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Sample records for bioreactor treating municipal

  1. Experimental and modelling studies on a laboratory scale anaerobic bioreactor treating mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lakshmikanthan, P; Sughosh, P; White, James; Sivakumar Babu, G L

    2017-07-01

    The performance of an anaerobic bioreactor in treating mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste was investigated using experimental and modelling techniques. The key parameters measured during the experimental test period included the gas yield, leachate generation and settlement under applied load. Modelling of the anaerobic bioreactor was carried out using the University of Southampton landfill degradation and transport model. The model was used to simulate the actual gas production and settlement. A sensitivity analysis showed that the most influential model parameters are the monod growth rate and moisture. In this case, pH had no effect on the total gas production and waste settlement, and only a small variation in the gas production was observed when the heat transfer coefficient of waste was varied from 20 to 100 kJ/(m d K) -1 . The anaerobic bioreactor contained 1.9 kg (dry) of mechanically biologically treated waste producing 10 L of landfill gas over 125 days.

  2. Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors For Cost-Effective Municipal Water Reuse

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Özgün, H.

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology has been increasingly researched for municipal wastewater treatment as a means to produce nutrient-rich, solids free effluents with low levels of pathogens, while occupying a small footprint. An AnMBR can be used not only for on-site

  3. Bio-Gas production from municipal sludge waste using anaerobic membrane bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Y. H.; Lee, S.

    2009-01-01

    A laboratory scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) system for the bio-methane gas production was operated for 60 days with municipal sludge wastes as a sole carbon source. The AnMRR system utilized the external cross-flow membrane module and was equipped with on-line data acquisition which enables continuous monitoring of the performance of both bioreactor and membrane through the analyses of pH, temperature, gas production; permeate flow rate, and transmembrane pressure (TMP). Such a configuration also provides an efficient tool to study rapid variations of monitoring membrane pressure (TMP). (Author)

  4. Molecular-based detection of potentially pathogenic bacteria in membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems treating municipal wastewater: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harb, Moustapha; Hong, Pei-Ying

    2017-02-01

    Although membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems provide better removal of pathogens compared to conventional activated sludge processes, they do not achieve total log removal. The present study examines two MBR systems treating municipal wastewater, one a full-scale MBR plant and the other a lab-scale anaerobic MBR. Both of these systems were operated using microfiltration (MF) polymeric membranes. High-throughput sequencing and digital PCR quantification were utilized to monitor the log removal values (LRVs) of associated pathogenic species and their abundance in the MBR effluents. Results showed that specific removal rates vary widely regardless of the system employed. Each of the two MBR effluents' microbial communities contained genera associated with opportunistic pathogens (e.g., Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter) with a wide range of log reduction values (5.5). Digital PCR further confirmed that these bacterial groups included pathogenic species, in several instances at LRVs different than those for their respective genera. These results were used to evaluate the potential risks associated both with the reuse of the MBR effluents for irrigation purposes and with land application of the activated sludge from the full-scale MBR system.

  5. Molecular-based detection of potentially pathogenic bacteria in membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems treating municipal wastewater: a case study

    KAUST Repository

    Harb, Moustapha

    2016-12-24

    Although membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems provide better removal of pathogens compared to conventional activated sludge processes, they do not achieve total log removal. The present study examines two MBR systems treating municipal wastewater, one a full-scale MBR plant and the other a lab-scale anaerobic MBR. Both of these systems were operated using microfiltration (MF) polymeric membranes. High-throughput sequencing and digital PCR quantification were utilized to monitor the log removal values (LRVs) of associated pathogenic species and their abundance in the MBR effluents. Results showed that specific removal rates vary widely regardless of the system employed. Each of the two MBR effluents’ microbial communities contained genera associated with opportunistic pathogens (e.g., Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter) with a wide range of log reduction values (< 2 to >5.5). Digital PCR further confirmed that these bacterial groups included pathogenic species, in several instances at LRVs different than those for their respective genera. These results were used to evaluate the potential risks associated both with the reuse of the MBR effluents for irrigation purposes and with land application of the activated sludge from the full-scale MBR system.

  6. Ten years of industrial and municipal membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems - lessons from the field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larrea, Asun; Rambor, Andre; Fabiyi, Malcolm

    2014-01-01

    The use of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) in activated sludge wastewater treatment has grown significantly in the last decade. While there is growing awareness and knowledge about the application of MBR technology in municipal wastewater treatment, not much information is available on the application of MBRs in industrial wastewater treatment. A comparative study of design data, operating conditions and the major challenges associated with MBR operations in 24 MBR plants treating both municipal and industrial wastewater, built by and/or operated by Praxair, Inc., is presented. Of the 24 MBR systems described, 12 of the plants used high purity oxygen (HPO). By enabling a wide range of food/microorganism ratios and loading conditions in the same system, HPO MBR systems can extend the options available to industrial plant operators to meet the challenges of wide fluctuations in organic loading and footprint limitations. While fouling in industrial MBR systems can be an issue, adequate flux and permeability values can be reliably maintained by the use of good maintenance strategies and effective process controls (pretreatment, cleaning and membrane autopsies).

  7. Single-stage versus two-stage anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactors in treating municipal wastewater: Performance, foulant characteristics, and microbial community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Bing; Li, Yifei; Lim, Weikang; Lee, Shi Lin; Guo, Qiming; Fane, Anthony G; Liu, Yu

    2017-03-01

    This study examined the receptive performance, membrane foulant characteristics, and microbial community in the single-stage and two-stage anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (AFMBR) treating settled raw municipal wastewater with the aims to explore fouling mechanisms and microbial community structure in both systems. Both AFMBRs exhibited comparable organic removal efficiency and membrane performances. In the single-stage AFMBR, less soluble organic substances were removed through biosorption by GAC and biodegradation than those in the two-stage AFMBR. Compared to the two-stage AFMBR, the formation of cake layer was the main cause of the observed membrane fouling in the single-stage AFMBR at the same employed flux. The accumulation rate of the biopolymers was linearly correlated with the membrane fouling rate. In the chemical-cleaned foulants, humic acid-like substances and silicon were identified as the predominant organic and inorganic fouants respectively. As such, the fluidized GAC particles might not be effective in removing these substances from the membrane surfaces. High-throughout pyrosequencing analysis further revealed that beta-Proteobacteria were predominant members in both AFMBRs, which contributed to the development of biofilms on the fluidized GAC and membrane surfaces. However, it was also noted that the abundance of the identified dominant in the membrane surface-associated biofilm seemed to be related to the permeate flux and reactor configuration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Influence of air scouring on the performance of a Self Forming Dynamic Membrane BioReactor (SFD MBR) for municipal wastewater treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salerno, Carlo; Vergine, Pompilio; Berardi, Giovanni; Pollice, Alfieri

    2017-01-01

    The Membrane BioReactor (MBR) is a well-established filtration-based technology for wastewater treatment. Despite the high quality of the effluent produced, one of the main drawbacks of the MBR is membrane fouling. In this context, a possible evolution towards systems having potentially lower installation and operating costs is the Self Forming Dynamic Membrane BioReactor (SFD MBR). Key of this technology is the self-formation of a biological filtering layer on a support of inert material. In this work, a lab-scale aerobic SFD MBR equipped with a nylon mesh was operated at approximately 95Lm -2 h -1 . Two mesh pore sizes (20 and 50μm) and three air scouring flow rates (150, 250, and 500mL air min -1 ) were tested at steady state. Under all the tested conditions, the SFD MBR effectively treated real municipal wastewater. The quality of the produced effluent increased for lower mesh size and lower air scouring intensity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. A new hybrid treatment system of bioreactors and electrocoagulation for superior removal of organic and nutrient pollutants from municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Dinh Duc; Ngo, Huu Hao; Yoon, Yong Soo

    2014-02-01

    This paper evaluated a novel pilot scale hybrid treatment system which combines rotating hanging media bioreactor (RHMBR), submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) along with electrocoagulation (EC) as post treatment to treat organic and nutrient pollutants from municipal wastewater. The results indicated that the highest removal efficiency was achieved at the internal recycling ratio as 400% of the influent flow rate which produced a superior effluent quality with 0.26mgBOD5L(-1), 11.46mgCODCrL(-1), 0.00mgNH4(+)-NL(-1), and 3.81mgT-NL(-1), 0.03mgT-PL(-1). During 16months of operation, NH4(+)-N was completely eliminated and T-P removal efficiency was also up to 100%. It was found that increasing in internal recycling ratio could improve the nitrate and nitrogen removal efficiencies. Moreover, the TSS and coliform bacteria concentration after treatment was less than 5mgL(-1) and 30MPNmL(-1), respectively, regardless of internal recycling ratios and its influent concentration. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Start-up period investigation of pilot-scale submerged membrane electro-bioreactor (SMEBR) treating raw municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Shadi W; Elektorowicz, Maria; Oleszkiewicz, Jan A

    2014-02-01

    Submerged membrane electro-bioreactor (SMEBR) is a new hybrid technology for wastewater treatment employing electrical field and microfiltration in a nutrient-removing activated sludge process. A pilot SMEBR system was located at the wastewater treatment plant in the City of l'Assomption (Quebec, Canada) with the objective of investigating the start-up period performance under variable organic loadings and environmental conditions with respect to effluent quality, membrane fouling, and sludge properties. The pilot SMEBR facility was fed with the raw de-gritted municipal wastewater. At steady state operation, the removal efficiencies of ammonia (as NH3(+)-N), phosphorus (as PO4(3-)-P), and COD were 99%, 99%, and 92%, respectively. No substantial increase in the monitored transmembrane pressure as 0.02kPad(-1) was reported. The time necessary to filter 100mL of the sludge sample has decreased by 78% after treatment whilst the sludge volume index averaged 119mLg(-1). Energy requirements were in the range of 1.1-1.6kWhm(-3) of wastewater. It was concluded that the SMEBR is a very competitive technology when compared to conventional membrane systems as it can enhance treatment performance to an appreciable extent, remove phosphorus and reduce fouling. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Differences in microbial communities and performance between suspended and attached growth anaerobic membrane bioreactors treating synthetic municipal wastewater

    KAUST Repository

    Harb, Moustapha

    2015-08-14

    Two lab-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs), one up-flow attached-growth (UA) and another continuously stirred (CSTR), were operated under mesophilic conditions (35 °C) while treating synthetic municipal wastewater (800 mg L−1 COD). Each reactor was attached to both polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyethersulfone (PES) microfiltration (MF) membranes in an external cross-flow configuration. Both reactors were started up and run under the same operating conditions for multiple steady-state experiments. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates were similar for both reactors (90–96%), but captured methane was found to be 11–18% higher for the CSTR than the UA reactor. Ion Torrent sequencing targeting 16S rRNA genes showed that several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) most closely related to fermentative bacteria (e.g., Microbacter margulisiae) were dominant in the suspended biomass of the CSTR, accounting for 30% of the microbial community. Conversely, methanogenic archaea (e.g., Methanosaeta) and syntrophic bacteria (e.g., Smithella propionica) were found in significantly higher relative abundances in the UA AnMBR as compared to the CSTR due to their affinity for surface attachment. Of the methanogens that were present in the CSTR sludge, hydrogenotrophic methanogens dominated (e.g., Methanobacterium). Measured EPS (both proteins and carbohydrates), which has been broadly linked to fouling, was determined to be consistently lower in the UA AnMBR membrane samples than in CSTR AnMBR membrane samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on HPLC profiles of soluble microbial products (SMPs) further demonstrated these differences between reactor types in replicate runs. The results of this study showed that reactor configuration can significantly impact the development of the microbial communities of AnMBRs that are responsible for both membrane and reactor performance.

  12. Applicability of anaerobic membrane bioreactors for landfill leachate treatment: Review and opportunity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abuabdou, Salahaldin M. A.; Bashir, Mohammed J. K.; Aun, Ng Choon; Sethupathi, Sumathi

    2018-04-01

    Sanitary landfilling is nowadays the most common way to eliminate municipal solid wastes (MSW). The resulted landfill leachate is a highly contaminated liquid. Even small quantities of this high-strength leachate can cause serious damage to surface and ground water receptors. Thus, these leachates must be appropriately treated before being discharged into the environment. In the last years, anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology is being considered as a very attractive alternative for leachate treatment due to the significant advantages. In the last decade, many studies have been conducted in which various types of anaerobic reactors were used in combination with membranes. This paper is a review of the potential of anaerobic membrane bioreactor technology for municipal landfill leachate treatment. A critical review in AnMBR performance interesting landfill leachate in lab scale is also done. In addition, the review discusses the impact of the various factors on both biological and filtration performances of anaerobic membrane bioreactors.

  13. Microbial biosafety of pilot-scale bioreactor treating MTBE and TBA-contaminated drinking water supply.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Radomir; Klemme, David A; Scow, Kate; Hristova, Krassimira

    2012-03-30

    A pilot-scale sand-based fluidized bed bioreactor (FBBR) was utilized to treat both methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) from a contaminated aquifer. To evaluate the potential for re-use of the treated water, we tested for a panel of water quality indicator microorganisms and potential waterborne pathogens including total coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Shigella spp., Campylobacter jejuni, Aeromonas hydrophila, Legionella pneumophila, Vibrio cholerae, Yersinia enterocolytica and Mycobacterium avium in both influent and treated waters from the bioreactor. Total bacteria decreased during FBBR treatment. E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella spp., C. jejuni, V. cholerae, Y. enterocolytica and M. avium were not detected in aquifer water or bioreactor treated water samples. For those pathogens detected, including total coliforms, L. pneumophila and A. hydrophila, numbers were usually lower in treated water than influent samples, suggesting removal during treatment. The detection of particular bacterial species reflected their presence or absence in the influent waters. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. 40 CFR 258.41 - Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Project XL Bioreactor Landfill... WASTES CRITERIA FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Design Criteria § 258.41 Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Projects. (a) Buncombe County, North Carolina Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Requirements...

  15. Novel bacterial sulfur oxygenase reductases from bioreactors treating gold-bearing concentrates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Z-W; Liu, Y-Y; Wu, J-F

    2007-01-01

    The microbial community and sulfur oxygenase reductases of metagenomic DNA from bioreactors treating gold-bearing concentrates were studied by 16S rRNA library, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), conventional cultivation, and molecular cloning. Results indicated that major bacterial......) of bacteria and archaea were 4.59 x 10(9) and 6.68 x 10(5), respectively. Bacterial strains representing Acidithiobacillus, Leptospirillum, and Sulfobacillus were isolated from the bioreactors. To study sulfur oxidation in the reactors, pairs of new PCR primers were designed for the detection of sulfur...... oxygenase reductase (SOR) genes. Three sor-like genes, namely, sor (Fx), sor (SA), and sor (SB) were identified from metagenomic DNAs of the bioreactors. The sor (Fx) is an inactivated SOR gene and is identical to the pseudo-SOR gene of Ferroplasma acidarmanus. The sor (SA) and sor (SB) showed...

  16. Slope stability of bioreactor landfills during leachate injection: effects of heterogeneous and anisotropic municipal solid waste conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giri, Rajiv K; Reddy, Krishna R

    2014-03-01

    In bioreactor landfills, leachate recirculation can significantly affect the stability of landfill slope due to generation and distribution of excessive pore fluid pressures near side slope. The current design and operation of leachate recirculation systems do not consider the effects of heterogeneous and anisotropic nature of municipal solid waste (MSW) and the increased pore gas pressures in landfilled waste caused due to leachate recirculation on the physical stability of landfill slope. In this study, a numerical two-phase flow model (landfill leachate and gas as immiscible phases) was used to investigate the effects of heterogeneous and anisotropic nature of MSW on moisture distribution and pore-water and capillary pressures and their resulting impacts on the stability of a simplified bioreactor landfill during leachate recirculation using horizontal trench system. The unsaturated hydraulic properties of MSW were considered based on the van Genuchten model. The strength reduction technique was used for slope stability analyses as it takes into account of the transient and spatially varying pore-water and gas pressures. It was concluded that heterogeneous and anisotropic MSW with varied unit weight and saturated hydraulic conductivity significantly influenced the moisture distribution and generation and distribution of pore fluid pressures in landfill and considerably reduced the stability of bioreactor landfill slope. It is recommended that heterogeneous and anisotropic MSW must be considered as it provides a more reliable approach for the design and leachate operations in bioreactor landfills.

  17. Combined treatment of municipal waste-water and landfill leachate by means of membrane bioreactor: an experimental study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iannelli, R.; Lizza, E.; Giraldi, D.

    2005-01-01

    This work presents the results of an experimental study focusing on the applicability of the membrane bioreactor technology for the combined treatment of municipal wastewater and landfill leachate. In the experiment we used both a micro-filtration unit and a traditional secondary settler in an innovative combined process that can present some economic advantages on the pure membrane separation, so as to evaluate and compare the efficiencies of the two adopted technologies. The experiment was carried out in two phases: first, we evaluated the system only with municipal wastewater; then we tested the treatment of a mixture of municipal wastewater and landfill leachate. We obtained good results in both cases for standard quality indicators (COD, TSS, NH 4 ), specific inorganic compounds such as Fe and Zn and microorganisms. The micro-filtrations unit had very good performances with respect to both treatment efficiency and hydraulic behaviour: after the first start-up period, we observed a regular running of the unit with no need for special chemical or mechanical treatment different from the ones adopted ordinarily in the MBR treatment systems [it

  18. Development of permeate flux model for municipal wastewater treatment using membrane bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geissler, S.; Zhou, H.; Zytner, R.; Melin, T.

    2002-01-01

    In municipal wastewater treatment, membrane filtration technologies receive great attention because they usually produce the better quality effluent, generate less sludge and require a smaller aeration tank volume. However, one main challenge of using membranes is membrane fouling, which results in a permeate flux decrease or transmembrane pressure increase over the time. Many efforts have been directed to develop the mechanistic permeate flux model to correlate the permeate flux with process parameters. However, their applicability has been largely thwarted due to complicated membrane fouling mechanisms and the interactions of many factors affecting the membrane bioreactor. This paper proposes a semi-empirical permeate flux model for the membrane bioreactor (MBR) process using ZENON immersed hollow fibre membrane modules. The semi-empirical model was proposed by assuming that the permeate flux is equal to transmembrane pressure divided by total resistance. The total resistance is divided into two components: an inside membrane resistance and an outer fouling layer resistance. These membrane resistances are then related to the ageing of membrane used. Good correlation was found between the predicted and measured flux, with the mean absolute deviation being less than 4%. The observations also identified some general rules for operating membrane systems. Ideally, it is advisable that high pressure periods be avoided as this leads to a faster increase of non-reversal membrane resistance. It was also observed that membrane preservatives should be washed out carefully prior to use. (author)

  19. Municipal Treated Wastewater Irrigation: Microbiological Risk Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Lonigro

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Municipal wastewater for irrigation, though treated, can contain substances and pathogens toxic for humans and animals. Pathogens, although not harmful from an agronomical aspect, undoubtedly represent a major concern with regards to sanitary and hygienic profile. In fact, vegetable crops irrigated with treated wastewater exalt the risk of infection since these products can also be eaten raw, as well as transformed or cooked. Practically, the evaluation of the microbiological risk is important to verify if the microbial limits imposed by law for treated municipal wastewater for irrigation, are valid, thus justifying the treatments costs, or if they are too low and, therefore, they don’ t justify them. Different probabilistic models have been studied to assess the microbiological risk; among these, the Beta-Poisson model resulted the most reliable. Thus, the Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Vegetali of the University of Bari, which has been carrying out researches on irrigation with municipal filtered wastewater for several years, considered interesting to verify if the microbial limits imposed by the italian law n.185/03 are too severe, estimating the biological risk by the probabilistic Beta-Poisson model. Results of field trials on vegetable crops irrigated by municipal filtered wastewater, processed by the Beta-Poisson model, show that the probability to get infection and/or illness is extremely low, and that the actual italian microbial limits are excessively restrictive.

  20. Control of membrane fouling during hyperhaline municipal wastewater treatment using a pilot-scale anoxic/aerobic-membrane bioreactor system

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Jingmei Sun; Jiangxiu Rong; Lifeng Dai; Baoshan Liu; Wenting Zhu

    2011-01-01

    Membrane fouling limits the effects of long-term stable operation of membrane bioreactor (MBR).Control of membrane foulin can extend the membrane life and reduce water treatment cost effectively.A pilot scale anoxic/aerobic-membrane bioreactor (A/O MBR,40 L/hr) was used to treat the hyperhaline municipal sewage from a processing zone of Tianjin,China.Impact factors including mixed liquid sludge suspension (MLSS),sludge viscosity (μ),microorganisms,extracellular polymeric substances (EPS),aeration intensity and suction/suspended time on membrane fouling and pollution control were studied.The relationships among various factors associated with membrane fouling were analyzed.Results showed that there was a positive correlation among MLSS,sludge viscosity and trans-membrane pressure (TMP).Considering water treatment efficiency and stable operation of the membrane module,MLSS of 5 g/L was suggested for the process.There was a same trend among EPS,sludge viscosity and TMP.Numbers and species of microorganisms affected membrane fouling.Either too high or too low aeration intensity was not conducive to membrane fouling control.Aeration intensity of 1.0 m3/hr (gas/water ratio of 25:1) is suggested for the process.A long suction time caused a rapid increase in membrane resistance.However,long suspended time cannot prevent the increase of membrane resistance effectively even though a suspended time was necessary for scale off particles from the membrane surface.The suction/suspended time of 12 min/3 min was selected for the process.The interaction of various environmental factors and operation conditions must be considered synthetically.

  1. Application of enhanced membrane bioreactor (eMBR) to treat dye wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rondon, Hector; El-Cheikh, William; Boluarte, Ida Alicia Rodriguez; Chang, Chia-Yuan; Bagshaw, Steve; Farago, Leanne; Jegatheesan, Veeriah; Shu, Li

    2015-05-01

    An enhanced membrane bioreactor (eMBR) consisting of two anoxic bioreactors (ARs) followed by an aerated membrane bioreactor (AMBR), UV-unit and a granular activated carbon (GAC) filter was employed to treat 50-100 mg/L of remazol blue BR dye. The COD of the feed was 2334 mg/L and COD:TN:TP in the feed was 119:1.87:1. A feed flow rate of 5 L/d was maintained when the dye concentration was 50 mg/L; 10 L/d of return activated sludge was recirculated to each AR from the AMBR. Once the biological system is acclimatised, 95% of dye, 99% of COD, 97% of nitrogen and 73% of phosphorus were removed at a retention time of 74.4 h. When the effluent from the AMBR was drawn at a flux rate of 6.5 L/m(2)h, the trans-membrane pressure reached 40 kPa in every 10 days. AMBR effluent was passed through the UV-unit and GAC filter to remove the dye completely. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Alternative treatment for septic tank sludge: co-digestion with municipal solid waste in bioreactor landfill simulators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valencia, R; den Hamer, D; Komboi, J; Lubberding, H J; Gijzen, H J

    2009-02-01

    Co-disposal of septic tank sludge had a positive effect on the municipal solid waste (MSW) stabilisation process in Bioreactor Landfill simulators. Co-disposal experiments were carried out using the Bioreactor Landfill approach aiming to solve the environmental problems caused by indiscriminate and inadequate disposal of MSW and especially of septic tank sludge. The simulator receiving septic tank sludge exhibited a 200 days shorter lag-phase as compared to the 350 days required by the control simulator to start the exponential biogas production. Additionally, the simulator with septic sludge apparently retained more moisture (>60% w/w), which enhanced the overall conversion of organic matter hence increasing the biogas production (0.60 m3 biogas kg(-1)VS(converted)) and removal efficiency of 60% for VS from the simulator. Alkaline pH values (pH>8.5) did not inhibit the biogas production; moreover it contributed to reduce partially the negative effects of NH(4)(+) (>2 g L(-1)) due to NH(3) volatilisation thus reducing the nitrogen content of the residues. Associated risks and hazards with septage disposal were practically eliminated as total coliform and faecal coliform contents were reduced by 99% and 100%, respectively at the end of the experiment. These results indicate that co-disposal has two direct benefits, including the safe and environmentally sound disposal of septic tank sludge and an improvement of the overall performance of the Bioreactor Landfill by increasing moisture retention and supplying a more acclimatised bacterial population.

  3. Agricultural use of treated municipal wastewaters preserving environmental sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Lonigro

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper the utility of the treated municipal wastewaters in agriculture, analyzing the chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics and their pollution indicators evaluation are being illustrated. Some methods employed for treating wastewaters are examined, as well as instructions and rules actually in force in different countries of the world, for evaluating the legislative hygienic and sanitary and agronomic problems connected with the treated wastewaters use, are being collected and compared. Successively, in order to provide useful indications for the use of treated municipal wastewaters, results of long-term field researches, carried out in Puglia, regarding two types of waters (treated municipal wastewater and conventional water and two irrigation methods (drip and capillary sub-irrigation on vegetable crops grown in succession, are being reported. For each crop cycle, chemical physical and microbiological analyses have been performed on irrigation water, soil and crop samples. The results evidenced that although irrigating with waters having high colimetric values, higher than those indicated by law and with two different irrigation methods, never soil and marketable yield pollutions have been observed. Moreover, the probability to take infection and/or disease for ingestion of fruits coming from crops irrigated with treated wastewaters, calculated by Beta-Poisson method, resulted negligible and equal to 1 person for 100 millions of exposed people. Concentrations of heavy metals in soil and crops were lesser than those admissible by law. The free chlorine, coming from disinfection, found in the wastewaters used for watering, in some cases caused toxicity effects, which determined significant yield decreases. Therefore, municipal wastewaters, if well treated, can be used for irrigation representing a valid alternative to the conventional ones.

  4. Effects of bamboo charcoal on fouling and microbial diversity in a flat-sheet ceramic membrane bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wenjie; Liu, Xiaoning; Wang, Dunqiu; Jin, Yue

    2017-11-01

    Membrane fouling is a problem in full-scale membrane bioreactors. In this study, bamboo charcoal (BC) was evaluated for its efficacy in alleviating membrane fouling in flat-sheet membrane bioreactors treating municipal wastewater. The results showed that BC addition markedly improved treatment performance based on COD, NH 4 + -N, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus levels. Adding BC slowed the increase in the trans-membrane pressure rate and resulted in lower levels of soluble microbial products and extracellular polymeric substances detected in the flat-sheet membrane bioreactor. BC has a porous structure, and a large quantity of biomass was detected using scanning electron microscopy. The microbial community analysis results indicated that BC increased the microbial diversity and Aminomonas, Anaerofustis, uncultured Anaerolineaceae, Anaerolinea, and Anaerotruncus were found in higher abundances in the reactor with BC. BC addition is an effective method for reducing membrane fouling, and can be applied to full-scale flat-sheet membrane bioreactors to improve their function. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Microbial aspects of synthesis gas fed bioreactors treating sulfate and metal rich wastewaters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Houten, van B.H.G.W.

    2006-01-01

    The use of synthesis gas fed sulfate-reducing bioreactors to simultaneously remove both oxidized sulfur compounds and metals shows great potential to treat wastewaters generated as a result of flue gas scrubbing, mining activities and galvanic processes. Detailed information about the phylogenetic

  6. Metal loss from treated wood products in contact with municipal solid waste landfill leachate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dubey, Brajesh [Department of Environmental Health, PO Box 70682, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614 (United States); Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-6450 (United States); Townsend, Timothy, E-mail: ttown@ufl.edu [Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-6450 (United States); Solo-Gabriele, Helena [Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-0630 (United States)

    2010-03-15

    The research presented in this paper evaluates the potential impact of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate quality on the loss of metals from discarded treated wood during disposal. The loss of arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), and boron (B) from several types of pressure-treated wood (CCA: chromated copper arsenate, ACQ: alkaline copper quaternary, CBA: copper boron azole, and DOT: disodium octaborate tetrahydrate) using leachate collected from 26 MSW landfills in Florida was examined. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), the synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP), and California's waste extraction test (WET) were also performed. The results suggested that loss of preservative components was influenced by leachate chemistry. Copper loss from CCA-, ACQ- and CBA-treated wood was similar in magnitude when in contact with landfill leachates compared to synthetic TCLP and SPLP solutions. Ammonia was found as one of the major parameters influencing the leaching of Cu from treated wood when leached with MSW landfill leachates. The results suggest that disposal of ACQ- and CBA-treated wood in substantial quantity in MSW landfills may elevate the Cu concentration in the leachate; this could be of potential concern, especially for a bioreactor MSW landfill in which relatively higher ammonia concentrations in leachate have been reported in recent literature. For the As, Cr and B the concentrations observed with the landfill leachate as the leaching solutions were over a range from some sample showing the concentrations below and some showing above the observed value from corresponding SPLP and TCLP tests. In general the WET test showed the highest concentrations.

  7. Performance and microbial community dynamics of a sulfate-reducing bioreactor treating coal generated acid mine drainage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Andrew S; Pugh, Charles W; Segid, Yosief T; Behum, Paul T; Lefticariu, Liliana; Bender, Kelly S

    2012-06-01

    The effectiveness of a passive flow sulfate-reducing bioreactor processing acid mine drainage (AMD) generated from an abandoned coal mine in Southern Illinois was evaluated using geochemical and microbial community analysis 10 months post bioreactor construction. The results indicated that the treatment system was successful in both raising the pH of the AMD from 3.09 to 6.56 and in lowering the total iron level by 95.9%. While sulfate levels did decrease by 67.4%, the level post treatment (1153 mg/l) remained above recommended drinking water levels. Stimulation of biological sulfate reduction was indicated by a +2.60‰ increase in δ(34)S content of the remaining sulfate in the water post-treatment. Bacterial community analysis targeting 16S rRNA and dsrAB genes indicated that the pre-treated samples were dominated by bacteria related to iron-oxidizing Betaproteobacteria, while the post-treated water directly from the reactor outflow was dominated by sequences related to sulfur-oxidizing Epsilonproteobacteria and complex carbon degrading Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phylums. Analysis of the post-treated water, prior to environmental release, revealed that the community shifted back to predominantly iron-oxidizing Betaproteobacteria. DsrA analysis implied limited diversity in the sulfate-reducing population present in both the bioreactor outflow and oxidation pond samples. These results support the use of passive flow bioreactors to lower the acidity, metal, and sulfate levels present in the AMD at the Tab-Simco mine, but suggest modifications of the system are necessary to both stimulate sulfate-reducing bacteria and inhibit sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.

  8. Toxicity and metal speciation in acid mine drainage treated by passive bioreactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neculita, C.M.; Vigneaul, B.; Zagury, G.J. [Ecole Polytechnic, Montreal, PQ (Canada)

    2008-08-15

    Sulfate-reducing passive bioreactors treat acid mine drainage (AMD) by increasing its pH and alkalinity and by removing metals as metal sulfide precipitates. In addition to discharge limits based on physicochemical parameters, however, treated effluent is required to be nontoxic. Acute and sublethal toxicity was assessed for effluent from 3.5-L column bioreactors filled with mixtures of natural organic carbon sources and operated at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) for the treatment of a highly contaminated AMD. Effluent was first tested for acute (Daphnia magna and Oncorhynchus mykiss) and sublethal (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Ceriodaphnia dabia, and Lemna minor) toxicity. Acute toxicity was observed for D. magna, and a toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) procedure was then performed to identify potential toxicants. Finally, metal speciation in the effluent was determined using ultrafiltration and geochemical modeling for the interpretation of the toxicity results. The 10-d HRT effluent was nonacutely lethal for 0. mykiss but acutely lethal for D. magna. The toxicity to D. magna, however, was removed by 2 h of aeration, and the TIE procedure suggested iron as a cause of toxicity. Sublethal toxicity of the 10-d HRT effluent was observed for all test species, but it was reduced compared to the raw AMD and to a 7.3-d HRT effluent. Data regarding metal speciation indicated instability of both effluents during aeration and were consistent with the toxicity being caused by iron. Column bioreactors in operation for more than nine months efficiently improved the physicochemical quality of highly contaminated AMD at different HRTs.

  9. Ultraviolet disinfection of treated municipal wastewaters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vander Laan, H; Cairns, B

    1993-12-31

    A wastewater disinfection system developed by a Canadian company, Trojan Technologies Inc., was discussed. Disinfection for pathogen reduction prior to discharge of treated municipal wastewater back into rivers and lakes has been either ignored or treated by the use of chemicals. In 1979 the first pilot ultraviolet (UV) wastewater disinfection system was established. Since then, over 500 municipal UV installations have been commissioned. The largest installation can process 212 million gallons of water per day. The advantages of UV as a disinfectant are: (1) It is more effective than chlorine. (2) There are no mutagenic/carcinogenic byproducts formed with UV. (3) No toxic chemical residuals are discharged. (4) UV is safe to both the operators and the public. (5) It is cost effective. Europe has not been as active in wastewater disinfection as has North America. One result of the absence of wastewater disinfection in Europe is that the Rhine River, for example, carries 50 million salmonella per second. Disinfection of wastewater effluents is, of course, indispensable in protecting our drinking water supply. 2 figs.

  10. Submerged membrane bioreactor for domestic wastewater treatment and reuse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feki; Firas; Jraou, Mouna; Loukil, Slim; Kchaou, Sonia; Sayadi, Sami; Arnolt, Tom

    2009-01-01

    The Mediterranean basin (and particularly North African countries) is one of the poorest regions in the world in terms of water resources. In Tunisia, treated municipal wastewater is becoming one of the main alternative sources of water. Indeed, in 2007, 99 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) has treated a quantity of 215 millions of m 3 from which more than 30 pour cent are reused. The treated volume in 2011 is expected to be 266 millions m 3 , whereas the reused wastewaters should reach more than 50 pour cent. However, especially in the eastern and northern Mediterranean regions, wastewaters are inefficiently treated and re-used for irrigation or sanitary purposes, serving as a carrier for diseases or causing water pollution when discharged to water bodies. In the last decade, several water treatment technologies have been used in the region with little success in pathogen removal. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is a very promising alternative to those conventional water treatments as membranes act as a barrier against bacteria and viruses achieving a high degree of water purification. However, most membrane bioreactors currently in use have very high running costs because of the high pressure drop and high air-flushing rate required for their operation. The objective of this PURATREAT FP 6 EU project was to study a new approach to the operation of membrane bioreactors. This study was included a comparison of three leading membrane technologies. The operating procedure to be studied is expected to yield very low energy consumption and reduced maintenance costs. After the start up period, the MBR3 was operated with a MLSS concentration of 4.5 and 9 g/L, respectively. Different fluxes as 16, 18, 20 and 22 Lh -1 m -2 were tested. When the flux increase from 16 to 22 Lh -1 m -2 , the treatment energy consumption decreased from 7 to 5 kWh/m 3 . However the increases of MLSS concentration from 4.5 and 9 g/L raise the membrane fouling frequency from 1

  11. Modeling microbiological and chemical processes in municipal solid waste bioreactor, Part II: Application of numerical model BIOKEMOD-3P.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gawande, Nitin A; Reinhart, Debra R; Yeh, Gour-Tsyh

    2010-02-01

    Biodegradation process modeling of municipal solid waste (MSW) bioreactor landfills requires the knowledge of various process reactions and corresponding kinetic parameters. Mechanistic models available to date are able to simulate biodegradation processes with the help of pre-defined species and reactions. Some of these models consider the effect of critical parameters such as moisture content, pH, and temperature. Biomass concentration is a vital parameter for any biomass growth model and often not compared with field and laboratory results. A more complex biodegradation model includes a large number of chemical and microbiological species. Increasing the number of species and user defined process reactions in the simulation requires a robust numerical tool. A generalized microbiological and chemical model, BIOKEMOD-3P, was developed to simulate biodegradation processes in three-phases (Gawande et al. 2009). This paper presents the application of this model to simulate laboratory-scale MSW bioreactors under anaerobic conditions. BIOKEMOD-3P was able to closely simulate the experimental data. The results from this study may help in application of this model to full-scale landfill operation.

  12. Effects of Hydraulic Retention Time on the Performance of a Membrane Bioreactor Treating Municipal Wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadi Falahati

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available There is an increasing demand for effluents of higher quality from wastewater treatment plants due to the more stringent quality standards as well as the increasing pressure on water resources worldwide, which calls for effluent recycle and reuse. Membrane bioreactors (MBRs have been recently gaining rapid popularity as a promising technology for wastewater treatment. In order to improve the quality of the effluent from Shiraz wastewater treatment plant, an on-site pilot-scale membrane bioreactor was operated for 9 months. The pilot plant built at Shiraz wastewater treatment plant consisted of an aerobic reactor and a membrane compartment containing one submerged hollow fiber membrane module. In this study, eleven different aerobic hydraulic retention times (HRT ranging from 2 to 12 hours were tested to determine the membrane capacity and to investigate the performance of the system in removing total ammonia nitrogen, organic matter, total suspended solids, and turbidity.The system recorded a perfectly stable removal efficiency over the whole experimental period, except for the 2-hour aerobic HRT, so that its COD and BOD reductions exceeded 95% and 99%, respectively. Moreover, the system achieved complete nitrification in a stable manner during the whole study period, except for the 2-hour aerobic operation period. TSS concentration was almost zero and turbidity was less than 1 NTU. Membrane capacity measurements showed an average flux of 5.5 Lm-2h-1 with a mean trans-membrane pressure difference of 30 kPa. Results showed that the MBR outperformed the conventional sewage treatment processes. Additionally, it was not affected by aerobic HRT changes (12, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 3h. Based on the effluent qulity, teh system may be recommended for application toward water reuse in industrial and agricultural settings

  13. Sustainable organic loading rate and energy recovery potential of mesophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor for municipal wastewater treatment

    KAUST Repository

    Wei, Chunhai

    2014-08-01

    The overall performance of a mesophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) for synthetic municipal wastewater treatment was investigated under a range of organic loading rate (OLR). A very steady and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (around 98%) was achieved over a broad range of volumetric OLR of 0.8-10gCOD/L/d. The sustainable volumetric and sludge OLR satisfying a permeate COD below 50mg/L for general reuse was 6gCOD/L/d and 0.63gCOD/gMLVSS (mixed liquor volatile suspended solids)/d, respectively. At a high sludge OLR of over 0.6gCOD/gMLVSS/d, the AnMBR achieved high methane production of over 300ml/gCOD (even approaching the theoretical value of 382ml/gCOD). A low biomass production of 0.015-0.026gMLVSS/gCOD and a sustainable flux of 6L/m2/h were observed. The integration of a heat pump and forward osmosis into the mesophilic AnMBR process would be a promising way for net energy recovery from typical municipal wastewater in a temperate area. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Sustainable organic loading rate and energy recovery potential of mesophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor for municipal wastewater treatment

    KAUST Repository

    Wei, Chunhai; Harb, Moustapha; Amy, Gary L.; Hong, Pei-Ying; Leiknes, TorOve

    2014-01-01

    The overall performance of a mesophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) for synthetic municipal wastewater treatment was investigated under a range of organic loading rate (OLR). A very steady and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (around 98%) was achieved over a broad range of volumetric OLR of 0.8-10gCOD/L/d. The sustainable volumetric and sludge OLR satisfying a permeate COD below 50mg/L for general reuse was 6gCOD/L/d and 0.63gCOD/gMLVSS (mixed liquor volatile suspended solids)/d, respectively. At a high sludge OLR of over 0.6gCOD/gMLVSS/d, the AnMBR achieved high methane production of over 300ml/gCOD (even approaching the theoretical value of 382ml/gCOD). A low biomass production of 0.015-0.026gMLVSS/gCOD and a sustainable flux of 6L/m2/h were observed. The integration of a heat pump and forward osmosis into the mesophilic AnMBR process would be a promising way for net energy recovery from typical municipal wastewater in a temperate area. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Woodchip bioreactors effectively treat aquaculture effluent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nutrients, in particular nitrogen and phosphorus, can create eutrophication problems in any watershed. Preventing water quality impairment requires controlling nutrients from both point-source and non-point source discharges. Woodchip bioreactors are one relatively new approach that can be utilized ...

  16. Gel layer formation on membranes in Membrane Bioreactors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van den Brink, P.F.H.

    2014-01-01

    The widespread application of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for municipal wastewater treatment is hampered by membrane fouling. Fouling increases energy demand, reduces process performance and creates the need for more frequent (chemical) membrane cleaning or replacement. Membrane fouling in MBRs is

  17. Agricultural use of treated municipal wastewaters preserving environmental sustainability

    OpenAIRE

    Pietro Rubino; Maurizia Catalano; Antonio Lonigro

    2007-01-01

    In this paper the utility of the treated municipal wastewaters in agriculture, analyzing the chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics and their pollution indicators evaluation are being illustrated. Some methods employed for treating wastewaters are examined, as well as instructions and rules actually in force in different countries of the world, for evaluating the legislative hygienic and sanitary and agronomic problems connected with the treated wastewaters use, are being coll...

  18. Performance evaluation of startup for a yeast membrane bioreactor (MBRy) treating landfill leachate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaral, Míriam C S; Gomes, Rosimeire F; Brasil, Yara L; Oliveira, Sílvia M A; Moravia, Wagner G

    2017-12-06

    The startup process of a membrane bioreactor inoculated with yeast biomass (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and used in the treatment of landfill leachate was evaluated. The yeast membrane bioreactor (MBRy) was inoculated with an exogenous inoculum, a granulated active dry commercial bakers' yeast. The MBRy was successfully started up with a progressive increase in the landfill leachate percentage in the MBRy feed and the use of Sabouraud Dextrose Broth. The membrane plays an important role in the startup phase because of its full biomass retention and removal of organic matter. MBRy is a suitable and promising process to treat recalcitrant landfill leachate. After the acclimation period, the COD and NH 3 removal efficiency reached values of 72 ± 3% and 39 ± 2% respectively. MBRy shows a low membrane-fouling potential. The membrane fouling was influenced by soluble microbial products, extracellular polymeric substances, sludge particle size, and colloidal dissolved organic carbon.

  19. The potential of hybrid forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) processes in achieving high throughput treatment of municipal wastewater with enhanced phosphorus recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Guanglei; Zhang, Sui; Srinivasa Raghavan, Divya Shankari; Das, Subhabrata; Ting, Yen-Peng

    2016-11-15

    Extensive research in recent years has explored numerous new features in the forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) process. However, there is an aspect, which is revolutionary but not yet been investigated. In FOMBR, FO membrane shows high rejection for a wide range of soluble contaminants. As a result, hydraulic retention time (HRT) does not correctly reflect the nominal retention of these dissolved contaminants in the bioreactor. This decoupling of contaminants retention time (CRT, i.e. the nominal retention of the dissolved contaminants) from HRT endows FOMBR a potential in significantly reducing the HRT for wastewater treatment. In this work, we report our results in this unexplored treatment potential. Using real municipal wastewater as feed, both a hybrid microfiltration-forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (MF-FOMBR) and a newly developed hybrid biofilm-forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (BF-FOMBR) achieved high removal of organic matter and nitrogen under HRT of down to 2.0 h, with significantly enhanced phosphorus recovery capacities. In the BF-FOMBR, the used of fixed bed biofilm not only obviated the need of additional solid/liquid separation (e.g. MF) to extract the side-stream for salt accumulation control and phosphorus recovery, but effectively quarantined the biomass from the FO membrane. The absence of MF in the side-stream further allowed suspended growth to be continuously removed from the system, which produced a selection pressure for the predominance of attached growth. As a result, a significant reduction in FO membrane fouling (by 24.7-54.5%) was achieved in the BF-FOMBR due to substantially reduced bacteria deposition and colonization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Seawater-driven forward osmosis for enriching nitrogen and phosphorous in treated municipal wastewater: effect of membrane properties and feed solution chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Wenchao; Tobino, Tomohiro; Nakajima, Fumiyuki; Yamamoto, Kazuo

    2015-02-01

    Seawater-driven forward osmosis (FO) is considered to be a novel strategy to concentrate nutrients in treated municipal wastewater for further recovery as well as simultaneous discharge of highly purified wastewater into the sea with low cost. As a preliminary test, the performance of FO membranes in concentrating nutrients was investigated by both batch experiments and model simulation approaches. With synthetic seawater as the draw solution, the dissolved organic carbon, phosphate, and ammonia in the effluent from a membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating municipal wastewater were 2.3-fold, 2.3-fold, and 2.1-fold, respectively, concentrated by the FO process with approximately 57% of water reduction. Most of the dissolved components, including trace metals in the MBR effluent, were highly retained (>80%) in the feed side, indicating high water quality of permeate to be discharged. The effect of membrane properties on the nutrient enrichment performance was investigated by comparing three types of FO membranes. Interestingly, a polyamide membrane possessing a high negative charge demonstrated a poor capability of retaining ammonia, which was hypothesized because of an ion exchange-like mechanism across the membrane prompted by the high ionic concentration of the draw solution. A feed solution pH of 7 was demonstrated to be an optimum condition for improving the overall retention of nutrients, especially for ammonia because of the pH-dependent speciation of ammonia/ammonium forms. The modeling results showed that higher than 10-fold concentrations of ammonia and phosphate are achievable by seawater-driven FO with a draw solution to feed solution volume ratio of 2:1. The enriched municipal wastewater contains nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations comparable with typical animal wastewater and anaerobic digestion effluent, which are used for direct nutrient recovery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Treating domestic sewage by Integrated Inclined-Plate-Membrane bio-reactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Li Ming; Wang, Zi; Chen, Lei; Zhong, Min; Dong, Zhan Feng

    2017-12-01

    Membrane fouling shorten the service life of the membrane and increases aeration rate for membrane surface cleaning. Two membrane bio-reactors, one for working and another for comparing, were set up to evaluate the feasibility of alleviating membrane fouling and improving wastewater treatment efficiency by integrating inclined-plate precipitation and membrane separation. The result show that: (1) Inclined-plate in reactor had a good effect on pollutant removal of membrane bioreactor. The main role of inclined-plate is dividing reactor space and accelerating precipitation. (2) Working reactor have better performance in COD, TN and TP removal, which can attribute to that working reactor (integrated inclined-plate-Membrane bioreactor) takes both advantages of membrane separation and biological treatment. When influent COD, TP and TN concentration is 163-248 mg/L, 2.08-2.81 mg/L and 24.38-30.49 mg/L in working reactor, effluent concentration is 27-35 mg/L, 0.53-0.59 mg/L and 11.28-11.56 mg/L, respectively. (3) Membrane fouling was well alleviated in integrated inclined-plate-Membrane bioreactor, and membrane normal service time is significantly longer than that in comparing reactor, which can attribute to accelerating precipitation of inclined-plate. In summary, integrated inclined-plate-Membrane bioreactor is a promising technology to alleviating membrane fouling and improving wastewater treatment efficiency, having good performance and bright future in application.

  2. Biological attenuation of arsenic and iron in a continuous flow bioreactor treating acid mine drainage (AMD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez-Rojo, L; Héry, M; Le Pape, P; Braungardt, C; Desoeuvre, A; Torres, E; Tardy, V; Resongles, E; Laroche, E; Delpoux, S; Joulian, C; Battaglia-Brunet, F; Boisson, J; Grapin, G; Morin, G; Casiot, C

    2017-10-15

    Passive water treatments based on biological attenuation can be effective for arsenic-rich acid mine drainage (AMD). However, the key factors driving the biological processes involved in this attenuation are not well-known. Here, the efficiency of arsenic (As) removal was investigated in a bench-scale continuous flow channel bioreactor treating As-rich AMD (∼30-40 mg L -1 ). In this bioreactor, As removal proceeds via the formation of biogenic precipitates consisting of iron- and arsenic-rich mineral phases encrusting a microbial biofilm. Ferrous iron (Fe(II)) oxidation and iron (Fe) and arsenic removal rates were monitored at two different water heights (4 and 25 mm) and with/without forced aeration. A maximum of 80% As removal was achieved within 500 min at the lowest water height. This operating condition promoted intense Fe(II) microbial oxidation and subsequent precipitation of As-bearing schwertmannite and amorphous ferric arsenate. Higher water height slowed down Fe(II) oxidation, Fe precipitation and As removal, in relation with limited oxygen transfer through the water column. The lower oxygen transfer at higher water height could be partly counteracted by aeration. The presence of an iridescent floating film that developed at the water surface was found to limit oxygen transfer to the water column and delayed Fe(II) oxidation, but did not affect As removal. The bacterial community structure in the biogenic precipitates in the bottom of the bioreactor differed from that of the inlet water and was influenced to some extent by water height and aeration. Although potential for microbial mediated As oxidation was revealed by the detection of aioA genes, removal of Fe and As was mainly attributable to microbial Fe oxidation activity. Increasing the proportion of dissolved As(V) in the inlet water improved As removal and favoured the formation of amorphous ferric arsenate over As-sorbed schwertmannite. This study proved the ability of this bioreactor

  3. Bioreactors as Engineering Support to Treat Cardiac Muscle and Vascular Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Massai

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western World. The inability of fully differentiated, load-bearing cardiovascular tissues to in vivo regenerate and the limitations of the current treatment therapies greatly motivate the efforts of cardiovascular tissue engineering to become an effective clinical strategy for injured heart and vessels. For the effective production of organized and functional cardiovascular engineered constructs in vitro, a suitable dynamic environment is essential, and can be achieved and maintained within bioreactors. Bioreactors are technological devices that, while monitoring and controlling the culture environment and stimulating the construct, attempt to mimic the physiological milieu. In this study, a review of the current state of the art of bioreactor solutions for cardiovascular tissue engineering is presented, with emphasis on bioreactors and biophysical stimuli adopted for investigating the mechanisms influencing cardiovascular tissue development, and for eventually generating suitable cardiovascular tissue replacements.

  4. Anaerobic membrane bioreactor under extreme conditions (poster)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Munoz Sierra, J.D.; De Kreuk, M.K.; Spanjers, H.; Van Lier, J.B.

    2013-01-01

    Membrane bioreactors ensure biomass retention by the application of micro or ultrafiltration processes. This allows operation at high sludge concentrations. Previous studies have shown that anaerobic membrane bioreactors is an efficient way to retain specialist microorganisms for treating

  5. Alfred pilot wetland to treat municipal lagoon effluent - case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crolla, A.; Kinsley, C.

    2002-01-01

    A constructed wetland demonstration system has been built to polish the municipal lagoon effluent from the village of Alfred. The treatment lagoons have an annual discharge in the spring and have currently reached maximum capacity; inhibiting further population growth or expansion of the local agri-food industries. The demonstration wetland system is designed to treat 15% of the municipal lagoon influent, that is, 155 m 3 /day or 23,250 m 3 /year. A three year monitoring program (2000-2002) was put in place to evaluate the wetland as a cost effective means to treat municipal lagoon wastewater for the village of Alfred. The 2000 and 2001 monitoring seasons have been completed, and the 2002 monitoring season will operate between June and October 2002. At the completion of the three year monitoring program the Alfred wetland system will be evaluated for its ability to polish the municipal lagoon effluent to meet the Spring/Summer/Fall discharge criteria, set by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE), for the receiving water body (Azatica Brook). As phosphorus is the most difficult element to remove down to MOE guidelines, the Alfred research wetland includes slag phosphorus adsorption filters and a vegetated filter as phosphorus polishing systems. Once the wetland system is approved by the MOE, the village of Alfred will be able to increase its capacity for municipal wastewater treatment. Constructed wetlands are still considered innovative systems in Ontario and government ministries (MOE, OMAFRA) are insisting upon 3-4 years of monitoring data for each constructed wetland system established. There is a clear need for monitoring data to be gathered on established systems, and for this data to be evaluated with the goal of developing reliable design guidelines. Ultimately this should result in having constructed wetlands recognised as viable wastewater treatment options in Ontario. With fewer grant programs for rural municipalities, cost effective systems such

  6. Considerations on the design and financial feasibility of full-scale membrane bioreactors for municipal applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brepols, Ch; Schäfer, H; Engelhardt, N

    2010-01-01

    Based on the practical experience in design and operation of three full-scale membrane bioreactors (MBR) for municipal wastewater treatment that were commissioned since 1999, an overview on the different design concepts that were applied to the three MBR plants is given. The investment costs and the energy consumption of the MBRs and conventional activated sludge (CAS) plants (with and without tertiary treatment) in the Erft river region are compared. It is found that the specific investment costs of the MBR plants are lower than those of comparable CAS with tertiary treatment. A comparison of the specific energy demand of MBRs and conventional WWTPs is given. The structure of the MBRs actual operational costs is analysed. It can be seen that energy consumption is only responsible for one quarter to one third of all operational expenses. Based on a rough design and empirical cost data, a cost comparison of a full-scale MBR and a CAS is carried out. In this example the CAS employs a sand filtration and a disinfection in order to achieve comparable effluent quality. The influence of membrane lifetime on life cycle cost is assessed.

  7. Comparison of membrane bioreactor technology and conventional ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this paper was to review the use of membrane bioreactor technology as an alternative for treating the discharged effluent from a bleached kraft mill by comparing and contrasting membrane bioreactors with conventional activated sludge systems for wastewater treatment. There are many water shortage ...

  8. Impact of coagulant and flocculant addition to an anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR) treating waste-activated sludge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kooijman, G.; Lopes, Wilton; Zhou, Z.; Guo, H.; de Kreuk, M.K.; Spanjers, H.L.F.M.; van Lier, J.B.

    2017-01-01

    In this work, we investigated the effects of flocculation aid (FA) addition to an anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR) (7 L, 35°C) treating waste-activated sludge (WAS). The experiment consisted of three distinct periods. In period 1 (day 1–86), the reactor was operated as a

  9. New insights into comparison between synthetic and practical municipal wastewater in cake layer characteristic analysis of membrane bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Lijie; Zhuang, Wei-Qin; Wang, Xin; Yu, Ke; Yang, Shufang; Xia, Siqing

    2017-11-01

    In previous studies, cake layer analysis in membrane bioreactor (MBR) was both carried out with synthetic and practical municipal wastewater (SMW and PMW), leading to different results. This study aimed to identify the comparison between SMW and PMW in cake layer characteristic analysis of MBR. Two laboratory-scale anoxic/oxic MBRs were operated for over 90days with SMW and PMW, respectively. Results showed that PMW led to rough cake layer surface with particles, and the aggravation of cake layer formation with thinner and denser cake layer. Additionally, inorganic components, especially Si and Al, in PMW accumulated into cake layer and strengthened the cake layer structure, inducing severer biofouling. However, SMW promoted bacterial metabolism during cake layer formation, thus aggravated the accumulation of organic components into cake layer. Therefore, SMW highlighted the organic components in cake layer, but weakened the inorganic functions in practical MBR operation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Comparison of ferric chloride and aluminum sulfate on phosphorus removal and membrane fouling in MBR treating BAF effluent of municipal wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Li

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available A membrane bioreactor (MBR was used for treating biological aerated filter effluent in a municipal wastewater plant, and chemical phosphorus removal was accomplished in the MBR. The results showed that ferric chloride of 20 mg/L and aluminum sulfate of 30 mg/L were the optimal dosages for total phosphorus (TP removal, and the TP removal efficiency was over 80%. In long-term continuous operations, both ferric chloride and aluminum sulfate effectively mitigated membrane fouling, with the corresponding growth rate of transmembrane pressure decreased to 0.08 and 0.067 kPa/d, respectively. Sludge particle sizes analysis demonstrated that the decrease of particle sizes lower than 50 μm was the main reason for membrane fouling control. Simultaneously, the proteins and polysaccharide (PS concentrations in the MBR supernatant were analyzed, and the PS concentration significantly decreased to 2.02 mg/L at aluminum sulfate of 30 mg/L, indicating the flocculation of aluminum sulfate on PS was the main reason for mitigation of membrane fouling.

  11. Increasing tetracycline concentrations on the performance and communities of mixed microalgae-bacteria photo-bioreactors

    KAUST Repository

    Xiong, Yanghui

    2017-12-11

    This study investigated the impact of varying concentrations of tetracycline on the performance of mixed microalgae-bacteria photo-bioreactors. Photo-bioreactors were assessed for their ability to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the biogas of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (anMBR), and nutrients from the anaerobic effluent. The varying concentrations of tetracycline had no impact on the removal of CO2 from biogas. 29% v/v of CO2 was completely removed to generate >20% v/v of oxygen (O2) in all reactors. Removal of nutrients and biomass was not affected at low concentrations of tetracycline (≤150μg/L), but 20mg/L of tetracycline lowered the biomass generation and removal efficiencies of phosphate. Conversely, high chlorophyll a and b content was observed at 20mg/L of tetracycline. High tetracycline level had no impact on the diversity of 18S rRNA gene-based microalgal communities but adversely affected the 16S rRNA gene-based microbial communities. Specifically, both Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla decreased in relative abundance but not phylum Chloroplast. Additionally, both nitrogen-fixing (e.g. Flavobacterium, unclassified Burkholderiales and unclassified Rhizobiaceae) and denitrifying groups (e.g. Hydrogenophaga spp.) were significantly reduced in relative abundance at high tetracycline concentration. Phosphate-accumulating microorganisms, Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas spp. were similarly reduced upon exposure to high tetracycline concentration. Unclassified Comamonadaceae, however, increased in relative abundance, which correlated with an increase in the abundance of tetracycline resistance genes associated with efflux pump mechanism. Overall, the findings demonstrate that antibiotic concentrations in municipal wastewaters will not significantly affect the removal of nutrients by the mixed microalgae-bacteria photo-bioreactors. However, utilizing such photo-bioreactors as a polishing step for anMBRs that treat wastewaters with high tetracycline

  12. Entrapped cells-based-anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating domestic wastewater: Performances, fouling, and bacterial community structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juntawang, Chaipon; Rongsayamanont, Chaiwat; Khan, Eakalak

    2017-11-01

    A laboratory scale study on treatment performances and fouling of entrapped cells-based-anaerobic membrane bioreactor (E-AnMBR) in comparison with suspended cells-based-bioreactor (S-AnMBR) treating domestic wastewater was conducted. The difference between E-AnMBR and S-AnMBR was the uses of cells entrapped in phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol versus planktonic cells. Bulk organic removal efficiencies by the two AnMBRs were comparable. Lower concentrations of suspended biomass, bound extracellular polymeric substances and soluble microbial products in E-AnMBR resulted in less fouling compared to S-AnMBR. S-AnMBR provided 7 days of operation time versus 11 days for E-AnMBR before chemical cleaning was required. The less frequent chemical cleaning potentially leads to a longer membrane life-span for E-AnMBR compared to S-AnMBR. Phyla Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes and Acidobacteria were dominant in cake sludge from both AnMBRs but their abundances were different between the two AnMBRs, suggesting influence of cell entrapment on the bacteria community. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Evaluation of an integrated sponge--granular activated carbon fluidized bed bioreactor for treating primary treated sewage effluent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, W; Ngo, H H; Guo, W S; Listowski, A; Cullum, P

    2011-05-01

    An integrated fluidized bed bioreactor (iFBBR) was designed to incorporate an aerobic sponge FBBR (ASB-FBBR) into an anoxic granular activated carbon FBBR (GAC-FBBR). This iFBBR was operated with and without adding a new starch based flocculant (NSBF) to treat synthetic primary treated sewage effluent (PTSE). The NSBF contains starch based cationic flocculants and trace nutrients. The results indicate that the iFBBR with NSBF addition could remove more than 93% dissolved organic carbon (DOC), 61% total nitrogen (T-N) and 60% total phosphorus (T-P) at just a very short hydraulic retention time of 50 min. The optimum frequency of adding NSBF to the iFFBR is four times per day. As a pretreatment to microfiltration, the iFFBR could increase 5L/m(2)h of critical flux thus reducing the membrane fouling. In addition, better microbial activity was also observed with high DO consumption (>66%) and specific oxygen uptake rate (>35 mg O(2)/g VSS h). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Effect of upflow velocity on the performance of an inclined plate membrane bioreactor treating municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontanos, P M; Yamamoto, K; Nakajima, F

    2011-01-01

    An inclined plate membrane bioreactor (iPMBR) was introduced to meet the challenge of handling high mixed liquor suspended solids when operating at long sludge retention times. During the first 407 days of operation, the iPMBR was able to rezone more sludge (1.5-10.5 times greater) in its upstream, anoxic tank compared to its downstream, aerobic tank. This could extend membrane filtration by diverting most of the sludge from the aerobic zone. During this period, the upflow velocities through the inclined plates of the anoxic tank ranged from 2.3 x 10(-4) to 7.7 x 10(-4) m/s. After Day 407, the operating conditions were changed to determine whether the iPMBR would fail to create a sludge concentration difference between its two tanks. When the upflow velocity was increased to 1.8 x 10(-3) m/s, the sludge concentration difference between the two zones was removed. This indicated that the upflow velocity had increased sufficiently to overcome the settling velocities of most flocs, resulting in more solids being carried from the anoxic to the aerobic tank. For the configuration of this iPMBR, operating at flow rates where the upflow velocity through the inclined plates was less than 1.0 x 10(-3) m/s would be necessary to keep a significant sludge concentration difference between its two zones.

  15. Performance evaluation of a pilot-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treating ethanol thin stillage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dereli, R K; Urban, D R; Heffernan, B; Jordan, J A; Ewing, J; Rosenberger, G T; Dunaev, T I

    2012-01-01

    The ethanol industry has grown rapidly during the past ten years, mainly due to increasing oil prices. However, efficient and cost-effective solutions for treating thin stillage wastewater have still to be developed. The anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology combines classical anaerobic treatment in a completely-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with membrane separation. The combination of these two technologies can achieve a superior effluent quality and also increase biogas production compared to conventional anaerobic solutions. A pilot-scale AnMBR treating thin stillage achieved very high treatment efficiencies in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) removal (>98%). An average permeate flux of 4.3 L/m2 x h was achieved at relatively low transmembrane pressure (TMP) values (0.1-0.2 bars) with flat-sheet membranes. Experience gained during the pilot-scale studies provides valuable information for scaling up of AnMBRs treating complex and high-strength wastewaters.

  16. Corrosion control when using secondary treated municipal wastewater as alternative makeup water for cooling tower systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Ming-Kai; Li, Heng; Chien, Shih-Hsiang; Monnell, Jason D; Chowdhury, Indranil; Dzombak, David A; Vidic, Radisav D

    2010-12-01

    Secondary treated municipal wastewater is a promising alternative to fresh water as power plant cooling water system makeup water, especially in arid regions. Laboratory and field testing was conducted in this study to evaluate the corrosiveness of secondary treated municipal wastewater for various metals and metal alloys in cooling systems. Different corrosion control strategies were evaluated based on varied chemical treatment. Orthophosphate, which is abundant in secondary treated municipal wastewater, contributed to more than 80% precipitative removal of phosphorous-based corrosion inhibitors. Tolyltriazole worked effectively to reduce corrosion of copper (greater than 95% inhibition effectiveness). The corrosion rate of mild steel in the presence of free chlorine 1 mg/L (as Cl2) was approximately 50% higher than in the presence of monochloramine 1 mg/L (as Cl2), indicating that monochloramine is a less corrosive biocide than free chlorine. The scaling layers observed on the metal alloys contributed to corrosion inhibition, which could be seen by comparing the mild steel 21-day average corrosion rate with the last 5-day average corrosion rate, the latter being approximately 50% lower than the former.

  17. Performance of novel sludge-bed anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SB-AnMBR) treating prehydrolysis liquor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kale, Mayur M; Singh, Kripa S

    2014-01-01

    The feasibility of a novel sludge-bed anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SB-AnMBR) configuration for treating a waste stream from a dissolving pulp production industry was evaluated. The waste stream, called prehydrolysis liquor (PHL), is generated after the wood chips are subjected to high temperature steam to remove unwanted hemicelluloses. The PHL with total chemical oxygen demand (COD) of approximately 100 g/L contained mainly sugars, furfural, lignin, and acetic acid. The SB-AnMBR was fed with the PHL at organic loading rates in a range of 0.8 to10 kg-COD/(m(3)·d). The COD removal efficiency of more than 85% and an average rate of methane production of 0.35 m(3)/(kg-COD·d) were observed at each loading rate. No detectable sugars or furfural were present in the treated effluent from SB-AnMBR. Lignin removal varied from 60 to 90%. Flat-sheet membranes performed well with one fouling event during first 400 days of operation.

  18. CFD Simulation of an Anaerobic Membrane BioReactor (AnMBR to Treat Industrial Wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura C. Zuluaga

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD simulation has been developed for an Anaerobic Membrane BioReactor (AnMBR to treat industrial wastewater. As the process consists of a side-stream MBR, two separate simulations were created: (i reactor and (ii membrane. Different cases were conducted for each one, so the surrounding temperature and the total suspended solids (TSS concentration were checked. For the reactor, the most important aspects to consider were the dead zones and the mixing, whereas for the ceramic membrane, it was the shear stress over the membrane surface. Results show that the reactor's mixing process was adequate and that the membrane presented higher shear stress in the 'triangular' channel.

  19. Characterization of soluble microbial products (SMPs) in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating synthetic wastewater containing pharmaceutical compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Dongqing; Trzcinski, Antoine Prandota; Kunacheva, Chinagarn; Stuckey, David C; Liu, Yu; Tan, Soon Keat; Ng, Wun Jern

    2016-10-01

    This study investigated the behaviour and characteristics of soluble microbial products (SMP) in two anoxic-aerobic membrane bioreactors (MBRs): MBRcontrol and MBRpharma, for treating municipal wastewater. Both protein and polysaccharides measured exhibited higher concentrations in the MBRpharma than the MBRcontrol. Molecular weight (MW) distribution analysis revealed that the presence of pharmaceuticals enhanced the accumulation of SMPs with macro- (13,091 kDa and 1587 kDa) and intermediate-MW (189 kDa) compounds in the anoxic MBRpharma, while a substantial decrease was observed in both MBR effluents. Excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence contours indicated that the exposure to pharmaceuticals seemed to stimulate the production of aromatic proteins containing tyrosine (10.1-32.6%) and tryptophan (14.7-43.1%), compared to MBRcontrol (9.9-29.1% for tyrosine; 11.8-42.5% for tryptophan). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed aromatics, long-chain alkanes and esters were the predominant SMPs in the MBRs. More peaks were present in the aerobic MBRpharma (196) than anoxic MBRpharma (133). The SMPs identified exhibited both biodegradability and recalcitrance in the MBR treatment processes. Only 8 compounds in the MBRpharma were the same as in the MBRcontrol. Alkanes were the most dominant SMPs (51%) in the MBRcontrol, while aromatics were dominant (40%) in the MBRpharma. A significant decrease in aromatics (from 16 to 7) in the MBRpharma permeate was observed, compared to the aerobic MBRpharma. Approximately 21% of compounds in the aerobic MBRcontrol were rejected by membrane filtration, while this increased to 28% in the MBRpharma. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Degradation of triclosan and triclocarban and formation of transformation products in activated sludge using benchtop bioreactors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benchtop bioreactors were run aerobically with activated sludge samples collected from a large municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to understand how increased hydraulic retention time (HRT) and varying treatment temperatures (21°C and 30°C) impact concentrations of the endocrine disrupting a...

  1. COD fractions changes in the SBR-type reactor treating municipal wastewater with controlled percentage of dairy sewage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Struk-Sokołowska Joanna

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of study was to investigate the influence of percentage of dairy wastewater in the municipal wastewater on the changes of COD fractions during the cycle of SBR-type reactor. The scope of the research included physicochemical analyses of municipal wastewater without dairy wastewater, dairy wastewater, mixture of municipal and dairy wastewater as well as treated sewage. Both the concentrations and the proportions between COD fractions changed in the SBR cycle. In raw municipal and dairy wastewater - XS, insoluble hardly bio-degradable fraction of COD dominated (49.6 and 64.5% respectively. In treated wastewater SI, COD for dissolved compounds that are not biologically decomposed (inert (from 62.1 to 74.6% dominated, while XS fraction was from 19.1 to 24.4%. The consumption rate of organic compounds depended on the type of COD fraction, SBR cycle phase and the percentage of dairy wastewater. The highest rates of organic compounds consumption were noted in the phase of mixing. In the case of fraction SI, no differences in concentration in the SBR cycle time, were found. Concentration of COD in treated wastewater was from 34.8 to 58.9 mgO2·L-1 (efficiency wastewater treatment from 96.0 to 98.6%.

