteria: Unique Microorganisms with Exceptional Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Jetten, Mike S. M.

2012-01-01

Summary: Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria defy many microbiological concepts and share numerous properties with both eukaryotes and archaea. Among their most intriguing characteristics are their compartmentalized cell plan and archaeon-like cell wall. Here we review our current knowledge about anammox cell biology. The anammox cell is divided into three separate compartments by bilayer membranes. The anammox cell consists of (from outside to inside) the cell wall, paryphoplasm, riboplasm, and anammoxosome. Not much is known about the composition or function of both the anammox cell wall and the paryphoplasm compartment. The cell wall is proposed to be proteinaceous and to lack both peptidoglycan and an outer membrane typical of Gram-negative bacteria. The function of the paryphoplasm is unknown, but it contains the cell division ring. The riboplasm resembles the standard cytoplasmic compartment of other bacteria; it contains ribosomes and the nucleoid. The anammoxosome occupies most of the cell volume and is a so-called “prokaryotic organelle” analogous to the eukaryotic mitochondrion. This is the site where the anammox reaction takes place, coupled over the curved anammoxosome membrane, possibly giving rise to a proton motive force and subsequent ATP synthesis. With these unique properties, anammox bacteria are food for thought concerning the early evolution of the domains Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. PMID:22933561

Microbial catabolic activities are naturally selected by metabolic energy harvest rate.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Cabaleiro, Rebeca; Ofiţeru, Irina D; Lema, Juan M; Rodríguez, Jorge

2015-12-01

The fundamental trade-off between yield and rate of energy harvest per unit of substrate has been largely discussed as a main characteristic for microbial established cooperation or competition. In this study, this point is addressed by developing a generalized model that simulates competition between existing and not experimentally reported microbial catabolic activities defined only based on well-known biochemical pathways. No specific microbial physiological adaptations are considered, growth yield is calculated coupled to catabolism energetics and a common maximum biomass-specific catabolism rate (expressed as electron transfer rate) is assumed for all microbial groups. Under this approach, successful microbial metabolisms are predicted in line with experimental observations under the hypothesis of maximum energy harvest rate. Two microbial ecosystems, typically found in wastewater treatment plants, are simulated, namely: (i) the anaerobic fermentation of glucose and (ii) the oxidation and reduction of nitrogen under aerobic autotrophic (nitrification) and anoxic heterotrophic and autotrophic (denitrification) conditions. The experimentally observed cross feeding in glucose fermentation, through multiple intermediate fermentation pathways, towards ultimately methane and carbon dioxide is predicted. Analogously, two-stage nitrification (by ammonium and nitrite oxidizers) is predicted as prevailing over nitrification in one stage. Conversely, denitrification is predicted in one stage (by denitrifiers) as well as anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation). The model results suggest that these observations are a direct consequence of the different energy yields per electron transferred at the different steps of the pathways. Overall, our results theoretically support the hypothesis that successful microbial catabolic activities are selected by an overall maximum energy harvest rate.

Prokaryotic community composition involved production of nitrogen in sediments of Mejillones Bay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraga, Ruben; Galan, Alexander; Rosello-Mora, Ramon; Araya, Ruben; Valdes, Jorge

2014-01-01

Conventional denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) contributes to nitrogen loss in oxygen-deficient systems, thereby influencing many aspects of ecosystem function and global biogeochemistry. Mejillones Bay, northern Chile, presents ideal conditions to study nitrogen removal processes, because it is inserted in a coastal upwelling system, its sediments have anoxia and hypoxia conditions and under the influence of the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ), unknown processes that occur there and what are the microbial communities responsible for their removal. Microbial communities associated with coastal sediments of Mejillones Bay were studied by denaturing gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), by incubation experiments with 15 N isotope tracers were studied nitrogen loss processes operating in these sediments. DGGE analysis showed high bacterial diversity, certain redundant phylotypes and differences in community structure given by the depth; this reflects the microbial community adaptations to environmental conditions. A large fraction (up to 70%) of DAPI-stained cells hybridized with the bacterial probes. Nearly 52-90% of the cell could be further identified to know phyla. Members of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster were most abundant in the sediments (13-26%), followed by Proteobacteria. Isotopic tracer experiments for the sediments studied indicated that nitrogen loss processes that predominated were performed by denitrifying communities (43.31-111.20 μMd -1 ) was not possible to detect anammox in the area and not anammox bacteria were detected

Microbial nitrogen transformation potential in surface run-off leachate from a tropical landfill

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mangimbulude, Jubhar C.; Straalen, Nico M. van; Röling, Wilfred F.M.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Microbial nitrogen transformations can alleviate toxic ammonium discharge. ► Aerobic ammonium oxidation was rate-limiting in Indonesian landfill leachate. ►Organic nitrogen ammonification was most dominant. ► Anaerobic nitrate reduction and ammonium oxidation potential were also high. ► A two-stage aerobic-anaerobic nitrogen removal system needs to be implemented. - Abstract: Ammonium is one of the major toxic compounds and a critical long-term pollutant in landfill leachate. Leachate from the Jatibarang landfill in Semarang, Indonesia, contains ammonium in concentrations ranging from 376 to 929 mg N L −1 . The objective of this study was to determine seasonal variation in the potential for organic nitrogen ammonification, aerobic nitrification, anaerobic nitrate reduction and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) at this landfilling site. Seasonal samples from leachate collection treatment ponds were used as an inoculum to feed synthetic media to determine potential rates of nitrogen transformations. Aerobic ammonium oxidation potential ( −1 h −1 ) was more than a hundred times lower than the anaerobic nitrogen transformation processes and organic nitrogen ammonification, which were of the same order of magnitude. Anaerobic nitrate oxidation did not proceed beyond nitrite; isolates grown with nitrate as electron acceptor did not degrade nitrite further. Effects of season were only observed for aerobic nitrification and anammox, and were relatively minor: rates were up to three times higher in the dry season. To completely remove the excess ammonium from the leachate, we propose a two-stage treatment system to be implemented. Aeration in the first leachate pond would strongly contribute to aerobic ammonium oxidation to nitrate by providing the currently missing oxygen in the anaerobic leachate and allowing for the growth of ammonium oxidisers. In the second pond the remaining ammonium and produced nitrate can be converted by a

Effects of inorganic carbon on the nitrous oxide emissions and microbial diversity of an anaerobic ammonia oxidation reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenjie; Wang, Dunqiu; Jin, Yue

2018-02-01

Inorganic carbon (IC) is important for anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). In this study, the effects of the IC concentration on N 2 O emissions and microbial diversity in an anammox reactor were investigated. N 2 O emissions were positively correlated with IC concentrations, and IC concentrations in the range of 55-130 mg/L were optimal, considering the nitrogen removal rate and N 2 O emissions. High IC concentrations resulted in the formation of CaCO 3 on the surface of anammox granules, which impacted the diffusion conditions of the substrate. Microbial community analysis indicated that high IC concentrations decreased the populations of specific bacteria, such as Achromobacter spanius strain YJART-7, Achromobacter xylosoxidans strain IHB B 6801, and Denitratisoma oestradiolicum clone 20b_15. D. oestradiolicum clone 20b_15 appeared to be the key contributor to N 2 O emissions. High N 2 O emissions may result from changes in organic carbon sources, which lead to denitrification by D. oestradiolicum clone 20b_15. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High rates of organic carbon processing in the hyporheic zone of intermittent streams.

Science.gov (United States)

Burrows, Ryan M; Rutlidge, Helen; Bond, Nick R; Eberhard, Stefan M; Auhl, Alexandra; Andersen, Martin S; Valdez, Dominic G; Kennard, Mark J

2017-10-16

Organic carbon cycling is a fundamental process that underpins energy transfer through the biosphere. However, little is known about the rates of particulate organic carbon processing in the hyporheic zone of intermittent streams, which is often the only wetted environment remaining when surface flows cease. We used leaf litter and cotton decomposition assays, as well as rates of microbial respiration, to quantify rates of organic carbon processing in surface and hyporheic environments of intermittent and perennial streams under a range of substrate saturation conditions. Leaf litter processing was 48% greater, and cotton processing 124% greater, in the hyporheic zone compared to surface environments when calculated over multiple substrate saturation conditions. Processing was also greater in more saturated surface environments (i.e. pools). Further, rates of microbial respiration on incubated substrates in the hyporheic zone were similar to, or greater than, rates in surface environments. Our results highlight that intermittent streams are important locations for particulate organic carbon processing and that the hyporheic zone sustains this fundamental process even without surface flow. Not accounting for carbon processing in the hyporheic zone of intermittent streams may lead to an underestimation of its local ecological significance and collective contribution to landscape carbon processes.

An operation protocol for facilitating start-up of single-stage autotrophic nitrogen removing reactors based on process stoichiometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mutlu, A. Gizem; Vangsgaard, Anna Katrine; Sin, Gürkan

2012-01-01

Start-up and operation of single-stage nitritation/anammox reactor employing complete autotrophic nitrogen can be difficult. Keeping the performance criteria and monitoring the microbial community composition may not be easy or fast enough to take action on time. In this study, a control strategy...

Transition to high rate aerospace NDI processes

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderheiden, Bert; Thomson, Clint; Ivakhnenko, Igor; Garner, Chuck

2018-04-01

With the rapidly expanding use of carbon fiber composite materials in military and commercial aircraft, processes to manufacture and inspect the structural components must evolve to ensure economic viability. Inspection techniques which were developed to inspect products produced at a rate of one or two structures a month are not fast or flexible enough to inspect more than 8500 parts per month. This presentation describes the evolution of phased array ultrasonic inspection systems to provide the increased rate capacity, the flexibility to accommodate multiple unique designs, and the ability to rapidly adjust to product design changes. The paper will describe how system developments were made in response to new programs resulting in a much less expensive, higher degree of accuracy, increased flexibility, and lower cycle time inspections.

Wafer size effect on material removal rate in copper CMP process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yuh, Minjong; Jang, Soocheon; Park, Inho; Jeong, Haedo [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2017-06-15

The semiconductor industry has employed the Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) to enable surface topography control. Copper has been used to build interconnects because of its low-resistivity and high-electromigration. In this study, the effect of wafer size on the Material removal rate (MRR) in copper CMP process was investigated. CMP experiments were conducted using copper blanket wafers with diameter of 100, 150, 200 and 300 mm, while temperature and friction force were measured by infrared and piezoelectric sen-sors. The MRR increases with an increase in wafer size under the same process conditions. The wafer size increased the sliding distance of pad, resulting in an increase in the process temperature. This increased the process temperature, accelerating the chemical etching rate and the dynamic etch rate. The sliding distance of the pad was proportional to the square of the wafer radius; it may be used to predict CMP results and design a CMP machine.

Biological deammonification of livestock effluents after anaerobic digestion using specialized bacterial cultures

Science.gov (United States)

We investigated a deammonification process for the removal of ammonia from anaerobi digestion (AD) effluents. This process is autotrophic and removes N without carbon. Instant deammonification reaction was obtained by mixing a high performance nitrifying sludge (HPNS) (NRRL B-50298) with anammox slu...

r-PROCESS LANTHANIDE PRODUCTION AND HEATING RATES IN KILONOVAE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lippuner, Jonas; Roberts, Luke F., E-mail: jlippuner@tapir.caltech.edu [TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, MC 350-17, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena CA 91125 (United States)

2015-12-20

r-process nucleosynthesis in material ejected during neutron star mergers may lead to radioactively powered transients called kilonovae. The timescale and peak luminosity of these transients depend on the composition of the ejecta, which determines the local heating rate from nuclear decays and the opacity. Kasen et al. and Tanaka and Hotokezaka pointed out that lanthanides can drastically increase the opacity in these outflows. We use the new general-purpose nuclear reaction network SkyNet to carry out a parameter study of r-process nucleosynthesis for a range of initial electron fractions Y{sub e}, initial specific entropies s, and expansion timescales τ. We find that the ejecta is lanthanide-free for Y{sub e} ≳ 0.22−0.30, depending on s and τ. The heating rate is insensitive to s and τ, but certain, larger values of Y{sub e} lead to reduced heating rates, due to individual nuclides dominating the heating. We calculate approximate light curves with a simplified gray radiative transport scheme. The light curves peak at about a day (week) in the lanthanide-free (-rich) cases. The heating rate does not change much as the ejecta becomes lanthanide-free with increasing Y{sub e}, but the light-curve peak becomes about an order of magnitude brighter because it peaks much earlier when the heating rate is larger. We also provide parametric fits for the heating rates between 0.1 and 100 days, and we provide a simple fit in Y{sub e}, s, and τ to estimate whether or not the ejecta is lanthanide-rich.

r-PROCESS LANTHANIDE PRODUCTION AND HEATING RATES IN KILONOVAE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lippuner, Jonas; Roberts, Luke F.

2015-01-01

r-process nucleosynthesis in material ejected during neutron star mergers may lead to radioactively powered transients called kilonovae. The timescale and peak luminosity of these transients depend on the composition of the ejecta, which determines the local heating rate from nuclear decays and the opacity. Kasen et al. and Tanaka and Hotokezaka pointed out that lanthanides can drastically increase the opacity in these outflows. We use the new general-purpose nuclear reaction network SkyNet to carry out a parameter study of r-process nucleosynthesis for a range of initial electron fractions Y e , initial specific entropies s, and expansion timescales τ. We find that the ejecta is lanthanide-free for Y e ≳ 0.22−0.30, depending on s and τ. The heating rate is insensitive to s and τ, but certain, larger values of Y e lead to reduced heating rates, due to individual nuclides dominating the heating. We calculate approximate light curves with a simplified gray radiative transport scheme. The light curves peak at about a day (week) in the lanthanide-free (-rich) cases. The heating rate does not change much as the ejecta becomes lanthanide-free with increasing Y e , but the light-curve peak becomes about an order of magnitude brighter because it peaks much earlier when the heating rate is larger. We also provide parametric fits for the heating rates between 0.1 and 100 days, and we provide a simple fit in Y e , s, and τ to estimate whether or not the ejecta is lanthanide-rich

Anaerobic ammonia oxidation in a fertilized paddy soil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhu, Guibing; Wang, Shanyun; Wang, Yu

2011-01-01

Evidence for anaerobic ammonium oxidation in a paddy field was obtained in Southern China using an isotope-pairing technique, quantitative PCR assays and 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, along with nutrient profiles of soil cores. A paddy field with a high load of slurry manure as fertilizer...... was selected for this study and was shown to contain a high amount of ammonium (6.2–178.8 mg kg−1). The anaerobic oxidation of ammonium (anammox) rates in this paddy soil ranged between 0.5 and 2.9 nmolN per gram of soil per hour in different depths of the soil core, and the specific cellular anammox activity...

Process error rates in general research applications to the Human ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective. To examine process error rates in applications for ethics clearance of health research. Methods. Minutes of 586 general research applications made to a human health research ethics committee (HREC) from April 2008 to March 2009 were examined. Rates of approval were calculated and reasons for requiring ...

Outcompeting nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in single-stage nitrogen removal in sewage treatment plants: a model-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Julio; Lotti, Tommaso; Kleerebezem, Robbert; Picioreanu, Cristian; van Loosdrecht, Mark C M

2014-12-01

This model-based study investigated the mechanisms and operational window for efficient repression of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in an autotrophic nitrogen removal process. The operation of a continuous single-stage granular sludge process was simulated for nitrogen removal from pretreated sewage at 10 °C. The effects of the residual ammonium concentration were explicitly analyzed with the model. Competition for oxygen between ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and NOB was found to be essential for NOB repression even when the suppression of nitrite oxidation is assisted by nitrite reduction by anammox (AMX). The nitrite half-saturation coefficient of NOB and AMX proved non-sensitive for the model output. The maximum specific growth rate of AMX bacteria proved a sensitive process parameter, because higher rates would provide a competitive advantage for AMX. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anthropogenic control on geomorphic process rates: can we slow down the erosion rates? (Geomorphology Outstanding Young Scientist Award & Penck Lecture)

Science.gov (United States)

Vanacker, V.

2012-04-01

The surface of the Earth is changing rapidly, largely in response to anthropogenic perturbation. Direct anthropogenic disturbance of natural environments may be much larger in many places than the (projected) indirect effects of climate change. There is now large evidence that humans have significantly altered geomorphic process rates, mainly through changes in vegetation composition, density and cover. While much attention has been given to the impact of vegetation degradation on geomorphic process rates, I suggest that the pathway of restoration is equally important to investigate. First, vegetation recovery after crop abandonment has a rapid and drastic impact on geomorphic process rates. Our data from degraded catchments in the tropical Andes show that erosion rates can be reduced by up to 100 times when increasing the protective vegetation cover. During vegetation restoration, the combined effects of the reduction in surface runoff, sediment production and hydrological connectivity are stronger than the individual effects together. Therefore, changes in erosion and sedimentation during restoration are not simply the reverse of those observed during degradation. Second, anthropogenic perturbation causes a profound but often temporary change in geomorphic process rates. Reconstruction of soil erosion rates in Spain shows us that modern erosion rates in well-vegetated areas are similar to long-term rates, despite evidence of strong pulses in historical erosion rates after vegetation clearance and agriculture. The soil vegetation system might be resilient to short pulses of accelerated erosion (and deposition), as there might exist a dynamic coupling between soil erosion and production also in degraded environments.

Securing a robust electrical discharge drilling process by means of flow rate control

Science.gov (United States)

Risto, Matthias; Munz, Markus; Haas, Ruediger; Abdolahi, Ali

2017-10-01

This paper deals with the increase of the process robustness while drilling cemented carbide using electrical discharge machining (EDM). A demand for high efficiency in the resulting diameter is equivalent with a high robustness of the EDM drilling process. Analysis were done to investigate the process robustness (standard deviation of the borehole diameter) when drilling cemented carbide. The investigation has shown that the dielectric flow rate changes over the drilling process. In this case the flow rate decreased with a shorter tool electrode due to an uneven wear of the tool electrode's cross section. Using a controlled flow rate during the drilling process has led to a reduced standard deviation of the borehole diameter, thus to a higher process robustness when drilling cemented carbide.

Representations for the rate of convergence of birth-death processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Doorn, Erik A.

2002-01-01

We display some representations for the rate of convergence of a birth-death process, which are useful for obtaining upper and lower bounds. The expressions are brought to light by exploiting the spectral representation for the transition probabilities of a birth-death process and results from the

Representations for the rate of convergence of birth-death processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Doorn, Erik A.

2001-01-01

We display some representations for the rate of convergence of a birth-death process, which are useful for obtaining upper and lower bounds. The expressions are brought to light by exploiting the spectral representation for the transition probabilities of a birth-death process and results from the

Dominant rate process of silicon surface etching by hydrogen chloride gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habuka, Hitoshi; Suzuki, Takahiro; Yamamoto, Sunao; Nakamura, Akio; Takeuchi, Takashi; Aihara, Masahiko

2005-01-01

Silicon surface etching and its dominant rate process are studied using hydrogen chloride gas in a wide concentration range of 1-100% in ambient hydrogen at atmospheric pressure in a temperature range of 1023-1423 K, linked with the numerical calculation accounting for the transport phenomena and the surface chemical reaction in the entire reactor. The etch rate, the gaseous products and the surface morphology are experimentally evaluated. The dominant rate equation accounting for the first-order successive reactions at silicon surface by hydrogen chloride gas is shown to be valid. The activation energy of the dominant surface process is evaluated to be 1.5 x 10 5 J mol - 1 . The silicon deposition by the gaseous by-product, trichlorosilane, is shown to have a negligible influence on the silicon etch rate

Population processes with unbounded extinction rate conditioned to non-extinction

OpenAIRE

Champagnat, Nicolas; Villemonais, Denis

2016-01-01

This article studies the quasi-stationary behaviour of population processes with unbounded absorption rate, including one-dimensional birth and death processes with catastrophes and multi-dimensional birth and death processes, modeling biological populations in interaction. To handle this situation, we develop original non-linear Lyapunov criteria. We obtain the exponential convergence in total variation of the conditional distributions to a unique quasi-stationary distribution, uniformly wit...

Soil Production and Erosion Rates and Processes in Mountainous Landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

Heimsath, A. M.; DiBiase, R. A.; Whipple, K. X.

2012-12-01

We focus here on high-relief, steeply sloped landscapes from the Nepal Himalaya to the San Gabriels of California that are typically thought to be at a critical threshold of soil cover. Observations reveal that, instead, there are significant areas mantled with soil that fit the conceptual framework of a physically mobile layer derived from the underlying parent material with some locally-derived organic content. The extent and persistence of such soils depends on the long-term balance between soil production and erosion despite the perceived discrepancy between high erosion and low soil production rates. We present cosmogenic Be-10-derived soil production and erosion rates that show that soil production increases with catchment-averaged erosion, suggesting a feedback that enhances soil-cover persistence, even in threshold landscapes. Soil production rates do decline systematically with increasing soil thickness, but hint at the potential for separate soil production functions for different erosional regimes. We also show that a process transistion to landslide-dominated erosion results in thinner, patchier soils and rockier topography, but find that there is no sudden transition to bedrock landscapes. Our landslide modeling is combined with a detailed quantification of bedrock exposure for these steep, mountainous landscapes. We also draw an important conclusion connecting the physical processes producing and transporting soil and the chemical processes weathering the parent material by measuring parent material strength across three different field settings. We observe that parent material strength increases with overlying soil thickness and, therefore, the weathered extent of the saprolite. Soil production rates, thus, decrease with increasing parent material competence. These observation highlight the importance of quantifying hillslope hydrologic processes where such multi-facted measurements are made.

454-Pyrosequencing Analysis of Bacterial Communities from Autotrophic Nitrogen Removal Bioreactors Utilizing Universal Primers: Effect of Annealing Temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Martinez, Alejandro; Rodriguez-Sanchez, Alejandro; Rodelas, Belén; Abbas, Ben A; Martinez-Toledo, Maria Victoria; van Loosdrecht, Mark C M; Osorio, F; Gonzalez-Lopez, Jesus

2015-01-01

Identification of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria by molecular tools aimed at the evaluation of bacterial diversity in autotrophic nitrogen removal systems is limited by the difficulty to design universal primers for the Bacteria domain able to amplify the anammox 16S rRNA genes. A metagenomic analysis (pyrosequencing) of total bacterial diversity including anammox population in five autotrophic nitrogen removal technologies, two bench-scale models (MBR and Low Temperature CANON) and three full-scale bioreactors (anammox, CANON, and DEMON), was successfully carried out by optimization of primer selection and PCR conditions (annealing temperature). The universal primer 530F was identified as the best candidate for total bacteria and anammox bacteria diversity coverage. Salt-adjusted optimum annealing temperature of primer 530F was calculated (47°C) and hence a range of annealing temperatures of 44-49°C was tested. Pyrosequencing data showed that annealing temperature of 45°C yielded the best results in terms of species richness and diversity for all bioreactors analyzed.

Engineering aspects of rate-related processes in food manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Adachi, Shuji

2015-01-01

Many rate-related phenomena occur in food manufacturing processes. This review addresses four of them, all of which are topics that the author has studied in order to design food manufacturing processes that are favorable from the standpoint of food engineering. They include chromatographic separation through continuous separation with a simulated moving adsorber, lipid oxidation kinetics in emulsions and microencapsulated systems, kinetic analysis and extraction in subcritical water, and water migration in pasta.

Relativistic QRPA calculation of β-decay rates of r-process nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marketin, T.; Paar, N.; Niksic, T.

2009-01-01

The rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) is responsible for the creation of many nuclei heavier than iron. To describe the r-process, precise data is needed on a large number of neutron-rich nuclei, most of which are not experimentally reachable. One crucial parameter in modeling the nucleosynthesis are the half-lives of the nuclei through which the r-process runs. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop a reliable predictive model which can be applied to the decay of exotic nuclei. A fully self-consistent calculation of β-decay rates is presented, based on a microscopic theoretical framework. Nuclear ground state is determined using the Relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (RHB) model with density-dependent meson-nucleon coupling constants. Momentum dependent terms are also included to improve the density of single-particle states around the Fermi level via an increase of the effective nucleon mass [1]. Transition rates are calculated within the proton-neutron relativistic quasiparticle RPA using the same interaction that was used in the RHB equations. In this way no additional parameters are introduced in the RPA calculation. Weak interaction rates are calculated using the current-current formalism previously employed in the study of other astrophysically significant weak processes [2,3], which systematically includes the contributions of forbidden transitions. This theoretical framework will be utilized to study the contributions of forbidden transitions to the total decay rate in several mass regions. We will compare the calculated half-lives for several isotopic chains with previous calculations and experimental data and discuss possible improvements to the model.(author)

Does attention speed up processing? Decreases and increases of processing rates in visual prior entry.