  2. Application of a membrane bioreactor for winery wastewater treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolzonella, D; Fatone, F; Pavan, P; Cecchi, F

    2010-01-01

    Winery wastewaters are variable in nature and are hard to treat by means of the conventional activated sludge process because of the high organic loading associated with their production, especially during vintage. To face this situation, recently, membrane bioreactors have been widely applied to treat winery wastewaters. In this study, a full-scale membrane bioreactor treated some 110 m(3)/d of wastewater and organic loadings up to 1,600 kg COD per day. The average removal efficiency was 95% while the corresponding sludge yield was only 0.1 kg MLVSS per kg COD removed, as usual for these wastewaters. A detailed analysis of energy consumption showed specific energy demands of 2.0-3.6 kWh/m(3) of treated wastewater or 1 kWh per kg of COD removed.

  3. Enhanced stabilisation of municipal solid waste in bioreactor landfills

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Valencia Vázquez, R.

    2008-01-01

    The increasing development and urbanization of the society has led to an increase per-capita production of municipal solid waste (MSW) materials. These MSW materials are of organic and inorganic nature that can be of rapidly, moderately and slowly biodegradable or inert characteristics. With regard

  4. Bioreactor principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-01-01

    Cells cultured on Earth (left) typically settle quickly on the bottom of culture vessels due to gravity. In microgravity (right), cells remain suspended and aggregate to form three-dimensional tissue. The NASA Bioreactor provides a low turbulence culture environment which promotes the formation of large, three-dimensional cell clusters. The Bioreactor is rotated to provide gentle mixing of fresh and spent nutrient without inducing shear forces that would damage the cells. Due to their high level of cellular organization and specialization, samples constructed in the bioreactor more closely resemble the original tumor or tissue found in the body. The work is sponsored by NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research. The bioreactor is managed by the Biotechnology Cell Science Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). NASA-sponsored bioreactor research has been instrumental in helping scientists to better understand normal and cancerous tissue development. In cooperation with the medical community, the bioreactor design is being used to prepare better models of human colon, prostate, breast and ovarian tumors. Cartilage, bone marrow, heart muscle, skeletal muscle, pancreatic islet cells, liver and kidney are just a few of the normal tissues being cultured in rotating bioreactors by investigators.

  5. Trace organics removal using three membrane bioreactor configurations: MBR, IFAS-MBR and MBMBR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Torre, T; Alonso, E; Santos, J L; Rodríguez, C; Gómez, M A; Malfeito, J J

    2015-01-01

    Seventeen pharmaceutically active compounds and 22 other trace organic pollutants were analysed regularly in the influent and permeate from a semi-real plant treating municipal wastewater. The plant was operated during 29 months with different configurations which basically differed in the type of biomass present in the system. These processes were the integrated fixed-film activated sludge membrane bioreactor (IFAS-MBR), which combined suspended and attached biomass, the moving bed membrane bioreactor (MBMBR) (only attached biomass) and the MBR (only suspended biomass). Moreover, removal rates were compared to those of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operating nearby with conventional activated sludge treatment. Reverse osmosis (RO) was used after the pilot plant to improve removal rates. The highest elimination was found for the IFAS-MBR, especially for hormones (100% removal); this was attributed to the presence of biofilm, which may lead to different conditions (aerobic-anoxic-anaerobic) along its profile, which increases the degradation possibilities, and also to a higher sludge age of the biofilm, which allows complete acclimation to the contaminants. Operating conditions played an important role, high mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) and sludge retention time (SRT) being necessary to achieve these high removal rates. Although pharmaceuticals and linear alkylbenzene sulfonates showed high removal rates (65-100%), nonylphenols and phthalate could only be removed to 10-30%. RO significantly increased removal rates to 88% mean removal rate.

  6. Sulfate-reducing bacteria in anaerobic bioreactors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oude Elferink, S.J.W.H.

    1998-01-01

    The treatment of industrial wastewaters containing high amounts of easily degradable organic compounds in anaerobic bioreactors is a well-established process. Similarly, wastewaters which in addition to organic compounds also contain sulfate can be treated in this way. For a long time, the

  7. Thermophilic composting of municipal solid waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elango, D.; Thinakaran, N.; Panneerselvam, P.; Sivanesan, S.

    2009-01-01

    Process of composting has been developed for recycling of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW). The bioreactor design was modified to reduce the composting process time. The main goal of this investigation was to find the optimal value of time period for composting of MSW in thermophilic bioreactor under aerobic condition. The temperature profiles correlated well with experimental data obtained during the maturation process. During this period biological degraders are introduced in to the reactor to accelerate the composting process. The compost materials were analyzed at various stages and the environmental parameters were considered. The final composting materials contained large organic content with in a short duration of 40 days. The quantity of volume reduction of raw MSW was 78%. The test result shows that the final compost material from the thermophilic reactor provides good humus to build up soil characteristics and some basic plant nutrients

  8. Comparison of fouling characteristics in different pore-sized submerged ceramic membrane bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Le; Ong, Say Leong; Ng, How Yong

    2010-12-01

    Membrane fouling, the key disadvantage that inevitably occurs continuously in the membrane bioreactor (MBR), baffles the wide-scale application of MBR. Ceramic membrane, which possesses high chemical and thermal resistance, has seldom been used in MBR to treat municipal wastewater. Four ceramic membranes with the same materials but different pore sizes, ranging from 80 to 300 nm, were studied in parallel using four lab-scale submerged MBRs (i.e., one type of ceramic membrane in one MBR). Total COD and ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies were observed to be consistently above 94.5 and 98%, respectively, in all submerged ceramic membrane bioreactors. The experimental results showed that fouling was mainly affected by membrane's microstructure, surface roughness and pore sizes. Ceramic membrane with the roughest surface and biggest pore size (300 nm) had the highest fouling potential with respect to the TMP profile. The 80 nm membrane with a smoother surface and relatively uniform smaller pore openings experienced least membrane fouling with respect to TMP increase. The effects of the molecular weight distribution, particle size distribution and other biomass characteristics such as extracellular polymeric substances, zeta potential and capillary suction time, were also investigated in this study. Results showed that no significant differences of these attributes were observed. These observations indicate that the membrane surface properties are the dominant factors leading to different fouling potential in this study. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Enhanced performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor with powdered activated carbon addition for municipal secondary effluent treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Hongjun, E-mail: hjlin@zjnu.cn [College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, 688 Yingbin Avenue, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province 321004 (China); Wang, Fangyuan; Ding, Linxian; Hong, Huachang [College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, 688 Yingbin Avenue, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province 321004 (China); Chen, Jianrong, E-mail: cjr@zjnu.cn [College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, 688 Yingbin Avenue, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province 321004 (China); Lu, Xiaofeng [Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 201800 (China)

    2011-09-15

    Highlights: {yields} The first study to investigate the feasibility of PAC-MBR process treating municipal secondary effluent. {yields} The study revealed that most organics in the secondary effluent were low molecular weight (MW) substances, which could be retained in the reactor and then removed to some extent by PAC-MBR process. {yields} The study suggested that the action of biomass and the PAC is mutual and synergistic. - Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of PAC-MBR process treating municipal secondary effluent. Two laboratory-scale submerged MBRs (SMBR) with and without PAC addition were continuously operated in parallel for secondary effluent treatment. Approximately 63%TOC, 95% NH{sub 4}{sup +}-N and 98% turbidity in secondary effluent were removed by the PAC-MBR process. Most organics in the secondary effluent were found to be low molecular weight (MW) substances, which could be retained in the reactor and then removed to some extent by using PAC-MBR process. Parallel experiments showed that the addition of PAC significantly increased organic removal and responsible for the largest fraction of organic removal. Membrane fouling analysis showed the enhanced membrane performance in terms of sustainable operational time and filtration resistances by PAC addition. Based on these results, the PAC-MBR process was considered as an attractive option for the reduction of pollutants in secondary effluent.

  10. Enhanced performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor with powdered activated carbon addition for municipal secondary effluent treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Hongjun; Wang, Fangyuan; Ding, Linxian; Hong, Huachang; Chen, Jianrong; Lu, Xiaofeng

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → The first study to investigate the feasibility of PAC-MBR process treating municipal secondary effluent. → The study revealed that most organics in the secondary effluent were low molecular weight (MW) substances, which could be retained in the reactor and then removed to some extent by PAC-MBR process. → The study suggested that the action of biomass and the PAC is mutual and synergistic. - Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of PAC-MBR process treating municipal secondary effluent. Two laboratory-scale submerged MBRs (SMBR) with and without PAC addition were continuously operated in parallel for secondary effluent treatment. Approximately 63%TOC, 95% NH 4 + -N and 98% turbidity in secondary effluent were removed by the PAC-MBR process. Most organics in the secondary effluent were found to be low molecular weight (MW) substances, which could be retained in the reactor and then removed to some extent by using PAC-MBR process. Parallel experiments showed that the addition of PAC significantly increased organic removal and responsible for the largest fraction of organic removal. Membrane fouling analysis showed the enhanced membrane performance in terms of sustainable operational time and filtration resistances by PAC addition. Based on these results, the PAC-MBR process was considered as an attractive option for the reduction of pollutants in secondary effluent.

  11. A comparative study of leachate quality and biogas generation in simulated anaerobic and hybrid bioreactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Qiyong; Tian, Ying; Wang, Shen; Ko, Jae Hac, E-mail: jaehacko@pkusz.edu.cn

    2015-07-15

    Highlights: • Temporary aeration shortened the initial acid inhibition phase for methanogens. • COD decreased faster in the hybrid bioreactor than that in the anaerobic control. • Methane generations from hybrid bioreactors were 133.4 L/kg{sub vs} and 113.2 L/kg{sub vs}. • MSW settlement increased with increasing the frequency of intermittent aeration. - Abstract: Research has been conducted to compare leachate characterization and biogas generation in simulated anaerobic and hybrid bioreactor landfills with typical Chinese municipal solid waste (MSW). Three laboratory-scale reactors, an anaerobic (A1) and two hybrid bioreactors (C1 and C2), were constructed and operated for about 10 months. The hybrid bioreactors were operated in an aerobic–anaerobic mode with different aeration frequencies by providing air into the upper layer of waste. Results showed that the temporary aeration into the upper layer aided methane generation by shortening the initial acidogenic phase because of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) reduction and pH increase. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) decreased faster in the hybrid bioreactors, but the concentrations of ammonia–nitrogen in the hybrid bioreactors were greater than those in the anaerobic control. Methanogenic conditions were established within 75 d and 60 d in C1 and C2, respectively. However, high aeration frequency led to the consumption of organic matters by aerobic degradation and resulted in reducing accumulative methane volume. The temporary aeration enhanced waste settlement and the settlement increased with increasing the frequency of aeration. Methane production was inhibited in the anaerobic control; however, the total methane generations from hybrid bioreactors were 133.4 L/kg{sub vs} and 113.2 L/kg{sub vs}. As for MSW with high content of food waste, leachate recirculation right after aeration stopped was not recommended due to VFA inhibition for methanogens.

  12. INFLUENCE OF SLUDGE RECIRCULATION ON NUTRIENT REMOVAL IN SUBMERGED MEMBRANE BIOREACTORS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Casamitjanaa Causa

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Membrane bioreactors (MBR technology is a well-developed wastewater treatment process; however, the integrated operation between biological reactions and physical filtration has been poorly studied. Among other operational parameters, optimal control of sludge recirculation can enhance nitrogen and phosphorous removal processes, but the effects on sludge filterability is not clear. In this paper, different recirculation flow rates were tested to evaluate consequences on sludge filterability and nutrient removal in a MBR-UCT pilot plant treating real municipal wastewater. Three distinct sludge recirculation flows were studied during 10 weeks [external recirculation (from the membrane tank to the anoxic reactor, anoxic recirculation (from the aerobic to the anoxic reactor and anaerobic recirculation (from the anoxic to the anaerobic reactor]. The obtained results have shown that anaerobic recirculation affected nutrient removal in an inversely proportional way, whereas anoxic recirculation had a directly proportional effect. Referring sludge characteristics, filterability and capillarity suction time (CST remained independent of sludge recirculation, whereas CST is proportional to transmembrane pressure (TMP, which seems to depend on external and anoxic sludge recirculation.

  13. Wastewater treatments by membrane bioreactors (MBR); Bioreactores de membrana (MBR) para la depuracion de aguas residuales

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guardino Ferre, R.

    2001-07-01

    Wastewater treatments by membrane bioreactors (MBR), are a good alternative of treatment to the conventional processes when wish to obtain very high quality of the treated water or to try high load contaminants in low flow. Simultaneously, the article explains the significant reduction of the wastewater treatment plant space, eliminating the secondary septic tank. (Author) 7 refs.

  14. Microbial-based evaluation of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) for the sustainable and efficient treatment of municipal wastewater

    KAUST Repository

    Harb, Moustapha

    2017-03-01

    Conventional activated sludge-based wastewater treatment is an energy and resource-intensive process. Historically it has been successful at producing safely treated wastewater effluents in the developed world, specifically in places that have the infrastructure and space to support its operation. However, with a growing need for safe and efficient wastewater treatment across the world in both urban and rural settings, a paradigm shift in waste treatment is proving to be necessary. The sustainability of the future of wastewater treatment, in a significant way, hinges on moving towards energy neutrality and wastewater effluent reuse. This potential for reuse is threatened by the recent emergence and study of contaminants that have not been previously taken into consideration, such as antibiotics and other organic micropollutants (OMPs), antibiotic resistance genes, and persistent pathogenic bacteria. This dissertation focuses on investigating the use of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology for the sustainable treatment of municipal-type wastewaters. Specifically, a microbial approach to understanding biofouling and methane recovery potential in anaerobic MBR systems has been employed to assess different reactor systems’ efficiency. This dissertation further compares AnMBRs to their more widely used aerobic counterparts. This comparison specifically focuses on the removal and biodegradation of OMPs and antibiotics in both anaerobic and aerobic MBRs, while also investigating their effect on the proliferation of antibiotic resistance genes. Due to rising interest in wastewater effluent reuse and the lack of a comprehensive understanding of MBR systems’ effects on pathogen proliferation, this dissertation also investigates the presence of pathogens in both aerobic and anaerobic MBR effluents by using molecularbased detection methods. The findings of this dissertation demonstrate that membrane-associated anaerobic digestion processes have significant

  15. Microscale 3D Liver Bioreactor for In Vitro Hepatotoxicity Testing under Perfusion Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nora Freyer

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The accurate prediction of hepatotoxicity demands validated human in vitro models that can close the gap between preclinical animal studies and clinical trials. In this study we investigated the response of primary human liver cells to toxic drug exposure in a perfused microscale 3D liver bioreactor. The cellularized bioreactors were treated with 5, 10, or 30 mM acetaminophen (APAP used as a reference substance. Lactate production significantly decreased upon treatment with 30 mM APAP (p < 0.05 and ammonia release significantly increased in bioreactors treated with 10 or 30 mM APAP (p < 0.0001, indicating APAP-induced dose-dependent toxicity. The release of prostaglandin E2 showed a significant increase at 30 mM APAP (p < 0.05, suggesting an inflammatory reaction towards enhanced cellular stress. The expression of genes involved in drug metabolism, antioxidant reactions, urea synthesis, and apoptosis was differentially influenced by APAP exposure. Histological examinations revealed that primary human liver cells in untreated control bioreactors were reorganized in tissue-like cell aggregates. These aggregates were partly disintegrated upon APAP treatment, lacking expression of hepatocyte-specific proteins and transporters. In conclusion, our results validate the suitability of the microscale 3D liver bioreactor to detect hepatotoxic effects of drugs in vitro under perfusion conditions.

  16. Microscale 3D Liver Bioreactor for In Vitro Hepatotoxicity Testing under Perfusion Conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freyer, Nora; Greuel, Selina; Knöspel, Fanny; Gerstmann, Florian; Storch, Lisa; Damm, Georg; Seehofer, Daniel; Foster Harris, Jennifer; Iyer, Rashi; Schubert, Frank; Zeilinger, Katrin

    2018-03-15

    The accurate prediction of hepatotoxicity demands validated human in vitro models that can close the gap between preclinical animal studies and clinical trials. In this study we investigated the response of primary human liver cells to toxic drug exposure in a perfused microscale 3D liver bioreactor. The cellularized bioreactors were treated with 5, 10, or 30 mM acetaminophen (APAP) used as a reference substance. Lactate production significantly decreased upon treatment with 30 mM APAP ( p < 0.05) and ammonia release significantly increased in bioreactors treated with 10 or 30 mM APAP ( p < 0.0001), indicating APAP-induced dose-dependent toxicity. The release of prostaglandin E2 showed a significant increase at 30 mM APAP ( p < 0.05), suggesting an inflammatory reaction towards enhanced cellular stress. The expression of genes involved in drug metabolism, antioxidant reactions, urea synthesis, and apoptosis was differentially influenced by APAP exposure. Histological examinations revealed that primary human liver cells in untreated control bioreactors were reorganized in tissue-like cell aggregates. These aggregates were partly disintegrated upon APAP treatment, lacking expression of hepatocyte-specific proteins and transporters. In conclusion, our results validate the suitability of the microscale 3D liver bioreactor to detect hepatotoxic effects of drugs in vitro under perfusion conditions.

  17. Validation of enhanced stabilization of municipal solid waste under controlled leachate recirculation using FTIR and XRD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sethi, Sapna; Kothiyal, N C; Nema, Arvind K

    2012-07-01

    Leachate recirculation at neutral PH accompanied with buffer/nutrients addition has been used successfully in earlier stabilization of municipal solid waste in bioreactor landfills. In the present study, efforts were made to enhance the stabilization rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) and organic solid waste (OSW) in simulated landfill bioreactors by controlling the pH of recirculated leachate towards slightly alkaline side in absence of additional buffer and nutrients addition. Enhanced stabilization in waste samples was monitored with the help of analytical tools like Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Predominance of bands assigned to inorganic compounds and comparatively lower intensities of bands for organic compounds in the FTIR spectra of waste samples degraded with leachate recirculation under controlled pH confirmed higher rate of biodegradation and mineralization of waste than the samples degraded without controlled leachate recirculation. XRD spectra also confirmed to a greater extent of mineralization in the waste samples degraded under leachate recirculation with controlled pH. Comparison of XRD spectra of two types of wastes pointed out higher degree of mineralization in organic solid waste as compared to municipal solid waste.

  18. Continuous desulfurization and bacterial community structure of an integrated bioreactor developed to treat SO2 from a gas stream.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jian; Li, Lin; Ding, Wenjie; Zhang, Jingying; Liu, Junxin

    2015-11-01

    Sulfide dioxide (SO2) is often released during the combustion processes of fossil fuels. An integrated bioreactor with two sections, namely, a suspended zone (SZ) and immobilized zone (IZ), was applied to treat SO2 for 6months. Sampling ports were set in both sections to investigate the performance and microbial characteristics of the integrated bioreactor. SO2 was effectively removed by the synergistic effect of the SZ and IZ, and more than 85% removal efficiency was achieved at steady state. The average elimination capacity of SO2 in the bioreactor was 2.80g/(m(3)·hr) for the SZ and 1.50g/(m(3)·hr) for the IZ. Most SO2 was eliminated in the SZ. The liquid level of the SZ and the water content ratio of the packing material in the IZ affected SO2 removal efficiency. The SZ served a key function not only in SO2 elimination, but also in moisture maintenance for the IZ. The desired water content in IZ could be feasibly maintained without any additional pre-humidification facilities. Clone libraries of 16S rDNA directly amplified from the DNA of each sample were constructed and sequenced to analyze the community composition and diversity in the individual zones. The desulfurization bacteria dominated both zones. Paenibacillus sp. was present in both zones, whereas Ralstonia sp. existed only in the SZ. The transfer of SO2 to the SZ involved dissolution in the nutrient solution and biodegradation by the sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. This work presents a potential biological treatment method for waste gases containing hydrophilic compounds. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Modeling of membrane bioreactor treating hypersaline oily wastewater by artificial neural network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pendashteh, Ali Reza; Fakhru'l-Razi, A.; Chaibakhsh, Naz; Abdullah, Luqman Chuah; Madaeni, Sayed Siavash; Abidin, Zurina Zainal

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Hypersaline oily wastewater was treated in a membrane bioreactor. → The effects of salinity and organic loading rate were evaluated. → The system was modeled by neural network and optimized by genetic algorithm. → The model prediction agrees well with experimental values. → The model can be used to obtain effluent characteristics less than discharge limits. - Abstract: A membrane sequencing batch reactor (MSBR) treating hypersaline oily wastewater was modeled by artificial neural network (ANN). The MSBR operated at different total dissolved solids (TDSs) (35,000; 50,000; 100,000; 150,000; 200,000; 250,000 mg/L), various organic loading rates (OLRs) (0.281, 0.563, 1.124, 2.248, and 3.372 kg COD/(m 3 day)) and cyclic time (12, 24, and 48 h). A feed-forward neural network trained by batch back propagation algorithm was employed to model the MSBR. A set of 193 operational data from the wastewater treatment with the MSBR was used to train the network. The training, validating and testing procedures for the effluent COD, total organic carbon (TOC) and oil and grease (O and G) concentrations were successful and a good correlation was observed between the measured and predicted values. The results showed that at OLR of 2.44 kg COD/(m 3 day), TDS of 78,000 mg/L and reaction time (RT) of 40 h, the average removal rate of COD was 98%. In these conditions, the average effluent COD concentration was less than 100 mg/L and met the discharge limits.

  20. Modeling of membrane bioreactor treating hypersaline oily wastewater by artificial neural network

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pendashteh, Ali Reza [Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E. (Malaysia); Environmental Research Institute, Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Rasht (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Fakhru' l-Razi, A., E-mail: fakhrul@eng.upm.edu.my [Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E. (Malaysia); Chaibakhsh, Naz [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E. (Malaysia); Abdullah, Luqman Chuah [Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E. (Malaysia); Madaeni, Sayed Siavash [Chemical Engineering Department, Razi University, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Abidin, Zurina Zainal [Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E. (Malaysia)

    2011-08-30

    Highlights: {yields} Hypersaline oily wastewater was treated in a membrane bioreactor. {yields} The effects of salinity and organic loading rate were evaluated. {yields} The system was modeled by neural network and optimized by genetic algorithm. {yields} The model prediction agrees well with experimental values. {yields} The model can be used to obtain effluent characteristics less than discharge limits. - Abstract: A membrane sequencing batch reactor (MSBR) treating hypersaline oily wastewater was modeled by artificial neural network (ANN). The MSBR operated at different total dissolved solids (TDSs) (35,000; 50,000; 100,000; 150,000; 200,000; 250,000 mg/L), various organic loading rates (OLRs) (0.281, 0.563, 1.124, 2.248, and 3.372 kg COD/(m{sup 3} day)) and cyclic time (12, 24, and 48 h). A feed-forward neural network trained by batch back propagation algorithm was employed to model the MSBR. A set of 193 operational data from the wastewater treatment with the MSBR was used to train the network. The training, validating and testing procedures for the effluent COD, total organic carbon (TOC) and oil and grease (O and G) concentrations were successful and a good correlation was observed between the measured and predicted values. The results showed that at OLR of 2.44 kg COD/(m{sup 3} day), TDS of 78,000 mg/L and reaction time (RT) of 40 h, the average removal rate of COD was 98%. In these conditions, the average effluent COD concentration was less than 100 mg/L and met the discharge limits.

  1. Inactivation of microorganisms in treated municipal wastewater and biosolids by gamma irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    Increasing growth of the world's population, waste minimization policies and agricultural needs make the recycling of domestic wastewater quite a desirable practice. Factors like environmental and public health risks must be taken into account when considering treated wastewater for field irrigation and biosolids for land application. Pathogens present in wastewater and biosolids may remain active after treatment and there is always a great risk of transmission of infections via consuming crop and vegetables. Therefore it is very important to treat domestic wastewater properly before using it as an irrigation water and as a fertilizer. The work reported herein represents an evaluation of the variations in the population densities of below indicated pathogens monitored during a one year study in Ankara Central Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the efficiency of gamma irradiation for the inactivation of these important waterborne pathogens. Parasitological investigation Treated wastewater and biosolids - Cryptosporidium sp. - Giardia lamblia - Entamoeba histolytica - Cyclospora cayetanensis - Helminth ova Bacteriological investigation Treated wastewater - Total coliforms - Salmonella sp. - Fecal streptococci - Enterococcus sp. Biosolids - Fecal coliforms - Salmonella sp. (Includes 12 tables, 16 figures)

  2. Evaluation of flat sheet membrane bioreactor efficiency for municipal wastewater treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Somayeh Fazeli

    2012-01-01

    Conclusion: It is concluded that FS-MBR can be used in the large scale municipal wastewater treatment plants to improve effluent quality due to high removal of COD, BOD 5 , TSS and VSS to meet effluent discharge standards.

  3. Organic micropollutants in aerobic and anaerobic membrane bioreactors: Changes in microbial communities and gene expression

    KAUST Repository

    Harb, Moustapha

    2016-07-09

    Organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) are contaminants of emerging concern in wastewater treatment due to the risk of their proliferation into the environment, but their impact on the biological treatment process is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the presence of OMPs on the core microbial populations of wastewater treatment. Two nanofiltration-coupled membrane bioreactors (aerobic and anaerobic) were subjected to the same operating conditions while treating synthetic municipal wastewater spiked with OMPs. Microbial community dynamics, gene expression levels, and antibiotic resistance genes were analyzed using molecular-based approaches. Results showed that presence of OMPs in the wastewater feed had a clear effect on keystone bacterial populations in both the aerobic and anaerobic sludge while also significantly impacting biodegradation-associated gene expression levels. Finally, multiple antibiotic-type OMPs were found to have higher removal rates in the anaerobic MBR, while associated antibiotic resistance genes were lower.

  4. Organic micropollutants in aerobic and anaerobic membrane bioreactors: Changes in microbial communities and gene expression

    KAUST Repository

    Harb, Moustapha; Wei, Chunhai; Wang, Nan; Amy, Gary L.; Hong, Pei-Ying

    2016-01-01

    Organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) are contaminants of emerging concern in wastewater treatment due to the risk of their proliferation into the environment, but their impact on the biological treatment process is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the presence of OMPs on the core microbial populations of wastewater treatment. Two nanofiltration-coupled membrane bioreactors (aerobic and anaerobic) were subjected to the same operating conditions while treating synthetic municipal wastewater spiked with OMPs. Microbial community dynamics, gene expression levels, and antibiotic resistance genes were analyzed using molecular-based approaches. Results showed that presence of OMPs in the wastewater feed had a clear effect on keystone bacterial populations in both the aerobic and anaerobic sludge while also significantly impacting biodegradation-associated gene expression levels. Finally, multiple antibiotic-type OMPs were found to have higher removal rates in the anaerobic MBR, while associated antibiotic resistance genes were lower.

  5. Parameters affecting the stability of the digestate from a two-stage anaerobic process treating the organic fraction of municipal solid waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trzcinski, Antoine P.; Stuckey, David C.

    2011-01-01

    This paper focused on the factors affecting the respiration rate of the digestate taken from a continuous anaerobic two-stage process treating the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). The process involved a hydrolytic reactor (HR) that produced a leachate fed to a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAMBR). It was found that a volatile solids (VS) removal in the range 40-75% and an operating temperature in the HR between 21 and 35 o C resulted in digestates with similar respiration rates, with all digestates requiring 17 days of aeration before satisfying the British Standard Institution stability threshold of 16 mg CO 2 g VS -1 day -1 . Sanitization of the digestate at 65 o C for 7 days allowed a mature digestate to be obtained. At 4 g VS L -1 d -1 and Solid Retention Times (SRT) greater than 70 days, all the digestates emitted CO 2 at a rate lower than 25 mg CO 2 g VS -1 d -1 after 3 days of aeration, while at SRT lower than 20 days all the digestates displayed a respiration rate greater than 25 mg CO 2 g VS -1 d -1 . The compliance criteria for Class I digestate set by the European Commission (EC) and British Standard Institution (BSI) could not be met because of nickel and chromium contamination, which was probably due to attrition of the stainless steel stirrer in the HR.

  6. Removal and Degradation Pathways of Sulfamethoxazole Present in Synthetic Municipal Wastewater via an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor

    KAUST Repository

    Sanchez Huerta, Claudia

    2016-05-01

    The current global water crisis in addition to continues contamination of natural water bodies with harmful organic micropollutants (OMPs) have driven the development of new water treatment technologies that allow the efficient removal of such compounds. Among a long list of OMPs, antibiotics are considered as top priority pollutants to be treated due to their great resistance to biological treatments and their potential to develop bacterial resistance. Different approaches, such as membrane-based and advance oxidation processes have been proposed to alleviate or minimize antibiotics discharge into aquatic environments. However most of these processes are costly and generate either matrices with high concentration of OMPs or intermediate products with potentially greater toxicity or persistence. Therefore, this thesis proposes the study of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) for the treatment of synthetic municipal wastewater containing sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a world widely used antibiotic. Besides the general evaluation of AnMBR performance in the COD removal and biogas production, this research mainly focuses on the SMX removal and its degradation pathway. Thus 5 SMX quantification was performed through solid phase extraction-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and the identification of its transformation products (TPs) was assessed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry technique. The results achieved showed that, working under optimal conditions (35°C, pH 7 and ORP around -380 to -420 mV) and after a biomass adaptation period (maintaining 0.85 VSS/TSS ratio), the AnMBR process provided over 95% COD removal and 95-98% SMX removal, while allowing stable biogas composition and methane production (≈130 mL CH4/g CODremoved). Kinetic analysis through a batch test showed that after 24 h of biological reaction, AnMBR process achieved around 94% SMX removal, indicating a first order kinetic reaction with K= 0.119, which highlights the high degradation

  7. Bio-charcoal production from municipal organic solid wastes

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlKhayat, Z. Q.

    2017-08-01

    The economic and environmental problems of handling the increasingly huge amounts of urban and/or suburban organic municipal solid wastes MSW, from collection to end disposal, in addition to the big fluctuations in power supply and other energy form costs for the various civilian needs, is studied for Baghdad city, the ancient and glamorous capital of Iraq, and a simple control device is suggested, built and tested by carbonizing these dried organic wastes in simple environment friendly bio-reactor in order to produce low pollution potential, economical and local charcoal capsules that might be useful for heating, cooking and other municipal uses. That is in addition to the solve of solid wastes management problem which involves huge human and financial resources and causes many lethal health and environmental problems. Leftovers of different social level residential campuses were collected, classified for organic materials then dried in order to be supplied into the bio-reactor, in which it is burnt and then mixed with small amounts of sugar sucrose that is extracted from Iraqi planted sugar cane, to produce well shaped charcoal capsules. The burning process is smoke free as the closed burner’s exhaust pipe is buried 1m underground hole, in order to use the subsurface soil as natural gas filter. This process has proved an excellent performance of handling about 120kg/day of classified MSW, producing about 80-100 kg of charcoal capsules, by the use of 200 l reactor volume.

  8. Anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactors for high strength wastewater treatment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ersahin, M.E.; Gimenez Garcia, J.B.; Ozgun, H.; Tao, Y.; Van Lier, J.B.

    2013-01-01

    A laboratory scale external anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR) treating high strength wastewater was operated to assess the effect of gas sparging velocity and organic loading rate on removal efficiency and dynamic membrane (DM) filtration characteristics. An increase in gas sparging

  9. MEMBRANE BIOREACTOR FOR TREATMENT OF RECALCITRANT WASTEWATERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suprihatin Suprihatin

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The low biodegradable wastewaters remain a challenge in wastewater treatment technology. The performance of membrane bioreactor systems with submerged hollow fiber micro- and ultrafiltration membrane modules were examined for purifying recalcitrant wastewaters of leachate of a municipal solid waste open dumping site and effluent of pulp and paper mill. The use of MF and UF membrane bioreactor systems showed an efficient treatment for both types wastewaters with COD reduction of 80-90%. The membrane process achieved the desirable effects of maintaining reasonably high biomass concentration and long sludge retention time, while producing a colloid or particle free effluent. For pulp and paper mill effluent a specific sludge production of 0.11 kg MLSS/kg COD removed was achieved. A permeate flux of about 5 L/m²h could be achieved with the submerged microfiltration membrane. Experiments using ultrafiltration membrane produced relatively low permeate fluxes of 2 L/m²h. By applying periodical backwash, the flux could be improved significantly. It was indicated that the particle or colloid deposition on membrane surface was suppressed by backwash, but reformation of deposit was not effectively be prevented by shear-rate effect of aeration. Particle and colloid started to accumulate soon after backwash. Construction of membrane module and operation mode played a critical role in achieving the effectiveness of aeration in minimizing deposit formation on the membrane surface.

  10. Effects of chemical sludge disintegration on the performances of wastewater treatment by membrane bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Young-Khee; Lee, Ki-Ryong; Ko, Kwang-Baik; Yeom, Ick-Tae

    2007-06-01

    A new wastewater treatment process combining a membrane bioreactor (MBR) with chemical sludge disintegration was tested in bench scale experiments. In particular, the effects of the disintegration treatment on the excess sludge production in MBR were investigated. Two MBRs were operated. In one reactor, a part of the mixed liquor was treated with NaOH and ozone gas consecutively and was returned to the bioreactor. The flow rate of the sludge disintegration stream was 1.5% of the influent flow rate. During the 200 days of operation, the MLSS level in the bioreactor with the disintegration treatment was maintained relatively constant at the range of 10,000-11,000 mg/L while it increased steadily up to 25,000 mg/L in the absence of the treatment. In the MBR with the sludge disintegration, relatively constant transmembrane pressures (TMPs) could be maintained for more than 6 months while the MBR without disintegration showed an abrupt increase of TMP in the later phase of the operation. In conclusion, a complete control of excess sludge production in the membrane-coupled bioreactor was possible without significant deterioration of the treated water quality and membrane performances.

  11. Cultivation of Azolla microphylla biomass on secondary-treated Delhi municipal effluents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arora, A.; Saxena, S. [Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi (India). Centre for Conservation of Blue Green Algae

    2005-07-01

    Study was conducted on recycling municipal wastewaters for cultivation of Azolla microphylla biomass, which is used for inoculation into paddy fields as N biofertiliser and has other applications as green manure, animal feed and biofilter. Secondary-treated municipal wastewaters were collected from Wazirabad sewage treatment plant in New Delhi during all four seasons and tested for reactive P and heavy metal content. The reactive P levels in effluents ranged between 1-2 ppm and levels of heavy metals like Cd, Pb, Ni, Zn, Fe and Mn were well below permissible limits. A. microphylla was grown in sewage effluents and its dilutions prepared with tapwater. It showed good growth potential on sewage effluents. Doubling times during September and December months compared well with those on Espinase and Watanabe (E and W) medium and tapwater. Dried Azolla biomass produced on sewage waters did not show presence of toxic heavy metals Cd, Cr and Pb. However, levels of P in dried biomass cultivated on sewage effluents were lower as compared to those from E and W medium and tapwater. The biomass produced can be used for inoculating paddy fields or for other applications and polished wastewaters can be recycled for irrigation purposes. (author)

  12. Shear strength characteristics of mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste (MBT-MSW) from Bangalore

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sivakumar Babu, G.L.; Lakshmikanthan, P.; Santhosh, L.G.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Shear strength properties of mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste. • Effect of unit weight and particle size on the shear strength of waste. • Effect of particle size on the strength properties. • Stiffness ratio and the strength ratio of MSW. - Abstract: Strength and stiffness properties of municipal solid waste (MSW) are important in landfill design. This paper presents the results of comprehensive testing of shear strength properties of mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste (MBT-MSW) in laboratory. Changes in shear strength of MSW as a function of unit weight and particle size were investigated by performing laboratory studies on the MSW collected from Mavallipura landfill site in Bangalore. Direct shear tests, small scale and large scale consolidated undrained and drained triaxial tests were conducted on reconstituted compost reject MSW samples. The triaxial test results showed that the MSW samples exhibited a strain-hardening behaviour and the strength of MSW increased with increase in unit weight. Consolidated drained tests showed that the mobilized shear strength of the MSW increased by 40% for a unit weight increase from 7.3 kN/m 3 to 10.3 kN/m 3 at 20% strain levels. The mobilized cohesion and friction angle ranged from 5 to 9 kPa and 8° to 33° corresponding to a strain level of 20%. The consolidated undrained tests exhibited reduced friction angle values compared to the consolidated drained tests. The friction angle increased with increase in the unit weight from 8° to 55° in the consolidated undrained tests. Minor variations were found in the cohesion values. Relationships for strength and stiffness of MSW in terms of strength and stiffness ratios are developed and discussed. The stiffness ratio and the strength ratio of MSW were found to be 10 and 0.43

  13. Shear strength characteristics of mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste (MBT-MSW) from Bangalore

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sivakumar Babu, G.L., E-mail: gls@civil.iisc.ernet.in [Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Lakshmikanthan, P., E-mail: lakshmikanthancp@gmail.com [Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Santhosh, L.G., E-mail: lgsanthu2006@gmail.com [Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India)

    2015-05-15

    Highlights: • Shear strength properties of mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste. • Effect of unit weight and particle size on the shear strength of waste. • Effect of particle size on the strength properties. • Stiffness ratio and the strength ratio of MSW. - Abstract: Strength and stiffness properties of municipal solid waste (MSW) are important in landfill design. This paper presents the results of comprehensive testing of shear strength properties of mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste (MBT-MSW) in laboratory. Changes in shear strength of MSW as a function of unit weight and particle size were investigated by performing laboratory studies on the MSW collected from Mavallipura landfill site in Bangalore. Direct shear tests, small scale and large scale consolidated undrained and drained triaxial tests were conducted on reconstituted compost reject MSW samples. The triaxial test results showed that the MSW samples exhibited a strain-hardening behaviour and the strength of MSW increased with increase in unit weight. Consolidated drained tests showed that the mobilized shear strength of the MSW increased by 40% for a unit weight increase from 7.3 kN/m{sup 3} to 10.3 kN/m{sup 3} at 20% strain levels. The mobilized cohesion and friction angle ranged from 5 to 9 kPa and 8° to 33° corresponding to a strain level of 20%. The consolidated undrained tests exhibited reduced friction angle values compared to the consolidated drained tests. The friction angle increased with increase in the unit weight from 8° to 55° in the consolidated undrained tests. Minor variations were found in the cohesion values. Relationships for strength and stiffness of MSW in terms of strength and stiffness ratios are developed and discussed. The stiffness ratio and the strength ratio of MSW were found to be 10 and 0.43.

  14. Use of Treated Municipal Wastewater as Power Plant Cooling System Makeup Water: Tertiary Treatment versus Expanded Chemical Regimen for Recirculating Water Quality Management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David Dzombak; Radisav Vidic; Amy Landis

    2012-06-30

    Treated municipal wastewater is a common, widely available alternative source of cooling water for thermoelectric power plants across the U.S. However, the biodegradable organic matter, ammonia-nitrogen, carbonate and phosphates in the treated wastewater pose challenges with respect to enhanced biofouling, corrosion, and scaling, respectively. The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the benefits and life cycle costs of implementing tertiary treatment of secondary treated municipal wastewater prior to use in recirculating cooling systems. The study comprised bench- and pilot-scale experimental studies with three different tertiary treated municipal wastewaters, and life cycle costing and environmental analyses of various tertiary treatment schemes. Sustainability factors and metrics for reuse of treated wastewater in power plant cooling systems were also evaluated. The three tertiary treated wastewaters studied were: secondary treated municipal wastewater subjected to acid addition for pH control (MWW_pH); secondary treated municipal wastewater subjected to nitrification and sand filtration (MWW_NF); and secondary treated municipal wastewater subjected nitrification, sand filtration, and GAC adsorption (MWW_NFG). Tertiary treatment was determined to be essential to achieve appropriate corrosion, scaling, and biofouling control for use of secondary treated municipal wastewater in power plant cooling systems. The ability to control scaling, in particular, was found to be significantly enhanced with tertiary treated wastewater compared to secondary treated wastewater. MWW_pH treated water (adjustment to pH 7.8) was effective in reducing scale formation, but increased corrosion and the amount of biocide required to achieve appropriate biofouling control. Corrosion could be adequately controlled with tolytriazole addition (4-5 ppm TTA), however, which was the case for all of the tertiary treated waters. For MWW_NF treated water, the removal of ammonia by

  15. Fluidized-Bed Bioreactor Applications for Biological Wastewater Treatment: A Review of Research and Developments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael J. Nelson

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Wastewater treatment is a process that is vital to protecting both the environment and human health. At present, the most cost-effective way of treating wastewater is with biological treatment processes such as the activated sludge process, despite their long operating times. However, population increases have created a demand for more efficient means of wastewater treatment. Fluidization has been demonstrated to increase the efficiency of many processes in chemical and biochemical engineering, but it has not been widely used in large-scale wastewater treatment. At the University of Western Ontario, the circulating fluidized-bed bioreactor (CFBBR was developed for treating wastewater. In this process, carrier particles develop a biofilm composed of bacteria and other microbes. The excellent mixing and mass transfer characteristics inherent to fluidization make this process very effective at treating both municipal and industrial wastewater. Studies of lab- and pilot-scale systems showed that the CFBBR can remove over 90% of the influent organic matter and 80% of the nitrogen, and produces less than one-third as much biological sludge as the activated sludge process. Due to its high efficiency, the CFBBR can also be used to treat wastewaters with high organic solid concentrations, which are more difficult to treat with conventional methods because they require longer residence times; the CFBBR can also be used to reduce the system size and footprint. In addition, it is much better at handling and recovering from dynamic loadings (i.e., varying influent volume and concentrations than current systems. Overall, the CFBBR has been shown to be a very effective means of treating wastewater, and to be capable of treating larger volumes of wastewater using a smaller reactor volume and a shorter residence time. In addition, its compact design holds potential for more geographically localized and isolated wastewater treatment systems.

  16. Effect of hydraulic retention time and sludge recirculation on greenhouse gas emission and related microbial communities in two-stage membrane bioreactor treating solid waste leachate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuansawan, Nararatchporn; Boonnorat, Jarungwit; Chiemchaisri, Wilai; Chiemchaisri, Chart

    2016-06-01

    Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and responsible microorganisms during the treatment of municipal solid waste leachate in two-stage membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated. The MBR system, consisting of anaerobic and aerobic stages, were operated at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 5 and 2.5days in each reactor under the presence and absence of sludge recirculation. Organic and nitrogen removals were more than 80% under all operating conditions during which CH4 emission were found highest under no sludge recirculation condition at HRT of 5days. An increase in hydraulic loading resulted in a reduction in CH4 emission from anaerobic reactor but an increase from the aerobic reactor. N2O emission rates were found relatively constant from anaerobic and aerobic reactors under different operating conditions. Diversity of CH4 and N2O producing microorganisms were found decreasing when hydraulic loading rate to the reactors was increased. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Coagulant recovery from water treatment plant sludge and reuse in post-treatment of UASB reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Abhilash T; Ahammed, M Mansoor

    2014-09-01

    In the present study, feasibility of recovering the coagulant from water treatment plant sludge with sulphuric acid and reusing it in post-treatment of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater were studied. The optimum conditions for coagulant recovery from water treatment plant sludge were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Sludge obtained from plants that use polyaluminium chloride (PACl) and alum coagulant was utilised for the study. Effect of three variables, pH, solid content and mixing time was studied using a Box-Behnken statistical experimental design. RSM model was developed based on the experimental aluminium recovery, and the response plots were developed. Results of the study showed significant effects of all the three variables and their interactions in the recovery process. The optimum aluminium recovery of 73.26 and 62.73 % from PACl sludge and alum sludge, respectively, was obtained at pH of 2.0, solid content of 0.5 % and mixing time of 30 min. The recovered coagulant solution had elevated concentrations of certain metals and chemical oxygen demand (COD) which raised concern about its reuse potential in water treatment. Hence, the coagulant recovered from PACl sludge was reused as coagulant for post-treatment of UASB reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater. The recovered coagulant gave 71 % COD, 80 % turbidity, 89 % phosphate, 77 % suspended solids and 99.5 % total coliform removal at 25 mg Al/L. Fresh PACl also gave similar performance but at higher dose of 40 mg Al/L. The results suggest that coagulant can be recovered from water treatment plant sludge and can be used to treat UASB reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater which can reduce the consumption of fresh coagulant in wastewater treatment.

  18. Air purification from TCE and PCE contamination in a hybrid bioreactors and biofilter integrated system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabernacka, Agnieszka; Zborowska, Ewa; Lebkowska, Maria; Borawski, Maciej

    2014-01-15

    A two-stage waste air treatment system, consisting of hybrid bioreactors (modified bioscrubbers) and a biofilter, was used to treat waste air containing chlorinated ethenes - trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). The bioreactor was operated with loadings in the range 0.46-5.50gm(-3)h(-1) for TCE and 2.16-9.02gm(-3)h(-1) for PCE. The biofilter loadings were in the range 0.1-0.97gm(-3)h(-1) for TCE and 0.2-2.12gm(-3)h(-1) for PCE. Under low pollutant loadings, the efficiency of TCE elimination was 23-25% in the bioreactor and 54-70% in the biofilter. The efficiency of PCE elimination was 44-60% in the bioreactor and 50-75% in the biofilter. The best results for the bioreactor were observed one week after the pollutant loading was increased. However, the process did not stabilize. In the next seven days contaminant removal efficiency, enzymatic activity and biomass content were all diminished. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Water reuse by membrane bioreactors (MBR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, G.; Huete, E.; Martinez, L. C.; Torres, A.

    2010-01-01

    This paper shows an up-to date overview of the use of membrane bioreactor (MBR) to obtain water treated for reusing it. Considering the existing rules. it has been presented a summary of published studies in which the quality of the effluent is analyzed in terms on physico-chemical and biological parameters. Furthermore, MBR results are compared with the conventional treatment ones. Due to the suitability of MBR technology for removing pathogens, particular attention has been paid to disinfection process and the mechanism that govern it. Results from reviewed studies of MBR have showed equal or better quality of water treated than conventional treatments (activated sludge plus disinfection tertiary treatment by the addition of antibacterial agents). (Author) 32 refs.

  20. Comparison of aerobic granulation and anaerobic membrane bioreactor technologies for winery wastewater treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basset, N; López-Palau, S; Dosta, J; Mata-Álvarez, J

    2014-01-01

    An anaerobic membrane bioreactor and aerobic granulation technologies were tested at laboratory scale to treat winery wastewater, which is characterised by a high and variable biodegradable organic load. Both technologies have already been tested for alcohol fermentation wastewaters, but there is a lack of data relating to their application to winery wastewater treatment. The anaerobic membrane bioreactor, with an external microfiltration module, was started up for 230 days, achieving a biogas production of up to 0.35 L CH4L(-1)d(-1) when 1.5 kg COD m(-3)d(-1) was applied. Average flux was 10.5 L m(-2) h(-1) (LMH), obtaining a treated effluent free of suspended solids and a chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration lower than 100 mg COD L(-1). In contrast, the aerobic granular sequencing batch reactor coped with 15 kg COD m(-3)d(-1), but effluent quality was slightly worse. Aerobic granulation was identified as a suitable technique to treat this kind of wastewater due to excellent settleability, high biomass retention and a good ability to handle high organic loads and seasonal fluctuations. However, energy generation from anaerobic digestion plays an important role, favouring anaerobic membrane bioreactor application, although it was observed to be sensitive to sudden load fluctuations, which led to a thorough pH control and alkali addition.

  1. Waste water cleaning in high-performance bioreactors; Abwasserreinigung in Hochleistungsbioreaktoren

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holler, S.; Sternad, W.; Troesch, W. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Grenzflaechen- und Bioverfahrenstechnik (IGB), Stuttgart (Germany)

    1999-07-01

    Cleaning of municipal sewage in bioreactors with biomass retention constitutes a modern and sustainable way of cleaning sewage. Contrary to conventional aerated sludge techniques, such systems achieve high productivity at high biomass concentrations. Reactor volume can be kept low, and short retention times are realized. It is shown that a loop reactor in combination with a crossflow microfiltration unit constitutes an appropriate system to meet future demands on sewage cleaning. Such a system can realize a COD turnover of 95 % at retention times of 0.5 hours. Crossflow microfiltration can set the concentration of biomass in the bioreactor to up to 30 grammes of dry substance per litre. (orig.) [German] Die Reinigung kommunaler Abwaesser in Bioreaktoren mit Biomasserueckhaltung stellt ein modernes und nachhaltiges Verfahren zur Abwasserreinigung dar. Im Gegensatz zu konventionellen Belebungsverfahren laesst sich in einem solchen System bei hohen Biomassekonzentrationen eine hohe Produktivitaet erreichen. Das Reaktorvolumen kann gering gehalten werden, und kurze Verweilzeiten koennen realisiert werden. Es wird gezeigt, dass ein Strahlschlaufenreaktor in Kombination mit einer Crossflow-Mikrofiltration ein geeignetes System dargestellt, um die Anforderungen an eine zukuenftige Abwasserreinigung zu gewaehrleisten. In einem solchen System kann ein CSB-Umsatz von 95% bei Verweilzeiten von 0,5 Stunden realisiert werden. Durch Crossflow-Mikrofiltration wird eine Biomassekonzentration bis 30 g TS/l im Bioreaktor eingestellt. (orig.)

  2. Microbiological Analysis of an Active Pilot-Scale Mobile Bioreactor Treating Organic Contaminants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brigmon, R.L.

    1997-01-01

    Samples were obtained for microbiological analysis from a granular activated carbon fluidized bed bioreactor (GAC-FBR). This GAC-FBR was in operation at a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) Site in Augusta Georgia for in situ groundwater bioremediation of organics. The samples included contaminated site groundwater, GAC-FBR effluent, and biofilm coated granular activated carbon at 5, 9, and 13 feet within the GAC-FBR column. The objective of this analysis was to correlate contaminant removal with microbiological activity within the GAC-FBR

  3. A Study on Membrane Bioreactor for Water Reuse from the Effluent of Industrial Town Wastewater Treatment Plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Hosseinzadeh

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Considering the toxic effects of heavy metals and microbial pathogens in industrial wastewaters, it is necessary to treat metal and microbial contaminated wastewater prior to disposal in the environment. The purpose of this study is to assess the removal of heavy metals pollution and microbial contamination from a mixture of municipal and industrial wastewater using membrane bioreactor. Methods: A pilot study with a continuous stream was conducted using a 32-L-activated sludge with a flat sheet membrane. Actual wastewater from industrial wastewater treatment plant was used in this study. Membrane bioreactor was operated with a constant flow rate of 4 L/hr and chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids concentration, six heavy metals concentration, and total coliform amounts were recorded during the operation. Results: High COD, suspended solids, heavy metals, and microbial contamination removal was measured during the experiment. The average removal percentages obtained by the MBR system were 81% for Al, 53% for Fe, 94% for Pb, 91% for Cu, 59% for Ni, and 49% for Cr which indicated the presence of Cu, Ni, and Cr in both soluble and particle forms in mixed liquor while Al, Fe, and Pb were mainly in particulate form. Also, coliforms in the majority of the samples were <140 MPN/100mL that showed that more than 99.9% of total coliform was removed in MBR effluent. Conclusion: The Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR showed a good performance to remove heavy metals and microbial matters as well as COD and suspended solids. The effluent quality was suitable for reusing purposes.

  4. Efficacy of Bioremediation of Agricultural Runoff Using Bacterial Communities in Woodchip Bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortensen, Z. H.; Leandro, M.; Silveus, J. M.

    2016-12-01

    California's agricultural sector is fundamental in the State's economic growth and is responsible for supplying a large portion of the country's produce. In order to meet the market's demand for crop production the region's agrarian landscape requires an abundance of nutrient rich irrigation. The resultant agricultural effluent is a source of increased nutrient content in California's watershed and groundwater systems, promoting eutrophication and contributing to negative impacts on local ecosystems and human health. Previous studies have examined the denitrification potential of woodchip bioreactors. However, research has been deficient regarding specific variables that may affect the remediation process. To evaluate the efficacy of woodchip bioreactors in remediating waters containing high nitrate concentrations, denitrification rates were examined and parameters such as temperature, laminar flow, and hydraulic residence times were measured to identify potential methods for increasing denitrification efficiency. By measuring the rate of denitrification in a controlled environment where potentially confounding factors can be manipulated, physical components affecting the efficiency of woodchip bioreactors were examined to assess effects. Our research suggests the implementation of woodchip bioreactors to treat agricultural runoff would significantly reduce the concentration of nitrate in agricultural effluent and contribute to the mitigation of negative impacts associated with agricultural irrigation. Future research should focus on the ability of woodchip bioreactors to successfully remediate other agricultural pollutants, such as phosphates and pesticides, to optimize the efficiency of the bioremediation process.

  5. Removal of pollutants from pulp and paper mill effluent by anaerobic and aerobic treatment in pilot scale bioreactor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Singh, P.; Katiyar, D.; Gupta, M.

    2011-01-01

    Pilot-scale anaerobic and aerobic treatment in a two-step bioreactor was performed for the removal of pollutants from pulp and paper mill effluent. After seven days of anaerobic treatment, colour (45%), lignin (60%), COD (26%) and adsorbable organic halogen (AOX) (20%) were reduced. The anaerobic......Pilot-scale anaerobic and aerobic treatment in a two-step bioreactor was performed for the removal of pollutants from pulp and paper mill effluent. After seven days of anaerobic treatment, colour (45%), lignin (60%), COD (26%) and adsorbable organic halogen (AOX) (20%) were reduced....... The anaerobically treated effluent was then treated in a bioreactor in the presence of a fungal strain (Aspergillus fumigatus) or a bacterial strain (Pseudomonas ovalis). The results of this study indicated a reduction in colour (76% and 56%), lignin (78% and 68%), COD (85% and 78%) and AOX (70% and 82...

  6. Performance and microbial community composition in a long-term sequential anaerobic-aerobic bioreactor operation treating coking wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, Dev Raj; Zhang, Yu; Tian, Zhe; Gao, Yingxin; Yang, Min

    2016-09-01

    The combined anaerobic-aerobic biosystem is assumed to consume less energy for the treatment of high strength industrial wastewater. In this study, pollutant removal performance and microbial diversity were assessed in a long-term (over 300 days) bench-scale sequential anaerobic-aerobic bioreactor treating coking wastewater. Anaerobic treatment removed one third of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and more than half of the phenols with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 42 h, while the combined system with total HRT of 114 h removed 81.8, 85.6, 99.9, 98.2, and 85.4 % of COD, total organic carbon (TOC), total phenols, thiocyanate, and cyanide, respectively. Two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry showed complete removal of phenol derivatives and nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds (NHCs) via the combined system, with the anaerobic process alone contributing 58.4 and 58.6 % removal on average, respectively. Microbial activity in the bioreactors was examined by 454 pyrosequencing of the bacterial, archaeal, and fungal communities. Proteobacteria (61.2-93.4 %), particularly Betaproteobacteria (34.4-70.1 %), was the dominant bacterial group. Ottowia (14.1-46.7 %), Soehngenia (3.0-8.2 %), and Corynebacterium (0.9-12.0 %), which are comprised of phenol-degrading and hydrolytic bacteria, were the most abundant genera in the anaerobic sludge, whereas Thiobacillus (6.6-43.6 %), Diaphorobacter (5.1-13.0 %), and Comamonas (0.2-11.1 %) were the major degraders of phenol, thiocyanate, and NHCs in the aerobic sludge. Despite the low density of fungi, phenol degrading oleaginous yeast Trichosporon was abundant in the aerobic sludge. This study demonstrated the feasibility and optimization of less energy intensive treatment and the potential association between abundant bacterial groups and biodegradation of key pollutants in coking wastewater.

  7. Following an Optimal Batch Bioreactor Operations Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ibarra-Junquera, V.; Jørgensen, Sten Bay; Virgen-Ortíz, J.J.

    2012-01-01

    The problem of following an optimal batch operation model for a bioreactor in the presence of uncertainties is studied. The optimal batch bioreactor operation model (OBBOM) refers to the bioreactor trajectory for nominal cultivation to be optimal. A multiple-variable dynamic optimization of fed...... as the master system which includes the optimal cultivation trajectory for the feed flow rate and the substrate concentration. The “real” bioreactor, the one with unknown dynamics and perturbations, is considered as the slave system. Finally, the controller is designed such that the real bioreactor...

  8. USE OF MEMBRANE BIOREACTOR FOR BIODEGRADATION OF MTBE IN CONTAMINATED WATER1

    Science.gov (United States)

    An ultrafiltration membrane bioreactor was evaluated for biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in contaminated water. The system was fed 5 mg/L MTBE in granular activated carbon (GAC) treated Cincinnati tap water containing ample buffer and nutrients. Within 120...

  9. Performance enhancement with powdered activated carbon (PAC) addition in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating distillery effluent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Satyawali, Yamini; Balakrishnan, Malini

    2009-01-01

    This work investigated the effect of powdered activated carbon (PAC) addition on the operation of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating sugarcane molasses based distillery wastewater (spentwash). The 8 L reactor was equipped with a submerged 30 μm nylon mesh filter with 0.05 m 2 filtration area. Detailed characterization of the commercial wood charcoal based PAC was performed before using it in the MBR. The MBR was operated over 200 days at organic loading rates (OLRs) varying from 4.2 to 6.9 kg m -3 d -1 . PAC addition controlled the reactor foaming during start up and enhanced the critical flux by around 23%; it also prolonged the duration between filter cleaning. Operation at higher loading rates was possible and for a given OLR, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was higher with PAC addition. However, biodegradation in the reactor was limited and the high molecular weight compounds were not affected by PAC supplementation. The functional groups on PAC appear to interact with the polysaccharide portion of the sludge, which may reduce its propensity to interact with the nylon mesh.

  10. Degradation behaviour and excess sludge production of mixed biocoenoses in membrane bioreactors; Abbauverhalten und Ueberschussschlammproduktion von Mischbiozoenosen in Membranbioreaktoren

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kraume, M. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Verfahrenstechnik; Szewzyk, U. [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Fachgebiet Oekologie und Mikroorganismen

    1999-07-01

    In three different membrane bioreactors (technical scale and pilot scale), process engineering and microbiological studies were carried out over a period of up to three years. The sewage used was sugar-beet molasses slop and municipal sewage. All three plants exhibited stable COD degradation rates of 87 % (molasses slop) and 95 % (municipal sewage). They could be operated during the test period without regular removal of excess sludge. (orig.) [German] An drei unterschiedlichen Membranbioreaktoren (Technikums- und Pilotmassstab) wurden ueber einen Zeitraum von bis zu 3 Jahren verfahrenstechnische und mirkobiologische Untersuchungen durchgefuehrt. Als Abwasser wurde Zuckerrueben-Melasseschlempe und kommunales Abwasser eingesetzt. Alle drei Anlagen zeigten stabile CSB-Abbaugrade von 87% (Melasseschlempe) und 95% (kommunale Abwasser). Sie konnten ueber den Vesuchszeitraum ohne regelmaessigen Abzug von Ueberschussschlamm betrieben werden. (orig.)

  11. Development of an energy-saving anaerobic hybrid membrane bioreactors for 2-chlorophenol-contained wastewater treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yun-Kun; Pan, Xin-Rong; Sheng, Guo-Ping; Li, Wen-Wei; Shi, Bing-Jing; Yu, Han-Qing

    2015-12-01

    A novel energy-saving anaerobic hybrid membrane bioreactor (AnHMBR) with mesh filter, which takes advantage of anaerobic membrane bioreactor and fixed-bed biofilm reactor, is developed for low-strength 2-chlorophenol (2-CP)-contained wastewater treatment. In this system, the anaerobic membrane bioreactor is stuffed with granular activated carbon to construct an anaerobic hybrid fixed-bed biofilm membrane bioreactor. The effluent turbidity from the AnHMBR system was low during most of the operation period, and the chemical oxygen demand and 2-CP removal efficiencies averaged 82.3% and 92.6%, respectively. Furthermore, a low membrane fouling rate was achieved during the operation. During the AnHMBR operation, the only energy consumption was for feed pump. And a low energy demand of 0.0045-0.0063kWhm(-3) was estimated under the current operation conditions. All these results demonstrated that this novel AnHMBR is a sustainable technology for treating 2-CP-contained wastewater. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Biodegradation of formaldehyde from contaminated air using a laboratory scale static-bed bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yaghoub Hajizadeh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the performance of an aerobic fixed-bed bioreactor (FBR enriched with microorganisms of sewage sludge in biodegradation of formaldehyde in air stream with various retention times and airflow rates in laboratory scale. Materials and Methods: An aerobic biofilter 60 cm in height and 14 cm internal diameter made of steel was constructed and packed with a mixture of pumice and compost as a medium and utilized in this study. The microorganism′s growth, which is derived from the sludge of a municipal wastewater treatment plant, was initiated by adding nutrient. During the first few days of run, the airflow containing different concentrations of formaldehyde (from 24 ± 3 to 224 ± 5 mg/m 3 was introduced to the reactor to ensure biological adaptation. Sampling was performed through a series of two impingers containing adsorbent, and analyzed by chromotropic acid assay using DR-5000. Results: The maximum removal and elimination capacity of formaldehyde was yielded at 0.48 ± 0.06 g/m 3 /h inlet loading rate and 180 s of empty bed retention time (EBRT. These values for stabilized days were almost 88% and 0.42 g/m 3 /h, respectively. Conclusion: The results showed that by increasing the inlet concentration of formaldehyde and reducing the EBRT, the formaldehyde removal capacity of the system decreases. Aerobic bioreactor with appropriate bed volume and compatible with inlet pollutant mass flow rate in optimum retention time will admissibly degrade and reduce the formaldehyde concentration from contaminated gas phase, such as gases produced in municipal wastewater treatment facilities.

  13. The kinetics of crossflow dynamic membrane bioreactor | Li | Water SA

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Crossflow dynamic membrane bioreactor (CDMBR) kinetics was investigated by treating caprolactam wastewater over a period of 180 d. The removal efficiencies of organic substances and nitrogen averaged over 99% and 80%, respectively. The observed sludge yield was only 0.14 g SS·g-1 COD·d-1 at an SRT of 30 d ...

  14. Biotreatment of textile effluent in static bioreactor by Curvularia lunata URM 6179 and Phanerochaete chrysosporium URM 6181.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miranda, Rita de Cássia M de; Gomes, Edelvio de Barros; Pereira, Nei; Marin-Morales, Maria Aparecida; Machado, Katia Maria Gomes; Gusmão, Norma Buarque de

    2013-08-01

    Investigations on biodegradation of textile effluent by filamentous fungi strains Curvularia lunata URM 6179 and Phanerochaete chrysosporium URM 6181 were performed in static bioreactors under aerated and non-aerated conditions. Spectrophotometric, HPLC/UV and LC-MS/MS analysis were performed as for to confirm, respectively, decolourisation, biodegradation and identity of compounds in the effluent. Enzymatic assays revealed higher production of enzymes laccase (Lac), lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) by P. chrysosporium URM 6181 in aerated bioreactor (2020; 39 and 392 U/l, respectively). Both strains decolourised completely the effluent after ten days and biodegradation of the most predominant indigo dye was superior in aerated bioreactor (96%). Effluent treated by P. chrysosporium URM 6181 accumulated a mutagenic metabolite derived from indigo. The C. lunata URM 6179 strain, showed to be more successful for assure the environmental quality of treated effluent. These systems were found very effective for efficient fungal treatment of textile effluent. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. A novel symbiotic-bioreactor for treating odorous compounds in waste gas emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsang, Y.F.; Chua, H.; Tam, C.Y.; Chan, S.Y.; Hua, F.L.; Wang, Y.J. [Hong Kong Polytechnic Univ., Hung Hom (Hong Kong)

    2006-07-01

    A symbiotic microbial consortium was used to treat odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hydrogen sulphide (H{sub 2}S) from waste gas streams. The consortium was bred in a laboratory-scale bio-trickling reactor packed with coal slag and fire-expanded clay pellets. The flow rate of VOCs and H{sub 2}S was controlled by needle flow meters. The system operated as a trickling filter under the counter-current flow of gas and liquid streams. The trickling liquid was recirculated by a peristaltic pump at a flow rate of 25 mL/min to maintain the moisture content and pH of the system. The pump was connected to a spray nozzle to uniformly spray the trickling liquid on the surface of the packing materials. The recirculation tank was also used to remove excess biomass from the reactor. VOC concentrations in the gaseous phase were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) equipped with a flame ionization detector. Results of the experiment showed that the symbiotic microbial consortium was able to degrade all introduced VOCs. The system's maximum H{sub 2}S elimination capacity was estimated at 76.2 g/m3 at a constant flow of 4 L/min. However removal efficiency decreased significantly when the H{sub 2}S mass loading was increased to 335.7 g/m3/h. It was concluded that the bioreactor demonstrated superior overall performance with removal efficiencies of over 99 per cent for VOCs and over 98.5 per cent for H{sub 2}S. 14 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs.

  16. Microbial Community Structure and Functions in Ethanol-Fed Sulfate Removal Bioreactors for Treatment of Mine Water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malin Bomberg

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Sulfate-rich mine water must be treated before it is released into natural water bodies. We tested ethanol as substrate in bioreactors designed for biological sulfate removal from mine water containing up to 9 g L−1 sulfate, using granular sludge from an industrial waste water treatment plant as inoculum. The pH, redox potential, and sulfate and sulfide concentrations were measured twice a week over a maximum of 171 days. The microbial communities in the bioreactors were characterized by qPCR and high throughput amplicon sequencing. The pH in the bioreactors fluctuated between 5.0 and 7.7 with the highest amount of up to 50% sulfate removed measured around pH 6. Dissimilatory sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB constituted only between 1% and 15% of the bacterial communities. Predicted bacterial metagenomes indicated a high prevalence of assimilatory sulfate reduction proceeding to formation of l-cystein and acetate, assimilatory and dissimilatory nitrate reduction, denitrification, and oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde with further conversion to ethanolamine, but not to acetate. Despite efforts to maintain optimal conditions for biological sulfate reduction in the bioreactors, only a small part of the microorganisms were SRB. The microbial communities were highly diverse, containing bacteria, archaea, and fungi, all of which affected the overall microbial processes in the bioreactors. While it is important to monitor specific physicochemical parameters in bioreactors, molecular assessment of the microbial communities may serve as a tool to identify biological factors affecting bioreactor functions and to optimize physicochemical attributes for ideal bioreactor performance.

  17. Repairing the Osteochondral Defect in Goat with the Tissue-Engineered Osteochondral Graft Preconstructed in a Double-Chamber Stirring Bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Pei

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the reparative efficacy of tissue-engineered osteochondral (TEO graft for repairing the osteochondral defect in goat, we designed a double-chamber stirring bioreactor to construct the bone and cartilage composites simultaneously in one β-TCP scaffold and observed the reparative effect in vivo. The osteochondral defects were created in goats and all the animals were divided into 3 groups randomly. In groups A, the defect was treated with the TEO which was cultured with mechanical stimulation of stir; in group B, the defect was treated with TEO which was cultured without mechanical stimulation of stir; in groups C, the defect was treated without TEO. At 12 weeks and 24 weeks after operation, the reparative effects in different groups were assessed and compared. The results indicated that the reparative effect of the TEO cultured in the bioreactor was better than the control group, and mechanical stimulation of stir could further improve the reparative effect. We provided a feasible and effective method to construct the TEO for treatment of osteochondral defect using autologous BMSCs and the double-chamber bioreactor.