Science.gov (United States)

Tünnermann, Jan; Petersen, Anders; Scharlau, Ingrid

2015-03-02

Selective visual attention improves performance in many tasks. Among others, it leads to "prior entry"--earlier perception of an attended compared to an unattended stimulus. Whether this phenomenon is purely based on an increase of the processing rate of the attended stimulus or if a decrease in the processing rate of the unattended stimulus also contributes to the effect is, up to now, unanswered. Here we describe a novel approach to this question based on Bundesen's Theory of Visual Attention, which we use to overcome the limitations of earlier prior-entry assessment with temporal order judgments (TOJs) that only allow relative statements regarding the processing speed of attended and unattended stimuli. Prevalent models of prior entry in TOJs either indirectly predict a pure acceleration or cannot model the difference between acceleration and deceleration. In a paradigm that combines a letter-identification task with TOJs, we show that indeed acceleration of the attended and deceleration of the unattended stimuli conjointly cause prior entry. © 2015 ARVO.

AUTOMATED SYSTEM OF DATA PROCESSING WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RATING TECHNOLOGY OF TEACHING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

О. И. Дзювина

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Rating technology of teaching enables independent and individual work of students, increase their motivation.Purpose: to increase the efficiency of data processing with the implementation of rating technology of teaching.Method: analysis, synthesis,experiment.Results. Developed an automated data processing system for the implementation of rating technology of teaching.Practical implication. Education.Purchase on Elibrary.ru > Buy now

Modeling of simultaneous anaerobic methane and ammonium oxidation in a membrane biofilm reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xueming; Guo, Jianhua; Shi, Ying; Hu, Shihu; Yuan, Zhiguo; Ni, Bing-Jie

2014-08-19

Nitrogen removal by using the synergy of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) microorganisms in a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) has previously been demonstrated experimentally. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to describe the simultaneous anaerobic methane and ammonium oxidation by DAMO and Anammox microorganisms in an MBfR for the first time. In this model, DAMO archaea convert nitrate, both externally fed and/or produced by Anammox, to nitrite, with methane as the electron donor. Anammox and DAMO bacteria jointly remove the nitrite fed/produced, with ammonium and methane as the electron donor, respectively. The model is successfully calibrated and validated using the long-term (over 400 days) dynamic experimental data from the MBfR, as well as two independent batch tests at different operational stages of the MBfR. The model satisfactorily describes the methane oxidation and nitrogen conversion data from the system. Modeling results show the concentration gradients of methane and nitrogen would cause stratification of the biofilm, where Anammox bacteria mainly grow in the biofilm layer close to the bulk liquid and DAMO organisms attach close to the membrane surface. The low surface methane loadings result in a low fraction of DAMO microorganisms, but the high surface methane loadings would lead to overgrowth of DAMO bacteria, which would compete with Anammox for nitrite and decrease the fraction of Anammox bacteria. The results suggest an optimal methane supply under the given condition should be applied not only to benefit the nitrogen removal but also to avoid potential methane emissions.

Nuclear structure and weak rates of heavy waiting point nuclei under rp-process conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Nabi, Jameel-Un; Böyükata, Mahmut

2017-01-01

The structure and the weak interaction mediated rates of the heavy waiting point (WP) nuclei 80Zr, 84Mo, 88Ru, 92Pd and 96Cd along N = Z line were studied within the interacting boson model-1 (IBM-1) and the proton-neutron quasi-particle random phase approximation (pn-QRPA). The energy levels of the N = Z WP nuclei were calculated by fitting the essential parameters of IBM-1 Hamiltonian and their geometric shapes were predicted by plotting potential energy surfaces (PESs). Half-lives, continuum electron capture rates, positron decay rates, electron capture cross sections of WP nuclei, energy rates of β-delayed protons and their emission probabilities were later calculated using the pn-QRPA. The calculated Gamow-Teller strength distributions were compared with previous calculation. We present positron decay and continuum electron capture rates on these WP nuclei under rp-process conditions using the same model. For the rp-process conditions, the calculated total weak rates are twice the Skyrme HF+BCS+QRPA rates for 80Zr. For remaining nuclei the two calculations compare well. The electron capture rates are significant and compete well with the corresponding positron decay rates under rp-process conditions. The finding of the present study supports that electron capture rates form an integral part of the weak rates under rp-process conditions and has an important role for the nuclear model calculations.

On the time-homogeneous Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process in the foreign exchange rates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fonseca, Regina C.B. da, E-mail: regina@quimica-industrial.com [Department of Mathematics, Instituto Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás 74055-110 (Brazil); International Center for Condensed Matter Physics, Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Caixa Postal 04455, 70919-970, Brasília, Distrito Federal (Brazil); Matsushita, Raul Y. [Department of Statistics, Universidade de Brasília, 70919-970, Brasília, Distrito Federal (Brazil); Castro, Márcio T. de; Figueiredo, Annibal [International Center for Condensed Matter Physics, Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Caixa Postal 04455, 70919-970, Brasília, Distrito Federal (Brazil)

2015-10-02

Since Gaussianity and stationarity assumptions cannot be fulfilled by financial data, the time-homogeneous Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (THOU) process was introduced as a candidate model to describe time series of financial returns [1]. It is an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) process in which these assumptions are replaced by linearity and time-homogeneity. We employ the OU and THOU processes to analyze daily foreign exchange rates against the US dollar. We confirm that the OU process does not fit the data, while in most cases the first four cumulants patterns from data can be described by the THOU process. However, there are some exceptions in which the data do not follow linearity or time-homogeneity assumptions. - Highlights: • Gaussianity and stationarity assumptions replaced by linearity and time-homogeneity. • We revisit the time-homogeneous Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (THOU) process. • We employ the THOU process to analyze foreign exchange rates against the US dollar. • The first four cumulants patterns from data can be described by the THOU process.

On the time-homogeneous Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process in the foreign exchange rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonseca, Regina C.B. da; Matsushita, Raul Y.; Castro, Márcio T. de; Figueiredo, Annibal

2015-01-01

Since Gaussianity and stationarity assumptions cannot be fulfilled by financial data, the time-homogeneous Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (THOU) process was introduced as a candidate model to describe time series of financial returns [1]. It is an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) process in which these assumptions are replaced by linearity and time-homogeneity. We employ the OU and THOU processes to analyze daily foreign exchange rates against the US dollar. We confirm that the OU process does not fit the data, while in most cases the first four cumulants patterns from data can be described by the THOU process. However, there are some exceptions in which the data do not follow linearity or time-homogeneity assumptions. - Highlights: • Gaussianity and stationarity assumptions replaced by linearity and time-homogeneity. • We revisit the time-homogeneous Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (THOU) process. • We employ the THOU process to analyze foreign exchange rates against the US dollar. • The first four cumulants patterns from data can be described by the THOU process

Probing polymer crystallization at processing-relevant cooling rates with synchrotron radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cavallo, Dario, E-mail: Dario.cavallo@unige.it [University of Genoa, Dept. of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genoa (Italy); Portale, Giuseppe [ESRF, Dubble CRG, Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO), 38043 Grenoble (France); Androsch, René [Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Center of Engineering Sciences, D-06099 Halle/S. (Germany)

2015-12-17

Processing of polymeric materials to produce any kind of goods, from films to complex objects, involves application of flow fields on the polymer melt, accompanied or followed by its rapid cooling. Typically, polymers solidify at cooling rates which span over a wide range, from a few to hundreds of °C/s. A novel method to probe polymer crystallization at processing-relevant cooling rates is proposed. Using a custom-built quenching device, thin polymer films are ballistically cooled from the melt at rates between approximately 10 and 200 °C/s. Thanks to highly brilliant synchrotron radiation and to state-of-the-art X-ray detectors, the crystallization process is followed in real-time, recording about 20 wide angle X-ray diffraction patterns per second while monitoring the instantaneous sample temperature. The method is applied to a series of industrially relevant polymers, such as isotactic polypropylene, its copolymers and virgin and nucleated polyamide-6. Their crystallization behaviour during rapid cooling is discussed, with particular attention to the occurrence of polymorphism, which deeply impact material’s properties.

454-Pyrosequencing Analysis of Bacterial Communities from Autotrophic Nitrogen Removal Bioreactors Utilizing Universal Primers: Effect of Annealing Temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandro Gonzalez-Martinez

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Identification of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox bacteria by molecular tools aimed at the evaluation of bacterial diversity in autotrophic nitrogen removal systems is limited by the difficulty to design universal primers for the Bacteria domain able to amplify the anammox 16S rRNA genes. A metagenomic analysis (pyrosequencing of total bacterial diversity including anammox population in five autotrophic nitrogen removal technologies, two bench-scale models (MBR and Low Temperature CANON and three full-scale bioreactors (anammox, CANON, and DEMON, was successfully carried out by optimization of primer selection and PCR conditions (annealing temperature. The universal primer 530F was identified as the best candidate for total bacteria and anammox bacteria diversity coverage. Salt-adjusted optimum annealing temperature of primer 530F was calculated (47°C and hence a range of annealing temperatures of 44–49°C was tested. Pyrosequencing data showed that annealing temperature of 45°C yielded the best results in terms of species richness and diversity for all bioreactors analyzed.

Dual resonance approach to optical signal processing beyond the carrier relaxation rate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heuck, Mikkel; Kristensen, Philip Trøst; Mørk, Jesper

2014-01-01

We propose using two optical cavities in a differential control scheme to increase the bandwidth of cavity-based semiconductor optical signal processing devices beyond the limit given by the slowest carrier relaxation rate of the medium.......We propose using two optical cavities in a differential control scheme to increase the bandwidth of cavity-based semiconductor optical signal processing devices beyond the limit given by the slowest carrier relaxation rate of the medium....

The rate-limiting process of hydrogen transport in Mo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohkoshi, Keishiro; Chikazawa, Yoshitaka; Bandourko, V; Yamaguchi, Kenji; Yamawaki, Michio [Tokyo Univ., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Nuclear Engineering Research Lab.

1996-10-01

Hydrogen isotope transport characteristics of Mo, whose refractory properties are considered to be suitable as plasma facing material, was investigated by applying 3 keV D{sub 2}{sup +} beam to the membrane specimen. The Arrhenius plot of deuterium permeation probability showed linear increase against the reciprocal temperature and its apparent activation energy was determined as 41.5 kJ/mol. The simultaneous irradiation of 3 keV Ar{sup +} onto backside surface of specimen had little effect on the deuterium permeation rate. According to these results, the rate-limiting process of deuterium transport in Mo was determined. (author)

Optimization of mass flow rate in RGTT200K coolant purification for Carbon Monoxide conversion process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumijanto; Sriyono

2016-01-01

Carbon monoxide is a species that is difficult to be separated from the reactor coolant helium because it has a relatively small molecular size. So it needs a process of conversion from carbon monoxide to carbondioxide. The rate of conversion of carbon monoxide in the purification system is influenced by several parameters including concentration, temperature and mass flow rate. In this research, optimization of the mass flow rate in coolant purification of RGTT200K for carbon monoxide conversion process was done. Optimization is carried out by using software Super Pro Designer. The rate of reduction of reactant species, the growth rate between the species and the species products in the conversion reactions equilibrium were analyzed to derive the mass flow rate optimization of purification for carbon monoxide conversion process. The purpose of this study is to find the mass flow rate of purification for the preparation of the basic design of the RGTT200K coolant helium purification system. The analysis showed that the helium mass flow rate of 0.6 kg/second resulted in an un optimal conversion process. The optimal conversion process was reached at a mass flow rate of 1.2 kg/second. A flow rate of 3.6 kg/second – 12 kg/second resulted in an ineffective process. For supporting the basic design of the RGTT200K helium purification system, the mass flow rate for carbon monoxide conversion process is suggested to be 1.2 kg/second. (author)

A novel method of simultaneous NH4+ and NO3- removal using Fe cycling as a catalyst: Feammox coupled with NAFO.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiang; Yuan, Yan; Huang, Yong; Liu, Heng-Wei; Bi, Zhen; Yuan, Yi; Yang, Peng-Bin

2018-08-01

The feasibility of using Feammox coupled with nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidizing (NAFO) to cause the simultaneous conversion of NH 4 + and NO 3 - was explored by inoculation with Feammox sludge and the use Fe cycling as catalyst. After 61days operation, the simultaneous conversion of NO 3 - and NH 4 + occurred with the presence of interconversion between Fe(III) and Fe(II). The conversion ratio of NH 4 + to NO 3 - stabilized at 0.9-1. The results of isotopic tracing and microbial diversity analysis indicated that NH 4 + was first oxidized to NO 2 - by Fe(III), then NO 3 - was reduced to NO 2 - and N 2 by the Fe(II) produced in Feammox process, and finally, the NO 2 - produced in NAFO process underwent an Anammox process with the remaining NH 4 + to yield N 2 . The results showed the simultaneous continuous conversion process of NO 3 - and NH 4 + with limited Fe as a catalyst was a coupled process of Feammox, Anammox, and NAFO under the anaerobic conditions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simple bounds for counting processes with monotone rate of occurrence of failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaminskiy, Mark P.

2007-01-01

The article discusses some aspects of analogy between certain classes of distributions used as models for time to failure of nonrepairable objects, and the counting processes used as models for failure process for repairable objects. The notion of quantiles for the counting processes with strictly increasing cumulative intensity function is introduced. The classes of counting processes with increasing (decreasing) rate of occurrence of failures are considered. For these classes, the useful nonparametric bounds for cumulative intensity function based on one known quantile are obtained. These bounds, which can be used for repairable objects, are similar to the bounds introduced by Barlow and Marshall [Barlow, R. Marshall, A. Bounds for distributions with monotone hazard rate, I and II. Ann Math Stat 1964; 35: 1234-74] for IFRA (DFRA) time to failure distributions applicable to nonrepairable objects

Dual Rate Adaptive Control for an Industrial Heat Supply Process Using Signal Compensation Approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chai, Tianyou; Jia, Yao; Wang, Hong; Su, Chun-Yi

2017-07-09

The industrial heat supply process (HSP) is a highly nonlinear cascaded process which uses a steam valve opening as its control input, the steam flow-rate as its inner loop output and the supply water temperature as its outer loop output. The relationship between the heat exchange rate and the model parameters, such as steam density, entropy, and fouling correction factor and heat exchange efficiency are unknown and nonlinear. Moreover, these model parameters vary in line with steam pressure, ambient temperature and the residuals caused by the quality variations of the circulation water. When the steam pressure and the ambient temperature are of high values and are subjected to frequent external random disturbances, the supply water temperature and the steam flow-rate would interact with each other and fluctuate a lot. This is also true when the process exhibits unknown characteristic variations of the process dynamics caused by the unexpected changes of the heat exchange residuals. As a result, it is difficult to control the supply water temperature and the rates of changes of steam flow-rate well inside their targeted ranges. In this paper, a novel compensation signal based dual rate adaptive controller is developed by representing the unknown variations of dynamics as unmodeled dynamics. In the proposed controller design, such a compensation signal is constructed and added onto the control signal obtained from the linear deterministic model based feedback control design. Such a compensation signal aims at eliminating the unmodeled dynamics and the rate of changes of the currently sample unmodeled dynamics. A successful industrial application is carried out, where it has been shown that both the supply water temperature and the rate of the changes of the steam flow-rate can be controlled well inside their targeted ranges when the process is subjected to unknown variations of its dynamics.

[Sediment-water flux and processes of nutrients and gaseous nitrogen release in a China River Reservoir].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhu-hong; Chen, Neng-wang; Wu, Yin-qi; Mo, Qiong-li; Zhou, Xing-peng; Lu, Ting; Tian, Yun

2014-09-01

The key processes and fluxes of nutrients (N and P) and gaseous N (N2 and N2O) across the sediment-water interface in a river reservoir (Xipi) of the Jiulong River watershed in southeast China were studied. Intact core sediment incubation of nutrients exchange, in-situ observation and lab incubation of excess dissolved N2 and N2O (products of nitrification, denitrification and Anammox), and determination of physiochemical and microbe parameters were carried out in 2013 for three representative sites along the lacustrine zone of the reservoir. Results showed that ammonium and phosphate were generally released from sediment to overlying water [with averaged fluxes of N (479.8 ± 675.4) mg. (m2. d)-1 and P (4. 56 ± 0.54) mg. (m2 d) -1] , while nitrate and nitrite diffused into the sediment. Flood events in the wet season could introduce a large amount of particulate organic matter that would be trapped by the dam reservoir, resulting in the high release fluxes of ammonium and phosphate observed in the following low-flow season. No clear spatial variation of sediment nutrient release was found in the lacustrine zone of the reservoir. Gaseous N release was dominated by excess dissolved N2 (98% of total), and the N2 flux from sediment was (15.8 ± 12. 5) mg (m2. d) -1. There was a longitudinal and vertical variation of excess dissolved N2, reflecting the combined results of denitrification and Anammox occurring in anoxic sediment and fluvial transport. Nitrification mainly occurred in the lower lacustrine zone, and the enrichment of N2O was likely regulated by the ratio of ammonium to DIN in water.

The effect of feed rate and recycle rate variable on leaching process of Na2Zro3 with HCl in continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) series

Science.gov (United States)

Palupi, Bekti; Supranto, Sediawan, Wahyudi Budi; Setyadji, Moch.

2017-05-01

This time, the natural resources of zircon sand is processed into several zirconium products which is utilized for various industries, such as ceramics, glass industry, metal industry and nuclear industry. The process of zircon sand into zirconium products through several stages, one of them is leaching process of Na2ZrO3 with HCl. In this research, several variations of recycle-rate/feed-rate had been done to determine the effect on leaching process. The leaching was processed at temperature of 90°C, ratio of Na2ZrO3:HCl = 1g:30mL, and 142 rotary per minute of stirring speed for 30 minutes with variation of recycle-rate/feed-rate such as 0.478, 0.299, 0.218, 0.171 and 0.141. The diameter size of Na2ZrO3 powder that used are 0.088 to 0.149 mm. This process was carried out in Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) series with recycle. Based on this research, the greater of the recycle-rate/feed-rate variable, the obtained Zr recovery decreased. The correlation between recycle-rate/feed-rate and Zr recovery is shown by the equation y = -146.91x + 103.51, where y is the Zr recovery and x is the recycle-rate/feed-rate. The highest Zr recovery was 90.52% obtained at recycle-rate/feed-rate 0.141. The mathematical modeling involving the probability model P(r) = 2β2r2 exp(-βr2) can be applied to this leaching process with Sum of Squared Errors (SSE) values in the range of 6×10-7 - 7×10-6.

Analysis of heating effect on the process of high deposition rate microcrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao-Dan, Zhang; He, Zhang; Chang-Chun, Wei; Jian, Sun; Guo-Fu, Hou; Shao-Zhen, Xiong; Xin-Hua, Geng; Ying, Zhao

2010-01-01

A possible heating effect on the process of high deposition rate microcrystalline silicon has been studied. It includes the discharge time-accumulating heating effect, discharge power, inter-electrode distance, and total gas flow rate induced heating effect. It is found that the heating effects mentioned above are in some ways quite similar to and in other ways very different from each other. However, all of them will directly or indirectly cause the increase of the substrate surface temperature during the process of depositing microcrystalline silicon thin films, which will affect the properties of the materials with increasing time. This phenomenon is very serious for the high deposition rate of microcrystalline silicon thin films because of the high input power and the relatively small inter-electrode distance needed. Through analysis of the heating effects occurring in the process of depositing microcrystalline silicon, it is proposed that the discharge power and the heating temperature should be as low as possible, and the total gas flow rate and the inter-electrode distance should be suitable so that device-grade high quality deposition rate microcrystalline silicon thin films can be fabricated

Distribution and relative quantification of key genes involved in fixed nitrogen loss from the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Jayakumar, A.; Naqvi, S.W.A.; Ward, B.B.

diversity than the very high diversities reported from estuarine and sedimentary environments. 16S rRNA partial gene sequences revealed very limited diversity among anammox sequences. All the anammox sequences were greater than or equal to 98% identical...

Point process analyses of variations in smoking rate by setting, mood, gender, and dependence

Science.gov (United States)

Shiffman, Saul; Rathbun, Stephen L.

2010-01-01

The immediate emotional and situational antecedents of ad libitum smoking are still not well understood. We re-analyzed data from Ecological Momentary Assessment using novel point-process analyses, to assess how craving, mood, and social setting influence smoking rate, as well as assessing the moderating effects of gender and nicotine dependence. 304 smokers recorded craving, mood, and social setting using electronic diaries when smoking and at random nonsmoking times over 16 days of smoking. Point-process analysis, which makes use of the known random sampling scheme for momentary variables, examined main effects of setting and interactions with gender and dependence. Increased craving was associated with higher rates of smoking, particularly among women. Negative affect was not associated with smoking rate, even in interaction with arousal, but restlessness was associated with substantially higher smoking rates. Women's smoking tended to be less affected by negative affect. Nicotine dependence had little moderating effect on situational influences. Smoking rates were higher when smokers were alone or with others smoking, and smoking restrictions reduced smoking rates. However, the presence of others smoking undermined the effects of restrictions. The more sensitive point-process analyses confirmed earlier findings, including the surprising conclusion that negative affect by itself was not related to smoking rates. Contrary to hypothesis, men's and not women's smoking was influenced by negative affect. Both smoking restrictions and the presence of others who are not smoking suppress smoking, but others’ smoking undermines the effects of restrictions. Point-process analyses of EMA data can bring out even small influences on smoking rate. PMID:21480683

The explicit form of the rate function for semi-Markov processes and its contractions

Science.gov (United States)

Sughiyama, Yuki; Kobayashi, Testuya J.

2018-03-01

We derive the explicit form of the rate function for semi-Markov processes. Here, the ‘random time change trick’ plays an essential role. Also, by exploiting the contraction principle of large deviation theory to the explicit form, we show that the fluctuation theorem (Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry) holds for semi-Markov cases. Furthermore, we elucidate that our rate function is an extension of the level 2.5 rate function for Markov processes to semi-Markov cases.

A wastewater game-changer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, Richard

2014-01-01

Full text: Anaerobic ammonium oxidation is a biotechnology that could slash energy use, chemical inputs and greenhouse emissions in wastewater treatment. The Australian water sector is slowly tuning in to one of the world's most promising wastewater and trade waste treatment technologies, anammox. SA Water, Queensland United Utilities and Veolia Water are each at different stages of trials of ''anaerobic ammonium oxidation'' to replace activated sludge in removing nitrogen. It relies on special anammox bacteria, which were first identified in 1999 and have been heavily researched ever since. The bacteria short circuit the normal nitrification/denitrification process and oxidise ammonia (NH_3) to nitrogen (N_2) under anaerobic conditions, promising deep cuts in energy demand, chemical use, fugitive greenhouse emissions and waterway impacts. Most local utilities have taken a look at it, but WME is aware of only three that have proceeded to trial stage. Veolia Water is keeping the trial it is supporting with its ANITA Mox technology under wraps for now, but municipal client manager Voon Chin said the technology has been proven for numerous applications overseas, including sludge dewatering effluent (SDE). QUU is in now stepping up from bench-scale tests to a full pilot at its Luggage Point sewage treatment plant (STP). It is currently enriching anammox cultures in 200-litre drums onsite to speed up the painstaking conditioning process when the plant gets up and running shortly in a 40-foot shipping container. But the most advanced are SA Water and Degremont through their Allwater joint venture, which runs Adelaide's water and sewerage network. It has wrapped up Australia's first pilot project, a 4m"3 plant treating SDE at the Bolivar STP. An Allwater spokesperson told WME in a statement that the pilot was a success and they are now assessing full- scale options. A paper to Enviro 2012anticipated a full-scale plant at Bolivar would create operational savings of $650

Rapid and accurate processing method for amide proton exchange rate measurement in proteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koskela, Harri; Heikkinen, Outi; Kilpelaeinen, Ilkka; Heikkinen, Sami

2007-01-01

Exchange between protein backbone amide hydrogen and water gives relevant information about solvent accessibility and protein secondary structure stability. NMR spectroscopy provides a convenient tool to study these dynamic processes with saturation transfer experiments. Processing of this type of NMR spectra has traditionally required peak integration followed by exponential fitting, which can be tedious with large data sets. We propose here a computer-aided method that applies inverse Laplace transform in the exchange rate measurement. With this approach, the determination of exchange rates can be automated, and reliable results can be acquired rapidly without a need for manual processing

Enhancing oil rate in solvent vapour extraction processes through tee-well pattern

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeng, F.; Knorr, K.D.; Wilton, R.R. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Canadian Section, Calgary, AB (Canada)]|[Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, SK (Canada)

2008-10-15

In order for the vapour extraction (VAPEX) process to be considered commercially viable, the production flow rate in classical VAPEX must be increased. The low flow rate can be attributed to the fact that the classical VAPEX process uses forces of buoyancy to distribute the solvent and gravity to drain the diluted oil to the producer. This paper presented a new well pattern, referred to as the tee-SVX process, that may enhance the oil flow rate two to ten times over the classical approach. Additional horizontal injectors, perpendicular to the injector and the producer in classical VAPEX were placed in the top-most region of the reservoir in the new well pattern. The paper described the model development which involved conducting a series of simulation runs in order to evaluate the performance of the new well pattern. The paper also presented a comparison of the performance of the tee-SVX and the classical VAPEX and lateral-SVX. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to further evaluate the performance of tee-SVX and provide the boundaries of the application of the process. Two types of factors affecting the performance of tee-SVX were outlined, notably design factors; and formation and fluid uncertainties. The performance of tee-SVX in thinner reservoirs and in reservoirs with a gas cap were also examined. It was concluded that compared with the lateral-SVX process, the tee-SVX process could significantly reduce the time to solvent breakthrough. 12 refs., 2 tabs., 30 figs.