  18. Membrane bioreactors and their uses in wastewater treatments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le-Clech, Pierre [New South Wales Univ., Sydney (Australia). UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology

    2010-12-15

    With the current need for more efficient and reliable processes for municipal and industrial wastewaters treatment, membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has received considerable attention. After just a couple of decades of existence, MBR can now be considered as an established wastewater treatment system, competing directly with conventional processes like activated sludge treatment plant. However, MBR processes still suffer from major drawbacks, including high operational costs due to the use of anti-fouling strategies applied to the system to maintain sustainable filtration conditions. Moreover, this specific use of membranes has not reached full maturity yet, as MBR suppliers and users still lack experience regarding the long-term performances of the system. Still, major improvements of the MBR design and operation have been witnessed over the recent years, making MBR an option of choice for wastewater treatment and reuse. This mini-review reports recent developments and current research trends in the field. (orig.)

  19. Biogas-pH automation control strategy for optimizing organic loading rate of anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating high COD wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dawei; Liu, Jibao; Sui, Qianwen; Wei, Yuansong

    2016-03-01

    Control of organic loading rate (OLR) is essential for anaerobic digestion treating high COD wastewater, which would cause operation failure by overload or less efficiency by underload. A novel biogas-pH automation control strategy using the combined gas-liquor phase monitoring was developed for an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treating high COD (27.53 g·L(-1)) starch wastewater. The biogas-pH strategy was proceeded with threshold between biogas production rate >98 Nml·h(-1) preventing overload and pH>7.4 preventing underload, which were determined by methane production kinetics and pH titration of methanogenesis slurry, respectively. The OLR and the effluent COD were doubled as 11.81 kgCOD·kgVSS(-1)·d(-1) and halved as 253.4 mg·L(-1), respectively, comparing with a constant OLR control strategy. Meanwhile COD removal rate, biogas yield and methane concentration were synchronously improved to 99.1%, 312 Nml·gCODin(-1) and 74%, respectively. Using the biogas-pH strategy, AnMBR formed a "pH self-regulation ternary buffer system" which seizes carbon dioxide and hence provides sufficient buffering capacity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Dominance of candidate Saccharibacteria in a membrane bioreactor treating medium age landfill leachate: Effects of organic load on microbial communities, hydrolytic potential and extracellular polymeric substances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remmas, Nikolaos; Melidis, Paraschos; Zerva, Ioanna; Kristoffersen, Jon Bent; Nikolaki, Sofia; Tsiamis, George; Ntougias, Spyridon

    2017-08-01

    A membrane bioreactor (MBR), accomplishing high nitrogen removal efficiencies, was evaluated under various landfill leachate concentrations (50, 75 and 100% v/v). Proteinous and carbohydrate extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and soluble microbial product (SMP) were strongly correlated (p<0.01) with organic load, salinity and NH 4 + -N. Exceptionally high β-glucosidase activities (6700-10,100Ug -1 ) were determined during MBR operation with 50% v/v leachate, as a result of the low organic carbon availability that extendedly induced β-glucosidases to breakdown the least biodegradable organic fraction. Illumina sequencing revealed that candidate Saccharibacteria were dominant, independently of the leachate concentration applied, whereas other microbiota (21.2% of total reads) disappeared when undiluted leachate was used. Fungal taxa shifted from a Saccharomyces- to a newly-described Cryptomycota-based community with increasing leachate concentration. Indeed, this is the first report on the dominance of candidate Saccharibacteria and on the examination of their metabolic behavior in a bioreactor treating real wastewater. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Biogeochemistry of the compost bioreactor components of a composite acid mine drainage passive remediation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, D. Barrie; Hallberg, Kevin B.

    2005-01-01

    The compost bioreactor ('anaerobic cell') components of three composite passive remediation systems constructed to treat acid mine drainage (AMD) at the former Wheal Jane tin mine, Cornwall, UK were studied over a period of 16 months. While there was some amelioration of the preprocessed AMD in each of the three compost bioreactors, as evidenced by pH increase and decrease in metal concentrations, only one of the cells showed effective removal of the two dominant heavy metals (iron and zinc) present. With two of the compost bioreactors, concentrations of soluble (ferrous) iron draining the cells were significantly greater than those entering the reactors, indicating that there was net mobilisation (by reductive dissolution) of colloidal and/or solid-phase ferric iron compounds within the cells. Soluble sulfide was also detected in waters draining all three compost bioreactors which was rapidly oxidised, in contrast to ferrous iron. Oxidation and hydrolysis of iron, together with sulfide oxidation, resulted in reacidification of processed AMD downstream of the compost bioreactors in two of the passive treatment systems. The dominant cultivatable microorganism in waters draining the compost bioreactors was identified, via analysis of its 16S rRNA gene, as a Thiomonas sp. and was capable of accelerating the dissimilatory oxidation of both ferrous iron and reduced sulfur compounds. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were also detected, although only in the bioreactor that was performing well were these present in significant numbers. This particular compost bioreactor had been shut down for 10 months prior to the monitoring period due to operational problems. This unforeseen event appears to have allowed more successful development of AMD-tolerant and other microbial populations with critical roles in AMD bioremediation, including neutrophilic SRB (nSRB), in this compost bioreactor than in the other two, where the throughput of AMD was not interrupted. This study has

  2. Biogeochemistry of the compost bioreactor components of a composite acid mine drainage passive remediation system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, D Barrie; Hallberg, Kevin B

    2005-02-01

    The compost bioreactor ("anaerobic cell") components of three composite passive remediation systems constructed to treat acid mine drainage (AMD) at the former Wheal Jane tin mine, Cornwall, UK were studied over a period of 16 months. While there was some amelioration of the preprocessed AMD in each of the three compost bioreactors, as evidenced by pH increase and decrease in metal concentrations, only one of the cells showed effective removal of the two dominant heavy metals (iron and zinc) present. With two of the compost bioreactors, concentrations of soluble (ferrous) iron draining the cells were significantly greater than those entering the reactors, indicating that there was net mobilisation (by reductive dissolution) of colloidal and/or solid-phase ferric iron compounds within the cells. Soluble sulfide was also detected in waters draining all three compost bioreactors which was rapidly oxidised, in contrast to ferrous iron. Oxidation and hydrolysis of iron, together with sulfide oxidation, resulted in reacidification of processed AMD downstream of the compost bioreactors in two of the passive treatment systems. The dominant cultivatable microorganism in waters draining the compost bioreactors was identified, via analysis of its 16S rRNA gene, as a Thiomonas sp. and was capable of accelerating the dissimilatory oxidation of both ferrous iron and reduced sulfur compounds. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were also detected, although only in the bioreactor that was performing well were these present in significant numbers. This particular compost bioreactor had been shut down for 10 months prior to the monitoring period due to operational problems. This unforeseen event appears to have allowed more successful development of AMD-tolerant and other microbial populations with critical roles in AMD bioremediation, including neutrophilic SRB (nSRB), in this compost bioreactor than in the other two, where the throughput of AMD was not interrupted. This study has

  3. Mechanisms and Effectivity of Sulfate Reducing Bioreactors Using a Chitinous Substrate in Treating Mining Influenced Water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mining-influenced water (MIW) is the main environmental challenge associated with the mining industry. Passive MIW remediation can be achieved through microbial activity in sulfate-reducing bioreactors (SRBRs), but their actual removal rates depend on different factors, one of wh...

  4. Impact of Coagulant and Flocculant Addition to an Anaerobic Dynamic Membrane Bioreactor (AnDMBR) Treating Waste-Activated Sludge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kooijman, Guido; Lopes, Wilton; Zhou, Zhongbo; Guo, Hongxiao; de Kreuk, Merle; Spanjers, Henri; van Lier, Jules

    2017-03-23

    In this work, we investigated the effects of flocculation aid (FA) addition to an anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR) (7 L, 35 °C) treating waste-activated sludge (WAS). The experiment consisted of three distinct periods. In period 1 (day 1-86), the reactor was operated as a conventional anaerobic digester with a solids retention time (SRT) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 days. In period 2 (day 86-303), the HRT was lowered to 18 days with the application of a dynamic membrane while the SRT was kept the same. In period 3 (day 303-386), a cationic FA in combination with FeCl₃ was added. The additions led to a lower viscosity, which was expected to lead to an increased digestion performance. However, the FAs caused irreversible binding of the substrate, lowering the volatile solids destruction from 32% in period 2 to 24% in period 3. An accumulation of small particulates was observed in the sludge, lowering the average particle size by 50%. These particulates likely caused pore blocking in the cake layer, doubling the trans-membrane pressure. The methanogenic consortia were unaffected. Dosing coagulants and flocculants into an AnDMBR treating sludge leads to a decreased cake layer permeability and decreased sludge degradation.

  5. Energy Consumption in Terms of Shear Stress for Two Types of Membrane Bioreactors Used for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ratkovich, Nicolas Rios; Bentzen, Thomas Ruby; Bérube, P.R.

    2011-01-01

    Two types of submerged membrane bioreactors (MBR): Hollow Fiber (HF) and Hollow Sheet (HS), have been studied and compared in terms of energy consumption and average shear stress over the membrane wall. The analysis of energy consumption was made using the correlation to determine the blower power...

  6. Study on potency of municipal solid waste conversion into renewable energy by thermal incineration and bioconversion: case study of Medan city

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarah, Maya; Misran, Erni

    2018-03-01

    Municipal solid waste (MSW) in Medan City is facing problems either with the quantity and management of MSW. Local authority only dumped approximately 73.9% MSW in the landfill over the years. Spontaneous phenomena of methane formation in dumping site indicates the potency of MSW conversion into energy by biochemical conversion. On the contrary, the presence of plastics, woods, papers, etc. in the MSW show the potency of MSW to be treated by thermal conversion. Both thermal incineration and anaerobic digestion may convert MSW Medan City into energy. This study evaluates potency of MSW conversion into renewable energy using proximate and ultimate analysis. Overall, MSW of Medan City has the opportunities to be converted into energy by both thermal and biochemical conversion with a special requirement such as pre-dry the MSW prior incineration process and degrade organic MSW in a bioreactor.

  7. Application of anaerobic bioreactor landfilling as an energy production alternative in developing countries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sartaj, M.; Ahmadifar, M. [Isfahan Univ. of Technology (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Civil Engineering

    2009-07-01

    Despite increases in recycling, composting, and incineration, landfilling remains the major method for managing municipal solid wastes (MSW) worldwide. The most common problems associated with landfill operation are the generation of leachate and gases. Methane gas is a by-product of MSW landfilling and is the third most important greenhouse gas after water vapor and carbon dioxide. This study investigated the feasibility of using anaerobic bioreactors for methane production from MSW in developing countries. Laboratory scale studies were conducted to investigate the performance of a bioreactor reactor under anaerobic conditions as an alternative waste management strategy and gas production. The reactor was made of a plastic container measuring 0.5 x 0.5 x 1.0 m. MSW was placed into the reactor in layers and compacted to achieve a density of 550 kg/m{sup 3}. Twenty eight litres of leachate was recirculated daily for 157 days. The final chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the leachate reduced from a maximum value of 64900 mg/L to a value of 5300 mg/L, showing a 92 per cent reduction. The average methane concentration in generated gas was 58 per cent and gas generation rate was 90 L/kg of waste on wet basis. It was concluded that anaerobic bioreactor technology with accompanying leachate recirculation performs very well in terms of decomposition of MSW and reduction of COD of the leachate. It also has a considerable potential for methane production which could be used as a source of energy. 10 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs.

  8. Bioreactors in tissue engineering - principles, applications and commercial constraints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansmann, Jan; Groeber, Florian; Kahlig, Alexander; Kleinhans, Claudia; Walles, Heike

    2013-03-01

    Bioreactor technology is vital for tissue engineering. Usually, bioreactors are used to provide a tissue-specific physiological in vitro environment during tissue maturation. In addition to this most obvious application, bioreactors have the potential to improve the efficiency of the overall tissue-engineering concept. To date, a variety of bioreactor systems for tissue-specific applications have been developed. Of these, some systems are already commercially available. With bioreactor technology, various functional tissues of different types were generated and cultured in vitro. Nevertheless, these efforts and achievements alone have not yet led to many clinically successful tissue-engineered implants. We review possible applications for bioreactor systems within a tissue-engineering process and present basic principles and requirements for bioreactor development. Moreover, the use of bioreactor systems for the expansion of clinically relevant cell types is addressed. In contrast to cell expansion, for the generation of functional three-dimensional tissue equivalents, additional physical cues must be provided. Therefore, bioreactors for musculoskeletal tissue engineering are discussed. Finally, bioreactor technology is reviewed in the context of commercial constraints. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Aerobic SMBR/reverse osmosis system enhanced by Fenton oxidation for advanced treatment of old municipal landfill leachate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Guoliang; Qin, Lei; Meng, Qin; Fan, Zheng; Wu, Dexin

    2013-08-01

    A novel combined process of Fenton oxidation, submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) and reverse osmosis (RO) was applied as an appropriate option for old municipal landfill leachate treatment. Fenton process was designed to intensively solve the problem of non-biodegradable organic pollutant removal and low biodegradability of leachate, although the removal of ammonia-nitrogen was similar to 10%. After SMBR treatment, it not only presented a higher removal efficiency of organics, but also exhibited high ammonia-nitrogen removal of 80% on average. The variation of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) content, zeta potential, and particle size of flocs after Fenton effluent continually fed in SMBR was found to be benefit for alleviating membrane fouling. Finally, three kinds of RO membranes (RE, CPA, and BW) were applied to treat SMBR effluents and successfully met wastewater re-utilization requirement. Compared with simple RO process, the troublesome membrane fouling can be effectively reduced in the combined process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Biological reduction of nitrates in wastewaters from nuclear processing using a fluidized-bed bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pitt, W.W.; Hancher, C.W.; Patton, B.D.

    1981-01-01

    There are a number of nitrate-containing wastewater sources, as concentrated as 30 wt.% NO 3 - and as large as 2000 m 3 /day, in the nuclear fuel cycle. The biological reduction of nitrate in wastewater to gaseous nitrogen, accompanied by the oxidation of a nutrient carbon source to gaseous carbon dioxide, is an ecologically sound and cost-effective method of treating wastewaters containing nitrates. These nitrate-containing wastewater sources can be successfully biologically denitrified to meet discharge standards in the range of 10 to 20 gN(NO 3 - )/m 3 by the use of a fluidized-bed bioreactor. The denitrification bacteria are a mixed culture derived from garden soil; the major strain is Pseudomonas. In the fluidized-bed bioreactor the bacteria are allowed to attach to 0.25- to 0.50-mm-diam coal fluidization particles, which are then fluidized by the upward flow of influent wastewater. Maintaining the bacteria-to-coal weight ratio at approximately 1:10 results in a bioreactor bacteria loading of greater than 20,000 g/m 3 . This paper describes the results of a biodenitrification R and D program based on the use of fluidized bioreactors capable of operating at nitrate levels up to 7000 g/m 3 and achieving denitrification rates as high as 80 g N(NO 3 - ) per day per liter of empty bioreactor volume. 4 figures, 7 tables

  11. Mitigation of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from denitrifying fluidized bed bioreactors (DFBBRs) using calcium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eldyasti, Ahmed; Nakhla, George; Zhu, Jesse

    2014-12-01

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a significant anthropogenic greenhouse gases (AnGHGs) emitted from biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes. In this study, N2O production from denitrifying fluidized bed bioreactors (DFBBR) was reduced using calcium (Ca2+) dosage. The DFBBRs were operated on a synthetic municipal wastewater at four different calcium concentrations ranging from the typical municipal wastewater Ca2+ concentration (60 mg Ca2+/L) to 240 mg Ca2+/L at two different COD/N ratios. N2O emission rates, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), water quality parameters, and microscopic images were monitored regularly in both phases. Calcium concentrations played a significant role in biofilm morphology with the detachment rates for R120Ca, R180Ca, and R240Ca 75% lower than for R60Ca, respectively. The N2O conversion rate at the typical municipal wastewater Ca2+ concentration (R60Ca) was about 0.53% of the influent nitrogen loading as compared with 0.34%, 0.42%, and 0.41% for R120Ca, R180Ca, and R240Ca, respectively corresponding to 21-36% reduction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Critical flux and chemical cleaning-in-place during the long-term operation of a pilot-scale submerged membrane bioreactor for municipal wastewater treatment

    KAUST Repository

    Wei, Chunhai

    2011-01-01

    The critical flux and chemical cleaning-in-place (CIP) in a long-term operation of a pilot-scale submerged membrane bioreactor for municipal wastewater treatment were investigated. Steady filtration under high flux (30 L/(m2 h)) was successfully achieved due to effective membrane fouling control by sub-critical flux operation and chemical CIP with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) in both trans-membrane pressure (TMP) controlling mode (cleaning with high concentration NaClO of 2000-3000 mg/L in terms of effective chorine was performed when TMP rose to 15 kPa) and time controlling mode (cleanings were performed weekly and monthly respectively with low concentration NaClO (500-1000 mg/L) and high concentration NaClO (3000 mg/L)). Microscopic analysis on membrane fibers before and after high concentration NaClO was also conducted. Images of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that NaClO CIP could effectively remove gel layer, the dominant fouling under sub-critical flux operation. Porosity measurements indicated that NaClO CIP could partially remove pore blockage fouling. The analyses from fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) with attenuated total reflectance accessory (ATR) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) demonstrated that protein-like macromolecular organics and inorganics were the important components of the fouling layer. The analysis of effluent quality before and after NaClO CIP showed no obvious effect on effluent quality. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

  13. Effect of different leachate/acetate ratios in a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAnMBR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taskan, Ergin [Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Firat University, Elazig (Turkey); Hasar, Halil [Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Firat University, Elazig (Turkey); National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Maslak, Istanbul (Turkey)

    2012-05-15

    Leachate treatment using a membrane bioreactor is an effective method. This study presents a configuration including an anaerobic bioreactor and a membrane module, called submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAnMBR), for treating influent with leachate/acetate rations (L/A), that were kept to be 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100% at a constant SRT (100 days). COD removal decreased from 85 to 75% when the L/A ratio increased from 10 to 100. To prevent membrane fouling, a SAnMBR was operated in the case of circulation of mixed liquor under continuous and intermittent suction. The average fluxes were 2.60 and 0.40 L/m{sup 2} h at the periods of intermittent and continuous suction, respectively. The methane production varied between 0.25 and 0.32 L CH{sub 4}/g COD{sub removed}. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  14. The effects of tertiary treated municipal wastewater on fish communities of a small river tributary in Southern Ontario, Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Carolyn J.M.; Knight, Brendan W.; McMaster, Mark E.; Munkittrick, Kelly R.; Oakes, Ken D.; Tetreault, Grald R.; Servos, Mark R.

    2011-01-01

    Fish community changes associated with a tertiary treated municipal wastewater effluent outfall in the Speed River, Ontario, Canada, were evaluated at nine sites over two seasons (2008) using standardized electrofishing. Habitat evaluations were conducted to ensure that the riffle sites selected were physically similar. The fish community was dominated by several species of darters that differed in their response to the effluent outfall. There was a significant decrease in Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blennioides) but an increase in Rainbow Darter (E. caeruleum) abundance directly downstream of the outfall. Stable isotope signatures (δ 13 C and δ 15 N), which indicate shifts in energy utilization and flow, increased in Rainbow Darter downstream, but showed no change in Greenside Darter. Rainbow Darter may be exploiting a food source that is not as available at upstream sites giving them a competitive advantage over the Greenside Darter immediately downstream of the outfall. - Highlights: → Fish communities are altered by tertiary treated municipal wastewater exposure. → Relative abundance of the two dominant fish (darter) species changed downstream. → Differing stable isotope signatures in fish suggests shifting energy flow and diet. → The altered environment may allow resilient species a competitive advantage. → The system recovers quickly downstream. - Tertiary treated effluent altered fish community composition in a small receiving stream possibly as a result of altered availability of resources (diet) as indicated by stable isotopes.

  15. Bioreactor design and optimization – a future perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gernaey, Krist

    2011-01-01

    Bioreactor design and optimisation are essential in translating the experience gained from lab or pilot scale experiments to efficient production processes in industrial scale bioreactors. This article gives a future perspective on bioreactor design and optimisation, where it is foreseen...

  16. Bioreactor design for tendon/ligament engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Tao; Gardiner, Bruce S; Lin, Zhen; Rubenson, Jonas; Kirk, Thomas B; Wang, Allan; Xu, Jiake; Smith, David W; Lloyd, David G; Zheng, Ming H

    2013-04-01

    Tendon and ligament injury is a worldwide health problem, but the treatment options remain limited. Tendon and ligament engineering might provide an alternative tissue source for the surgical replacement of injured tendon. A bioreactor provides a controllable environment enabling the systematic study of specific biological, biochemical, and biomechanical requirements to design and manufacture engineered tendon/ligament tissue. Furthermore, the tendon/ligament bioreactor system can provide a suitable culture environment, which mimics the dynamics of the in vivo environment for tendon/ligament maturation. For clinical settings, bioreactors also have the advantages of less-contamination risk, high reproducibility of cell propagation by minimizing manual operation, and a consistent end product. In this review, we identify the key components, design preferences, and criteria that are required for the development of an ideal bioreactor for engineering tendons and ligaments.

  17. Study of Kinetic coefficients of a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR for municipal wastewater treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Naghizadeh

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: In order to design membrane bioreactors (MBR properly, it is essential to comprehend the behavior of microorganisms in such wastewater treatment processes. Materials & Methods: In this study, a lab-scale MBR process was operated to determine the biokinetic coefficients of the MBR system under different MLSS concentrations of 6800, 7000, 7400, and 7800 mg/l and organic loading rates of 0.5 kg COD/m3/day. Results: The results of this study showed that the yield of microorganisms (Y, the endogenous decay coefficient (kd, the maximum specific growth rate (μmax and the saturation constant (Ks were in the range of 0.67 g VSS/g COD, 0.56 d−1, 1.86 d−1 and 6.65 mg COD/l, respectively. Conclusions: The kinetic coefficients in this study can be used to improve the operation and design the MBR system in full scale.

  18. Designing electrical stimulated bioreactors for nerve tissue engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagita, Ignasius Dwi; Whulanza, Yudan; Dhelika, Radon; Nurhadi, Ibrahim

    2018-02-01

    Bioreactor provides a biomimetic ecosystem that is able to culture cells in a physically controlled system. In general, the controlled-parameters are temperature, pH, fluid flow, nutrition flow, etc. In this study, we develop a bioreactor that specifically targeted to culture neural stem cells. This bioreactor could overcome some limitations of conventional culture technology, such as petri dish, by providing specific range of observation area and a uniform treatment. Moreover, the microfluidic bioreactor, which is a small-controlled environment, is able to observe as small number of cells as possible. A perfusion flow is applied to mimic the physiological environment in human body. Additionally, this bioreactor also provides an electrical stimulation which is needed by neural stem cells. In conclusion, we found the correlation between the induced shear stress with geometric parameters of the bioreactor. Ultimately, this system shall be used to observe the interaction between stimulation and cell growth.

  19. Fouling Characterization of Forward Osmosis Biomimetic Aquaporin Membranes Used for Water Recovery from Municipal Wastewater

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zarebska, Agata; Petrinic, Irena; Hey, Tobias

    , organic, and biological fouling, membrane characterization is not a trivial task. The aim of this work is to characterize fouling of FO biomimetic aquaporin membranes during water recovery from municipal wastewater. Membrane fouling was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Dispersive......Generally more than 99.93% of municipal wastewater is composed of water, therefore water recovery can alleviate global water stress which currently exists. Traditional ways to extract water from wastewater by the use of membrane bioreactors combined with reverse osmosis (RO), or micro...... compared to other pressure driven membrane processes, some fouling can occur. This entails that by reducing fouling, increased FO membrane performance can be expected, thus increasing the economic viability of FO processes. Since various types of fouling might occur in membrane systems such as inorganic...

  20. Effects of dissolved organic matters (DOMs) on membrane fouling in anaerobic ceramic membrane bioreactors (AnCMBRs) treating domestic wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yue, Xiaodi; Koh, Yoong Keat Kelvin; Ng, How Yong

    2015-12-01

    Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) have been regarded as a potential solution to achieve energy neutrality in the future wastewater treatment plants. Coupling ceramic membranes into AnMBRs offers great potential as ceramic membranes are resistant to corrosive chemicals such as cleaning reagents and harsh environmental conditions such as high temperature. In this study, ceramic membranes with pore sizes of 80, 200 and 300 nm were individually mounted in three anaerobic ceramic membrane bioreactors (AnCMBRs) treating real domestic wastewater to examine the treatment efficiencies and to elucidate the effects of dissolved organic matters (DOMs) on fouling behaviours. The average overall chemical oxygen demands (COD) removal efficiencies could reach around 86-88%. Although CH4 productions were around 0.3 L/g CODutilised, about 67% of CH4 generated was dissolved in the liquid phase and lost in the permeate. When filtering mixed liquor of similar properties, smaller pore-sized membranes fouled slower in long-term operations due to lower occurrence of pore blockages. However, total organic removal efficiencies could not explain the fouling behaviours. Liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection, fluorescence spectrophotometer and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence and ultra-violet detectors were used to analyse the DOMs in detail. The major foulants were identified to be biopolymers that were produced in microbial activities. One of the main components of biopolymers--proteins--led to different fouling behaviours. It is postulated that the proteins could pass through porous cake layers to create pore blockages in membranes. Hence, concentrations of the DOMs in the soluble fraction of mixed liquor (SML) could not predict membrane fouling because different components in the DOMs might have different interactions with membranes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Biological manganese removal from acid mine drainage in constructed wetlands and prototype bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallberg, Kevin B; Johnson, D Barrie

    2005-02-01

    Mine drainage waters vary considerably in the range and concentration of heavy metals they contain. Besides iron, manganese is frequently present at elevated concentrations in waters draining both coal and metal mines. Passive treatment systems (aerobic wetlands and compost bioreactors) are designed to remove iron by biologically induced oxidation/precipitation. Manganese, however, is problematic as it does not readily form sulfidic minerals and requires elevated pH (>8) for abiotic oxidation of Mn (II) to insoluble Mn (IV). As a result, manganese removal in passive remediation systems is often less effective than removal of iron. This was found to be the case at the pilot passive treatment plant (PPTP) constructed to treat water draining the former Wheal Jane tin mine in Cornwall, UK, where effective removal of manganese occurred only in one of the three rock filter components of the composite systems over a 1-year period of monitoring. Water in the two rock filter systems where manganese removal was relatively poor was generally system. These differences in water chemistry and manganese removal were due to variable performances in the compost bioreactors that feed the rock filter units in the composite passive systems at Wheal Jane. An alternative approach for removing soluble manganese from mine waters, using fixed bed bioreactors, was developed. Ferromanganese nodules (about 2 cm diameter), collected from an abandoned mine adit in north Wales, were used to inoculate the bioreactors (working volume ca. 700 ml). Following colonization by manganese-oxidizing microbes, the aerated bioreactor catalysed the removal of soluble manganese, via oxidation of Mn (II) and precipitation of the resultant Mn (IV) in the bioreactor, in synthetic media and mine water from the Wheal Jane PPTP. Such an approach has potential application for removing soluble Mn from mine streams and other Mn-contaminated water courses.

  2. Bioreactor technology for herbal plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sobri Hussein; Rusli Ibrahim; Abdul Rahim Harun; Azhar Mohamad; Hawa Abdul Aziz; Wan Nazirah Wan Ali

    2010-01-01

    Plants have been an important source of medicine for thousands of years and herbs are hot currency in the world today. During the last decade, popularity of alternative medicine increased significantly worldwide with noticeable trend. This in turn accelerated the global trade of herbal raw materials and herbal products and created greater scope for Asian countries that possess the major supply of herbal raw materials within their highly diversified tropical rain forest. As such, advanced bioreactor culture system possesses a great potential for large scale production than the traditional tissue culture system. Bioreactor cultures have many advantages over conventional cultures. Plant cells in bioreactors can grow fast and vigorously in shorter period as the culture conditions in bioreactor such as temperature, pH, concentrations of dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide and nutrients can be optimised by on-line manipulation. Nutrient uptake can also be enhanced by continuous medium circulation, which ultimately increased cell proliferation rate. Consequently, production period and cost are substantially reduced, product quality is controlled and standardized as well as free of pesticide contamination and production of raw material can be conducted all year round. Taking all these into consideration, current research efforts were focused on varying several parameters such as inoculation density, air flow, medium formulation, PGRs etc. for increased production of cell and organ cultures of high market demand herbal and medicinal plants, particularly Eurycoma longifolia, Panax ginseng and Labisia pumila. At present, the production of cell and organ culture of these medicinal plants have also been applied in airlift bioreactor with different working volumes. It is hope that the investment of research efforts into this advanced bioreactor technology will open up a bright future for the modernization of agriculture and commercialisation of natural product. (author)

  3. Impact Of Aerobic Biostabilisation And Biodrying Process Of Municipal Solid Waste On Minimisation Of Waste Deposited In Landfills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dziedzic Krzysztof

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses an innovative system used for aerobic biostabilisation and biological drying of solid municipal waste. A mechanical–biological process (MBT of municipal solid waste (MSW treatment were carried out and monitored in 5 bioreactors. A two-stage biological treatment process has been used in the investigation. In the first step an undersize fraction was subjected to the biological stabilisation for a period of 14 days as a result of which there was a decrease of loss on ignition, but not sufficient to fulfill the requirements of MBT technology. In the second stage of a biological treatment has been applied 7-days intensive bio-drying of MSW using sustained high temperatures in bioreactor. The article presents the results of the chemical composition analysis of the undersize fraction and waste after biological drying, and also the results of temperature changes, pH ratio, loss on ignition, moisture content, combustible and volatile matter content, heat of combustion and calorific value of wastes. The mass balance of the MBT of MSW with using the innovative aeration system showed that only 14.5% of waste need to be landfilled, 61.5% could be used for thermal treatment, and nearly 19% being lost in the process as CO2 and H2O.

  4. Process technology of luwak coffee through bioreactor utilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadipernata, M.; Nugraha, S.

    2018-01-01

    Indonesia has an advantage in producing exotic coffee that is Luwak coffee. Luwak coffee is produced from the fermentation process in digestion of civet. Luwak coffee production is still limited due to the difficulty level in the use of civet animals as the only medium of Luwak coffee making. The research was conducted by developing technology of luwak coffee production through bioreactor utilization and addition the bacteria isolate from gastric of civet. The process conditions in the bioreactor which include temperature, pH, and bacteria isolate of civet are adjusted to the process that occurs in civet digestion, including peristaltic movement on the stomach and small intestine of the civet will be replaced by the use of propellers that rotate on the bioreactor. The result of research showed that proximat analysis data of artificial/bioreactor luwak coffee did not significant different with original luwak coffee. However, the original luwak coffee has higher content of caffeine compared to bioreactor luwak coffee. Based on the cuping test the bioreactor luwak coffee has a value of 84.375, while the original luwak coffee is 84.875. As the result, bioreactor luwak coffee has excellent taste that similiar with original luwak coffee taste.

  5. Effects of the dissolved organic carbon of treated municipal wastewater on soil infiltration as related to sodium adsorption ratio and pH

    Science.gov (United States)

    Increasing scarcity of fresh water in arid and semi arid regions means that we must utilize alternative water supplies for irrigation if we are to sustain agricultural production in these regions. Treated municipal wastewaters are being increasingly utilized for irrigation. In general only the salin...

  6. Anaerobic digestion of citrus waste using two-stage membrane bioreactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millati, Ria; Lukitawesa; Dwi Permanasari, Ervina; Wulan Sari, Kartika; Nur Cahyanto, Muhammad; Niklasson, Claes; Taherzadeh, Mohammad J.

    2018-03-01

    Anaerobic digestion is a promising method to treat citrus waste. However, the presence of limonene in citrus waste inhibits anaerobic digestion process. Limonene is an antimicrobial compound and could inhibit methane forming bacteria that takes a longer time to recover than the injured acid forming bacteria. Hence, volatile fatty acids will be accumulated and methane production will be decreased. One way to solve this problem is by conducting anaerobic digestion process into two stages. The first step is aimed for hydrolysis, acidogenesis, and acetogenesis reactions and the second stage is aimed for methanogenesis reaction. The separation of the system would further allow each stage in their optimum conditions making the process more stable. In this research, anaerobic digestion was carried out in batch operations using 120 ml-glass bottle bioreactors in 2 stages. The first stage was performed in free-cells bioreactor, whereas the second stage was performed in both bioreactor of free cells and membrane bioreactor. In the first stage, the reactor was set into ‘anaerobic’ and ‘semi-aerobic’ conditions to examine the effect of oxygen on facultative anaerobic bacteria in acid production. In the second stage, the protection of membrane towards the cells against limonene was tested. For the first stage, the basal medium was prepared with 1.5 g VS of inoculum and 4.5 g VS of citrus waste. The digestion process was carried out at 55°C for four days. For the second stage, the membrane bioreactor was prepared with 3 g of cells that were encased and sealed in a 3×6 cm2 polyvinylidene fluoride membrane. The medium contained 40 ml basal medium and 10 ml liquid from the first stage. The bioreactors were incubated at 55°C for 2 days under anaerobic condition. The results from the first stage showed that the maximum total sugar under ‘anaerobic’ and ‘semi-aerobic’ conditions was 294.3 g/l and 244.7 g/l, respectively. The corresponding values for total volatile

  7. Osmotic membrane bioreactor for phenol biodegradation under continuous operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Praveen, Prashant; Loh, Kai-Chee, E-mail: chelohkc@nus.edu.sg

    2016-03-15

    Highlights: • Osmotic membrane bioreactor was used for phenol biodegradation in continuous mode. • Extractant impregnated membranes were used to alleviate substrate inhibition. • Phenol removal was achieved through both biodegradation and membrane rejection. • Phenol concentrations up to 2500 mg/L were treated at HRT varying in 2.8–14 h. • A biofilm removal strategy was formulated to improve bioreactor sustainability. - Abstract: Continuous phenol biodegradation was accomplished in a two-phase partitioning osmotic membrane bioreactor (TPPOMBR) system, using extractant impregnated membranes (EIM) as the partitioning phase. The EIMs alleviated substrate inhibition during prolonged operation at influent phenol concentrations of 600–2000 mg/L, and also at spiked concentrations of 2500 mg/L phenol restricted to 2 days. Filtration of the effluent through forward osmosis maintained high biomass concentration in the bioreactor and improved effluent quality. Steady state was reached in 5–6 days at removal rates varying between 2000 and 5500 mg/L-day under various conditions. Due to biofouling and salt accumulation, the permeate flux varied from 1.2–7.2 LMH during 54 days of operation, while maintaining an average hydraulic retention time of 7.4 h. A washing cycle, comprising 1 h osmotic backwashing using 0.5 M NaCl and 2 h washing with water, facilitated biofilm removal from the membranes. Characterization of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) through FTIR showed peaks between 1700 and 1500 cm{sup −1}, 1450–1450 cm{sup −1} and 1200–1000 cm{sup −1}, indicating the presence of proteins, phenols and polysaccharides, respectively. The carbohydrate to protein ratio in the EPS was estimated to be 0.3. These results indicate that TPPOMBR can be promising in continuous treatment of phenolic wastewater.

  8. Schisandra lignans production regulated by different bioreactor type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szopa, Agnieszka; Kokotkiewicz, Adam; Luczkiewicz, Maria; Ekiert, Halina

    2017-04-10

    Schisandra chinensis (Chinese magnolia vine) is a rich source of therapeutically relevant dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans with anticancer, immunostimulant and hepatoprotective activities. In this work, shoot cultures of S. chinensis were grown in different types of bioreactors with the aim to select a system suitable for the large scale in vitro production of schisandra lignans. The cultures were maintained in Murashige-Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 3mg/l 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and 1mg/l 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Five bioreactors differing with respect to cultivation mode were tested: two liquid-phase systems (baloon-type bioreactor and bubble-column bioreactor with biomass immobilization), the gas-phase spray bioreactor and two commercially available temporary immersion systems: RITA ® and Plantform. The experiments were run for 30 and 60 days in batch mode. The harvested shoots were evaluated for growth and lignan content determined by LC-DAD and LC-DAD-ESI-MS. Of the tested bioreactors, temporary immersion systems provided the best results with respect to biomass production and lignan accumulation: RITA ® bioreactor yielded 17.86g/l (dry weight) during 60 day growth period whereas shoots grown for 30 days in Plantform bioreactor contained the highest amount of lignans (546.98mg/100g dry weight), with schisandrin, deoxyschisandrin and gomisin A as the major constituents (118.59, 77.66 and 67.86mg/100g dry weight, respectively). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Membrane bioreactors for waste gas treatment.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reij, M.W.; Keurentjes, J.T.F.; Hartmans, S.

    1998-01-01

    This review describes the recent development of membrane reactors for biological treatment of waste gases. In this type of bioreactor gaseous pollutants are transferred through a membrane to the liquid phase, where micro-organisms degrade the pollutants. The membrane bioreactor combines the

  10. Membrane bioreactors for waste gas treatment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reij, M.W.; Keurentjes, J.T.F.; Hartmans, S.

    1998-01-01

    This review describes the recent development of membrane reactors for biological treatment of waste gases. In this type of bioreactor gaseous pollutants are transferred through a membrane to the liquid phase, where micro-organisms degrade the pollutants. The membrane bioreactor combines the

  11. Bacterial communities in haloalkaliphilic sulfate-reducing bioreactors under different electron donors revealed by 16S rRNA MiSeq sequencing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Jiemin [National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 353, Beijing 100190 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Zhou, Xuemei; Li, Yuguang [101 Institute, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Beijing 100070 (China); Xing, Jianmin, E-mail: jmxing@ipe.ac.cn [National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 353, Beijing 100190 (China)

    2015-09-15

    Highlights: • Bacterial communities of haloalkaliphilic bioreactors were investigated. • MiSeq was first used in analysis of communities of haloalkaliphilic bioreactors. • Electron donors had significant effect on bacterial communities. - Abstract: Biological technology used to treat flue gas is useful to replace conventional treatment, but there is sulfide inhibition. However, no sulfide toxicity effect was observed in haloalkaliphilic bioreactors. The performance of the ethanol-fed bioreactor was better than that of lactate-, glucose-, and formate-fed bioreactor, respectively. To support this result strongly, Illumina MiSeq paired-end sequencing of 16S rRNA gene was applied to investigate the bacterial communities. A total of 389,971 effective sequences were obtained and all of them were assigned to 10,220 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at a 97% similarity. Bacterial communities in the glucose-fed bioreactor showed the greatest richness and evenness. The highest relative abundance of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) was found in the ethanol-fed bioreactor, which can explain why the performance of the ethanol-fed bioreactor was the best. Different types of SRB, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, and sulfur-reducing bacteria were detected, indicating that sulfur may be cycled among these microorganisms. Because high-throughput 16S rRNA gene paired-end sequencing has improved resolution of bacterial community analysis, many rare microorganisms were detected, such as Halanaerobium, Halothiobacillus, Desulfonatronum, Syntrophobacter, and Fusibacter. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of these bacteria would provide more functional and phylogenetic information about the bacterial communities.

  12. Role of Bioreactors in Microbial Biomass and Energy Conversion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Liang [Chongqing University, Chongqing, China; Zhang, Biao [Chongqing University, Chongqing, China; Zhu, Xun [Chongqing University, Chongqing, China; Chang, Haixing [Chongqing University of Technology; Ou, Shawn [ORNL; Wang, HONG [Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

    2018-04-01

    Bioenergy is the world’s largest contributor to the renewable and sustainable energy sector, and it plays a significant role in various energy industries. A large amount of research has contributed to the rapidly evolving field of bioenergy and one of the most important topics is the use of the bioreactor. Bioreactors play a critical role in the successful development of technologies for microbial biomass cultivation and energy conversion. In this chapter, after a brief introduction to bioreactors (basic concepts, configurations, functions, and influencing factors), the applications of the bioreactor in microbial biomass, microbial biofuel conversion, and microbial electrochemical systems are described. Importantly, the role and significance of the bioreactor in the bioenergy process are discussed to provide a better understanding of the use of bioreactors in managing microbial biomass and energy conversion.

  13. Analysis of substrate degradation, metabolite formation and microbial community responses in sand bioreactors treating winery wastewater: a comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welz, P J; Palmer, Z; Isaacs, S; Kirby, B; le Roes-Hill, M

    2014-12-01

    There is a global need for the implementation of more cost-effective green technologies for the treatment of effluent from wineries. However, systems reliant on microbial biodegradation may be adversely affected by the highly seasonal character of cellar waste. In this study, the biodegradation of two different formulations of winery effluent in sand bioreactors was compared. The degradation of organic substrates and formation of metabolites was monitored by physicochemical analyses of pore water and final effluent samples. Changes in the bacterial community structures were detected using molecular fingerprinting. In wastewater with an overall COD of 2027 mg/L, a formulation with a high concentration of acetate (800 mg COD/L) was more recalcitrant to degradation than a formulation with a high concentration of glucose (800 mg COD/L). Ethanol, glucose and phenolics were degraded preferentially in the deeper layers of the sand bioreactors (average Eh 25 mV) than in the superficial layers (average Eh 102 mV). The redox status also played a pivotal role on the bacterial community composition. The study yielded valuable insight that can be utilized in the design (configuration and operation) of full scale sand bioreactors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Occurrence of human-associated Bacteroidetes genetic source tracking markers in raw and treated wastewater of municipal and domestic origin and comparison to standard and alternative indicators of faecal pollution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, R.E.; Bofill-Mas, S.; Egle, L.; Reischer, G.H.; Schade, M.; Fernandez-Cassi, X.; Fuchs, W.; Mach, R.L.; Lindner, G.; Kirschner, A.; Gaisbauer, M.; Piringer, H.; Blaschke, A.P.; Girones, R.; Zessner, M.; Sommer, R.; Farnleitner, A.H.

    2016-01-01

    This was a detailed investigation of the seasonal occurrence, dynamics, removal and resistance of human-associated genetic Bacteroidetes faecal markers (GeBaM) compared with ISO-based standard faecal indicator bacteria (SFIB), human-specific viral faecal markers and one human-associated Bacteroidetes phage in raw and treated wastewater of municipal and domestic origin. Characteristics of the selected activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) from Austria and Germany were studied in detail (WWTPs, n = 13, connected populations from 3 to 49000 individuals), supported by volume-proportional automated 24-h sampling and chemical water quality analysis. GeBaM were consistently detected in high concentrations in raw (median log10 8.6 marker equivalents (ME) 100 ml−1) and biologically treated wastewater samples (median log10 6.2–6.5 ME 100 ml−1), irrespective of plant size, type and time of the season (n = 53–65). GeBaM, Escherichia coli, and enterococci concentrations revealed the same range of statistical variability for raw (multiplicative standard deviations s* = 2.3–3.0) and treated wastewater (s* = 3.7–4.5), with increased variability after treatment. Clostridium perfringens spores revealed the lowest variability for raw wastewater (s* = 1.5). In raw wastewater correlations among microbiological parameters were only detectable between GeBaM, C. perfringens and JC polyomaviruses. Statistical associations amongst microbial parameters increased during wastewater treatment. Two plants with advanced treatment were also investigated, revealing a minimum log10 5.0 (10th percentile) reduction of GeBaM in the activated sludge membrane bioreactor, but no reduction of the genetic markers during UV irradiation (254 nm). This study highlights the potential of human-associated GeBaM to complement wastewater impact monitoring based on the determination of SFIB. In addition, human-specific JC polyomaviruses and adenoviruses seem to be a valuable support if

  15. Mesoscale Laboratory Models of the Biodegradation of Municipal Landfill Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borglin, S. E.; Hazen, T. C.; Oldenburg, C. M.; Zawislanski, P. T.

    2001-12-01

    Stabilization of municipal landfills is a critical issue involving land reuse, leachate treatment, and odor control. In an effort to increase landfill stabilization rates and decrease leachate treatment costs, municipal landfills can be operated as active aerobic or anaerobic bioreactors. Rates of settling and biodegradation were compared in three different treatments of municipal landfill materials in laboratory-scale bioreactors. Each of the three fifty-five-gallon clear acrylic tanks was fitted with pressure transducers, thermistors, neutron probe access tubes, a leachate recirculation system, gas vents, and air injection ports. The treatments applied to the tanks were (a) aerobic (air injection with leachate recirculation and venting from the top), (b) anaerobic (leachate recirculation with passive venting from the top), and (c) a control tank (passive venting from the top and no leachate recirculation). All tanks contained a 10-cm-thick layer of pea gravel at the bottom, overlain by a mixture of fresh waste materials on the order of 5-10 cm in size to an initial height of 0.55 m. Concentrations of O2, CO2 and CH4 were measured at the gas vent, and leachate was collected at the bottom drain. The water saturation in the aerobic and anaerobic tanks averaged 17 % and the control tank averaged 1 %. Relative degradation rates between the tanks were monitored by CO2 and CH4 production rates and O2 respiration rates. Respiration tests on the aerobic tank show a decrease in oxygen consumption rates from 1.3 mol/day at 20 days to 0.1 mol/day at 300 days, indicating usable organics are being depleted. The anaerobic tank produced measurable methane after 300 days that increased to 41% by volume after 370 days. Over the test period, the aerobic tank settled 30 %, the anaerobic tank 18.5 %, and the control tank 11.1 %. The concentrations of metals, nitrate, phosphate, and total organic carbon in the aerobic tank leachate are an order of magnitude lower than in the anaerobic

  16. Application of semifluidized bed bioreactor as novel bioreactor ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The conventional bioreactors such as pond digester, anaerobic filtration, up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB), up-flow anaerobic sludge fixed-film (UASFF), continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), anaerobic contact digestion and fluidized bed, used over the past decades are largely operated anaerobically. They have ...

  17. Tubular membrane bioreactors for biotechnological processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolff, Christoph; Beutel, Sascha; Scheper, Thomas

    2013-02-01

    This article is an overview of bioreactors using tubular membranes such as hollow fibers or ceramic capillaries for cultivation processes. This diverse group of bioreactor is described here in regard to the membrane materials used, operational modes, and configurations. The typical advantages of this kind of system such as environments with low shear stress together with high cell densities and also disadvantages like poor oxygen supply are summed up. As the usage of tubular membrane bioreactors is not restricted to a certain organism, a brief overview of various applications covering nearly all types of cells from prokaryotic to eukaryotic cells is also given here.

  18. Effect of sudden addition of PCE and bioreactor coupling to ZVI filters on performance of fluidized bed bioreactors operated in simultaneous electron acceptor modes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno-Medina, C U; Poggi-Varaldo, Hector M; Breton-Deval, L; Rinderknecht-Seijas, N

    2017-11-01

    The present work evaluated the effects of (i) feeding a water contaminated with 80 mg/L PCE to bioreactors seeded with inoculum not acclimated to PCE, (ii) coupling ZVI side filters to bioreactors, and (iii) working in different biological regimes, i.e., simultaneous methanogenic aeration and simultaneous methanogenic-denitrifying regimes, on fluidized bed bioreactor performance. Simultaneous electron acceptors refer to the simultaneous presence of two compounds operating as final electron acceptors in the biological respiratory chain (e.g., use of either O 2 or NO 3 - in combination with a methanogenic environment) in a bioreactor or environmental niche. Four lab-scale, mesophilic, fluidized bed bioreactors (bioreactors) were implemented. Two bioreactors were operated as simultaneous methanogenic-denitrifying (MD) units, whereas the other two were operated in partially aerated methanogenic (PAM) mode. In the first period, all bioreactors received a wastewater with 1 g chemical oxygen demand of methanol per liter (COD-methanol/L). In a second period, all the bioreactors received the wastewater plus 80 mg perchloroethylene (PCE)/L; at the start of period 2, one MD and one PAM were coupled to side sand-zero valent iron filters (ZVI). All bioreactors were inoculated with a microbial consortium not acclimated to PCE. In this work, the performance of the full period 1 and the first 60 days of period 2 is reported and discussed. The COD removal efficiency and the nitrate removal efficiency of the bioreactors essentially did not change between period 1 and period 2, i.e., upon PCE addition. On the contrary, specific methanogenic activity in PAM bioreactors (both with and without coupled ZVI filter) significantly decreased. This was consistent with a sharp fall of methane productivity in those bioreactors in period 2. During period 2, PCE removals in the range 86 to 97 % were generally observed; the highest removal corresponded to PAM bioreactors along with the

  19. Tissue grown in space in NASA Bioreactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-01-01

    Dr. Lisa E. Freed of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her colleagues have reported that initially disc-like specimens tend to become spherical in space, demonstrating that tissues can grow and differentiate into distinct structures in microgravity. The Mir Increment 3 (Sept. 16, 1996 - Jan. 22, 1997) samples were smaller, more spherical, and mechanically weaker than Earth-grown control samples. These results demonstrate the feasibility of microgravity tissue engineering and may have implications for long human space voyages and for treating musculoskeletal disorders on earth. Final samples from Mir and Earth appeared histologically cartilaginous throughout their entire cross sections (5-8 mm thick), with the exception of fibrous outer capsules. Constructs grown on Earth (A) appeared to have a more organized extracellular matrix with more uniform collagen orientation as compared with constructs grown on Mir (B), but the average collagen fiber diameter was similar in the two groups (22 +- 2 nm) and comparable to that previously reported for developing articular cartilage. Randomly oriented collagen in Mir samples would be consistent with previous reports that microgravity disrupts fibrillogenesis. These are transmission electron micrographs of constructs from Mir (A) and Earth (B) groups at magnifications of x3,500 and x120,000 (Inset). The work is sponsored by NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research. The bioreactor is managed by the Biotechnology Cell Science Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). NASA-sponsored bioreactor research has been instrumental in helping scientists to better understand normal and cancerous tissue development. In cooperation with the medical community, the bioreactor design is being used to prepare better models of human colon, prostate, breast and ovarian tumors. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

  20. Operation of a fluidized-bed bioreactor for denitrification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hancher, C.W.; Taylor, P.A.; Napier, J.M.

    1978-01-01

    Two denitrification fluidized-bed bioreactors of the same length (i.e., 5 m) but with different inside diameters (i.e., 5 and 10 cm) have been operated on feed ranging in nitrate concentration from 200 to 2000 g/m 3 ; thus far, good agreement has been obtained. Two 10-cm-ID bioreactors operating in series have also been tested; the results are in accordance with predicted results based on the performance of a 5-cm-ID bioreactor. The overall denitrification rate in the dual 10-cm-ID bioreactor system was found to be 23 kg N(NO 3 - )/day-m 3 using feed with a nitrate concentration of 1800 g/m 3 . Data obtained in operating-temperature tests indicate that the maximum denitrification rate is achieved between 22 and 30 0 C. These data will form the basis of the design of our mobile pilot plant which consists of dual 20-cm-ID by 7.3-m-long bioreactors

  1. Inhibition effect of phosphorus-based chemicals on corrosion of carbon steel in secondary-treated municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Zhanhui; Ren, Hongqiang; Xu, Ke; Geng, Jinju; Ding, Lili

    2013-01-01

    Secondary-treated municipal wastewater (MWW) could supply a viable alternative water resource for cooling water systems. Inorganic salts in the concentrated cooling water pose a great challenge to corrosion control chemicals. In this study, the inhibition effect of 1-hydroxy ethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP), trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP) and 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTCA) on corrosion of carbon steel in secondary-treated MWW was investigated by the means of potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The inhibition effect increased with increasing concentration of inhibitors. The corrosion rates of carbon steel were 1.5, 0.8, 0.2 and 0.5 mm a(-1) for blank, HEDP, ATMP and PBTCA samples at 50 mg L(-1), respectively. The phosphorus-based chemicals could adsorb onto the surface of the carbon steel electrode, form a coat of protective film and then protect the carbon steel from corrosion in the test solution.

  2. Nitrate removal from aquaculture effluents using woodchip bioreactors improved by adding sulfur granules and crushed seashells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    von Ahnen, Mathis; Pedersen, Per Bovbjerg; Dalsgaard, Johanne

    2018-01-01

    This study examined the effects on nitrate removal when adding sulfur granules and crushed seashells to a woodchip bioreactor treating aquaculture effluents. Using a central composite design, the two components were added at three levels (0.000, 0.125 and 0.250 m3/m3 bioreactor volume) to 13......, the inclusion of crushed seashells together with sulfur granules helped to maintain the pH above 7.4 and prevent a production (i.e., release) of nitrite. According to the modeled response surfaces, a sulfur granule:crushed seashell:woodchip mixture ratio containing about 0.2 m3 sulfur granules and 0.1 m3...... crushed seashells per m3 reactor volume would give the best results with respect to high N removal and minimal nitrite release. In conclusion, the study showed that N removal in woodchip bioreactors may be improved by adding sulfur granules and seashells, contributing to the optimization of woodchip...

  3. Performance of an anaerobic, static bed, fixed film bioreactor for chlorinated solvent treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorah, Michelle M.; Walker, Charles; Graves, Duane

    2015-01-01

    Anaerobic, fixed film, bioreactors bioaugmented with a dechlorinating microbial consortium were evaluated as a potential technology for cost effective, sustainable, and reliable treatment of mixed chlorinated ethanes and ethenes in groundwater from a large groundwater recovery system. Bench- and pilot-scale testing at about 3 and 13,500 L, respectively, demonstrated that total chlorinated solvent removal to less than the permitted discharge limit of 100 μg/L. Various planned and unexpected upsets, interruptions, and changes demonstrated the robustness and reliability of the bioreactor system, which handled the operational variations with no observable change in performance. Key operating parameters included an adequately long hydraulic retention time for the surface area, a constant supply of electron donor, pH control with a buffer to minimize pH variance, an oxidation reduction potential of approximately −200 millivolts or lower, and a well-adapted biomass capable of degrading the full suite of chlorinated solvents in the groundwater. Results indicated that the current discharge criteria can be met using a bioreactor technology that is less complex and has less downtime than the sorption based technology currently being used to treat the groundwater.

  4. Study of efficiency of particles removal by different filtration systems in a municipal wastewater tertiary treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andreu, P. S.; Lardin Mifsut, C.; Farinas Iglesias, M.; Sanchez-Arevalo Serrano, J.; Perez Sanchez, P.; Rancano Perez, A.

    2009-01-01

    The disinfection of municipal wastewater using ultraviolet radiation depends greatly on the presence within the water of particles in suspension. This work determines how the level of elimination of particles varies depending on the technique of filtration used (open, closed sand filters, with continuous washing of the sand, cloth, disk and ring filters). all systems are very effective in the removal of particles more than 25 microns and for removing helminth eggs. The membrane bio-reactors with ultrafiltration membranes were superior in terms of particle removal when compared to conventional filters. (Author) 11 refs.

  5. Scale-up of bioreactors: The concept of bioreactor number and its relation to the physiology of industrial microorganisms at different scales

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    De Ford, D

    1988-01-01

    The objective of this research is to provide a novel approach to the problem of scale-up of fermentations. The work subscribes the idea that two regions appear in bioreactors as the volume increases. The first is where high oxygen transfer occurs and the second is where low oxygen transfer occurs. It is assumed that organisms grown in a stirred tank fermenter travel in a cyclical manner through these two regions. A dimensionless factor is developed, the bioreactor number. Using this number the performance of any stirred tank fermenter can be described as a function of its geometry, operating conditions and physical properties of media. A mathematical model for the prediction of the physiological response of aerobic micro-organisms (specific growth rate, final cell concentration and product synthesis) as a function of the bioreactor number is also developed. It was adjusted by using the results of fermentations performed in a specially designed experimental rig allowing the simulation of fermenters with various bioreactor numbers. If the bioreactor and physiological models are linked it is possible to predict how micro-organisms respond when geometry, operating conditions or media properties are changed in a bioreactor. This approach is a tool for decision making in the design and operation of fermenters.

  6. Modelling of sludge blanket height and flow pattern in UASB reactors treating municipal wastewater

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, K.S.; Viraraghavan, T.

    2002-01-01

    Two upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors were started-up and operated for approximately 900 days to examine the feasibility of treating municipal wastewater under low temperature conditions. A modified solid distribution model was formulated by incorporating the variation of biogas production rate with a change in temperature. This model was used to optimize the sludge blanket height of UASB reactors for an effective operation of gas-liquid-solid (GLS) separation device. This model was found to simulate well the solid distribution as confirmed experimental observation of solid profile along the height of the reactor. Mathematical analysis of tracer curves indicated the presence of a mixed type of flow pattern in the sludge-bed zone of the reactor. It was found that the dead-zone and by-pass flow fraction were impacted by the change in operating temperatures. (author)

  7. An innovative membrane bioreactor for methane biohydroxylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pen, N; Soussan, L; Belleville, M-P; Sanchez, J; Charmette, C; Paolucci-Jeanjean, D

    2014-12-01

    In this study, a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was developed for efficient, safe microbial methane hydroxylation with Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b. This innovative MBR, which couples a bioreactor with two gas/liquid macroporous membrane contactors supplying the two gaseous substrates (methane and oxygen) was operated in fed-batch mode. The feasibility and the reproducibility of this new biohydroxylation process were first demonstrated. The mass transfer within this MBR was twice that observed in a batch reactor in similar conditions. The productivity reached with this MBR was 75±25mgmethanol(gdrycell)(-1)h(-1). Compared to the literature, this value is 35times higher than that obtained with the only other fed-batch membrane bioreactor reported, which was run with dense membranes, and is comparable to those obtained with bioreactors fed by bubble-spargers. However, in the latter case, an explosive gas mixture can be formed, a problem that is avoided with the MBR. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Anaerobic treatment of agro-industrial wastewaters for COD removal in expanded granular sludge bed bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abumalé Cruz-Salomón

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Untreated agro-industrial wastewaters are undesirable in the aquatic environment due to the presence of high organic matter contents. However, they may constitute a large potential for biogas production. The present investigation is focused on three laboratory-scale anaerobic expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB bioreactors, continuously operated for 60 d under mesophilic condition with the aim of exploring the feasibility of treating three most significant agro-industrial wastewaters in Chiapas, Mexico (i.e., cheese whey, vinasse, and coffee-processing wastewater. The EGSB bioreactors were operated with a hydraulic retention time (HRT of 6 d under stable conditions (i.e., buffer index (BI of 0.31, 0.34, and 0.03, generating a maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD removal efficiency of 91, 74, and 96% with an average methane production of 340, 245, and 300 mL/g COD∙d for cheese whey, vinasse, and coffee-processing wastewater, respectively. According to the obtained results, the EGSB bioreactors could be a sustainable alternative to simultaneously solve the environmental problems and to produce bioenergy.

  9. Life cycle assessment of potential municipal solid waste management strategies for Mumbai, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Bhupendra K; Chandel, Munish K

    2017-01-01

    Dumping of municipal solid waste into uncontrolled dumpsites is the most common method of waste disposal in most cities of India. These dumpsites are posing a serious challenge to environmental quality and sustainable development. Mumbai, which generates over 9000 t of municipal solid waste daily, also disposes of most of its waste in open dumps. It is important to analyse the impact of municipal solid waste disposal today and what would be the impact under integrated waste management schemes. In this study, life cycle assessment methodology was used to determine the impact of municipal solid waste management under different scenarios. Six different scenarios were developed as alternatives to the current practice of open dumping and partially bioreactor landfilling. The scenarios include landfill with biogas collection, incineration and different combinations of recycling, landfill, composting, anaerobic digestion and incineration. Global warming, acidification, eutrophication and human toxicity were assessed as environmental impact categories. The sensitivity analysis shows that if the recycling rate is increased from 10% to 90%, the environmental impacts as compared with present scenario would reduce from 998.43 kg CO 2 eq t -1 of municipal solid waste, 0.124 kg SO 2 eq t -1 , 0.46 kg PO 4 -3 eq t -1 , 0.44 kg 1,4-DB eq t -1 to 892.34 kg CO 2 eq t -1 , 0.121 kg SO 2 eq t -1 , 0.36 kg PO 4 -3 eq t -1 , 0.40 kg 1,4-DB eq t -1 , respectively. An integrated municipal solid waste management approach with a mix of recycling, composting, anaerobic digestion and landfill had the lowest overall environmental impact. The technologies, such as incineration, would reduce the global warming emission because of the highest avoided emissions, however, human toxicity would increase.

  10. Bioreactor Design for Tendon/Ligament Engineering

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Tao; Gardiner, Bruce S.; Lin, Zhen; Rubenson, Jonas; Kirk, Thomas B.; Wang, Allan; Xu, Jiake; Smith, David W.; Lloyd, David G.; Zheng, Ming H.

    2012-01-01

    Tendon and ligament injury is a worldwide health problem, but the treatment options remain limited. Tendon and ligament engineering might provide an alternative tissue source for the surgical replacement of injured tendon. A bioreactor provides a controllable environment enabling the systematic study of specific biological, biochemical, and biomechanical requirements to design and manufacture engineered tendon/ligament tissue. Furthermore, the tendon/ligament bioreactor system can provide a s...

  11. Experiments as to the influence of heat recovery from a bioreactor on sewage sludge disinfecting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tarjanyi, J.; Strauch, D.; Philipp, W.

    The influence of heat recovery on the disinfecting effect of composting of sewage sludge in a bio-reactor (in-vessel-composting) was investigated in a reactor type Weiss-system Kneer. As test agents 3 different serovars of salmonella, Parvo- and Poliovirus and eggs of Ascaris suum were used. The experiments were done in a reactor which was fed with dewatered municipal sewage sludge mixed with waste-paper as C-carrier for better composting. Even under winter conditions the test agents were inactivated within the time which is characteristic for the passage of the composting material through the plug-flow reactor. These results cannot simply be applied without further investigation to other reactors of the same type but with different ways of operation. (orig.)

  12. An integrated approach to regional waste management and mine site rehabilitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reid, A.V.; Nettle, C.

    2000-07-01

    Municipal solid (putrescible) waste is expected to be treated at Woodlawn Mines using 'bioreactor' processes within the existing mine void. This paper briefly outlines legislation and regional waste management planning issues that led to the development of the Woodlawn Waste Management Facility. It also examines the application of 'bioreactor' technology as a rehabilitation strategy at Woodlawn, energy recovery opportunities and greenhouse gas savings, and the integrated manner in which mining and waste management have combined to provide unprecedented environmental outcomes across both industries. 22 refs., 3 figs., 5 tabs.

  13. Effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Makan, Abdelhadi; Assobhei, Omar; Mountadar, Mohammed

    2013-01-01

    Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco in terms of internal temperature, produced gases quantity, organic matter conversion rate, and the quality of the final composts. For this purpose, in-vessel bioreactor was designed and used to evaluate both appropriate initial air pressure and appropriate initial moisture content for the composting process. Moreove...

  14. Biodegradation of phenolic waste liquors in stirred-tank, packed-bed, and fluidized-bed bioreactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holladay, D W; Hancher, G W; Chilcote, D D; Scott, C D

    1978-11-01

    The biological degradation of phenolic scrub liquors similar to those that arise in coal conversion processes was studied for symbiotic bacterial populations contained in a continuously stirred tank bioreactor, a three-phase packed-bed bioreactor, and a three-phase, fluidized-bed bioreactor. The conversions of phenol compounds were comparable in the three-phase, packed-bed bioreactor and the continuously stirred tank bioreactor; however, the packed-bed bioreactor degradation rates were as much as twice those in the continuously stirred tank bioreactor, and packed-bed bioreactor retention times were as low as one- tenth those of the continuously stirred tank bioreactors (minimum time was 12 hours).

  15. The Influence of Bioreactor Geometry and the Mechanical Environment on Engineered Tissues

    KAUST Repository

    Osborne, J. M.; O’ Dea, R. D.; Whiteley, J. P.; Byrne, H. M.; Waters, S. L.

    2010-01-01

    A three phase model for the growth of a tissue construct within a perfusion bioreactor is examined. The cell population (and attendant extracellular matrix), culture medium, and porous scaffold are treated as distinct phases. The bioreactor system is represented by a two-dimensional channel containing a cell-seeded rigid porous scaffold (tissue construct), which is perfused with a culture medium. Through the prescription of appropriate functional forms for cell proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition rates, the model is used to compare the influence of cell density-, pressure-, and culture medium shear stress-regulated growth on the composition of the engineered tissue. The governing equations are derived in O'Dea et al. "A Three Phase Model for Tissue Construct Growth in a Perfusion Bioreactor," Math. Med. Biol., in which the long-wavelength limit was exploited to aid analysis; here, finite element methods are used to construct two-dimensional solutions to the governing equations and to investigate thoroughly their behavior. Comparison of the total tissue yield and averaged pressures, velocities, and shear stress demonstrates that quantitative agreement between the two-dimensional and long-wavelength approximation solutions is obtained for channel aspect ratios of order 10 -2 and that much of the qualitative behavior of the model is captured in the long-wavelength limit, even for relatively large channel aspect ratios. However, we demonstrate that in order to capture accurately the effect of mechanotransduction mechanisms on tissue construct growth, spatial effects in at least two dimensions must be included due to the inherent spatial variation of mechanical stimuli relevant to perfusion bioreactors, most notably, fluid shear stress, a feature not captured in the long-wavelength limit. Copyright © 2010 by ASME.

  16. The Influence of Bioreactor Geometry and the Mechanical Environment on Engineered Tissues

    KAUST Repository

    Osborne, J. M.

    2010-01-01

    A three phase model for the growth of a tissue construct within a perfusion bioreactor is examined. The cell population (and attendant extracellular matrix), culture medium, and porous scaffold are treated as distinct phases. The bioreactor system is represented by a two-dimensional channel containing a cell-seeded rigid porous scaffold (tissue construct), which is perfused with a culture medium. Through the prescription of appropriate functional forms for cell proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition rates, the model is used to compare the influence of cell density-, pressure-, and culture medium shear stress-regulated growth on the composition of the engineered tissue. The governing equations are derived in O\\'Dea et al. "A Three Phase Model for Tissue Construct Growth in a Perfusion Bioreactor," Math. Med. Biol., in which the long-wavelength limit was exploited to aid analysis; here, finite element methods are used to construct two-dimensional solutions to the governing equations and to investigate thoroughly their behavior. Comparison of the total tissue yield and averaged pressures, velocities, and shear stress demonstrates that quantitative agreement between the two-dimensional and long-wavelength approximation solutions is obtained for channel aspect ratios of order 10 -2 and that much of the qualitative behavior of the model is captured in the long-wavelength limit, even for relatively large channel aspect ratios. However, we demonstrate that in order to capture accurately the effect of mechanotransduction mechanisms on tissue construct growth, spatial effects in at least two dimensions must be included due to the inherent spatial variation of mechanical stimuli relevant to perfusion bioreactors, most notably, fluid shear stress, a feature not captured in the long-wavelength limit. Copyright © 2010 by ASME.