Fluoroscopic dose reduction by acquisition frame rate reduction and image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fritz, S.L.; Mirvis, S.E.; Pals, S.O.

1986-01-01

A new design for fluoroscopic exposure reduction incorporates pulsed x-ray exposure, progressive scan video acquisition at frame rates below 30 Hz, interlaced video display at 30 Hz, and a video rate image processing. To evaluate this design, a variety of phantom systems have been developed to measure the impact of low frame rate pulsed digital fluoroscopy on the performance of several clinical tasks (e.g., catheter placement). The authors are currently using these phantoms with a digital fluoroscopy system using continuous x-ray, interlaced video acquisition and variable acquisition frame rate. The design of their target digital fluoroscopic system, sample image sequences, and the results of some preliminary phantom studies are reported

Predicting online ratings based on the opinion spreading process

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xing-Sheng; Zhou, Ming-Yang; Zhuo, Zhao; Fu, Zhong-Qian; Liu, Jian-Guo

2015-10-01

Predicting users' online ratings is always a challenge issue and has drawn lots of attention. In this paper, we present a rating prediction method by combining the user opinion spreading process with the collaborative filtering algorithm, where user similarity is defined by measuring the amount of opinion a user transfers to another based on the primitive user-item rating matrix. The proposed method could produce a more precise rating prediction for each unrated user-item pair. In addition, we introduce a tunable parameter λ to regulate the preferential diffusion relevant to the degree of both opinion sender and receiver. The numerical results for Movielens and Netflix data sets show that this algorithm has a better accuracy than the standard user-based collaborative filtering algorithm using Cosine and Pearson correlation without increasing computational complexity. By tuning λ, our method could further boost the prediction accuracy when using Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) as measurements. In the optimal cases, on Movielens and Netflix data sets, the corresponding algorithmic accuracy (MAE and RMSE) are improved 11.26% and 8.84%, 13.49% and 10.52% compared to the item average method, respectively.

Modelling on optimal portfolio with exchange rate based on discontinuous stochastic process

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Wei; Chang, Yuwen

2016-12-01

Considering the stochastic exchange rate, this paper is concerned with the dynamic portfolio selection in financial market. The optimal investment problem is formulated as a continuous-time mathematical model under mean-variance criterion. These processes follow jump-diffusion processes (Weiner process and Poisson process). Then the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman(HJB) equation of the problem is presented and its efferent frontier is obtained. Moreover, the optimal strategy is also derived under safety-first criterion.

Adaptive Convergence Rates of a Dirichlet Process Mixture of Multivariate Normals

OpenAIRE

Tokdar, Surya T.

2011-01-01

It is shown that a simple Dirichlet process mixture of multivariate normals offers Bayesian density estimation with adaptive posterior convergence rates. Toward this, a novel sieve for non-parametric mixture densities is explored, and its rate adaptability to various smoothness classes of densities in arbitrary dimension is demonstrated. This sieve construction is expected to offer a substantial technical advancement in studying Bayesian non-parametric mixture models based on stick-breaking p...

Weak interaction rates for Kr and Sr waiting-point nuclei under rp-process conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarriguren, P.

2009-01-01

Weak interaction rates are studied in neutron deficient Kr and Sr waiting-point isotopes in ranges of densities and temperatures relevant for the rp process. The nuclear structure is described within a microscopic model (deformed QRPA) that reproduces not only the half-lives but also the Gamow-Teller strength distributions recently measured. The various sensitivities of the decay rates to both density and temperature are discussed. Continuum electron capture is shown to contribute significantly to the weak rates at rp-process conditions.

Influence of the feeding regime on the start-up and operation of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It was revealed that the feeding regime is an important factor in the successful start-up of the Anammox process. Nitrite concentration peaks at the beginning of a feeding period will lead to an unsuccessful start-up, while a slow input of nitrogen speeds up the process. Feeding regimes are less important in partial nitritation ...

Hybrid colored noise process with space-dependent switching rates

Science.gov (United States)

Bressloff, Paul C.; Lawley, Sean D.

2017-07-01

A fundamental issue in the theory of continuous stochastic process is the interpretation of multiplicative white noise, which is often referred to as the Itô-Stratonovich dilemma. From a physical perspective, this reflects the need to introduce additional constraints in order to specify the nature of the noise, whereas from a mathematical perspective it reflects an ambiguity in the formulation of stochastic differential equations (SDEs). Recently, we have identified a mechanism for obtaining an Itô SDE based on a form of temporal disorder. Motivated by switching processes in molecular biology, we considered a Brownian particle that randomly switches between two distinct conformational states with different diffusivities. In each state, the particle undergoes normal diffusion (additive noise) so there is no ambiguity in the interpretation of the noise. However, if the switching rates depend on position, then in the fast switching limit one obtains Brownian motion with a space-dependent diffusivity of the Itô form. In this paper, we extend our theory to include colored additive noise. We show that the nature of the effective multiplicative noise process obtained by taking both the white-noise limit (κ →0 ) and fast switching limit (ɛ →0 ) depends on the order the two limits are taken. If the white-noise limit is taken first, then we obtain Itô, and if the fast switching limit is taken first, then we obtain Stratonovich. Moreover, the form of the effective diffusion coefficient differs in the two cases. The latter result holds even in the case of space-independent transition rates, where one obtains additive noise processes with different diffusion coefficients. Finally, we show that yet another form of multiplicative noise is obtained in the simultaneous limit ɛ ,κ →0 with ɛ /κ2 fixed.

454-Pyrosequencing analysis of bacterial communities from autotrophic nitrogen removal bioreactors utilizing universal primers : Effect of annealing temperature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gonzalez-Martinez, A.; Rodriguez-Sanchez, A.; Rodelas, B.; Abbas, B.A.; Martinez-Toledo, M.V.; Van Loosdrecht, M.C.M.; Osorio, F.; Gonzalez-Lopez, J.

2015-01-01

Identification of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria by molecular tools aimed at the evaluation of bacterial diversity in autotrophic nitrogen removal systems is limited by the difficulty to design universal primers for the Bacteria domain able to amplify the anammox 16S

Influence of the dose rate in the PVDF degradation processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batista, Adriana S.M.; Pereira, Claubia, E-mail: adriananuclear@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: claubia@nuclear.ufmg.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Gual, Maritza R., E-mail: maritzargual@gmail.com [Instituto Superior de Tecnologias y Ciencias Aplicadas (InsTEC), Departamento de Ingenieria Nuclear, La Habana (Cuba); Faria, Luiz O., E-mail: farialo@cdtn.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

2015-07-01

Modification in polymeric structure of plastic material can be brought either by conventional chemical means or by exposure to ionization radiation from gamma radioactive sources or highly accelerated electrons. The prominent drawbacks of chemical cross-linking typically involve the generation by products such as peroxide degradation. Radiation cross-linking technologies include: application in cable and wire, application in rubber tyres, radiation vulcanization of rubber latex, polymer recycling, hydrogels etc. The degradation of PVDF polymer exposed to gamma irradiation in oxygen atmosphere in high dose rate has been studied and compared to obtained under smaller dose rates. The samples were irradiated with a Co-60 source at constant dose rate (12 kGy/h and 2,592 kGy/h), with doses ranging from 100 kGy to 3,000 kGy. Different dose rate determine the prevalence of the processes being evaluated in this work by thermal measurements and infrared spectroscopy. It is shown that the degradation processes involve chain scissions and crosslink formation. The formation of oxidation products was shown at the surface of the irradiated film. The FTIR data revealed absorption bands at 1730 and 1853 cm{sup -1} which were attributed to the stretch of C=O bonds, at 1715 and 1754 cm{sup -1} which were attributed to the C=C stretching and at 3518, 3585 and 3673 cm{sup -1} which were associated with NH stretch of NH{sub 2} and OH. Thermogravimetric studies reveal that the irradiation induced the increasing residues and decrease of the temperature of the decomposition start. (author)

Influence of the dose rate in the PVDF degradation processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batista, Adriana S.M.; Pereira, Claubia; Gual, Maritza R.; Faria, Luiz O.

2015-01-01

Modification in polymeric structure of plastic material can be brought either by conventional chemical means or by exposure to ionization radiation from gamma radioactive sources or highly accelerated electrons. The prominent drawbacks of chemical cross-linking typically involve the generation by products such as peroxide degradation. Radiation cross-linking technologies include: application in cable and wire, application in rubber tyres, radiation vulcanization of rubber latex, polymer recycling, hydrogels etc. The degradation of PVDF polymer exposed to gamma irradiation in oxygen atmosphere in high dose rate has been studied and compared to obtained under smaller dose rates. The samples were irradiated with a Co-60 source at constant dose rate (12 kGy/h and 2,592 kGy/h), with doses ranging from 100 kGy to 3,000 kGy. Different dose rate determine the prevalence of the processes being evaluated in this work by thermal measurements and infrared spectroscopy. It is shown that the degradation processes involve chain scissions and crosslink formation. The formation of oxidation products was shown at the surface of the irradiated film. The FTIR data revealed absorption bands at 1730 and 1853 cm -1 which were attributed to the stretch of C=O bonds, at 1715 and 1754 cm -1 which were attributed to the C=C stretching and at 3518, 3585 and 3673 cm -1 which were associated with NH stretch of NH 2 and OH. Thermogravimetric studies reveal that the irradiation induced the increasing residues and decrease of the temperature of the decomposition start. (author)

Biomass is the main driver of changes in ecosystem process rates during tropical forest succession

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lohbeck, M.W.M.; Poorter, L.; Martinez-Ramos, M.; Bongers, F.

2015-01-01

Over half of the world's forests are disturbed, and the rate at which ecosystem processes recover after disturbance is important for the services these forests can provide. We analyze the drivers' underlying changes in rates of key ecosystem processes (biomass productivity, litter productivity,

The determinants of exchange rates and the movements of EUR/RON exchange rate via non-linear stochastic processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petrică Andreea-Cristina

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Modeling exchange rate volatility became an important topic for research debate starting with 1973, when many countries switched to floating exchange rate system. In this paper, we focus on the EUR/RON exchange rate both as an economic measure and present the implied economic links, and also as a financial investment and analyze its movements and fluctuations through two volatility stochastic processes: the Standard Generalized Autoregressive Conditionally Heteroscedastic Model (GARCH and the Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditionally Heteroscedastic Model (EGARCH. The objective of the conditional variance processes is to capture dependency in the return series of the EUR/RON exchange rate. On this account, analyzing exchange rates could be seen as the input for economic decisions regarding Romanian macroeconomics - the exchange rates being influenced by many factors such as: interest rates, inflation, trading relationships with other countries (imports and exports, or investments - portfolio optimization, risk management, asset pricing. Therefore, we talk about political stability and economic performance of a country that represents a link between the two types of inputs mentioned above and influences both the macroeconomics and the investments. Based on time-varying volatility, we examine implied volatility of daily returns of EUR/RON exchange rate using the standard GARCH model and the asymmetric EGARCH model, whose parameters are estimated through the maximum likelihood method and the error terms follow two distributions (Normal and Student’s t. The empirical results show EGARCH(2,1 with Asymmetric order 2 and Student’s t error terms distribution performs better than all the estimated standard GARCH models (GARCH(1,1, GARCH(1,2, GARCH(2,1 and GARCH(2,2. This conclusion is supported by the major advantage of the EGARCH model compared to the GARCH model which consists in allowing good and bad news having different impact on the

Nitrogen cycling in a deep ocean margin sediment (Sagami Bay, Japan)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glud, Ronnie N.; Thamdrup, Bo; Stahl, Henrik

2009-01-01

variable NO3- penetration depths, NO3- consumption rates, and nitrification. On average the turnover time of the pore-water NO3- pool was similar to 0.2 d. Net release of NH4+ during mineralization (0.95 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) sustained a net efflux of ammonia (53%), nitrification (24%), and anammox activity...

Enhancement of the complete autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite process in a modified single-stage subsurface vertical flow constructed wetland: Effect of saturated zone depth.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Menglu; Wang, Zhen; Qi, Ran

2017-06-01

This study was conducted to explore enhancement of the complete autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) process in a modified single-stage subsurface vertical flow constructed wetland (VSSF) with saturated zone, and nitrogen transformation pathways in the VSSF treating digested swine wastewater were investigated at four different saturated zone depths (SZDs). SZD significantly affected nitrogen transformation pathways in the VSSF throughout the experiment. As the SZD was 45cm, the CANON process was enhanced most effectively in the system owing to the notable enhancement of anammox. Correspondingly, the VSSF had the best TN removal performance [(76.74±7.30)%] and lower N 2 O emission flux [(3.50±0.22)mg·(m 2 ·h) - 1 ]. It could be concluded that autotrophic nitrogen removal via CANON process could become a primary route for nitrogen removal in the VSSF with optimized microenvironment that developed as a result of the appropriate SZD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variations of the Earth's rotation rate and cyclic processes in geodynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B.W. Levin

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The authors analyzed the relationship between variations of the Earth's rotation rate and the geodynamic processes within the Earth's body, including seismic activity. The rotation rate of a planet determines its uniaxial compression along the axis of rotation and the areas of various surface elements of the body. The Earth's ellipticity variations, caused naturally by the rotation rate variations, are manifested in vertical components of precise GPS measurements. Comparative analysis of these variations is considered in view of modern theoretical ideas concerning the Earth's figure. The results justify further research that is of interest for improvement of space systems and technologies.

Autotrophic nitrogen removal from low strength waste water at low temperature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendrickx, T.L.G.; Wang, Y.; Kampman, C.; Zeeman, G.; Temmink, B.G.; Buisman, C.J.N.

2012-01-01

Direct anaerobic treatment of municipal waste waters allows for energy recovery in the form of biogas. A further decrease in the energy requirement for waste water treatment can be achieved by removing the ammonium in the anaerobic effluent with an autotrophic process, such as anammox. Until now,

Anaerobic Ammonium-Oxidizing Bacteria in Cow Manure Composting.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tingting; Cheng, Lijun; Zhang, Wenhao; Xu, Xiuhong; Meng, Qingxin; Sun, Xuewei; Liu, Huajing; Li, Hongtao; Sun, Yu

2017-07-28

Composting is widely used to transform waste into valuable agricultural organic fertilizer. Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria play an important role in the global nitrogen cycle, but their role in composting remains poorly understood. In the present study, the community structure, diversity, and abundance of anammox bacteria were analyzed using cloning and sequencing methods by targeting the 16S rRNA gene and the hydrazine oxidase gene ( hzo ) in samples isolated from compost produced from cow manure and rice straw. A total of 25 operational taxonomic units were classified based on 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, and 14 operational taxonomic units were classified based on hzo gene clone libraries. The phylogenetic tree analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and deduced HZO protein sequences from the corresponding encoding genes indicated that the majority of the obtained clones were related to the known anammox bacteria Candidatus "Brocadia," Candidatus "Kuenenia," and Candidatus "Scalindua." The abundances of anammox bacteria were determined by quantitative PCR, and between 2.13 × 10 5 and 1.15 × 10 6 16S rRNA gene copies per gram of compost were found. This study provides the first demonstration of the existence of anammox bacteria with limited diversity in cow manure composting.

Effects of Injection Rate Profile on Combustion Process and Emissions in a Diesel Engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fuqiang Bai

2017-01-01

Full Text Available When multi-injection is implemented in diesel engine via high pressure common rail injection system, changed interval between injection pulses can induce variation of injection rate profile for sequential injection pulse, though other control parameters are the same. Variations of injection rate shape which influence the air-fuel mixing and combustion process will be important for designing injection strategy. In this research, CFD numerical simulations using KIVA-3V were conducted for examining the effects of injection rate shape on diesel combustion and emissions. After the model was validated by experimental results, five different shapes (including rectangle, slope, triangle, trapezoid, and wedge of injection rate profiles were investigated. Modeling results demonstrate that injection rate shape can have obvious influence on heat release process and heat release traces which cause different combustion process and emissions. It is observed that the baseline, rectangle (flat, shape of injection rate can have better balance between NOx and soot emissions than the other investigated shapes. As wedge shape brings about the lowest NOx emissions due to retarded heat release, it produces the highest soot emissions among the five shapes. Trapezoid shape has the lowest soot emissions, while its NOx is not the highest one. The highest NOx emissions were produced by triangle shape due to higher peak injection rate.

A single-rate context-dependent learning process underlies rapid adaptation to familiar object dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingram, James N; Howard, Ian S; Flanagan, J Randall; Wolpert, Daniel M

2011-09-01

Motor learning has been extensively studied using dynamic (force-field) perturbations. These induce movement errors that result in adaptive changes to the motor commands. Several state-space models have been developed to explain how trial-by-trial errors drive the progressive adaptation observed in such studies. These models have been applied to adaptation involving novel dynamics, which typically occurs over tens to hundreds of trials, and which appears to be mediated by a dual-rate adaptation process. In contrast, when manipulating objects with familiar dynamics, subjects adapt rapidly within a few trials. Here, we apply state-space models to familiar dynamics, asking whether adaptation is mediated by a single-rate or dual-rate process. Previously, we reported a task in which subjects rotate an object with known dynamics. By presenting the object at different visual orientations, adaptation was shown to be context-specific, with limited generalization to novel orientations. Here we show that a multiple-context state-space model, with a generalization function tuned to visual object orientation, can reproduce the time-course of adaptation and de-adaptation as well as the observed context-dependent behavior. In contrast to the dual-rate process associated with novel dynamics, we show that a single-rate process mediates adaptation to familiar object dynamics. The model predicts that during exposure to the object across multiple orientations, there will be a degree of independence for adaptation and de-adaptation within each context, and that the states associated with all contexts will slowly de-adapt during exposure in one particular context. We confirm these predictions in two new experiments. Results of the current study thus highlight similarities and differences in the processes engaged during exposure to novel versus familiar dynamics. In both cases, adaptation is mediated by multiple context-specific representations. In the case of familiar object dynamics

A single-rate context-dependent learning process underlies rapid adaptation to familiar object dynamics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James N Ingram

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Motor learning has been extensively studied using dynamic (force-field perturbations. These induce movement errors that result in adaptive changes to the motor commands. Several state-space models have been developed to explain how trial-by-trial errors drive the progressive adaptation observed in such studies. These models have been applied to adaptation involving novel dynamics, which typically occurs over tens to hundreds of trials, and which appears to be mediated by a dual-rate adaptation process. In contrast, when manipulating objects with familiar dynamics, subjects adapt rapidly within a few trials. Here, we apply state-space models to familiar dynamics, asking whether adaptation is mediated by a single-rate or dual-rate process. Previously, we reported a task in which subjects rotate an object with known dynamics. By presenting the object at different visual orientations, adaptation was shown to be context-specific, with limited generalization to novel orientations. Here we show that a multiple-context state-space model, with a generalization function tuned to visual object orientation, can reproduce the time-course of adaptation and de-adaptation as well as the observed context-dependent behavior. In contrast to the dual-rate process associated with novel dynamics, we show that a single-rate process mediates adaptation to familiar object dynamics. The model predicts that during exposure to the object across multiple orientations, there will be a degree of independence for adaptation and de-adaptation within each context, and that the states associated with all contexts will slowly de-adapt during exposure in one particular context. We confirm these predictions in two new experiments. Results of the current study thus highlight similarities and differences in the processes engaged during exposure to novel versus familiar dynamics. In both cases, adaptation is mediated by multiple context-specific representations. In the case of familiar

Global optimization numerical strategies for rate-independent processes

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Benešová, Barbora

2011-01-01

Roč. 50, č. 2 (2011), s. 197-220 ISSN 0925-5001 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP201/10/0357 Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) LC06052 Program:LC Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20760514 Keywords : rate-independent processes * numerical global optimization * energy estimates based algorithm Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.196, year: 2011 http://math.hnue.edu.vn/portal/rss.viewpage.php?id=0000037780&ap=L3BvcnRhbC9ncmFiYmVyLnBocD9jYXRpZD0xMDEyJnBhZ2U9Mg==

Extending the benchmark simulation model no2 with processes for nitrous oxide production and side-stream nitrogen removal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boiocchi, Riccardo; Sin, Gürkan; Gernaey, Krist V.

2015-01-01

In this work the Benchmark Simulation Model No.2 is extended with processes for nitrous oxide production and for side-stream partial nitritation/Anammox (PN/A) treatment. For these extensions the Activated Sludge Model for Greenhouse gases No.1 was used to describe the main waterline, whereas...... the Complete Autotrophic Nitrogen Removal (CANR) model was used to describe the side-stream (PN/A) treatment. Comprehensive simulations were performed to assess the extended model. Steady-state simulation results revealed the following: (i) the implementation of a continuous CANR side-stream reactor has...... increased the total nitrogen removal by 10%; (ii) reduced the aeration demand by 16% compared to the base case, and (iii) the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria is most influencing nitrous oxide emissions. The extended model provides a simulation platform to generate, test and compare novel control...

Degradation rates in thermophilic sludge processing - the liquid and the solid way

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mihaltz, P.; Kovacs, R.; Csikor, Zs.; Dahab, M.F.

2003-07-01

Two promising and well known techniques for sludge stabilization and pathogen destruction, the composting and autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD, often referred to as ''liquid composting'') have not yet undergone a comparative parallel study. This comparison is presented in this paper to identify - sometimes unusually (e.g. up to 30 mg O{sub 2} /gVS h) high - degradation rates, their main influencing parameters. For the ATAD we developed a well fitting modified two-substrate kinetic model quantitatively describing this process feature too - the clear signs of two substrate degradation also appears in most own and literature composting records. However compost process modelling needs as a prerequisite the clarification of the controlling transport mechanisms. Experimental conclusions suggest the dual role of local VS limitation closely connected with, but being behind the strong observed oxygen limitation, what is proposed for the explanation of composting process rates - essentially based on specific surface area controlled transport phenomena, justifying efforts to conduct the process at lower (<20 to 25%) moisture content and higher (>1000 1/m) specific surface area levels. (author)

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria gain antibiotic resistance during long-term acclimatization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zheng-Zhe; Zhang, Qian-Qian; Guo, Qiong; Chen, Qian-Qian; Jiang, Xiao-Yan; Jin, Ren-Cun

2015-09-01

Three broad-spectrum antibiotics, amoxicillin (AMX), florfenicol (FF) and sulfamethazine (SMZ), that inhibit bacteria via different target sites, were selected to evaluate the acute toxicity and long-term effects on anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) granules. The specific anammox activity (SAA) levels reduced by approximately half within the first 3 days in the presence of antibiotics but no nitrite accumulation was observed in continuous-flow experiments. However, the SAA levels and heme c content gradually recovered as the antibiotic concentrations increased. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) analysis suggested that anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria gradually developed a better survival strategy during long-term acclimatization, which reduced the antibiotic stress via increased EPS secretion that provided a protective 'cocoon.' In terms of nitrogen removal efficiency, anammox granules could resist 60 mg-AMX L(-1), 10 mg-FF L(-1) and 100 mg-SMZ L(-1). This study supported the feasibility of using anammox granules to treat antibiotic-containing wastewater. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fluid queues driven by a birth and death process with alternating flow rates

OpenAIRE

P. R. Parthasarathy; K. V. Vijayashree; R. B. Lenin

2004-01-01

Fluid queue driven by a birth and death process (BDP) with only one negative effective input rate has been considered in the literature. As an alternative, here we consider a fluid queue in which the input is characterized by a BDP with alternating positive and negative flow rates on a finite state space. Also, the BDP has two alternating arrival rates and two alternating service rates. Explicit expression for the distribution function of the buffer occupancy is obtained. The case where the s...

Rate estimation in partially observed Markov jump processes with measurement errors

OpenAIRE

Amrein, Michael; Kuensch, Hans R.

2010-01-01

We present a simulation methodology for Bayesian estimation of rate parameters in Markov jump processes arising for example in stochastic kinetic models. To handle the problem of missing components and measurement errors in observed data, we embed the Markov jump process into the framework of a general state space model. We do not use diffusion approximations. Markov chain Monte Carlo and particle filter type algorithms are introduced, which allow sampling from the posterior distribution of t...