  17. Small-scale, hydrogen-oxidizing-denitrifying bioreactor for treatment of nitrate-contaminated drinking water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Richard L; Buckwalter, Seanne P; Repert, Deborah A; Miller, Daniel N

    2005-05-01

    Nitrate removal by hydrogen-coupled denitrification was examined using flow-through, packed-bed bioreactors to develop a small-scale, cost effective system for treating nitrate-contaminated drinking-water supplies. Nitrate removal was accomplished using a Rhodocyclus sp., strain HOD 5, isolated from a sole-source drinking-water aquifer. The autotrophic capacity of the purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacterium made it particularly adept for this purpose. Initial tests used a commercial bioreactor filled with glass beads and countercurrent, non-sterile flow of an autotrophic, air-saturated, growth medium and hydrogen gas. Complete removal of 2 mM nitrate was achieved for more than 300 days of operation at a 2-h retention time. A low-cost hydrogen generator/bioreactor system was then constructed from readily available materials as a water treatment approach using the Rhodocyclus strain. After initial tests with the growth medium, the constructed system was tested using nitrate-amended drinking water obtained from fractured granite and sandstone aquifers, with moderate and low TDS loads, respectively. Incomplete nitrate removal was evident in both water types, with high-nitrite concentrations in the bioreactor output, due to a pH increase, which inhibited nitrite reduction. This was rectified by including carbon dioxide in the hydrogen stream. Additionally, complete nitrate removal was accomplished with wastewater-impacted surface water, with a concurrent decrease in dissolved organic carbon. The results of this study using three chemically distinct water supplies demonstrate that hydrogen-coupled denitrification can serve as the basis for small-scale remediation and that pilot-scale testing might be the next logical step.

  18. Effluent quality of a conventional activated sludge and a membrane bioreactor system treating hospital wastewater

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pauwels, B.; Ngwa, F.; Deconinck, S.; Verstraete, W.

    2005-01-01

    Two lab scale wastewater treatment plants treating hospital wastewater in parallel were compared in terms of performance characteristics. One plant consisted of a conventional activated sludge system (CAS) and comprised In anoxic and aerobic compartment followed by a settling tank with recycle loop. The second pilot plant was a -late membrane bioreactor (MBR). The wastewater as obtained from the hospital had a variable COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) ranging from 250 to 2300 mg/L. Both systems were operated at a similar hydraulic residence time of 12 hours. The reference conventional activated sludge system did not meet the regulatory standard for effluent COD of 125 mg /L most of the time. Its COD removal efficiency was 88%. The plate MBR delivered an effluent with a COD value of 50 mg/L or less, and attained an efficiency of 93%. The effluent contained no suspended particles. In addition, the MBR resulted in consistent operational parameters with a flux remaining around 8 -10 L/m/sup 2/.h and a trans membrane pressure <0.1 bar without the need for backwash or chemical cleaning. The CAS and the MBR system performed equally good in terms of TAN removal and EE2 removal. The CAS system typically decreased bacterial groups for about 1 log unit, whereas the MBR decreased these groups for about 3 log units. Enterococci were decreased below the detection limit in the MBR and indicator organisms such as fecal coliforms were decreased for 1.4 log units in the CAS system compared to a 3.6 log removal in the MBR. (author)

  19. Heavy metal removal in an UASB-CW system treating municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Varga, D; Díaz, M A; Ruiz, I; Soto, M

    2013-10-01

    The objective of the present study was to investigate for the first time the long-term removal of heavy metals (HMs) in a combined UASB-CW system treating municipal wastewater. The research was carried out in a field pilot plant constituted for an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) digester as a pretreatment, followed by a surface flow constructed wetland (CW) and finally by a subsurface flow CW. While the UASB showed (pseudo) steady state operational conditions and generated a periodical purge of sludge, CWs were characterised by the progressive accumulation and mineralisation of retained solids. This paper analyses the evolution of HM removal from the water stream over time (over a period of 4.7 year of operation) and the accumulation of HMs in UASB sludge and CW sediments at two horizons of 2.7 and 4.0 year of operation. High removal efficiencies were found for some metals in the following order: Sn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Zn > Fe (63-94%). Medium removal efficiencies were registered for Ni (49%), Hg (42%), and Ag (40%), and finally Mn and As showed negative percentage removals. Removal efficiencies of total HMs were higher in UASB and SF units and lower in the last SSF unit. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Modelling across bioreactor scales: methods, challenges and limitations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gernaey, Krist

    that it is challenging and expensive to acquire experimental data of good quality that can be used for characterizing gradients occurring inside a large industrial scale bioreactor. But which model building methods are available? And how can one ensure that the parameters in such a model are properly estimated? And what......Scale-up and scale-down of bioreactors are very important in industrial biotechnology, especially with the currently available knowledge on the occurrence of gradients in industrial-scale bioreactors. Moreover, it becomes increasingly appealing to model such industrial scale systems, considering...

  1. Rice production with minimal irrigation and no nitrogen fertilizer by intensive use of treated municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muramatsu, Ayumi; Watanabe, Toru; Sasaki, Atsushi; Ito, Hiroaki; Kajihara, Akihiko

    2014-01-01

    We designed a new cultivation system of rice with circulated irrigation to remove nitrogen from treated municipal wastewater effectively and assessed the possibility of nitrogen removal in the new system without any adverse effects on rice production through bench-scale experiments through two seasons. Overgrowth of the rice plant, which can lead to lodging and tasteless rice, was found in the first season probably because nitrogen supply based on standard practice in normal paddy fields was too much in the closed irrigation system. In the second season, therefore, the amount of treated wastewater initially applied to the system was reduced but this resulted in a considerably decreased yield. On the other hand, the taste of the rice was significantly improved. The two-season experiments revealed that the new system enabled rice production with minimal irrigation (approximately 50% on the yield base compared to normal paddy fields) and no nitrogen fertilizer. The system also achieved >95% removal of nitrogen from the treated wastewater used for circulated irrigation. The accumulation of harmful metals in the rice was not observed after one season of cultivation in the new system. The accumulation after cultivation using the same soil repeatedly for a longer time should be examined by further studies.

  2. Nitrate Removal Rates in Denitrifying Bioreactors During Storm Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pluer, W.; Walter, T.

    2017-12-01

    Field denitrifying bioreactors are designed to reduce excess nitrate (NO3-) pollution in runoff from agricultural fields. Field bioreactors saturate organic matter to create conditions that facilitate microbial denitrification. Prior studies using steady flow in lab-scale bioreactors showed that a hydraulic retention time (HRT) between 4 and 10 hours was optimal for reducing NO3- loads. However, during storm-induced events, flow rate and actual HRT fluctuate. These fluctuations have the potential to disrupt the system in significant ways that are not captured by the idealized steady-flow HRT models. The goal of this study was to investigate removal rate during dynamic storm flows of variable rates and durations. Our results indicate that storm peak flow and duration were not significant controlling variables. Instead, we found high correlations (p=0.004) in average removal rates between bioreactors displaying a predominantly uniform flow pattern compared with bioreactors that exhibited preferential flow (24.4 and 21.4 g N m-3 d-1, respectively). This suggests that the internal flow patterns are a more significant driver of removal rate than external factors of the storm hydrograph. Designing for flow patterns in addition to theoretical HRT will facilitate complete mixing within the bioreactors. This will help maximize excess NO3- removal during large storm-induced runoff events.

  3. Biological nutrient removal and molecular biological characteristics in an anaerobic-multistage anaerobic/oxic (A-MAO) process to treat municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xiao; Dong, Wenyi; Wang, Hongjie; Jiang, Shilong

    2017-10-01

    This study aimed to present an anaerobic-multistage anaerobic/oxic (A-MAO) process to treat municipal wastewater. The average COD, NH 4 + -N, TN, and TP removal efficiency were 91.81%, 96.26%, 83.73% and 94.49%, respectively. Temperature plunge and C/N decrease have a certain impact on the modified process. Characteristics of microbial community, function microorganism, and correlation of microbial community with environmental variables in five compartments were carried out by Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing. The differences of microbial community were observed and Blastocatella, Flavobacterium and Pseudomonas were the dominant genus. Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira occupied a dominant position in AOB and NOB, respectively. Rhodospirillaceae and Rhodocyclaceae owned a considerable proportion in phosphorus removal bacteria. DO and COD played significant roles on affecting the microbial components. The A-MAO process in this study demonstrated a high potential for nutrient removal from municipal wastewater. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Removal of nitrate and sulphate from biologically treated municipal wastewater by electrocoagulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Arun Kumar; Chopra, A. K.

    2017-06-01

    The present investigation observed the effect of current density ( j), electrocoagulation (EC) time, inter electrode distance, electrode area, initial pH and settling time on the removal of nitrate (NO3 -) and sulphate (SO4 2-) from biologically treated municipal wastewater (BTMW), and optimization of the operating conditions of the EC process. A glass chamber of two-liter volume was used for the experiments with DC power supply using two electrode plates of aluminum (Al-Al). The maximum removal of NO3 - (63.21 %) and SO4 2- (79.98 %) of BTMW was found with the optimum operating conditions: current density: 2.65 A/m2, EC time: 40 min, inter electrode distance: 0.5 cm, electrode area: 160 cm2, initial pH: 7.5 and settling time: 60 min. The EC brought down the concentration of NO3 - within desirable limit of the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS)/WHO for drinking water. Under optimal operating conditions, the operating cost was found to be 1.01/m3 of water in terms of the electrode consumption (23.71 × 10-5 kg Al/m3) and energy consumption (101.76 kWh/m3).

  5. Modeling of a membrane bioreactor for production of biodiesel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solano, Paola Andrea; Moncada, Jorge Andres; Cardona, Carlos Ariel; Ruiz, Orlando Simon

    2008-01-01

    Through the use of an enzymatic catalyst lipase, produced by Candida Antarctica a membrane bioreactor was modeled and simulated to obtain biodiesel from palm oil and ethanol. A conversion of 0.97 was reached for a residence time of 10.64 min. The membrane bioreactor was compared to a CSTR reactor, where a conversion of 0.76 was obtained. It was concluded that the membrane bioreactor is a better way of producing biodiesel than the CSTR

  6. Disposable Bioreactors for Plant Micropropagation and Mass Plant Cell Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ducos, Jean-Paul; Terrier, Bénédicte; Courtois, Didier

    Different types of bioreactors are used at Nestlé R&D Centre - Tours for mass propagation of selected plant varieties by somatic embryogenesis and for large scale culture of plants cells to produce metabolites or recombinant proteins. Recent studies have been directed to cut down the production costs of these two processes by developing disposable cell culture systems. Vegetative propagation of elite plant varieties is achieved through somatic embryogenesis in liquid medium. A pilot scale process has recently been set up for the industrial propagation of Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). The current production capacity is 3.0 million embryos per year. The pre-germination of the embryos was previously conducted by temporary immersion in liquid medium in 10-L glass bioreactors. An improved process has been developed using a 10-L disposable bioreactor consisting of a bag containing a rigid plastic box ('Box-in-Bag' bioreactor), insuring, amongst other advantages, a higher light transmittance to the biomass due to its horizontal design. For large scale cell culture, two novel flexible plastic-based disposable bioreactors have been developed from 10 to 100 L working volumes, validated with several plant species ('Wave and Undertow' and 'Slug Bubble' bioreactors). The advantages and the limits of these new types of bioreactor are discussed, based mainly on our own experience on coffee somatic embryogenesis and mass cell culture of soya and tobacco.

  7. Airlift bioreactor containing chitosan-immobilized Sphingobium sp. P2 for treatment of lubricants in wastewater

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khondee, Nichakorn; Tathong, Sitti [International Postgraduate Programs in Environmental Management, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand); Bioremediation Research Unit, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand); Pinyakong, Onruthai [Bioremediation Research Unit, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand); National Center of Excellence for Environmental and Hazardous Waste Management (NCE-EHWM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand); Powtongsook, Sorawit [Center of Excellence for Marine Biotechnology (c/o Department of Marine Science, Chulalongkorn University), National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani (Thailand); Chatchupong, Thawach; Ruangchainikom, Chalermchai [Environmental Research and Management Department, PTT Research and Technology Institute, Ayutthaya (Thailand); Luepromchai, Ekawan, E-mail: ekawan.l@chula.ac.th [Bioremediation Research Unit, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand); National Center of Excellence for Environmental and Hazardous Waste Management (NCE-EHWM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand)

    2012-04-30

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Sphingobium sp. P2 effectively degraded various lubricant samples. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Efficiency of Sphingobium sp. P2 increased after immobilization on chitosan. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer High removal efficiency was due to both sorption and degradation processes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The immobilized bacteria (4 g L{sup -1}) were applied in internal loop airlift bioreactor. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The bioreactor continuously removed lubricant from emulsified wastewater. - Abstract: An internal loop airlift bioreactor containing chitosan-immobilized Sphingobium sp. P2 was applied for the removal of automotive lubricants from emulsified wastewater. The chitosan-immobilized bacteria had higher lubricant removal efficiency than free and killed-immobilized cells because they were able to sorp and degrade the lubricants simultaneously. In a semi-continuous batch experiment, the immobilized bacteria were able to remove 80-90% of the 200 mg L{sup -1} total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) from both synthetic and carwash wastewater. The internal loop airlift bioreactor, containing 4 g L{sup -1} immobilized bacteria, was later designed and operated at 2.0 h HRT (hydraulic retention time) for over 70 days. At a steady state, the reactor continuously removed 85 {+-} 5% TPH and 73 {+-} 11% chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the carwash wastewater with 25-200 mg L{sup -1} amended lubricant. The internal loop airlift reactor's simple operation and high stability demonstrate its high potential for use in treating lubricants in emulsified wastewater from carwashes and other industries.

  8. Airlift bioreactor containing chitosan-immobilized Sphingobium sp. P2 for treatment of lubricants in wastewater

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khondee, Nichakorn; Tathong, Sitti; Pinyakong, Onruthai; Powtongsook, Sorawit; Chatchupong, Thawach; Ruangchainikom, Chalermchai; Luepromchai, Ekawan

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Sphingobium sp. P2 effectively degraded various lubricant samples. ► Efficiency of Sphingobium sp. P2 increased after immobilization on chitosan. ► High removal efficiency was due to both sorption and degradation processes. ► The immobilized bacteria (4 g L −1 ) were applied in internal loop airlift bioreactor. ► The bioreactor continuously removed lubricant from emulsified wastewater. - Abstract: An internal loop airlift bioreactor containing chitosan-immobilized Sphingobium sp. P2 was applied for the removal of automotive lubricants from emulsified wastewater. The chitosan-immobilized bacteria had higher lubricant removal efficiency than free and killed-immobilized cells because they were able to sorp and degrade the lubricants simultaneously. In a semi-continuous batch experiment, the immobilized bacteria were able to remove 80–90% of the 200 mg L −1 total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) from both synthetic and carwash wastewater. The internal loop airlift bioreactor, containing 4 g L −1 immobilized bacteria, was later designed and operated at 2.0 h HRT (hydraulic retention time) for over 70 days. At a steady state, the reactor continuously removed 85 ± 5% TPH and 73 ± 11% chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the carwash wastewater with 25–200 mg L −1 amended lubricant. The internal loop airlift reactor's simple operation and high stability demonstrate its high potential for use in treating lubricants in emulsified wastewater from carwashes and other industries.

  9. Cascades of bioreactors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gooijer, de C.D.

    1995-01-01

    In this thesis a common phenomenon in bioprocess engineering is described : the execution of a certain bioprocess in more than one bioreactor. Chapter 1, a review, classifies bioprocesses by means of a number of characteristics :
    i) processes with a variable

  10. Biogeochemistry of a Field-Scale Sulfate Reducing Bioreactor Treating Mining Influenced Water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drennan, D.; Lee, I.; Landkamer, L.; Figueroa, L. A.; Webb, S.; Sharp, J. O.

    2012-12-01

    Acidity, metal release, and toxicity may be environmental health concerns in areas influenced by mining. Mining influenced waters (MIW) can be remediated through the establishment of Sulfate Reducing Bioreactors (SRBRs) as part of engineered passive treatment systems. The objective of our research is an enhanced understanding of the biogeochemistry in SRBRs by combining molecular biological and geochemical techniques. Bioreactor reactive substrate, settling pond water, and effluent (from the SRBR) were collected from a field scale SRBR in Arizona, which has been in operation for approximately 3 years. Schematically, the water passes through the SRBR; combines with flow that bypasses the SRBR into the and goes into the mixing pond, and finally is released as effluent to aerobic polishing cells. High throughput sequencing of extracted DNA revealed that Proteobacteria dominated the reactive substrate (61%), settling pond (93%), and effluent (50%), with the next most abundant phylum in all samples (excluding uncultured organisms) being Bacteriodes (1-17%). However, at the superclass level, the three samples were more variable. Gammaproteobacteria dominated the reactive substrate (35%), Betaproteobacteria in the settling pond (63%) and finally the effluent was dominated by Epsilonproteobacteria (Helicobacteraceae) (43%). Diversity was most pronounced in association with the reactor matrix, and least diverse in the settling pond. Putative functional analysis revealed a modest presence of sulfate/sulfur reducing bacteria (SRB) (>5%) in both the matrix and settling pond but a much higher abundance (43%) of sulfur reducing bacteria in the effluent. Interestingly this effluent population was composed entirely of the family Helicobacteraceae (sulfur reduction II via polysulfide pathway). Other putative functions of interest include metal reduction in the matrix (3%) and effluent (3%), as well as polysaccharide degradation, which was largely abundant in all samples (21

  11. Fundamentals of membrane bioreactors materials, systems and membrane fouling

    CERN Document Server

    Ladewig, Bradley

    2017-01-01

    This book provides a critical, carefully researched, up-to-date summary of membranes for membrane bioreactors. It presents a comprehensive and self-contained outline of the fundamentals of membrane bioreactors, especially their relevance as an advanced water treatment technology. This outline helps to bring the technology to the readers’ attention, and positions the critical topic of membrane fouling as one of the key impediments to its more widescale adoption. The target readership includes researchers and industrial practitioners with an interest in membrane bioreactors.

  12. Applicability of a novel osmotic membrane bioreactor using a specific draw solution in wastewater treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen, Nguyen Cong; Chen, Shiao-Shing; Nguyen, Hau Thi; Ngo, Huu Hao; Guo, Wenshan; Hao, Chan Wen; Lin, Po-Hsun

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to develop a new osmotic membrane bioreactor by combining a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) with forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) to treat wastewater. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt coupled with polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether was used as an innovative draw solution in this membrane hybrid system (MBBR–OsMBR) for minimizing the reverse salt flux and maintaining a healthy environment for the microorganism community. The results showed that the hybrid system achieved a stable water flux of 6.94 L/m 2 h and low salt accumulation in the bioreactor for 68 days of operation. At a filling rate of 40% (by volume of the bioreactor) of the polyethylene balls used as carriers, NH 4 + -N and PO 4 3− -P were almost removed (> 99%) while producing relatively low NO 3 − -N and NO 2 − -N in the effluent (e.g. < 0.56 and 0.96 mg/L, respectively). Furthermore, from analysis based on scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and fluorescence emission–excitation matrix spectrophotometry, there was a thin gel-like fouling layer on the FO membrane, which composed of bacteria as well as biopolymers and protein-like substances. Nonetheless, the formation of these fouling layers of the FO membrane in MBBR–OsMBR was reversible and removed by a physical cleaning technique. - Highlights: • A novel osmotic membrane bioreactor (MBBR–OsMBR) using a novel draw solution (DS) was developed. • The MBBR–OsMBR system successfully reduced membrane fouling. • EDTA sodium coupled with Triton X-100 as novel DS resulted in low salt accumulation. • Nitrification and denitrification were well performed in a biocarrier. • The MBBR–OsMBR could remarkably remove phosphorus

  13. Applicability of a novel osmotic membrane bioreactor using a specific draw solution in wastewater treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nguyen, Nguyen Cong [Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, No. 1, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC (China); Chen, Shiao-Shing, E-mail: f10919@ntut.edu.tw [Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, No. 1, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC (China); Nguyen, Hau Thi [Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, No. 1, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC (China); Ngo, Huu Hao, E-mail: h.ngo@uts.edu.au [School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW 2007 (Australia); Guo, Wenshan [School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW 2007 (Australia); Hao, Chan Wen [Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, No. 1, Sec. 3, Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC (China); Lin, Po-Hsun [New Materials Research and Development Dept., China Steel Corporation, Taiwan, ROC (China)

    2015-06-15

    This study aims to develop a new osmotic membrane bioreactor by combining a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) with forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) to treat wastewater. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt coupled with polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether was used as an innovative draw solution in this membrane hybrid system (MBBR–OsMBR) for minimizing the reverse salt flux and maintaining a healthy environment for the microorganism community. The results showed that the hybrid system achieved a stable water flux of 6.94 L/m{sup 2} h and low salt accumulation in the bioreactor for 68 days of operation. At a filling rate of 40% (by volume of the bioreactor) of the polyethylene balls used as carriers, NH{sub 4}{sup +}-N and PO{sub 4}{sup 3−}-P were almost removed (> 99%) while producing relatively low NO{sub 3}{sup −}-N and NO{sub 2}{sup −}-N in the effluent (e.g. < 0.56 and 0.96 mg/L, respectively). Furthermore, from analysis based on scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and fluorescence emission–excitation matrix spectrophotometry, there was a thin gel-like fouling layer on the FO membrane, which composed of bacteria as well as biopolymers and protein-like substances. Nonetheless, the formation of these fouling layers of the FO membrane in MBBR–OsMBR was reversible and removed by a physical cleaning technique. - Highlights: • A novel osmotic membrane bioreactor (MBBR–OsMBR) using a novel draw solution (DS) was developed. • The MBBR–OsMBR system successfully reduced membrane fouling. • EDTA sodium coupled with Triton X-100 as novel DS resulted in low salt accumulation. • Nitrification and denitrification were well performed in a biocarrier. • The MBBR–OsMBR could remarkably remove phosphorus.

  14. Streamlined bioreactor-based production of human cartilage tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonnarelli, B; Santoro, R; Adelaide Asnaghi, M; Wendt, D

    2016-05-27

    Engineered tissue grafts have been manufactured using methods based predominantly on traditional labour-intensive manual benchtop techniques. These methods impart significant regulatory and economic challenges, hindering the successful translation of engineered tissue products to the clinic. Alternatively, bioreactor-based production systems have the potential to overcome such limitations. In this work, we present an innovative manufacturing approach to engineer cartilage tissue within a single bioreactor system, starting from freshly isolated human primary chondrocytes, through the generation of cartilaginous tissue grafts. The limited number of primary chondrocytes that can be isolated from a small clinically-sized cartilage biopsy could be seeded and extensively expanded directly within a 3D scaffold in our perfusion bioreactor (5.4 ± 0.9 doublings in 2 weeks), bypassing conventional 2D expansion in flasks. Chondrocytes expanded in 3D scaffolds better maintained a chondrogenic phenotype than chondrocytes expanded on plastic flasks (collagen type II mRNA, 18-fold; Sox-9, 11-fold). After this "3D expansion" phase, bioreactor culture conditions were changed to subsequently support chondrogenic differentiation for two weeks. Engineered tissues based on 3D-expanded chondrocytes were more cartilaginous than tissues generated from chondrocytes previously expanded in flasks. We then demonstrated that this streamlined bioreactor-based process could be adapted to effectively generate up-scaled cartilage grafts in a size with clinical relevance (50 mm diameter). Streamlined and robust tissue engineering processes, as the one described here, may be key for the future manufacturing of grafts for clinical applications, as they facilitate the establishment of compact and closed bioreactor-based production systems, with minimal automation requirements, lower operating costs, and increased compliance to regulatory guidelines.

  15. Immobilized yeast in bioreactor for alcohol fermentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Handy, M.K.; Kim, K.

    1986-01-01

    Mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was developed using a Co-60 source. Cells were immobilized onto sterile, channeled alumina beads and packed into bioreactor column under controlled temperature. Feedstocks containing substrate and nutrients were fed into the bioreactor at specific rates. Beads with greatest porosity and surface area produced the most ethanol. Factors affecting ethanol productivity included: temperature, pH, flow rate, nutrients and substrate in the feedstock

  16. Advances in biotreatment of acid mine drainage and biorecovery of metals: 2. Membrane bioreactor system for sulfate reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabak, Henry H; Govind, Rakesh

    2003-12-01

    Several biotreatmemt techniques for sulfate conversion by the sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) have been proposed in the past, however few of them have been practically applied to treat sulfate containing acid mine drainage (AMD). This research deals with development of an innovative polypropylene hollow fiber membrane bioreactor system for the treatment of acid mine water from the Berkeley Pit, Butte, MT, using hydrogen consuming SRB biofilms. The advantages of using the membrane bioreactor over the conventional tall liquid phase sparged gas bioreactor systems are: large microporous membrane surface to the liquid phase; formation of hydrogen sulfide outside the membrane, preventing the mixing with the pressurized hydrogen gas inside the membrane; no requirement of gas recycle compressor; membrane surface is suitable for immobilization of active SRB, resulting in the formation of biofilms, thus preventing washout problems associated with suspended culture reactors; and lower operating costs in membrane bioreactors, eliminating gas recompression and gas recycle costs. Information is provided on sulfate reduction rate studies and on biokinetic tests with suspended SRB in anaerobic digester sludge and sediment master culture reactors and with SRB biofilms in bench-scale SRB membrane bioreactors. Biokinetic parameters have been determined using biokinetic models for the master culture and membrane bioreactor systems. Data are presented on the effect of acid mine water sulfate loading at 25, 50, 75 and 100 ml/min in scale-up SRB membrane units, under varied temperatures (25, 35 and 40 degrees C) to determine and optimize sulfate conversions for an effective AMD biotreatment. Pilot-scale studies have generated data on the effect of flow rates of acid mine water (MGD) and varied inlet sulfate concentrations in the influents on the resultant outlet sulfate concentration in the effluents and on the number of SRB membrane modules needed for the desired sulfate conversion in

  17. Construction of a Simple Multipurpose Airlift Bioreactor and its ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    BSN

    The aim of the present research is to develop a simple airlift bioreactor which can be operated even ... compression metal. The bioreactor is mixed ... the method developed by (Bailey and Olis, .... (Ed) Concise Encyclopedia of Bio-resources.

  18. Scale up of diesel oil biodegradation in a baffled roller bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikakhtari, Hossein; Song, Wanning; Kumar, Pardeep; Nemati, Mehdi; Hill, Gordon A

    2010-05-01

    Diesel oil is a suitable substance to represent petroleum contamination from accidental spills in operating and transportation facilities. Using a microbial culture enriched from a petroleum contaminated soil, biodegradation of diesel oil was carried out in 2.2, 55, and 220 L roller baffled bioreactors. The effects of bioreactor rotation speed (from 5 to 45 rpm) and liquid loading (from 18% to 73% of total volume) on the biodegradation of diesel oil were studied. In the small scale bioreactor (2.2L), the maximum rotation speed of 45 rpm resulted in the highest biodegradation rate with a first order biodegradation kinetic constant of 0.095 d(-1). In the larger scale bioreactors, rotation speed did not affect the biodegradation rate. Liquid loadings higher than 64% resulted in reduced biodegradation rates in the small scale bioreactor; however, in the larger roller bioreactors liquid loading did not affect the biodegradation rate. Biodegradation of diesel oil at 5 rpm and 73% loading is recommended for operating large scale roller baffled bioreactors. Under these conditions, high diesel oil concentrations up to 50 gL(-1) can be bioremediated at a rate of 1.61 gL(-1)d(-1). Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Bioreactor configurations for ex-situ treatment of perchlorate: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutton, Paul M

    2006-12-01

    The perchlorate anion has been detected in the drinking water of millions of people living in the United States. At perchlorate levels equal to or greater than 1 mg/L and where the water is not immediately used for household purposes, ex-situ biotreatment has been widely applied. The principal objective of this paper was to compare the technical and economic advantages and disadvantages of various bioreactor configurations in the treatment of low- and medium-strength perchlorate-contaminated aqueous streams. The ideal bioreactor configuration for this application should be able to operate efficiently while achieving a long solids retention time, be designed to promote physical-chemical adsorption in addition to biodegradation, and operate under plug-flow hydraulic conditions. To date, the granular activated carbon (GAC) or sand-media-based fluidized bed reactors (FBRs) and GAC, sand-, or plastic-media-based packed bed reactors (PBRs) have been the reactor configurations most widely applied for perchlorate treatment. Only the FBR configuration has been applied commercially. Commercial-scale cost information presented implies no economic advantage for the PBR relative to the FBR configuration. Full-scale application information provides evidence that the FBR is a good choice for treating perchlorate-contaminated aqueous streams.

  20. Oscillating Cell Culture Bioreactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freed, Lisa E.; Cheng, Mingyu; Moretti, Matteo G.

    2010-01-01

    To better exploit the principles of gas transport and mass transport during the processes of cell seeding of 3D scaffolds and in vitro culture of 3D tissue engineered constructs, the oscillatory cell culture bioreactor provides a flow of cell suspensions and culture media directly through a porous 3D scaffold (during cell seeding) and a 3D construct (during subsequent cultivation) within a highly gas-permeable closed-loop tube. This design is simple, modular, and flexible, and its component parts are easy to assemble and operate, and are inexpensive. Chamber volume can be very low, but can be easily scaled up. This innovation is well suited to work with different biological specimens, particularly with cells having high oxygen requirements and/or shear sensitivity, and different scaffold structures and dimensions. The closed-loop changer is highly gas permeable to allow efficient gas exchange during the cell seeding/culturing process. A porous scaffold, which may be seeded with cells, is fixed by means of a scaffold holder to the chamber wall with scaffold/construct orientation with respect to the chamber determined by the geometry of the scaffold holder. A fluid, with/without biological specimens, is added to the chamber such that all, or most, of the air is displaced (i.e., with or without an enclosed air bubble). Motion is applied to the chamber within a controlled environment (e.g., oscillatory motion within a humidified 37 C incubator). Movement of the chamber induces relative motion of the scaffold/construct with respect to the fluid. In case the fluid is a cell suspension, cells will come into contact with the scaffold and eventually adhere to it. Alternatively, cells can be seeded on scaffolds by gel entrapment prior to bioreactor cultivation. Subsequently, the oscillatory cell culture bioreactor will provide efficient gas exchange (i.e., of oxygen and carbon dioxide, as required for viability of metabolically active cells) and controlled levels of fluid

  1. On The Relationship between Suspended Solids of Different Size, the Observed Boundary Flux and Rejection Values for Membranes Treating a Civil Wastewater Stream

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Stoller

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Membrane fouling is one of the main issues in membrane processes, leading to a progressive decrease of permeability. High fouling rates strongly reduce the productivity of the membrane plant, and negatively affect the surviving rate of the membrane modules, especially when real wastewater is treated. On the other hand, since selectivity must meet certain target requirements, fouling may lead to unexpected selectivity improvements due to the formation of an additional superficial layer formed of foulants and that act like a selective secondary membrane layer. In this case, a certain amount of fouling may be profitable to the point where selectivity targets were reached and productivity is not significantly affected. In this work, the secondary clarifier of a step sludge recirculation bioreactor treating municipal wastewater was replaced by a membrane unit, aiming at recovering return sludge and producing purified water. Fouling issues of such a system were checked by boundary flux measurements. A simple model for the description of the observed productivity and selectivity values as a function of membrane fouling is proposed.

  2. Cake formation and consolidation: main factors governing the applicable flux in anaerobic submerged membrane bioreactors (AnSMBR) treating acidified wastewater

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jeison, D.; Lier, van J.B.

    2007-01-01

    A laboratory scale anaerobic submerged membrane bioreactor (AnSMBR) was operated for over 200 days, with a volatile fatty acid mixture as substrate. Gas sparging was used for mixing and to provide membrane surface shear. Results show that cake formation was entirely governing the applicable flux.

  3. Performance and fouling characteristics of different pore-sized submerged ceramic membrane bioreactors (SCMBR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Le; Ng, How Yong; Ong, Say Leong

    2009-01-01

    The membrane bioreactor (MBR), a combination of activated sludge process and the membrane separation system, has been widely used in wastewater treatment. However, 90% of MBR reported were employing polymeric membranes. The usage of ceramic membranes in MBR is quite rare. Four submerged ceramic membrane bioreactors (SCMBRs) with different membrane pore size were used in this study to treat sewage. The results showed that the desirable carbonaceous removal of 95% and ammonia nitrogen removal of 98% were obtained for all the SCMBRs. It was also showed that the ceramic membranes were able to reject some portions of the protein and carbohydrate, whereby the carbohydrate rejection rate was much higher than that of protein. Membrane pore size did not significantly affect the COD and TOC removal efficiencies, the composition of EPS and SMP or the membrane rejection rate, although slight differences were observed. The SCMBR with the biggest membrane pore size fouled fastest, and membrane pore size was a main contributor for the different fouling potential observed.

  4. Membrane bioreactor technology: A novel approach to the treatment of compost leachate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, Kayleigh; Ghoshdastidar, Avik J.; Hanmore, Jillian [Department of Chemistry, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R6 (Canada); Frazee, James [E and Q Consulting and Associates Limited, Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R1 (Canada); Tong, Anthony Z., E-mail: anthony.tong@acadiau.ca [Department of Chemistry, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R6 (Canada)

    2013-11-15

    Highlights: • First membrane bioreactor treatment method for compost leachate. • No chemical additive or UV radiation source in this new biological method. • Removal rates of more than 99% for organics and ammonium were achieved. • Heavy metals were reduced by at least 82.7% except copper. - Abstract: Compost leachate forms during the composting process of organic material. It is rich in oxidizable organics, ammonia and metals, which pose a risk to the environment if released without proper treatment. An innovative method based on the membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology was developed to treat compost leachate over 39 days. Water quality parameters, such as pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were measured daily. Concentrations of caffeine and metals were measured over the course of the experiment using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) respectively. A decrease of more than 99% was achieved for a COD of 116 g/L in the initial leachate. Ammonia was decreased from 2720 mg/L to 0.046 mg/L, while the nitrate concentration in the effluent rose to 710 mg/L. The bacteria in the MBR system adjusted to the presence of the leachate, and increased 4 orders of magnitude. Heavy metals were removed by at least 82.7% except copper. These successful results demonstrated the membrane bioreactor technology is feasible, efficient method for the treatment of compost leachate.

  5. Membrane bioreactor technology: A novel approach to the treatment of compost leachate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Kayleigh; Ghoshdastidar, Avik J.; Hanmore, Jillian; Frazee, James; Tong, Anthony Z.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • First membrane bioreactor treatment method for compost leachate. • No chemical additive or UV radiation source in this new biological method. • Removal rates of more than 99% for organics and ammonium were achieved. • Heavy metals were reduced by at least 82.7% except copper. - Abstract: Compost leachate forms during the composting process of organic material. It is rich in oxidizable organics, ammonia and metals, which pose a risk to the environment if released without proper treatment. An innovative method based on the membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology was developed to treat compost leachate over 39 days. Water quality parameters, such as pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were measured daily. Concentrations of caffeine and metals were measured over the course of the experiment using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) respectively. A decrease of more than 99% was achieved for a COD of 116 g/L in the initial leachate. Ammonia was decreased from 2720 mg/L to 0.046 mg/L, while the nitrate concentration in the effluent rose to 710 mg/L. The bacteria in the MBR system adjusted to the presence of the leachate, and increased 4 orders of magnitude. Heavy metals were removed by at least 82.7% except copper. These successful results demonstrated the membrane bioreactor technology is feasible, efficient method for the treatment of compost leachate

  6. Remediation of antimony-rich mine waters: Assessment of antimony removal and shifts in the microbial community of an onsite field-scale bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Weimin; Xiao, Enzong; Kalin, Margarete; Krumins, Valdis; Dong, Yiran; Ning, Zengping; Liu, Tong; Sun, Min; Zhao, Yanlong; Wu, Shiliang; Mao, Jianzhong; Xiao, Tangfu

    2016-08-01

    An on-site field-scale bioreactor for passive treatment of antimony (Sb) contamination was installed downstream of an active Sb mine in Southwest China, and operated for one year (including a six month monitoring period). This bioreactor consisted of five treatment units, including one pre-aerobic cell, two aerobic cells, and two microaerobic cells. With the aerobic cells inoculated with indigenous mine water microflora, the bioreactor removed more than 90% of total soluble Sb and 80% of soluble antimonite (Sb(III)). An increase in pH and decrease of oxidation-reduction potential (Eh) was also observed along the flow direction. High-throughput sequencing of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene variable (V4) region revealed that taxonomically diverse microbial communities developed in the bioreactor. Metal (loid)-oxidizing bacteria including Ferrovum, Thiomonas, Gallionella, and Leptospirillum, were highly enriched in the bioreactor cells where the highest total Sb and Sb(III) removal occurred. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that a suite of in situ physicochemical parameters including pH and Eh were substantially correlated with the overall microbial communities. Based on an UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) tree and PCoA (Principal Coordinates Analysis), the microbial composition of each cell was distinct, indicating these in situ physicochemical parameters had an effect in shaping the indigenous microbial communities. Overall, this study was the first to employ a field-scale bioreactor to treat Sb-rich mine water onsite and, moreover, the findings suggest the feasibility of the bioreactor in removing elevated Sb from mine waters. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Plantform Bioreactor for Mass Micropropagation of Date Palm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almusawi, Abdulminam H A; Sayegh, Abdullah J; Alshanaw, Ansam M S; Griffis, John L

    2017-01-01

    A novel protocol for the commercial production of date palm through micropropagation is presented. This protocol includes the use of a semisolid medium alternation or in combination with a temporary immersion system (TIS, Plantform bioreactor) in date palm micropropagation. The use of the Plantform bioreactor for date palm results in an improved multiplication rate, reduced micropropagation time, and improved weaning success. It also reduces the cost of saleable units and thus improves economic return for commercial micropropagation. The use of the Plantform bioreactor successfully addresses other hindrances that can occur during the scale-up of date palm micropropagation, including asynchrony of somatic embryos, limited maturation of somatic embryos, and highly variable germination frequencies of embryos.

  8. Pharmaceutical proteins produced in plant bioreactor in recent years ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Plant bioreactor, also called molecular farming, has enormous potential to produce recombinant proteins infinitely. Products expressed in plants have natural physico-chemical properties and bioactivities. Plant bioreactor could be a safe, economic and convenient production system, and can been widely applied in ...

  9. L-Tryptophan depletion bioreactor, a possible cancer therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rolf Bambauer

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The cancer therapeutic strategies knownto date are not adequate for all cancer patients. Most of them are followed by a high rate of side effects and complications. The L-tryptophan depletion bioreactor is described as a possible new method of cancer therapy. L-tryptophan is an essential amino acid which has been recognized as an important cancer nutrient and its removal can lead to destruction of the tumour. Normal human cells or tumor cells cannot synthesize L-tryptophan and therefore tumor resistance is unlikely to develop. L-tryptophan is also a constituent for different bio-molecules such as Serotonin, Melatonin, and is needed for other synthesis processes in the cell growth. L-tryptophan degrading enzymes with 3 iso-enzymes called tryptophan side chain oxydase (TSO I, II, III were isolated. The 3 iso-enzymes can be differentiated by tryptic digestion. They have different molecular weights with different effectivenesses. All the TSO enzymes have heme that can catalyze essentially similar reactions involving L-tryptophan as a substrate. The most effective TSO is the type TSO III. A column which contained TSO as a bioreactor was integrated in a plasmapheresis unit and tested it in different animals. In sheep and rabbits L-tryptophan depletion in plasma was shown at 95% and 100% rates respectively by a single pass through the bioreactor. The results in immune supprimized rats with tumors were impressive, too. In 20 different tumor cell lines there were different efficacies. Brest cancer and medulloblastoma showed the greatest efficacy of L-tryptophan degrading. The gene technology of TSO production from Pseudomonas is associated with formation of endotoxins. This disadvantage can be prevented by different washing procedures or by using fungal sources for the TSO production. TSO III is developed to treat cancer diseases successfully, and has low side effects. A combination of L-tryptophan depletion with all available cancer therapies is

  10. Evaluation of two pilot scale membrane bioreactors for the elimination of selected surfactants from municipal wastewaters

    Science.gov (United States)

    González, Susana; Petrovic, Mira; Barceló, Damiá

    2008-07-01

    SummaryThe removal of selected surfactants, linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS), coconut diethanol amides (CDEA) and alkylphenol ethoxylates and their degradation products were investigated using a two membrane bioreactor (MBR) with hollow fiber and plate and frame membranes. The two pilot plants MBR run in parallel to a full-scale conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment. A total of eight influent samples with the corresponding effluent samples were analysed by solid phase extraction-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-MS-MS). The results indicate that both MBR have a better effluent quality in terms of chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD), NH4+ , concentration and total suspended solids (TSS). MBR showed a better similar performance in the overall elimination of the total nonylphenolic compounds, achieving a 75% of elimination or a 65% (the same elimination reached by CAS). LAS and CDEA showed similar elimination in the three systems investigated and no significant differences were observed.

  11. Staying alive! Sensors used for monitoring cell health in bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Mara, P; Farrell, A; Bones, J; Twomey, K

    2018-01-01

    Current and next generation sensors such as pH, dissolved oxygen (dO) and temperature sensors that will help drive the use of single-use bioreactors in industry are reviewed. The current trend in bioreactor use is shifting from the traditional fixed bioreactors to the use of single-use bioreactors (SUBs). However as the shift in paradigm occurs there is now a greater need for sensor technology to play 'catch up' with the innovation of bioreactor technology. Many of the sensors still in use today rely on technology created in the 1960's such as the Clark-type dissolved oxygen sensor or glass pH electrodes. This is due to the strict requirements of sensors to monitor bioprocesses resulting in the use of traditional well understood methods, making it difficult to incorporate new sensor technology into industry. A number of advances in sensor technology have been achieved in recent years, a few of these advances and future research will also be discussed in this review. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Comparison of biomass from integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS), moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating recalcitrant organics: Importance of attached biomass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chunkai; Shi, Yijing; Xue, Jinkai; Zhang, Yanyan; Gamal El-Din, Mohamed; Liu, Yang

    2017-03-15

    This study compared microbial characteristics and oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) treatment performance of five types of microbial biomass (MBBR-biofilm, IFAS-biofilm, IFAS-floc, MBR-aerobic-floc, and MBR-anoxic-floc) cultivated from three types of bioreactors (MBBR, IFAS, and MBR) in batch experiments. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium, acid extractable fraction (AEF), and naphthenic acids (NAs) removals efficiencies were distinctly different between suspended and attached bacterial aggregates and between aerobic and anoxic suspended flocs. MBR-aerobic-floc and MBR-anoxic-floc demonstrated COD removal efficiencies higher than microbial aggregates obtained from MBBR and IFAS, MBBR and IFAS biofilm had higher AEF removal efficiencies than those obtained using flocs. MBBR-biofilm demonstrated the most efficient NAs removal from OSPW. NAs degradation efficiency was highly dependent on the carbon number and NA cyclization number according to UPLC/HRMS analysis. Mono- and di-oxidized NAs were the dominant oxy-NA species in OSPW samples. Microbial analysis with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) indicated that the bacterial 16S rRNA gene abundance was significantly higher in the batch bioreactors with suspended flocs than in those with biofilm, the NSR gene abundance in the MBR-anoxic bioreactor was significantly lower than that in aerobic batch bioreactors, and denitrifiers were more abundant in the suspended phase of the activated sludge flocs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Food industrial wastewater reuse by membrane bio-reactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patthanant Natpinit

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this investigation was to study the possibility and performance of treating food industrial wastewater by Membrane BioReactor (MBR. In addition, the effluent of MBR was treated by Reverse Osmosis system (RO to reuse in boiler or cooling tower. The membranes of hollow fiber type were filled in the aerobic tank with aerobe bacteria. The total area of membrane 6 units was 630 m2 so the flux of the operation was 0.25 m/d or 150 m3/d. The spiral wound RO was operated at 100 m3/d of influent and received 72 m3/d of permeate. The sludge volume (MLSS of MBR was maintained at 8,000-10,000 mg/l. The average COD and SS of MBR influent were 600 mg/l and 300 mg/l respectively. After treating by MBR, COD and SS of effluent were maintained at less than 100 mg/l and less than 10 mg/l respectively. In the same way, COD and SS of RO permeate were less than 10 mg/l and less than 5 mg/l respectively.

  14. Stable aerobic granules in continuous-flow bioreactor with self-forming dynamic membrane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hongbo; Li, Yajie; Yang, Changzhu; Pu, Wenhong; He, Liu; Bo, Fu

    2012-10-01

    A novel continuous-flow bioreactor with aerobic granular sludge and self-forming dynamic membrane (CGSFDMBR) was developed for efficient wastewater treatment. Under continuous-flow operation, aerobic granular sludge was successfully cultivated and characterized with small particle size of about 0.1-1.0mm, low settling velocity of about 15-25 m/h, loose structure and high water content of about 96-98%. To maintain the stability of aerobic granular sludge, strategies based on the differences of settling velocity and particle-size between granular and flocculent sludge were implemented. Moreover, in CGSFDMBR, membrane fouling was greatly relieved. Dynamic membrane was just cleaned once in more than 45 days' operation. CGSFDMBR presented good performance in treating septic tank wastewater, obtaining average COD, NH(4)(+)-N, TN and TP removal rates of 83.3%, 73.3%, 67.3% and 60%, respectively, which was more efficient than conventional bioreactors since that carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus were simultaneously removed in a single aerobic reactor. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Impact of fulvic acids on bio-methanogenic treatment of municipal solid waste incineration leachate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dang, Yan; Lei, Yuqing; Liu, Zhao; Xue, Yiting; Sun, Dezhi; Wang, Li-Ying; Holmes, Dawn E

    2016-12-01

    A considerable amount of leachate with high fulvic acid (FA) content is generated during the municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration process. This incineration leachate is usually processed by downstream bio-methanogenic treatment. However, few studies have examined the impact that these compounds have on methanogenesis and how they are degraded and transformed during the treatment process. In this study, a laboratory-scale expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor was operated with MSW incineration leachate containing various concentrations of FA (1500 mg/L to 8000 mg/L) provided as the influent. We found that FA degradation rates decreased from 86% to 72% when FA concentrations in the reactor were increased, and that molecular size, level of humification and aromatization of the residual FA macromolecules all increased after bio-methanogenic treatment. Increasing FA influent concentrations also inhibited growth of hydrogenotrophic methanogens from the genus Methanobacterium and syntrophic bacteria from the genus Syntrophomonas, which resulted in a decrease in methane production and a concomitant increase in CO 2 content in the biogas. Sequences most similar to species from the genus Anaerolinea went up as FA concentrations increased. Bacteria from this genus are capable of extracellular electron transfer and may be using FA as an electron acceptor for growth or as a shuttle for syntrophic exchange with other microorganisms in the reactor. In order to determine whether FA could serve as an electron shuttle to promote syntrophy in an anaerobic digester, co-cultures of Geobacter metallireducens and G. sulfurreducens were grown in the presence of FA from raw leachate or from residual bioreactor effluent. While raw FA stimulated electron transfer between these two bacteria, residual FA did not have any electron shuttling abilities, indicating that FA underwent a significant transformation during the bio-methanogenic treatment process. These results are

  16. High-throughput miniaturized bioreactors for cell culture process development: reproducibility, scalability, and control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rameez, Shahid; Mostafa, Sigma S; Miller, Christopher; Shukla, Abhinav A

    2014-01-01

    Decreasing the timeframe for cell culture process development has been a key goal toward accelerating biopharmaceutical development. Advanced Microscale Bioreactors (ambr™) is an automated micro-bioreactor system with miniature single-use bioreactors with a 10-15 mL working volume controlled by an automated workstation. This system was compared to conventional bioreactor systems in terms of its performance for the production of a monoclonal antibody in a recombinant Chinese Hamster Ovary cell line. The miniaturized bioreactor system was found to produce cell culture profiles that matched across scales to 3 L, 15 L, and 200 L stirred tank bioreactors. The processes used in this article involve complex feed formulations, perturbations, and strict process control within the design space, which are in-line with processes used for commercial scale manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. Changes to important process parameters in ambr™ resulted in predictable cell growth, viability and titer changes, which were in good agreement to data from the conventional larger scale bioreactors. ambr™ was found to successfully reproduce variations in temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and pH conditions similar to the larger bioreactor systems. Additionally, the miniature bioreactors were found to react well to perturbations in pH and DO through adjustments to the Proportional and Integral control loop. The data presented here demonstrates the utility of the ambr™ system as a high throughput system for cell culture process development. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  17. Define of internal recirculation coefficient for biological wastewater treatment in anoxic and aerobic bioreactors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossinskyi, Volodymyr

    2018-02-01

    The biological wastewater treatment technologies in anoxic and aerobic bioreactors with recycle of sludge mixture are used for the effective removal of organic compounds from wastewater. The change rate of sludge mixture recirculation between bioreactors leads to a change and redistribution of concentrations of organic compounds in sludge mixture in bioreactors and change hydrodynamic regimes in bioreactors. Determination of the coefficient of internal recirculation of sludge mixture between bioreactors is important for the choice of technological parameters of biological treatment (wastewater treatment duration in anoxic and aerobic bioreactors, flow capacity of recirculation pumps). Determination of the coefficient of internal recirculation of sludge mixture requires integrated consideration of hydrodynamic parameter (flow rate), kinetic parameter (rate of oxidation of organic compounds) and physical-chemical parameter of wastewater (concentration of organic compounds). The conducted numerical experiment from the proposed mathematical equations allowed to obtain analytical dependences of the coefficient of internal recirculation sludge mixture between bioreactors on the concentration of organic compounds in wastewater, the duration of wastewater treatment in bioreactors.

  18. Computational modeling of adherent cell growth in a hollow-fiber membrane bioreactor for large-scale 3-D bone tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohebbi-Kalhori, Davod; Behzadmehr, Amin; Doillon, Charles J; Hadjizadeh, Afra

    2012-09-01

    The use of hollow-fiber membrane bioreactors (HFMBs) has been proposed for three-dimensional bone tissue growth at the clinical scale. However, to achieve an efficient HFMB design, the relationship between cell growth and environmental conditions must be determined. Therefore, in this work, a dynamic double-porous media model was developed to determine nutrient-dependent cell growth for bone tissue formation in a HFMB. The whole hollow-fiber scaffold within the bioreactor was treated as a porous domain in this model. The domain consisted of two interpenetrating porous regions, including a porous lumen region available for fluid flow and a porous extracapillary space filled with a collagen gel that contained adherent cells for promoting long-term growth into tissue-like mass. The governing equations were solved numerically and the model was validated using previously published experimental results. The contributions of several bioreactor design and process parameters to the performance of the bioreactor were studied. The results demonstrated that the process and design parameters of the HFMB significantly affect nutrient transport and thus cell behavior over a long period of culture. The approach presented here can be applied to any cell type and used to develop tissue engineering hollow-fiber scaffolds.

  19. Removal of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) and its intermediate, sulfophenylalkanoates (spa) using a bioreactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, In Ku [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ji Hyeon; Yoo, Young Je [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hwa Yong [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1995-12-01

    A fluidized-bed bioreactor was used to treat the industrial wastewater containing linear alkylbenzene sulfonate(LAS). Microorganism obtained by acclimation showed low growth rate and substrate inhibition at relatively high substrate concentration. It was found from the experiment using fluidized-bed bioreactor that 64 {mu}m-thick biofilm was made after 15 days. The 93.4% LAS removal efficiency in the reactor was obtained at 120 mg/L of initial LAS concentration, while the removal efficiency of sulfophenylalkannoates(SPA) which is a representative intermediate of biodegradation of LAS was 60-88% depending on the initial concentration of LAS. When sodium benzoate was added to the second reactor, the remaining SPA became lowered by 40% compared to the control experiment. And when activated carbon was added to the reactor, the removal efficiency of SPA was 96.2% and that of LAS was 100% when initial inflowing concentration of LAS was 350 mg/L. 13 refs., 4 tabs., 8 figs.

  20. Functional study on two artificial liver bioreactors with collagen gel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    XU Bing

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available ObjectiveTo improve the hollow fiber bioreactor of artificial liver. MethodsRat hepatocytes mixed with collagen solution were injected into the external cavity of a hollow fiber reactor to construct a bioreactor of hepatocytes suspended in collagen gel (group Ⅰ. Other rat hepatocytes suspended in solution were injected into the external cavity of a hollow fiber reactor with a layer of collagen on the wall of the external cavity to construct a bioreactor of collagen layer and hepatocytes (group Ⅱ. For each group, the culture solution circulated through the internal cavity of the hollow fiber bioreactor; the bioreactor was put in a culture box for 9 d, and the culture solution in the internal cavity was exchanged for new one every 24 h; the concentrations of albumin (Alb, urea, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH in the culture solution samples were measured to examine the hepatocyte function of the bioreactor. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 130. Continuous data were expressed as mean±SD, and comparison between groups was made by paired t test. ResultsFor groups Ⅰ and Ⅱ, Alb levels reached peak values on day 3 of culture (1.41±0.08 g/L and 0.65±0.05 g/L; from day 3 to 9, group I had a significantly higher Alb level than group Ⅱ (t>7.572, P<0.01. For groups Ⅰ and Ⅱ, urea levels reached peak values on days 3 and 5 of culture (1.73±0.14 mmol/L and 1.56±0.18 mmol/L; from days 5 to 9, group I had a significantly higher urea level than group Ⅱ (t>8.418, P<0.01. For groups Ⅰ and Ⅱ, LDH levels reached peak values on day 9 of culture (32.03±9.13 U/L and 70.17±25.28 U/L; from days 1 to 9, group I had a significantly lower LDH level than group Ⅱ(t>5.633, P<0.01. Therefore, the bioreactor of hepatocytes suspended in collagen gel (group Ⅰ showed a better hepatocyte function and less hepatic enzyme leakage compared with the bioreactor of collagen layer and hepatocytes (group Ⅱ. Conclusion

  1. Disposable bioreactors: maturation into pharmaceutical glycoprotein manufacturing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brecht, René

    2009-01-01

    Modern biopharmaceutical development is characterised by deep understanding of the structure activity relationship of biological drugs. Therefore, the production process has to be tailored more to the product requirements than to the existing equipment in a certain facility. In addition, the major challenges for the industry are to lower the high production costs of biologics and to shorten the overall development time. The flexibility for providing different modes of operation using disposable bioreactors in the same facility can fulfil these demands and support tailor-made processes.Over the last 10 years, a huge and still increasing number of disposable bioreactors have entered the market. Bioreactor volumes of up to 2,000 L can be handled by using disposable bag systems. Each individual technology has been made available for different purposes up to the GMP compliant production of therapeutic drugs, even for market supply. This chapter summarises disposable technology development over the last decade by comparing the different technologies and showing trends and concepts for the future.

  2. Hydraulic Behavior in The Downflow Hanging Sponge Bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izarul Machdar

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Performance efficiency in a Downflow Hanging Sponge (DHS bioreactor is associated with the amount of time that a wastewater remains in the bioreactor. The bioreactor is considered as a plug flow reactor and its hydraulic residence time (HRT depends on the void volume of packing material and the flow rate. In this study, hydraulic behavior of DHS bioreactor was investigated by using tracer method. Two types of sponge module covers, cylindrical plastic frame (module-1 and plastic hair roller (module-2, were investigated and compared. A concentrated NaCl solution used as an inert tracer and input as a pulse at the inlet of DHS bioreactor. Analysis of the residence time distribution (RTD curves provided interpretation of the index distribution or holdup water (active volume, the degree of short-circuiting, number of tanks in series (the plug flow characteristic, and the dispersion number. It was found that the actual HRT was primarily shorter than theoretical HRT of each test. Holdup water of the DHS bioreactor ranged from 60% to 97% and 36% to 60% of module-1 and module-2, respectively. Eventhough module-1 has higher effective volume than module-2, result showed that the dispersion numbers of the two modules were not significant difference. Furthermore, N-values were found larger at a higher flow rate. It was concluded that a DHS bioreactor design should incorporated a combination of water distributor system, higher loading rate at startup process to generate a hydraulic behavior closer to an ideal plug flow.ABSTRAKEfisiensi unjuk kerja bioreactor Downflow Hanging Sponge (DHS berkaitan dengan lamanya waktu tinggal limbah berada di dalam bioreaktor tersebut. Bioreaktor DHS dianggap sebagai seuatu reaktor aliran sumbat (plug flow dimana waktu tinggal hidraulik (HRT tergantung pada volume pori material isian dan laju alir. Dua jenis modul digunakan dalam penelitian ini, yang diberi nama dengan module-1 dan module-2 untuk melihat pengaruh jenis modul

  3. Effects of biodrying process on municipal solid waste properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tambone, F; Scaglia, B; Scotti, S; Adani, F

    2011-08-01

    In this paper, the effect of biodrying process on municipal solid waste (MSW) properties was studied. The results obtained indicated that after 14d, biodrying reduced the water content of waste, allowing the production of biodried waste with a net heating value (NHV) of 16,779±2,074kJ kg(-1) wet weight, i.e. 41% higher than that of untreated waste. The low moisture content of the biodried material reduced, also, the potential impacts of the waste, i.e. potential self-ignition and potential odors production. Low waste impacts suggest to landfill the biodried material obtaining energy via biogas production by waste re-moistening, i.e. bioreactor. Nevertheless, results of this work indicate that biodrying process because of the partial degradation of the organic fraction contained in the waste (losses of 290g kg(-1) VS), reduced of about 28% the total producible biogas. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactor and process for wastewater treatment

    KAUST Repository

    Amy, Gary

    2015-07-09

    An anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactor (AnEMBR) can include a vessel into which wastewater can be introduced, an anode electrode in the vessel suitable for supporting electrochemically active microorganisms (EAB, also can be referred to as anode reducing bacteria, exoelectrogens, or electricigens) that oxidize organic compounds in the wastewater, and a cathode membrane electrode in the vessel, which is configured to pass a treated liquid through the membrane while retaining the electrochemically active microorganisms and the hydrogenotrophic methanogens (for example, the key functional microbial communities, including EAB, methanogens and possible synergistic fermenters) in the vessel. The cathode membrane electrode can be suitable for catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction to generate hydro en.

  5. Leachate properties as indicators of methane production process in MSW anaerobic digestion bioreactor landfill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Yunmin; Wang, Li'ao; Xu, Tengtun; Li, Jiaxiang; Song, Xue; Hu, Chaochao

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, bioreactor was used to simulate the municipal solid waste (MSW) biodegradation process of landfill, tracing and testing trash methanogenic process and characteristics of leachate during anaerobic digestion, exploring the relationship between the two processes, aiming to screen out the indicators that can predict the methane production process of anaerobic digestion, which provides the support for real-time adjustment of technological parameters of MSW anaerobic digestion system and ensures the efficient operation of bioreactor landfill. The results showed that MSW digestion gas production rate constant is 0.0259 1/d, biogas production potential is 61.93 L/kg. The concentration of TN in leachate continued to increase, showing the trend of nitrogen accumulation. "Ammonia poisoning" was an important factor inhibiting waste anaerobic digestion gas production. In the anaerobic digestion system, although pH values of leachate can indicate methane production process to some degree, there are obvious lagging behind, so it cannot be used as indicator alone. The TOC/TN value of leachate has a certain indication on the stability of the methane production system. When TOC/TN value was larger than12, anaerobic digestion system was stable along with normal production of biogas. However, when TOC/TN value was lower than 12, the digestive system is unstable and the gas production is small. In the process of anaerobic digestion, the synthesis and transformation of valeric acid is more active. HAc/HVa changed greatly and had obvious inflection points, from which methane production period can be predicted.

  6. Biologically Pre-Treated Habitation Waste Water as a Sustainable Green Urine Pre-Treat Solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, W. Andrew; Thompson, Bret; Sevanthi, Ritesh; Morse, Audra; Meyer, Caitlin; Callahan, Michael

    2017-01-01

    The ability to recover water from urine and flush water is a critical process to allow long term sustainable human habitation in space or bases on the moon or mars. Organic N present as urea or similar compounds can hydrolyze producing free ammonia. This reaction results in an increase in the pH converting ammonium to ammonia which is volatile and not removed by distillation. The increase in pH will also cause precipitation reactions to occur. In order to prevent this, urine on ISS is combined with a pretreat solution. While use of a pretreatment solution has been successful, there are numerous draw backs including: storage and use of highly hazardous solutions, limitations on water recovery (less than 85%), and production of brine with pore dewatering characteristics. We evaluated the use of biologically treated habitation wastewaters (ISS and early planetary base) to replace the current pretreat solution. We evaluated both amended and un-amended bioreactor effluent. For the amended effluent, we evaluated "green" pretreat chemicals including citric acid and citric acid amended with benzoic acid. We used a mock urine/air separator modeled after the urine collection assembly on ISS. The urine/air separator was challenged continually for >6 months. Depending on the test point, the separator was challenged daily with donated urine and flushed with amended or un-amended reactor effluent. We monitored the pH of the urine, flush solution and residual pH in the urine/air separator after each urine event. We also evaluated solids production and biological growth. Our results support the use of both un-amended and amended bioreactor effluent to maintain the operability of the urine /air separator. The ability to use bioreactor effluent could decrease consumable cost, reduce hazards associated with current pre-treat chemicals, allow other membrane based desalination processes to be utilized, and improve brine characteristics.

  7. Construction and evaluation of urinary bladder bioreactor for urologic tissue-engineering purposes.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Davis, Niall F

    2012-01-31

    OBJECTIVE: To design and construct a urinary bladder bioreactor for urologic tissue-engineering purposes and to compare the viability and proliferative activity of cell-seeded extracellular matrix scaffolds cultured in the bioreactor with conventional static growth conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A urinary bladder bioreactor was designed and constructed to replicate physiologic bladder dynamics. The bioreactor mimicked the filling pressures of the human bladder by way of a cyclical low-delivery pressure regulator. In addition, cell growth was evaluated by culturing human urothelial cells (UCs) on porcine extracellular matrix scaffolds in the bioreactor and in static growth conditions for 5 consecutive days. The attachment, viability, and proliferative potential were assessed and compared with quantitative viability indicators and by fluorescent markers for intracellular esterase activity and plasma membrane integrity. Scaffold integrity was characterized with scanning electron microscopy and 4\\

  8. Electrochemical oxidation of recalcitrant organic compounds in biologically treated municipal solid waste leachate in a flow reactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quan, Xuejun; Cheng, Zhiliang; Chen, Bo; Zhu, Xincai

    2013-10-01

    Biologically-treated municipal solid waste (MSW) leachate still contains many kinds of bio-recalcitrant organic matter. A new plate and frame electrochemical reactor was designed to treat these materials under flow conditions. In the electrochemical oxidation process, NH3 and color could be easily removed by means of electro-generated chlorine/hypochlorite within 20 min. The effects of major process parameters on the removal of organic pollutants were investigated systematically. Under experimental conditions, the optimum operation parameters were current density of 65 mA/cm2, flow velocity of 2.6 cm/sec in electrode gap, and initial chloride ion concentration of 5000 mg/L. The COD in the leachate could be reduced below 100 mg/L after 1 hr of treatment. The kinetics and mechanism of COD removal were investigated by simultaneously monitoring the COD change and chlorine/hypochlorite production. The kinetics of COD removal exhibited a two-stage kinetic model, and the decrease of electro-generated chlorine/hypochlorite production was the major mechanism for the slowing down of the COD removal rate in the second stage. The narrowing of the electrode gap is beneficial for COD removal and energy consumption.

  9. Biological reduction of nitrate wastewater using fluidized-bed bioreactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walker, J.F. Jr.; Hancher, C.W.; Patton, B.D.; Kowalchuk, M.

    1981-01-01

    There are a number of nitrate-containing wastewater sources, as concentrated as 30 wt % NO 3 - and as large as 2000 m 3 /d, in the nuclear fuel cycle as well as in many commercial processes such as fertilizer production, paper manufacturing, and metal finishing. These nitrate-containing wastewater sources can be successfully biologically denitrified to meet discharge standards in the range of 10 to 20 gN(NO 3 - )/m 3 by the use of a fluidized-bed bioreactor. The major strain of denitrification bacteria is Pseudomonas which was derived from garden soil. In the fluidized-bed bioreactor the bacteria are allowed to attach to 0.25 to 0.50-mm-diam coal particles, which are fluidized by the upward flow of influent wastewater. Maintaining the bacteria-to-coal weight ratio at approximately 1:10 results in a bioreactor bacteria loading of greater than 20,000 g/m 3 . A description is given of the results of two biodenitrification R and D pilot plant programs based on the use of fluidized bioreactors capable of operating at nitrate levels up to 7000 g/m 3 and achieving denitrification rates as high as 80 gN(NO 3 - )/d per liter of empty bioreactor volume. The first of these pilot plant programs consisted of two 0.2-m-diam bioreactors, each with a height of 6.3 m and a volume of 208 liters, operating in series. The second pilot plant was used to determine the diameter dependence of the reactors by using a 0.5-m-diam reactor with a height of 6.3 m and a volume of 1200 liters. These pilot plants operated for a period of six months and two months respectively, while using both a synthetic waste and the actual waste from a gaseous diffusion plant operated by Goodyear Atomic Corporation

  10. Anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste: Technical developments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rivard, C.J. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

    1996-01-01

    The anaerobic biogasification of organic wastes generates two useful products: a medium-Btu fuel gas and a compost-quality organic residue. Although commercial-scale digestion systems are used to treat municipal sewage wastes, the disposal of solid organic wastes, including municipal solid wastes (MSW), requires a more cost-efficient process. Modern biogasification systems employ high-rate, high-solids fermentation methods to improve process efficiency and reduce capital costs. The design criteria and development stages are discussed. These systems are also compared with conventional low-solids fermentation technology.

  11. Evaluating the efficiency of two phase partitioning stirred tank bio-reactor for treating xylene vapors from the airstreamthrough a bed of Pseudomonas Putida

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Golbabaei

    2015-04-01

    Conclusion: Overall, the results of the present research revealed that the application of two phase stirred tank bioreactors (TPPBs containing pure strains of Pseudomonas putida was successful for treatment of air streams with xylene.

  12. Development of a Comprehensive Fouling Model for a Rotating Membrane Bioreactor System Treating Wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parneet Paul

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Membrane bioreactors (MBRs are now main stream wastewater treatment technologies. In recent times, novel pressure driven rotating membrane disc modules have been specially developed that induce high shear on the membrane surface, thereby reducing fouling. Previous research has produced dead-end filtration fouling model which combines all three classical mechanisms that was later used by another researcher as a starting point for a greatly refined model of a cross flow side-stream MBR that incorporated both hydrodynamics and soluble microbial products’ (SMP effects. In this study, a comprehensive fouling model was created based on this earlier work that incorporated all three classical fouling mechanisms for a rotating MBR system. It was tested and validated for best fit using appropriate data sets. The initial model fit appeared good for all simulations, although it still needs to be calibrated using further appropriate data sets.

  13. Hydrogel/poly-dimethylsiloxane hybrid bioreactor facilitating 3D cell culturing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schurink, B.; Luttge, R.

    2013-01-01

    The authors present a hydrogel/poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) hybrid bioreactor. The bioreactor enables a low shear stress 3D culture by integrating a hydrogel as a barrier into a PDMS casing. The use of PDMS allows the reversible adhesion of the device to a commercially available microelectrode

  14. Removal of Alkylphenols from Industrial and Municipal Wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Derco

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The results of the study of removal of nonylphenol, octylphenol and their ethoxylates from real industrial and municipal wastewater are presented. Industrial wastewater was pre-treated by coagulation with FeCl3 and adsorption on zeolite, before discharging into municipal sewer system. Their removal efficiencies in primary sedimentation tank of municipal WWTP were very low. From the practical point of view, the highest and the most significant removal efficiencies within the whole WWTP were observed for nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates. Dominancy of abiotic mechanisms of alkylphenols removal follows from adsorption measurements. Activated sludge cultivated in lab-scale extended aeration tank accounted for relatively high adsorption affinity to these substances. Activated sludge sampled from municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP receiving industrial wastewater containing alkylphenols accounted for very low adsorption affinity to these pollutants. Significantly higher removal efficiency of octylphenol ethoxylates was observed with the O3/granular active carbon (GAC process compared to the ozonation process alone. Lower toxicity impact of intermediates and products of ozonation treatment on Vibrio fischeri was measured in comparison to the O3/GAC process. Actually, the municipal WWTP effluent discharge concentration values complies with EQS values, including nonylphenols.

  15. Treatment of cosmetic effluent in different configurations of ceramic UF membrane based bioreactor: Toxicity evaluation of the untreated and treated wastewater using catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Priya; Dey, Tanmoy Kumar; Sarkar, Sandeep; Swarnakar, Snehasikta; Mukhopadhyay, Aniruddha; Ghosh, Sourja

    2016-03-01

    Extensive usage of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) and their discharge through domestic sewage have been recently recognized as a new generation environmental concern which deserves more scientific attention over the classical environmental pollutants. The major issues of this type of effluent addressed in this study were its colour, triclosan and anionic surfactant (SDS) content. Samples of cosmetic effluent were collected from different beauty treatment salons and spas in and around Kolkata, India and treated in bioreactors containing a bacterial consortium isolated from activated sludge samples collected from a common effluent treatment plant. Members of the consortium were isolated and identified as Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Salmonella sp. and Comamonas sp. The biotreated effluent was subjected to ultrafiltration (UF) involving indigenously prepared ceramic membranes in both side-stream and submerged mode. Analysis of the MBR treated effluent revealed 99.22%, 98.56% and 99.74% removal of colour, triclosan and surfactant respectively. Investigation of probable acute and chronic cyto-genotoxic potential of the untreated and treated effluents along with their possible participation in triggering oxidative stress was carried out with Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch). Comet formation recorded in both liver and gill cells and micronucleus count in peripheral erythrocytes of individuals exposed to untreated effluent increased with duration of exposure and was significantly higher than those treated with UF permeates which in turn neared control levels. Results of this study revealed successful application of the isolated bacterial consortium in MBR process for efficient detoxification of cosmetic effluent thereby conferring the same suitable for discharge and/or reuse. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Biological treatment of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrodimethylamine (NTDMA) in a field-scale fluidized bed bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatzinger, Paul B; Lewis, Celeste; Webster, Todd S

    2017-12-01

    The ex situ treatment of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrodimethylamine (NTDMA) in groundwater was evaluated in a field-scale fluidized bed bioreactor (FBR). Both of these compounds, which originally entered groundwater at the test site from the use of liquid rocket propellant, are suspected human carcinogens. The objective of this research was to examine the application of a novel field-scale propane-fed fluidized bed bioreactor as an alternative to ultraviolet irradiation (UV) for treating NDMA and NTDMA to low part-per-trillion (ng/L) concentrations. Previous laboratory studies have shown that the bacterium Rhodococcus ruber ENV425 can biodegrade NDMA and NTDMA during growth on propane as a primary substrate and that the strain can effectively reduce NDMA concentrations in propane-fed bench-scale bioreactors of different design. R. ruber ENV425 was used as a seed culture for the FBR, which operated at a fluidization flow of ∼19 L-per-min (LPM) and received propane, oxygen, and inorganic nutrients in the feed. The reactor effectively treated ∼1 μg/L of influent NDMA to effluent concentrations of less than 10 ng/L at a hydraulic residence time (HRT) of only 10 min. At a 20 min HRT, the FBR reduced NDMA to NDMA and NTDMA elimination capacities achieved were 2.1 mg NDMA treated/m 3 of expanded bed/hr of operation and 1.1 mg NTDMA treated/m 3 of expanded bed/hr of operation, respectively. The FBR system was highly resilient to upsets including power outages. Treatment of NDMA, but not NTDMA, was marginally affected when trace co-contaminants including trichloroethene (TCE) and trichlorofluoromethane (Freon 11) were initially added to feed groundwater, but performance recovered over a few weeks in the continued presence of these compounds. Strain ENV425 appeared to be replaced by native propanotrophs over time based on qPCR analysis, but contaminant treatment was not diminished. The results suggest that a FBR can be a viable alternative to UV

  17. Review of nonconventional bioreactor technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turick, C.E.; Mcllwain, M.E.

    1993-09-01

    Biotechnology will significantly affect many industrial sectors in the future. Industrial sectors that will be affected include pharmaceutical, chemical, fuel, agricultural, and environmental remediation. Future research is needed to improve bioprocessing efficiency and cost-effectiveness in order to compete with traditional technologies. This report describes recent advances in bioprocess technologies and bioreactor designs and relates them to problems encountered in many industrial bioprocessing operations. The primary focus is directed towards increasing gas and vapor transfer for enhanced bioprocess kinetics as well as unproved by-product separation and removal. The advantages and disadvantages of various conceptual designs such as hollow-fiber, gas-phase, hyperbaric/hypobaric, and electrochemical bioreactors are also discussed. Specific applications that are intended for improved bioprocesses include coal desulfurization, coal liquefaction, soil bioremediation, biomass conversion to marketable chemicals, biomining, and biohydrometallurgy as well as bioprocessing of gases and vapors.

  18. The Role of Bioreactors in Ligament and Tendon Tissue Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mace, James; Wheelton, Andy; Khan, Wasim S; Anand, Sanj

    2016-01-01

    Bioreactors are pivotal to the emerging field of tissue engineering. The formation of neotissue from pluripotent cell lineages potentially offers a source of tissue for clinical use without the significant donor site morbidity associated with many contemporary surgical reconstructive procedures. Modern bioreactor design is becoming increasingly complex to provide a both an expandable source of readily available pluripotent cells and to facilitate their controlled differentiation into a clinically applicable ligament or tendon like neotissue. This review presents the need for such a method, challenges in the processes to engineer neotissue and the current designs and results of modern bioreactors in the pursuit of engineered tendon and ligament.

  19. Biogas recirculation for simultaneous calcium removal and biogas purification within an expanded granular sludge bed system treating leachate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Jinghuan; Lu, Xueqin; Liu, Jianyong; Qian, Guangren; Lu, Yongsheng

    2014-12-01

    Biogas, generated from an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor treating municipal solid waste (MSW) leachate, was recirculated for calcium removal from the leachate via a carbonation process with simultaneous biogas purification. Batch trials were performed to optimize the solution pH and imported biogas (CO2) for CaCO3 precipitation. With applicable pH of 10-11 obtained, continuous trials achieved final calcium concentrations of 181-375 mg/L (removal efficiencies≈92.8-96.5%) in the leachate and methane contents of 87.1-91.4% (purification efficiencies≈65.4-82.2%) in the biogas. Calcium-balance study indicates that 23-986 mg Ca/d was released from the bio-system under the carbonized condition where CaCO3 precipitating was moved outside the bioreactor, whereas 7918-9517 mg Ca/d was trapped into the system for the controlled one. These findings demonstrate that carbonation removal of calcium by biogas recirculation could be a promising alternative to pretreat calcium-rich MSW leachate and synergistically to improve methane content. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. High-rate, High Temperature Acetotrophic Methanogenesis Governed by a Three Population Consortium in Anaerobic Bioreactors

    OpenAIRE

    Ho, Dang; Jensen, Paul; Gutierrez-Zamora, Maria-Luisa; Beckmann, Sabrina; Manefield, Mike; Batstone, Damien

    2016-01-01

    A combination of acetate oxidation and acetoclastic methanogenesis has been previously identified to enable high-rate methanogenesis at high temperatures (55 to 65°C), but this capability had not been linked to any key organisms. This study combined RNA-stable isotope probing on 13C-labelled acetate and 16S amplicon sequencing to identify the active micro-organisms involved in high-rate methanogenesis. Active biomass was harvested from three bench-scale thermophilic bioreactors treating waste...

  1. Nano-ceramic composite scaffolds for bioreactor-based bone engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Qing; Deng, Meng; Ulery, Bret D; Nair, Lakshmi S; Laurencin, Cato T

    2013-08-01

    Composites of biodegradable polymers and bioactive ceramics are candidates for tissue-engineered scaffolds that closely match the properties of bone. We previously developed a porous, three-dimensional poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLAGA)/nanohydroxyapatite (n-HA) scaffold as a potential bone tissue engineering matrix suitable for high-aspect ratio vessel (HARV) bioreactor applications. However, the physical and cellular properties of this scaffold are unknown. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of n-HA in modulating PLAGA scaffold properties and human mesenchymal stem cell (HMSC) responses in a HARV bioreactor. By comparing PLAGA/n-HA and PLAGA scaffolds, we asked whether incorporation of n-HA (1) accelerates scaffold degradation and compromises mechanical integrity; (2) promotes HMSC proliferation and differentiation; and (3) enhances HMSC mineralization when cultured in HARV bioreactors. PLAGA/n-HA scaffolds (total number = 48) were loaded into HARV bioreactors for 6 weeks and monitored for mass, molecular weight, mechanical, and morphological changes. HMSCs were seeded on PLAGA/n-HA scaffolds (total number = 38) and cultured in HARV bioreactors for 28 days. Cell migration, proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, and mineralization were characterized at four selected time points. The same amount of PLAGA scaffolds were used as controls. The incorporation of n-HA did not alter the scaffold degradation pattern. PLAGA/n-HA scaffolds maintained their mechanical integrity throughout the 6 weeks in the dynamic culture environment. HMSCs seeded on PLAGA/n-HA scaffolds showed elevated proliferation, expression of osteogenic phenotypic markers, and mineral deposition as compared with cells seeded on PLAGA scaffolds. HMSCs migrated into the scaffold center with nearly uniform cell and extracellular matrix distribution in the scaffold interior. The combination of PLAGA/n-HA scaffolds with HMSCs in HARV bioreactors may allow for the generation of engineered

  2. Membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment plants reveal diverse yeast and protist communities of potential significance in biofouling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liébana, Raquel; Arregui, Lucía; Belda, Ignacio; Gamella, Luis; Santos, Antonio; Marquina, Domingo; Serrano, Susana

    2015-01-01

    The yeast community was studied in a municipal full-scale membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment plant (MBR-WWTP). The unexpectedly high diversity of yeasts indicated that the activated sludge formed a suitable environment for them to proliferate, with cellular concentrations of 2.2 ± 0.8 × 10(3) CFU ml(-1). Sixteen species of seven genera were present in the biological reactor, with Ascomycetes being the most prevalent group (93%). Most isolates were able to grow in a synthetic wastewater medium, adhere to polyethylene surfaces, and develop biofilms of variable complexity. The relationship between yeast populations and the protists in the MBR-WWTP was also studied, revealing that some protist species preyed on and ingested yeasts. These results suggest that yeast populations may play a role in the food web of a WWTP and, to some extent, contribute to membrane biofouling in MBR systems.

  3. Filtration characteristics in membrane bioreactors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Evenblij, H.

    2006-01-01

    Causes of and remedies for membrane fouling in Membrane Bioreactors for wastewater treatment are only poorly understood and described in scientific literature. A Filtration Characterisation Installation and a measurement protocol were developed with the aim of a) unequivocally determination and

  4. Comparison of strategies for the isolation of PCR-compatible, genomic DNA from a municipal biogas plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Agnes; Jérôme, Valérie; Freitag, Ruth

    2007-06-15

    The goal of the project was the extraction of PCR-compatible genomic DNA representative of the entire microbial community from municipal biogas plant samples (mash, bioreactor content, process water, liquid fertilizer). For the initial isolation of representative DNA from the respective lysates, methods were used that employed adsorption, extraction, or precipitation to specifically enrich the DNA. Since no dedicated method for biogas plant samples was available, preference was given to kits/methods suited to samples that resembled either the bioreactor feed, e.g. foodstuffs, or those intended for environmental samples including wastewater. None of the methods succeeded in preparing DNA that was directly PCR-compatible. Instead the DNA was found to still contain considerable amounts of difficult-to-remove enzyme inhibitors (presumably humic acids) that hindered the PCR reaction. Based on the isolation method that gave the highest yield/purity for all sample types, subsequent purification was attempted by agarose gel electrophoresis followed by electroelution, spermine precipitation, or dialysis through nitrocellulose membrane. A combination of phenol/chloroform extraction followed by purification via dialysis constituted the most efficient sample treatment. When such DNA preparations were diluted 1:100 they did no longer inhibit PCR reactions, while they still contained sufficient genomic DNA to allow specific amplification of specific target sequences.

  5. Forecasting the settlement of a bioreactor landfill based on gas pressure changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Gang; Li, Liang; Sun, Hongjun

    2013-10-01

    In order to study the influence of settlement under gas pressure in bioreactor landfill, the landfill is simplified as a one-way gas seepage field, combining Darcy's Law, the gas equation of state, and the principle of effective stress and fluid dynamics of porous media theory. First assume that the bioreactor landfill leachate is fully recharged on the basis of gas mass conservation, then according to the changes in gas pressure (inside the landfill and surrounding atmosphere) during the gas leakage time and settlement in the landfill, establish a numerical model of bioreactor landfill settlement under the action of the gas pressure, and use the finite difference method to solve it. Through a case study, the model's improved prediction of the settlement of bioreactor landfill is demonstrated.

  6. Optimal Homogenization of Perfusion Flows in Microfluidic Bio-Reactors: A Numerical Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Okkels, Fridolin; Dufva, Martin; Bruus, Henrik

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, the interest in small-scale bio-reactors has increased dramatically. To ensure homogeneous conditions within the complete area of perfused microfluidic bio-reactors, we develop a general design of a continually feed bio-reactor with uniform perfusion flow. This is achieved...... by introducing a specific type of perfusion inlet to the reaction area. The geometry of these inlets are found using the methods of topology optimization and shape optimization. The results are compared with two different analytic models, from which a general parametric description of the design is obtained...... and tested numerically. Such a parametric description will generally be beneficial for the design of a broad range of microfluidic bioreactors used for, e. g., cell culturing and analysis and in feeding bio-arrays....

  7. Miniature Bioreactor System for Long-Term Cell Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonda, Steve R.; Kleis, Stanley J.; Geffert, Sandara K.

    2010-01-01

    A prototype miniature bioreactor system is designed to serve as a laboratory benchtop cell-culturing system that minimizes the need for relatively expensive equipment and reagents and can be operated under computer control, thereby reducing the time and effort required of human investigators and reducing uncertainty in results. The system includes a bioreactor, a fluid-handling subsystem, a chamber wherein the bioreactor is maintained in a controlled atmosphere at a controlled temperature, and associated control subsystems. The system can be used to culture both anchorage-dependent and suspension cells, which can be either prokaryotic or eukaryotic. Cells can be cultured for extended periods of time in this system, and samples of cells can be extracted and analyzed at specified intervals. By integrating this system with one or more microanalytical instrument(s), one can construct a complete automated analytical system that can be tailored to perform one or more of a large variety of assays.

  8. Bioreactor droplets from liposome-stabilized all-aqueous emulsions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewey, Daniel C.; Strulson, Christopher A.; Cacace, David N.; Bevilacqua, Philip C.; Keating, Christine D.

    2014-08-01

    Artificial bioreactors are desirable for in vitro biochemical studies and as protocells. A key challenge is maintaining a favourable internal environment while allowing substrate entry and product departure. We show that semipermeable, size-controlled bioreactors with aqueous, macromolecularly crowded interiors can be assembled by liposome stabilization of an all-aqueous emulsion. Dextran-rich aqueous droplets are dispersed in a continuous polyethylene glycol (PEG)-rich aqueous phase, with coalescence inhibited by adsorbed ~130-nm diameter liposomes. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and dynamic light scattering data indicate that the liposomes, which are PEGylated and negatively charged, remain intact at the interface for extended time. Inter-droplet repulsion provides electrostatic stabilization of the emulsion, with droplet coalescence prevented even for submonolayer interfacial coatings. RNA and DNA can enter and exit aqueous droplets by diffusion, with final concentrations dictated by partitioning. The capacity to serve as microscale bioreactors is established by demonstrating a ribozyme cleavage reaction within the liposome-coated droplets.

  9. Characterization of membrane foulants at ambient temperature anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating low-strength industrial wastewater

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zarebska, Agata; Kjerstadius, Hamse; Petrinic, Irena

    2016-01-01

    The large volume of industrial low-strength wastewaters has a potential for biogas production through conventional anaerobic digestion (AD), limited though by the need of heating and concentrating of the wastewaters. The use of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) combining membrane filtration...... with anaerobic biological treatment at low temperature could not only reduce the operational cost of AD, but also alleviate environmental problems. However, at low temperature the AnMBR may suffer more fouling due to the increased extracellular polymeric substances production excreted by bacteria hampering...... the application of the process for the industrial wastewater treatment. In order to solve or reduce the fouling problem it is necessary to have a good insight into the processes that take place both on and in the membrane pores during filtration. Therefore, the objective of this study is to contribute to a better...

  10. NRMRL EVALUATES ACTIVE AND SEMI-PASSIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR TREATING ACID MINE DRAINAGE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Two-page article describing three SITE demonstration projects underway on the Leviathan mine site in California. BiPhasic lime treatment, lime treatment lagoons and compost free BioReactors are being evaluated as innovative technologies for treating acid mine drainage.

  11. Bioreactor design for successive culture of anchorage-dependent cells operated in an automated manner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kino-Oka, Masahiro; Ogawa, Natsuki; Umegaki, Ryota; Taya, Masahito

    2005-01-01

    A novel bioreactor system was designed to perform a series of batchwise cultures of anchorage-dependent cells by means of automated operations of medium change and passage for cell transfer. The experimental data on contamination frequency ensured the biological cleanliness in the bioreactor system, which facilitated the operations in a closed environment, as compared with that in flask culture system with manual handlings. In addition, the tools for growth prediction (based on growth kinetics) and real-time growth monitoring by measurement of medium components (based on small-volume analyzing machinery) were installed into the bioreactor system to schedule the operations of medium change and passage and to confirm that culture proceeds as scheduled, respectively. The successive culture of anchorage-dependent cells was conducted with the bioreactor running in an automated way. The automated bioreactor gave a successful culture performance with fair accordance to preset scheduling based on the information in the latest subculture, realizing 79- fold cell expansion for 169 h. In addition, the correlation factor between experimental data and scheduled values through the bioreactor performance was 0.998. It was concluded that the proposed bioreactor with the integration of the prediction and monitoring tools could offer a feasible system for the manufacturing process of cultured tissue products.

  12. Commissioning of Research Bioreactor made in Korea with Malaysian Environment Adaptation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohd Jamil Hashim; Mohd Azmi Sidid Omar

    2011-01-01

    Bioreactor is equipment used by researcher in Agrotechnology and Biosciences department (BAB) as a scientific approach to get a scale up of product. Headed by one of the senior researcher in the department, an effort has been made to upscale the project by using MTDC fund. The technology platform has been acquired from South Korea. Some modification has to be made to cater for the need of a research bioreactor to be established for Nuclear Malaysia Agency. This research bioreactor is to emulate a tissue culture product in a bigger scale bio processing, pharmaceutical biotechnology and industrial production. (author)

  13. Is Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Economically Efficient?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavee, Doron

    2007-12-01

    It has traditionally been argued that recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) is usually not economically viable and that only when externalities, long-term dynamic considerations, and/or the entire product life cycle are taken into account, recycling becomes worthwhile from a social point of view. This article explores the results of a wide study conducted in Israel in the years 2000 2004. Our results reveal that recycling is optimal more often than usually claimed, even when externality considerations are ignored. The study is unique in the tools it uses to explore the efficiency of recycling: a computer-based simulation applied to an extensive database. We developed a simulation for assessing the costs of handling and treating MSW under different waste-management systems and used this simulation to explore possible cost reductions obtained by designating some of the waste (otherwise sent to landfill) to recycling. We ran the simulation on data from 79 municipalities in Israel that produce over 60% of MSW in Israel. For each municipality, we were able to arrive at an optimal method of waste management and compare the costs associated with 100% landfilling to the costs born by the municipality when some of the waste is recycled. Our results indicate that for 51% of the municipalities, it would be efficient to adopt recycling, even without accounting for externality costs. We found that by adopting recycling, municipalities would be able to reduce direct costs by an average of 11%. Through interviews conducted with representatives of municipalities, we were also able to identify obstacles to the utilization of recycling, answering in part the question of why actual recycling levels in Israel are lower than our model predicts they should be.

  14. Quantitative analysis of microbial biomass yield in aerobic bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Osamu; Isoda, Satoru

    2013-12-01

    We have studied the integrated model of reaction rate equations with thermal energy balance in aerobic bioreactor for food waste decomposition and showed that the integrated model has the capability both of monitoring microbial activity in real time and of analyzing biodegradation kinetics and thermal-hydrodynamic properties. On the other hand, concerning microbial metabolism, it was known that balancing catabolic reactions with anabolic reactions in terms of energy and electron flow provides stoichiometric metabolic reactions and enables the estimation of microbial biomass yield (stoichiometric reaction model). We have studied a method for estimating real-time microbial biomass yield in the bioreactor during food waste decomposition by combining the integrated model with the stoichiometric reaction model. As a result, it was found that the time course of microbial biomass yield in the bioreactor during decomposition can be evaluated using the operational data of the bioreactor (weight of input food waste and bed temperature) by the combined model. The combined model can be applied to manage a food waste decomposition not only for controlling system operation to keep microbial activity stable, but also for producing value-added products such as compost on optimum condition. Copyright © 2013 The Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. The effect of moisture regimes on the anaerobic degradation of municipal solid waste from Metepec (Mexico)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez-Berriel, Ma.C.; Marquez-Benavides, L.; Gonzalez-Perez, D.J.; Buenrostro-Delgado, O.

    2008-01-01

    The State of Mexico, situated in central Mexico, has a population of about 14 million, distributed in approximately 125 counties. Solid waste management represents a serious and ongoing pressure to local authorities. The final disposal site ('El Socavon') does not comply with minimum environmental requirements as no liners or leachate management infrastructure are available. Consequently, leachate composition or the effects of rain water input on municipal solid waste degradation are largely unknown. The aim of this work was to monitor the anaerobic degradation of municipal solid waste (MSW), simulating the water addition due to rainfall, under two different moisture content regimes (70% and 80% humidity). The study was carried out using bioreactors in both laboratory and pilot scales. The variation of organic matter and pH was followed in the solid matrix of the MSW. The leachate produced was used to estimate the field capacity of the MSW and to determine the pH, COD, BOD and heavy metals. Some leachate parameters were found to be within permitted limits, but further research is needed in order to analyze the leachate from lower layers of the disposal site ('El Socavon')

  16. A novel bioreactor to simulate urinary bladder mechanical properties and compliance for bladder functional tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Xin; Li, Dao-bing; Xu, Feng; Wang, Yan; Zhu, Yu-chun; Li, Hong; Wang, Kun-jie

    2011-02-01

    Bioreactors are pivotal tools for generating mechanical stimulation in functional tissue engineering study. This study aimed to create a bioreactor that can simulate urinary bladder mechanical properties, and to investigate the effects of a mechanically stimulated culture on urothelial cells and bladder smooth muscle cells. We designed a bioreactor to simulate the mechanical properties of bladder. A pressure-record system was used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the bioreactor by measuring the pressure in culture chambers. To test the biocompatibility of the bioreactor, viabilities of urothelial cells and smooth muscle cells cultured in the bioreactor under static and mechanically changed conditions were measured after 7-day culture. To evaluate the effect of mechanical stimulations on the vital cells, urethral cells and smooth muscle cells were cultured in the simulated mechanical conditions. After that, the viability and the distribution pattern of the cells were observed and compared with cells cultured in non-mechanical stimulated condition. The bioreactor system successfully generated waveforms similar to the intended programmed model while maintaining a cell-seeded elastic membrane between the chambers. There were no differences between viabilities of urothelial cells ((91.90 ± 1.22)% vs. (93.14 ± 1.78)%, P > 0.05) and bladder smooth muscle cells ((93.41 ± 1.49)% vs. (92.61 ± 1.34)%, P > 0.05). The viability of cells and tissue structure observation after cultured in simulated condition showed that mechanical stimulation was the only factor affected cells in the bioreactor and improved the arrangement of cells on silastic membrane. This bioreactor can effectively simulate the physiological and mechanical properties of the bladder. Mechanical stimulation is the only factor that affected the viability of cells cultured in the bioreactor. The bioreactor can change the growth behavior of urothelial cells and bladder smooth muscle cells, resulting in

  17. Intelligent Bioreactor Management Information System (IBM-IS) for Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paul Imhoff; Ramin Yazdani; Don Augenstein; Harold Bentley; Pei Chiu

    2010-04-30

    Methane is an important contributor to global warming with a total climate forcing estimated to be close to 20% that of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the past two decades. The largest anthropogenic source of methane in the US is 'conventional' landfills, which account for over 30% of anthropogenic emissions. While controlling greenhouse gas emissions must necessarily focus on large CO2 sources, attention to reducing CH4 emissions from landfills can result in significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at low cost. For example, the use of 'controlled' or bioreactor landfilling has been estimated to reduce annual US greenhouse emissions by about 15-30 million tons of CO2 carbon (equivalent) at costs between $3-13/ton carbon. In this project we developed or advanced new management approaches, landfill designs, and landfill operating procedures for bioreactor landfills. These advances are needed to address lingering concerns about bioreactor landfills (e.g., efficient collection of increased CH4 generation) in the waste management industry, concerns that hamper bioreactor implementation and the consequent reductions in CH4 emissions. Collectively, the advances described in this report should result in better control of bioreactor landfills and reductions in CH4 emissions. Several advances are important components of an Intelligent Bioreactor Management Information System (IBM-IS).

  18. Thinking beyond the Bioreactor Box: Incorporating Stream Ecology into Edge-of-Field Nitrate Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goeller, Brandon C; Febria, Catherine M; Harding, Jon S; McIntosh, Angus R

    2016-05-01

    Around the world, artificially drained agricultural lands are significant sources of reactive nitrogen to stream ecosystems, creating substantial stream health problems. One management strategy is the deployment of denitrification enhancement tools. Here, we evaluate the factors affecting the potential of denitrifying bioreactors to improve stream health and ecosystem services. The performance of bioreactors and the structure and functioning of stream biotic communities are linked by environmental parameters like dissolved oxygen and nitrate-nitrogen concentrations, dissolved organic carbon availability, flow and temperature regimes, and fine sediment accumulations. However, evidence of bioreactors' ability to improve waterway health and ecosystem services is lacking. To improve the potential of bioreactors to enhance desirable stream ecosystem functioning, future assessments of field-scale bioreactors should evaluate the influences of bioreactor performance on ecological indicators such as primary production, organic matter processing, stream metabolism, and invertebrate and fish assemblage structure and function. These stream health impact assessments should be conducted at ecologically relevant spatial and temporal scales. Bioreactors have great potential to make significant contributions to improving water quality, stream health, and ecosystem services if they are tailored to site-specific conditions and implemented strategically with land-based and stream-based mitigation tools within watersheds. This will involve combining economic, logistical, and ecological information in their implementation. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  19. Cometabolic bioreactor demonstration at the Oak Ridge K-25 Site: Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lucero, A.J.; Donaldson, T.L.; Jennings, H.L.; Morris, M.I.; Palumbo, A.V.; Herbes, S.E.

    1995-08-01

    The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducted a demonstration of cometabolic technology for bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chlorinated solvents. The technology demonstration was located at a seep from the K-1070-C/D Classified Burial Ground at the Oak Ridge K-25 Site. The technology demonstration was designed to evaluate the performance of two different types of cometabolic processes. In both cases, the TCE is cometabolized in the sense that utilization of a different primary substrate is necessary to obtain the simultaneous cometabolism of TCE. Trichloroethylene alone is unable to support growth and maintenance of the microorganisms. Methanotrophic (methane-utilizing) technology was demonstrated first; aromatic-utilizing microorganisms were demonstrated later. The demonstration was based on scaleup of laboratory and bench-scale prototype equipment that was used to establish the technical feasibility of the processes.This report documents the operation of the methanotrophic bioreactor system to treat the seep water at the demonstration site. The initial objectives were to demonstrate stable operation of the bioreactors and associated equipment, including the pretreatment and effluent polishing steps; and evaluate the biodegradation of TCE and other organics in the seep water for the three operating modes--air oxidation pretreatment, steam-stripping pretreatment, and no pretreatment

  20. Application of dynamic membranes in anaerobic membranes in anaerobic membrane bioreactor systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erşahin, M.E.

    2015-01-01

    Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) physically ensure biomass retention by the application of a membrane filtration process. With growing application experiences from aerobic membrane bioreactors (MBRs), the combination of membrane and anaerobic processes has received much attention and become

  1. A dual flow bioreactor with controlled mechanical stimulation for cartilage tissue engineering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spitters, Tim; Leijten, Jeroen Christianus Hermanus; Deus, F.D.; Costa, I.B.F.; van Apeldoorn, Aart A.; van Blitterswijk, Clemens; Karperien, Hermanus Bernardus Johannes

    2013-01-01

    In cartilage tissue engineering bioreactors can create a controlled environment to study chondrocyte behavior under mechanical stimulation or produce chondrogenic grafts of clinically relevant size. Here we present a novel bioreactor, which combines mechanical stimulation with a two compartment

  2. Osmotic stress on nitrification in an airlift bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Rencun; Zheng Ping; Mahmood, Qaisar; Hu Baolan

    2007-01-01

    The effect of osmotic pressure on nitrification was studied in a lab-scale internal-loop airlift-nitrifying reactor. The reactor slowly adapted to the escalating osmotic pressure during 270 days operation. The conditions were reversed to the initial stage upon full inhibition of the process. Keeping influent ammonium concentration constant at 420 mg N L -1 and hydraulic retention time at 20.7 h, with gradual increase in osmotic pressure from 4.3 to 18.8 x 10 5 Pa by adding sodium sulphate, the ammonium removal efficiencies of the nitrifying bioreactor were maintained at 93-100%. Further increase in osmotic pressure up to 19.2 x 10 5 Pa resulted in drop of the ammonium conversion to 69.2%. The osmotic pressure caused abrupt inhibition of nitrification without any alarm and the critical osmotic pressure value causing inhibition remained between 18.8 and 19.2 x 10 5 Pa. Nitrite oxidizers were found more sensitive to osmotic stress as compared with ammonia oxidizers, leading to nitrite accumulation up to 61.7% in the reactor. The performance of bioreactor recovered gradually upon lowering the osmotic pressure. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy indicated that osmotic stress resulted in simplification of the nitrifying bacterial populations in the activated sludge as the cellular size reduced; the inner membrane became thinner and some unknown inclusions appeared within the cells. The microbial morphology and cellular structure restored upon relieving the osmotic pressure. Addition of potassium relieved the effect of osmotic pressure upon nitrification. Results demonstrate that the nitrifying reactor possesses the potential to treat ammonium-rich brines after acclimatization

  3. Simulation of three-phase fluidized bioreactors for denitrification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamza, A.V.; Dolan, J.F.; Wong, E.W.

    1981-03-01

    Fluidized-bed bioreactors were developed and operated at three scales (diameters of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 m) by the Chemical Technology Division. The performance of these reactors in denitrification was simulated using the following modified form of Monod kinetics to describe the reaction kinetics: rate = V/sub max/ (NO 3 - /K/sub s/ + NO 3 - ) (% biomass). In the fluids-movement portion of the simulation the tanks-in-series approximation to backmixing was used. This approach yielded a V/sub max/ of 3.5 g/m 3 -min (% biomass) and a K/sub s/ of 163 g/m 3 for the 0.5-m bioreactor. Values of V/sub max/ and K/sub s/ were also determined for data derived from the 0.1-m bioreactor, but inadequate RTD data reduced the confidence level in these results. A complication in denitrification is the multi-step nature of the reduction from nitrate to nitrite to hyponitrite and finally to nitrogen. An experimental study of the effect of biomass loading upon denitrification was begun. It is recommended that the experimental work be continued

  4. Integration of coagulation and adsorption for removal of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) precursors from biologically treated municipal wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Miaomiao; Meng, Yingjie; Ma, Defang; Wang, Yan; Li, Fengli; Xu, Xing; Xia, Chufan; Gao, Baoyu

    2017-05-01

    This study investigated the N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) formation potential of various dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions in biologically treated municipal wastewater by UF fractionation, XAD-8 resin adsorption isolation, and excitation and emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy. Removal of various NDMA precursor fractions was also analyzed to evaluate the efficiency of traditional water treatment processes (coagulation, adsorption, and coagulation-adsorption). Results showed that NDMA were mainly formed by low molecular weight (MW) fractions (NDMA formation potential (57%), followed by isolated adsorption treatment (50%) and isolated coagulation treatment (28%). The powdered activated carbon (PAC) adsorption process could reduce the high MW precursors (>30 kDa) by 48%, which was higher than other treatments. In contrast, the highest uptake (66%) of low MW precursors (<30 kDa) was achieved by the coagulation-adsorption process. All treatments preferentially removed the hydrophobic acids (HoA) fraction compared to other fractions. Coagulation could remove more fulvic acid-like substances and adsorption could remove more microbial by-products and aromatic proteins.

  5. Integrating Microbial Electrochemical Technology with Forward Osmosis and Membrane Bioreactors: Low-Energy Wastewater Treatment, Energy Recovery and Water Reuse

    KAUST Repository

    Werner, Craig M.

    2014-06-01

    Wastewater treatment is energy intensive, with modern wastewater treatment processes consuming 0.6 kWh/m3 of water treated, half of which is required for aeration. Considering that wastewater contains approximately 2 kWh/m3 of energy and represents a reliable alternative water resource, capturing part of this energy and reclaiming the water would offset or even eliminate energy requirements for wastewater treatment and provide a means to augment traditional water supplies. Microbial electrochemical technology is a novel technology platform that uses bacteria capable of producing an electric current outside of the cell to recover energy from wastewater. These bacteria do not require oxygen to respire but instead use an insoluble electrode as their terminal electron acceptor. Two types of microbial electrochemical technologies were investigated in this dissertation: 1) a microbial fuel cell that produces electricity; and 2) a microbial electrolysis cell that produces hydrogen with the addition of external power. On their own, microbial electrochemical technologies do not achieve sufficiently high treatment levels. Innovative approaches that integrate microbial electrochemical technologies with emerging and established membrane-based treatment processes may improve the overall extent of wastewater treatment and reclaim treated water. Forward osmosis is an emerging low-energy membrane-based technology for seawater desalination. In forward osmosis water is transported across a semipermeable membrane driven by an osmotic gradient. The microbial osmotic fuel cell described in this dissertation integrates a microbial fuel cell with forward osmosis to achieve wastewater treatment, energy recovery and partial desalination. This system required no aeration and generated more power than conventional microbial fuel cells using ion exchange membranes by minimizing electrochemical losses. Membrane bioreactors incorporate semipermeable membranes within a biological wastewater

  6. Efficiency of the anaerobic treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste: collection and pretreatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hartmann, Hinrich; Møller, H.B.; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

    2004-01-01

    of the principles of the anaerobic digestion process and to an optimization of its large-scale implementation. In order to get an overview of the current situation concerning the treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in Denmark, interviews were carried out with operators of the biogas...... in paper bags is preferable to collection in plastic bags and successive separation of plastics in a waste processing treatment plant...... plants where OFMSW is treated and the municipality staff responsible for waste management. With the aim of fulfilling the governmental goal to treat 150 000 tons of OFMSW by the year 2004 mainly by anaerobic digestion, the different municipalities are investigating different concepts of waste collection...

  7. Method and Apparatus for a Miniature Bioreactor System for Long-Term Cell Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleis, Stanley J. (Inventor); Geffert, Sandra K. (Inventor); Gonda, Steve R. (Inventor)

    2015-01-01

    A bioreactor and method that permits continuous and simultaneous short, moderate, or long term cell culturing of one or more cell types or tissue in a laminar flow configuration is disclosed, where the bioreactor supports at least two laminar flow zones, which are isolated by laminar flow without the need for physical barriers between the zones. The bioreactors of this invention are ideally suited for studying short, moderate and long term studies of cell cultures and the response of cell cultures to one or more stressors such as pharmaceuticals, hypoxia, pathogens, or any other stressor. The bioreactors of this invention are also ideally suited for short, moderate or long term cell culturing with periodic cell harvesting and/or medium processing for secreted cellular components.

  8. Sensing in tissue bioreactors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolfe, P.

    2006-03-01

    Specialized sensing and measurement instruments are under development to aid the controlled culture of cells in bioreactors for the fabrication of biological tissues. Precisely defined physical and chemical conditions are needed for the correct culture of the many cell-tissue types now being studied, including chondrocytes (cartilage), vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells (blood vessels), fibroblasts, hepatocytes (liver) and receptor neurones. Cell and tissue culture processes are dynamic and therefore, optimal control requires monitoring of the key process variables. Chemical and physical sensing is approached in this paper with the aim of enabling automatic optimal control, based on classical cell growth models, to be achieved. Non-invasive sensing is performed via the bioreactor wall, invasive sensing with probes placed inside the cell culture chamber and indirect monitoring using analysis within a shunt or a sampling chamber. Electroanalytical and photonics-based systems are described. Chemical sensing for gases, ions, metabolites, certain hormones and proteins, is under development. Spectroscopic analysis of the culture medium is used for measurement of glucose and for proteins that are markers of cell biosynthetic behaviour. Optical interrogation of cells and tissues is also investigated for structural analysis based on scatter.

  9. Generation of Neural Progenitor Spheres from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in a Suspension Bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Yuanwei; Song, Liqing; Tsai, Ang-Chen; Ma, Teng; Li, Yan

    2016-01-01

    Conventional two-dimensional (2-D) culture systems cannot provide large numbers of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and their derivatives that are demanded for commercial and clinical applications in in vitro drug screening, disease modeling, and potentially cell therapy. The technologies that support three-dimensional (3-D) suspension culture, such as a stirred bioreactor, are generally considered as promising approaches to produce the required cells. Recently, suspension bioreactors have also been used to generate mini-brain-like structure from hPSCs for disease modeling, showing the important role of bioreactor in stem cell culture. This chapter describes a detailed culture protocol for neural commitment of hPSCs into neural progenitor cell (NPC) spheres using a spinner bioreactor. The basic steps to prepare hPSCs for bioreactor inoculation are illustrated from cell thawing to cell propagation. The method for generating NPCs from hPSCs in the spinner bioreactor along with the static control is then described. The protocol in this study can be applied to the generation of NPCs from hPSCs for further neural subtype specification, 3-D neural tissue development, or potential preclinical studies or clinical applications in neurological diseases.

  10. Introducing Textiles as Material of Construction of Ethanol Bioreactors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Osagie A. Osadolor

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The conventional materials for constructing bioreactors for ethanol production are stainless and cladded carbon steel because of the corrosive behaviour of the fermenting media. As an alternative and cheaper material of construction, a novel textile bioreactor was developed and examined. The textile, coated with several layers to withstand the pressure, resist the chemicals inside the reactor and to be gas-proof was welded to form a 30 L lab reactor. The reactor had excellent performance for fermentative production of bioethanol from sugar using baker’s yeast. Experiments with temperature and mixing as process parameters were performed. No bacterial contamination was observed. Bioethanol was produced for all conditions considered with the optimum fermentation time of 15 h and ethanol yield of 0.48 g/g sucrose. The need for mixing and temperature control can be eliminated. Using a textile bioreactor at room temperature of 22 °C without mixing required 2.5 times longer retention time to produce bioethanol than at 30 °C with mixing. This will reduce the fermentation investment cost by 26% for an ethanol plant with capacity of 100,000 m3 ethanol/y. Also, replacing one 1300 m3 stainless steel reactor with 1300 m3 of the textile bioreactor in this plant will reduce the fermentation investment cost by 19%.

  11. Co-digestion to support low temperature anaerobic pretreatment of municipal sewage in a UASB–digester

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lei Zhang,; Hendrickx, T.L.G.; Kampman, C.; Temmink, B.G.; Zeeman, G.

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this work was to demonstrate that co-digestion improves soluble sewage COD removal efficiency in treatment of low temperature municipal sewage by a UASB–digester system. A pilot scale UASB–digester system was applied to treat real municipal sewage, and glucose was chosen as a model

  12. Optimized coupling of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes for wastewater treatment and fouling reduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nader Taghipour

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the performance of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes (SMEBR+ was compared with that of a membrane bioreactor (MBR in municipal wastewater treatment. The new design idea of the SMEBR+ was based on applications of direct current (DC on the anode and cathode electrodes. The pilot study was divided into 2 stages and operated for 48 days. In Stage I, the MBR was continuously operated for 24 days without the application of electrodes. In Stage II, the SMEBR+ was continuously operated for 24 days, while aluminum electrodes and an intermittent DC were working with an operational mode of 2 min ON/4 min OFF at a constant voltage of 1.4 V. The results indicated that membrane fouling was reduced by nearly 22.02% in the SMEBR+ compared to the MBR. The results also showed that the SMEBR+ increased the quality of effluent to the extent that high removals of NH3+-N, PO43−-P, and chemical oxygen demand (COD were 98%, 76%, and 90%, respectively. This system, in comparison with those proposed in other studies, showed a suitable improvement in biological treatments, considering the high removal of NH3+-N. Therefore, SMEBR+ can be considered as a promising treatment alternative to the conventional MBR.

  13. A comparison between two full-scale MBR and CAS municipal wastewater treatment plants: techno-economic-environmental assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertanza, Giorgio; Canato, Matteo; Laera, Giuseppe; Vaccari, Mentore; Svanström, Magdalena; Heimersson, Sara

    2017-07-01

    A holistic assessment procedure has been used in this study for comparing conventional activated sludge (CAS) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) processes for the treatment of municipal wastewater. Technical, social, administrative, economic and environmental impacts have been evaluated based on 1 year of operational data from three full-scale lines (one MBR and two CAS) working in parallel in a large municipal treatment plant. The comparative assessment evidences a slight advantage of the conventional process in the studied case, essentially due to lower costs, complexity and energy consumption. On the other hand, the MBR technology has a better social acceptance and similar overall environmental footprint. Although these results are influenced by site-specific parameters and cannot be generalized, the assessment procedure allowed identifying the most important factors affecting the final scores for each technology and the main differences between the compared technologies. Local conditions can affect the relative importance of the assessed impacts, and the use of weighting factors is proposed for better tailoring the comparative assessment to the local needs and circumstances. A sensitivity analysis on the weighted final scores demonstrated how local factors are very important and must be carefully evaluated in the decision making process.

  14. An evaluation of different bioreactor configurations for continuous bio-ethanol production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ntihuga, Jean Nepomuscene; Senn, Thomas; Gschwind, Peter; Kohlus, Reinhard

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Two bioreactor configurations were constructed and compared. • Continuous bioethanol production was performed in both bioreactors. • Plate heat exchanger bioreactor was the best for solid mash fermentation. • Operational power costs of both bioreactors were different in small scale levels. • Further study needed for both bioreactors with optimized parameters. - Abstract: In this preliminary investigation, a so-called Blenke cascade and plate heat exchanger bioreactor configuration were compared in terms of mixing characteristics, contamination free process, operational power costs and overall performance. At room temperature, fermentation was initially started as batch run and switched to continuous operation, when the residual sugars within the reactor were detected to be C ⩽ 1% (g/L). Samples from both configurations were taken and analyzed for ethanol and residual sugar content, as well as for any infection of the fermentation and lactic acid content, respectively. Mixing characteristics were studied by the residence time distribution method. Both geometries behaved as a finite number n of continuous stirred tanks in series, behaving as a plug flow with superimposed axial dispersion. The number of tanks in series n obtained in the plate heat exchanger configuration was 1.5–3 times larger than those in the Blenke cascade. The average ethanol productivity was Q p = 3.07 (g/L h) and Q p = 2.31 (g/L h) for cascade and plate exchanger configuration, respectively. The analysis of operational power costs indicates relevant differences between the two reactors at laboratory scale; however, systems with different types of pumps and viscosities are compared. From an industrial scale point of view, specific operational costs decrease with scale-up, as no mechanical mixing is needed in the fermenters

  15. Nitrogen removal in the bioreactor landfill system with intermittent aeration at the top of landfilled waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Ruo; Shen Dongsheng

    2006-01-01

    High ammonia concentration of recycled landfill leachate makes it very difficult to treat. In this work, a vertical aerobic/anoxic/anaerobic lab-scale bioreactor landfill system, which was constructed by intermittent aeration at the top of landfilled waste, as a bioreactor for in situ nitrogen removal was investigated during waste stabilization. Intermittent aeration at the top of landfilled waste might stimulate the growth of nitrifying bacteria and denitrifying bacteria in the top and middle layers of waste. The nitrifying bacteria population for the landfill bioreactor with intermittent aeration system reached between10 6 and 10 8 cells/dry g waste, although it decreased 2 orders of magnitude on day 30, due to the inhibitory effect of the acid environment and high organic matter in the landfilled waste. The denitrifying bacteria population increased by between 4 and 13 orders of magnitude compared with conventional anaerobic landfilled waste layers. Leachate NO 3 - -N concentration was very low in both two experimental landfill reactors. After 105 days operation, leachate NH 4 + -N and TN concentrations for the landfill reactor with intermittent aeration system dropped to 186 and 289 mg/l, respectively, while they were still kept above 1000 mg/l for the landfill reactor without intermittent aerobic system. In addition, there is an increase in the rate of waste stabilization as well as an increase of 12% in the total waste settlement for the landfill reactor with intermittent aeration system

  16. Biofabrication of customized bone grafts by combination of additive manufacturing and bioreactor knowhow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Pedro F; Vaquette, Cédryck; Baldwin, Jeremy; Chhaya, Mohit; Gomes, Manuela E; Reis, Rui L; Theodoropoulos, Christina; Hutmacher, Dietmar W

    2014-09-01

    This study reports on an original concept of additive manufacturing for the fabrication of tissue engineered constructs (TEC), offering the possibility of concomitantly manufacturing a customized scaffold and a bioreactor chamber to any size and shape. As a proof of concept towards the development of anatomically relevant TECs, this concept was utilized for the design and fabrication of a highly porous sheep tibia scaffold around which a bioreactor chamber of similar shape was simultaneously built. The morphology of the bioreactor/scaffold device was investigated by micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy confirming the porous architecture of the sheep tibiae as opposed to the non-porous nature of the bioreactor chamber. Additionally, this study demonstrates that both the shape, as well as the inner architecture of the device can significantly impact the perfusion of fluid within the scaffold architecture. Indeed, fluid flow modelling revealed that this was of significant importance for controlling the nutrition flow pattern within the scaffold and the bioreactor chamber, avoiding the formation of stagnant flow regions detrimental for in vitro tissue development. The bioreactor/scaffold device was dynamically seeded with human primary osteoblasts and cultured under bi-directional perfusion for two and six weeks. Primary human osteoblasts were observed homogenously distributed throughout the scaffold, and were viable for the six week culture period. This work demonstrates a novel application for additive manufacturing in the development of scaffolds and bioreactors. Given the intrinsic flexibility of the additive manufacturing technology platform developed, more complex culture systems can be fabricated which would contribute to the advances in customized and patient-specific tissue engineering strategies for a wide range of applications.

  17. Biofabrication of customized bone grafts by combination of additive manufacturing and bioreactor knowhow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, Pedro F; Gomes, Manuela E; Reis, Rui L; Vaquette, Cédryck; Baldwin, Jeremy; Chhaya, Mohit; Theodoropoulos, Christina; Hutmacher, Dietmar W

    2014-01-01

    This study reports on an original concept of additive manufacturing for the fabrication of tissue engineered constructs (TEC), offering the possibility of concomitantly manufacturing a customized scaffold and a bioreactor chamber to any size and shape. As a proof of concept towards the development of anatomically relevant TECs, this concept was utilized for the design and fabrication of a highly porous sheep tibia scaffold around which a bioreactor chamber of similar shape was simultaneously built. The morphology of the bioreactor/scaffold device was investigated by micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy confirming the porous architecture of the sheep tibiae as opposed to the non-porous nature of the bioreactor chamber. Additionally, this study demonstrates that both the shape, as well as the inner architecture of the device can significantly impact the perfusion of fluid within the scaffold architecture. Indeed, fluid flow modelling revealed that this was of significant importance for controlling the nutrition flow pattern within the scaffold and the bioreactor chamber, avoiding the formation of stagnant flow regions detrimental for in vitro tissue development. The bioreactor/scaffold device was dynamically seeded with human primary osteoblasts and cultured under bi-directional perfusion for two and six weeks. Primary human osteoblasts were observed homogenously distributed throughout the scaffold, and were viable for the six week culture period. This work demonstrates a novel application for additive manufacturing in the development of scaffolds and bioreactors. Given the intrinsic flexibility of the additive manufacturing technology platform developed, more complex culture systems can be fabricated which would contribute to the advances in customized and patient-specific tissue engineering strategies for a wide range of applications. (paper)

  18. Performance of a biomass adapted to oncological ward wastewater vs. biomass from municipal WWTP on the removal of pharmaceutical molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamon, P; Moulin, P; Ercolei, L; Marrot, B

    2018-01-01

    The performance of a biomass adapted to Oncological Ward Wastewater (OWW) in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was compared with that of a municipal WWTP, on the removal of pharmaceutical molecules and more specifically on their overall resistance and purifying ability in the presence of pharmaceutical cocktails. Sorption and biotransformation mechanisms on two antineoplastics, one antibiotic and a painkiller were evaluated. Sludge acclimated to OWW allowed for a 34% increase in the removal rate and in the minimum inhibition concentration. The percentage of the amounts of specific pharmaceutical compounds removed by biotransformation or by sorption were measured. These results are positive, as they show that the observed removal of pharmaceutical molecules by biomass acclimated to OWW can mostly be attributed to developed biotransformation, unlike the biomass from the municipal WWTP for which sorption is sometimes the only removal mechanism. The biotransformation kinetic and the solid-water distribution coefficients in this study show good agreement with literature data, even for much higher pharmaceutical concentrations in OWW. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Water reuse by membrane bioreactors (MBR); Reutilizacion de agua depurada mediante reactores biologicos de membrana (MBR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia, G.; Huete, E.; Martinez, L. C.; Torres, A.

    2010-07-01

    This paper shows an up-to date overview of the use of membrane bioreactor (MBR) to obtain water treated for reusing it. Considering the existing rules. it has been presented a summary of published studies in which the quality of the effluent is analyzed in terms on physico-chemical and biological parameters. Furthermore, MBR results are compared with the conventional treatment ones. Due to the suitability of MBR technology for removing pathogens, particular attention has been paid to disinfection process and the mechanism that govern it. Results from reviewed studies of MBR have showed equal or better quality of water treated than conventional treatments (activated sludge plus disinfection tertiary treatment by the addition of antibacterial agents). (Author) 32 refs.

  20. Control of aromatic-waste air streams by soil bioreactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, D.E.; Canter, L.W.

    1991-01-01

    Contamination of groundwater resources is a serious environmental problem which is continuing to increase in occurrence in the United States. It has been reported that leaking underground gasoline storage tanks may pose the most serious threat of all sources of groundwater contamination. Gasolines are comprised of a variety of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. The aromatic portion consists primarily of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX compounds). BTEX compounds are also among the most frequency identified substances at Superfund sites. Pump and treat well systems are the most common and frequently used technique for aquifer restoration. Treatment is often in the form of air stripping to remove the volatile components from the contaminated water. Additionally, soil ventilation processes have been used to remove volatile components from the vadose zone. Both air stripping and soil ventilation produce a waste gas stream containing volatile compounds which is normally treated by carbon adsorption or incineration. Both treatment processes require a substantial capital investment and continual operation and maintenance expenditures. The objective of the study was to examine the potential of using soil bioreactors to treat a waste gas stream produced by air stripping or soil ventilation process. Previous studies have shown that various hydrocarbons can be successfully treated with soils. The study examined the removal of BTEX compounds within soil columns and the influence of soil type, inlet concentration, and inlet flow rate on the removal efficiency

  1. Yolo County's Accelerated Anaerobic and Aerobic Composting (Full-Scale Controlled Landfill Bioreactor) Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yazdani, R.; Kieffer, J.; Akau, H.; Augenstein, D.

    2002-12-01

    elimination of methane production and acceleration of waste decomposition. In the first phase of this project a 12-acre module that contains a 9.5-acre anaerobic cell and a 2.5-acre aerobic cell has been constructed and filled with over 220,000 tons of municipal solid waste. Water and leachate addition began in April 2002 and to date less than 200,000 gallons of liquid has been added to the 3.5-acre anaerobic cell. The waste filling phase of the aerobic cell was completed in June of 2002 and a 12-inches soil cover and 12-inches of greenwaste compost cover was placed on top of the cell. A vacuum will be applied to the piping within the waste to draw air through the landfill. Instrumentations have been installed to monitor the following parameters: waste temperature, moisture, leachate volumes, leachate hydraulic head over the primary liner, leachate composition, gas volumes and composition. A supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system has been installed to monitor and control the operation of the bioreactor cells. Waste samples were taken from each cell for laboratory testing in early June 2002.

  2. A Novel Pulsatile Bioreactor for Mechanical Stimulation of Tissue Engineered Cardiac Constructs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Günther Eissner

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available After myocardial infarction, the implantation of stem cell seeded scaffolds on the ischemic zone represents a promising strategy for restoration of heart function. However, mechanical integrity and functionality of tissue engineered constructs need to be determined prior to implantation. Therefore, in this study a novel pulsatile bioreactor mimicking the myocardial contraction was developed to analyze the behavior of mesenchymal stem cells derived from umbilical cord tissue (UCMSC colonized on titanium-coated polytetrafluorethylene scaffolds to friction stress. The design of the bioreactor enables a simple handling and defined mechanical forces on three seeded scaffolds at physiological conditions. The compact system made of acrylic glass, Teflon®, silicone, and stainless steel allows the comparison of different media, cells and scaffolds. The bioreactor can be gas sterilized and actuated in a standard incubator. Macroscopic observations and pressure-measurements showed a uniformly sinusoidal pulsation, indicating that the bioreactor performed well. Preliminary experiments to determine the adherence rate and morphology of UCMSC after mechanical loadings showed an almost confluent cellular coating without damage on the cell surface. In summary, the bioreactor is an adequate tool for the mechanical stress of seeded scaffolds and offers dynamic stimuli for pre-conditioning of cardiac tissue engineered constructs in vitro.

  3. Hydrothermal carbonization of autoclaved municipal solid waste pulp and anaerobically treated pulp digestate

    Science.gov (United States)

    In this study, the autoclaved organic fraction of municipal solid waste pulp (OFMSW) and the digestate from OFMSW pulp after anaerobic digestion (AD) were processed by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) at 200, 250, and 300 °C for 30 min and 2 h. The focus of this work was to evaluate the potential fo...

  4. Norfloxacin degradation by Bacillus subtilis strains able to produce biosurfactants on a bioreactor scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jałowiecki Łukasz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The discharge of antibiotics into the environment has become a major concern since this group of pharmaceuticals influence on microbial communities not only by its mode of action, but also because of the risk of a worldwide dispersal of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG. Antibiotics residues have been found in various environments such as waters, sediments, and soils. Moreover, most WWTPs are not designed to treat such kind of pollutants, which remain incompletely removed. Currently, biodegradation processes which involved bacterial strains with increased degradation capabilities is one of the most promising technique. The aim of this study was to evaluate the norfloxacin biodegradation potential of the three Bacillus subtilis strains named T-1, T’-1 and I’-1a on a bioreactor scale. The aerobic degradation was conducted in a 5-liter bioreactor on minimal salts medium in co-metabolic culture supplemented with glucose. The degradation rate of norfloxacin was determined with the HPLC technique. The surface tension was determined using ring method in order to observe the changes in biosurfactants production. Also, the biofilm formation abilities of the bacteria with two quantitative methods, crystal violet (CV method and TTC-based test and enzymes production were evaluated.

  5. Designing a Municipality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jungersen, Ulrik; Hansen, Poul H. Kyvsgård

    2014-01-01

    Can a municipality be designed? The municipality Kolding in the southern part of Denmark asked this question. The idea emerged as a response to a recognized need for new ways of branding and developing the municipality. It is an ongoing process that was kicked off in 2012 and this paper is theref......Can a municipality be designed? The municipality Kolding in the southern part of Denmark asked this question. The idea emerged as a response to a recognized need for new ways of branding and developing the municipality. It is an ongoing process that was kicked off in 2012 and this paper...... is therefore focusing primarily on the process of changing the perception of how to organize development in a municipality. The most important elements in transforming the whole development setup are described. Finally, a short case describing one of the significant results is included....

  6. Geotechnical properties of municipal solid waste at different phases of biodegradation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reddy, Krishna R.; Hettiarachchi, Hiroshan; Gangathulasi, Janardhanan; Bogner, Jean E.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Degraded synthetic municipal solid waste (MSW) anaerobically in controlled bench-scale reactors. → Performed laboratory tests to determine geotechnical properties of MSW at different phases of degradation. → Hydraulic conductivity decreased by two orders of magnitude due to degradation. → Compression ratio reduced from 0.34 for initial fresh waste to 0.15 for the mostly degraded waste. → Friction angle reduced, but cohesion increased with degradation. - Abstract: This paper presents the results of laboratory investigation conducted to determine the variation of geotechnical properties of synthetic municipal solid waste (MSW) at different phases of degradation. Synthetic MSW samples were prepared based on the composition of MSW generated in the United States and were degraded in bioreactors with leachate recirculation. Degradation of the synthetic MSW was quantified based on the gas composition and organic content, and the samples exhumed from the bioreactor cells at different phases of degradation were tested for the geotechnical properties. Hydraulic conductivity, compressibility and shear strength of initial and degraded synthetic MSW were all determined at constant initial moisture content of 50% on wet weight basis. Hydraulic conductivity of synthetic MSW was reduced by two orders of magnitude due to degradation. Compression ratio was reduced from 0.34 for initial fresh waste to 0.15 for the mostly degraded waste. Direct shear tests showed that the fresh and degraded synthetic MSW exhibited continuous strength gain with increase in horizontal deformation, with the cohesion increased from 1 kPa for fresh MSW to 16-40 kPa for degraded MSW and the friction angle decreased from 35 o for fresh MSW to 28 o for degraded MSW. During the triaxial tests under CU condition, the total strength parameters, cohesion and friction angle, were found to vary from 21 to 57 kPa and 1 o to 9 o , respectively, while the effective strength parameters, cohesion

  7. Energy Consumption in Terms of Shear Stress for Two Types of Membrane Bioreactors used for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ratkovich, Nicolas Rios; Bentzen, Thomas Ruby; Rasmussen, Michael R.

    2012-01-01

    Two types of submerged membrane bioreactors (MBR): hollow fiber (HF) and hollow sheet (HS), have been studied and compared in terms of energy consumption and average shear stress over the membrane wall. The analysis of energy consumption was made using the correlation to determine the blower power...... of shear stress over the membrane surface was made using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. Experimental measurements for the HF MBR were compared with the CFD model and an error less that 8% was obtained. For the HS MBR, experimental measurements of velocity profiles were made and an error...... of 11% was found. This work uses an empirical relationship to determine the shear stress based on the ratio of aeration blower power to tank volume. This relationship is used in bubble column reactors and it is extrapolate to determine shear stress on MBR systems. This relationship proved...

  8. Variation of antibiotic resistance genes in municipal wastewater treatment plant with A(2)O-MBR system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Jing; Geng, Jinju; Ren, Hongqiang; Ding, Lili; Xu, Ke; Zhang, Yan

    2015-03-01

    The variation of five antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)-tetG, tetW, tetX, sul1, and intI1-in a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant with A(2)O-MBR system was studied. The concentrations of five resistance genes both in influent and in membrane bioreactor (MBR) effluent decreased as sul1 > intI1 > tetX > tetG > tetW, and an abundance of sul1 was statistically higher than three other tetracycline resistance genes (tetG, tetW, and tetX) (p MBR effluent. The reduction of tetW, intI1, and sul1 was all significantly positively correlated with the reduction of 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in the wastewater treatment process (p MBR was observed for all ARGs.

  9. An additional simple denitrification bioreactor using packed gel envelopes applicable to industrial wastewater treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morita, Masahiko; Uemoto, Hiroaki; Watanabe, Atsushi

    2007-08-15

    A simple denitrification bioreactor for nitrate-containing wastewater without organic compounds was developed. This bioreactor consisted of packed gel envelopes in a single tank. Each envelope comprised two plates of gels containing Paracoccus denitrificans cells with an internal space between the plates. As an electron donor for denitrification, ethanol was injected into the internal space and not directly into the wastewater. P. denitrificans cells in the gel reduced nitrate to nitrogen gas by using the injected ethanol. Nitrate-containing desulfurization wastewater derived from a coal-fired thermal power plant was continuously treated with 20 packed gel envelopes (size, 1,000 x 900 x 12 mm; surface area, 1.44 m(2)) in a reactor tank (volume 1.5 m(3)). When the total nitrogen concentration in the inflow was around 150 mg-N x L(-1), the envelopes removed approximately 60-80% of the total nitrogen, and the maximum nitrogen removal rate was 5.0 g-N x day(-1) per square meter of the gel surface. This value corresponded to the volumetric nitrogen removal performance of 0.109 kg-N x m(-3) x day(-1). In each envelope, a high utilization efficiency of the electron donor was attained, although more than the double amount of the electron donor was empirically injected in the present activated sludge system to achieve denitrification when compared with the theoretical value. The bioreactor using the envelopes would be extremely effective as an additional denitrification system because these envelopes can be easily installed in the vacant spaces of preinstalled water treatment systems, without requiring additional facilities for removing surplus ethanol and sludge. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Correlation between microbial community and granule conductivity in anaerobic bioreactors for brewery wastewater treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shrestha, Pravin; Malvankar, Nikhil S.; Werner, Jeffrey

    2014-01-01

    Prior investigation of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating brewery wastes suggested that direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) significantly contributed to interspecies electron transfer to methanogens. To investigate DIET in granules further, the electrical conducti......Prior investigation of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating brewery wastes suggested that direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) significantly contributed to interspecies electron transfer to methanogens. To investigate DIET in granules further, the electrical...... conductivity and bacterial community composition of granules in fourteen samples from four different UASB reactors treating brewery wastes were investigated. All of the UASB granules were electrically conductive whereas control granules from ANAMMOX (ANaerobic AMMonium OXidation) reactors and microbial...... granules from an aerobic bioreactor designed for phosphate removal were not. There was a moderate correlation (r = 0.67) between the abundance of Geobacter species in the UASB granules and granule conductivity, suggesting that Geobacter contributed to granule conductivity. These results, coupled...

  11. Evaluation of Productivity of Zymotis Solid-State Bioreactor Based on Total Reactor Volume

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oscar F. von Meien

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work a method of analyzing the performance of solid-state fermentation bioreactors is described. The method is used to investigate the optimal value for the spacing between the cooling plates of the Zymotis bioreactor, using simulated fermentation data supplied by a mathematical model. The Zymotis bioreactor has good potential for those solid-state fermentation processes in which the substrate bed must remain static. The current work addresses two design parameters introduced by the presence of the internal heat transfer plates: the width of the heat transfer plate, which is governed by the amount of heat to be removed and the pressure drop of the cooling water, and the spacing between these heat transfer plates. In order to analyze the performance of the bioreactor a productivity term is introduced that takes into account the volume occupied within the bioreactor by the heat transfer plates. As part of this analysis, it is shown that, for logistic growth kinetics, the time at which the biomass reaches 90 % of its maximum possible value is a good estimate of the optimum harvesting time for maximizing productivity. Application of the productivity analysis to the simulated fermentation results suggests that, with typical fast growing fungi ( = 0.324 h–1, the optimal spacing between heat transfer plates is of the order of 6 cm. The general applicability of this approach to evaluate the productivity of solid-state bioreactors is demonstrated.

  12. Ultra-micro aqua bioreactor systems for modifying edible oils and fats; Shokuyo yushi kaishitsuyo chobisuikei bioreactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurashige, J. [Ajinomoto Co. Inc., Tokyo (Japan)

    1995-10-20

    Practical solvent-free bioreactor systems using immobilized lipases have been constructed to convert palm oil to high quality foodstuff oil without quality deterioration through hydrolysis of triglycerides in oil. To avoid hydrolysis, moisture level of substrate oil has to be maintained at less than the solubility level of water in oil, which we call ultra-micro aqueous level. On the other hand, lipase is well known to manifest its activities mostly at the interface between oil and water phases. To make lipase manifest its activities at the ultra-micro aqueous oil phase, the novel bioreactor systems with the new immobilizing method of lipase together with activator on-to hydrophylic carriers, and without a drying procedure have been developed. These biochemical accomplishments show high promises for efficient convention of edible fats and oils to highly valuable foodstuff, which can not be attained by means of chemical or physical methods. 29 refs., 9 figs., 4 tabs.

  13. BIOREACTOR WITH LID FOR EASY ACCESS TO INCUBATION CAVITY

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2012-01-01

    There is provided a bioreactor which is provided with a lid (13) that facilitates access to the incubation cavity. Specifically the end wall of the incubation cavity is constituted by the lid (13) so that removal of the cap renders the incubation cavity fully accessible.......There is provided a bioreactor which is provided with a lid (13) that facilitates access to the incubation cavity. Specifically the end wall of the incubation cavity is constituted by the lid (13) so that removal of the cap renders the incubation cavity fully accessible....

  14. Removal of nitrogen and organic matter in a submerged-membrane bioreactor operating in a condition of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabela Major Barbosa

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the removal of nitrogen and organic matter in a membrane bioreactor system operating in a condition of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification controlled by intermittent aeration. A submerged-membrane system in a bioreactor was used in a pilot scale to treat domestic wastewater. The dissolved oxygen concentration was maintained between 0.5 and 0.8 mg L-1. The concentration of the mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS in the system ranged from 1 to 6 g L-1. The system efficiency was evaluated by the removal efficiency of organic matter, quantified by Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5 and Total Organic Carbon (TOC. Nitrogen removal was assessed by quantifying Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN and ammonia nitrogen. During the system start-up, the removal efficiencies of COD and NTK were around 90% and 80%, respectively. After the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND conditions were established, the removal efficiencies of COD and NTK were 70% and 99%, respectively. These results showed that sewage treatment with the membrane bioreactor (MBR system, operating with simultaneous nitrification and denitrification conditions, was able to remove organic matter and promote nitrification and denitrification in a single reactor, producing a high-quality permeate.