The un-making of a method: From rating scales to the study of psychological processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenbaum, Philip J.; Valsiner, Jaan

2011-01-01

Rating scales are standard instruments in psychology. They force the research participant to provide a numerical estimate of an assumed “degree” of some characteristic along a linear scale. We prove that such numerical estimates are artifacts based on unknown psychological processes that are used...... in terms of the study of microgenesis of rating processes allows psychology access to the reality of the workings of the human mind....... in the making of a rating. Psychology’s current use of rating scales entails reliance upon unexplored and abbreviated introspection. It superimposes upon the rater the use of real numbers for the subjective construction of the ratings. The axiomatic superimposition of the notion of “degree” of subjective...

Inferring time derivatives including cell growth rates using Gaussian processes

Science.gov (United States)

Swain, Peter S.; Stevenson, Keiran; Leary, Allen; Montano-Gutierrez, Luis F.; Clark, Ivan B. N.; Vogel, Jackie; Pilizota, Teuta

2016-12-01

Often the time derivative of a measured variable is of as much interest as the variable itself. For a growing population of biological cells, for example, the population's growth rate is typically more important than its size. Here we introduce a non-parametric method to infer first and second time derivatives as a function of time from time-series data. Our approach is based on Gaussian processes and applies to a wide range of data. In tests, the method is at least as accurate as others, but has several advantages: it estimates errors both in the inference and in any summary statistics, such as lag times, and allows interpolation with the corresponding error estimation. As illustrations, we infer growth rates of microbial cells, the rate of assembly of an amyloid fibril and both the speed and acceleration of two separating spindle pole bodies. Our algorithm should thus be broadly applicable.

Maximum production rate optimization for sulphuric acid decomposition process in tubular plug-flow reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Chao; Chen, Lingen; Xia, Shaojun; Sun, Fengrui

2016-01-01

A sulphuric acid decomposition process in a tubular plug-flow reactor with fixed inlet flow rate and completely controllable exterior wall temperature profile and reactants pressure profile is studied in this paper by using finite-time thermodynamics. The maximum production rate of the aimed product SO 2 and the optimal exterior wall temperature profile and reactants pressure profile are obtained by using nonlinear programming method. Then the optimal reactor with the maximum production rate is compared with the reference reactor with linear exterior wall temperature profile and the optimal reactor with minimum entropy generation rate. The result shows that the production rate of SO 2 of optimal reactor with the maximum production rate has an increase of more than 7%. The optimization of temperature profile has little influence on the production rate while the optimization of reactants pressure profile can significantly increase the production rate. The results obtained may provide some guidelines for the design of real tubular reactors. - Highlights: • Sulphuric acid decomposition process in tubular plug-flow reactor is studied. • Fixed inlet flow rate and controllable temperature and pressure profiles are set. • Maximum production rate of aimed product SO 2 is obtained. • Corresponding optimal temperature and pressure profiles are derived. • Production rate of SO 2 of optimal reactor increases by 7%.

General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit Based High-Rate Rice Decompression and Reed-Solomon Decoding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loughry, Thomas A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-02-01

As the volume of data acquired by space-based sensors increases, mission data compression/decompression and forward error correction code processing performance must likewise scale. This competency development effort was explored using the General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) to accomplish high-rate Rice Decompression and high-rate Reed-Solomon (RS) decoding at the satellite mission ground station. Each algorithm was implemented and benchmarked on a single GPGPU. Distributed processing across one to four GPGPUs was also investigated. The results show that the GPGPU has considerable potential for performing satellite communication Data Signal Processing, with three times or better performance improvements and up to ten times reduction in cost over custom hardware, at least in the case of Rice Decompression and Reed-Solomon Decoding.

The germanium isotopes production rate in background process in SAGE experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gavrin, V.N.; Gorbachev, V.V.; Ibragimova, T.V.; Cleveland, B.T.

2002-01-01

The analysis of the direct determination of systematics connected with the germanium isotopes generation of in background processes in radiochemical SAGE experiments on measuring solar neutrinos is described. The found 68 Ge generation rate is 6.5 (1 ± 1.0) times higher than expected; the generation rate of 69 Ge does not exceed preliminary evaluations. The result on 68 Ge corresponds to the systematic of cosmic ray muons of 5.8% (4.5 SNU) for the measured capture rate of solar neutrino of 77.0 SNU. To check the cosmic-ray muon influence of the SAGE systematic one suggests the experiment in place of underground scintillation telescope of the Baksan neutrino observatory on the Institute for Nuclear Research of the RAS [ru

On the time-homogeneous Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process in the foreign exchange rates

Science.gov (United States)

da Fonseca, Regina C. B.; Matsushita, Raul Y.; de Castro, Márcio T.; Figueiredo, Annibal

2015-10-01

Since Gaussianity and stationarity assumptions cannot be fulfilled by financial data, the time-homogeneous Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (THOU) process was introduced as a candidate model to describe time series of financial returns [1]. It is an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process in which these assumptions are replaced by linearity and time-homogeneity. We employ the OU and THOU processes to analyze daily foreign exchange rates against the US dollar. We confirm that the OU process does not fit the data, while in most cases the first four cumulants patterns from data can be described by the THOU process. However, there are some exceptions in which the data do not follow linearity or time-homogeneity assumptions.

Monitoring biodegradation of diesel fuel in bioventing processes using in situ respiration rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, T H; Byun, I G; Kim, Y O; Hwang, I S; Park, T J

2006-01-01

An in situ measuring system of respiration rate was applied for monitoring biodegradation of diesel fuel in a bioventing process for bioremediation of diesel contaminated soil. Two laboratory-scale soil columns were packed with 5 kg of soil that was artificially contaminated by diesel fuel as final TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) concentration of 8,000 mg/kg soil. Nutrient was added to make a relative concentration of C:N:P = 100:10:1. One soil column was operated with continuous venting mode, and the other one with intermittent (6 h venting/6 h rest) venting mode. On-line O2 and CO2 gas measuring system was applied to measure O2 utilisation and CO2 production during biodegradation of diesel for 5 months. Biodegradation rate of TPH was calculated from respiration rate measured by the on-line gas measuring system. There were no apparent differences between calculated biodegradation rates from two columns with different venting modes. The variation of biodegradation rates corresponded well with trend of the remaining TPH concentrations comparing other biodegradation indicators, such as C17/pristane and C18/phytane ratio, dehydrogenase activity, and the ratio of hydrocarbon utilising bacteria to total heterotrophic bacteria. These results suggested that the on-line measuring system of respiration rate would be applied to monitoring biodegradation rate and to determine the potential applicability of bioventing process for bioremediation of oil contaminated soil.

Biomass is the main driver of changes in ecosystem process rates during tropical forest succession.

Science.gov (United States)

Lohbeck, Madelon; Poorter, Lourens; Martínez-Ramos, Miguel; Bongers, Frans

2015-05-01

Over half of the world's forests are disturbed, and the rate at which ecosystem processes recover after disturbance is important for the services these forests can provide. We analyze the drivers' underlying changes in rates of key ecosystem processes (biomass productivity, litter productivity, actual litter decomposition, and potential litter decomposition) during secondary succession after shifting cultivation in wet tropical forest of Mexico. We test the importance of three alternative drivers of ecosystem processes: vegetation biomass (vegetation quantity hypothesis), community-weighted trait mean (mass ratio hypothesis), and functional diversity (niche complementarity hypothesis) using structural equation modeling. This allows us to infer the relative importance of different mechanisms underlying ecosystem process recovery. Ecosystem process rates changed during succession, and the strongest driver was aboveground biomass for each of the processes. Productivity of aboveground stem biomass and leaf litter as well as actual litter decomposition increased with initial standing vegetation biomass, whereas potential litter decomposition decreased with standing biomass. Additionally, biomass productivity was positively affected by community-weighted mean of specific leaf area, and potential decomposition was positively affected by functional divergence, and negatively by community-weighted mean of leaf dry matter content. Our empirical results show that functional diversity and community-weighted means are of secondary importance for explaining changes in ecosystem process rates during tropical forest succession. Instead, simply, the amount of vegetation in a site is the major driver of changes, perhaps because there is a steep biomass buildup during succession that overrides more subtle effects of community functional properties on ecosystem processes. We recommend future studies in the field of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning to separate the effects of

Don't speak too fast! Processing of fast rate speech in children with specific language impairment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hélène Guiraud

Full Text Available Perception of speech rhythm requires the auditory system to track temporal envelope fluctuations, which carry syllabic and stress information. Reduced sensitivity to rhythmic acoustic cues has been evidenced in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI, impeding syllabic parsing and speech decoding. Our study investigated whether these children experience specific difficulties processing fast rate speech as compared with typically developing (TD children.Sixteen French children with SLI (8-13 years old with mainly expressive phonological disorders and with preserved comprehension and 16 age-matched TD children performed a judgment task on sentences produced 1 at normal rate, 2 at fast rate or 3 time-compressed. Sensitivity index (d' to semantically incongruent sentence-final words was measured.Overall children with SLI perform significantly worse than TD children. Importantly, as revealed by the significant Group × Speech Rate interaction, children with SLI find it more challenging than TD children to process both naturally or artificially accelerated speech. The two groups do not significantly differ in normal rate speech processing.In agreement with rhythm-processing deficits in atypical language development, our results suggest that children with SLI face difficulties adjusting to rapid speech rate. These findings are interpreted in light of temporal sampling and prosodic phrasing frameworks and of oscillatory mechanisms underlying speech perception.

Don't speak too fast! Processing of fast rate speech in children with specific language impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Guiraud, Hélène; Bedoin, Nathalie; Krifi-Papoz, Sonia; Herbillon, Vania; Caillot-Bascoul, Aurélia; Gonzalez-Monge, Sibylle; Boulenger, Véronique

2018-01-01

Perception of speech rhythm requires the auditory system to track temporal envelope fluctuations, which carry syllabic and stress information. Reduced sensitivity to rhythmic acoustic cues has been evidenced in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), impeding syllabic parsing and speech decoding. Our study investigated whether these children experience specific difficulties processing fast rate speech as compared with typically developing (TD) children. Sixteen French children with SLI (8-13 years old) with mainly expressive phonological disorders and with preserved comprehension and 16 age-matched TD children performed a judgment task on sentences produced 1) at normal rate, 2) at fast rate or 3) time-compressed. Sensitivity index (d') to semantically incongruent sentence-final words was measured. Overall children with SLI perform significantly worse than TD children. Importantly, as revealed by the significant Group × Speech Rate interaction, children with SLI find it more challenging than TD children to process both naturally or artificially accelerated speech. The two groups do not significantly differ in normal rate speech processing. In agreement with rhythm-processing deficits in atypical language development, our results suggest that children with SLI face difficulties adjusting to rapid speech rate. These findings are interpreted in light of temporal sampling and prosodic phrasing frameworks and of oscillatory mechanisms underlying speech perception.

Parallel photonic information processing at gigabyte per second data rates using transient states

Science.gov (United States)

Brunner, Daniel; Soriano, Miguel C.; Mirasso, Claudio R.; Fischer, Ingo

2013-01-01

The increasing demands on information processing require novel computational concepts and true parallelism. Nevertheless, hardware realizations of unconventional computing approaches never exceeded a marginal existence. While the application of optics in super-computing receives reawakened interest, new concepts, partly neuro-inspired, are being considered and developed. Here we experimentally demonstrate the potential of a simple photonic architecture to process information at unprecedented data rates, implementing a learning-based approach. A semiconductor laser subject to delayed self-feedback and optical data injection is employed to solve computationally hard tasks. We demonstrate simultaneous spoken digit and speaker recognition and chaotic time-series prediction at data rates beyond 1Gbyte/s. We identify all digits with very low classification errors and perform chaotic time-series prediction with 10% error. Our approach bridges the areas of photonic information processing, cognitive and information science.

Influence of organic carbon and nitrate loading on partitioning between dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and N2 production

Science.gov (United States)

Hardison, Amber K.; Algar, Christopher K.; Giblin, Anne E.; Rich, Jeremy J.

2015-09-01

Biologically available nitrogen is removed from ecosystems through the microbial processes of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) or denitrification, while dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) retains it. A mechanistic understanding of controls on partitioning among these pathways is currently lacking. The objective of this study was to conduct a manipulative experiment to determine the influence of organic C and NO3- loading on partitioning. Sediment was collected from a location on the southern New England shelf (78 m water depth) and sieved. Half of the sediment was mixed with freeze-dried phytoplankton and the other half was not. Sediment was then spread into 1.5 mm, "thin discs" closed at the bottom and placed in large aquarium tanks with filtered, N2/CO2 sparged seawater to maintain O2 limited conditions. Half of the discs received high NO3- loading, while the other half received low NO3- loading, resulting in a multifactorial design with four treatments: no C addition, low NO3- (-C-N); C addition, low NO3- (+C-N); no C addition, high NO3- (-C+N); and C addition, high NO3- (+C+N). Sediment discs were incubated in the tanks for 7 weeks, during which time inorganic N (NH4+, NO3-, and NO2-) was monitored, and sediment discs were periodically removed from the tanks to conduct 15N isotope labeling experiments in vials to measure potential rates of anammox, denitrification, and DNRA. Temporal dynamics of inorganic N concentrations in the tanks were indicative of anoxic N metabolism, with strong response of the build up or consumption of the intermediate NO2-, depending on treatments. Vial incubation experiments with added 15NO2- + 14NH4+ indicated significant denitrification and DNRA activity in sediment thin discs, but incubations with added 15NH4+ + 14NO2- indicated anammox was not at all significant. Inorganic N concentrations in the tanks were fit to a reactive transport model assuming different N transformations. Organic C decomposition rates

Sedimentation rates and depositional processes in Lake Superior from 210Pb geochronology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, J.E.; Johnson, T.C.; Alexander, E.C. Jr.; Lively, R.S.; Eisenreich, S.J.

1981-01-01

Sedimentation rates range from 0.01 to 0.32 cm/yr in 17 sediment box cores from Lake Superior, as determined by 210 Pb geochronology. Shoreline erosion and resuspension of nearshore sediments causes moderate to high (0.05-0.11 cm/yr) sedimentation rates in the western arm of Lake Superior. Sedimentation rates are very high (> 0.15 cm/yr) in marginal bays adjoining Lake Superior; and moderate to very high (0.07-0.19 cm/yr) in open lake regions adjacent to marginal bays. Resuspension of nearshore and shoal top sediments in southern and southeastern Lake Superior by storms is responsible for depositional anomalies in 210 Pb profiles corresponding to 1905, 1916-1918, and 1940 storms. Sedimentation rates are very low (0.01-0.03 cm/yr) in the central basins due to isolation from sediment sources. These data indicate that sedimentation rates and processes vary significantly in different regions of Lake Superior. The sedimentation rates provided by this study, in conjunction with previously-reported sedimentation rates, yield a better understanding of the Lake Superior depositional environment

Bacteriohopanepolyols along redox gradients in the Humboldt Current System off northern Chile.

Science.gov (United States)

Matys, E D; Sepúlveda, J; Pantoja, S; Lange, C B; Caniupán, M; Lamy, F; Summons, R E

2017-11-01

Marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are characterized by the presence of subsurface suboxic or anoxic waters where diverse microbial processes are responsible for the removal of fixed nitrogen. OMZs have expanded over past decades and are expected to continue expanding in response to the changing climate. The implications for marine biogeochemistry, particularly nitrogen cycling, are uncertain. Cell membrane lipids (biomarkers), such as bacterial bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) and their degradation products (hopanoids), have distinctive structural attributes that convey information about their biological sources. Since the discovery of fossil hopanoids in ancient sediments, the study of BHPs has been of great biogeochemical interest due to their potential to serve as proxies for bacteria in the geological record. A stereoisomer of bacteriohopanetetrol (BHT), BHT II, has been previously identified in OMZ waters and has as been unequivocally identified in culture enrichments of anammox bacteria, a key group contributing to nitrogen loss in marine OMZs. We tested BHT II as a proxy for suboxia/anoxia and anammox bacteria in suspended organic matter across OMZ waters of the Humboldt Current System off northern Chile, as well as in surface and deeply buried sediments (125-150 ky). The BHT II ratio (BHT II/total BHT) increases as oxygen content decreases through the water column, consistent with previous results from Perú, the Cariaco Basin and the Arabian Sea, and in line with microbiological evidence indicating intense anammox activity in the Chilean OMZ. Notably, BHT II is transported from the water column to surface sediments, and preserved in deeply buried sediments, where the BHT II ratio correlates with changes in δ 15 N sediment values during glacial-interglacial transitions. This study suggests that BHT II offers a proxy for past changes in the relative importance of anammox, and fluctuations in nitrogen cycling in response to ocean redox changes through the

Rate-Independent Processes with Linear Growth Energies and Time-Dependent Boundary Conditions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kružík, Martin; Zimmer, J.

2012-01-01

Roč. 5, č. 3 (2012), s. 591-604 ISSN 1937-1632 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100750802 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP201/10/0357 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : concentrations * oscillations * time - dependent boundary conditions * rate-independent evolution Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2011/MTR/kruzik-rate-independent processes with linear growth energies and time - dependent boundary conditions.pdf

Scaling of black silicon processing time by high repetition rate femtosecond lasers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nava Giorgio

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Surface texturing of silicon substrates is performed by femtosecond laser irradiation at high repetition rates. Various fabrication parameters are optimized in order to achieve very high absorptance in the visible region from the micro-structured silicon wafer as compared to the unstructured one. A 70-fold reduction of the processing time is demonstrated by increasing the laser repetition rate from 1 kHz to 200 kHz. Further scaling up to 1 MHz can be foreseen.

Separation of rate processes for isotopic exchange between hydrogen and liquid water in packed columns 10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, J.P.; Hartog, J. den; Goodale, J.W.; Rolston, J.H.

1977-01-01

Wetproofed platinum catalysts in packed columns promote isotopic exchange between counter-current streams of hydrogen saturated with water vapour and liquid water. The net rate of deuterium transfer from isotopically enriched hydrogen has been measured and separated into two rate processes involving the transfer of deuterium from hydrogen to water vapour and from water vapour to liquid. These are compared with independent measurements of the two rate processes to test the two-step successive exchange model for trickle bed reactors. The separated transfer rates are independent of bed height and characterize the deuterium concentrations of each stream along the length of the bed. The dependences of the transfer rates upon hydrogen and liquid flow, hydrogen pressure, platinum loading and the effect of dilution of the hydrophobic catalyst with inert hydrophilic packing are reported. The results indicate a third process may be important in the transfer of deuterium between hydrogen and liquid water. (author)

Facilitating control of fed-batch fermentation processes by monitoring the growth rates of saccharomyces cerevisiae

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keulers, M.L.B.; Ariaans, L.J.J.M.; Soeterboek, R.; Giuseppin, M.

1994-01-01

In this paper we present a growth rate controller for a fed-batch bioprocess. An observer estimates the growth rate. The observer is based on knowledge about the stoichiometric relations of the process. Furthermore, the observer needs online measurements of the oxygen uptake rate and the

Crossing rate of labelled Poisson cluster processes and their application in the reliability theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schrupp, K.

1986-01-01

A load process is modelled within a given interdependency system and the failure probability of a structure is estimated using the crossing rate method. The term 'labelled cluster process' is formally introduced. An approximation is given by the expected value of the point process of the crossing from the safe range to the failure range. This expected value is explicitly calculated for the instationary cluster process, the stationary borderline process, and for various types of superpositions (clustering) of such processes. (DG) [de

Process Measurement Deviation Analysis for Flow Rate due to Miscalibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Eunsuk; Kim, Byung Rae; Jeong, Seog Hwan; Choi, Ji Hye; Shin, Yong Chul; Yun, Jae Hee [KEPCO Engineering and Construction Co., Deajeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

An analysis was initiated to identify the root cause, and the exemption of high static line pressure correction to differential pressure (DP) transmitters was one of the major deviation factors. Also the miscalibrated DP transmitter range was identified as another major deviation factor. This paper presents considerations to be incorporated in the process flow measurement instrumentation calibration and the analysis results identified that the DP flow transmitter electrical output decreased by 3%. Thereafter, flow rate indication decreased by 1.9% resulting from the high static line pressure correction exemption and measurement range miscalibration. After re-calibration, the flow rate indication increased by 1.9%, which is consistent with the analysis result. This paper presents the brief calibration procedures for Rosemount DP flow transmitter, and analyzes possible three cases of measurement deviation including error and cause. Generally, the DP transmitter is required to be calibrated with precise process input range according to the calibration procedure provided for specific DP transmitter. Especially, in case of the DP transmitter installed in high static line pressure, it is important to correct the high static line pressure effect to avoid the inherent systematic error for Rosemount DP transmitter. Otherwise, failure to notice the correction may lead to indicating deviation from actual value.

Rate of information processing and reaction time of aircraft pilots and non-pilots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Werner Barkhuizen

2002-09-01

Full Text Available Reaction time and rate of information processing are cited as critical components in the make-up of pilots. A need was identified to establish the validity of various chronometric measures in the selection of pilots. Fifty-eight military and commercial pilots and twenty non-pilots were subjected to Schepers’ Computerised Information Processing Test Battery, which measures reaction time, form discrimination time, colour discrimination time, rate of information processing (perceptual and rate of information processing (conceptual. Five hypotheses and one postulate were formulated and tested. The results indicate that pilots could be differentiated from non-pilots with 92,3% accuracy. However, the results need to be cross-validated before they are used for selection. Opsomming Reaksietyd en tempo van inligtingverwerking word as kritieke komponente in die samestelling van vlieëniers beskou. ‘n Behoefte is geïdentifiseer om die geldigheid van verskeie chronometriese metinge in vlieënierskeuring te bepaal. Agt en vyftig militêre en kommersiële vlieëniers en twintig nie-vlieëniers is onderwerp aan Schepers se Gerekenariseerde Inligtingverwerkingstoets-battery wat reaksietyd, vormdiskriminasietyd, kleurdiskriminasietyd, tempo van inligtingverwerking (perseptueel en tempo van inligtingverwerking (konseptueel meet. Vyf hipoteses en een postulaat is gestel en getoets. Die resultate dui daarop dat vlieëniers met 92,3% akkuraatheid van nievlieëniers onderskei kan word. Die resultate behoort egter eers gekruisvalideer te word voordat dit finaal vir keuring gebruik kan word.

Transesterification of waste cooking oil: Process optimization and conversion rate evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abd Rabu, R.; Janajreh, I.; Honnery, D.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The highest purity of the produced biodiesel determined by gas chromatography was 95%. ► Produced biodiesel samples fell within the requirements of American standard for biodiesel. ► The reaction order is 1st order with a rate constant of 0.01 min -1 in the above point min -1 . - Abstract: Biodiesel is a mono-alkyl ester of vegetable oil, animal fat, and recycled cooking oil. It is gaining importance in the quest of finding sustainable fuel as it is compatible with petrodiesel and its synthesis process is becoming more commercially deployable. It is commonly prepared by the transesterification of triglycerides or the esterification of free fatty acid with methanol by stirring and accelerated by the presence of base or acidic catalyst. In this work biodiesel was produced by transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) following different process settings with the objective to achieve maximum yield and purity. Due to immiscibility and reaction reversibility, high purity WCO biodiesel of 95% was produced at 12:1 alcohol to oil molar ratio at 1% w/w NaOH catalyst and under continuous mixing of 2 h at 60 °C. Chemical kinetics was determined for the optimal process and found to follow 1st order reaction rate with a rate constant ranges from 0.0035 to 0.0106 min −1 . The activation energy was also evaluated by running the experiment at three different temperatures and found to be near 25,496 J/mol. The distillation curve and properties of the resulted fuel was also assessed and were compared plausibly to ASTM biodiesel standards. Furthermore, the emitted soot from a diffusion wick flame was measured via opacity meter and clearly show the advantage of the biodiesel with a nearly an order of magnitude lower.

Hierarchical programming language for modal multi-rate real-time stream processing applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geuns, S.J.; Hausmans, J.P.H.M.; Bekooij, Marco Jan Gerrit

2014-01-01

Modal multi-rate stream processing applications with real-time constraints which are executed on multi-core embedded systems often cannot be conveniently specified using current programming languages. An important issue is that sequential programming languages do not allow for convenient programming

Escape rate for nonequilibrium processes dominated by strong non-detailed balance force

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Ying; Xu, Song; Ao, Ping

2018-02-01

Quantifying the escape rate from a meta-stable state is essential to understand a wide range of dynamical processes. Kramers' classical rate formula is the product of an exponential function of the potential barrier height and a pre-factor related to the friction coefficient. Although many applications of the rate formula focused on the exponential term, the prefactor can have a significant effect on the escape rate in certain parameter regions, such as the overdamped limit and the underdamped limit. There have been continuous interests to understand the effect of non-detailed balance on the escape rate; however, how the prefactor behaves under strong non-detailed balance force remains elusive. In this work, we find that the escape rate formula has a vanishing prefactor with decreasing friction strength under the strong non-detailed balance limit. We both obtain analytical solutions in specific examples and provide a derivation for more general cases. We further verify the result by simulations and propose a testable experimental system of a charged Brownian particle in electromagnetic field. Our study demonstrates that a special care is required to estimate the effect of prefactor on the escape rate when non-detailed balance force dominates.

Difference of nitrogen-cycling microbes between shallow bay and deep-sea sediments in the South China Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Tiantian; Li, Meng; Niu, Mingyang; Fan, Xibei; Liang, Wenyue; Wang, Fengping

2018-01-01

In marine sediments, microorganisms are known to play important roles in nitrogen cycling; however, the composition and quantity of microbes taking part in each process of nitrogen cycling are currently unclear. In this study, two different types of marine sediment samples (shallow bay and deep-sea sediments) in the South China Sea (SCS) were selected to investigate the microbial community involved in nitrogen cycling. The abundance and composition of prokaryotes and seven key functional genes involved in five processes of the nitrogen cycle [nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox)] were presented. The results showed that a higher abundance of denitrifiers was detected in shallow bay sediments, while a higher abundance of microbes involved in ammonia oxidation, anammox, and DNRA was found in the deep-sea sediments. Moreover, phylogenetic differentiation of bacterial amoA, nirS, nosZ, and nrfA sequences between the two types of sediments was also presented, suggesting environmental selection of microbes with the same geochemical functions but varying physiological properties.

The assessment of the coke wastewater treatment efficacy in rotating biological contractor.

Science.gov (United States)

Cema, G; Żabczyński, S; Ziembińska-Buczyńska, A

2016-01-01

Coke wastewater is known to be relatively difficult for biological treatment. Nonetheless, biofilm-based systems seem to be promising tool for such treatment. That is why a rotating biological contactor (RBC) system focused on the Anammox process was used in this study. The experiment was divided into two parts with synthetic and then real wastewater. It was proven that it is possible to treat coke wastewater with RBC but such a procedure requires a very long start-up period for the nitritation (190 days), as well as for the Anammox process, where stable nitrogen removal over 70% was achieved after 400 days of experiment. Interestingly, it was possible at a relatively low (20.2 ± 2.2 °C) temperature. The polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) based monitoring of the bacterial community showed that its biodiversity decreased when the real wastewater was treated and it was composed mainly of GC-rich genotypes, probably because of the modeling influence of this wastewater and the genotypes specialization.

Stellar neutron capture rates – key data for the s process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Käppeler F.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Neutron reactions are responsible for the formation of the elements heavier than iron. The corresponding scenarios relate to the He- and C- burning phases of stellar evolution (s process and to supernova explosions (r and p processes. The s process, which is characterized by low neutron densities, operates in or near the valley of β stability and has produced about half of the elemental abundances between Fe and Bi in the solar system and in the Universe. Because the s abundances are essentially determined by the (n, γ cross sections along the reaction path, accurate neutron data constitute the key input for s process studies. Important constraints for the physical conditions at the stellar sites can be inferred by comparison of the abundance patterns from current s-process models with solar system material or presolar grains. The experimental methods for the determination of stellar (n, γ rates are outlined at the example of recent cross section measurements and remaining quests will be discussed with respect to existing laboratory neutron sources and new developments.

ARTiiFACT: a tool for heart rate artifact processing and heart rate variability analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufmann, Tobias; Sütterlin, Stefan; Schulz, Stefan M; Vögele, Claus

2011-12-01

The importance of appropriate handling of artifacts in interbeat interval (IBI) data must not be underestimated. Even a single artifact may cause unreliable heart rate variability (HRV) results. Thus, a robust artifact detection algorithm and the option for manual intervention by the researcher form key components for confident HRV analysis. Here, we present ARTiiFACT, a software tool for processing electrocardiogram and IBI data. Both automated and manual artifact detection and correction are available in a graphical user interface. In addition, ARTiiFACT includes time- and frequency-based HRV analyses and descriptive statistics, thus offering the basic tools for HRV analysis. Notably, all program steps can be executed separately and allow for data export, thus offering high flexibility and interoperability with a whole range of applications.

Integer, fractional, and anomalous quantum Hall effects explained with Eyring's rate process theory and free volume concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Tian

2017-02-22

The Hall effects, especially the integer, fractional and anomalous quantum Hall effects, have been addressed using Eyring's rate process theory and free volume concept. The basic assumptions are that the conduction process is a common rate controlled "reaction" process that can be described with Eyring's absolute rate process theory; the mobility of electrons should be dependent on the free volume available for conduction electrons. The obtained Hall conductivity is clearly quantized as with prefactors related to both the magnetic flux quantum number and the magnetic quantum number via the azimuthal quantum number, with and without an externally applied magnetic field. This article focuses on two dimensional (2D) systems, but the approaches developed in this article can be extended to 3D systems.

77 FR 72197 - Pears Grown in Oregon and Washington; Assessment Rate Decrease for Processed Pears

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-05

... Agricultural Statistics Service, the total farm-gate value of summer/fall processed pears grown in Oregon and... introductory text and paragraph (a) are revised to read as follows: Sec. 927.237 Processed pear assessment rate...

The effects of the bologna process on college enrollment and drop-out rates

OpenAIRE

Horstschräer, Julia; Sprietsma, Maresa

2010-01-01

This paper estimates the short-term effects of the introduction of the Bachelor degree in the framework of the Bologna Process on college enrollment and drop-out rates. We use variation in the timing of the Bachelor implementation at the department level to identify the effect of the reform based on longitudinal administrative student data from Germany. We find no significant effects on college enrollment or drop-out rates for most subjects.

New concepts of microbial treatment processes for the nitrogen removal: effect of protein and amino acids degradation.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Martínez, Alejandro; Calderón, Kadiya; González-López, Jesús

2016-05-01

High concentrations of proteins and amino acids can be found in wastewater and wastewater stream produced in anaerobic digesters, having shown that amino acids could persist over different managements for nitrogen removal affecting the nitrogen removal processes. Nitrogen removal is completely necessary because of their implications and the significant adverse environmental impact of ammonium such as eutrophication and toxicity to aquatic life on the receiving bodies. In the last decade, the treatment of effluents with high ammonium concentration through anammox-based bioprocesses has been enhanced because these biotechnologies are cheaper and more environmentally friendly than conventional technologies. However, it has been shown that the presence of important amounts of proteins and amino acids in the effluents seriously affects the microbial autotrophic consortia leading to important losses in terms of ammonium oxidation efficiency. Particularly the presence of sulfur amino acids such as methionine and cysteine has been reported to drastically decrease the autotrophic denitrification processes as well as affect the microbial community structure promoting the decline of ammonium oxidizing bacteria in favor of other phylotypes. In this context we discuss that new biotechnological processes that improve the degradation of protein and amino acids must be considered as a priority to increase the performance of the autotrophic denitrification biotechnologies.

High strain rate superplasticity in a friction stir processed 7075 Al alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishra, R.S.; Mahoney, M.W.; McFaden, S.X.; Mara, N.A.; Mukherjee, A.K.

1999-12-31

In this paper, the authors report the first results using friction stir processing (FSP). In the last ten years, a new technique of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has emerged as an exciting solid state joining technique for aluminum alloys. This technique, developed by The Welding Institute (TWI), involves traversing a rotating tool that produces intense plastic deformation through a stirring action. The localized heating is produced by friction between the tool shoulder and the sheet top surface, as well as plastic deformation of the material in contact with the tool. This results in a stirred zone with a very fine grain size in a single pass. Mahoney et al. observed a grain size of 3 {micro}m in a 7075 Al alloy. This process can be easily adopted as a processing technique to obtain fine grain size. FSP of a commercial 7075 Al alloy resulted in significant enhancement of superplastic properties. The optimum superplastic strain rate was 10{sup {minus}2}s{sup {minus}1} at 490 C in the FSP 7075 Al alloy, an improvement of more than an order of magnitude in strain rate. The present results suggest an exciting possibility to use a simple FSP technique to enhance grain size dependent properties.

High-rate anisotropic ablation and deposition of polytetrafluoroethylene using synchrotron radiation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inayoshi, Muneto; Ikeda, Masanobu; Hori, Masaru; Goto, Toshio; Hiramatsu, Mineo; Hiraya, Atsunari.

1995-01-01

Both anisotropic ablation and thin film formation of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were successfully demonstrated using synchrotron radiation (SR) irradiation of PTFE, that is, the SR ablation process. Anisotropic ablation by the SR irradiation was performed at an extremely high rate of 3500 μm/min at a PTFE target temperature of 200degC. Moreover, a PTFE thin film was formed at a high rate of 2.6 μm/min using SR ablation of PTFE. The chemical structure of the deposited film was similar to that of the PTFE target as determined from Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. (author)

Rates of convergence and asymptotic normality of curve estimators for ergodic diffusion processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.H. van Zanten (Harry)

2000-01-01

textabstractFor ergodic diffusion processes, we study kernel-type estimators for the invariant density, its derivatives and the drift function. We determine rates of convergence and find the joint asymptotic distribution of the estimators at different points.

On diffusion processes with variable drift rates as models for decision making during learning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eckhoff, P; Holmes, P; Law, C; Connolly, P M; Gold, J I

2008-01-01

We investigate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck and diffusion processes with variable drift rates as models of evidence accumulation in a visual discrimination task. We derive power-law and exponential drift-rate models and characterize how parameters of these models affect the psychometric function describing performance accuracy as a function of stimulus strength and viewing time. We fit the models to psychophysical data from monkeys learning the task to identify parameters that best capture performance as it improves with training. The most informative parameter was the overall drift rate describing the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensory evidence used to form the decision, which increased steadily with training. In contrast, secondary parameters describing the time course of the drift during motion viewing did not exhibit steady trends. The results indicate that relatively simple versions of the diffusion model can fit behavior over the course of training, thereby giving a quantitative account of learning effects on the underlying decision process

Simulation of spatially dependent excitation rates and power deposition in RF discharges for plasma processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kushner, M.J.; Anderson, H.M.; Hargis, P.J.

1985-01-01

In low pressure, radio frequency (RF) discharges of the type used in plasma processing of semiconductor materials, the rate of electron impact excitation and energy transfer processes depends upon both the phase of the RF excitation and position in the discharge. Electron impact collisions create radicals that diffuse or drift to the surfaces of interest where they are adsorbed or otherwise react. To the extent that these radicals have a finite lifetime, their transport time from point of creation to surface of interest is an important parameter. The spatial dependence of the rate of the initial electron impact collisions is therefore also an important parameter. The power that sustains the discharge is coupled into the system by two mechanisms: a high energy e-beam component of the electron distribution resulting from electrons falling through or being accelerated by the sheaths, and by joule heating in the body of the plasma. In this paper, the authors discuss the spatial dependence of excitation rates and the method of power deposition iin RF discharges of the type used for plasma processing

The impact of semen processing on sperm parameters and pregnancy rates after intrauterine insemination.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiter-Ligeti, Jacob; Agbo, Chioma; Dahan, Michael

2017-06-01

The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effect of semen processing on computer analyzed semen parameters and pregnancy rates after intrauterine insemination (IUI). Over a two-year period, a total of 981 couples undergoing 2231 IUI cycles were evaluated and the freshly collected non-donor semen was analyzed before and after density gradient centrifugation (DGC). DGC led to significant increases in sperm concentration by 66±74 ×106/mL (P=0.0001), percentage of motile sperm by 24±22% (P=0.0001), concentration motile by 27±58 ×106/mL (P=0.0001), and forward sperm progression by 18±14 µ/s (P=0.0001). In 95% of cases, there was a decrease in the total motile sperm count (TMSC), with an average decrease of 50±124% compared to pre-processed samples (P=0.0001). Importantly, the decrease in TMSC did not negatively affect pregnancy rates (P=0.45). This study proves that DGC leads to significant increases in most sperm parameters, with the exception of TMSC. Remarkably, the decrease in TMSC did not affect the pregnancy rate. This should reassure clinicians when the TMSC is negatively affected by processing.

Landslides and rock fall processes in the proglacial area of the Gepatsch glacier, Tyrol, Austria - Quantitative assessment of controlling factors and process rates

Science.gov (United States)

Vehling, Lucas; Rohn, Joachim; Moser, Michael

2013-04-01

Due to the rapid deglaciation since 1850, lithological structures and topoclimatic factors, mass movements like rock fall, landslides and complex processes are important contributing factors to sediment transport and modification of the earth's surface in the steep, high mountain catchment of the Gepatsch reservoir. Contemporary geotechnical processes, mass movement deposits, their source areas, and controlling factors like material properties and relief parameters are mapped in the field, on Orthofotos and on digital elevation models. The results are presented in an Arc-Gis based geotechnical map. All mapped mass movements are stored in an Arc-Gis geodatabase and can be queried regarding properties, volume and controlling factors, so that statistical analyses can be conducted. The assessment of rock wall retreat rates is carried out by three different methods in multiple locations, which differ in altitude, exposition, lithology and deglaciation time: Firstly, rock fall processes and rates are investigated in detail on five rock fall collector nets with an overall size of 750 m2. Rock fall particles are gathered, weighed and grain size distribution is detected by sieving and measuring the diameter of the particles to distinct between rock fall processes and magnitudes. Rock wall erosion processes like joint formation and expansions are measured with high temporal resolution by electrical crack meters, together with rock- and air temperature. Secondly, in cooperation with the other working groups in the PROSA project, rock fall volumes are determined with multitemporal terrestrial laserscanning from several locations. Lately, already triggered rock falls are accounted by mapping the volume of the deposit and calculating of the bedrock source area. The deposition time span is fixed by consideration of the late Holocene lateral moraines and analysing historical aerial photographs, so that longer term rock wall retreat rates can be calculated. In order to limit

The effect of temperature and gas flow rate on the carbochlorination process of ZrO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saberyan, K.; Raygan, Sh.; Movahhedian, A.; Hosseini Semnani, S. A.

2007-01-01

Carbochlorination of ZrO 2 is the main part of zirconium production process. In this research the effect of temperature and total gas flow rate on carbochlorination of ZrO 2 in the presence of carbon black was investigated. The partial pressure of Cl 2 in this study was kept at 0.3 atmosphere. The results showed that ZrO 2 conversion is strongly affected by the temperature. It is also shown that at 1223 K, the process is affected by the gas flow rate. The activation energy of the process was 60 kCal/mol and the chemical reaction on the oxide surface was the dominant controller of the reaction

Greenhouse Gases Emissions from Wastewater Treatment Plants: Minimization, Treatment, and Prevention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. L. Campos

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The operation of wastewater treatment plants results in direct emissions, from the biological processes, of greenhouse gases (GHG such as carbon dioxide (CO2, methane (CH4, and nitrous oxide (N2O, as well as indirect emissions resulting from energy generation. In this study, three possible ways to reduce these emissions are discussed and analyzed: (1 minimization through the change of operational conditions, (2 treatment of the gaseous streams, and (3 prevention by applying new configurations and processes to remove both organic matter and pollutants. In current WWTPs, to modify the operational conditions of existing units reveals itself as possibly the most economical way to decrease N2O and CO2 emissions without deterioration of effluent quality. Nowadays the treatment of the gaseous streams containing the GHG seems to be a not suitable option due to the high capital costs of systems involved to capture and clean them. The change of WWTP configuration by using microalgae or partial nitritation-Anammox processes to remove ammonia from wastewater, instead of conventional nitrification-denitrification processes, can significantly reduce the GHG emissions and the energy consumed. However, the area required in the case of microalgae systems and the current lack of information about stability of partial nitritation-Anammox processes operating in the main stream of the WWTP are factors to be considered.

Ammonia and nitrite oxidation in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Xuefeng; Fuchsman, Clara A.; Jayakumar, Amal; Oleynik, Sergey; Martens-Habbena, Willm; Devol, Allan H.; Ward, Bess B.

2015-12-01

Nitrification plays a key role in the marine nitrogen (N) cycle, including in oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), which are hot spots for denitrification and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox). Recent evidence suggests that nitrification links the source (remineralized organic matter) and sink (denitrification and anammox) of fixed N directly in the steep oxycline in the OMZs. We performed shipboard incubations with 15N tracers to characterize the depth distribution of nitrification in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP). Additional experiments were conducted to investigate photoinhibition. Allylthiourea (ATU) was used to distinguish the contribution of archaeal and bacterial ammonia oxidation. The abundance of archaeal and β-proteobacterial ammonia monooxygenase gene subunit A (amoA) was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The rates of ammonia and nitrite oxidation showed distinct subsurface maxima, with the latter slightly deeper than the former. The ammonia oxidation maximum coincided with the primary nitrite concentration maximum, archaeal amoA gene maximum, and the subsurface nitrous oxide maximum. Negligible rates of ammonia oxidation were found at anoxic depths, where high rates of nitrite oxidation were measured. Archaeal amoA gene abundance was generally 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher than bacterial amoA gene abundance, and inhibition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria with 10 μM ATU did not affect ammonia oxidation rates, indicating the dominance of archaea in ammonia oxidation. These results depict highly dynamic activities of ammonia and nitrite oxidation in the oxycline of the ETNP OMZ.

Output Information Based Fault-Tolerant Iterative Learning Control for Dual-Rate Sampling Process with Disturbances and Output Delay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongfeng Tao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available For a class of single-input single-output (SISO dual-rate sampling processes with disturbances and output delay, this paper presents a robust fault-tolerant iterative learning control algorithm based on output information. Firstly, the dual-rate sampling process with output delay is transformed into discrete system in state-space model form with slow sampling rate without time delay by using lifting technology; then output information based fault-tolerant iterative learning control scheme is designed and the control process is turned into an equivalent two-dimensional (2D repetitive process. Moreover, based on the repetitive process stability theory, the sufficient conditions for the stability of system and the design method of robust controller are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs technique. Finally, the flow control simulations of two flow tanks in series demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

A review of control strategies for manipulating the feed rate in fed-batch fermentation processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mears, Lisa; Stocks, Stuart M.; Sin, Gürkan

2017-01-01

. This review covers a range of strategies which have been employed to use the feed rate as a manipulated variable in a control strategy. The feed rate is chosen as the focus for this review, as it is seen that this variable may be used towards many different objectives depending on the process of interest...

From Partial nitrification to canon in an aerobic granular SBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vazquez-Padin, J.; Figueroa, M.; Campos, J. L.; Mosquera-Corral, A.; Mendez, R.

2009-01-01

Nitrogen removal via nitrification-denitrification processes is commonly used in biology wastewater treatment plants to remove nitrogen compounds. In recent years new technologies emerged bringing solutions to remove nitrogen from wastewaters with not enough COD content to complete the denitrification process. An alternative strategy to the conventional nitrification-denitrification processes has been developed in the nine tries consisting of a combination of the oxidation of half of the ammonium from the wastewater to nitrite via partial nitrification and the removal of both, ammonium and formed nitrite by the Anammox process. (Author)

Astrophysical neutron capture rates in s- and r-process nucleosynthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beer, H.; Mohr, P.; Oberhummer, H.; Rauscher, T.; Mutti, P.; Corvi, F.; Sedyshev, P.V.; Popov, Yu.P.

1997-01-01

The astrophysical neutron capture rates of light and heavy nuclei are measured and calculated. The measurements are realized using the activation technique at the 3.75 MV Karlsruhe Van de Graaff accelerator and by means of the time-of-flight method at the Geel electron linear accelerator (GELINA). The setup for the fast cyclic activation measurements made on 26 Mg and 48 Ca, as well as on Pt isotopes is described. The time-of-flight method is used for neutron capture measurements of the bottleneck isotopes 138 Ba and 208 Pb. The calculations are made using direct and compound nuclear capture models. The s-process nucleosynthesis path in the Os and Pt mass region is discussed in details. It is shown that for 19 '1 Os, 192 Ir and 193 Pt there is a competition between β-decay and neutron capture. The β-decay half-lives are dependent on temperature and electron density of the s-process environment. The abundance of s-only 192 Pt originates from the branching at 191 Os and 192 Ir. The isotopes 190 Pt and 198 Pt are not on the s-process path, therefore the seed abundance vanish during nucleosynthesis. Calculations are carried out using parametrized models in order to reproduce the s-process abundance in the mass region from Os up to Pt. The neutron density is adjusted to reproduce the solar abundance of the s-only isotope 9 2 Pt in the analysis of the present branching especially

Accelerated Rates of Nitrogen Cycling and N2O Production in Salt Marsh Sediments due to Long-Term Fertilization

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, X.; Ji, Q.; Angell, J.; Kearns, P.; Bowen, J. L.; Ward, B. B.

2014-12-01

Intensified sedimentary production of nitrous oxide (N2O), one of the most potent greenhouse gases, is one of the many possible environmental consequences of elevated nitrogen (N) loading into estuarine ecosystems. This study investigates the response to over 40 years of fertilization of nitrogen removal processes in the sediments of the Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, MA. Sediment slurries were incubated (1.5 hr) with trace amounts (fertilized sediments (0.89 nmol hr-1 g-1 wet weight) was 30-fold higher than in unfertilized sediments. The ratio of N2O to N2 production was also significantly higher in fertilized sediments (2.9%) than in unfertilized sediments (1.2%). This highlights the disproportionally large effect of long-term fertilization on N2O production in salt marsh sediments. The reduced oxygen level and higher ammonium concentrations in situ probably contributed to the significant rise in N2O production as a result of long-term fertilization. When detected, anammox and coupled nitrification-denitrification accounted for 10% and 14% of the total N2 production in fertilized sediments (30.5 nmol hr-1 g-1 wet weight), respectively, whereas neither was detected in unfertilized sediments. Thus these experiments indicate that N loading has important effects on multiple N cycle processes that result in N loss and N2O production.

Application of the TDABC model in the logistics process using different capacity cost rates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Afonso

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The understanding of logistics process in terms of costs and profitability is a complex task and there is a need of more research and applied work on these issues. In this research project, the concepts underlying Time-Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC have been used in the context of logistics costs. Design/methodology/approach: A Distribution Centre of wood and carpentry related materials has been studied. A multidisciplinary team has been composed to support the project including the researchers and three employees of the company responsible for accounting, logistics and warehousing. The design and implementation of the costing model asked for a deep understanding of the different tasks and processes that should be considered. Accordingly, a TDABC model for the logistics function was developed. Findings: The cost model presented here is supported on a series of time equations designed for the logistics function which allow the analysis and discussion of costs and profitability of different cost objects namely, products, clients, distribution channels, processes and activities. The cost of unused capacity and the effectiveness of logistics processes are also highlighted in this model. Research limitations/implications: In a case study, results and implications cannot be directly or immediately generalized. Nevertheless, the proposed time equations and cost model can be easily adapted to explain other types of logistics functions and it gives the foundations or other TDABC models with more than one capacity cost rate. Practical implications: The TDABC model developed in this case study can be used in similar cases and as a basis for the analysis of logistics costs in other logistics processes. Furthermore, managers can rely on the proposed approach to analyze products’ profitability and logistics cost structure.  Originality/value: In this case, different capacity cost rates were computed in order to reflect appropriately the

Application of the TDABC model in the logistics process using different capacity cost rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afonso, Paulo; Santana, Alex

2016-01-01

Purpose: The understanding of logistics process in terms of costs and profitability is a complex task and there is a need of more research and applied work on these issues. In this research project, the concepts underlying Time-Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC) have been used in the context of logistics costs. Design/methodology/approach: A Distribution Centre of wood and carpentry related materials has been studied. A multidisciplinary team has been composed to support the project including the researchers and three employees of the company responsible for accounting, logistics and warehousing. The design and implementation of the costing model asked for a deep understanding of the different tasks and processes that should be considered. Accordingly, a TDABC model for the logistics function was developed. Findings: The cost model presented here is supported on a series of time equations designed for the logistics function which allow the analysis and discussion of costs and profitability of different cost objects namely, products, clients, distribution channels, processes and activities. The cost of unused capacity and the effectiveness of logistics processes are also highlighted in this model. Research limitations/implications: In a case study, results and implications cannot be directly or immediately generalized. Nevertheless, the proposed time equations and cost model can be easily adapted to explain other types of logistics functions and it gives the foundations or other TDABC models with more than one capacity cost rate. Practical implications: The TDABC model developed in this case study can be used in similar cases and as a basis for the analysis of logistics costs in other logistics processes. Furthermore, managers can rely on the proposed approach to analyze products’ profitability and logistics cost structure. Originality/value: In this case, different capacity cost rates were computed in order to reflect appropriately the logistics function which

Application of the TDABC model in the logistics process using different capacity cost rates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Afonso, Paulo; Santana, Alex

2016-07-01

Purpose: The understanding of logistics process in terms of costs and profitability is a complex task and there is a need of more research and applied work on these issues. In this research project, the concepts underlying Time-Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC) have been used in the context of logistics costs. Design/methodology/approach: A Distribution Centre of wood and carpentry related materials has been studied. A multidisciplinary team has been composed to support the project including the researchers and three employees of the company responsible for accounting, logistics and warehousing. The design and implementation of the costing model asked for a deep understanding of the different tasks and processes that should be considered. Accordingly, a TDABC model for the logistics function was developed. Findings: The cost model presented here is supported on a series of time equations designed for the logistics function which allow the analysis and discussion of costs and profitability of different cost objects namely, products, clients, distribution channels, processes and activities. The cost of unused capacity and the effectiveness of logistics processes are also highlighted in this model. Research limitations/implications: In a case study, results and implications cannot be directly or immediately generalized. Nevertheless, the proposed time equations and cost model can be easily adapted to explain other types of logistics functions and it gives the foundations or other TDABC models with more than one capacity cost rate. Practical implications: The TDABC model developed in this case study can be used in similar cases and as a basis for the analysis of logistics costs in other logistics processes. Furthermore, managers can rely on the proposed approach to analyze products’ profitability and logistics cost structure. Originality/value: In this case, different capacity cost rates were computed in order to reflect appropriately the logistics function which

Hydrodynamic mean-field solutions of 1D exclusion processes with spatially varying hopping rates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lakatos, Greg; O' Brien, John; Chou, Tom [Department of Biomathematics and Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)

2006-03-10

We analyse the open boundary partially asymmetric exclusion process with smoothly varying internal hopping rates in the infinite-size, mean-field limit. The mean-field equations for particle densities are written in terms of Ricatti equations with the steady-state current J as a parameter. These equations are solved both analytically and numerically. Upon imposing the boundary conditions set by the injection and extraction rates, the currents J are found self-consistently. We find a number of cases where analytic solutions can be found exactly or approximated. Results for J from asymptotic analyses for slowly varying hopping rates agree extremely well with those from extensive Monte Carlo simulations, suggesting that mean-field currents asymptotically approach the exact currents in the hydrodynamic limit, as the hopping rates vary slowly over the lattice. If the forward hopping rate is greater than or less than the backward hopping rate throughout the entire chain, the three standard steady-state phases are preserved. Our analysis reveals the sensitivity of the current to the relative phase between the forward and backward hopping rate functions.