  15. Methanogenic community development in anaerobic granular bioreactors treating trichloroethylene (TCE)-contaminated wastewater at 37 °C and 15 °C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siggins, Alma; Enright, Anne-Marie; O'Flaherty, Vincent

    2011-04-01

    Four expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) bioreactors were seeded with a mesophilically-grown granular sludge and operated in duplicate for mesophilic (37 °C; R1 & R2) and low- (15°; R3 & R4) temperature treatment of a synthetic volatile fatty acid (VFA) based wastewater (3 kg COD m(-3) d(-1)) with one of each pair (R1 & R3) supplemented with increasing concentrations of trichloroethylene (TCE; 10, 20, 40, 60 mg l(-1)) and one acting as a control. Bioreactor performance was evaluated by % COD removal efficiency and % biogas methane (CH(4)) content. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) was used to investigate the methanogenic community composition and dynamics in the bioreactors during the trial, while specific methanogenic activity (SMA) and toxicity assays were utilized to investigate the activity and TCE/dichloroethylene (DCE) toxicity thresholds of key trophic groups, respectively. At both 37 °C and 15 °C, TCE levels of 60 mg l(-1) resulted in the decline of % COD removal efficiencies to 29% (Day 235) and 37% (Day 238), respectively, and in % biogas CH(4) to 54% (Day 235) and 5% (Day 238), respectively. Despite the inhibitory effect of TCE on the anaerobic digestion process, the main drivers influencing methanogenic community development, as determined by qPCR and Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis, were (i) wastewater composition and (ii) operating temperature. At the apical TCE concentration both SMA and qPCR of methanogenic archaea suggested that acetoclastic methanogens were somewhat inhibited by the presence of TCE and/or its degradation derivatives, while competition by dechlorinating organisms may have limited the availability of H(2) for hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. In addition, there appeared to be an inverse correlation between SMA levels and TCE tolerance, a finding that was supported by the analysis of the inhibitory effect of TCE on two additional biomass sources. The results indicate that low-temperature anaerobic

  16. Microbial Bioreactor Development in the ALS NSCORT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Cary; Whitaker, Dawn; Banks, M. Katherine; Heber, Albert J.; Turco, Ronald F.; Nies, Loring F.; Alleman, James E.; Sharvelle, Sybil E.; Li, Congna; Heller, Megan

    and recycling of effluent supernatant were evaluated to maximize degradation and minimize water input. The off-gases proceeded to a bioregenerative air-treatment reactor, and the sludge effluent was investigated for multiple downstream uses including dewatering by reed beds, use as a nutrient supplement for fish or mushroom growth, and as a growth medium and nutrient source for various crops. The Bio-Regenerative Environmental Air Treatment for Health (BREATHe I) reactor treated greywater and off-gases from the thermophilic aerobic digestion reactor which contained elevated levels of ammonia (NH3 ) and hydrogen sulfide (H2 S). BREATHe I development focused initially on removing greywater contaminants with clean air supplied to a biotrickling filter. Limited removal of organic carbon (70%) led to studies indicating that biodegradation metabolites of the surfactant disodium cocoamphodiacetate are recalcitrant. Subsequent studies showed that NH3 loaded at 150 mg/min and H2 S at 0.83 mg/min were removed completely, while removal of carbonaceous compounds from greywater remained constant. A BREATHe II reactor emphasized biofilters and biotrickling filters for removal of ersatz multicomponent gaseous waste streams representative of habitat air and atmospheric condensate. The model waste stream contained a mixture of acetone, n-butanol, methane, ethylene, and ammonia. Both biofilters and biotrickling filters packed with different media were able to achieve complete removal of easily soluble compounds such as acetone, n-butanol, and ammonia within a short startup period, whereas methane was not removed because of its extreme aqueous insolubility. Different packing media and bioreactor configurations were subsequently assessed, as well as the effect of influent ammonia concentration. Research sponsored in part by NASA grant NAG5-12686.

  17. Effects of salinity on the characteristics of biomass and membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jang, D.; Hwang, Yuhoon; Shin, H.

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of high salinity on the performance and membrane fouling of membrane bioreactor (MBR) with saline wastewater. Synthetic wastewaters containing 5-20g/L salts (NaCl) were treated in identical lab-scale (7L) MBRs monitoring removals of dissolved organic carbon (DOC......; and the changes in microbial composition in turn have affected the performance of the MBRs. Membrane fouling was accelerated by the increased pore blocking resistance at higher salt concentrations. Analysis results of physicochemical and biological characteristics of biomass (EPS, floc size, zeta potential......) verified the impacts of high salinity on the increased membrane fouling....

  18. Treatment of winery wastewater in a conventional municipal activated sludge process: five years of experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolzonella, D; Zanette, M; Battistoni, P; Cecchi, F

    2007-01-01

    A full-scale wastewater treatment plant where municipal and winery wastewaters were co-treated was studied for five years. The experimental results showed that suspended solids, COD, nitrogen and phosphorous were effectively removed both during the treatment of municipal wastewater and the cotreatment of municipal and winery wastewater. The sludge production increase from 4 tons to 5.5 tons per day during the harvesting and wine making period. In any case the specific sludge production was 0.2 kgMLVSS per kgCOD(removed) despite the organic loading increasing. About 70% of the COD was removed through respiration. Also the energy demand increased from 6,000 to 7,000 kWh per day. The estimated costs for the treatment of the winery wastewater was 0.2-0.3 Euros per m3 of treated wastewater. With reference to the process efficiency, the nitrogen removal was just 20%. The co-treatment of municipal and winery wastewater in conventional activated sludge processes can be a feasible solution for the treatment of these streams at relatively low costs.

  19. Modeling of hydrodynamics in hollow fiber membrane bioreactor for mammalian cells cultivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. V. Menshutina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The mathematical modelling in CFD-packages are powerfull instrument for design and calculation of any engineering tasks. CFD-package contains the set of programs that allow to model the different objects behavior based on the mathematical lows. ANSYS Fluent are widely used for modelling of biotechnological and chemical-technological processes. This package is convenient to describe their hydrodynamics. As cell cultivation is one of the actual scientific direction in modern biotechnology ANSYS Fluent was used to create the model of hollow fiber membrane bioreactor. The fibers are hollow cylindrical membrane to be used for cell cultivation. The criterion of process effectiveness for cell growth is full filling of the membrane surface by cells in the bioreactor. While the cell growth the fiber permeability is decreased which effects to feed flow through membrane pores. The specific feature of this process is to ensure such feed flow to deliver the optimal nutrition for the cells on the external membrane surface. The velocity distribution inside the fiber and in all bioreactor as a whole has been calculated based on mass an impulse conservation equations taking into account the mathematical model assumptions. The hydrodynamics analysis in hollow fiber membrane bioreactor is described by the three-dimensional model created in ANSYS Fluent. The specific features of one membrane model are considered and for whole bioreactor too.

  20. Industrialization of a perfusion bioreactor: Prime example of a non-straightforward process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talò, G; Turrisi, C; Arrigoni, C; Recordati, C; Gerges, I; Tamplenizza, M; Cappelluti, A; Riboldi, S A; Moretti, M

    2018-02-01

    Bioreactors are essential enabling technologies for the translation of advanced therapies medicinal products from the research field towards a successful clinical application. In order to speed up the translation and the spread of novel tissue engineering products into the clinical routine, tissue engineering bioreactors should evolve from laboratory prototypes towards industrialized products. In this work, we thus challenged the industrialization process of a novel technological platform, based on an established research prototype of perfusion bioreactor, following a GMP-driven approach. We describe how the combination of scientific background, intellectual property, start-up factory environment, wise industrial advice in the biomedical field, design, and regulatory consultancy allowed us to turn a previously validated prototype technology into an industrial product suitable for serial production with improved replicability and user-friendliness. The solutions implemented enhanced aesthetics, ergonomics, handling, and safety of the bioreactor, and they allowed compliance with the fundamental requirements in terms of traceability, reproducibility, efficiency, and safety of the manufacturing process of advanced therapies medicinal products. The result is an automated incubator-compatible device, housing 12 disposable independent perfusion chambers for seeding and culture of any perfusable tissue. We validated the cell seeding process of the industrialized bioreactor by means of the Design of Experiment approach, whilst the effectiveness of perfusion culture was evaluated in the context of bone tissue engineering. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Municipal Bonds in Developing Countries. Case Study: Municipality of Stip, Republic of Macedonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marija GOGOVA SAMONIKOV

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The developing countries, especially in the Balkans, barely use the municipal bonds as an alternative way of financing their activities. This paper is part of the project “The municipal bonds as an alternative source of financing municipals activities and the effective management of funds, with a special emphasis to the Municipality of Stip, R. Macedonia”. The paper has an important impact, according to both academic and practical perspective. It combines the experts’ academic analysis with the municipals potential in order to facilitate a successful municipal bond emission that would support the local economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ability and willingness of the Municipality of Stip to issue municipal bonds. The main hypothesis states that the Municipality of Stip is able to issue a municipal bond as an alternative way of financing its investment activities. The research includes the classical SWOT analysis regarding the Municipality of Stip and continues with a statistical analysis based on correlation and regression relationships within the accounts of the Municipality’s annual reports. The methodological framework is based on quantitative research methods (correlations and regression methods which result in acceptance of the main hypothesis in the paper - the municipal bonds as an alternative source for funding municipal’s activities are justified, especially if the funds are associated with a specific revenue-generating project. The findings would serve as a basis for the municipal bonds prospect, which would be the ultimate goal of combining the academic knowledge with the practical potential of the Municipality of Stip. The conclusions reveal that this would be the first municipal bond emission in the Republic of Macedonia. However, this fact can serve as an advantage in the market in terms of introducing financial instrument innovation. This paper suggests that the usage of municipal bonds is

  2. Combination of Electrochemical Processes with Membrane Bioreactors for Wastewater Treatment and Fouling Control: A Review

    OpenAIRE

    Ensano, Benny M. B.; Borea, Laura; Naddeo, Vincenzo; Belgiorno, Vincenzo; de Luna, Mark D. G.; Ballesteros, Florencio C.

    2016-01-01

    This paper provides a critical review about the integration of electrochemical processes into membrane bioreactors (MBR) in order to understand the influence of these processes on wastewater treatment performance and membrane fouling control. The integration can be realized either in an internal or an external configuration. Electrically enhanced membrane bioreactors or electro membrane bioreactors (eMBRs) combine biodegradation, electrochemical and membrane filtration processes into one syst...

  3. Combination of electrochemical processes with membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment and fouling control: A review

    OpenAIRE

    Benny Marie B. Ensano; Laura Borea; Vincenzo Naddeo; Vincenzo Belgiorno; Mark Daniel G. de Luna; Mark Daniel G. de Luna; Florencio C. Ballesteros, Jr.; Florencio C. Ballesteros, Jr.

    2016-01-01

    This paper provides a critical review about the integration of electrochemical processes into membrane bioreactors (MBR) in order to understand the influence of these processes on wastewater treatment performance and membrane fouling control. The integration can be realized either in an internal or an external configuration. Electrically enhanced membrane bioreactors or electro membrane bioreactors (eMBRs) combine biodegradation, electrochemical and membrane filtration processes into one syst...

  4. LANDFILL BIOREACTOR PERFORMANCE, SECOND INTERIM REPORT

    Science.gov (United States)

    A bioreactor landfill is a landfill that is operated in a manner that is expected to increase the rate and extent of waste decomposition, gas generation, and settlement compared to a traditional landfill. This Second Interim Report was prepared to provide an interpretation of fie...

  5. OPTIMIZED WTE CONVERSION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE IN SHANGHAI APPLYING THERMOCHEMICAL TECHNOLOGIES

    OpenAIRE

    Dai, Siyang

    2016-01-01

    Thermochemical technologies have been proven effective in treating municipal solid waste (MSW) for many years. China, with a rapid increase of MSW, plans to implement more environmental friendly ways to treat MSW than landfill, which treats about 79 % of total MSW currently. The aim of this master thesis was to find out a suitable thermochemical technology to treat MSW in Shanghai, China. Several different thermochemical technologies are compared in this thesis and plasma gasification was sel...

  6. Hollow-fiber membrane bioreactor for the treatment of high-strength landfill leachate

    KAUST Repository

    Rizkallah, Marwan

    2013-07-15

    Performance assessment of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology for the treatability of high-strength landfill leachate is relatively limited or lacking. This study examines the feasibility of treating high-strength landfill leachate using a hollow-fiber MBR. For this purpose, a laboratory-scale MBR was constructed and operated to treat leachate with a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 9000-11,000 mg/l, a 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) of 4000-6,000 mg/l, volatile suspended solids (VSS) of 300-500 mg/l, total nitrogen (TN) of 2000-6000 mg/l, and an ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) of 1800-4000 mg/l. VSS was used with the BOD and COD data to simulate the biological activity in the activated sludge. Removal efficiencies > 95-99% for BOD5, VSS, TN and NH3-N were attained. The coupled experimental and simulation results contribute in filling a gap in managing high-strength landfill leachate and providing guidelines for corresponding MBR application. © The Author(s) 2013.

  7. Lactic acid Production with in situ Extraction in Membrane Bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamidreza Ghafouri Taleghani

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective: Lactic acid is widely used in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The major problems associated with lactic acid production are substrate and end-product inhibition, and by-product formation. Membrane technologyrepresents one of the most effective processes for lactic acid production. The aim of this work is to increase cell density and lactic acid productivity due to reduced inhibition effect of substrate and product in membrane bioreactor.Material and Methods: In this work, lactic acid was produced from lactose in membrane bioreactor. A laboratory scale membrane bioreactor was designed and fabricated. Five types of commercial membranes were tested at the same operating conditions (transmembrane pressure: 500 KPa and temperature: 25°C. The effects of initial lactose concentration and dilution rate on biomass growth, lactic acid production and substrate utilization were evaluated.Results and Conclusion: The high lactose retention of 79% v v-1 and low lactic acid retention of 22% v v-1 were obtained with NF1 membrane; therefore, this membrane was selected for membrane bioreactor. The maximal productivity of 17.1 g l-1 h-1 was obtainedwith the lactic acid concentration of 71.5 g l-1 at the dilution rate of 0.24 h−1. The maximum concentration of lactic acid was obtained at the dilution rate of 0.04 h−1. The inhibiting effect of lactic acid was not observed at high initial lactose concentration. The critical lactose concentration at which the cell growth severely hampered was 150 g l-1. This study proved that membrane bioreactor had great advantages such as elimination of substrate and product inhibition, high concentration of process substrate, high cell density,and high lactic acid productivity.Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest.

  8. Design considerations and challenges for mechanical stretch bioreactors in tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Ying; Ferdous, Zannatul

    2016-05-01

    With the increase in average life expectancy and growing aging population, lack of functional grafts for replacement surgeries has become a severe problem. Engineered tissues are a promising alternative to this problem because they can mimic the physiological function of the native tissues and be cultured on demand. Cyclic stretch is important for developing many engineered tissues such as hearts, heart valves, muscles, and bones. Thus a variety of stretch bioreactors and corresponding scaffolds have been designed and tested to study the underlying mechanism of tissue formation and to optimize the mechanical conditions applied to the engineered tissues. In this review, we look at various designs of stretch bioreactors and common scaffolds and offer insights for future improvements in tissue engineering applications. First, we summarize the requirements and common configuration of stretch bioreactors. Next, we present the features of different actuating and motion transforming systems and their applications. Since most bioreactors must measure detailed distributions of loads and deformations on engineered tissues, techniques with high accuracy, precision, and frequency have been developed. We also cover the key points in designing culture chambers, nutrition exchanging systems, and regimens used for specific tissues. Since scaffolds are essential for providing biophysical microenvironments for residing cells, we discuss materials and technologies used in fabricating scaffolds to mimic anisotropic native tissues, including decellularized tissues, hydrogels, biocompatible polymers, electrospinning, and 3D bioprinting techniques. Finally, we present the potential future directions for improving stretch bioreactors and scaffolds. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:543-553, 2016. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  9. A symbiotic gas exchange between bioreactors enhances microalgal biomass and lipid productivities: taking advantage of complementary nutritional modes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, C A; Ferreira, M E; da Silva, T Lopes; Gouveia, L; Novais, J M; Reis, A

    2011-08-01

    This paper describes the association of two bioreactors: one photoautotrophic and the other heterotrophic, connected by the gas phase and allowing an exchange of O(2) and CO(2) gases between them, benefiting from a symbiotic effect. The association of two bioreactors was proposed with the aim of improving the microalgae oil productivity for biodiesel production. The outlet gas flow from the autotrophic (O(2) enriched) bioreactor was used as the inlet gas flow for the heterotrophic bioreactor. In parallel, the outlet gas flow from another heterotrophic (CO(2) enriched) bioreactor was used as the inlet gas flow for the autotrophic bioreactor. Aside from using the air supplied from the auto- and hetero-trophic bioreactors as controls, one mixotrophic bioreactor was also studied and used as a model, for its claimed advantage of CO(2) and organic carbon being simultaneously assimilated. The microalga Chlorella protothecoides was chosen as a model due to its ability to grow under different nutritional modes (auto, hetero, and mixotrophic), and its ability to attain a high biomass productivity and lipid content, suitable for biodiesel production. The comparison between heterotrophic, autotrophic, and mixotrophic Chlorella protothecoides growth for lipid production revealed that heterotrophic growth achieved the highest biomass productivity and lipid content (>22%), and furthermore showed that these lipids had the most suitable fatty acid profile in order to produce high quality biodiesel. Both associations showed a higher biomass productivity (10-20%), when comparing the two separately operated bioreactors (controls) which occurred on the fourth day. A more remarkable result would have been seen if in actuality the two bioreactors had been inter-connected in a closed loop. The biomass productivity gain would have been 30% and the lipid productivity gain would have been 100%, as seen by comparing the productivities of the symbiotic assemblage with the sum of the two

  10. Analysis of the efficiency of recombinant Escherichia coli strain cultivation in a gas-vortex bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savelyeva, Anna V; Nemudraya, Anna A; Podgornyi, Vladimir F; Laburkina, Nadezhda V; Ramazanov, Yuriy A; Repkov, Andrey P; Kuligina, Elena V; Richter, Vladimir A

    2017-09-01

    The levels of aeration and mass transfer are critical parameters required for an efficient aerobic bioprocess, and directly depend on the design features of exploited bioreactors. A novel apparatus, using gas vortex for aeration and mass transfer processes, was constructed in the Center of Vortex Technologies (Novosibirsk, Russia). In this paper, we compared the efficiency of recombinant Escherichia coli strain cultivation using novel gas-vortex technology with conventional bioprocess technologies such as shake flasks and bioreactors with mechanical stirrers. We demonstrated that the system of aeration and agitation used in gas-vortex bioreactors provides 3.6 times higher volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient in comparison with mechanical bioreactor. The use of gas-vortex bioreactor for recombinant E. coli strain cultivation allows to increase the efficiency of target protein expression at 2.2 times for BL21(DE3)/pFK2 strain and at 3.5 times for auxotrophic C600/pRT strain (in comparison with stirred bioreactor). © 2016 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  11. Catalytic bioreactors and methods of using same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worden, Robert Mark; Liu, Yangmu Chloe

    2017-07-25

    Various embodiments provide a bioreactor for producing a bioproduct comprising one or more catalytically active zones located in a housing and adapted to keep two incompatible gaseous reactants separated when in a gas phase, wherein each of the one or more catalytically active zones may comprise a catalytic component retainer and a catalytic component retained within and/or thereon. Each of the catalytically active zones may additionally or alternatively comprise a liquid medium located on either side of the catalytic component retainer. Catalytic component may include a microbial cell culture located within and/or on the catalytic component retainer, a suspended catalytic component suspended in the liquid medium, or a combination thereof. Methods of using various embodiments of the bioreactor to produce a bioproduct, such as isobutanol, are also provided.

  12. Comparison between moving bed-membrane bioreactor (MB-MBR) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems: influence of wastewater salinity variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Trapani, Daniele; Di Bella, Gaetano; Mannina, Giorgio; Torregrossa, Michele; Viviani, Gaspare

    2014-06-01

    Two pilot plant systems were investigated for the treatment of wastewater subject to a gradual increase of salinity. In particular, a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and a moving bed biofilm membrane bioreactor (MB-MBR) were analyzed. Carbon and ammonium removal, kinetic constants and membranes fouling rates have been assessed. Both plants showed very high efficiency in terms of carbon and ammonium removal and the gradual salinity increase led to a good acclimation of the biomass, as confirmed by the respirometric tests. Significant biofilm detachments from carriers were experienced, which contributed to increase the irreversible superficial cake deposition. However, this aspect prevented the pore fouling tendency in the membrane module of MB-MBR system. On the contrary, the MBR pilot, even showing a lower irreversible cake deposition, was characterized by a higher pore fouling tendency. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Membrane bioreactors for enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose; Idrolisi enzimatica del lattosio con bioreattori a membrana

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pizzichini, M; Pilloton, R [ENEA, Casaccia (Italy). Area Energia e Innovazione; Pontecorvo, M; Mignogna, G; Fortunato, A; Beone, F

    1993-03-01

    Bioreactor systems obtained by cell or enzyme immobilization offer many advantages compared with native enzyme, intact cell systems or other biocatalysts. Thus, many attempts have been made to design and use new types of bioreactor systems in order to improve performance, enhance productivity and reduce environmental impacts. Membrane bioreactors, obtained by physical immobilization of biocatalysts, in polymeric membrane support, offer such practical advantages as: a continuous separation and transformation process with low product inhibition and suitable hydraulic configuration (backflushing recycling, ultrafiltrating). Specific membrane modules (Amicon VitaFiber), for bioreactor applications are being commercialized. Beta-galctosidase enzyme has successfully been immobilized in a hollow fiber and in ceramic modules to hydrolyze lactose in waste whey. This technical report presents the general properties and performances (permeability, washing procedures, hydraulic configurations, physical and chemical properties) of both, polymeric and ceramic supports, enzyme kinetics, physical and covalent immobilization, mathematical model of the bioreactor and on-line process monitoring.

  14. Modeling of Hybrid Growth Wastewater Bio-reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    EI Nashaei, S.; Garhyan, P.; Prasad, P.; Abdel Halim, H.S.; Ibrahim, G.

    2004-01-01

    The attached/suspended growth mixed reactors are considered one of the recently tried approaches to improve the performance of the biological treatment by increasing the volume of the accumulated biomass in terms of attached growth as well as suspended growth. Moreover, the domestic WW can be easily mixed with a high strength non-hazardous industrial wastewater and treated together in these bio-reactors if the need arises. Modeling of Hybrid hybrid growth wastewater reactor addresses the need of understanding the rational of such system in order to achieve better design and operation parameters. This paper aims at developing a heterogeneous mathematical model for hybrid growth system considering the effect of diffusion, external mass transfer, and power input to the system in a rational manner. The model will be based on distinguishing between liquid/solid phase (bio-film and bio-floc). This model would be a step ahead to the fine tuning the design of hybrid systems based on the experimental data of a pilot plant to be implemented in near future

  15. Two-stage gas-phase bioreactor for the combined removal of hydrogen sulphide, methanol and alpha-pinene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rene, Eldon R; Jin, Yaomin; Veiga, María C; Kennes, Christian

    2009-11-01

    Biological treatment systems have emerged as cost-effective and eco-friendly techniques for treating waste gases from process industries at moderately high gas flow rates and low pollutant concentrations. In this study, we have assessed the performance of a two-stage bioreactor, namely a biotrickling filter packed with pall rings (BTF, 1st stage) and a perlite + pall ring mixed biofilter (BF, 2nd stage) operated in series, for handling a complex mixture of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), methanol (CH3OH) and alpha-pinene (C10H16). It has been reported that the presence of H2S can reduce the biofiltration efficiency of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when both are present in the gas mixture. Hydrogen sulphide and methanol were removed in the first stage BTF, previously inoculated with H2S-adapted populations and a culture containing Candida boidinii, an acid-tolerant yeast, whereas, in the second stage, alpha-pinene was removed predominantly by the fungus Ophiostoma stenoceras. Experiments were conducted in five different phases, corresponding to inlet loading rates varying between 2.1 and 93.5 g m(-3) h(-1) for H2S, 55.3 and 1260.2 g m(-3) h(-1) for methanol, and 2.8 and 161.1 g m(-3) h(-1) for alpha-pinene. Empty bed residence times were varied between 83.4 and 10 s in the first stage and 146.4 and 17.6 s in the second stage. The BTF, working at a pH as low as 2.7 as a result of H2S degradation, removed most of the H2S and methanol but only very little alpha-pinene. On the other hand, the BF, at a pH around 6.0, removed the rest of the H2S, the non-degraded methanol and most of the alpha-pinene vapours. Attempts were originally made to remove the three pollutants in a single acidophilic bioreactor, but the Ophiostoma strain was hardly active at pH elimination capacities (ECs) reached by the two-stage bioreactor for individual pollutants were 894.4 g m(-3) h(-1) for methanol, 45.1 g m(-3) h(-1) for H2S and 138.1 g m(-3) h(-1) for alpha-pinene. The results from this

  16. Construction and characterization of a novel vocal fold bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zerdoum, Aidan B; Tong, Zhixiang; Bachman, Brendan; Jia, Xinqiao

    2014-08-01

    In vitro engineering of mechanically active tissues requires the presentation of physiologically relevant mechanical conditions to cultured cells. To emulate the dynamic environment of vocal folds, a novel vocal fold bioreactor capable of producing vibratory stimulations at fundamental phonation frequencies is constructed and characterized. The device is composed of a function generator, a power amplifier, a speaker selector and parallel vibration chambers. Individual vibration chambers are created by sandwiching a custom-made silicone membrane between a pair of acrylic blocks. The silicone membrane not only serves as the bottom of the chamber but also provides a mechanism for securing the cell-laden scaffold. Vibration signals, generated by a speaker mounted underneath the bottom acrylic block, are transmitted to the membrane aerodynamically by the oscillating air. Eight identical vibration modules, fixed on two stationary metal bars, are housed in an anti-humidity chamber for long-term operation in a cell culture incubator. The vibration characteristics of the vocal fold bioreactor are analyzed non-destructively using a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV). The utility of the dynamic culture device is demonstrated by culturing cellular constructs in the presence of 200-Hz sinusoidal vibrations with a mid-membrane displacement of 40 µm. Mesenchymal stem cells cultured in the bioreactor respond to the vibratory signals by altering the synthesis and degradation of vocal fold-relevant, extracellular matrix components. The novel bioreactor system presented herein offers an excellent in vitro platform for studying vibration-induced mechanotransduction and for the engineering of functional vocal fold tissues.

  17. Public Management in a Real Estate Area – Some Empirical Evidence from Polish Municipalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marona Bartłomiej

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of this paper is to present the role of individual concepts of public management in the process of real estate management in Polish municipalities. Special attention was given to New Public Management (NPM as well as Good Governance (GG. The paper, apart from a review of literature and its critique, is based on the results of a survey conducted among municipalities belonging to the Kraków Metropolitan Area. This study demonstrates that both the NPM and the GG concepts do not constitute a benchmark model in the practice of municipal real estate management in Poland. The concepts are treated more as a set of tools from which the majority of municipalities choose only some, selected instruments.

  18. Pilot-scale experiment on anaerobic bioreactor landfills in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Jianguo; Yang, Guodong; Deng, Zhou; Huang, Yunfeng; Huang, Zhonglin; Feng, Xiangming; Zhou, Shengyong; Zhang, Chaoping

    2007-01-01

    Developing countries have begun to investigate bioreactor landfills for municipal solid waste management. This paper describes the impacts of leachate recirculation and recirculation loadings on waste stabilization, landfill gas (LFG) generation and leachate characteristics. Four simulated anaerobic columns, R1-R4, were each filled with about 30 tons of waste and recirculated weekly with 1.6, 0.8 and 0.2 m 3 leachate and 0.1 m 3 tap water. The results indicated that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) half-time of leachate from R1 was about 180 days, which was 8-14 weeks shorter than that of R2-R4. A large amount of LFG was first produced in R1, and its generation rate was positively correlated to the COD or volatile fatty acid concentrations of influent leachates after the 30th week. By the 50th week of recirculation, the waste in R1 was more stabilized, with 931.2 kg COD or 175.6 kg total organic carbon released and with the highest landfill gas production. However, this contributed mainly to washout by leachate, which also resulted in the reduction of LFG generation potential and accumulation of ammonia and/or phosphorus in the early stage. Therefore, the regimes of leachate recirculation should be adjusted to the phases of waste stabilization to enhance efficiency of energy recovery. Integrated with the strategy of in situ leachate management, extra pre-treatment or post-treatment methods to remove the nutrients are recommended

  19. Computational fluid dynamics modeling of momentum transport in rotating wall perfused bioreactor for cartilage tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cinbiz, Mahmut N; Tığli, R Seda; Beşkardeş, Işil Gerçek; Gümüşderelioğlu, Menemşe; Colak, Uner

    2010-11-01

    In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of a rotating-wall perfused-vessel (RWPV) bioreactor is performed to characterize the complex hydrodynamic environment for the simulation of cartilage development in RWPV bioreactor in the presence of tissue-engineered cartilage constructs, i.e., cell-chitosan scaffolds. Shear stress exerted on chitosan scaffolds in bioreactor was calculated for different rotational velocities in the range of 33-38 rpm. According to the calculations, the lateral and lower surfaces were exposed to 0.07926-0.11069 dyne/cm(2) and 0.05974-0.08345 dyne/cm(2), respectively, while upper surfaces of constructs were exposed to 0.09196-0.12847 dyne/cm(2). Results validate adequate hydrodynamic environment for scaffolds in RWPV bioreactor for cartilage tissue development which concludes the suitability of operational conditions of RWPV bioreactor. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. A review of some parameters involved in fluidized bed bioreactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wright, P.C. [School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, The Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia); Raper, J.A. [School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, The Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia)

    1996-02-01

    Three-phase fluidized bed bioreactors have advantages over conventional chemical reaction systems. There is a lack of agreement over most major operational conditions, and a wide range of design variables are open to question. A large body of recent work in the field has been reviewed, with a degree of historical comparison and discussion. It has been found that aspects of fluidized bed biofilm reactors of vital importance include: choice of solid media, gas and liquid loadings, bacterial type and reactor mechanical design. A large proportion of the work in the field of three-phase fluidization is non-biologically specific, or not tested on a bacterially inoculated system. The majority of three-phase fluidized bed bioreactor work is in the field of water treatment. Although this work has highlighted the potential for use of bio-fluidized beds for this application, there are still specific problems hinderin the large scale industrial acceptance of three-phase fluidized bed bioreactors. (orig.)

  1. Membrane bioreactors' potential for ethanol and biogas production: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ylitervo, Päivi; Akinbomia, Julius; Taherzadeha, Mohammad J

    2013-01-01

    Companies developing and producing membranes for different separation purposes, as well as the market for these, have markedly increased in numbers over the last decade. Membrane and separation technology might well contribute to making fuel ethanol and biogas production from lignocellulosic materials more economically viable and productive. Combining biological processes with membrane separation techniques in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) increases cell concentrations extensively in the bioreactor. Such a combination furthermore reduces product inhibition during the biological process, increases product concentration and productivity, and simplifies the separation of product and/or cells. Various MBRs have been studied over the years, where the membrane is either submerged inside the liquid to be filtered, or placed in an external loop outside the bioreactor. All configurations have advantages and drawbacks, as reviewed in this paper. The current review presents an account of the membrane separation technologies, and the research performed on MBRs, focusing on ethanol and biogas production. The advantages and potentials of the technology are elucidated.

  2. Biogas Production from Citrus Waste by Membrane Bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachma Wikandari

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Rapid acidification and inhibition by d-limonene are major challenges of biogas production from citrus waste. As limonene is a hydrophobic chemical, this challenge was encountered using hydrophilic polyvinylidine difluoride (PVDF membranes in a biogas reactor. The more sensitive methane-producing archaea were encapsulated in the membranes, while freely suspended digesting bacteria were present in the culture as well. In this membrane bioreactor (MBR, the free digesting bacteria digested the citrus wastes and produced soluble compounds, which could pass through the membrane and converted to biogas by the encapsulated cell. As a control experiment, similar digestions were carried out in bioreactors containing the identical amount of just free cells. The experiments were carried out in thermophilic conditions at 55 °C, and hydraulic retention time of 30 days. The organic loading rate (OLR was started with 0.3 kg VS/m3/day and gradually increased to 3 kg VS/m3/day. The results show that at the highest OLR, MBR was successful to produce methane at 0.33 Nm3/kg VS, while the traditional free cell reactor reduced its methane production to 0.05 Nm3/kg VS. Approximately 73% of the theoretical methane yield was achieved using the membrane bioreactor.

  3. Production of oncolytic adenovirus and human mesenchymal stem cells in a single-use, Vertical-Wheel bioreactor system: Impact of bioreactor design on performance of microcarrier-based cell culture processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sousa, Marcos F Q; Silva, Marta M; Giroux, Daniel; Hashimura, Yas; Wesselschmidt, Robin; Lee, Brian; Roldão, António; Carrondo, Manuel J T; Alves, Paula M; Serra, Margarida

    2015-01-01

    Anchorage-dependent cell cultures are used for the production of viruses, viral vectors, and vaccines, as well as for various cell therapies and tissue engineering applications. Most of these applications currently rely on planar technologies for the generation of biological products. However, as new cell therapy product candidates move from clinical trials towards potential commercialization, planar platforms have proven to be inadequate to meet large-scale manufacturing demand. Therefore, a new scalable platform for culturing anchorage-dependent cells at high cell volumetric concentrations is urgently needed. One promising solution is to grow cells on microcarriers suspended in single-use bioreactors. Toward this goal, a novel bioreactor system utilizing an innovative Vertical-Wheel™ technology was evaluated for its potential to support scalable cell culture process development. Two anchorage-dependent human cell types were used: human lung carcinoma cells (A549 cell line) and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC). Key hydrodynamic parameters such as power input, mixing time, Kolmogorov length scale, and shear stress were estimated. The performance of Vertical-Wheel bioreactors (PBS-VW) was then evaluated for A549 cell growth and oncolytic adenovirus type 5 production as well as for hMSC expansion. Regarding the first cell model, higher cell growth and number of infectious viruses per cell were achieved when compared with stirred tank (ST) bioreactors. For the hMSC model, although higher percentages of proliferative cells could be reached in the PBS-VW compared with ST bioreactors, no significant differences in the cell volumetric concentration and expansion factor were observed. Noteworthy, the hMSC population generated in the PBS-VW showed a significantly lower percentage of apoptotic cells as well as reduced levels of HLA-DR positive cells. Overall, these results showed that process transfer from ST bioreactor to PBS-VW, and scale-up was

  4. On-line removal of volatile fatty acids from CELSS anaerobic bioreactor via nanofiltration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colon, Guillermo

    1995-01-01

    The CELSS (controlled ecological life support system) resource recovery system, which is a waste processing system, uses aerobic and anaerobic bioreactors to recover plants nutrients and secondary foods from the inedible biomass. The anaerobic degradation of the inedible biomass by means of culture of rumen bacteria,generates organic compounds such as volatile fatty acids (acetic, propionic, butyric, VFA) and ammonia. The presence of VFA in the bioreactor medium at fairly low concentrations decreases the microbial population's metabolic reactions due to end-product inhibition. Technologies to remove VFA continuously from the bioreactor are of high interest. Several candidate technologies were analyzed, such as organic solvent liquid-liquid extraction, adsorption and/or ion exchange, dialysis, electrodialysis, and pressure driven membrane separation processes. The proposed technique for the on-line removal of VFA from the anaerobic bioreactor was a nanofiltration membrane recycle bioreactor. In order to establish the nanofiltration process performance variables before coupling it to the bioreactor, a series of experiments were carried out using a 10,000 MWCO tubular ceramic membrane module. The variables studied were the bioreactor slurry permeation characteristics, such as, the permeate flux, VFA and the nutrient removal rates as a function of applied transmembrane pressure, fluid recirculation velocity, suspended matter concentration, and process operating time. Results indicate that the permeate flux, VFA and nutrients removal rates are directly proportional to the fluid recirculation velocity in the range between 0.6 to 1.0 m/s, applied pressure when these are low than 1.5 bar, and inversely proportional to the total suspended solids concentration in the range between 23,466 to 34,880. At applied pressure higher than 1.5 bar the flux is not more linearly dependent due to concentration polarization and fouling effects over the membrange surface. It was also found

  5. On-line removal of volatile fatty acids from CELSS anaerobic bioreactor via nanofiltration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colon, G; Sager, J C

    2001-01-01

    The CELSS resource recovery system, which is a waste-processing system, uses aerobic and anaerobic bioreactors to recover plants nutrients and secondary foods from the inedible biomass. The anaerobic degradation of the inedible biomass, by means of culture of rumen bacteria, generates organic compounds such as volatile fatty acids (VFA) (acetic, propionic, butyric) and ammonia. The presence of VFA in the bioreactor medium at fairly low concentrations decreases the microbial population's metabolic reactions due to end-product inhibition. Technologies to remove VFA continuously from the bioreactor are of high interest. Several candidate technologies were analyzed, such as organic solvent liquid-liquid extraction, adsorption and/or ion exchange, dialysis, electrodialysis, and pressure-driven membrane separation processes. The proposed technique for the on-line removal of VFA from the anaerobic bioreactor was a nanofiltration membrane recycle bioreactor. In order to establish the nanofiltration process performance variables before coupling it to the bioreactor, a series of experiments was carried out using a 10,000 molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) tubular ceramic membrane module. The variables studied were the bioreactor slurry permeation characteristics, such as: the permeate flux, VFA and nutrient removal rates as a function of applied transmembrane pressure, fluid recirculation velocity, suspended matter concentration, and process operating time. Results indicated that the permeate flux, VFA, and nutrients removal rates are directly proportional to the fluid recirculation velocity in the range between 0.6 and 1.0 m/s, applied pressure when these are lower than 1.5 bar, and inversely proportional to the total suspended solids concentration in the range between 23,466 and 34,880 mg/L. At applied pressure higher than 1.5 bar the flux is not more linearly dependent due to concentration polarization and fouling effects over the membrane surface. It was also found that the

  6. Oxygen demand for the stabilization of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste in passively aerated bioreactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kasinski, Slawomir; Wojnowska-Baryla, Irena

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • The use of an passively aerated reactor enables effective stabilization of OFMSW. • Convective air flow does not inhibit the aerobic stabilization of waste. • The use of an passively aerated reactor reduces the heat loss due to convection. • The volume of supplied air exceeds 1.7–2.88 times the microorganisms demand. - Abstract: Conventional aerobic waste treatment technologies require the use of aeration devices that actively transport air through the stabilized waste mass, which greatly increases operating costs. In addition, improperly operated active aeration systems, may have the adverse effect of cooling the stabilized biomass. Because active aeration can be a limiting factor for the stabilization process, passive aeration can be equally effective and less expensive. Unfortunately, there are few reports documenting the use of passive aeration systems in municipal waste stabilization. There have been doubts raised as to whether a passive aeration system provides enough oxygen to the organic matter mineralization processes. In this paper, the effectiveness of aeration during aerobic stabilization of four different organic fractions of municipal waste in a reactor with an integrated passive ventilation system and leachate recirculation was analyzed. For the study, four fractions separated by a rotary screen were chosen. Despite the high temperatures in the reactor, the air flow rate was below 0.016 m 3 /h. Using Darcy’s equation, theoretical values of the air flow rate were estimated, depending on the intensity of microbial metabolism and the amount of oxygen required for the oxidation of organic compounds. Calculations showed that the volume of supplied air exceeded the microorganisms demand for oxidation and endogenous activity by 1.7–2.88-fold

  7. Aujeszky's disease virus production in disposable bioreactor

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Madhu

    1Laboratory for Cell Culture Technology and Biotransformations, 2Laboratory for ... A novel, disposable-bag bioreactor system that uses wave action for mixing and transferring ... consisted of 95% of air + 5% of CO2 using gas mixing module.

  8. CULTIVATION OF HUMAN LIVER CELLS AND ADIPOSE-DERIVED MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS IN PERFUSION BIOREACTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. В. Basok

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim: to show the progress of the experiment of cultivation of human liver cells and adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells in perfusion bioreactor.Materials and methods. The cultivation of a cell-engineered construct, consisting of a biopolymer microstructured collagen-containing hydrogel, human liver cells, adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells, and William’s E Medium, was performed in a perfusion bioreactor.Results. On the 7th day large cells with hepatocyte morphology – of a polygonal shape and a centrally located round nucleus, – were present in the culture chambers of the bioreactor. The metabolic activity of hepatocytes in cell-engineered constructs was confi rmed by the presence of urea in the culture medium on the seventh day of cultivation in the bioreactor and by the resorption of a biopolymer microstructured collagen-containing hydrogel.

  9. Organic micro-pollutants’ removal via anaerobic membrane bioreactor with ultrafiltration and nanofiltration

    KAUST Repository

    Wei, Chunhai

    2015-12-15

    The removal of 15 organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) in synthetic municipal wastewater was investigated in a laboratory-scale mesophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) using ultrafiltration and AnMBR followed by nanofiltration (NF), where powdered activated carbon (PAC) was added to enhance OMPs removal. No significant effects of OMPs spiking and NF connection on bulk organics removal and biogas production were observed. Amitriptyline, diphenhydramine, fluoxetine, sulfamethoxazole, TDCPP and trimethoprim showed readily biodegradable characteristics with consistent biological removal over 80%. Atrazine, carbamazepine, DEET, Dilantin, primidone and TCEP showed refractory characteristics with biological removal below 40%. Acetaminophen, atenolol and caffeine showed a prolonged adaption time of around 45 d, with initial biological removal below 40% and up to 50-80% after this period. Most readily biodegradable OMPs contained a strong electron donating group. Most refractory OMPs contained a strong electron withdrawing group or a halogen substitute. NF showed consistent high rejection of 80-92% with an average of 87% for all OMPs, which resulted in higher OMPs removal in AnMBR-NF than in AnMBR alone, especially for refractory OMPs. Limited sorption performance of PAC for OMPs removal was mainly due to low and batch dosage (100 mg/L) as well as the competitive sorption caused by bulk organics.

  10. Groundwater quality impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater in a large karstic spring basin: Chemical and microbiological indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katz, Brian G.; Griffin, Dale W.; Davis, J. Hal

    2009-01-01

    Geochemical and microbiological techniques were used to assess water-quality impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater in the karstic Wakulla Springs basin in northern Florida. Nitrate-N concentrations have increased from about 0.2 to as high as 1.1 mg/L (milligrams per liter) during the past 30 years in Wakulla Springs, a regional discharge point for groundwater (mean flow about 11.3 m 3 /s) from the Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA). A major source of nitrate to the UFA is the approximately 64 million L/d (liters per day) of treated municipal wastewater applied at a 774 ha (hectare) sprayfield farming operation. About 260 chemical and microbiological indicators were analyzed in water samples from the sprayfield effluent reservoir, wells upgradient from the sprayfield, and from 21 downgradient wells and springs to assess the movement of contaminants into the UFA. Concentrations of nitrate-N, boron, chloride, were elevated in water samples from the sprayfield effluent reservoir and in monitoring wells at the sprayfield boundary. Mixing of sprayfield effluent water was indicated by a systematic decrease in concentrations of these constituents with distance downgradient from the sprayfield, with about a 10-fold dilution at Wakulla Springs, about 15 km (kilometers) downgradient from the sprayfield. Groundwater with elevated chloride and boron concentrations in wells downgradient from the sprayfield and in Wakulla Springs had similar nitrate isotopic signatures, whereas the nitrate isotopic composition of water from other sites was consistent with inorganic fertilizers or denitrification. The sprayfield operation was highly effective in removing most studied organic wastewater and pharmaceutical compounds and microbial indicators. Carbamazepine (an anti-convulsant drug) was the only pharmaceutical compound detected in groundwater from two sprayfield monitoring wells (1-2 ppt). One other detection of carbamazepine was found in a distant well water

  11. Groundwater quality impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater in a large karstic spring basin: Chemical and microbiological indicators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katz, Brian G. [U.S. Geological Survey, 2010 Levy Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida 32310 (United States)], E-mail: bkatz@usgs.gov; Griffin, Dale W.; Davis, J. Hal [U.S. Geological Survey, 2010 Levy Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida 32310 (United States)

    2009-04-01

    Geochemical and microbiological techniques were used to assess water-quality impacts from the land application of treated municipal wastewater in the karstic Wakulla Springs basin in northern Florida. Nitrate-N concentrations have increased from about 0.2 to as high as 1.1 mg/L (milligrams per liter) during the past 30 years in Wakulla Springs, a regional discharge point for groundwater (mean flow about 11.3 m{sup 3}/s) from the Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA). A major source of nitrate to the UFA is the approximately 64 million L/d (liters per day) of treated municipal wastewater applied at a 774 ha (hectare) sprayfield farming operation. About 260 chemical and microbiological indicators were analyzed in water samples from the sprayfield effluent reservoir, wells upgradient from the sprayfield, and from 21 downgradient wells and springs to assess the movement of contaminants into the UFA. Concentrations of nitrate-N, boron, chloride, were elevated in water samples from the sprayfield effluent reservoir and in monitoring wells at the sprayfield boundary. Mixing of sprayfield effluent water was indicated by a systematic decrease in concentrations of these constituents with distance downgradient from the sprayfield, with about a 10-fold dilution at Wakulla Springs, about 15 km (kilometers) downgradient from the sprayfield. Groundwater with elevated chloride and boron concentrations in wells downgradient from the sprayfield and in Wakulla Springs had similar nitrate isotopic signatures, whereas the nitrate isotopic composition of water from other sites was consistent with inorganic fertilizers or denitrification. The sprayfield operation was highly effective in removing most studied organic wastewater and pharmaceutical compounds and microbial indicators. Carbamazepine (an anti-convulsant drug) was the only pharmaceutical compound detected in groundwater from two sprayfield monitoring wells (1-2 ppt). One other detection of carbamazepine was found in a distant well water

  12. Effects of granular activated carbon on methane removal performance and methanotrophic community of a lab-scale bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eun-Hee; Choi, Sun-Ah; Yi, Taewoo; Kim, Tae Gwan; Lee, Sang-Don; Cho, Kyung-Suk

    2015-01-01

    Two identical lab-scale bioreactor systems were operated to examine the effects of granular activated carbon (GAC) on methane removal performance and methanotrophic community. Both bioreactor systems removed methane completely at a CH4 loading rate of 71.2 g-CH4·d(-1) for 17 days. However, the methane removal efficiency declined to 88% in the bioreactor without GAC, while the bioreactor amended with GAC showed greater methane removal efficiency of 97% at a CH4 loading rate of 107.5 g-CH4·d(-1). Although quantitative real-time PCR showed that methanotrophic populations were similar levels of 5-10 × 10(8) pmoA gene copy number·VSS(-1) in both systems, GAC addition changed the methanotrophic community composition of the bioreactor systems. Microarray assay revealed that GAC enhanced the type I methanotrophic genera including Methylobacter, Methylomicrobium, and Methylomonas of the system, which suggests that GAC probably provided a favorable environment for type I methanotrophs. These results indicated that GAC is a promising support material in bioreactor systems for CH4 mitigation.

  13. Differentiation of cartilaginous anlage in entire embryonic mouse limbs cultured in a rotating bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duke, P.; Oakley, C.; Montufar-Solis, D.

    The embryonic mammalian limb is sensitive both in vivo and in vitro to changes in gravitational force. Hypergravity of centrifugation and microgravity of space decreased size of elements due to precocious or delayed chondrogenesis respectively. In recapitulating spaceflight experiments, premetatarsals were cultured in suspension in a low stress, low sheer rotating bioreactor, and found to be shorter than those cultured in standard culture dishes, and cartilage development was delayed. This study only measured length of the metatarsals, and did not account for possible changes in width and/or in form of the skeletal elements. Shorter cartilage elements in limbbuds cultured in the bioreactor may be due to the ability of the system to reproduce a more in vivo 3D shape than traditional organ cultures. Tissues subjected to traditional organ cultures become flattened by their own weight, attachment to the filter, and restrictions imposed by nutrient diffusion. The purpose of the current experiment was to determine if entire limb buds could be successfully cultured in the bioreactor, and to compare the effects on 3D shape with that of culturing in a culture dish system. Fore and hind limbs from E11-E13 ICR mouse embryos were placed either in the bioreactor, in Trowell culture, or fixed as controls. Limbbuds were cultured for six days, fixed, and processed either as whole mounts or embedded for histology. Qualitative analysis revealed that the Trowell culture specimens were flattened, while bioreactor culture specimens had a more in vivo-like 3D limb shape. Sections of limbbuds from both types of cultures had excellent cartilage differentiation, with apparently more cell maturation, and hypertrophy in the specimens cultured in the bioreactor. Morphometric quantitation of the cartilaginous elements for comparisons of the two culture systems was complicated due to some limb buds fusing together during culture. This problem was especially noticeable in the younger limbs, and

  14. Manufacturing recombinant proteins in kg-ton quantities using animal cells in bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Maria; Wurm, Florian M

    2011-06-01

    Mammalian cells in bioreactors as production host are the focus of this review. We wish to briefly describe today's technical status and to highlight emerging trends in the manufacture of recombinant therapeutic proteins, focusing on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. CHO cells are the manufacturing host system of choice for more than 70% of protein pharmaceuticals on the market [21]. The current global capacity to grow mammalian cells in bioreactors stands at about 0.5 million liters, whereby the largest vessels can have a working volume of about 20,000l. We are focusing in this article on the upstream part of protein manufacturing. Over the past 25 years, volumetric yields for recombinant cell lines have increased about 20-fold mainly as the result of improvements in media and bioprocess design. Future yield increases are expected to come from improved gene delivery methods, from improved, possibly genetically modified host systems, and from further improved bioprocesses in bioreactors. Other emerging trends in protein manufacturing that are discussed include the use of disposal bioreactors and transient gene expression. We specifically highlight here current research in our own laboratories. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Membrane filtration device for studying compression of fouling layers in membrane bioreactors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mads Koustrup Jørgensen

    Full Text Available A filtration devise was developed to assess compressibility of fouling layers in membrane bioreactors. The system consists of a flat sheet membrane with air scouring operated at constant transmembrane pressure to assess the influence of pressure on resistance of fouling layers. By fitting a mathematical model, three model parameters were obtained; a back transport parameter describing the kinetics of fouling layer formation, a specific fouling layer resistance, and a compressibility parameter. This stands out from other on-site filterability tests as model parameters to simulate filtration performance are obtained together with a characterization of compressibility. Tests on membrane bioreactor sludge showed high reproducibility. The methodology's ability to assess compressibility was tested by filtrations of sludges from membrane bioreactors and conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment plants from three different sites. These proved that membrane bioreactor sludge showed higher compressibility than conventional activated sludge. In addition, detailed information on the underlying mechanisms of the difference in fouling propensity were obtained, as conventional activated sludge showed slower fouling formation, lower specific resistance and lower compressibility of fouling layers, which is explained by a higher degree of flocculation.

  16. Bioreactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jamaleddine, E. [McGill Univ., Montreal, PQ (Canada). Dept. of Bioresource Engineering

    2010-07-01

    Composting is once again gaining interest among ecological engineers in view of greener industrial and residential activities. Uniform composting is needed to ensure decomposition and to keep the whole system at the same composting stage. A homogeneous temperature must be maintained throughout the media. A bioreactor design consisting of a heater core made of copper tubing was designed and tested. Two four-inch holes were made at the top and bottom of the barrel to allow air to flow through the system and promote aerobic composting. Once composting began and temperature increased, the water began to flow through the copper piping and the core heat was distributed throughout the medium. Three thermocouples were inserted at different heights on a 200 litre plastic barrel fitted with the aforementioned apparatus. Temperature variations were found to be considerably lower when the apparatus was operated with the heat redistribution system, enabling uniform composting, accelerating the process and reducing the risks of pathogenic or other contaminants remaining active in the barrels.

  17. ANAEROBIC MEMBRANE BIOREACTORS FOR DOMESTIC WASTEWATER TREATMENT. PRELIMINARY STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luisa Vera

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The operation of submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactors (SAnMBRs for domestic wastewaters treatment was studied in laboratory scale, with the objective to define sustainable filtration conditions of the suspensions along the process. During continuous experiments, the organic matter degradation by anaerobic way showed an average DQOT removal of 85% and 93%. Indeed, the degradation generated biogas after 12 days of operation and its relative methane composition was of 60% after 25 days of operation. Additionally, the comparison between membrane bioreactors (MBRs performance in aerobic and anaerobic conditions in filterability terms, reported that both systems behave similarly once reached the stationary state.

  18. Effects of ozone, ultraviolet and peracetic acid disinfection of a primary-treated municipal effluent on the immune system of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hébert, N; Gagné, F; Cejka, P; Bouchard, B; Hausler, R; Cyr, D G; Blaise, C; Fournier, M

    2008-08-01

    Municipal sewage effluents are complex mixtures that are known to compromise the health condition of aquatic organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impacts of various wastewater disinfection processes on the immune system of juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The trout were exposed to a primary-treated effluent for 28 days before and after one of each of the following treatments: ultraviolet (UV) radiation, ozonation and peracetic acid. Immune function was characterized in leucocytes from the anterior head kidney by the following three parameters: phagocytosis activity, natural cytotoxic cells (NCC) function and lymphocyte (B and T) proliferation assays. The results show that the fish mass to length ratio was significantly decreased for the primary-treated and all three disinfection processes. Exposure to the primary-treated effluent led to a significant increase in macrophage-related phagocytosis; the addition of a disinfection step was effective in removing this effect. Both unstimulated and mitogen-stimulated T lymphocyte proliferation in fish decreased dramatically in fish exposed to the ozonated effluent compared to fish exposed to either the primary-treated effluent or to aquarium water. Stimulation of T lymphocytes proliferation was observed with the peracetic acid treatment group. In conclusion, the disinfection strategy used can modify the immune system in fish at the level of T lymphocyte proliferation but was effective to remove the effects on phagocytosis activity.

  19. Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) as Alternative to a Conventional Activated Sludge System Followed by Ultrafiltration (CAS-UF) for the Treatment of Fischer-Tropsch Reaction Water from Gas-to-Liquids Industries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Laurinonyte, Judita; Meulepas, Roel J.W.; Brink, van den Paula; Temmink, Hardy

    2017-01-01

    The potential of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system to treat Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction water from gas-to-liquids (GTL) industries was investigated and compared with the current treatment system: a conventional activated sludge system followed by an ultrafiltration (CAS-UF) unit. The MBR and

  20. Dissipation of atrazine, enrofloxacin, and sulfamethazine in wood chip bioreactors and impact on denitrification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood chip bioreactors are receiving increasing attention as a means of reducing nitrate in subsurface tile drainage systems. Agrochemicals in tile drainage water entering wood chip bioreactors can be retained or degraded and may impact denitrification. The degradation of 5 mg L-1 atrazine, enrofloxa...

  1. Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) Technology for Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation: Membrane Fouling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iorhemen, Oliver Terna; Hamza, Rania Ahmed; Tay, Joo Hwa

    2016-06-15

    The membrane bioreactor (MBR) has emerged as an efficient compact technology for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. The major drawback impeding wider application of MBRs is membrane fouling, which significantly reduces membrane performance and lifespan, resulting in a significant increase in maintenance and operating costs. Finding sustainable membrane fouling mitigation strategies in MBRs has been one of the main concerns over the last two decades. This paper provides an overview of membrane fouling and studies conducted to identify mitigating strategies for fouling in MBRs. Classes of foulants, including biofoulants, organic foulants and inorganic foulants, as well as factors influencing membrane fouling are outlined. Recent research attempts on fouling control, including addition of coagulants and adsorbents, combination of aerobic granulation with MBRs, introduction of granular materials with air scouring in the MBR tank, and quorum quenching are presented. The addition of coagulants and adsorbents shows a significant membrane fouling reduction, but further research is needed to establish optimum dosages of the various coagulants/adsorbents. Similarly, the integration of aerobic granulation with MBRs, which targets biofoulants and organic foulants, shows outstanding filtration performance and a significant reduction in fouling rate, as well as excellent nutrients removal. However, further research is needed on the enhancement of long-term granule integrity. Quorum quenching also offers a strong potential for fouling control, but pilot-scale testing is required to explore the feasibility of full-scale application.

  2. Phenotypic properties and microbial diversity of methanogenic granules from a full-scale UASB reactor treating brewery wastewater

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Diaz, E.E.; Stams, A.J.M.; Amils, R.; Sanz, J.L.

    2006-01-01

    Methanogenic granules from an anaerobic bioreactor that treated wastewater of a beer brewery consisted of different morphological types of granules. In this study, the microbial compositions of the different granules were analyzed by molecular microbiological techniques: cloning, denaturing gradient

  3. Effects of a perfusion bioreactor activated novel bone substitute in spine fusion in sheep

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jesper Roed; Koroma, Kariatta Ester; Ding, Ming

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate the effect of a large perfusion-bioreactor cell-activated bone substitute, on a two-level large posterolateral spine fusion sheep model.......To evaluate the effect of a large perfusion-bioreactor cell-activated bone substitute, on a two-level large posterolateral spine fusion sheep model....

  4. An aerated and fluidized bed membrane bioreactor for effective wastewater treatment with low membrane fouling

    KAUST Repository

    Ye, Yaoli; Labarge, Nicole; Kashima, Hiroyuki; Kim, Kyoung Yeol; Hong, Pei-Ying; Saikaly, Pascal; Logan, Bruce E.

    2016-01-01

    Anaerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactors (AFMBRs) use granular activated carbon (GAC) particles suspended by recirculation to effectively treat low strength wastewaters (∼100–200 mg L−1, chemical oxygen demand, COD), but the effluent can contain dissolved methane. An aerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactor (AOFMBR) was developed to avoid methane production and the need for wastewater recirculation by using rising air bubbles to suspend GAC particles. The performance of the AOFMBR was compared to an AFMBR and a conventional aerobic membrane bioreactor (AeMBR) for domestic wastewater treatment over 130 d at ambient temperatures (fixed hydraulic retention time of 1.3 h). The effluent of the AOFMBR had a COD of 20 ± 8 mg L−1, and a turbidity of <0.2 NTU, for low-COD influent (153 ± 19 and 214 ± 27 mg L−1), similar to the AeMBR and AFMBR. For the high-COD influent (299 ± 24 mg L−1), higher effluent CODs were obtained for the AeMBR (38 ± 9 mg L−1) and AFMBR (51 ± 11 mg L−1) than the AOFMBR (26 ± 6 mg L−1). Transmembrane pressure of the AOFMBR increased at 0.04 kPa d−1, which was 20% less than the AeMBR and 57% less than the AFMBR, at the low influent COD. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicated a more uniform biofilm on the membrane in AOFMBR than that from the AeMBR biofilm, and no evidence of membrane damage. High similarity was found between communities in the suspended sludge in the AOFMBR and AeMBR (square-root transformed Bray–Curtis similarity, SRBCS, 0.69). Communities on the GAC and suspended sludge were dissimilar in the AOFMBR (SRBCS, 0.52), but clustered in the AFMBR (SRBCS, 0.63).

  5. An aerated and fluidized bed membrane bioreactor for effective wastewater treatment with low membrane fouling

    KAUST Repository

    Ye, Yaoli

    2016-09-24

    Anaerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactors (AFMBRs) use granular activated carbon (GAC) particles suspended by recirculation to effectively treat low strength wastewaters (∼100–200 mg L−1, chemical oxygen demand, COD), but the effluent can contain dissolved methane. An aerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactor (AOFMBR) was developed to avoid methane production and the need for wastewater recirculation by using rising air bubbles to suspend GAC particles. The performance of the AOFMBR was compared to an AFMBR and a conventional aerobic membrane bioreactor (AeMBR) for domestic wastewater treatment over 130 d at ambient temperatures (fixed hydraulic retention time of 1.3 h). The effluent of the AOFMBR had a COD of 20 ± 8 mg L−1, and a turbidity of <0.2 NTU, for low-COD influent (153 ± 19 and 214 ± 27 mg L−1), similar to the AeMBR and AFMBR. For the high-COD influent (299 ± 24 mg L−1), higher effluent CODs were obtained for the AeMBR (38 ± 9 mg L−1) and AFMBR (51 ± 11 mg L−1) than the AOFMBR (26 ± 6 mg L−1). Transmembrane pressure of the AOFMBR increased at 0.04 kPa d−1, which was 20% less than the AeMBR and 57% less than the AFMBR, at the low influent COD. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicated a more uniform biofilm on the membrane in AOFMBR than that from the AeMBR biofilm, and no evidence of membrane damage. High similarity was found between communities in the suspended sludge in the AOFMBR and AeMBR (square-root transformed Bray–Curtis similarity, SRBCS, 0.69). Communities on the GAC and suspended sludge were dissimilar in the AOFMBR (SRBCS, 0.52), but clustered in the AFMBR (SRBCS, 0.63).

  6. Use of G3-DHS Bioreactor for Secondary Treatment of Septic Tank Desludging Wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izarul Machdar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Study was done for the use of the third-generation of downflow hanging sponge (G3-DHS bioreactor for secondary treatment of septic tank desludging wastewater. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the prospective system of G3-DHS bioreactor to be applied in Indonesia. During experiment, the G3-DHS bioreactor kept a relatively high dissolved oxygen concentration under natural aeration. At a relatively short hydraulic retention (HRT of 3 h, the G3-DHS bioreactor could remove up to 21% (SD 15% of total COD, 21% (SD = 7% of filtered-COD, 58% (SD = 24% of unfiltered-BOD, and 33% (SD = 24% of ammonium removal. The final effluent had an unfiltered-BOD of only 46 mg.L-1 (SD = 20 mg.L-1 that it was below the Indonesian standard (unfiltered-BOD = 100 mg.L-1 for thresholds of domestic wastewater treatment plants effluent.

  7. Municipal consultation key to understanding haul road maintenance agreements for Saskatchewan rural municipalities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leibel, R.E.A.

    1998-01-01

    Current municipal perspectives regarding the oil and gas industry in Saskatchewan were described. Municipal jurisdiction and authority regarding road development and heavy haul road maintenance agreements were defined. Based on actual work experience, collaborative working relationships between the oil and gas industry and the municipal sector is well worth some industry time and effort since it will result in cost savings for the industry. In general, rural municipalities receive very limited tax benefits to recapture the costs of road reconstruction and maintenance caused by heavy industry traffic. Road servicing costs can be recaptured only if companies respect the weight limits, hauling regulations and road bans. On the whole, municipalities in Saskatchewan are favourably disposed towards the oil and gas industry, and have done well in the past to accommodate industry's needs. It is not unreasonable therefore to expect that industry show sensitivity to the impact of its activities on the local municipality, and does its level best to be on good terms with the municipalities through early two-way communication. Text of some relevant acts of the Legislature respecting the powers and authorities of rural municipalities are appended

  8. Mechanobiologic Research in a Microgravity Environment Bioreactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guidi, A.; Dubini, G.; Tominetti, F.; Raimondi, M.

    A current problem in tissue culturing technology is the unavailability of an effective Bioreactor for the in vitro cultivation of cells and explants. It has, in fact, proved extremely difficult to promote the high-density three-dimensional in vitro growth of human tissues that have been removed from the body and deprived of their normal in vivo vascular sources of nutrients and gas exchange. A variety of tissue explants can be maintained for a short period of time on a supportive collagen matrix surrounded by culture medium. But this system provides only limited mass transfer of nutrients and wastes through the tissue, and gravity-induced sedimentation prevents complete three- dimensional cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Several devices presently on the market have been used with only limited success since each has limitations, which restrict usefulness and versatility. Further, no Bioreactor or culture vessel is known that will allow for unimpeded growth of three dimensional cellular aggregates or tissue. Extensive research on the effect of mechanical stimuli on cell metabolism suggests that tissues may respond to mechanical stimulation via loading-induced flow of the interstitial fluids. During the culture, cells are subject to a flow of culture medium. Flow properties such as flow field, flow regime (e.g. turbulent or laminar), flow pattern (e.g. circular), entity and distribution of the shear stress acting on the cells greatly influence fundamental aspects of cell function, such as regulation and gene expression. This has been demonstrated for endothelial cells and significant research efforts are underway to elucidate these mechanisms in various other biological systems. Local fluid dynamics is also responsible of the mass transfer of nutrients and catabolites as well as oxygenation through the tissue. Most of the attempts to culture tissue-engineered constructs in vitro have utilized either stationary cultures or systems generating relatively small

  9. Anaerobic membrane bio-reactors for severe industrial effluents and urban spill waters : The AMBROSIUS project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Lier, J.B.; Ozgun, H.; Ersahin, M.E.; Dereli, R.K.

    2013-01-01

    With growing application experiences from aerobic membrane bioreactors, combination of membrane and anaerobic processes become more and more attractive and feasible. In anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs), biomass and particulate organic matter are physically retained inside the reactor,

  10. A CFD model for determining mixing and mass transfer in a high power agitated bioreactor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bach, Christian; Albæk, Mads O.; Stocks, Stuart M.

    performance of a high power agitated pilot scale bioreactor has been characterized using a novel combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental investigations. The effect of turbulence inside the vessel was found to be most efficiently described by using the k-ε model with regards...... simulations, and the overall mass transfer coefficient was found to be in accordance with experimental data. This work illustrates the possibility of predicting the hydrodynamic performance of an agitated bioreactor using validated CFD models. These models can be applied in the testing of new bioreactor...

  11. Validation of computational non-Newtonian fluid model for membrane bioreactor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Lasse; Bentzen, Thomas Ruby; Skov, Kristian

    2015-01-01

    Membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems are often considered as the wastewater treatment method of the future due to its high effluent quality. One of the main problems with such systems is a relative large energy consumption, which has led to research in this specific area. A powerful tool for optimiz......Membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems are often considered as the wastewater treatment method of the future due to its high effluent quality. One of the main problems with such systems is a relative large energy consumption, which has led to research in this specific area. A powerful tool...

  12. Bacterial community dynamics during start-up of a trickle-bed bioreactor degrading aromatic compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoffels, M; Amann, R; Ludwig, W; Hekmat, D; Schleifer, K H

    1998-03-01

    This study was performed with a laboratory-scale fixed-bed bioreactor degrading a mixture of aromatic compounds (Solvesso100). The starter culture for the bioreactor was prepared in a fermentor with a wastewater sample of a care painting facility as the inoculum and Solvesso100 as the sole carbon source. The bacterial community dynamics in the fermentor and the bioreactor were examined by a conventional isolation procedure and in situ hybridization with fluorescently labeled rRNA-targeted oligonucleotides. Two significant shifts in the bacterial community structure could be demonstrated. The original inoculum from the wastewater of the car factory was rich in proteobacteria of the alpha and beta subclasses, while the final fermentor enrichment was dominated by bacteria closely related to Pseudomonas putida or Pseudomonas mendocina, which both belong to the gamma subclass of the class Proteobacteria. A second significant shift was observed when the fermentor culture was transferred as inoculum to the trickle-bed bioreactor. The community structure in the bioreactor gradually returned to a higher complexity, with the dominance of beta and alpha subclass proteobacteria, whereas the gamma subclass proteobacteria sharply declined. Obviously, the preceded pollutant adaptant did not lead to a significant enrichment of bacteria that finally dominated in the trickle-bed bioreactor. In the course of experiments, three new 16S as well as 23S rRNA-targeted probes for beta subclass proteobacteria were designed, probe SUBU1237 for the genera Burkholderia and Sutterella, probe ALBO34a for the genera Alcaligenes and Bordetella, and probe Bcv13b for Burkholderia cepacia and Burkholderia vietnamiensis. Bacteria hybridizing with the probe Bcv13b represented the main Solvesso100-degrading population in the reactor.

  13. Genotoxicity biomonitoring of sewage in two municipal wastewater treatment plants using the Tradescantia pallida var. purpurea bioassay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thewes, Márcia Regina; Junior, Delio Endres; Droste, Annette

    2011-10-01

    The genotoxicity of untreated and treated sewage from two municipal wastewater treatment plants (WTP BN and WTP SJN) in the municipality of Porto Alegre, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, was evaluated over a one-year period using the Tradescantia pallida var. purpurea (Trad-MCN) bioassay. Inflorescences of T. pallida var. purpurea were exposed to sewage samples in February (summer), April (autumn), July (winter) and October (spring) 2009, and the micronuclei (MCN) frequencies were estimated in each period. The high genotoxicity of untreated sewage from WTP BN in February and April was not observed in treated sewage, indicating the efficiency of treatment at this WTP. However, untreated and treated sewage samples from WTP SJN had high MCN frequencies, except in October, when rainfall may have been responsible for reducing these frequencies at both WTPs. Physicochemical analyses of sewage from both WTPs indicated elevated concentrations of organic matter that were higher at WTP SJN than at WTP BN. Chromium was detected in untreated and treated sewage from WTP SJN, but not in treated sewage from WTP BN. Lead was found in all untreated sewage samples from WTP SJN, but only in the summer and autumn at WTP BN. These results indicate that the short-term Trad-MCN genotoxicity assay may be useful for regular monitoring of municipal WTPs.