Hydrodynamic mean-field solutions of 1D exclusion processes with spatially varying hopping rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lakatos, Greg; O'Brien, John; Chou, Tom

2006-01-01

We analyse the open boundary partially asymmetric exclusion process with smoothly varying internal hopping rates in the infinite-size, mean-field limit. The mean-field equations for particle densities are written in terms of Ricatti equations with the steady-state current J as a parameter. These equations are solved both analytically and numerically. Upon imposing the boundary conditions set by the injection and extraction rates, the currents J are found self-consistently. We find a number of cases where analytic solutions can be found exactly or approximated. Results for J from asymptotic analyses for slowly varying hopping rates agree extremely well with those from extensive Monte Carlo simulations, suggesting that mean-field currents asymptotically approach the exact currents in the hydrodynamic limit, as the hopping rates vary slowly over the lattice. If the forward hopping rate is greater than or less than the backward hopping rate throughout the entire chain, the three standard steady-state phases are preserved. Our analysis reveals the sensitivity of the current to the relative phase between the forward and backward hopping rate functions

Linking soil DOC production rates and transport processes from landscapes to sub-basin scales

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Y. Q.; Yu, Q.; Li, J.; Ye, C.

2014-12-01

Recent research rejects the traditional perspective that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) component in global carbon cycle are simply trivial, and in fact evidence demonstrates that lakes likely mediate carbon dynamics on a global scale. Riverine and estuarine carbon fluxes play a critical role in transporting and recycling carbon and nutrients, not only within watersheds but in their receiving waters. However, the underlying mechanisms that drive carbon fluxes, from land to rivers, lake and oceans, remain poorly understood. This presentation will report a research result of the scale-dependent DOC production rate in coastal watersheds and DOC transport processes in estuarine regions. We conducted a series of controlled experiments and field measurements for examining biogeochemical, biological, and geospatial variables that regulate downstream processing on global-relevant carbon fluxes. Results showed that increased temperatures and raised soil moistures accelerate decomposition rates of organic matter with significant variations between vegetation types. The measurements at meso-scale ecosystem demonstrated a good correlation to bulk concentration of DOC monitored in receiving waters at the outlets of sub-basins (R2 > 0.65). These field and experimental measurements improved the model of daily carbon exports through below-ground processes as a function of the organic matter content of surface soils, forest litter supply, and temperature. The study demonstrated a potential improvement in modeling the co-variance of CDOM and DOC with the unique terrestrial sources. This improvement indicated a significant promise for monitoring riverine and estuarine carbon flux from satellite images. The technical innovations include deployments of 1) mini-ecosystem (mesocosms) with soil as replicate controlled experiments for DOC production and leaching rates, and 2) aquatic mesocosms for co-variances of DOC and CDOM endmembers, and an instrumented incubation experiment for

Building the Method to Determine the Rate of Freezing Water in Penaeus monodon of the Freezing Process

OpenAIRE

Nguyen Tan Dzung; Trinh Van Dzung; Tran Duc Ba

2012-01-01

The method of determination the rate of freezing water in Penaeus monodon of freezing process was established on base the equation of energy balance in warming up process Penaeus monodon after freezing to determine specific heat of Penaeus monodon. The result obtained was built the mathematical model (19) to determine the rate of freezing water according to the freezing temperature of Penaeus monodon. The results indicated that when water was completely frozen (ω = 1 or 100%), the optimal fre...

Jump locations of jump-diffusion processes with state-dependent rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miles, Christopher E; Keener, James P

2017-01-01

We propose a general framework for studying statistics of jump-diffusion systems driven by both Brownian noise (diffusion) and a jump process with state-dependent intensity. Of particular natural interest in many physical systems are the jump locations: the system evaluated at the jump times. As an example, this could be the voltage at which a neuron fires, or the so-called ‘threshold voltage’. However, the state-dependence of the jump rate provides direct coupling between the diffusion and jump components, making it difficult to disentangle the two to study individually. In this work, we provide an iterative map formulation of the sequence of distributions of jump locations. The distributions computed by this map can be used to elucidate other interesting quantities about the process, including statistics of the interjump times. Ultimately, the limit of the map reveals that knowledge of the stationary distribution of the full process is sufficient to recover (but not necessarily equal to) the distribution of jump locations. We propose two biophysical examples to illustrate the use of this framework to provide insight about a system. We find that a sharp threshold voltage emerges robustly in a simple stochastic integrate-and-fire neuronal model. The interplay between the two sources of noise is also investigated in a stepping model of molecular motor in intracellular transport pulling a diffusive cargo. (paper)

High-precision (p,t) reactions to determine reaction rates of explosive stellar processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Matić, Andrija

2007-01-01

The aim of my study was to investigate the nuclear structure of 22Mg and 26Si. These two nuclei play a significant role in stellar reaction processes at high temperatures. On base of the obtained nuclear structure we calculated the stellar reaction rates for the following reactions: 18Ne(α,p)21Na,

Friction stir processing: a new grain refinement technique to achieve high strain rate superplasticity in commercial alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishra, R.S. [Missouri Univ., Rolla, MO (United States). Dept. of Metallurgical Engineering; Mahoney, M.W. [Rockwell International Corp., Thousand Oaks, CA (United States). Science Center

2001-07-01

Friction stir processing is a new thermo-mechanical processing technique that leads to a microstructure amenable for high strain rate superplasticity in commercial aluminum alloys. Friction stirring produces a combination of very fine grain size and high grain boundary misorientation angles. Preliminary results on a 7075 Al demonstrate high strain rate superplasticity in the temperature range of 430-510 C. For example, an elongation of >1000% was observed at 490 C and 1 x 10{sup -2} s{sup -1}. This demonstrates a new possibility to economically obtain a superplastic microstructure in commercial aluminum alloys. Based on these results, a three-step manufacturing process to fabricate complex shaped components can be envisaged: cast sheet or hot-pressed powder metallurgy sheet + friction stir processing + superplastic forging or forming. (orig.)

When do plants modify fluvial processes? Plant-hydraulic interactions under variable flow and sediment supply rates

Science.gov (United States)

Manners, Rebecca B.; Wilcox, Andrew C.; Kui, Li; Lightbody, Anne F.; Stella, John C.; Sklar, Leonard S.

2015-02-01

Flow and sediment regimes shape alluvial river channels; yet the influence of these abiotic drivers can be strongly mediated by biotic factors such as the size and density of riparian vegetation. We present results from an experiment designed to identify when plants control fluvial processes and to investigate the sensitivity of fluvial processes to changes in plant characteristics versus changes in flow rate or sediment supply. Live seedlings of two species with distinct morphologies, tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) and cottonwood (Populus fremontii), were placed in different configurations in a mobile sand-bed flume. We measured the hydraulic and sediment flux responses of the channel at different flow rates and sediment supply conditions representing equilibrium (sediment supply = transport rate) and deficit (sediment supply plant species and configuration. Species-specific traits controlled the hydraulic response: compared to cottonwood, which has a more tree-like morphology, the shrubby morphology of tamarisk resulted in less pronation and greater reductions in near-bed velocities, Reynolds stress, and sediment flux rates. Under sediment-deficit conditions, on the other hand, abiotic factors dampened the effect of variations in plant characteristics on the hydraulic response. We identified scenarios for which the highest stem-density patch, independent of abiotic factors, dominated the fluvial response. These results provide insight into how and when plants influence fluvial processes in natural systems.

Temporally invariable bacterial community structure in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Jain, A.; Bandekar, M.; Gomes, J.; Shenoy, D.M.; Meena, R.M.; Naik, H.; Khandeparkar, R.; Ramaiah, N.

determining ammonia-oxidizing organism distribution and diversity in marine environments. Environ Microbiol 14: 714-729 Bulow SE, Rich JJ, Naik HS, Pratihary AK, Ward BB (2010) Denitrification exceeds anammox as a nitrogen loss pathway in the Arabian Sea... losses of fixed nitrogen to the atmosphere through denitrification (Naqvi 1994) and anaerobic oxidation of ammonia (anammox, Dalsgaard et al 2012). Although OMZ regions represent only a small fraction (~1%) of the global ocean volume (as per World...

Frictional processes of bimaterial interfaces at seismic slip rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Passelegue, F. X.; Fabbri, O.; Leclère, H.; Spagnuolo, E.; Di Toro, G.

2017-12-01

Large subduction earthquakes ruptures propagate from crustal rock toward the sea floor along frictional interfaces of different lythologies. Up to now, frictional processes of rocks were mainly investigated along single material experimental faults. Here, we present the results of high velocity friction experiments coupled with high frequency acoustic monitoring system on biomaterial interfaces including gabbro, pyroxenite and serpentinized peridotite (>95%), following a recent field investigation highlighting bimaterial contacts in the Corsica ophiolitic nappe. We first studied the frictional processes of single materials which result in a mechanical behaviour comparable to previous studies. Both gabbro and pyroxenite exhibit two weakening stages. The first one corresponds to flash heating and the second stage occurs concomitantly with complete melting of the interface. In the case of serpentinite, only one weakening stage is observed, after a weakening slip distance of only few centimeters. We then conducted bimaterial experiments. The two couples tested were gabbro/pyroxenite and gabbro/serpentinite, as observed along natural fault zones (Corsica, France). In the case of gabbro/serpentinite, we observe that frictional processes are controlled by serpentinite. Mechanical curves replicate the behaviour of single serpentinite friction experiments. We observe that few melting occurs, and that the product of experiments consists in fine grained cataclasite, as observed in the field. The case of gabbro/pyroxenite is more complicated. The first weakening is controlled by the lithology of the sample installed on the static part of the rotary apparatus. However, the second weakening is controlled by the gabbro and mechanical curves are identical than those obtained in the case of single gabbro experiments. Supported by microstructural analysis and acoustic activity, our results suggest that frictional processes of bimaterial interfaces are controlled by the material

The impact of suspended oyster farming on nitrogen cycling and nitrous oxide production in a sub-tropical Australian estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Erler, Dirk V.; Welsh, David T.; Bennet, William W.; Meziane, Tarik; Hubas, Cédric; Nizzoli, Daniele; Ferguson, Angus J. P.

2017-06-01

In this study we quantified nitrate (NO3-) reduction (denitrification, anammox and DNRA) and N2O production in sediments and epibiont communities associated with Sydney Rock Oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) farming. In sediments beneath an active suspended oyster farm, DNRA accounted for 98% of NO3- reduction with rates of up to 169 ± 45 μmol N m-2 h-1. Much of this DNRA was fuelled by NO3- derived from nitrification. Reference sediments had significantly lower DNRA rates of 83.8 ± 28.2 μmol N m-2 h-1, however this constituted 96% of the sites total NO3- reduction. Fatty acid analysis showed that sediment organic matter was more labile in the oyster impacted sediments, facilitating subtle shifts in sediment oxygen demand which increased the Fe2+ availability with respect to the reference sediments. The difference in DNRA rate between the sites was attributed to autotrophic oxidation of soluble Fe2+ in sediments underlying the oyster cultures. DNRA was absent in the oyster shell epibiont communities and rates of anammox and denitrification were lower than in the sediments. Production of NH4+ from the oysters and their associated epibionts was larger than DNRA and reached a rate of 206.2 μmol N m-2 h-1. Nitrous oxide production rates were generally low compared to other aquaculture systems and the net flux of N2O for the combined oyster cultivation system (i.e. sediments plus epibionts) was negative, i.e. there was N2O consumption in the sediments beneath the oysters. Overall, subtropical suspended oyster farming systems favour inorganic N retention over N loss.

Activity, Microenvironments, and Community Structure of Aerobic and Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidizing Prokaryotes in Estuarine Sediment (Randers Fjord, DK)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schramm, Andreas; Revsbech, Niels Peter; Dalsgaard, Tage

2006-01-01

ACTIVITY, MICROENVIRONMENTS, AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC AMMONIUM OXIDIZING PROKARYOTES IN ESTUARINE SEDIMENT (RANDERS FJORD, DK) A. Schramm 1, N.P. Revsbech 1, T. Dalsgaard 2, E. Piña-Ochoa 3, J. de la Torré 4, D.A. Stahl 4, N. Risgaard-Petersen 2 1 Department of Biological...... conversion of ammonium with nitrite to N2, is increasingly recognized as link in the aquatic nitrogen cycle. However, factors regulating the occurrence and activity of anammox bacteria are still poorly understood. Besides the influence of abiotic factors, anammox might be controlled by either aerobic ammonia...... oxidizing bacteria and archaea (AOB and AOA) or nitrate-reducing/denitrifying bacteria via their supply of nitrite. Along the Randers Fjord estuary (Denmark), gradients of salinity, nutrients, and organic loading can be observed, and anammox has been detected previously at some sites. The aim of this study...

Low-energy rate enhancement in recombination processes of electrons into bare uranium ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Yong; Zeng Siliang; Duan Bin; Yan Jun; Wang Jianguo; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou; Dong Chenzhong; Ma Xinwen

2007-01-01

Based on the Dirac-Fork-Slater method combined with the multichannel quantum defect theory, the recombination processes of electrons into bare uranium ions (U 92+ ) are investigated in the relative energy range close to zero, and the x-ray spectrum emitted in the direct radiative recombination and cascades processes are simulated. Compared with the recent measurement, it is found that the rate enhancement comes from the additional populations on high Rydberg states. These additional populations may be produced by other recombination mechanisms, such as the external electric-magnetic effects and the many-body correlation effects, which still remains an open problem. (authors)

Creating a standardized process to offer the standard of care: continuous process improvement methodology is associated with increased rates of sperm cryopreservation among adolescent and young adult males with cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Shnorhavorian, Margarett; Kroon, Leah; Jeffries, Howard; Johnson, Rebecca

2012-11-01

There is limited literature on strategies to overcome the barriers to sperm banking among adolescent and young adult (AYA) males with cancer. By standardizing our process for offering sperm banking to AYA males before cancer treatment, we aimed to improve rates of sperm banking at our institution. Continuous process improvement is a technique that has recently been applied to improve health care delivery. We used continuous process improvement methodologies to create a standard process for fertility preservation for AYA males with cancer at our institution. We compared rates of sperm banking before and after standardization. In the 12-month period after implementation of a standardized process, 90% of patients were offered sperm banking. We demonstrated an 8-fold increase in the proportion of AYA males' sperm banking, and a 5-fold increase in the rate of sperm banking at our institution. Implementation of a standardized process for sperm banking for AYA males with cancer was associated with increased rates of sperm banking at our institution. This study supports the role of standardized health care in decreasing barriers to sperm banking.

Large-scale calculations of the beta-decay rates and r-process nucleosynthesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borzov, I N; Goriely, S [Inst. d` Astronomie et d` Astrophysique, Univ. Libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine, Bruxelles (Belgium); Pearson, J M [Inst. d` Astronomie et d` Astrophysique, Univ. Libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine, Bruxelles (Belgium); [Lab. de Physique Nucleaire, Univ. de Montreal, Montreal (Canada)

1998-06-01

An approximation to a self-consistent model of the ground state and {beta}-decay properties of neutron-rich nuclei is outlined. The structure of the {beta}-strength functions in stable and short-lived nuclei is discussed. The results of large-scale calculations of the {beta}-decay rates for spherical and slightly deformed nuclides of relevance to the r-process are analysed and compared with the results of existing global calculations and recent experimental data. (orig.)

A comparative analysis of signal processing methods for motion-based rate responsive pacing.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenhut, S E; Shreve, E A; Lau, C P

1996-08-01

Pacemakers that augment heart rate (HR) by sensing body motion have been the most frequently prescribed rate responsive pacemakers. Many comparisons between motion-based rate responsive pacemaker models have been published. However, conclusions regarding specific signal processing methods used for rate response (e.g., filters and algorithms) can be affected by device-specific features. To objectively compare commonly used motion sensing filters and algorithms, acceleration and ECG signals were recorded from 16 normal subjects performing exercise and daily living activities. Acceleration signals were filtered (1-4 or 15-Hz band-pass), then processed using threshold crossing (TC) or integration (IN) algorithms creating four filter/algorithm combinations. Data were converted to an acceleration indicated rate and compared to intrinsic HR using root mean square difference (RMSd) and signed RMSd. Overall, the filters and algorithms performed similarly for most activities. The only differences between filters were for walking at an increasing grade (1-4 Hz superior to 15-Hz) and for rocking in a chair (15-Hz superior to 1-4 Hz). The only differences between algorithms were for bicycling (TC superior to IN), walking at an increasing grade (IN superior to TC), and holding a drill (IN superior to TC). Performance of the four filter/algorithm combinations was also similar over most activities. The 1-4/IN (filter [Hz]/algorithm) combination performed best for walking at a grade, while the 15/TC combination was best for bicycling. However, the 15/TC combination tended to be most sensitive to higher frequency artifact, such as automobile driving, downstairs walking, and hand drilling. Chair rocking artifact was highest for 1-4/IN. The RMSd for bicycling and upstairs walking were large for all combinations, reflecting the nonphysiological nature of the sensor. The 1-4/TC combination demonstrated the least intersubject variability, was the only filter/algorithm combination

The rate of food processing in the Oystercatcher : Food intake and energy expenditure constrained by a digestive bottleneck

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kersten, M.

1. Whether food intake is determined by the maximum rate at which animals can collect food, or by the rate at which this food can be processed, will strongly affect the organization of their behaviour. We investigated whether the digestive system imposes a constraint on (I) instantaneous rate of

Analysis of the influence of infeed rate and cutting fluid on cylindrical grinding processes using a conventional wheel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bianchi Eduardo Carlos

2004-01-01

Full Text Available New worldwide trends such as globalization have rendered grinding processes increasingly important for industry, making it essential to perform in-depth studies of variations in grinding process parameters in the pursuit of greater cost effectiveness. This paper presents a comparative analysis of three different infeed rates, using a conventional grinding wheel on quenched and tempered D2 steel workpieces. Higher infeed rates are known to be correlated with shorter grinding times, rendering the process more economically attractive. Two different coolant fluids, 5% emulsion and pure oil, were used. The tests were carried out using the smallest possible amount of coolant and an optimized 5 mm diameter nozzle. The parameters analyzed were tangential force, specific energy, acoustic emission, roundness error and surface roughness. The surfaces of the workpieces were also examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The results revealed that increased infeed rates could reduce processing times without compromising the quality of the workpiece profile, thereby reducing the cost of the process. The best cutting fluid, albeit more harmful to human health and less environmentally friendly, was found to be pure oil.

Auditory detection of an increment in the rate of a random process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, W.S.; Emmerich, D.S.

1994-01-01

Recent experiments have presented listeners with complex tonal stimuli consisting of components with values (i.e., intensities or frequencies) randomly sampled from probability distributions [e.g., R. A. Lutfi, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 86, 934--944 (1989)]. In the present experiment, brief tones were presented at intervals corresponding to the intensity of a random process. Specifically, the intervals between tones were randomly selected from exponential probability functions. Listeners were asked to decide whether tones presented during a defined observation interval represented a ''noise'' process alone or the ''noise'' with a ''signal'' process added to it. The number of tones occurring in any observation interval is a Poisson variable; receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) arising from Poisson processes have been considered by Egan [Signal Detection Theory and ROC Analysis (Academic, New York, 1975)]. Several sets of noise and signal intensities and observation interval durations were selected which were expected to yield equivalent performance. Rating ROCs were generated based on subjects' responses in a single-interval, yes--no task. The performance levels achieved by listeners and the effects of intensity and duration are compared to those predicted for an ideal observer

Recursive Estimation for Dynamical Systems with Different Delay Rates Sensor Network and Autocorrelated Process Noises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianxin Feng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The recursive estimation problem is studied for a class of uncertain dynamical systems with different delay rates sensor network and autocorrelated process noises. The process noises are assumed to be autocorrelated across time and the autocorrelation property is described by the covariances between different time instants. The system model under consideration is subject to multiplicative noises or stochastic uncertainties. The sensor delay phenomenon occurs in a random way and each sensor in the sensor network has an individual delay rate which is characterized by a binary switching sequence obeying a conditional probability distribution. By using the orthogonal projection theorem and an innovation analysis approach, the desired recursive robust estimators including recursive robust filter, predictor, and smoother are obtained. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

Pacific Northwest geomorphology and hydrology: rates and probabilities of selected processes and events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tubbs, D.W.

1979-01-01

This report presents results of one of the geomorphological and hydrological studies that have been conducted for the release scenario analysis of the Waste Isolation Safety Assessment Program (WISAP). Three general topics are considered: (1) determination of rates of denudation, (2) estimation of the probability of flooding due to each of several causes, and (3) evaluation of other surface processes that should be considered in the release scenario analysis. The third general topic was ultimately narrowed to the possible effects of landsliding. Rates of erosion are expressed as centimeters per 100 years, except that the original units are retained in figures taken from other sources. Probabilities are also expressed per 100 years

Evaluation of Chemical Kinetic for Mathematics Model Reduction of Cadmium Reaction Rate, Constant and Reaction Orde in to Electrochemical Process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prayitno

2007-01-01

The experiment was reduction of cadmium rate with electrochemical influenced by time process, concentration, current strength and type of electrode plate. The aim of the experiment was to know the influence, mathematic model reduction of cadmium the reaction rate, reaction rate constant and reaction orde influenced by time process, concentration, current strength and type of electrode plate. Result of research indicate the time processing if using plate of copper electrode is during 30 minutes and using plate of aluminium electrode is during 20 minutes. Condition of strong current that used in process of electrochemical is only 0.8 ampere and concentration effective is 5.23 mg/l. The most effective type Al of electrode plate for reduction from waste and the efficiency of reduction is 98 %. (author)

Start-Up and Aeration Strategies for a Completely Autotrophic Nitrogen Removal Process in an SBR

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Xiaoling Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The start-up and performance of the completely autotrophic nitrogen removal via nitrite (CANON process were examined in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR with intermittent aeration. Initially, partial nitrification was established, and then the DO concentration was lowered further, surplus water in the SBR with high nitrite was replaced with tap water, and continuous aeration mode was turned into intermittent aeration mode, while the removal of total nitrogen was still weak. However, the total nitrogen (TN removal efficiency and nitrogen removal loading reached 83.07% and 0.422 kgN/(m3·d, respectively, 14 days after inoculating 0.15 g of CANON biofilm biomass into the SBR. The aggregates formed in SBR were the mixture of activated sludge and granular sludge; the volume ratio of floc and granular sludge was 7 : 3. DNA analysis showed that Planctomycetes-like anammox bacteria and Nitrosomonas-like aerobic ammonium oxidization bacteria were dominant bacteria in the reactor. The influence of aeration strategies on CANON process was investigated using batch tests. The result showed that the strategy of alternating aeration (1 h and nonaeration (1 h was optimum, which can obtain almost the same TN removal efficiency as continuous aeration while reducing the energy consumption, inhibiting the activity of NOB, and enhancing the activity of AAOB.