  14. A thermophilic membrane bioreactor for treating and re-using paper mill effluent; Biorreactor de membrana termofilico para el tratamiento y reutilizacion de efluentes de papelera

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopetegui Garnika, J.; Sancho Seuma, L.; Abad Oliva, A.

    2002-07-01

    Thermophilic operation of a membrane bioreactor offers many advantages; biodegradation rates increase with temperature and flux is higher because of water viscosity decrease. Therefore,poor sttleability related to thermophilic sludges is solved by ultrafiltration and a suspended solids and turbidity free effluent is obtained. That suppose a wider range of applications interns of water reuse. (Author) 18 refs.

  15. Bioreactor cultivation enhances NTEB formation and differentiation of NTES cells into cardiomyocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lü, Shuanghong; Liu, Sheng; He, Wenjun; Duan, Cuimi; Li, Yanmin; Liu, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Ye; Hao, Tong; Wang, Yanmeng; Li, Dexue; Wang, Changyong; Gao, Shaorong

    2008-09-01

    Autogenic embryonic stem cells established from somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos have been proposed as unlimited cell sources for cell transplantation-based treatment of many genetic and degenerative diseases, which can eliminate the immune rejection that occurs after transplantation. In the present study, pluripotent nuclear transfer ES (NTES) cell lines were successfully established from different strains of mice. One NTES cell line, NT1, with capacity of germline transmission, was used to investigate in vitro differentiation into cardiomyocytes. To optimize differentiation conditions for mass production of embryoid bodies (NTEBs) from NTES cells, a slow-turning lateral vessel (STLV) rotating bioreactor was used for culturing the NTES cells to produce NTEBs compared with a conventional static cultivation method. Our results demonstrated that the NTEBs formed in STLV bioreactor were more uniform in size, and no large necrotic centers with most of the cells in NTEBs were viable. Differentiation of the NTEBs formed in both the STLV bioreactor and static culture into cardiomyocytes was induced by ascorbic acid, and the results demonstrated that STLV-produced NTEBs differentiated into cardiomyocytes more efficiently. Taken together, our results suggested that STLV bioreactor provided a more ideal culture condition, which can facilitate the formation of better quality NTEBs and differentiation into cardiomyocytes more efficiently in vitro.

  16. Solvent Fermentation From Palm Oil Mill Effluent Using Clostridium acetobutylicum In Oscillatory Flow Bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takriff, M.S.; Masngut, N.; Kadhum, A.A.H.; Kalil, M.S.; Mohammad, A.W.

    2009-01-01

    Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) by C. acetobutylicum NCIMB 13357 in an oscillatory flow bioreactor was investigated. Experimental works were conducted in a U-shaped stainless steel oscillatory flow bioreactor at oscillation frequency between 0.45-0.78 Hz and a constant amplitude of 12.5 mm. Fermentations were carried out for 72 hr at 35 degree Celsius using palm oil mill effluent and reinforced clostridia medium as a growth medium in batch culture. Result of this investigation showed that POME is a viable media for ABE fermentation and oscillatory flow bioreactor has an excellent potential as an alternative fermentation device. (author)

  17. Dynamics of Archaeal and Bacterial Communities in Response to Variations of Hydraulic Retention Time in an Integrated Anaerobic Fluidized-Bed Membrane Bioreactor Treating Benzothiazole Wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yue Li

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available An integrated anaerobic fluidized-bed membrane bioreactor (IAFMBR was investigated to treat synthetic high-strength benzothiazole wastewater (50 mg/L at a hydraulic retention time (HRT of 24, 18, and 12 h. The chemical oxygen demand (COD removal efficiency (from 93.6% to 90.9%, the methane percentage (from 70.9% to 69.27%, and the methane yield (from 0.309 m3 CH4/kg·CODremoved to 0.316 m3 CH4/kg·CODremoved were not affected by decreasing HRTs. However, it had an adverse effect on membrane fouling (decreasing service period from 5.3 d to 3.2 d and benzothiazole removal efficiency (reducing it from 97.5% to 82.3%. Three sludge samples that were collected on day 185, day 240, and day 297 were analyzed using an Illumina® MiSeq platform. It is striking that the dominant genus of archaea was always Methanosaeta despite of HRTs. The proportions of Methanosaeta were 80.6% (HRT 24, 91.9% (HRT 18, and 91.2% (HRT 12. The dominant bacterial genera were Clostridium in proportions of 23.9% (HRT 24, 16.4% (HRT 18, and 15.3% (HRT 12, respectively.

  18. Comparative analysis of top-lit bubble column and gas-lift bioreactors for microalgae-sourced biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seyed Hosseini, Nekoo; Shang, Helen; Ross, Gregory M.; Scott, John Ashley

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Top-lit gas-lift and bubble columns were studied as deep algal cultivation tank. • A theoretical energy requirement analysis and a hydrodynamic model were developed. • Areal productivities of both bioreactors were notably higher than traditional raceways. • A gas-lift reactor sparged with 6% carbon dioxide achieved the highest lipid production. • Hydrodynamic and light stresses increased the lipid content suitable for biodiesel. - Abstract: The development of top-lit one-meter deep bioreactors operated as either a gas-lift or bubble column system using air and carbon dioxide enriched air was studied. The goal was high productivity cultivation of algae with elevated lipid levels suitable for conversion into biodiesel. A theoretical energy requirement analysis and a hydrodynamic model were developed to predict liquid circulation velocities in the gas-lift bioreactor, which agreed well with experimental measurements. The influence of operational parameters such as design of bioreactor, gas flow rates and carbon dioxide concentration on the growth and lipid volumetric production of Scenedesmus dimorphus was evaluated using factorial design. While biomass productivity was 12% higher in the bubble column bioreactor (68.2 g_d_w m"−"2 day"−"1), maximum lipid volumetric production (0.19 g_L_i_p_i_d L"−"1) was found in a gas-lift bioreactor sparged with 6% carbon dioxide due to hydrodynamic and light stresses.

  19. Knowledge and technology transfer to improve the municipal solid waste management system of Durango City, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valencia-Vázquez, Roberto; Pérez-López, Maria E; Vicencio-de-la-Rosa, María G; Martínez-Prado, María A; Rubio-Hernández, Rubén

    2014-09-01

    As society evolves its welfare level increases, and as a consequence the amount of municipal solid waste increases, imposing great challenges to municipal authorities. In developed countries, municipalities have established integrated management schemes to handle, treat, and dispose of municipal solid waste in an economical and environmentally sound manner. Municipalities of developing and transition countries are not exempted from the challenges involving municipal solid waste handling, but their task is not easy to accomplish since they face budget deficits, lack of knowledge, and deficiencies in infrastructure and equipment. In the northern territory of Mexico, the municipality of Durango is facing the challenge of increased volumes of waste with a lack of adequate facilities and infrastructure. This article analyses the evolution of the municipal solid waste management of Durango city, which includes actions such as proper facilities construction, equipment acquisition, and the implementation of social programmes. The World Bank, offering courses to municipal managers on landfill operation and waste management, promoted the process of knowledge and technology transfer. Thereafter, municipal authorities attended regional and some international workshops on waste management. In addition they followed suggestions of international contractors and equipment dealers with the intention to improve the situation of the waste management of the city. After a 15-year period, transfer of knowledge and technology resulted in a modern municipal solid waste management system in Durango municipality. The actual system did not reach the standard levels of an integrated waste management system, nevertheless, a functional evaluation shows clear indications that municipality actions have put them on the right pathway. © The Author(s) 2014.

  20. Study on submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAMBR) treating high suspended solids raw tannery wastewater for biogas production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umaiyakunjaram, R; Shanmugam, P

    2016-09-01

    This study deals with the treatment of high suspended solids raw tannery wastewater using flat sheet Submerged Anaerobic Membrane (0.4μm) Bioreactor (SAMBR) acclimatized with hypersaline anaerobic seed sludge for recovering biogas. The treatability of SAMBR achieved higher CODremoval efficiency (90%) and biogas yield (0.160L.g(-1) CODremoved) coincided with high r(2) values between permeate flux and TSS (0.95), biogas and COD removed (0.96). The acidification of hypersaline influent wastewater by biogas mixing with high CO2, achieved quadruplet benefit of gas liquid and solid separation, in-situ pH and NH3 control, in-situ CH4 enrichment, and prevention of membrane fouling. The initial high VFA became stable as time elapsed reveals the hydrolysing ability of particulate COD into soluble COD and into biogas, confirms the suitability of SAMBR for high suspended solids tannery wastewater. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Peracetic acid (PAA) disinfection of primary, secondary and tertiary treated municipal wastewaters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koivunen, J; Heinonen-Tanski, H

    2005-11-01

    The efficiency of peracetic acid (PAA) disinfection against enteric bacteria and viruses in municipal wastewaters was studied in pilot-scale. Disinfection pilot-plant was fed with the primary or secondary effluent of Kuopio municipal wastewater treatment plant or tertiary effluent from the pilot-scale dissolved air flotation (DAF) unit. Disinfectant doses ranged from 2 to 7 mg/l PAA in the secondary and tertiary effluents, and from 5 to 15 mg/l PAA in the primary effluents. Disinfection contact times were 4-27 min. Disinfection of secondary and tertiary effluents with 2-7 mg/l PAA and 27 min contact time achieved around 3 log reductions of total coliforms (TC) and enterococci (EC). PAA disinfection also significantly improved the hygienic quality of the primary effluents: 10-15 mg/l PAA achieved 3-4 log reductions of TC and EC, 5 mg/l PAA resulting in below 2 log reductions. F-RNA coliphages were more resistant against the PAA disinfection and around 1 log reductions of these enteric viruses were typically achieved in the disinfection treatments of the primary, secondary and tertiary effluents. Most of the microbial reductions occurred during the first 4-18 min of contact time, depending on the PAA dose and microorganism. The PAA disinfection efficiency remained relatively constant in the secondary and tertiary effluents, despite of small changes of wastewater quality (COD, SS, turbidity, 253.7 nm transmittance) or temperature. The disinfection efficiency clearly decreased in the primary effluents with substantially higher microbial, organic matter and suspended solids concentrations. The results demonstrated that PAA could be a good alternative disinfection method for elimination of enteric microbes from different wastewaters.

  2. Innovative landfill bioreactor systems for municipal solid waste treatment in East Africa aimed at optimal energy recovery and minimal greenhouse gas emissions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salukele, F.M.

    2013-01-01

    Landfilling is currently the dominant disposal method for municipal solid waste (MSW) in developing countries. Approximately 50% of the MSW generated in East Africa is disposed in landfills. Low costs and availability of land have made landfilling the most common waste management option in East

  3. Role of Bioreactor Technology in Tissue Engineering for Clinical Use and Therapeutic Target Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clare Selden

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Micro and small bioreactors are well described for use in bioprocess development in pre-production manufacture, using ultra-scale down and microfluidic methodology. However, the use of bioreactors to understand normal and pathophysiology by definition must be very different, and the constraints of the physiological environment influence such bioreactor design. This review considers the key elements necessary to enable bioreactors to address three main areas associated with biological systems. All entail recreation of the in vivo cell niche as faithfully as possible, so that they may be used to study molecular and cellular changes in normal physiology, with a view to creating tissue-engineered grafts for clinical use; understanding the pathophysiology of disease at the molecular level; defining possible therapeutic targets; and enabling appropriate pharmaceutical testing on a truly representative organoid, thus enabling better drug design, and simultaneously creating the potential to reduce the numbers of animals in research. The premise explored is that not only cellular signalling cues, but also mechano-transduction from mechanical cues, play an important role.

  4. Characterization and Application of a Disposable Rotating Bed Bioreactor for Mesenchymal Stem Cell Expansion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Anne; Lavrentieva, Antonina; Heilkenbrinker, Alexandra; Loenne, Maren; Kasper, Cornelia

    2014-11-27

    Recruitment of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) into the field of tissue engineering is a promising development since these cells can be expanded vivo to clinically relevant numbers and, after expansion, retain their ability to differentiate into various cell lineages. Safety requirements and the necessity to obtain high cell numbers without frequent subcultivation of cells raised the question of the possibility of expanding MSC in one-way (single-use) disposable bioreactors. In this study, umbilical cord-derived MSC (UC-MSC) were expanded in a disposable Z 2000 H bioreactor under dynamic conditions. Z was characterized regarding residence time and mixing in order to evaluate the optimal bioreactor settings, enabling optimal mass transfer in the absence of shear stress, allowing an reproducible expansion of MSC, while maintaining their stemness properties. Culture of the UC-MSC in disposable Z 2000 H bioreactor resulted in a reproducible 8-fold increase of cell numbers after 5 days. Cells were shown to maintain specific MSC surface marker expression as well as trilineage differentiation potential and lack stress-induced premature senescence.

  5. Characterization and Application of a Disposable Rotating Bed Bioreactor for Mesenchymal Stem Cell Expansion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Neumann

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Recruitment of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC into the field of tissue engineering is a promising development since these cells can be expanded vivo to clinically relevant numbers and, after expansion, retain their ability to differentiate into various cell lineages. Safety requirements and the necessity to obtain high cell numbers without frequent subcultivation of cells raised the question of the possibility of expanding MSC in one-way (single-use disposable bioreactors. In this study, umbilical cord-derived MSC (UC-MSC were expanded in a disposable Z 2000 H bioreactor under dynamic conditions. Z was characterized regarding residence time and mixing in order to evaluate the optimal bioreactor settings, enabling optimal mass transfer in the absence of shear stress, allowing an reproducible expansion of MSC, while maintaining their stemness properties. Culture of the UC-MSC in disposable Z 2000 H bioreactor resulted in a reproducible 8-fold increase of cell numbers after 5 days. Cells were shown to maintain specific MSC surface marker expression as well as trilineage differentiation potential and lack stress-induced premature senescence.

  6. Study of efficiency of particles removal by different filtration systems in a municipal wastewater tertiary treatment; Eficacia en la eliminacion de particulas por diferentes sistemas de filtracion aplicados al tratamiento terciario de las aguas residuales urbanas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andreu, P. S.; Lardin Mifsut, C.; Farinas Iglesias, M.; Sanchez-Arevalo Serrano, J.; Perez Sanchez, P.; Rancano Perez, A.

    2009-07-01

    The disinfection of municipal wastewater using ultraviolet radiation depends greatly on the presence within the water of particles in suspension. This work determines how the level of elimination of particles varies depending on the technique of filtration used (open, closed sand filters, with continuous washing of the sand, cloth, disk and ring filters). all systems are very effective in the removal of particles more than 25 microns and for removing helminth eggs. The membrane bio-reactors with ultrafiltration membranes were superior in terms of particle removal when compared to conventional filters. (Author) 11 refs.

  7. Optimization of biological sulfide removal in a CSTR bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roosta, Aliakbar; Jahanmiri, Abdolhossein; Mowla, Dariush; Niazi, Ali; Sotoodeh, Hamidreza

    2012-08-01

    In this study, biological sulfide removal from natural gas in a continuous bioreactor is investigated for estimation of the optimal operational parameters. According to the carried out reactions, sulfide can be converted to elemental sulfur, sulfate, thiosulfate, and polysulfide, of which elemental sulfur is the desired product. A mathematical model is developed and was used for investigation of the effect of various parameters on elemental sulfur selectivity. The results of the simulation show that elemental sulfur selectivity is a function of dissolved oxygen, sulfide load, pH, and concentration of bacteria. Optimal parameter values are calculated for maximum elemental sulfur selectivity by using genetic algorithm as an adaptive heuristic search. In the optimal conditions, 87.76% of sulfide loaded to the bioreactor is converted to elemental sulfur.

  8. Preparation of kombucha from winter savory (Satureja Montana L. in the laboratory bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cvetković Dragoljub D.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The possibility of obtaining kombucha from winter savory tea has been tested in the laboratory bioreactor by applying starter cultures and traditional way of inoculation. On the basis of the obtained results, it can be concluded that applying the inoculating method with the beverage from the previous process of biotransformation yielded kombucha beverage (capacity 15 I from winter savory tea in the laboratory bioreactor. The application of defined starter culture from the isolate of yeast and acetic acid bacteria of local tea in the glass jar (capacity 5 I gave 3 litres of kombucha beverage, which is acceptable according to the basic parameters and sensory characteristics. However, the application of the same starter culture in the laboratory bioreactor did not result in synchronized activity of yeast and bacteria.

  9. A Study on The Management of Municipal Residential Solid Waste in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Lu Mingzhong; Shao Tianyi; Li Huayou

    2004-01-01

    As the main organic pollutant in municipal living waste, kitchen waste causes secondary pollution in the course of its being gathered and transported to the landfill by mixing with other refuse and by decomposition. This makes pollution prevention more difficult and raises the cost of landfill engineering. However, the amount of solid waste to be treated can be decreased and such pollution burden lessened by disposing of the solid waste in local municipal areas. The program in Beijing also shows that this works well with our situation in China and can accelerate marketization and public participation.

  10. Electricity generation and in situ phosphate recovery from enhanced biological phosphorus removal sludge by electrodialysis membrane bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng, Yi-Kun; Wang, Yunkun; Pan, Xin-Rong; Sheng, Guo-Ping

    2018-01-01

    In this study, a novel electrodialysis membrane bioreactor was used for EBPR sludge treatment for energy and phosphorus resource recovery simultaneously. After 30days stable voltage outputting, the maximum power density reached 0.32W/m 3 . Over 90% of phosphorus in EBPR sludge was released while about 50% of phosphorus was concentrated to 4mmol/L as relatively pure phosphate solution. Nitrogen could be removed from EBPR sludge by desalination and denitrification processes. This study provides an optimized way treating sludge for energy production and in situ phosphorus recovery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Modeling and design of optimal flow perfusion bioreactors for tissue engineering applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidalgo-Bastida, L Araida; Thirunavukkarasu, Sundaramoorthy; Griffiths, Sarah; Cartmell, Sarah H; Naire, Shailesh

    2012-04-01

    Perfusion bioreactors have been used in different tissue engineering applications because of their consistent distribution of nutrients and flow-induced shear stress within the tissue-engineering scaffold. A widely used configuration uses a scaffold with a circular cross-section enclosed within a cylindrical chamber and inlet and outlet pipes which are connected to the chamber on either side through which media is continuously circulated. However, fluid-flow experiments and simulations have shown that the majority of the flow perfuses through the center. This pattern creates stagnant zones in the peripheral regions as well as in those of high flow rate near the inlet and outlet. This non-uniformity of flow and shear stress, owing to a circular design, results in limited cell proliferation and differentiation in these areas. The focus of this communication is to design an optimized perfusion system using computational fluid dynamics as a mathematical tool to overcome the time-consuming trial and error experimental method. We compared the flow within a circular and a rectangular bioreactor system. Flow simulations within the rectangular bioreactor are shown to overcome the limitations in the circular design. This communication challenges the circular cross-section bioreactor configuration paradigm and provides proof of the advantages of the new design over the existing one. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Removal of trace organic chemicals and performance of a novel hybrid ultrafiltration-osmotic membrane bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holloway, Ryan W; Regnery, Julia; Nghiem, Long D; Cath, Tzahi Y

    2014-09-16

    A hybrid ultrafiltration-osmotic membrane bioreactor (UFO-MBR) was investigated for over 35 days for nutrient and trace organic chemical (TOrC) removal from municipal wastewater. The UFO-MBR system uses both ultrafiltration (UF) and forward osmosis (FO) membranes in parallel to simultaneously extract clean water from an activated sludge reactor for nonpotable (or environmental discharge) and potable reuse, respectively. In the FO stream, water is drawn by osmosis from activated sludge through an FO membrane into a draw solution (DS), which becomes diluted during the process. A reverse osmosis (RO) system is then used to reconcentrate the diluted DS and produce clean water suitable for direct potable reuse. The UF membrane extracts water, dissolved salts, and some nutrients from the system to prevent their accumulation in the activated sludge of the osmotic MBR. The UF permeate can be used for nonpotable reuse purposes (e.g., irrigation and toilet flushing). Results from UFO-MBR investigation illustrated that the chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus removals were greater than 99%, 82%, and 99%, respectively. Twenty TOrCs were detected in the municipal wastewater that was used as feed to the UFO-MBR system. Among these 20 TOrCs, 15 were removed by the hybrid UFO-MBR system to below the detection limit. High FO membrane rejection was observed for all ionic and nonionic hydrophilic TOrCs and lower rejection was observed for nonionic hydrophobic TOrCs. With the exceptions of bisphenol A and DEET, all TOrCs that were detected in the DS were well rejected by the RO membrane. Overall, the UFO-MBR can operate sustainably and has the potential to be utilized for direct potable reuse applications.

  13. A REVIEW ON SEWAGE TREATMENT AND POLISHING USING MOVING BED BIOREACTOR (MBBR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JAMAL ALI KAWAN

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Effluent treatment and polishing using moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs are advanced technique in biological treatment operations become increasing widely and popular use all over the world to treat various types of effluents with very different operating status. It is a combination of two separate processes suspended and attached growth systems for the treatment in order to minimize the concentrations of the contaminated parameters at the required level for reuse or final destination. The MBBR has been proved to be effective in great removing biochemical oxygen demand (BOD and chemical oxygen demand (COD with nutrients (N and P from the effluent stream simultaneously. It provides additional capacity of wastewater treatment technology with high treatment efficiency; low capital, operational, maintenance and replacement cost; single reliable and robust operation procedure. This process can be used for new sewage treatment works or for modifying (upgrading existing wastewater treatment plants as it is efficient, compact and easy to operate. The efficiency of MBBR depends on the filling percent of biofilm carriers to be provided inside the tank, surface area of the biocarrier, diffused aeration supply and the organic loading. The aim of this paper is reviewing the sewage treatment and polishing using moving bed bioreactor MBB technology as an alternative and successful method. It presents the advantages of the MBBR compared to conventional waste water treatment. The review also includes many relevant researches carried out at the laboratory andpilot scales plants that could improve these systems by enhancing performance and reducing costs.

  14. Zero Nuisance Piggeries: long-term performance of MBR (membrane bioreactor) for dilute swine wastewater treatment using submerged membrane bioreactor in semi-industrial scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prado, Nolwenn; Ochoa, Juan; Amrane, Abdeltif

    2009-04-01

    Effective aerobic/anoxic treatment of piggery manure wastewater was achieved in a real farm scale using a small piggery (72 pigs) with reuse of the treated water. The experimental procedure was followed for 9 months. Fresh manure (FM) is formed by daily flush on piggeries and biologically treated after centrifuge pre-treatment. For upgrade liquid/solid separation and pathogen retention in biological treatment, a membrane system was used with the aim of effluent reuse in flush. Despite an evolution of FM through time, centrifuge pre-treatment and bioreactor performances stayed at high level. An elimination of 86% of the suspended solids occurred through pre-treatment, and nitrogen and COD biological degradation remains at 90% all time long. Moreover, interestingly about half of the soluble part of phosphorus (20% of the global phosphorus content) was biologically removed via the recirculation between the anoxic and the aerobic tank which acted as an intermittent aerobic/anoxic sequence. A part of COD was proved not biodegradable and was accumulated via the reuse of the treated water for flushing purpose. This accumulation justifies washing of the biomass between two runs in purpose to enhance the treated water quality and also to meet the membrane tolerance. The membrane was proved reliable as far as the maintenance procedure was respected. Maintenance cleaning had to be operated as soon as the TransMembrane Pressure (TMP) achieved 50 mbar and curative washing was necessary if the TMP increased over 90 mbar or between 2 runs. The temperature was proved to influence both the bioactivity and the membrane fouling kinetic. Finally, it was demonstrated that the process was sustainable for long-term management of swine wastewater at semi-industrial scale.

  15. Engineering Parameters in Bioreactor's Design: A Critical Aspect in Tissue Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amoabediny, Ghassem; Pouran, Behdad; Tabesh, Hadi; Shokrgozar, Mohammad Ali; Haghighipour, Nooshin; Khatibi, Nahid; Mottaghy, Khosrow; Zandieh-Doulabi, Behrouz

    2013-01-01

    Bioreactors are important inevitable part of any tissue engineering (TE) strategy as they aid the construction of three-dimensional functional tissues. Since the ultimate aim of a bioreactor is to create a biological product, the engineering parameters, for example, internal and external mass transfer, fluid velocity, shear stress, electrical current distribution, and so forth, are worth to be thoroughly investigated. The effects of such engineering parameters on biological cultures have been addressed in only a few preceding studies. Furthermore, it would be highly inefficient to determine the optimal engineering parameters by trial and error method. A solution is provided by emerging modeling and computational tools and by analyzing oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nutrient and metabolism waste material transports, which can simulate and predict the experimental results. Discovering the optimal engineering parameters is crucial not only to reduce the cost and time of experiments, but also to enhance efficacy and functionality of the tissue construct. This review intends to provide an inclusive package of the engineering parameters together with their calculation procedure in addition to the modeling techniques in TE bioreactors. PMID:24000327

  16. Engineering parameters in bioreactor's design: a critical aspect in tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salehi-Nik, Nasim; Amoabediny, Ghassem; Pouran, Behdad; Tabesh, Hadi; Shokrgozar, Mohammad Ali; Haghighipour, Nooshin; Khatibi, Nahid; Anisi, Fatemeh; Mottaghy, Khosrow; Zandieh-Doulabi, Behrouz

    2013-01-01

    Bioreactors are important inevitable part of any tissue engineering (TE) strategy as they aid the construction of three-dimensional functional tissues. Since the ultimate aim of a bioreactor is to create a biological product, the engineering parameters, for example, internal and external mass transfer, fluid velocity, shear stress, electrical current distribution, and so forth, are worth to be thoroughly investigated. The effects of such engineering parameters on biological cultures have been addressed in only a few preceding studies. Furthermore, it would be highly inefficient to determine the optimal engineering parameters by trial and error method. A solution is provided by emerging modeling and computational tools and by analyzing oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nutrient and metabolism waste material transports, which can simulate and predict the experimental results. Discovering the optimal engineering parameters is crucial not only to reduce the cost and time of experiments, but also to enhance efficacy and functionality of the tissue construct. This review intends to provide an inclusive package of the engineering parameters together with their calculation procedure in addition to the modeling techniques in TE bioreactors.

  17. Different systems and approaches to treat municipal solid waste. A state-of the art assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krieg, A; Euler, H; Klopotek, F; Kellner, C [TBW GmbH, Sustainable Techno-logies Building and Business Consultants, Frankfurt/Main (Germany)

    1997-08-01

    Anaerobic digestion is still a fairly new technology in the area of utilisation of organic residues, in particular as far as treatment of household wastes and integration of agricultural production is concerned. In the last few years, a number of different processes and concepts, with a variety of different intentions, have been developed and established on the European market, in particular in Germany. Actual categories and parameters, used to analyse, structure and compare available treatment systems, are not yet fully satisfying. The presentation will consist of the following elements: 1. Factors influencing the market of the technology in the recent past. 2. Brief comparison of features of anaerobic solid waste digestion with land filling, composting and incineration. 3. Brief comparison between some European and Non-European countries, concerning municipal solid waste digestion. 4. Main topics in the actual German Anaerobic Municipal Solid Waste Treatment (AMSWT) debate. 5. Comparison of some existing AMSWT systems and concepts. 6. Presentation of a comprehensive structure, covering the main technical elements of any of the different technologies available. 7. Outlook. (au)

  18. Differentiation of cartilaginous anlagen in entire embryonic mouse limbs cultured in a rotating bioreactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montufar-Solis, D.; Oakley, C. R.; Jefferson, Y.; Duke, P. J.

    2003-10-01

    Mechanisms involved in development of the embryonic limb have remained the same throughout eons of genetic and environmental evolution under Earth gravity (lg). During the spaceflight era it has been of interest to explore the ancient theory that form of the skeleton develops in response to gravity, and that changes in gravitational forces can change the developmental pattern of the limb. This has been shown in vivo and in vitro, allowing the hypergravity of centrifugation and microgravity of space to be used as tools to increase our knowledge of limb development. In recapitulations of spaceflight experiments, premetatarsals were cultured in suspension in a bioreactor, and found to be shorter and less differentiated than those cultured in standard culture dishes. This study only measured length of the metatarsals, and did not account for possible changes due to the skeletal elements having a more in vivo 3D shape while in suspension vs. flattened tissues compressed by their own weight. A culture system with an outcome closer to in vivo and that supports growth of younger limb buds than traditional systems will allow studies of early Hox gene expression, and contribute to the understanding of very early stages of development. The purpose of the current experiment was to determine if entire limb buds could be cultured in the bioreactor, and to compare the growth and differentiation with that of culturing in a culture dish system. Fore and hind limbs from E11-E13 ICR mouse embryos were cultured for six days, either in the bioreactor or in center-well organ culture dishes, fixed, and embedded for histology. E13 specimens grown in culture dishes were flat, while bioreactor culture specimens had a more in vivo-like 3D limb shape. Sections showed excellent cartilage differentiation in both culture systems, with more cell maturation, and hypertrophy in the specimens cultured in the bioreactor. Younger limb buds fused together during culture, so an additional set of El 1

  19. Esco in Danish municipalities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole; Hansen, Jesper Rohr; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this paper is to discuss the possible benefits of involving Energy Service Companies (ESCO) in realising energy savings in municipalities, and how ESCO projects can be formulated very differently in the various municipalities, according to building volume, use of technologies......, energy savings, type of collaboration etc. Background: Since 2008, several Danish municipalities have started energy retrofitting of municipal buildings, based on contracts with Energy Service Companies. In spite of the strong growth of ESCOs, there is also widespread scepticism about ESCO, as many...... approaches are being used in Danish municipalities, which we label the basic, the integrated and the strategic ESCO approaches. The three approaches include different ambitions, technologies, economies and innovation potentials. Whereas the basic approach implies a ‘traditional’ guarantee-based model...

  20. Evaluation of Hollow Fiber And Miniperm Bioreactors as An Alternative to Murine Ascites for Small Scale Monoclonal Antibody Production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abedalla, O. M.

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this study was to compare monoclonal antibody production in hollow fiber, miniPERM bioreactor systems and murine ascites to determine the feasibility of the bioreactor system as a potential alternative to the use of mice. One hybridoma cell line was grown in hollow fiber, miniPERM bioreactor systems and in groups of 5 mice. Mice were primed with 0.5 ml pristane intraperitoneally 14 days prior to inoculation of 1X10 7 hybridoma cells. Each mouse was tapped a maximum of three times for collection of ascites. Bioreactors were harvested three times weekly for 30 days and were monitored by cell counts, cell viability and media consumption. Time and materials logs were maintained. The total quantity of monoclonal antibody produced in 5 mice versus the total production for the two different bioreactors (hollow fiber and miniPERM) in 30 days was as follows: cell line 2AC10E6C7 produce 158 mg vs.97.5 mg; vs 21.54 mg respectively. Mean monoclonal antibody concentration ranged from 4.07 to 8.37 mg/ml in murine ascites, from 0.71 to 3.8 mg/ml in hollow fiber bioreactor system, and from 0.035 to 1.06 in miniPERM. Although time and material costs were generally greater for the bioreactors, these results suggest that hollow fiber and miniPERM bioreactor systems merit further investigations as potentially viable in vitro alternatives to the use of mice for small scale (< 1 g) monoclonal antibody production.

  1. Fermentative hydrogen production from anaerobic bacteria using a membrane bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mi-Sun Kim; You-Kwan Oh; Young-Su Yun; Dong-Yeol Lee

    2006-01-01

    Continuous H 2 production from glucose was studied at short hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 4.69 - 0.79 h using a membrane bioreactor (MBR) with a hollow-fiber filtration unit and mixed cells as inoculum. The reactor was inoculated with sewage sludge, which were heat-treated at 90 C for harvesting spore-forming, H 2 -producing bacteria, and fed with synthetic wastewater containing 1% (w/v) glucose. With decreasing HRT, volumetric H 2 production rate increased but the H 2 production yield to glucose decreased gradually. The H 2 content in biogas was maintained at 50 - 70% (v/v) and no appreciable CH 4 was detected during the operation. The maximal volumetric H 2 production rate and H 2 yield to glucose were 1714 mmol H 2 /L.d and 1.1 mol H 2 /mol glucose, respectively. These results indicate that the MBR should be considered as one of the most promising systems for fermentative H 2 production. (authors)

  2. Nitrogen evolution during the co-combustion of hydrothermally treated municipal solid waste and coal in a bubbling fluidized bed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Liang; Jin, Yuqi; Liu, Hongmei; Ma, Xiaojun; Yoshikawa, Kunio

    2014-01-01

    Nitrogen evolution was studied during the co-combustion of hydrothermally treated municipal solid wastes (HT MSW) and coal in a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB). HT MSW blending ratios as 10%, 20% and 30% (wt.%) were selected and tested at 700, 800, 900 °C. Emissions of NO and N2O from blends were measured and compared with the results of mono-combustion trials. Moreover, concentrations of precursors like NH3 and HCN were also quantified. The results are summarized as follows: NO emissions were predominant in all the cases, which rose with increasing temperature. The blending of HT MSW contributed to the NO reduction. N2O emissions decreased with temperature rising and the blending of HT MSW also presented positive effects. At 30% HT MSW addition, both NO and N2O emissions showed the lowest values (391.85 ppm and 55.33 ppm, respectively at 900 °C). For the precursors, more HCN was detected than NH3 and both played important roles on the gas side nitrogen evolution. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Periodic harvesting of embryonic stem cells from a hollow-fiber membrane based four-compartment bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knöspel, Fanny; Freyer, Nora; Stecklum, Maria; Gerlach, Jörg C; Zeilinger, Katrin

    2016-01-01

    Different types of stem cells have been investigated for applications in drug screening and toxicity testing. In order to provide sufficient numbers of cells for such in vitro applications a scale-up of stem cell culture is necessary. Bioreactors for dynamic three-dimensional (3D) culture of growing cells offer the option for culturing large amounts of stem cells at high densities in a closed system. We describe a method for periodic harvesting of pluripotent stem cells (PSC) during expansion in a perfused 3D hollow-fiber membrane bioreactor, using mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC) as a model cell line. A number of 100 × 10(6) mESC were seeded in bioreactors in the presence of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) as feeder cells. Over a cultivation interval of nine days cells were harvested by trypsin perfusion and mechanical agitation every second to third culture day. A mean of 380 × 10(6) mESC could be removed with every harvest. Subsequent to harvesting, cells continued growing in the bioreactor, as determined by increasing glucose consumption and lactate production. Immunocytochemical staining and mRNA expression analysis of markers for pluripotency and the three germ layers showed a similar expression of most markers in the harvested cells and in mESC control cultures. In conclusion, successful expansion and harvesting of viable mESC from bioreactor cultures with preservation of sterility was shown. The present study is the first one showing the feasibility of periodic harvesting of adherent cells from a continuously perfused four-compartment bioreactor including further cultivation of remaining cells. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  4. Robust performance of a membrane bioreactor for removing antibiotic resistance genes exposed to antibiotics: Role of membrane foulants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yijing; Wang, Yayi; Zhou, Shuai; Jiang, Xuxin; Ma, Xiao; Liu, Chao

    2018-03-01

    Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are an emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), as dissemination of ARGs can pose a serious risk to human health. Few studies, however, have quantified ARGs in membrane bioreactors (MBRs), although MBRs have been widely used for both municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. To reveal the capacity of MBRs for removal of ARGs and the response of membrane fouling after antibiotic exposure, five typical ARG subtypes (sulI, sulII, tetC, tetX and ereA) and int1 were quantified affiliated by systematic membrane foulants analysis in a laboratory-scale anoxic/aerobic membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR). Sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline hydrochloride additions increased ARG abundances by 0.5-1.4 orders of magnitude in the activated sludge, while the ARG removal performance of the membrane module remained stable (or even increased with ARG absolute abundance in several cases), with the abundance of removed ARGs ranging from 0.6 to 5.6 orders of magnitude. Specifically, the distribution of ARGs in membrane foulants accounted for 13%-25% of the total absolute abundance of all tested MBR samples. Indeed, substantial fouling occurred after the antibiotic additions, with the mean concentrations of soluble microbial product (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) increasing by 340% and 220%, respectively, in a membrane fouling cycle; moreover, the contents of EPS and SMP in the membrane foulants were significantly correlated with the ARG absolute abundance of membrane foulants (p removal of ARGs in MBR systems, and highlight the contribution of membrane fouling to ARG removals in terms of the potential of MBR as an effective strategy to reduce ARG levels in WWTP effluent. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Adaptive municipal electronic forms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuiper, Pieternel; van Dijk, Elisabeth M.A.G.; Bondarouk, Tatiana; Ruel, Hubertus Johannes Maria; Guiderdoni-Jourdain, Karine; Oiry, Ewan

    Adaptation of electronic forms (e-forms) seems to be a step forward to reduce the burden for people who fill in forms. Municipalities more and more offer e-forms online that can be used by citizens to request a municipal product or service or by municipal employees to place a request on behalf of a

  6. Physicochemical Characteristic of Municipal Wastewater in Tropical Area: Case Study of Surabaya City, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wijaya, I. M. W.; Soedjono, E. S.

    2018-03-01

    Municipal wastewater is the main contributor to diverse water pollution problems. In order to prevent the pollution risks, wastewater have to be treated before discharged to the main water. Selection of appropriated treatment process need the characteristic information of wastewater as design consideration. This study aims to analyse the physicochemical characteristic of municipal wastewater from inlet and outlet of ABR unit around Surabaya City. Medokan Semampir and Genteng Candi Rejo has been selected as wastewater sampling point. The samples were analysed in laboratory with parameters, such as pH, TSS, COD, BOD, NH4 +, NO3 -, NO2 -, P, and detergent. The results showed that all parameters in both locations are under the national standard of discharged water quality. In other words, the treated water is securely discharged to the river

  7. MODULAR FIELD-BIOREACTOR FOR ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT

    Science.gov (United States)

    The presentation focuses on the improvements to engineered features of a passive technology that has been used for remediation of acid rock drainage (ARD). This passive remedial technology, a sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) bioreactor, takes advantage of the ability of SRB that,...

  8. MEASUREMENT OF FUGITIVE EMISSIONS AT A BIOREACTOR LANDFILL

    Science.gov (United States)

    This report focuses on three field campaigns performed in 2002 and 2003 to measure fugitive emissions at a bioreactor landfill in Louisville, KY, using an open-path Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The study uses optical remote sensing-radial plume mapping. The horizontal...

  9. Resource Prospects of Municipal Solid Wastes Generatedin the Ga East Municipal Assembly of Ghana

    OpenAIRE

    Benedicta Abiti; Susanne Hartard; Heike B. Bradl; Davar Pishva; John Kojo Ahiakpa

    2017-01-01

    Background. Municipal solid wastes management has recently become an important public health concern. Municipal solid wastes are a major source of raw materials that could be used for resource recovery for diverse applications. Objectives. The present study aimed to determine the composition of municipal solid waste and recoverable resources from the waste of the Ga East Municipal Assembly (GEMA) in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Methods. An exploratory approach was used to collect ...

  10. Cost effective dry anaerobic digestion in textile bioreactors: Experimental and economic evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patinvoh, Regina J; Osadolor, Osagie A; Sárvári Horváth, Ilona; Taherzadeh, Mohammad J

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this work was to study dry anaerobic digestion (dry-AD) of manure bedded with straw using textile-based bioreactor in repeated batches. The 90-L reactor filled with the feedstocks (22-30% total solid) and inoculum without any further treatment, while the biogas produced were collected and analyzed. The digestate residue was also analyzed to check its suitability as bio-fertilizer. Methane yield after acclimatization increased from 183 to 290NmlCH 4 /gVS, degradation time decreased from 136 to 92days and the digestate composition point to suitable bio-fertilizer. The results then used to carry out economical evaluation, which shows dry-AD in textile bioreactors is a profitable method of handling the waste with maximum payback period of 5years, net present value from $7,000 to $9,800,000 (small to large bioreactors) with internal rate of return from 56.6 to 19.3%. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Membrane Bioreactor (MBR Technology for Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation: Membrane Fouling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver Terna Iorhemen

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The membrane bioreactor (MBR has emerged as an efficient compact technology for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. The major drawback impeding wider application of MBRs is membrane fouling, which significantly reduces membrane performance and lifespan, resulting in a significant increase in maintenance and operating costs. Finding sustainable membrane fouling mitigation strategies in MBRs has been one of the main concerns over the last two decades. This paper provides an overview of membrane fouling and studies conducted to identify mitigating strategies for fouling in MBRs. Classes of foulants, including biofoulants, organic foulants and inorganic foulants, as well as factors influencing membrane fouling are outlined. Recent research attempts on fouling control, including addition of coagulants and adsorbents, combination of aerobic granulation with MBRs, introduction of granular materials with air scouring in the MBR tank, and quorum quenching are presented. The addition of coagulants and adsorbents shows a significant membrane fouling reduction, but further research is needed to establish optimum dosages of the various coagulants/adsorbents. Similarly, the integration of aerobic granulation with MBRs, which targets biofoulants and organic foulants, shows outstanding filtration performance and a significant reduction in fouling rate, as well as excellent nutrients removal. However, further research is needed on the enhancement of long-term granule integrity. Quorum quenching also offers a strong potential for fouling control, but pilot-scale testing is required to explore the feasibility of full-scale application.

  12. Large-scale bioreactor production of the herbicide-degrading Aminobacter sp. strain MSH1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schultz-Jensen, Nadja; Knudsen, Berith Elkær; Frkova, Zuzana

    2014-01-01

    The Aminobacter sp. strain MSH1 has potential for pesticide bioremediation because it degrades the herbicide metabolite 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM). Production of the BAM-degrading bacterium using aerobic bioreactor fermentation was investigated. A mineral salt medium limited for carbon and with ......The Aminobacter sp. strain MSH1 has potential for pesticide bioremediation because it degrades the herbicide metabolite 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM). Production of the BAM-degrading bacterium using aerobic bioreactor fermentation was investigated. A mineral salt medium limited for carbon...... and with an element composition similar to the strain was generated. The optimal pH and temperature for strain growth were determined using shaker flasks and verified in bioreactors. Glucose, fructose, and glycerol were suitable carbon sources for MSH1 (μ =0.1 h−1); slower growth was observed on succinate and acetic...... acid (μ =0.01 h−1). Standard conditions for growth of theMSH1 strain were defined at pH 7 and 25 °C, with glucose as the carbon source. In bioreactors (1 and 5 L), the specific growth rate of MSH1 increased from μ =0.1 h−1 on traditional mineral salt medium to μ =0.18 h−1 on the optimized mineral salt...

  13. Waste Sites - Municipal Waste Operations

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — A Municipal Waste Operation is a DEP primary facility type related to the Waste Management Municipal Waste Program. The sub-facility types related to Municipal Waste...

  14. Towards a continuous two-phase partitioning bioreactor for xenobiotic removal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomei, M.Concetta, E-mail: tomei@irsa.cnr.it [Water Research Institute, C.N.R., Via Salaria km 29.300, CP 10, 00015 Monterotondo Stazione, Rome (Italy); Mosca Angelucci, Domenica [Water Research Institute, C.N.R., Via Salaria km 29.300, CP 10, 00015 Monterotondo Stazione, Rome (Italy); Daugulis, Andrew J. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7 L 3N6 (Canada)

    2016-11-05

    Highlights: • A prototype of a continuous two-phase partitioning bioreactor was investigated. • The bioreactor contained coiled tubing of a selected extruded polymer, Hytrel 8206. • Mass transfer and removal of a xenobiotic, 4-cholorophenol, were investigated. • Removal efficiencies in the tubing wastewater stream were always ≥ 96%. • Presence of polymer tubing buffered increasing in organic load to the hybrid system. - Abstract: The removal of a xenobiotic (4-chlorophenol) from contaminated water was investigated in a simulated continuous two-phase partitioning bioreactor (C-TPPB), fitted with coiled tubing comprised of a specifically-selected extruded polymer, Hytrel 8206. Wastewater flowed inside the tubing, the pollutant diffused through the tubing wall, and was removed in the aqueous bioreactor phase at typical biological removal rates in the C-TTPB simulated by varying aqueous phase throughput to the reactor. Operating over a range of influent substrate concentrations (500–1500 mg L{sup −1}) and hydraulic retention times in the tubing (4–8 h), overall mass transfer coefficients were 1.7–3.5 × 10{sup −7} m s{sup −1}, with the highest value corresponding to the highest tubing flow rate. Corresponding mass transfer rates are of the same order as biological removal rates, and thus do not limit the removal process. The C-TPPB showed good performance over all organic and hydraulic loading ranges, with removal efficiencies of 4CP in the tubing wastewater stream always ≥96%. Additionally, the presence of the Hytrel tubing was able to buffer increases in organic loading to the hybrid system, enhancing overall process stability. Biological testing of the C-TPPB confirmed the abiotic test results demonstrating even higher 4-chlorophenol removal efficiency (∼99%) in the tubing stream.

  15. Hexavalent chromium reduction in a sulfur reducing packed-bed bioreactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahinkaya, Erkan, E-mail: erkansahinkaya@yahoo.com [Department of Bioengineering, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Goeztepe, Istanbul (Turkey); Kilic, Adem [Department of Environmental Engineering, Harran University, Osmanbey Campus, 63000 Sanliurfa (Turkey); Altun, Muslum [Department of Chemistry, Hacettepe University, Beytepe, Ankara (Turkey); Komnitsas, Kostas [Department of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania (Greece); Lens, Piet N.L. [Unesco-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, Delft 2611 AX (Netherlands)

    2012-06-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Elemental sulfur can be used as electron acceptor for sulfide production. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Biogenically produced sulfide reduces Cr(VI) to the much less toxic and immobile form of Cr(III). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Sulfur packed bioreactor is efficient for Cr(VI) containing wastewater treatment. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Reduced form of chromium precipitates in the bioreactor. - Abstract: The most commonly used approach for the detoxification of hazardous industrial effluents and wastewaters containing Cr(VI) is its reduction to the much less toxic and immobile form of Cr(III). This study investigates the cleanup of Cr(VI) containing wastewaters using elemental sulfur as electron acceptor, for the production of hydrogen sulfide that induces Cr(VI) reduction. An elemental sulfur reducing packed-bed bioreactor was operated at 28-30 Degree-Sign C for more than 250 days under varying influent Cr(VI) concentrations (5.0-50.0 mg/L) and hydraulic retention times (HRTs, 0.36-1.0 day). Ethanol or acetate (1000 mg/L COD) was used as carbon source and electron donor. The degree of COD oxidation varied between 30% and 85%, depending on the operating conditions and the type of organic carbon source. The oxidation of organic matter was coupled with the production of hydrogen sulfide, which reached a maximum concentration of 750 mg/L. The biologically produced hydrogen sulfide reduced Cr(VI) chemically to Cr(III) that precipitated in the reactor. Reduction of Cr(VI) and removal efficiency of total chromium always exceeded 97% and 85%, respectively, implying that the reduced chromium was retained in the bioreactor. This study showed that sulfur can be used as an electron acceptor to produce hydrogen sulfide that induces efficient reduction and immobilization of Cr(VI), thus enabling decontamination of Cr(VI) polluted wastewaters.

  16. Effect of organic matter to nitrogen ratio on membrane bioreactor performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, L; Liao, B Q

    2015-01-01

    Effect of chemical oxygen demand (COD) to nitrogen (COD:N) ratio in feed on the performance of aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) for treating a synthetic high-strength industrial waste water containing glucose was studied for over 370 days. The widely recommended nutrients ratio (COD:N:P = 100:5:1) is not necessary for aerobic biological industrial waste water treatment. An increased COD:N ratio from 100:5 to 100:2.5 and 100:1.8 had a limited impact on COD removal efficiency and further led to a significant improvement in membrane performance, a reduced sludge yield, and improved effluent quality in terms of residual nutrients. An increased COD:N ratio will benefit the industrial waste water treatment using MBRs by reducing membrane fouling and sludge yield, saving chemical costs, and reducing secondary pollution by nutrients addition. Optimization of nutrients usage should be conducted for specific industrial waste water streams.

  17. Bacterial study of the anaerobic bioreactor for distillery effluent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, F. A.; Pathan, M. I.

    2006-01-01

    This study relates with anaerobic bioreactors of Habib Sugar Mills, Nawabshah. Bacterial growth was studied through microscope along with its effect on the production of methane gas (Biogas) at all HRTs (Hydraulic Retention Times) between 15 and 28 days. The bacterium has the efficiency to convert 12% glucose within 24 hours to final product and cell mass. The acetogenic organisms also show their maximum growth on glucose in BGP-1 and BPG-2 at both the corks, where as Methanogenic organisms have shown their zero shown their zero growth on glucose. The efforts have been taken to determine the methanogenic, acetogenic and syntrophomonas sp. data of anaerobic bioreactors of BGP (Biogas Plant) I and II, when these samples were cultured on acetate, methanol, formate, butyrate, propionate and glucose. (author)

  18. Removal of Cr, Mn, and Co from textile wastewater by horizontal rotating tubular bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeiner, Michaela; Rezić, Tonci; Santek, Bozidar; Rezić, Iva; Hann, Stephan; Stingeder, Gerhard

    2012-10-02

    Environmental pollution by industrial wastewaters polluted with toxic heavy metals is of great concern. Various guidelines regulate the quality of water released from industrial plants and of surface waters. In wastewater treatment, bioreactors with microbial biofilms are widely used. A horizontal rotating tubular bioreactor (HRTB) is a combination of a thin layer and a biodisc reactor with an interior divided by O-ring shaped partition walls as carriers for microbial biomass. Using a biofilm of heavy metal resistant bacteria in combination with this special design provides various advantages for wastewater treatment proven in a pilot study. In the presented study, the applicability of HRTB for removing metals commonly present in textile wastewaters (chromium, manganese, cobalt) was investigated. Artificial wastewaters with a load of 125 mg/L of each metal underwent the bioreactor treatment. Different process parameters (inflow rate, rotation speed) were applied for optimizing the removal efficiency. Samples were drawn along the bioreactor length for monitoring the metal contents on site by UV-vis spectrometry. The metal uptake of the biomass was determined by ICP-MS after acidic microwave assisted digestion. The maximum removal rates obtained for chromium, manganese, and cobalt were: 100%, 94%, and 69%, respectively.

  19. Fluid bed porosity equation for an inverse fluidized bed bioreactor with particles growing biofilm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campos-Diaz, K. E.; Limas-Ballesteros, R.

    2009-01-01

    Fluid Bed Bioreactor performance is strongly affected by bed void fraction or bed porosity fluctuations. Particle size enlargement due to biofilm growth is an important factor that is involved in these variations and until now there are no mathematical equations that consider biofilm growth. In this work a mathematical equation is proposed to calculate bed void fraction in an inverse fluid bed bioreactor. (Author)

  20. Low energy consumption vortex wave flow membrane bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhiqiang; Dong, Weilong; Hu, Xiaohong; Sun, Tianyu; Wang, Tao; Sun, Youshan

    2017-11-01

    In order to reduce the energy consumption and membrane fouling of the conventional membrane bioreactor (MBR), a kind of low energy consumption vortex wave flow MBR was exploited based on the combination of biofilm process and membrane filtration process, as well as the vortex wave flow technique. The experimental results showed that the vortex wave flow state in the membrane module could be formed when the Reynolds number (Re) of liquid was adjusted between 450 and 1,050, and the membrane flux declined more slowly in the vortex wave flow state than those in the laminar flow state and turbulent flow state. The MBR system was used to treat domestic wastewater under the condition of vortex wave flow state for 30 days. The results showed that the removal efficiency for CODcr and NH 3 -N was 82% and 98% respectively, and the permeate quality met the requirement of 'Water quality standard for urban miscellaneous water consumption (GB/T 18920-2002)'. Analysis of the energy consumption of the MBR showed that the average energy consumption was 1.90 ± 0.55 kWh/m 3 (permeate), which was only two thirds of conventional MBR energy consumption.

  1. Microfluidic bioreactors for culture of non-adherent cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shah, Pranjul Jaykumar; Vedarethinam, Indumathi; Kwasny, Dorota

    2011-01-01

    Microfluidic bioreactors (μBR) are becoming increasingly popular for cell culture, sample preparation and analysis in case of routine genetic and clinical diagnostics. We present a novel μBR for non-adherent cells designed to mimic in vivo perfusion of cells based on diffusion of media through...

  2. Antioxidant compounds in Salvia officinalis L. shoot and hairy root cultures in the nutrient sprinkle bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabela Grzegorczyk

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The study focused on the production of compounds with antioxidant activity in hairy root and shoot cultures of Salvia officinalis grown in laboratory-scale sprinkle nutrient bioreactors. HPLC analysis showed that production of rosmarinic acid in transformed roots (34.65 ±1.07 mg l-1 was higher that in shoot culture (26.24 ±0.48 mg l-1. In the latter diterpenoids: carnosic acid (1.74 ±0.02 mg l-1 and carnosol (1.34 ±0.01 mg l-1 were also found. Biomass accumulation after a growth period in the bioreactor was also studied. An 18-fold increase in hairy root biomass was recorded after 40 days of culture. In sage shoot culture, biomass increased 43 times after 21 days of bioreactor run. The current operating conditions of the bioreactor were not suitable for the propagation of Salvia officinalis mainly due to the hyperhydricity problem of leaves and stems.

  3. Evaluation of hollow fiber and mini perm bioreactors as an alternative to murine ascites for small scale monoclonal antibody production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdalla, O. M.

    2006-12-01

    The objective of this study was to compare monoclonal antibody production in hollow fiber, mini perm bioreactor systems and murine ascites to determine the feasibility of the bioreactor system as a potential alternative to the use of mice. One hybridoma cell line was grown in hollow fiber, mini perm bioreactor systems and in groups of 5 mice. Mice were primed with 0.5 ml pristane intraperitoneally 14 days prior to inoculation of 1x10 7 hybridoma cells. Each mouse was tapped a maximum of three times for collection of ascites. Bioreactors were harvested three times weekly for 30 days and were monitored by cell counts, cell viability and media consumption. Time and materials logs were maintained. The total quantity of monoclonal antibody produced in 5 mice versus the total production for the two different bioreactors (hollow fiber and mini perm) in 30 days was as follows: cell line 2AC10E6C7 produce 158 mg vs.97.5 mg, vs 21.54 mg respectively. Mean monoclonal antibody concentration ranged from 4.07 to 8.37 mg/ml in murine ascites, from 0.71 to 3.8 mg/ml in hollow fiber bioreactor system, and from 0.035 to 1.06 in mini perm. Although time and material costs were generally greater for the bioreactors, these results suggest that hollow fiber and mini perm bioreactor systems merit further investigations as potentially viable in vitro alternatives to the use of mice for small scale (<1mg) monoclonal antibody production.(Author)

  4. Mathematical modeling of the integrated process of mercury bioremediation in the industrial bioreactor

    OpenAIRE

    Głuszcz, Paweł; Petera, Jerzy; Ledakowicz, Stanisław

    2010-01-01

    The mathematical model of the integrated process of mercury contaminated wastewater bioremediation in a fixed-bed industrial bioreactor is presented. An activated carbon packing in the bioreactor plays the role of an adsorbent for ionic mercury and at the same time of a carrier material for immobilization of mercury-reducing bacteria. The model includes three basic stages of the bioremediation process: mass transfer in the liquid phase, adsorption of mercury onto activated carbon and ionic me...

  5. Development and application of a milliliter-scale bioreactor for continuous microbial cultivations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bolic, Andrijana

    measurementwhere light was sent through the MSBR bottom and sample to a mirror-like surface in the MSBR and returned back to a fiber bundle. Aerobic and anaerobic batch cultivations were performed with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus paracasei, respectively. A high evaporation rate was experienced...... bioreactor functionality usually comes in regular lab size, which then transforms a smallscale bioreactor platform to a regular size experimental set up. To address this issue, effort was placed in developing 2 push/pull pumps that were able to deliver gas and medium ina controlled manner as a part...

  6. Evaluation of mixing and mass transfer in a stirred pilot scale bioreactor utilizing CFD

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bach, Christian; Yang, Jifeng; Larsson, Hilde Kristina

    2017-01-01

    Knowledge and prediction of mixing and mass transfer in agitated bioreactors is fundamental for process development and scale up. In particular key process parameters such as mixing time and volumetric mass transfer coefficient are essential for bioprocess development. In this work the mixing...... and mass transfer performance of a high power agitated pilot scale bioreactor has been characterized using a novel combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental investigations. The effect of turbulence inside the vessel was predicted using a standard RANS k-ε model. Mixing time...... transfer coefficients were in accordance with the experimental data. This work illustrates the possibility of predicting the two phase fluid dynamic performance of an agitated pilot scale bioreactor using validated CFD models. These models can be applied to illustrate the effect of changing the physical...

  7. Models of municipal solid waste generation and collection costs applicable to all municipalities in Thailand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chira Bureecam

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to identify and measure the variables which influence municipal solid waste (MSW generation and collection costs in Thai municipality. The empirical analysis is based on the information derived from a survey conducted in a sample size of 570 municipalities across the country. The results from the MSW generation model indicate that the population density, the household size and the size of municipality are the significant determinant of waste generation. Meanwhile, with regards to the MSW collection cost model, the results showed some existence of positive in the volume of MSW collected, population density, the distance between the center of municipality to the disposal site the hazardous sorting and the size of municipality whereas, there were no evidence of the frequency of collection and the ratio of recycled material to waste generation on cost.

  8. In Vivo-Like Culture Conditions in a Bioreactor Facilitate Improved Tissue Quality in Corneal Storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, Richard; Tarau, Ioana-Sandra; Rossi, Angela; Leonhardt, Stefan; Schwarz, Thomas; Schuerlein, Sebastian; Lotz, Christian; Hansmann, Jan

    2018-01-01

    The cornea is the most-transplanted tissue worldwide. However, the availability and quality of grafts are limited due to the current methods of corneal storage. In this study, a dynamic bioreactor system is employed to enable the control of intraocular pressure and the culture at the air-liquid interface. Thereby, in vivo-like storage conditions are achieved. Different media combinations for endothelium and epithelium are tested in standard and dynamic conditions to enhance the viability of the tissue. In contrast to culture conditions used in eye banks, the combination of the bioreactor and biochrom medium 1 allows to preserve the corneal endothelium and the epithelium. Assessment of transparency, swelling, and the trans-epithelial-electrical-resistance (TEER) strengthens the impact of the in vivo-like tissue culture. For example, compared to corneas stored under static conditions, significantly lower optical densities and significantly higher TEER values were measured (p-value <0.05). Furthermore, healing of epithelial defects is enabled in the bioreactor, characterized by re-epithelialization and initiated stromal regeneration. Based on the obtained results, an easy-to-use 3D-printed bioreactor composed of only two parts was derived to translate the technology from the laboratory to the eye banks. This optimized bioreactor facilitates noninvasive microscopic monitoring. The improved storage conditions ameliorate the quality of corneal grafts and the storage time in the eye banks to increase availability and reduce re-grafting. © 2017 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

  9. Characterization of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash before and after electrodialytic treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Anne Juul; Gardner, Kevin H.

    2003-01-01

    Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash, which has been treated electrodialytically for the removal of heavy metals, may have changed characteristics compared to untreated fly ash. In this study, MSWI fly ash was characterized with respect to leaching properties (pH static leaching...

  10. Modelling and characterization of an airlift-loop bioreactor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verlaan, P.

    1987-01-01

    An airlift-loop reactor is a bioreactor for aerobic biotechnological processes. The special feature of the ALR is the recirculation of the liquid through a downcomer connecting the top and the bottom of the main bubbling section. Due to the high circulation-flow rate, efficient mixing and

  11. Engineering stem cell niches in bioreactors

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Meimei; Liu, Ning; Zang, Ru; Li, Yan; Yang, Shang-Tian

    2013-01-01

    Stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and amniotic fluid stem cells have the potential to be expanded and differentiated into various cell types in the body. Efficient differentiation of stem cells with the desired tissue-specific function is critical for stem cell-based cell therapy, tissue engineering, drug discovery and disease modeling. Bioreactors provide a great platform to regulate the stem cell microenvironment, known as “ni...

  12. Nonlinear adaptive optimization of biomass productivity in continuous bioreactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sauvaire, P; Mellichamp, D A; Agrawal, P [California Univ., Santa Barbara, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering

    1991-11-01

    A novel on-line adaptive optimization algorithm is developed and applied to continuous biological reactors. The algorithm makes use of a simple nonlinear estimation model that relates either the cell-mass productivity or the cell-mass concentration to the dilution rate. On-line estimation is used to recursively identify the parameters in the nonlinear process model and to periodically calculate and steer the bioreactor to the dilution rate that yields optimum cell-mass productivity. Thus, the algorithm does not require an accurate process model, locates the optimum dilution rate online, and maintains the bioreactors at this optimum condition at all times. The features of the proposed new algorithm are compared with those of other adaptive optimization techniques presented in the literature. A detailed simulation study using three different microbial system models was conducted to illustrate the performance of the optimization algorithms. (orig.).

  13. Biomimetic fetal rotation bioreactor for engineering bone tissues-Effect of cyclic strains on upregulation of osteogenic gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravichandran, Akhilandeshwari; Wen, Feng; Lim, Jing; Chong, Mark Seow Khoon; Chan, Jerry K Y; Teoh, Swee-Hin

    2018-04-01

    Cells respond to physiological mechanical stresses especially during early fetal development. Adopting a biomimetic approach, it is necessary to develop bioreactor systems to explore the effects of physiologically relevant mechanical strains and shear stresses for functional tissue growth and development. This study introduces a multimodal bioreactor system that allows application of cyclic compressive strains on premature bone grafts that are cultured under biaxial rotation (chamber rotation about 2 axes) conditions for bone tissue engineering. The bioreactor is integrated with sensors for dissolved oxygen levels and pH that allow real-time, non-invasive monitoring of the culture parameters. Mesenchymal stem cells-seeded polycaprolactone-β-tricalcium phosphate scaffolds were cultured in this bioreactor over 2 weeks in 4 different modes-static, cyclic compression, biaxial rotation, and multimodal (combination of cyclic compression and biaxial rotation). The multimodal culture resulted in 1.8-fold higher cellular proliferation in comparison with the static controls within the first week. Two weeks of culture in the multimodal bioreactor utilizing the combined effects of optimal fluid flow conditions and cyclic compression led to the upregulation of osteogenic genes alkaline phosphatase (3.2-fold), osteonectin (2.4-fold), osteocalcin (10-fold), and collagen type 1 α1 (2-fold) in comparison with static cultures. We report for the first time, the independent and combined effects of mechanical stimulation and biaxial rotation for bone tissue engineering using a bioreactor platform with non-invasive sensing modalities. The demonstrated results show leaning towards the futuristic vision of using a physiologically relevant bioreactor system for generation of autologous bone grafts for clinical implantation. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Spaceflight bioreactor studies of cells and tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freed, Lisa E; Vunjak-Novakovic, Gordana

    2002-01-01

    Studies of the fundamental role of gravity in the development and function of biological organisms are a central component of the human exploration of space. Microgravity affects numerous physical phenomena relevant to biological research, including the hydrostatic pressure in fluid filled vesicles, sedimentation of organelles, and buoyancy-driven convection of flow and heat. These physical phenomena can in turn directly and indirectly affect cellular morphology, metabolism, locomotion, secretion of extracellular matrix and soluble signals, and assembly into functional tissues. Studies aimed at distinguishing specific effects of gravity on biological systems require the ability to: (i) control and systematically vary gravity, e.g. by utilizing the microgravity environment of space in conjunction with an in-flight centrifuge; and (ii) maintain constant all other factors in the immediate environment, including in particular concentrations and exchange rates of biochemical species and hydrodynamic shear. The latter criteria imply the need for gravity-independent mechanisms to provide for mass transport between the cells and their environment. Available flight hardware has largely determined the experimental design and scientific objectives of spaceflight cell and tissue culture studies carried out to date. Simple culture vessels have yielded important quantitative data, and helped establish in vitro models of cell locomotion, growth and differentiation in various mammalian cell types including embryonic lung cells [6], lymphocytes [2,8], and renal cells [7,31]. Studies done using bacterial cells established the first correlations between gravity-dependent factors such as cell settling velocity and diffusional distance and the respective cell responses [12]. The development of advanced bioreactors for microgravity cell and tissue culture and for tissue engineering has benefited both research areas and provided relevant in vitro model systems for studies of astronaut

  15. Thermophillic Sidestream Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors: The Shear Rate Dilemma

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jeison, D.A.; Telkamp, P.; Lier, van J.B.

    2009-01-01

    Anaerobic biomass retention under thermophilic conditions has proven difficult. Membrane filtration can be used as alternative way to achieve high sludge concentrations. This research studied the feasibility of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) under thermophilic conditions. A sidestream MBR

  16. Balancing the organic load and light supply in symbiotic microalgal–bacterial biofilm reactors treating synthetic municipal wastewater

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boelee, N.C.; Temmink, B.G.; Janssen, M.; Buisman, C.J.N.; Wijffels, R.H.

    2014-01-01

    Symbiotic microalgal–bacterial biofilms can be very attractive for municipal wastewater treatment. Microalgae remove nitrogen and phosphorus and simultaneously produce the oxygen that is required for the aerobic, heterotrophic degradation of organic pollutants. For the application of these biofilms

  17. Municipal solid waste disposal in Portugal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magrinho, Alexandre; Didelet, Filipe; Semiao, Viriato

    2006-01-01

    In recent years municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal has been one of the most important environmental problems for all of the Portuguese regions. The basic principles of MSW management in Portugal are: (1) prevention or reduction, (2) reuse, (3) recovery (e.g., recycling, incineration with heat recovery), and (4) polluter-pay principle. A brief history of legislative trends in waste management is provided herein as background for current waste management and recycling activities. The paper also presents and discusses the municipal solid waste management in Portugal and is based primarily on a national inquiry carried out in 2003 and directed to the MSW management entities. Additionally, the MSW responsibility and management structure in Portugal is presented, together with the present situation of production, collection, recycling, treatment and elimination of MSW. Results showed that 96% of MSW was collected mixed (4% was separately collected) and that 68% was disposed of in landfill, 21% was incinerated at waste-to-energy plants, 8% was treated at organic waste recovery plants and 3% was delivered to sorting. The average generation rate of MSW was 1.32 kg/capita/day

  18. Solidification and Biotoxicity Assessment of Thermally Treated Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) Fly Ash.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Bing; Deng, Yi; Yang, Yuanyi; Tan, Swee Ngin; Liu, Qianni; Yang, Weizhong

    2017-06-10

    In the present work, thermal treatment was used to stabilize municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash, which was considered hazardous waste. Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) results indicated that, after the thermal process, the leaching concentrations of Pb, Cu, and Zn decreased from 8.08 to 0.16 mg/L, 0.12 to 0.017 mg/L and 0.39 to 0.1 mg/L, respectively, which well met the limits in GB5085.3-2007 and GB16689-2008. Thermal treatment showed a negative effect on the leachability of Cr with concentrations increasing from 0.1 to 1.28 mg/L; nevertheless, it was still under the limitations. XRD analysis suggested that, after thermal treatments, CaO was newly generated. CaO was a main contribution to higher Cr leaching concentrations owing to the formation of Cr (VI)-compounds such as CaCrO₄. SEM/EDS tests revealed that particle adhesion, agglomeration, and grain growth happened during the thermal process and thus diminished the leachability of Pb, Cu, and Zn, but these processes had no significant influence on the leaching of Cr. A microbial assay demonstrated that all thermally treated samples yet possessed strong bactericidal activity according to optical density (OD) test results. Among all samples, the OD value of raw fly ash (RFA) was lowest followed by FA700-10, FA900-10, and FA1100-10 in an increasing order, which indicated that the sequence of the biotoxicity for these samples was RFA > FA700-10 > FA900-10 > FA1100-10. This preliminary study indicated that, apart from TCLP criteria, the biotoxicity assessment was indispensable for evaluating the effect of thermal treatment for MSWI fly ash.