Improving Immunization Rates Using Lean Six Sigma Processes: Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers National Initiative III Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Hina-Syeda, Hussaini; Kimbrough, Christina; Murdoch, William; Markova, Tsveti

2013-01-01

Quality improvement education and work in interdisciplinary teams is a healthcare priority. Healthcare systems are trying to meet core measures and provide excellent patient care, thus improving their Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems scores. Crittenton Hospital Medical Center in Rochester Hills, MI, aligned educational and clinical objectives, focusing on improving immunization rates against pneumonia and influenza prior to the rates being implemented as core measures. Improving immunization rates prevents infections, minimizes hospitalizations, and results in overall improved patient care. Teaching hospitals offer an effective way to work on clinical projects by bringing together the skill sets of residents, faculty, and hospital staff to achieve superior results. WE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED A STRUCTURED CURRICULUM IN WHICH INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE ON QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND TEAMWORK, WHILE FOCUSING ON A SPECIFIC CLINICAL PROJECT: improving global immunization rates. We used the Lean Six Sigma process tools to quantify the initial process capability to immunize against pneumococcus and influenza. The hospital's process to vaccinate against pneumonia overall was operating at a Z score of 3.13, and the influenza vaccination Z score was 2.53. However, the process to vaccinate high-risk patients against pneumonia operated at a Z score of 1.96. Improvement in immunization rates of high-risk patients became the focus of the project. After the implementation of solutions, the process to vaccinate high-risk patients against pneumonia operated at a Z score of 3.9 with a defects/million opportunities rate of 9,346 and a yield of 93.5%. Revisions to the adult assessment form fixed 80% of the problems identified. This process improvement project was not only beneficial in terms of improved quality of patient care but was also a positive learning experience for the interdisciplinary team, particularly for the residents. The

The effect of coarse second-phase particles on the rate of grain refinement during severe deformation processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Apps, P.J.; Bowen, Jacob R.; Prangnell, P.B.

2003-01-01

The effect of second-phase particles on the rate of grain refinement during severe deformation processing has been investigated, by comparing the microstructure evolution in an AA8079 aluminium alloy, containing 2.5 vol.% of ~2 μm particles, with that in a high purity, single-phase, Al-0.13% Mg a...... by an effective strain of only five in the particle-containing alloy, compared to ten in the single-phase material. The mechanisms that contribute to this acceleration of the grain refinement process are discussed.......The effect of second-phase particles on the rate of grain refinement during severe deformation processing has been investigated, by comparing the microstructure evolution in an AA8079 aluminium alloy, containing 2.5 vol.% of ~2 μm particles, with that in a high purity, single-phase, Al-0.13% Mg...... alloy, deformed identically by ECAE to an effective strain of ten. The materials were analysed by high-resolution EBSD orientation mapping, which revealed that grain refinement occurred at a dramatically higher rate in the particle-containing alloy. A submicron grain structure could be achieved...

Effects of stochastic interest rates in decision making under risk: A Markov decision process model for forest management

Science.gov (United States)

Mo Zhou; Joseph Buongiorno

2011-01-01

Most economic studies of forest decision making under risk assume a fixed interest rate. This paper investigated some implications of this stochastic nature of interest rates. Markov decision process (MDP) models, used previously to integrate stochastic stand growth and prices, can be extended to include variable interest rates as well. This method was applied to...

Fast maximum likelihood estimation of mutation rates using a birth-death process.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xiaowei; Zhu, Hongxiao

2015-02-07

Since fluctuation analysis was first introduced by Luria and Delbrück in 1943, it has been widely used to make inference about spontaneous mutation rates in cultured cells. Under certain model assumptions, the probability distribution of the number of mutants that appear in a fluctuation experiment can be derived explicitly, which provides the basis of mutation rate estimation. It has been shown that, among various existing estimators, the maximum likelihood estimator usually demonstrates some desirable properties such as consistency and lower mean squared error. However, its application in real experimental data is often hindered by slow computation of likelihood due to the recursive form of the mutant-count distribution. We propose a fast maximum likelihood estimator of mutation rates, MLE-BD, based on a birth-death process model with non-differential growth assumption. Simulation studies demonstrate that, compared with the conventional maximum likelihood estimator derived from the Luria-Delbrück distribution, MLE-BD achieves substantial improvement on computational speed and is applicable to arbitrarily large number of mutants. In addition, it still retains good accuracy on point estimation. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of minimal processing on the respiration rate and quality of rambutan cv. ‘Rong-Rien’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Buncha Ooraikul

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Respiration rate at 4oC and minimal processing of rambutan cv. ‘Rong-Rien’ were investigated. Rambutan was harvested from Amphur Ban Na San, Surat Thani Province, at the stage when its skin was turning into a combination of red, green and yellow. After harvesting, the fruits were size-graded to 27-30 fruits/kg, hydrocooled to 14oC, packed with ice in Styrofoam boxes and transported to the laboratory at Prince of Songkla University within 6 h. The respiration rate of fresh rambutan fruits was monitored. For minimal processing, the fruits were soaked in warm solution (55oC of 100 ppm sodium hypochlorite for one min and immediately cooled in cold water until their internal temperature reached 14oC. The minimal process included peeling, with and without coring. The peeled and peeled and cored rambutan samples were immersed in a solution of 0.5% citric acid + 0.5% CaCl2 at 4oC for 2 min. The average respiration rates (within 6 h at 4oC of whole fruit, peeled, and peeled and cored rambutan samples were measured and found to be 122, 134 and 143 mg CO2/kg/h, respectively. These findings indicated that a preparation style as peeled rambutan without coring, nylon/LLDPE bag, storage temperature of 4.0±1oC, were suitably applied for processed rambutans. To obtain a longer extended shelf life (>12 days of minimally processed peeled rambutans, further study on food additives, including acidulants and preservative used and gas composition in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP is needed.

Use of ventilator associated pneumonia bundle and statistical process control chart to decrease VAP rate in Syria.

Science.gov (United States)

Alsadat, Reem; Al-Bardan, Hussam; Mazloum, Mona N; Shamah, Asem A; Eltayeb, Mohamed F E; Marie, Ali; Dakkak, Abdulrahman; Naes, Ola; Esber, Faten; Betelmal, Ibrahim; Kherallah, Mazen

2012-10-01

Implementation of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) bundle as a performance improvement project in the critical care units for all mechanically ventilated patients aiming to decrease the VAP rates. VAP bundle was implemented in 4 teaching hospitals after educational sessions and compliance rates along with VAP rates were monitored using statistical process control charts. VAP bundle compliance rates were steadily increasing from 33 to 80% in hospital 1, from 33 to 86% in hospital 2 and from 83 to 100% in hospital 3 during the study period. The VAP bundle was not applied in hospital 4 therefore no data was available. A target level of 95% was reached only in hospital 3. This correlated with a decrease in VAP rates from 30 to 6.4 per 1000 ventilator days in hospital 1, from 12 to 4.9 per 1000 ventilator days in hospital 3, whereas VAP rate failed to decrease in hospital 2 (despite better compliance) and it remained high around 33 per 1000 ventilator days in hospital 4 where VAP bundle was not implemented. VAP bundle has performed differently in different hospitals in our study. Prevention of VAP requires a multidimensional strategy that includes strict infection control interventions, VAP bundle implementation, process and outcome surveillance and education.

The influence of nonbilinear system-bath coupling on quantum-mechanical activated rate processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Navrotskaya, Irina; Geva, Eitan

2006-01-01

The dependence of quantum-mechanical activated rate processes on the system-bath coupling strength was investigated in the case of a double-well nonbilinearly coupled to a harmonic bath, where the system-bath coupling is linear in the bath coordinates and nonlinear in the reaction coordinate. Such nonbilinear coupling is known to give rise to a classical friction kernel which is explicitly dependent on the reaction coordinate. We show that it can also lead to quantum-mechanical barrier-crossing rates, whose dependence on the system-bath coupling strength is qualitatively different from that observed in the quantum-mechanical bilinear case and classical nonbilinear case. More specifically, it is shown that the quantum-mechanical barrier-crossing rate may monotonically increase as a function of the system-bath coupling strength, in cases where the classical barrier-crossing rate goes through a turnover, and that the rate of quantum-mechanical barrier-crossing can be lower than that of classical barrier-crossing. We show that those purely quantum-mechanical effects are of a thermodynamical, rather than dynamical, nature, and that they originate from the difference in friction between the barrier top and the reactant and product wells. Our conclusions are supported by results obtained via the CMD method, which were also found to be in very good agreement with numerically exact calculations based on the QUAPI method

Investigations of effect of phase change mass transfer rate on cavitation process with homogeneous relaxation model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Zhixia; Zhang, Liang; Saha, Kaushik; Som, Sibendu; Duan, Lian; Wang, Qian

2017-12-01

The super high fuel injection pressure and micro size of nozzle orifice has been an important development trend for the fuel injection system. Accordingly, cavitation transient process, fuel compressibility, amount of noncondensable gas in the fuel and cavitation erosion have attracted more attention. Based on the fact of cavitation in itself is a kind of thermodynamic phase change process, this paper takes the perspective of the cavitation phase change mass transfer process to analyze above mentioned phenomenon. The two-phase cavitating turbulent flow simulations with VOF approach coupled with HRM cavitation model and U-RANS of standard k-ε turbulence model were performed for investigations of cavitation phase change mass transfer process. It is concluded the mass transfer time scale coefficient in the Homogenous Relaxation Model (HRM) representing mass transfer rate should tend to be as small as possible in a condition that ensured the solver stable. At very fast mass transfer rate, the phase change occurs at very thin interface between liquid and vapor phase and condensation occurs more focused and then will contribute predictably to a more serious cavitation erosion. Both the initial non-condensable gas in fuel and the fuel compressibility can accelerate the cavitation mass transfer process.

Fermentation process using specific oxygen uptake rates as a process control

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hoek, Pim [Minnetonka, MN; Aristidou, Aristos [Maple Grove, MN; Rush, Brian [Minneapolis, MN

2011-05-10

Specific oxygen uptake (OUR) is used as a process control parameter in fermentation processes. OUR is determined during at least the production phase of a fermentation process, and process parameters are adjusted to maintain the OUR within desired ranges. The invention is particularly applicable when the fermentation is conducted using a microorganism having a natural PDC pathway that has been disrupted so that it no longer functions. Microorganisms of this sort often produce poorly under strictly anaerobic conditions. Microaeration controlled by monitoring OUR allows the performance of the microorganism to be optimized.

Implications of a More Comprehensive Nitrogen Cycle in a Global Biogeochemical Ocean Model

Science.gov (United States)

Six, K. D.; Ilyina, T.

2016-02-01

Nitrogen plays a crucial role for nearly all living organisms in the Earth system. Changes in the marine nitrogen cycle not only alter the marine biota, but will also have an impact on the marine carbon cycle and, in turn, on climate due to the close coupling of the carbon-nitrogen cycle. The understanding of processes and controls of the marine nitrogen cycle is therefore a prerequisite to reduce uncertainties in the prediction of future climate. Nevertheless, most ocean biogeochemical components of modern Earth system models have a rather simplistic representation of marine N-cycle mainly focusing on nitrate. Here we present results of the HAMburg Ocean Carbon Cycle model (HAMOCC) as part of the MPI-ESM which was extended by a prognostic representation of ammonium and nitrite to resolve important processes of the marine N-cycle such as nitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Additionally, we updated the production of nitrous oxide, an important greenhouse gas, allowing for two sources from oxidation of ammonium (nitrification) and from reduction of nitrite (nitrifier-denitrification) at low oxygen concentrations. Besides an extended model data comparison we discuss the following aspects of the N-cycle by model means: (1) contribution of anammox to the loss of fixed nitrogen, and (2) production and emission of marine nitrous oxide.

Pulse shaping for all-optical signal processing of ultra-high bit rate serial data signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palushani, Evarist

The following thesis concerns pulse shaping and optical waveform manipulation for all-optical signal processing of ultra-high bit rate serial data signals, including generation of optical pulses in the femtosecond regime, serial-to-parallel conversion and terabaud coherent optical time division...

Digital Signal Processing For Low Bit Rate TV Image Codecs

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, K. R.

1987-06-01

In view of the 56 KBPS digital switched network services and the ISDN, low bit rate codecs for providing real time full motion color video are under various stages of development. Some companies have already brought the codecs into the market. They are being used by industry and some Federal Agencies for video teleconferencing. In general, these codecs have various features such as multiplexing audio and data, high resolution graphics, encryption, error detection and correction, self diagnostics, freezeframe, split video, text overlay etc. To transmit the original color video on a 56 KBPS network requires bit rate reduction of the order of 1400:1. Such a large scale bandwidth compression can be realized only by implementing a number of sophisticated,digital signal processing techniques. This paper provides an overview of such techniques and outlines the newer concepts that are being investigated. Before resorting to the data compression techniques, various preprocessing operations such as noise filtering, composite-component transformation and horizontal and vertical blanking interval removal are to be implemented. Invariably spatio-temporal subsampling is achieved by appropriate filtering. Transform and/or prediction coupled with motion estimation and strengthened by adaptive features are some of the tools in the arsenal of the data reduction methods. Other essential blocks in the system are quantizer, bit allocation, buffer, multiplexer, channel coding etc.

Information transfer with rate-modulated Poisson processes: a simple model for nonstationary stochastic resonance.

Science.gov (United States)

Goychuk, I

2001-08-01

Stochastic resonance in a simple model of information transfer is studied for sensory neurons and ensembles of ion channels. An exact expression for the information gain is obtained for the Poisson process with the signal-modulated spiking rate. This result allows one to generalize the conventional stochastic resonance (SR) problem (with periodic input signal) to the arbitrary signals of finite duration (nonstationary SR). Moreover, in the case of a periodic signal, the rate of information gain is compared with the conventional signal-to-noise ratio. The paper establishes the general nonequivalence between both measures notwithstanding their apparent similarity in the limit of weak signals.

Rate process analysis of thermal damage in cartilage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaz, Sergio H; Nelson, J Stuart; Wong, Brian J F

2003-01-01

Cartilage laser thermoforming (CLT) is a new surgical procedure that allows in situ treatment of deformities in the head and neck with less morbidity than traditional approaches. While some animal and human studies have shown promising results, the clinical feasibility of CLT depends on preservation of chondrocyte viability, which has not been extensively studied. The present paper characterizes cellular damage due to heat in rabbit nasal cartilage. Damage was modelled as a first order rate process for which two experimentally derived coefficients, A=1.2x10 70 s -1 and E a =4.5x10 5 J mole -1 , were determined by quantifying the decrease in concentration of healthy chondrocytes in tissue samples as a function of exposure time to constant-temperature water baths. After immersion, chondrocytes were enzymatically isolated from the matrix and stained with a two-component fluorescent dye. The dye binds nuclear DNA differentially depending upon chondrocyte viability. A flow cytometer was used to detect differential cell fluorescence to determine the percentage of live and dead cells in each sample. As a result, a damage kinetic model was obtained that can be used to predict the onset, extent and severity of cellular injury to thermal exposure

Influence of the relative deformation rate on tube processing by ultrasonic vibration drawing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susan, M.; Bujoreanu, L. G.; Galusca, D. G.; Munteanu, C.; Lliescu, V.

2004-01-01

After a brief review of the friction reversion mechanism during ultrasonic vibration drawing of tubes (UVD), the paper introduces a method to determine the drawing force based on the theorem of total consumed power, in the case of tube processing. The experiments performed on tubes made from 10TiNiCr180 (AISI321) austenitic stainless steel confirm the superiority of UVD technology regarding the diminution of the drawing force, the increase of the plasticity and the improvement of the safety coefficient, tendencies that are enhanced with the decrease of the relative drawing rate. The best results were obtained for the relative drawing rate of 0.12 for which the drawing force decreased with 33%, plasticity increased with 9% and safety coefficient with 22%, as compared to CT. (Author) 10 refs

Increasing inhibitory input increases neuronal firing rate: why and when? Diffusion process cases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng Jianfeng [COGS, Sussex University (United Kingdom)]. E-mail: jf218@cam.ac.uk; Wei Gang [Department of Mathematics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail gwei@math.hkbu.edu.hk

2001-09-21

Increasing inhibitory input to single neuronal models, such as the FitzHugh-Nagumo model and the Hodgkin-Huxley model, can sometimes increase their firing rates, a phenomenon which we term inhibition-boosted firing (IBF). Here we consider neuronal models with diffusion approximation inputs, i.e. they share the identical first- and second-order statistics of the corresponding Poisson process inputs. Using the integrate-and-fire model and the IF-FHN model, we explore theoretically how and when IBF can happen. For both models, it is shown that there is a critical input frequency at which the efferent firing rate is identical when the neuron receives purely excitatory inputs or exactly balanced inhibitory and excitatory inputs. When the input frequency is lower than the critical frequency, IBF occurs. (author)

Dual-resonances approach to broadband cavity-assisted optical signal processing beyond the carrier relaxation rate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heuck, Mikkel; Kristensen, Philip Trøst; Mørk, Jesper

2014-01-01

We propose and analyze a differential control scheme for cavity-enhanced optical signal processing devices based on carrier nonlinearities. The scheme relies on two optical cavities to increase the bandwidth beyond the limit given by the slowest carrier relaxation rate of the medium. Practical...

An exclusion process on a tree with constant aggregate hopping rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mottishaw, Peter; Waclaw, Bartlomiej; Evans, Martin R

2013-01-01

We introduce a model of a totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) on a tree network where the aggregate hopping rate is constant from level to level. With this choice for hopping rates the model shows the same phase diagram as the one-dimensional case. The potential applications of our model are in the area of distribution networks, where a single large source supplies material to a large number of small sinks via a hierarchical network. We show that mean-field theory (MFT) for our model is identical to that of the one-dimensional TASEP and that this MFT is exact for the TASEP on a tree in the limit of large branching ratio, b (or equivalently large coordination number). We then present an exact solution for the two level tree (or star network) that allows the computation of any correlation function and confirm how mean-field results are recovered as b → ∞. As an example we compute the steady-state current as a function of branching ratio. We present simulation results that confirm these results and indicate that the convergence to MFT with large branching ratio is quite rapid. (paper)

Trophic position and metabolic rate predict the long-term decay process of radioactive cesium in fish: a meta-analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hideyuki Doi

Full Text Available Understanding the long-term behavior of radionuclides in organisms is important for estimating possible associated risks to human beings and ecosystems. As radioactive cesium (¹³⁷Cs can be accumulated in organisms and has a long physical half-life, it is very important to understand its long-term decay in organisms; however, the underlying mechanisms determining the decay process are little known. We performed a meta-analysis to collect published data on the long-term ¹³⁷Cs decay process in fish species to estimate biological (metabolic rate and ecological (trophic position, habitat, and diet type influences on this process. From the linear mixed models, we found that 1 trophic position could predict the day of maximum ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration in fish; and 2 the metabolic rate of the fish species and environmental water temperature could predict ecological half-lives and decay rates for fish species. These findings revealed that ecological and biological traits are important to predict the long-term decay process of ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration in fish.

A scintillation detector signal processing technique with active pileup prevention for extending scintillation count rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, W.H.; Li, H.

1998-01-01

A new method for processing signals from scintillation detectors is proposed for very high count-rate situations where multiple-event pileups are the norm. This method is designed to sort out and recover every impinging event from multiple-event pileups while maximizing the collection of scintillation signal for every event to achieve optimal accuracy in determining the energy of the event. For every detected event, this method cancels the remnant signals from previous events, and excludes the pileup of signals from following events. With this technique, pileup events can be recovered and the energy of every recovered event can be optimally measured despite multiple pileups. A prototype circuit demonstrated that the maximum count rates have been increased by more than 10 times, comparing to the standard pulse-shaping method, while the energy resolution is as good as that of the pulse shaping (or the fixed integration) method at normal count rates. At 2 x 10 6 events/sec for NaI(Tl), the true counts acquired are 3 times more than the delay-line clipping method (commonly used in fast processing designs) due to events recovered from pileups. Pulse-height spectra up to 3.5 x 10 6 events/sec have been studied

Detection limit for rate fluctuations in inhomogeneous Poisson processes

Science.gov (United States)

Shintani, Toshiaki; Shinomoto, Shigeru

2012-04-01

Estimations of an underlying rate from data points are inevitably disturbed by the irregular occurrence of events. Proper estimation methods are designed to avoid overfitting by discounting the irregular occurrence of data, and to determine a constant rate from irregular data derived from a constant probability distribution. However, it can occur that rapid or small fluctuations in the underlying density are undetectable when the data are sparse. For an estimation method, the maximum degree of undetectable rate fluctuations is uniquely determined as a phase transition, when considering an infinitely long series of events drawn from a fluctuating density. In this study, we analytically examine an optimized histogram and a Bayesian rate estimator with respect to their detectability of rate fluctuation, and determine whether their detectable-undetectable phase transition points are given by an identical formula defining a degree of fluctuation in an underlying rate. In addition, we numerically examine the variational Bayes hidden Markov model in its detectability of rate fluctuation, and determine whether the numerically obtained transition point is comparable to those of the other two methods. Such consistency among these three principled methods suggests the presence of a theoretical limit for detecting rate fluctuations.

Detection limit for rate fluctuations in inhomogeneous Poisson processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Shintani, Toshiaki; Shinomoto, Shigeru

2012-04-01

Estimations of an underlying rate from data points are inevitably disturbed by the irregular occurrence of events. Proper estimation methods are designed to avoid overfitting by discounting the irregular occurrence of data, and to determine a constant rate from irregular data derived from a constant probability distribution. However, it can occur that rapid or small fluctuations in the underlying density are undetectable when the data are sparse. For an estimation method, the maximum degree of undetectable rate fluctuations is uniquely determined as a phase transition, when considering an infinitely long series of events drawn from a fluctuating density. In this study, we analytically examine an optimized histogram and a Bayesian rate estimator with respect to their detectability of rate fluctuation, and determine whether their detectable-undetectable phase transition points are given by an identical formula defining a degree of fluctuation in an underlying rate. In addition, we numerically examine the variational Bayes hidden Markov model in its detectability of rate fluctuation, and determine whether the numerically obtained transition point is comparable to those of the other two methods. Such consistency among these three principled methods suggests the presence of a theoretical limit for detecting rate fluctuations.

Human-induced shifts in geomorphic process rates: An example of landslide activity following forest cover change.

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Guns, Marie; Balthazar, Vincent; Vanacker, Veerle

2013-04-01

Mountain regions present unique challenges and opportunities to land use change research. Very few, if any, mountain ecosystems remain unaffected by human impact. Based on the exemplary evidence from local case studies, it is not yet possible to have an overall assessment of the extent and impact of human activities on mountain erosion as mountain regions are typically characterized by rapid changes in geomorphic, cryospheric, climatic, hydrologic, ecological and socio-economic conditions over relatively short distances. Here, we present a conceptual model that allows evaluating human-induced shifts in geomorphic process rates. The basic idea behind this model is that the magnitude-frequency distribution of geomorphic processes is dependent on the intensity of human disturbance. The conceptual model is here applied for characterising landslide activity following forest cover change. We selected a tropical Andean catchment with a deforestation rate of 1.4% over the last 45 years. Landslide inventories were established based on historical aerial photographs (1963, 1977, and 1989) and very high-resolution satellite images (2010). Statistical analyses show that the total number of landslides is rising, and that they are increasingly associated with human disturbances (deforestation, road construction). This is particularly the case for shallow landslides that become more frequent after clearcutting. As the human-induced shifts in landslide activity are significant for the low-magnitude events only, the total impact on geomorphic process rates is rather limited in this particular area. This work shows that including information on the magnitude-frequency of geomorphic events before, during and after human disturbances offers new possibilities to quantify the complex response of geomorphic processes to human disturbances.

Flow rate effect on the structure and morphology of molybdenum oxide nanoparticles deposited by atmospheric-pressure microplasma processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bose, Arumugam Chandra; Shimizu, Yoshiki; Mariotti, Davide; Sasaki, Takeshi; Terashima, Kazuo; Koshizaki, Naoto

2006-01-01

Nanoparticles of crystalline molybdenum oxide were prepared by changing the flow rate of plasma gas (2% oxygen balanced by Ar) using an atmospheric-pressure microplasma technique. The morphology and crystalline structure of the nanoparticles were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The FESEM results revealed that the shape of the deposited nanoparticles depended on the plasma gas flow rate. The TEM results supported the FESEM observations. The transmission electron diffraction (TED) pattern revealed that the obtained nanoparticles changed from MoO 2 to MoO 3 with the flow-rate increase, and correspondingly the nanoparticle size drastically decreased. A process mechanism is proposed from the observations of optical emission spectroscopy (OES) during the process and consumed wire surface analysis from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and FESEM studies

Site selection and rating process, and criteria for a social and political approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boisseson, P. de; David, J.F.

1998-01-01

Full text of publication follows: sensitive projects have been for long the problem of engineers and geologists, which tried to exert a kind of mono-cultural approach upon decisions regarding: a type of technical solution, a choice for a location. Experience drawn from various projects shows that public choices must be targeted to public acceptance and not only to hard-science community. Ways of rating site for sensitive projects according to criteria derived from social and political approach have been set up to provide global advice to decision makers. Bases are found among: socio economical statistics (type and rate of employment), land use regulations, history of public and local acceptance of former projects or public regulations. Representations can be drawn through social modeling and qualitative analysis. They can be of an utmost importance in decision making process. (authors)

PREFACE: 6th International Workshop on Multi-Rate Processes and Hysteresis (MURPHYS2012)

Science.gov (United States)

Dimian, Mihai; Rachinskii, Dmitrii

2015-02-01

The International Workshop on Multi-Rate Processes and Hysteresis (MURPHYS) conference series focuses on multiple scale systems, singular perturbation problems, phase transitions and hysteresis phenomena occurring in physical, biological, chemical, economical, engineering and information systems. The 6th edition was hosted by Stefan cel Mare University in the city of Suceava located in the beautiful multicultural land of Bukovina, Romania, from May 21 to 24, 2012. This continued the series of biennial multidisciplinary conferences organized in Cork, Ireland from 2002 to 2008 and in Pécs, Hungary in 2010. The MURPHYS 2012 Workshop brought together more than 50 researchers in hysteresis and multi-scale phenomena from the United State of America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Ukraine, and Romania. Participants shared and discussed new developments of analytical techniques and numerical methods along with a variety of their applications in various areas, including material sciences, electrical and electronics engineering, mechanical engineering and civil structures, biological and eco-systems, economics and finance. The Workshop was sponsored by the European Social Fund through Sectoral Operational Program Human Resources 2007-2013 (PRO-DOCT) and Stefan cel Mare University, Suceava. The Organizing Committee was co-chaired by Mihai Dimian from Stefan cel Mare University, Suceava (Romania), Amalia Ivanyi from the University of Pecs (Hungary), and Dmitrii Rachinskii from the University College Cork (Ireland). All papers published in this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. The Guest Editors wish to place on record their sincere gratitude to Miss Sarah Toms for the assistance she provided

Dynamic classification of fetal heart rates by hierarchical Dirichlet process mixture models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kezi Yu

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose an application of non-parametric Bayesian (NPB models for classification of fetal heart rate (FHR recordings. More specifically, we propose models that are used to differentiate between FHR recordings that are from fetuses with or without adverse outcomes. In our work, we rely on models based on hierarchical Dirichlet processes (HDP and the Chinese restaurant process with finite capacity (CRFC. Two mixture models were inferred from real recordings, one that represents healthy and another, non-healthy fetuses. The models were then used to classify new recordings and provide the probability of the fetus being healthy. First, we compared the classification performance of the HDP models with that of support vector machines on real data and concluded that the HDP models achieved better performance. Then we demonstrated the use of mixture models based on CRFC for dynamic classification of the performance of (FHR recordings in a real-time setting.

Dry fermentation of manure with straw in continuous plug flow reactor: Reactor development and process stability at different loading rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Patinvoh, Regina J; Kalantar Mehrjerdi, Adib; Sárvári Horváth, Ilona; Taherzadeh, Mohammad J

2017-01-01

In this work, a plug flow reactor was developed for continuous dry digestion processes and its efficiency was investigated using untreated manure bedded with straw at 22% total solids content. This newly developed reactor worked successfully for 230days at increasing organic loading rates of 2.8, 4.2 and 6gVS/L/d and retention times of 60, 40 and 28days, respectively. Organic loading rates up to 4.2gVS/L/d gave a better process stability, with methane yields up to 0.163LCH 4 /gVS added /d which is 56% of the theoretical yield. Further increase of organic loading rate to 6gVS/L/d caused process instability with lower volatile solid removal efficiency and cellulose degradation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enzymology and ecology of the nitrogen cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Espinosa, Rosa María; Cole, Jeffrey A; Richardson, David J; Watmough, Nicholas J

2011-01-01

The nitrogen cycle describes the processes through which nitrogen is converted between its various chemical forms. These transformations involve both biological and abiotic redox processes. The principal processes involved in the nitrogen cycle are nitrogen fixation, nitrification, nitrate assimilation, respiratory reduction of nitrate to ammonia, anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) and denitrification. All of these are carried out by micro-organisms, including bacteria, archaea and some specialized fungi. In the present article, we provide a brief introduction to both the biochemical and ecological aspects of these processes and consider how human activity over the last 100 years has changed the historic balance of the global nitrogen cycle.

Multiple recharge processes to heterogeneous Mediterranean coastal aquifers and implications on recharge rates evolution in time

Science.gov (United States)

Santoni, S.; Huneau, F.; Garel, E.; Celle-Jeanton, H.

2018-04-01

Climate change is nowadays widely considered to have major effects on groundwater resources. Climatic projections suggest a global increase in evaporation and higher frequency of strong rainfall events especially in Mediterranean context. Since evaporation is synonym of low recharge conditions whereas strong rainfall events are more favourable to recharge in heterogeneous subsurface contexts, a lack of knowledge remains then on the real ongoing and future drinking groundwater supply availability at aquifers scale. Due to low recharge potential and high inter-annual climate variability, this issue is strategic for the Mediterranean hydrosystems. This is especially the case for coastal aquifers because they are exposed to seawater intrusion, sea-level rise and overpumping risks. In this context, recharge processes and rates were investigated in a Mediterranean coastal aquifer with subsurface heterogeneity located in Southern Corsica (France). Aquifer recharge rates from combining ten physical and chemical methods were computed. In addition, hydrochemical and isotopic investigations were carried out through a monthly two years monitoring combining major ions and stable isotopes of water in rain, runoff and groundwater. Diffuse, focused, lateral mountain system and irrigation recharge processes were identified and characterized. A predominant focused recharge conditioned by subsurface heterogeneity is evidenced in agreement with variable but highly favourable recharge rates. The fast water transfer from the surface to the aquifer implied by this recharge process suggests less evaporation, which means higher groundwater renewal and availability in such Mediterranean coastal aquifers.

Theoretical considerations concerning the effect of relativistic velocities on the rate of biological processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Heneine, I F

1997-06-01

Theoretical considerations were advanced on the reaction rate of biological systems in a rocket accelerated at fractional levels of the velocity of light. The values of mass increase in reacting molecules and length contraction of space under these relativistic velocities attained by the hypothetical rocket were inserted in equations of the absolute reaction rate theory. The equations employed were for the frequency of collisions, and for the internal kinetic energy of molecular reactions. Results of both sets of equations indicated that reduction of reaction rates were correlated to the mass increase. This would imply a general slowing of all chemical, biochemical and biological processes taking place. A human would suffer a related decrease in metabolic rate. Contrary to what is generally accepted, the biological aging of the space traveler under velocities bearable by humans, namely under 0.50c, would follow a pace very similar to that of an observer remaining in the resting frame of reference. With increased increments of the velocity, the space traveler would display a more intense lowering of the metabolic rate, with signs and symptoms comparable to body core hypothermia. Metabolic rates at insufficient levels to maintain the vital functions would be attained at 0.70c and higher, leading swiftly to coma and death. The presence of an endocrine dysfunction such as hypothyroidism or obesity in the space traveler would aggravate the signs and symptoms. Space travel at efficient velocities would be unbearable for a warm-blooded animal.

Hourly rate of direct labor - contributions to its applicability in the pricing process inserted in a competitive market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Benedito Silva Oliveira

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The detailed cost analysis is currently required as a result of increasingly competitive markets. The strategic cost management, analyzed from the optic of the target costing, can be a powerful tool for companies to keep themselves competitive. In this way, this study aimed to present a meticulous analysis of the hourly rate of direct labor in the pricing process of a new product, in order to understand if its use is appropriate in a pricing process. We used the deductive method supported in a case study, and the result achieved is that the hourly rate of direct current labor cannot be used in the pricing process, otherwise will be determined unrealistic costs to the product. It is important to highlight that this analysis applies to micro and small until large corporations.

PREFACE: International Workshop on Multi-Rate Processes and Hysteresis

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Mortell, Michael P.; O'Malley, Robert E.; Pokrovskii, Alexei; Rachinskii, Dmitrii; Sobolev, Vladimir A.

2008-07-01

We are interested in singular perturbation problems and hysteresis as common strongly nonlinear phenomena that occur in many industrial, physical and economic systems. The wording `strongly nonlinear' means that linearization will not encapsulate the observed phenomena. Often these two types of phenomena are manifested for different stages of the same or similar processes. A number of fundamental hysteresis models can be considered as limit cases of time relaxation processes, or admit an approximation by a differential equation which is singular with respect to a particular parameter. However, the amount of interaction between practitioners of theories of systems with time relaxation and systems with hysteresis (and between the `relaxation' and `hysteresis' research communities) is still low, and cross-fertilization is small. In recent years Ireland has become a home for a series of prestigious International Workshops in Singular Perturbations and Hysteresis: International Workshop on Multi-rate Processes and Hysteresis (University College Cork, Ireland, 3-8 April 2006). Proceedings are published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, volume 55. See further information at http://euclid.ucc.ie/murphys2008.htm International Workshop on Hysteresis and Multi-scale Asymptotics (University College Cork, Ireland, 17-21 March 2004). Proceedings are published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, volume 22. See further information at http://euclid.ucc.ie/murphys2006.htm International Workshop on Relaxation Oscillations and Hysteresis (University College Cork, Ireland, 1-6 April 2002). The related collection of invited lectures, was published as a volume Singular Perturbations and Hysteresis, SIAM, Philadelphia, 2005. See further information at http://euclid.ucc.ie/hamsa2004.htm International Workshop on Geometrical Methods of Nonlinear Analysis and Semiconductor Laser Dynamics (University College Cork, Ireland, 5-5 April 2001). A collection of invited papers has been

Large-scale analyses of synonymous substitution rates can be sensitive to assumptions about the process of mutation.

Science.gov (United States)

Aris-Brosou, Stéphane; Bielawski, Joseph P

2006-08-15

A popular approach to examine the roles of mutation and selection in the evolution of genomes has been to consider the relationship between codon bias and synonymous rates of molecular evolution. A significant relationship between these two quantities is taken to indicate the action of weak selection on substitutions among synonymous codons. The neutral theory predicts that the rate of evolution is inversely related to the level of functional constraint. Therefore, selection against the use of non-preferred codons among those coding for the same amino acid should result in lower rates of synonymous substitution as compared with sites not subject to such selection pressures. However, reliably measuring the extent of such a relationship is problematic, as estimates of synonymous rates are sensitive to our assumptions about the process of molecular evolution. Previous studies showed the importance of accounting for unequal codon frequencies, in particular when synonymous codon usage is highly biased. Yet, unequal codon frequencies can be modeled in different ways, making different assumptions about the mutation process. Here we conduct a simulation study to evaluate two different ways of modeling uneven codon frequencies and show that both model parameterizations can have a dramatic impact on rate estimates and affect biological conclusions about genome evolution. We reanalyze three large data sets to demonstrate the relevance of our results to empirical data analysis.

The effect of organic carbon on fixed nitrogen loss in the eastern tropical South Pacific and Arabian Sea oxygen deficient zones

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chang, B.X.; Rich, J.R.; Jayakumar, A.; Naik, H.; Pratihary, A.K.; Keil, R.G.; Ward, B.B.; Devol, A.H.

151 net, capable of collecting large amounts of sinking POM (> 50 μm) in relatively short time 152 periods (24 – 36 h). Contents of the cod end were filtered through a glass fiber filter (0.7 μm 153 nominal pore size). Filtrate (trap leachate... of the different microorganisms involved: denitrifiers are fast-growing and can respond 288 quickly to episodic inputs of organic matter, whereas anammox bacteria are relatively slow-289 growing which limits the rate of their response to increased substrate...

Hotspots of anaerobic ammonia oxidation in land - freshwater interfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhu, Guibing; Wang, Shanyun; Wang, Weidong

2013-01-01

sampled fromlake riparian zones in North China. Laboratory incubations in the presence of ammonium or nitrate—at concentrations equivalent to no more than 10% of those detected in situ—yielded some of the highest potential anammox activities reported for natural environments to date. Potential rates......For decades, the conversion of organic nitrogen to dinitrogen gas by heterotrophic bacteria, termed heterotrophic denitrification, was assumed to be the main pathway of nitrogen loss in natural ecosystems. Recently, however, autotrophic bacteria have been shown to oxidize ammonium in the absence...

Order of current variance and diffusivity in the rate one totally asymmetric zero range process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Balázs, M.; Komjáthy, J.

2008-01-01

We prove that the variance of the current across a characteristic is of order t 2/3 in a stationary constant rate totally asymmetric zero range process, and that the diffusivity has order t 1/3. This is a step towards proving universality of this scaling behavior in the class of one-dimensional

Click trains and the rate of information processing: does "speeding up" subjective time make other psychological processes run faster?

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Luke A; Allely, Clare S; Wearden, John H

2011-02-01

A series of experiments demonstrated that a 5-s train of clicks that have been shown in previous studies to increase the subjective duration of tones they precede (in a manner consistent with "speeding up" timing processes) could also have an effect on information-processing rate. Experiments used studies of simple and choice reaction time (Experiment 1), or mental arithmetic (Experiment 2). In general, preceding trials by clicks made response times significantly shorter than those for trials without clicks, but white noise had no effects on response times. Experiments 3 and 4 investigated the effects of clicks on performance on memory tasks, using variants of two classic experiments of cognitive psychology: Sperling's (1960) iconic memory task and Loftus, Johnson, and Shimamura's (1985) iconic masking task. In both experiments participants were able to recall or recognize significantly more information from stimuli preceded by clicks than those preceded by silence.

The use of think-aloud protocols to identify a decision-making process of community pharmacists aimed at improving CMS Star Ratings scores.

Science.gov (United States)

George, David L; Smith, Michael J; Draugalis, JoLaine R; Tolma, Eleni L; Keast, Shellie L; Wilson, Justin B

2018-03-01

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) created the Star Rating system based on multiple measures that indicate the overall quality of health plans. Community pharmacists can impact certain Star Ratings measure scores through medication adherence and patient safety interventions. To explore methods, needs, and workflow issues of community pharmacists to improve CMS Star Ratings measures. Think-aloud protocols (TAPs) were conducted with active community retail pharmacists in Oklahoma. Each TAP was audio recorded and transcribed to documents for analysis. Analysts agreed on common themes, illuminated differences in findings, and saturation of the data gathered. Methods, needs, and workflow themes of community pharmacists associated with improving Star Ratings measures were compiled and organized to exhibit a decision-making process. Five TAPs were performed among three independent pharmacy owners, one multi-store owner, and one chain-store administrator. A thematically common 4-step process to monitor and improve CMS Star Ratings scores among participants was identified. To improve Star Ratings measures, pharmacists: 1) used technology to access scores, 2) analyzed data to strategically set goals, 3) assessed individual patient information for comprehensive assessment, and 4) decided on interventions to best impact Star Ratings scores. Participants also shared common needs, workflow issues, and benefits associated with methods used in improving Star Ratings. TAPs were useful in exploring processes of pharmacists who improve CMS Star Ratings scores. Pharmacists demonstrated and verbalized their methods, workflow issues, needs, and benefits related to performing the task. The themes and decision-making process identified to improving CMS Star Ratings scores will assist in the development of training and education programs for pharmacists in the community setting. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Preliminary Assessment of Growth Rates on Different Concentration of Microalgae Scenedesmus sp. in Industrial Meat Food Processing Wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Latiffi Nur Atikah Ahmad

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study is aimed to evaluate and access the growth rates and biomass productivity in different concentrations of microalgae Scenedesmus sp. using Industrial Meat Food Processing Wastewater as a media. The focus of this study is to determine the best concentrations of microalgae Scenedesmus sp. in raw wastewater in terms of kinetics of cells growth rates. The study verified that concentration of 1×106 cells/ml of microalgae gives the highest specific growth rates of biomass at 0.4488 day-1 and 1720 cells/ml/day compare to the other concentrations, while the lowest occurred at concentration of 1×103 cells/ml at 0.4108 day-1 and 14.9 cells/ml/day. The result shows the different concentration of microalgae Scenedesmus sp. culturing in Industrial Food Processing Wastewater influence the cells growth of biomass and the optimum were obtained at concentration of 1×106 cells/ml which suggested use for Industrial Meat Food Processing Wastewater Treatment purposed. With this finding, it should be seemly to adopt and applied efficiently in treating the wastewater especially for Scenedesmus sp. type of microalgae.

Processing and characterization of aluminium alloys or composites exhibiting low-temperature or high-rate superplasticity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, J. C.

1997-01-01

Wide applications of superplastic forming still face several problems, one is the high temperature that promotes grain growth, another is the low forming rate that makes economically inefficient. The current study is intended to develop a series of fabrication and thermomechanical processing, so as to result in materials possessing either low temperature superplasticity (LTSP) or high rate superplasticity (HRSP). The former has been achieved in the cast Al alloys, while the latter was accomplished in powder-metallurgy aluminium matrix composites. The aluminium alloys, after special thermomechanical processes, exhibited LTSP from 300 to 450 degree C with elongations varying from 300 to 700 %. The LTSP sheets after 700 % elongation at 350 degree C still possessed fine grains 3.7 μm size and narrow surface solute depletion zones 11 μm in with, resulting in a post-SP T6 strength of 500 MPa, significantly higher than that of the HTSP superplasticity alloys tested at 525 degree C or above. Meanwhile, it was found that LTSP materials may be transferred into HTSP materials simply by adding a preloading at 300-400 degree C for a small amount of work. As for the endeavor in making HRSP materials, 2024Al/SiC, 6061Al/SiC and Al/Al 3 Ti systems processed by powder metallurgy or mechanical alloying methods are under investigation. The average sizes of the reinforcing SiC or A13Ti particles, as well as the grain size are all around 1 μm. The aluminium composites have exhibited HRSP at 525-620 degree C and 10 -2 -10 -1 s -l , with elongations varying from 150 to 350 %. This ultimate goal is to produce an alloy or composite exhibiting low temperature and high strain rate superplasticity (LT and HRSP). (author)

Focusing on the Interfaces, Estuaries and Redox Transition Zones, for Understanding the Microbial Processes and Biogeochemical Cycling of Carbon under the Looming Influence of Global Warming and Anthropogenic Perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Dang, H.; Jiao, N.

2013-12-01

Estuaries are the natural interface between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. These are also the zones where human activities exert the strongest impact on the earth and ocean environments. Due to high pressure from the effects of global warming and anthropogenic activities, many estuaries are deteriorating and experiencing significant change of the ecological processes and environmental functions. Certain fundamental microbial processes, including carbon fixation and respiration, have been changing as responses to and consequences of the altered estuarine environment and geochemistry. Increased inputs of terrigenous and anthropogenic organic materials and nutrients and elevated temperature make estuaries easy to be subjected to harmful algal blooms and hypoxic and even anoxic events. The change of the redox status of the estuarine and coastal waters and the increased nutrient loads such as that from terrestrial nitrate stimulate anaerobic respiration processes, such as nitrate reduction and denitrification. This may have strong negative impact on the marine environment, ecosystem and even climate, such as those caused by greenhouse gas production (N2O, CH4) by anaerobic microbial processes. In addition, some nutrients may be consumed by anaerobically respiring heterotrophic microorganisms, instead of being utilized by phytoplankton for carbon fixation. In this regard, the ecological function of the estuarine ecosystem may be altered and the ecological efficiency may be lowered, as less energy is produced by the microbial respiration process and less carbon is fixed by phytoplankton. However, on the other side, in hypoxic and anoxic waters, inorganic carbon fixation by anaerobic microorganisms may happen, such as those via the chemolithoautotrophic denitrifying sulfur oxidizing process and the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process. Global warming and anthropogenic perturbations may have lowered the diversity, complexity, stability and sustainability of

Economic analysis of solar industrial process heat systems: A methodology to determine annual required revenue and internal rate of return

Science.gov (United States)

Dickinson, W. C.; Brown, K. C.

1981-08-01

An economic evaluation of solar industrial process heat systems, is developed to determine the annual required revenue and the internal rate of return. First, a format is provided to estimate the solar system's installed cost, annual operating and maintenance expenses, and net annual solar energy delivered to the industrial process. The annual required revenue and the price of solar is calculated. The economic attractiveness of the potential solar investment can be determined by comparing the price of solar energy with the price of fossilfuel, both expressed in levelized terms. This requires calcuation of the internal rate of return on the solar investment or, in certain cases, the growth rate of return.

Digital image processing based mass flow rate measurement of gas/solid two-phase flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song Ding; Peng Lihui; Lu Geng; Yang Shiyuan [Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology, Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China); Yan Yong, E-mail: lihuipeng@tsinghua.edu.c [University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NT (United Kingdom)

2009-02-01

With the rapid growth of the process industry, pneumatic conveying as a tool for the transportation of a wide variety of pulverized and granular materials has become widespread. In order to improve plant control and operational efficiency, it is essential to know the parameters of the particle flow. This paper presents a digital imaging based method which is capable of measuring multiple flow parameters, including volumetric concentration, velocity and mass flow rate of particles in the gas/solid two phase flow. The measurement system consists of a solid state laser for illumination, a low-cost CCD camera for particle image acquisition and a microcomputer with bespoke software for particle image processing. The measurements of particle velocity and volumetric concentration share the same sensing hardware but use different exposure time and different image processing methods. By controlling the exposure time of the camera a clear image and a motion blurred image are obtained respectively. The clear image is thresholded by OTSU method to identify the particles from the dark background so that the volumetric concentration is determined by calculating the ratio between the particle area and the total area. Particle velocity is derived from the motion blur length, which is estimated from the motion blurred images by using the travelling wave equation method. The mass flow rate of particles is calculated by combining the particle velocity and volumetric concentration. Simulation and experiment results indicate that the proposed method is promising for the measurement of multiple parameters of gas/solid two-phase flow.

Digital image processing based mass flow rate measurement of gas/solid two-phase flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Ding; Peng Lihui; Lu Geng; Yang Shiyuan; Yan Yong

2009-01-01

With the rapid growth of the process industry, pneumatic conveying as a tool for the transportation of a wide variety of pulverized and granular materials has become widespread. In order to improve plant control and operational efficiency, it is essential to know the parameters of the particle flow. This paper presents a digital imaging based method which is capable of measuring multiple flow parameters, including volumetric concentration, velocity and mass flow rate of particles in the gas/solid two phase flow. The measurement system consists of a solid state laser for illumination, a low-cost CCD camera for particle image acquisition and a microcomputer with bespoke software for particle image processing. The measurements of particle velocity and volumetric concentration share the same sensing hardware but use different exposure time and different image processing methods. By controlling the exposure time of the camera a clear image and a motion blurred image are obtained respectively. The clear image is thresholded by OTSU method to identify the particles from the dark background so that the volumetric concentration is determined by calculating the ratio between the particle area and the total area. Particle velocity is derived from the motion blur length, which is estimated from the motion blurred images by using the travelling wave equation method. The mass flow rate of particles is calculated by combining the particle velocity and volumetric concentration. Simulation and experiment results indicate that the proposed method is promising for the measurement of multiple parameters of gas/solid two-phase flow.

Process control of high rate microcrystalline silicon based solar cell deposition by optical emission spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilper, T.; Donker, M.N. van den; Carius, R.; Rech, B.; Braeuer, G.; Repmann, T.

2008-01-01

Silicon thin-film solar cells based on microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) were prepared in a 30 x 30 cm 2 plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor using 13.56 or 40.68 MHz plasma excitation frequency. Plasma emission was recorded by optical emission spectroscopy during μc-Si:H absorber layer deposition at deposition rates between 0.5 and 2.5 nm/s. The time course of SiH * and H β emission indicated strong drifts in the process conditions particularly at low total gas flows. By actively controlling the SiH 4 gas flow, the observed process drifts were successfully suppressed resulting in a more homogeneous i-layer crystallinity along the growth direction. In a deposition regime with efficient usage of the process gas, the μc-Si:H solar cell efficiency was enhanced from 7.9 % up to 8.8 % by applying process control