  19. Key process parameters involved in the treatment of olive mill wastewater by membrane bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaouad, Y; Villain-Gambier, M; Mandi, L; Marrot, B; Ouazzani, N

    2018-04-18

    The Olive Mill Wastewater (OMWW) biodegradation in an external ceramic membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated with a starting acclimation step with a Ultrafiltration (UF) membrane (150 kDa) and no sludge discharge in order to develop a specific biomass adapted to OMWW biodegradation. After acclimation step, UF was replaced by an Microfiltration (MF) membrane (0.1 µm). Sludge Retention Time (SRT) was set around 25 days and Food to Microorganisms ratio (F/M) was fixed at 0.2 kg COD  kg MLVSS -1  d -1 . At stable state, removal of the main phenolic compounds (hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) were successfully reached (95% both). Considered as a predominant fouling factor, but never quantified in MBR treated OMWW, Soluble Microbial Products (SMP) proteins, polysaccharides and humic substances concentrations were determined (80, 110 and 360 mg L -1 respectively). At the same time, fouling was easily managed due to favourable hydraulic conditions of external ceramic MBR. Therefore, OMWW could be efficiently and durably treated by an MF MBR process under adapted operating parameters.

  20. Comprehensive monitoring and management of a long-term thermophilic CSTR treating coffee grounds, coffee liquid, milk waste, and municipal sludge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shofie, Mohammad; Qiao, Wei; Li, Qian; Takayanagi, Kazuyuki; Li, Yu-You

    2015-09-01

    The CSTR process has previously not been successfully applied to treat coffee residues under thermophilic temperature and long term operation. In this experiment, the CSTR was fed with mixture substrate (TS ∼ 70 g/L) of coffee grounds, coffee wastewater, milk waste and municipal sludge and it was operated under 55 °C for 225 days. A steady state was achieved under HRT 30 days and OLR 4.0 kg-COD/m(3)/d. However, there was an 35 days inhibition with VFA accumulation (propionic acid 700-1900 mg/L) when doubling the OLR by shortening HRT to 15 days. But, an addition of microelements and sulfate (0.5 g/L) in feedstock increased reactor resilience and stability under high loading rate and propionic acid stress. Continuous monitoring of hydrogen in biogas indicated the imbalance of acetogenesis. The effectiveness of comprehensive parameters (total VFA, propionic acid, IA/PA, IA/TA and CH4 content) was proved to manage the thermophilic system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Phosphorus and water recovery by a novel osmotic membrane bioreactor-reverse osmosis system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Wenhai; Hai, Faisal I; Price, William E; Guo, Wenshan; Ngo, Hao H; Yamamoto, Kazuo; Nghiem, Long D

    2016-01-01

    An osmotic membrane bioreactor-reverse osmosis (OMBR-RO) hybrid system integrated with periodic microfiltration (MF) extraction was evaluated for simultaneous phosphorus and clean water recovery from raw sewage. In this hybrid system, the forward osmosis membrane effectively retained inorganic salts and phosphate in the bioreactor, while the MF membrane periodically bled them out for phosphorus recovery with pH adjustment. The RO process was used for draw solute recovery and clean water production. Results show that phosphorus recuperation from the MF permeate was most effective when the solution pH was adjusted to 10, whereby the recovered precipitate contained 15-20% (wt/wt) of phosphorus. Periodic MF extraction also limited salinity build-up in the bioreactor, resulting in a stable biological performance and an increase in water flux during OMBR operation. Despite the build-up of organic matter and ammonia in the draw solution, OMBR-RO allowed for the recovery of high quality reused water. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Nitrate-Mediated Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (N-MEOR) from model upflow bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gassara, Fatma; Suri, Navreet; Voordouw, Gerrit

    2017-02-15

    Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) can enhance oil production with less energy input and less costs than other technologies. The present study used different aqueous electron donors (acetate, glucose, molasses) and an aqueous electron acceptor (nitrate) to stimulate growth of heterotrophic nitrate reducing bacteria (hNRB) to improve production of oil. Initial flooding of columns containing heavy oil (viscosity of 3400cP at 20°C) with CSBK (Coleville synthetic brine medium) produced 0.5 pore volume (PV) of oil. Bioreactors were then inoculated with hNRB with 5.8g/L of molasses and 0, 10, 20, 40, 60 or 80mM nitrate, as well as with 17mM glucose or 57mM acetate and 80mM nitrate. During incubations no oil was produced in the bioreactors that received 5.8g/L of molasses and 0, 10, 20, 40 or 60mM nitrate. However, the bioreactors injected with 5.8g/L of molasses, 17mM glucose or 57mM acetate and 80mM nitrate produced 13.9, 11.3±3.1 and 17.8±6.6% of residual oil, respectively. The significant production of oil from these bioreactors may be caused by N 2 -CO 2 gas production. Following continued injection with CSBK without nitrate, subsequent elution of significant residual oil (5-30%) was observed. These results also indicate possible involvement of fermentation products (organic acids, alcohols) to enhance heavy oil recovery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Full-scale demonstration of treatment of mechanically separated organic residue in a bioreactor at VAM in Wijster

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oonk, H.; Woelders, H.

    1999-01-01

    At the VAM waste treatment company in Wijster a demonstration is in progress of bioreactor technology for the treatment of mechanically separated organic residue (MSOR) of a waste separation plant. This bioreactor is an in situ fermentation cell in which physical, chemical and biological processes

  4. A Novel bioreactor with mechanical stimulation for skeletal tissue engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Petrović

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The provision of mechanical stimulation is believed to be necessary for the functional assembly of skeletal tissues, which are normally exposed to a variety of biomechanical signals in vivo. In this paper, we present a development and validation of a novel bioreactor aimed for skeletal tissue engineering that provides dynamic compression and perfusion of cultivated tissues. Dynamic compression can be applied at frequencies up to 67.5 Hz and displacements down to 5 m thus suitable for the simulation of physiological conditions in a native cartilage tissue (0.1-1 Hz, 5-10 % strain. The bioreactor also includes a load sensor that was calibrated so to measure average loads imposed on tissue samples. Regimes of the mechanical stimulation and acquisition of load sensor outputs are directed by an automatic control system using applications developed within the LabView platform. In addition, perfusion of tissue samples at physiological velocities (10–100 m/s provides efficient mass transfer, as well as the possibilities to expose the cells to hydrodynamic shear and simulate the conditions in a native bone tissue. Thus, the novel bioreactor is suited for studies of the effects of different biomechanical signals on in vitro regeneration of skeletal tissues, as well as for the studies of newly formulated biomaterials and cell biomaterial interactions under in vivo-like settings.

  5. Effect of Initial Moisture Content on the in-Vessel Composting Under Air Pressure of Organic Fraction of MunicipalSolid Waste in Morocco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdelhadi Makan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco in terms of internal temperature, produced gases quantity, organic matter conversion rate, and the quality of the final composts.For this purpose, in-vessel bioreactor was designed and used to evaluate both appropriate initial air pressure and appropriate initial moisture content for the composting process. Moreover, 5 experiments were carried out within initial moisture content of 55%, 65%, 70%, 75% and 85%. The initial air pressure and the initial moisture content of the mixture showed a significant effect on the aerobic composting. The experimental results demonstrated that for composting organic waste, relatively high moisture contents are better at achieving higher temperatures and retaining them for longer times.This study suggested that an initial moisture content of around 75%, under 0.6 bar, can be considered as being suitable for efficient composting of organic fraction of municipal solid waste. These last conditions, allowed maximum value of temperature and final composting product with good physicochemical properties as well as higher organic matter degradation and higher gas production. Moreover, final compost obtained showed good maturity levels and can be used for agricultural applications.

  6. Effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makan, Abdelhadi; Assobhei, Omar; Mountadar, Mohammed

    2013-01-03

    This study aimed to evaluate the effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco in terms of internal temperature, produced gases quantity, organic matter conversion rate, and the quality of the final composts.For this purpose, in-vessel bioreactor was designed and used to evaluate both appropriate initial air pressure and appropriate initial moisture content for the composting process. Moreover, 5 experiments were carried out within initial moisture content of 55%, 65%, 70%, 75% and 85%. The initial air pressure and the initial moisture content of the mixture showed a significant effect on the aerobic composting. The experimental results demonstrated that for composting organic waste, relatively high moisture contents are better at achieving higher temperatures and retaining them for longer times.This study suggested that an initial moisture content of around 75%, under 0.6 bar, can be considered as being suitable for efficient composting of organic fraction of municipal solid waste. These last conditions, allowed maximum value of temperature and final composting product with good physicochemical properties as well as higher organic matter degradation and higher gas production. Moreover, final compost obtained showed good maturity levels and can be used for agricultural applications.

  7. Effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mountadar Mohammed

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco in terms of internal temperature, produced gases quantity, organic matter conversion rate, and the quality of the final composts. For this purpose, in-vessel bioreactor was designed and used to evaluate both appropriate initial air pressure and appropriate initial moisture content for the composting process. Moreover, 5 experiments were carried out within initial moisture content of 55%, 65%, 70%, 75% and 85%. The initial air pressure and the initial moisture content of the mixture showed a significant effect on the aerobic composting. The experimental results demonstrated that for composting organic waste, relatively high moisture contents are better at achieving higher temperatures and retaining them for longer times. This study suggested that an initial moisture content of around 75%, under 0.6 bar, can be considered as being suitable for efficient composting of organic fraction of municipal solid waste. These last conditions, allowed maximum value of temperature and final composting product with good physicochemical properties as well as higher organic matter degradation and higher gas production. Moreover, final compost obtained showed good maturity levels and can be used for agricultural applications.

  8. Diversity Profile of Microbes Associated with Anaerobic Sulfur Oxidation in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Treating Municipal Sewage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aida, Azrina A.; Kuroda, Kyohei; Yamamoto, Masamitsu; Nakamura, Akinobu; Hatamoto, Masashi; Yamaguchi, Takashi

    2015-01-01

    We herein analyzed the diversity of microbes involved in anaerobic sulfur oxidation in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor used for treating municipal sewage under low-temperature conditions. Anaerobic sulfur oxidation occurred in the absence of oxygen, with nitrite and nitrate as electron acceptors; however, reactor performance parameters demonstrated that anaerobic conditions were maintained. In order to gain insights into the underlying basis of anaerobic sulfur oxidation, the microbial diversity that exists in the UASB sludge was analyzed comprehensively to determine their identities and contribution to sulfur oxidation. Sludge samples were collected from the UASB reactor over a period of 2 years and used for bacterial 16S rRNA gene-based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and next-generation sequencing analyses. T-RFLP and sequencing results both showed that microbial community patterns changed markedly from day 537 onwards. Bacteria belonging to the genus Desulforhabdus within the phylum Proteobacteria and uncultured bacteria within the phylum Fusobacteria were the main groups observed during the period of anaerobic sulfur oxidation. Their abundance correlated with temperature, suggesting that these bacterial groups played roles in anaerobic sulfur oxidation in UASB reactors. PMID:25817585

  9. Hollow Fiber Membrane Bioreactor Systems for Wastewater Processing: Effects of Environmental Stresses Including Dormancy Cycling and Antibiotic Dosing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutts, Janelle L.; Hummerick, Mary E.; Lunn, Griffin M.; Larson, Brian D.; Spencer, LaShelle E.; Kosiba, Michael L.; Khodadad, Christina L.; Catechis, John A.; Birmele, Michele N.; Wheeler, Raymond M.

    2016-01-01

    Membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) have been studied for a number of years as an alternate approach for treating wastewater streams during space exploration. While the technology provides a promising pre-treatment for lowering organic carbon and nitrogen content without the need for harsh stabilization chemicals, several challenges must be addressed before adoption of the technology in future missions. One challenge is the transportation of bioreactors containing intact, active biofilms as a means for rapid start-up on the International Space Station or beyond. Similarly, there could be a need for placing these biological systems into a dormant state for extended periods when the system is not in use, along with the ability for rapid restart. Previous studies indicated that there was little influence of storage condition (4 or 25 C, with or without bulk fluid) on recovery of bioreactors with immature biofilms (48 days old), but that an extensive recovery time was required (20+ days). Bioreactors with fully established biofilms (13 months) were able to recover from a 7-month dormancy within 4 days (approximately 1 residence). Further dormancy and recovery testing is presented here that examines the role of biofilm age on recovery requirements, repeated dormancy cycle capabilities, and effects of long-duration dormancy cycles (8-9 months) on HFMB systems. Another challenge that must be addressed is the possibility of antibiotics entering the wastewater stream. Currently, for most laboratory tests of biological water processors, donors providing urine may not contribute to the study when taking antibiotics because the effects on the system are yet uncharacterized. A simulated urinary tract infection event, where an opportunistic, pathogenic organism, E. coli, was introduced to the HFMBs followed by dosing with an antibiotic, ciprofloxacin, was completed to study the effect of the antibiotic on reactor performance and to also examine the development of

  10. An Investigation on Cocombustion Behaviors of Hydrothermally Treated Municipal Solid Waste with Coal Using a Drop-Tube Reactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Lu

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This work aims at demonstrating the feasibility of replacing Indonesian coal (INC with hydrothermally treated municipal solid waste (MSWH in cocombustion with high ash Indian coal (IC. The combustion efficiencies and emissions (CO, NO of MSWH, INC and their blends with IC for a series of tests performed under a range of temperatures and air conditions were tested in a drop-tube reactor (DTR. The results showed the following. The combustion efficiency of IC was increased by blending both MSWH and INC and CO emission was reduced with increasing temperature. For NO emission, the blending of MSWH led to the increase of NO concentration whereas the effects of INC depended on the temperature. The combustion behaviors of IC-MSWH blend were comparable to those of the IC-INC blend indicating it is possible for MSWH to become a good substitute for INC supporting IC combustion. Moreover, the CO emission fell while the NO emission rose with increasing excess air for IC-MSWH blend at 900°C and the highest combustion efficiency was obtained at the excess air of 1.9. The existence of moisture in the cocombustion system of IC-MSWH blend could slightly improve the combustion efficiency, reduce CO, and increase NO.

  11. Physicochemical properties influencing denitrification rate and microbial activity in denitrification bioreactors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, C. A.

    2012-12-01

    The use of N-based fertilizer will need to increase to meet future demands, yet existing applications have been implicated as the main source of coastal eutrophication and hypoxic zones. Producing sufficient crops to feed a growing planet will require efficient production in combination with sustainable treatment solutions. The long-term success of denitrification bioreactors to effectively remove nitrate (NO¬3), indicates this technology is a feasible treatment option. Assessing and quantifying the media properties that affect NO¬3 removal rate and microbial activity can improve predictions on bioreactor performance. It was hypothesized that denitrification rates and microbial biomass would be correlated with total C, NO¬3 concentration, metrics of organic matter quality, media surface area and laboratory measures of potential denitrification rate. NO¬3 removal rates and microbial biomass were evaluated in mesocosms filled with different wood treatments and the unique influence of these predictor variables was determined using a multiple linear regression analysis. NO3 reduction rates were independent of NO¬3 concentration indicating zero order reaction kinetics. Temperature was strongly correlated with denitrification rate (r2=0.87; Q10=4.7), indicating the variability of bioreactor performance in differing climates. Fiber quality, and media surface area were strong (R>0.50), unique predictors of rates and microbial biomass, although C:N ratio and potential denitrification rate did not predict actual denitrification rate or microbial biomass. Utilizing a stepwise multiple linear regression, indicates that the denitrification rate can be effectively (r2=0.56;pdetergent fiber and surface area alone are quantified. These results will assist with the widespread implementation of denitrification bioreactors to achieve significant N load reductions in large watersheds. The nitrate reduction rate as a function of groundwater temperature for all treatments

  12. Shell of Planet Earth – Global Batch Bioreactor.

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hanika, Jiří; Šolcová, Olga; Kaštánek, P.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 40, č. 11 (2017), s. 1959-1965 ISSN 0930-7516 R&D Projects: GA TA ČR TE01020080 Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : critical raw materials * global batch bioreactor * planet earth Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering OBOR OECD: Chemical process engineering Impact factor: 2.051, year: 2016

  13. Biogas production from the mechanically pretreated, liquid fraction of sorted organic municipal solid wastes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarado-Lassman, A; Méndez-Contreras, J M; Martínez-Sibaja, A; Rosas-Mendoza, E S; Vallejo-Cantú, N A

    2017-06-01

    The high liquid content in fruit and vegetable wastes makes it convenient to mechanically separate these wastes into mostly liquid and solid fractions by means of pretreatment. Then, the liquid fraction can be treated using a high-rate anaerobic biofilm reactor to produce biogas, simultaneously reducing the amount of solids that must be landfilled. In this work, the specific composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) in a public market was determined; then, the sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste was treated mechanically to separate and characterize the mostly liquid and solid fractions. Then, the mesophilic anaerobic digestion for biogas production of the first fraction was evaluated. The anaerobic digestion resulted in a reduced hydraulic retention time of two days with high removal of chemical oxygen demand, that is, 88% on average, with the additional benefit of reducing the mass of the solids that had to be landfilled by about 80%.

  14. Comparison between a conventional membrane bioreactor (C-MBR and a biofilm membrane bioreactor (BF-MBR for domestic wastewater treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. L. Subtil

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the influence of biofilm carriers in a MBR on the performance of organic matter and nitrogen removal and the influence on membrane fouling were evaluated. The configurations studied included a Conventional Membrane Bioreactor (C-MBR and a Biofilm Membrane Bioreactor (BF-MBR operated in parallel, both fed with domestic wastewater. Regarding organic matter removal, no statistically significant differences were observed between C-MBR and BF-MBR, producing an effluent with a Soluble COD concentration of 27 ± 9.0 mgO2/L and 26 ±1.0 mgO2/L and BOD concentration of 6.0 ± 2.5 mgO2/L and 6.2 ± 2.1 mgO2/L, respectively. On the other hand, the BF-MBR produced a permeate with lower ammonia and total nitrogen concentrations, which resulted in a removal efficiency of 98% and 73%, respectively. It was also observed that the fouling rate was about 35% higher in the C-MBR than that for the BF-MBR, which also presented a reduction of total membrane resistance, about 29%, and increased operational cycle length around 7 days, compared to C-MBR.

  15. Treatment of cattle-slaughterhouse wastewater and the reuse of sludge for biodiesel production by microalgal heterotrophic bioreactors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Manzoni Maroneze

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Microalgal heterotrophic bioreactors are a potential technological development that can convert organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus of wastewaters into a biomass suitable for energy production. The aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of microalgal heterotrophic bioreactors in the secondary treatment of cattle-slaughterhouse wastewater and the reuse of microalgal sludge for biodiesel production. The experiments were performed in a bubble column bioreactor using the microalgae Phormidium sp. Heterotrophic microalgal bioreactors removed 90 % of the chemical oxygen demand, 57 % of total nitrogen and 52 % of total phosphorus. Substantial microalgal sludge is produced in the process (substrate yield coefficient of 0.43 mg sludge mg chemical oxygen demand−¹, resulting in a biomass with high potential for producing biodiesel (ester content of more than 99 %, cetane number of 55, iodine value of 73.5 g iodine 100 g−¹, unsaturation degree of ~75 % and a cold filter plugging point of 5 ºC.

  16. Effects of pharmaceutical micropollutants on the membrane fouling of a submerged MBR treating municipal wastewater: case of continuous pollution by carbamazepine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chengcheng; Cabassud, Corinne; Reboul, Bernard; Guigui, Christelle

    2015-02-01

    Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is increasingly used for municipal wastewater treatment and reuse and great concerns have been raised to some emerging trace pollutants found in aquatic environment in the last decade, notably the pharmaceuticals. As a consequence the removal of pharmaceutical micropollutants by MBRs has been extensively investigated. But there is still a lack of knowledge on the effects of the current presence of pharmaceutical micropollutants in domestic wastewaters on MBR fouling. Among the different pharmaceuticals, it was decided to focus on carbamazepine (CBZ), an anti-epileptic drug, because of its occurrence in domestic wastewaters and persistency in biological processes including MBRs. This paper focuses on the effects of continuous carbamazepine pollution on MBR fouling. A continuous introduction of CBZ into the MBR via the feed (about 90 μg L(-1) CBZ in the feed) provoked a TMP jump. It occurred just 1 day after the addition of CBZ in MBR and a significantly higher increase rate of TMP was also observed after 1 day after addition of CBZ in MBR, as compared to that before addition of CBZ. This indicates that the pharmaceutical stress induced by CBZ causes more severe membrane fouling. Addition of CBZ was shown to induce a significant increase of the concentration of proteins in the supernatant at the beginning several days then stabilized to original level whereas no significant change was found for polysaccharides. HPLC-SEC analysis showed that addition of CBZ induced a decrease of 100-1000 kDa protein-like SMPs and a more significant increase of 10-100 kDa protein-like SMPs in the supernatant. Moreover it was found that addition of CBZ in the MBR affected the sludge microbial activities, as a slight inhibition (about 20%) of the exogenous respiration rate was observed. The increased membrane fouling could be related to the change in biomass characteristics and supernatant quality after addition of CBZ in MBR. This study allows also

  17. Esco in Danish municipalities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Ole; Hansen, Jesper Rohr; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this paper is to discuss the possible benefits of involving Energy Service Companies (ESCO) in realising energy savings in municipalities, and how ESCO projects can be formulated very differently in the various municipalities, according to building volume, use of technologies...... municipalities see an in-house approach as a better alternative. Approach (Theory/Methodology): Our research is based on literature studies and on qualitative interviews with Danish municipalities carrying out ESCO projects, as well as with ESCO providers. Results: Our studies suggest that different ESCO......, with relatively few buildings, energy retrofitting and low investments, the integrative and strategic approach include a higher degree of partnership, a more ambitious building renovation approach, and more innovative understandings of facilities management. We also compare ESCO with energy retrofitting as an in...

  18. Bioreactor-induced mesenchymal progenitor cell differentiation and elastic fiber assembly in engineered vascular tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shigang; Mequanint, Kibret

    2017-09-01

    In vitro maturation of engineered vascular tissues (EVT) requires the appropriate incorporation of smooth muscle cells (SMC) and extracellular matrix (ECM) components similar to native arteries. To this end, the aim of the current study was to fabricate 4mm inner diameter vascular tissues using mesenchymal progenitor cells seeded into tubular scaffolds. A dual-pump bioreactor operating either in perfusion or pulsatile perfusion mode was used to generate physiological-like stimuli to promote progenitor cell differentiation, extracellular elastin production, and tissue maturation. Our data demonstrated that pulsatile forces and perfusion of 3D tubular constructs from both the lumenal and ablumenal sides with culture media significantly improved tissue assembly, effectively inducing mesenchymal progenitor cell differentiation to SMCs with contemporaneous elastin production. With bioreactor cultivation, progenitor cells differentiated toward smooth muscle lineage characterized by the expression of smooth muscle (SM)-specific markers smooth muscle alpha actin (SM-α-actin) and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SM-MHC). More importantly, pulsatile perfusion bioreactor cultivation enhanced the synthesis of tropoelastin and its extracellular cross-linking into elastic fiber compared with static culture controls. Taken together, the current study demonstrated progenitor cell differentiation and vascular tissue assembly, and provides insights into elastin synthesis and assembly to fibers. Incorporation of elastin into engineered vascular tissues represents a critical design goal for both mechanical and biological functions. In the present study, we seeded porous tubular scaffolds with multipotent mesenchymal progenitor cells and cultured in dual-pump pulsatile perfusion bioreactor. Physiological-like stimuli generated by bioreactor not only induced mesenchymal progenitor cell differentiation to vascular smooth muscle lineage but also actively promoted elastin synthesis and

  19. Allegheny County Municipal Boundaries

    Data.gov (United States)

    Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — This dataset demarcates the municipal boundaries in Allegheny County. Data was created to portray the boundaries of the 130 Municipalities in Allegheny County the...

  20. Treatment of wastewater containing phenol using a tubular ceramic membrane bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ersu, C B; Ong, S K

    2008-02-01

    The performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) with a tubular ceramic membrane for phenol removal was evaluated under varying hydraulic retention times (HRT) and a fixed sludge residence time (SRT) of 30 days. The tubular ceramic membrane was operated with a mode of 15 minutes of filtration followed by 15 seconds of permeate backwashing at a flux of 250 l m(-2)hr(-1) along with an extended backwashing of 30 seconds every 3 hours of operation, which maintained the transmembrane pressure (TMP) below 100 kPa. Using a simulated municipal wastewater with varying phenol concentrations, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phenol removals observed were greater than 88% with excellent suspended solids (SS) removal of 100% at low phenol concentrations (approx. 100 mg l(-1) of phenol). Step increases in phenol concentration showed that inhibition was observed between 600 to 800 mg l(-1) of phenol with decreased sludge production rate, mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration, and removal performance. The sludge volume index (SVI) of the biomass increased to about 450 ml g(-1) for a phenol input concentration of 800 mg l(-1). When the phenol concentration was decreased to 100 mg l(-1), the ceramic tubular MBR was found to recover rapidly indicating that the MBR is a robust system retaining most of the biomass. Experimental runs using wastewater containing phenol indicated that the MBR can be operated safely without upsets for concentrations up to 600 mg l(-1) of phenol at 2-4 hours HRT and 30 days SRT.

  1. JSC technician checks STS-44 DSO 316 bioreactor and rotating wall vessel hdwr

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-01-01

    JSC technician Tacey Prewitt checks the progress on a bioreactor experiment in JSC's Life Sciences Laboratory Bldg 37 biotechnology laboratory. Similar hardware is scheduled for testing aboard Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, during STS-44. Detailed Supplementary Objective (DSO) 316 Bioreactor/Flow and Particle Trajectory in Microgravity will checkout the rotating wall vessel hardware and hopefully will confirm researchers' theories and calculations about how flow fields work in space. Plastic beads of various sizes rather than cell cultures are being flown in the vessel for the STS-44 test.

  2. Biotic manganese oxidation coupled with methane oxidation using a continuous-flow bioreactor system under marine conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, Shingo; Miyazaki, Masayuki; Kikuchi, Sakiko; Kashiwabara, Teruhiko; Saito, Yumi; Tasumi, Eiji; Suzuki, Katsuhiko; Takai, Ken; Cao, Linh Thi Thuy; Ohashi, Akiyoshi; Imachi, Hiroyuki

    2017-10-01

    Biogenic manganese oxides (BioMnOx) can be applied for the effective removal and recovery of trace metals from wastewater because of their high adsorption capacity. Although a freshwater continuous-flow system for a nitrifier-based Mn-oxidizing microbial community for producing BioMnOx has been developed so far, a seawater continuous-flow bioreactor system for BioMnOx production has not been established. Here, we report BioMnOx production by a methanotroph-based microbial community by using a continuous-flow bioreactor system. The bioreactor system was operated using a deep-sea sediment sample as the inoculum with methane as the energy source for over 2 years. The BioMnOx production became evident after 370 days of reactor operation. The maximum Mn oxidation rate was 11.4 mg L -1 day -1 . An X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the accumulated BioMnOx was birnessite. 16S rRNA gene-based clone analyses indicated that methanotrophic bacterial members were relatively abundant in the system; however, none of the known Mn-oxidizing bacteria were detected. A continuous-flow bioreactor system coupled with nitrification was also run in parallel for 636 days, but no BioMnOx production was observed in this bioreactor system. The comparative experiments indicated that the methanotroph-based microbial community, rather than the nitrifier-based community, was effective for BioMnOx production under the marine environmental conditions.

  3. Evaluating the efficiency of municipalities in collecting and processing municipal solid waste: a shared input DEA-model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogge, Nicky; De Jaeger, Simon

    2012-10-01

    This paper proposed an adjusted "shared-input" version of the popular efficiency measurement technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that enables evaluating municipality waste collection and processing performances in settings in which one input (waste costs) is shared among treatment efforts of multiple municipal solid waste fractions. The main advantage of this version of DEA is that it not only provides an estimate of the municipalities overall cost efficiency but also estimates of the municipalities' cost efficiency in the treatment of the different fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW). To illustrate the practical usefulness of the shared input DEA-model, we apply the model to data on 293 municipalities in Flanders, Belgium, for the year 2008. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Digital Governance (in Romanian Municipalities. A Longitudinal Assessment of Municipal Web Sites in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catalin Vrabie

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a comparative cross-country study in order to know the level of web services implementation at the municipality level (what are the public services that municipalities offer to their citizens using the electronic platforms. We’ve accessed each municipality web portal from Romania (103 in total and using a defined scale; and rated every one very strictly. Most of the elements used in this research are taken from previous studies, adapted afterwards to take in relevant values for my country. Although there are numerous Romanian initiatives of connecting to the Internet even smaller communities, like small towns or even communes, we have chosen the municipalities due to the positive relation between the number of inhabitants and the capacity to e-Government of the local public administration. All of the 103 Romanian municipalities have been analysed and the results obtained will be presented on each class (there are 5 different classes – e-doc, transparency, etc., but also by the final results.

  5. Membrane Bioreactors design and operation improvements: The Spanish Experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iglesias Esteban, R.; Ortega de Miguel, E.; Martinez Tarifa, M. A.; Simon Andreu, P.; Moragas Bouyart, L.; Garcia Fernandez, E.; Robuste Cartro, J.; Rodriguez-Roda layret, I.

    2012-01-01

    A Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) is a modification of a conventional activated sludge (CAS) plant where the secondary settling ins replaced by a low pressure ultrafiltration (UF) or micro filtration (MF) membranes separation process in order to obtain an effluent almost free of suspended solids and microorganisms. since the first MBR installation in 2002, the number and capacity of these systems have exponentially increased in spain, driven by the high quality of the effluent which allows direct reuse and discharge into environmentally sensitive areas, the compactness and automation of these plants and the possibility of upgrading existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) which no longer reach the required effluent quality levels. There were 45 operating MBR systems in 2011 and the total municipal wastewater treatment capacity by this type of plants will be about 90 hm 3 in 204 when the current projects have been implemented. Today, Spain public and private wastewater management agencies consider MBR plants as an alternative of treatment but first they had to face a complex learning period to operate and design this kind of system. A significant progress has been made over the last years, but especially energy efficiency responds to the challenge of continuous improvement. Membrane fouling control consumes most of the energy involved in the process therefore, anti fouling materials and better membrane air-scour systems that allow the frequency and intensity of air flow to be controlled in realtime, are being investigated. This brings MBR closer to the CAS process in terms of energy efficiency. Breakthroughs in the design and operation of MBR plants are being collected in a guide for the implementation of MBR led by CEDEX, in which the main managers and operators are involved. This paper presents some of these improvements. (Author) 9 refs.

  6. Towards a Tissue-Engineered Ligament: Design and Preliminary Evaluation of a Dedicated Multi-Chamber Tension-Torsion Bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cédric P. Laurent

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Tissue engineering may constitute a promising alternative to current strategies in ligament repair, providing that suitable scaffolds and culture conditions are proposed. The objective of the present contribution is to present the design and instrumentation of a novel multi-chamber tension-torsion bioreactor dedicated to ligament tissue engineering. A preliminary biological evaluation of a new braided scaffold within this bioreactor under dynamic loading is reported, starting with the development of a dedicated seeding protocol validated from static cultures. The results of these preliminary biological characterizations confirm that the present combination of scaffold, seeding protocol and bioreactor may enable us to head towards a suitable ligament tissue-engineered construct.

  7. Representative of the municipality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castellnou Barcelo, J.

    2007-01-01

    Full text of publication follows. The decommissioning of the Vandellos-I nuclear power plant was a big challenge for the host community of Vandellos i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant and the close-by region. Closing down of the facility resulted in a rise of unemployment and a decrease of municipal income. The public was concerned with three issues: safety, transparency and information about the decommissioning, and economic future. Therefore, from the very beginning, municipal governments entered into negotiations with ENRESA on socio-economic benefits, including local employment in dismantling activities, and other types of financial and non-financial compensation. The ADE business association, i.e. a network of business organisations was created that guided the allotment of work to local firms. To satisfy public demand, local municipalities focused on the triad of safety, dialogue and local development, considered the three 'pillars of trust'. A Municipal Monitoring Commission was created, made up of representatives of affected municipalities, the regional government, the ADE business association, trade unions, the local university, the NPP management and ENRESA to monitor the dismantling process and regularly inform the local public. Items that were handled by this Commission included: - Work process monitoring. - Workers. - Materials Control. - Conventional and radioactive or contaminated waste management. - Emanation waste management (liquid and gas) - Safety (training and accidents). - Surveillance (radiological and environmental: dust, noise). - Effects. - Fulfillment of agreed conditions. A number of communication tools and channels were used, e.g., public information meetings, an information centre, the municipal magazine, the municipal radio station, and meetings with representatives of the local press. Particularly innovative was the idea to ask academics from the University of Tarragona to help with 'translating' technical information into language that could

  8. Effects of Bubble-Mediated Processes on Nitrous Oxide Dynamics in Denitrifying Bioreactors

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGuire, P. M.; Falk, L. M.; Reid, M. C.

    2017-12-01

    To mitigate groundwater and surface water impacts of reactive nitrogen (N), agricultural and stormwater management practices can employ denitrifying bioreactors (DNBs) as low-cost solutions for enhancing N removal. Due to the variable nature of hydrologic events, DNBs experience dynamic flows which can impact physical and biological processes within the reactors and affect performance. A particular concern is incomplete denitrification, which can release the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. This study aims to provide insight into the effects of varying hydrologic conditions upon the operation of DNBs by disentangling abiotic and biotic controls on denitrification and N2O dynamics within a laboratory-scale bioreactor. We hypothesize that under transient hydrologic flows, rising water levels lead to air entrapment and bubble formation within the DNB porous media. Mass transfer of oxygen (O2) between trapped gas and liquid phases creates aerobic microenvironments that can inhibit N2O reductase (NosZ) enzymes and lead to N2O accumulation. These bubbles also retard N2O transport and make N2O unavailable for biological reduction, further enhancing atmospheric fluxes when water levels fall. The laboratory-scale DNB permits measurements of longitudinal and vertical profiles of dissolved constituents as well as trace gas concentrations in the reactor headspace. We describe a set of experiments quantifying denitrification pathway biokinetics under steady-state and transient hydrologic conditions and evaluate the role of bubble-mediated processes in enhancing N2O accumulation and fluxes. We use sulfur hexafluoride and helium as dissolved gas tracers to examine the impact of bubble entrapment upon retarded gas transport and enhanced trace gas fluxes. A planar optode sensor within the bioreactor provides near-continuous 2-D profiles of dissolved O2 within the bioreactor and allows for identification of aerobic microenvironments. We use qPCR to

  9. Optimization of Wastewater of Batik Buaran Pekalongan by Using Photocatalytic Membrane Bioreactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arifan, Fahmi; Nugraheni, FS; Lianandaya, Niken Elsa

    2018-02-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the final COD concentration reduction by changing COD and MLSS concentration on the performance of submerged membrane bioreactor (MBRs) as a waste treatment of Batik in Buaran Pekalongan. The method is covers the process of seeding, the acclimatization process and the main process. Description of the process that we take an active mud from IPLT Buaran Pekalongan, then we analyze the sludge MLSS, MLVSS, COD, BOD, and TSS. After that we enter the active sludge in the bath nursery that has been given aerator (a tool for aeration) and made provision in the form of NPK nutrients and glucose at a ratio of 1:10. Activated sludge from the acclimatization process is inserted into the MBRs (membrane bioreactor submerged) that is equipped with an aerator. Then prepare influent(waste to be lowered concentration of COD). How, liquid waste of Batik Pekalongan Buaran COD diluted concentration of 10,000 mg / l and 15,000 mg / l, and then inserted in influent tub. After that liquid waste of Batik Buaran Pekalongan influent flowed into Photocatalytic Membrane Bioreactor, of MPB effluent flowed into the tub (result).

  10. Performance of a sequencing-batch membrane bioreactor (SMBR) with an automatic control strategy treating high-strength swine wastewater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sui, Qianwen; Jiang, Chao; Yu, Dawei; Chen, Meixue; Zhang, Junya; Wang, Yawei; Wei, Yuansong

    2018-01-15

    Due to high-strength of organic matters, nutrients and pathogen, swine wastewater is a major source of pollution to rural environment and surface water. A sequencing-batch membrane bioreactor (SMBR) system with an automatic control strategy was developed for high-strength swine wastewater treatment. Short-cut nitrification and denitrification (SND) was achieved at nitrite accumulation rate of 83.6%, with removal rates of COD, NH 4 + -N and TN at 95%, 99% and 93%, respectively, at reduced HRT of 6.0 d and TN loading rate of 0.02kgN/(kgVSS d). With effective membrane separation, the reduction of total bacteria (TB) and putative pathogen were 2.77 logs and 1%, respectively. The shift of microbial community was well responded to controlling parameters. During the SND process, ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) (Nitrospira) were enriched by 52 times and reduced by 2 times, respectively. The denitrifiers (Thauera) were well enriched and the diversity was enhanced. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Membrane bioreactor biomass characteristics and microbial yield at ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this study, a laboratory-scale MBR and SBR were operated in parallel and at very low MCRTs (3 d, 2 d, 1 d and 0.5 d) to assess the relative bioreactor performance, biomass characteristics, and microbial yield. This study confirmed that the MBR maintains higher solids levels and better overall effluent quality than ...

  12. Genetic Algorithmic Optimization of PHB Production by a Mixed Culture in an Optimally Dispersed Fed-batch Bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pratap R. Patnaik

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB is an energy-storage polymer whose properties are similar to those of chemical polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Moreover, PHB is biodegradable, absorbed by human tissues and less energy-consuming than synthetic polymers. Although Ralstonia eutropha is widely used to synthesize PHB, it is inefficient in utilizing glucose and similar sugars. Therefore a co-culture of R. eutropha and Lactobacillus delbrueckii is preferred since the latter can convert glucose to lactate, which R. eutropha can metabolize easily. Tohyama et al. [24] maximized PHB production in a well-mixed fed-batch bioreactor with glucose and (NH42SO4 as the primary substrates. Since production-scale bioreactors often deviate from ideal laboratory-scale reactors, a large bioreactor was simulated by means of a dispersion model with the kinetics determined by Tohyama et al. [24] and dispersion set at an optimum Peclet number of 20 [32]. The time-dependent feed rates of the two substrates were determined through a genetic algorithm (GA to maximize PHB production. This bioreactor produced 22.2% more PHB per liter and 12.8% more cell mass than achieved by Tohyama et al. [24]. These results, and similar observations with other fermentations, indicate the feasibility of enhancing the efficiency of large nonideal bioreactors through GA optimizations.

  13. Municipal solid waste generation in Kathmandu, Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dangi, Mohan B; Pretz, Christopher R; Urynowicz, Michael A; Gerow, Kenneth G; Reddy, J M

    2011-01-01

    Waste stream characteristics must be understood to tackle waste management problems in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), Nepal. Three-stage stratified cluster sampling was used to evaluate solid waste data collected from 336 households in KMC. This information was combined with data collected regarding waste from restaurants, hotels, schools and streets. The study found that 497.3 g capita(-1) day(-1) of solid waste was generated from households and 48.5, 113.3 and 26.1 kg facility(-1) day(-1) of waste was generated from restaurants, hotels and schools, respectively. Street litter measured 69.3 metric tons day(-1). The average municipal solid waste generation rate was 523.8 metric tons day(-1) or 0.66 kg capita(-1) day(-1) as compared to the 320 metric tons day(-1) reported by the city. The coefficient of correlation between the number of people and the amount of waste produced was 0.94. Key household waste constituents included 71% organic wastes, 12% plastics, 7.5% paper and paper products, 5% dirt and construction debris and 1% hazardous wastes. Although the waste composition varied depending on the source, the composition analysis of waste from restaurants, hotels, schools and streets showed a high percentage of organic wastes. These numbers suggest a greater potential for recovery of organic wastes via composting and there is an opportunity for recycling. Because there is no previous inquiry of this scale in reporting comprehensive municipal solid waste generation in Nepal, this study can be treated as a baseline for other Nepalese municipalities. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Microbial community composition and dynamics of moving bed biofilm reactor systems treating municipal sewage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biswas, Kristi; Turner, Susan J

    2012-02-01

    Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) systems are increasingly used for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, yet in contrast to activated sludge (AS) systems, little is known about their constituent microbial communities. This study investigated the community composition of two municipal MBBR wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Wellington, New Zealand. Monthly samples comprising biofilm and suspended biomass were collected over a 12-month period. Bacterial and archaeal community composition was determined using a full-cycle community approach, including analysis of 16S rRNA gene libraries, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA). Differences in microbial community structure and abundance were observed between the two WWTPs and between biofilm and suspended biomass. Biofilms from both plants were dominated by Clostridia and sulfate-reducing members of the Deltaproteobacteria (SRBs). FISH analyses indicated morphological differences in the Deltaproteobacteria detected at the two plants and also revealed distinctive clustering between SRBs and members of the Methanosarcinales, which were the only Archaea detected and were present in low abundance (<5%). Biovolume estimates of the SRBs were higher in biofilm samples from one of the WWTPs which receives both domestic and industrial waste and is influenced by seawater infiltration. The suspended communities from both plants were diverse and dominated by aerobic members of the Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria. This study represents the first detailed analysis of microbial communities in full-scale MBBR systems and indicates that this process selects for distinctive biofilm and planktonic communities, both of which differ from those found in conventional AS systems.

  15. Effects of hydraulic retention time on anaerobic hydrogenation performance and microbial ecology of bioreactors fed with glucose-peptone and starch-peptone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Shiue-Lin; Chao, Yu-Chieh; Wang, Yu-Hsuan; Hsiao, Chia-Jung; Bai, Ming-Der [Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 701 (China); Whang, Liang-Ming; Wang, Yung-Fu; Cheng, Sheng-Shung [Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 701 (China); Sustainable Environment Research Center (SERC), National Cheng-Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 701 (China); Tseng, I.-Cheng [Sustainable Environment Research Center (SERC), National Cheng-Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 701 (China); Department of Life Science, National Cheng-Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 701 (China)

    2010-01-15

    This study evaluated anaerobic hydrogenation performance and microbial ecology in bioreactors operated at different hydraulic retention time (HRT) conditions and fed with glucose-peptone (GP) and starch-peptone (SP). The maximum hydrogen production rates for GP- and SP-fed bioreactors were found to be 1247 and 412 mmol-H{sub 2}/L/d at HRT of 2 and 3 h, respectively. At HRT > 8 h, hydrogen consumption due to peptone fermentation could occur and thus reduced hydrogen yield from carbohydrate fermentation. Results of cloning/sequencing and denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) indicated that Clostridium sporogenes and Clostridium celerecrescens were dominant hydrogen-producing bacteria in the GP-fed bioreactor, presumably due to their capability on protein hydrolysis. In the SP-fed bioreactor, Lactobacillus plantarum, Propionispira arboris, and Clostridium butyricum were found to be dominant populations, but the presence of P. arboris at HRT > 3 h might be responsible for a lower hydrogen yield from starch fermentation. As a result, optimizing HRT operation for bioreactors was considered an important asset in order to minimize hydrogen-consuming activities and thus maximize net hydrogen production. The limitation of simple parameters such as butyrate to acetate ratio (B/A ratio) in predicting hydrogen production was recognized in this study for bioreactors fed with multiple substrates. It is suggested that microbial ecology analysis, in addition to chemical analysis, should be performed when complex substrates and mixed cultures are used in hydrogen-producing bioreactors. (author)

  16. Bioreactors based on immobilized fungi: bioremediation under non-sterile conditions

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Svobodová, Kateřina; Novotný, Čeněk

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 102, č. 1 (2018), s. 39-46 ISSN 0175-7598 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : Waste effluents * Bioremediation * White-rot fungal bioreactors Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology OBOR OECD: Microbiology Impact factor: 3.420, year: 2016

  17. Municipal opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cousens, D.; Chuddy, B.; Gleeson, A.; Leckie, D.; Wahl, K.; McGarry, D.

    1997-01-01

    The panel discussing market opportunities for municipal electric companies was moderated by Markham Mayor Don Cousens. He expressed himself in favour of deregulation and was optimistic about the benefits it will bring to municipal electric utilities and their customers. Barry Chuddy, General Manager of Business Development for TransAlta Energy discussed the advantages of recent cogeneration and district energy for municipal utilities in Ontario and Quebec, and expressed his support for incentive-based regulation based on a level playing field, competitive generation, and a reasonable charge for stranded assets. Toronto City Councillor Dan Leckie described cogeneration and district energy as a tremendous opportunity to reduce the cost of doing business in the city core through local job creation and by keeping money in the local economy. Karl Wahl, General Manager of Hydro Mississauga expressed optimism that the government will move expeditiously toward competition, choice and lower-cost supply. David McGarry, President of Elecsar Engineering of Sarnia spoke about the significant job creating potential that deregulation will bring to the electrical industry. He cited several examples from Ontario and British Columbia

  18. Performance of Denitrifying Bioreactors at Reducing  Agricultural Nitrogen Pollution in a Humid  Subtropical Coastal Plain Climate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy Rosen

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Denitrifying bioreactors are an agricultural best management practice developed in the  midwestern United States to treat agricultural drainage water enriched with nitrate‐nitrogen (NO3N. The practice is spreading rapidly to agricultural regions with poor water quality due to nutrient  enrichment. This makes it imperative to track bioreactor NO3‐N reduction efficiency as this practice  gets deployed to new regions. This study evaluated the application and performance of denitrifying  bioreactors in the humid subtropical coastal plain environment of the Chesapeake Bay catchment to  provide data about regionally specific NO3‐N reduction efficiencies. NO3‐N samples were taken  before  and  after  treatment  at  three  denitrifying  bioreactors,  in  addition  to  other  nutrients  (orthophosphate‐phosphorus,  PO4‐P;  ammonium‐nitrogen,  NH4‐N;  total  nitrogen,  TN;  total  phosphorus,  TP  and  water  quality  parameters  (dissolved  oxygen,  DO;  oxidation  reduction  potential,  ORP;  pH;  specific  conductance,  SPC.  Total  removal  ranged  drastically  between  bioreactors from 10 to 133 kg N, with removal efficiencies of 9.0% to 62% and N removal rates of  0.21 to 5.36 g N removed per m3 of bioreactor per day. As the first bioreactor study in the humid  subtropical coastal plain, this data provides positive proof of concept that denitrifying bioreactor is  another tool for reducing N loads in agricultural tile drainage in this region.

  19. Design and Validation of a Cyclic Strain Bioreactor to Condition Spatially-Selective Scaffolds in Dual Strain Regimes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Matthew Goodhart

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to design and validate a unique bioreactor design for applying spatially selective, linear, cyclic strain to degradable and non-degradable polymeric fabric scaffolds. This system uses a novel three-clamp design to apply cyclic strain via a computer controlled linear actuator to a specified zone of a scaffold while isolating the remainder of the scaffold from strain. Image analysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET woven scaffolds subjected to a 3% mechanical stretch demonstrated that the stretched portion of the scaffold experienced 2.97% ± 0.13% strain (mean ± standard deviation while the unstretched portion experienced 0.02% ± 0.18% strain. NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells were cultured on the PET scaffolds and half of each scaffold was stretched 5% at 0.5 Hz for one hour per day for 14 days in the bioreactor. Cells were checked for viability and proliferation at the end of the 14 day period and levels of glycosaminoglycan (GAG and collagen (hydroxyproline were measured as indicators of extracellular matrix production. Scaffolds in the bioreactor showed a seven-fold increase in cell number over scaffolds cultured statically in tissue culture plastic petri dishes (control. Bioreactor scaffolds showed a lower concentration of GAG deposition per cell as compared to the control scaffolds largely due to the great increase in cell number. A 75% increase in hydroxyproline concentration per cell was seen in the bioreactor stretched scaffolds as compared to the control scaffolds. Surprisingly, little differences were experienced between the stretched and unstretched portions of the scaffolds for this study. This was largely attributed to the conditioned and shared media effect. Results indicate that the bioreactor system is capable of applying spatially-selective, linear, cyclic strain to cells growing on polymeric fabric scaffolds and evaluating the cellular and matrix responses to the applied strains.

  20. Enhancing inhibited fermentations through a dynamic electro-membrane bioreactor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prado Rubio, Oscar Andres; Garde, Arvid; Rype, Jens-Ulrik

    produced in the bioreactor) with hydroxide ions, which maintained a pH close to optimal growing conditions. The ion-exchange was in turn regulated by a PID control unit, which adjusted the electrical current output between the REED electrodes to match the growing production speed of lactic acid, which...

  1. A knowledge-based control system for air-scour optimisation in membrane bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrero, G; Monclús, H; Sancho, L; Garrido, J M; Comas, J; Rodríguez-Roda, I

    2011-01-01

    Although membrane bioreactors (MBRs) technology is still a growing sector, its progressive implementation all over the world, together with great technical achievements, has allowed it to reach a mature degree, just comparable to other more conventional wastewater treatment technologies. With current energy requirements around 0.6-1.1 kWh/m3 of treated wastewater and investment costs similar to conventional treatment plants, main market niche for MBRs can be areas with very high restrictive discharge limits, where treatment plants have to be compact or where water reuse is necessary. Operational costs are higher than for conventional treatments; consequently there is still a need and possibilities for energy saving and optimisation. This paper presents the development of a knowledge-based decision support system (DSS) for the integrated operation and remote control of the biological and physical (filtration and backwashing or relaxation) processes in MBRs. The core of the DSS is a knowledge-based control module for air-scour consumption automation and energy consumption minimisation.

  2. Removal of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) from Municipal Waste Water with Integrated Membrane Systems, MBR-RO/NF.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yonggang; Wang, Xu; Li, Mingwei; Dong, Jing; Sun, Changhong; Chen, Guanyi

    2018-02-05

    This study focuses on the application of combining membrane bioreactor (MBR) treatment with reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF) membrane treatment for removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in municipal wastewater. Twenty-seven PPCPs were measured in real influent with lowest average concentration being trimethoprim (7.12 ng/L) and the highest being caffeine (18.4 ng/L). The results suggest that the MBR system effectively removes the PPCPs with an efficiency of between 41.08% and 95.41%, and that the integrated membrane systems, MBR-RO/NF, can achieve even higher removal rates of above 95% for most of them. The results also suggest that, due to the differences in removal mechanisms of NF/RO membrane, differences of removal rates exist. In this study, the combination of MBR-NF resulted in the removal of 13 compounds to below detection limits and MBR-RO achieved even better results with removal of 20 compounds to below detection limits.

  3. Modular 3D printed lab-on-a-chip bio-reactor for the biochemical energy cascade of microorganisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podwin, Agnieszka; Dziuban, Jan A.

    2017-10-01

    The paper presents the sandwiched polymer 3D printed lab-on-a-chip bio-reactor for the biochemical energy cascade of microorganisms. Euglenas and yeast were separately and simultaneously cultured for 10 d in the chip. As a result of the experiments, euglenas, light-initialized and nourished by CO2—a product of ethanol fermentation handled by yeast—generated oxygen, based on the photosynthesis process. The presence of oxygen in the bio-reactor was confirmed by the colorimetric method—a bicarbonate (pH) indicator. Preliminary studies towards the obtainment of an effective source of oxygen are promising and further research should be done to enable the utility of the bio-reactor in, for instance, microbial fuel cells.

  4. Modular 3D printed lab-on-a-chip bio-reactor for the biochemical energy cascade of microorganisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podwin, Agnieszka; Dziuban, Jan A

    2017-01-01

    The paper presents the sandwiched polymer 3D printed lab-on-a-chip bio-reactor for the biochemical energy cascade of microorganisms. Euglenas and yeast were separately and simultaneously cultured for 10 d in the chip. As a result of the experiments, euglenas, light-initialized and nourished by CO 2 —a product of ethanol fermentation handled by yeast—generated oxygen, based on the photosynthesis process. The presence of oxygen in the bio-reactor was confirmed by the colorimetric method—a bicarbonate (pH) indicator. Preliminary studies towards the obtainment of an effective source of oxygen are promising and further research should be done to enable the utility of the bio-reactor in, for instance, microbial fuel cells. (paper)

  5. Bio-layer management in anaerobic membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jeison, D.; Lier, van J.B.

    2006-01-01

    Membrane separation technology represents an alternative way to achieve biomass retention in anaerobic bioreactors for wastewater treatment. Due to high biomass concentrations of anaerobic reactors, cake formation is likely to represent a major cause of flux decline. In the presented research,

  6. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE GAS-LIQUID FLOW IN THE MEMBRANE MICROPORE AERATION BIOREACTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DONG LIU

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV has been developed to measure the typical two-phase flow of various work conditions in Membrane Micropore Aeration Bioreactor (MMAB. The fluid phase is separated out using image processing techniques, which provides accurate measurements for the Bioreactor’s flow field, and makes it possible for quantitative analysis of the momentum exchange, heat exchange and the process of micro-admixture. The experimental method PIV used in this paper can preferably measure the complex flow in the reactor and initiates a new approach for the bioreactor design which mainly depends on experience at present.

  7. Treatment of coal gasification wastewater by membrane bioreactor hybrid powdered activated carbon (MBR–PAC) system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Shengyong; Han, Hongjun; Hou, Baolin; Zhuang, Haifeng; Fang, Fang; Zhao, Qian

    2014-12-01

    A laboratory-scale membrane bioreactor hybrid powdered activated carbon (MBR–PAC) system was developed to treat coal gasification wastewater to enhance the COD, total phenols (TPh), NH4+ removals and migrate the membrane fouling. Since the MBR–PAC system operated with PAC dosage of 4 g L−1, the maximum removal efficiencies of COD, TPh and NH4+ reached 93%, 99% and 63%, respectively with the corresponding influent concentrations of 2.27 g L−1, 497 mg L−1 and 164 mg N L−1; the PAC extraction efficiencies of COD, TPh and NH4+ were 6%, 3% and 13%, respectively; the transmembrane pressure decreased 34% with PAC after 50 d operation. The results demonstrate that PAC played a key role in the enhancement of biodegradability and mitigation of membrane fouling.

  8. Cell culture experiments planned for the space bioreactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Dennis R.; Cross, John H.

    1987-01-01

    Culturing of cells in a pilot-scale bioreactor remains to be done in microgravity. An approach is presented based on several studies of cell culture systems. Previous and current cell culture research in microgravity which is specifically directed towards development of a space bioprocess is described. Cell culture experiments planned for a microgravity sciences mission are described in abstract form.

  9. UASB/flash aeration enable complete treatment of municipal wastewater for reuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Abid Ali; Gaur, Rubia Zahid; Lew, Beni; Diamantis, Vasileios; Mehrotra, Indu; Kazmi, A A

    2012-08-01

    A simple, efficient and cost-effective method for municipal wastewater treatment is examined in this paper. The municipal wastewater is treated using an upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor followed by flash aeration (FA) as the post-treatment, without implementing aerobic biological processes. The UASB reactor was operated without recycle, at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h and achieved consistent removal of BOD, COD and TSS of 60-70% for more than 12 months. The effect of FA on UASB effluent post-treatment was studied at different HRT (15, 30 and 60 min) and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations (low DO = 1-2 mg/L and high DO = 5-6 mg/L). The optimum conditions for BOD, COD and sulfide removal were 30-60 min HRT and high DO concentration inside the FA tank. The final effluent after clarification was characterized by BOD and COD values of 28-35 and 50-58 mg/L, respectively. Sulfides were removed by more than 80%, but the fecal coliform only by ~2 log. The UASB followed by FA is a simple and efficient process for municipal wastewater treatment, except for fecal coliform, enabling water and nutrients recycling to agriculture.

  10. An Update to Space Biomedical Research: Tissue Engineering in Microgravity Bioreactors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abolfazl Barzegari

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The severe need for constructing replacement tissues in organ transplantation has necessitated the development of tissue engineering approaches and bioreactors that can bring these approaches to reality. The inherent limitations of conventional bioreactors in generating realistic tissue constructs led to the devise of the microgravity tissue engineering that uses Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV bioreactors initially developed by NASA. Methods: In this review article, we intend to highlight some major advances and accomplishments in the rapidly-growing field of tissue engineering that could not be achieved without using microgravity. Results: Research is now focused on assembly of 3 dimensional (3D tissue fragments from various cell types in human body such as chondrocytes, osteoblasts, embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells, hepatocytes and pancreas islet cells. Hepatocytes cultured under microgravity are now being used in extracorporeal bioartificial liver devices. Tissue constructs can be used not only in organ replacement therapy, but also in pharmaco-toxicology and food safety assessment. 3D models of various cancers may be used in studying cancer development and biology or in high-throughput screening of anticancer drug candidates. Finally, 3D heterogeneous assemblies from cancer/immune cells provide models for immunotherapy of cancer. Conclusion: Tissue engineering in (simulated microgravity has been one of the stunning impacts of space research on biomedical sciences and their applications on earth.

  11. Application of high-throughput mini-bioreactor system for systematic scale-down modeling, process characterization, and control strategy development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janakiraman, Vijay; Kwiatkowski, Chris; Kshirsagar, Rashmi; Ryll, Thomas; Huang, Yao-Ming

    2015-01-01

    High-throughput systems and processes have typically been targeted for process development and optimization in the bioprocessing industry. For process characterization, bench scale bioreactors have been the system of choice. Due to the need for performing different process conditions for multiple process parameters, the process characterization studies typically span several months and are considered time and resource intensive. In this study, we have shown the application of a high-throughput mini-bioreactor system viz. the Advanced Microscale Bioreactor (ambr15(TM) ), to perform process characterization in less than a month and develop an input control strategy. As a pre-requisite to process characterization, a scale-down model was first developed in the ambr system (15 mL) using statistical multivariate analysis techniques that showed comparability with both manufacturing scale (15,000 L) and bench scale (5 L). Volumetric sparge rates were matched between ambr and manufacturing scale, and the ambr process matched the pCO2 profiles as well as several other process and product quality parameters. The scale-down model was used to perform the process characterization DoE study and product quality results were generated. Upon comparison with DoE data from the bench scale bioreactors, similar effects of process parameters on process yield and product quality were identified between the two systems. We used the ambr data for setting action limits for the critical controlled parameters (CCPs), which were comparable to those from bench scale bioreactor data. In other words, the current work shows that the ambr15(TM) system is capable of replacing the bench scale bioreactor system for routine process development and process characterization. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  12. Integrated sensor array for on-line monitoring micro bioreactors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Krommenhoek, E.E.

    2007-01-01

    The “Fed��?batch on a chip��?��?project, which was carried out in close cooperation with the Technical University of Delft, aims to miniaturize and parallelize micro bioreactors suitable for on-line screening of micro-organisms. This thesis describes an electrochemical sensor array which has been

  13. Lipase-supported metal-organic framework bioreactor catalyzes warfarin synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wan-Ling; Yang, Ni-Shin; Chen, Ya-Ting; Lirio, Stephen; Wu, Cheng-You; Lin, Chia-Her; Huang, Hsi-Ya

    2015-01-02

    A green and sustainable strategy synthesizes clinical medicine warfarin anticoagulant by using lipase-supported metal-organic framework (MOF) bioreactors (see scheme). These findings may be beneficial for future studies in the industrial production of chemical, pharmaceutical, and agrochemical precursors. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Hepatic Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in a Perfused Three-Dimensional Multicompartment Bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nora Freyer

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The hepatic differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC holds great potential for application in regenerative medicine, pharmacological drug screening, and toxicity testing. However, full maturation of hiPSC into functional hepatocytes has not yet been achieved. In this study, we investigated the potential of a dynamic three-dimensional (3D hollow fiber membrane bioreactor technology to improve the hepatic differentiation of hiPSC in comparison to static two-dimensional (2D cultures. A total of 100 × 106 hiPSC were seeded into each 3D bioreactor (n = 3. Differentiation into definitive endoderm (DE was induced by adding activin A, Wnt3a, and sodium butyrate to the culture medium. For further maturation, hepatocyte growth factor and oncostatin M were added. The same differentiation protocol was applied to hiPSC maintained in 2D cultures. Secretion of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP, a marker for DE, was significantly (p < 0.05 higher in 2D cultures, while secretion of albumin, a typical characteristic for mature hepatocytes, was higher after hepatic differentiation of hiPSC in 3D bioreactors. Functional analysis of multiple cytochrome P450 (CYP isoenzymes showed activity of CYP1A2, CYP2B6, and CYP3A4 in both groups, although at a lower level compared to primary human hepatocytes (PHH. CYP2B6 activities were significantly (p < 0.05 higher in 3D bioreactors compared with 2D cultures, which is in line with results from gene expression. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the majority of cells was positive for albumin, cytokeratin 18 (CK18, and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-alpha (HNF4A at the end of the differentiation process. In addition, cytokeratin 19 (CK19 staining revealed the formation of bile duct-like structures in 3D bioreactors similar to native liver tissue. The results indicate a better maturation of hiPSC in the 3D bioreactor system compared to 2D cultures and emphasize the potential of dynamic 3D culture

  15. Urban ecology and the municipal utilities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Susanne Balslev

    1998-01-01

    Current management of municipal utilities for energy, water and solid waste is often in conflict with the ideas of ecological demonstrationprojects. The writer argue there is a need of transformation within municipal utilities and a need of new planning tools......Current management of municipal utilities for energy, water and solid waste is often in conflict with the ideas of ecological demonstrationprojects. The writer argue there is a need of transformation within municipal utilities and a need of new planning tools...

  16. Hydrostatic pressure and shear stress affect endothelin-1 and nitric oxide release by endothelial cells in bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vozzi, Federico; Bianchi, Francesca; Ahluwalia, Arti; Domenici, Claudio

    2014-01-01

    Abundant experimental evidence demonstrates that endothelial cells are sensitive to flow; however, the effect of fluid pressure or pressure gradients that are used to drive viscous flow is not well understood. There are two principal physical forces exerted on the blood vessel wall by the passage of intra-luminal blood: pressure and shear. To analyze the effects of pressure and shear independently, these two stresses were applied to cultured cells in two different types of bioreactors: a pressure-controlled bioreactor and a laminar flow bioreactor, in which controlled levels of pressure or shear stress, respectively, can be generated. Using these bioreactor systems, endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) release from human umbilical vein endothelial cells were measured under various shear stress and pressure conditions. Compared to the controls, a decrease of ET-1 production by the cells cultured in both bioreactors was observed, whereas NO synthesis was up-regulated in cells under shear stress, but was not modulated by hydrostatic pressure. These results show that the two hemodynamic forces acting on blood vessels affect endothelial cell function in different ways, and that both should be considered when planning in vitro experiments in the presence of flow. Understanding the individual and synergic effects of the two forces could provide important insights into physiological and pathological processes involved in vascular remodeling and adaptation. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Municipal energy managers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    On 1 and 2 July, municipal energy managers from all over Europe met in Stuttgart, Germany. On these two days, more the 150 participants form 22 countries listened to presentations, took part in excursions to cutting-edge energy conservation projects in Stuttgart and, above all, participated in a broad array of workshops presented by experts firmly grounded in local practice. 27 experts drawn from 11 European countries showcased their projects and imparted their experience. The event has been accompanied by an exhibition of companies and service providers offering energy-conservation products and planning services. The first workshop dealt with energy management in Europe and examples from different active municipalities; the second one with energy management in Germany and best practice in the leading cities; the third one with non-municipal and European projects. (A.L.B.)

  18. Recycle bioreactor for bioethanol production from wheat starch. 1. Cold enzyme hydrolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lang, X.; Hill, G.A.; MacDonald, D.G. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Saskatchewan (Canada)

    2001-06-01

    A 5 L membrane bioreactor system has been designed and operated at low temperature to hydrolyze starch granules directly to sugars using barley {alpha}-amylase. The system includes a temperature and pH controlled, well-mixed bioreactor; microfilters to separate and recycle granules; and ultrafilters to separate and recycle enzyme molecules. Operation in batch mode demonstrated similar kinetics and low productivity observed earlier in shake flasks, whereas continuous flow operation was not successful due to enzyme inhibition and degradation. Sequential batch mode operation, involving filtration after each batch hydrolysis, produced optimum productivity measured at 0.16 grams of starch granules hydrolyzed per gram of enzyme per hour for more than 100 hours of operation. (author)

  19. Research and development on municipal Wastewater treatment processes using electron beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashiwaya, Mamoru

    1994-01-01

    This paper was described concerning the experimental results and their engineering evaluations on electron beam irradiation treatment to effluent and sludge produced in existing municipal wastewater treatment plants implemented by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute and the study committee for past five years. Laboratory tests using an electron accelerator were carried out for the purposes of disinfection both to effluent and to dewatered sludge. And composting tests by a pilot-plant were also carried out to find the optimal conditions on design and operation, and initial and operational cost estimations for pelletized sludge with/without the irradiation. It was found that these applications to effluent, sludge and supernatant were quite effective. However, several problems awaiting solution were found from the tests and evaluating works on the matters of marketed electron accelerators. As the results of tests and evaluating works, electron beam irradiation treatment process applied to effluent should be carried out at the municipal wastewater treatment plants. Regenerated granular activated carbon treated by electron beam irradiation may also be applicable to remove hazardous organic substances in effluent. However, long-term tests by pilotplants will be necessary to determine the design criteria, operation and maintenance conditions, and so on. For composting of dewatered sludge produced at municipal wastewater treatment plants, several sizes of smaller electron accelerator are required to be on the market. Especially, medium and small sizes municipalities expect to install composting facilities in the plant. (J.P.N.)

  20. Critical Review of Membrane Bioreactor Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Naessens, W.; Maere, T.; Ratkovich, Nicolas Rios

    2012-01-01

    Membrane bioreactor technology exists for a couple of decades, but has not yet overwhelmed the market due to some serious drawbacks of which operational cost due to fouling is the major contributor. Knowledge buildup and optimisation for such complex systems can heavily benefit from mathematical...... modelling. In this paper, the vast literature on hydrodynamic and integrated modelling in MBR is critically reviewed. Hydrodynamic models are used at different scales and focus mainly on fouling and only little on system design/optimisation. Integrated models also focus on fouling although the ones...

  1. The importance of bicarbonate and nonbicarbonate buffer systems in batch and continuous flow bioreactors for articular cartilage tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Aasma A; Surrao, Denver C

    2012-05-01

    In cartilage tissue engineering an optimized culture system, maintaining an appropriate extracellular environment (e.g., pH of media), can increase cell proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation. We have previously reported on a continuous-flow bioreactor that improves tissue growth by supplying the cells with a near infinite supply of medium. Previous studies have observed that acidic environments reduce ECM synthesis and chondrocyte proliferation. Hence, in this study we investigated the combined effects of a continuous culture system (bioreactor) together with additional buffering agents (e.g., sodium bicarbonate [NaHCO₃]) on cartilaginous tissue growth in vitro. Isolated bovine chondrocytes were grown in three-dimensional cultures, either in static conditions or in a continuous-flow bioreactor, in media with or without NaHCO₃. Tissue constructs cultivated in the bioreactor with NaHCO₃-supplemented media were characterized with significantly increased (p<0.05) ECM accumulation (glycosaminoglycans a 98-fold increase; collagen a 25-fold increase) and a 13-fold increase in cell proliferation, in comparison with static cultures. Additionally, constructs grown in the bioreactor with NaHCO₃-supplemented media were significantly thicker than all other constructs (p<0.05). Further, the chondrocytes from the primary construct expanded and synthesized ECM, forming a secondary construct without a separate expansion phase, with a diameter and thickness of 4 mm and 0.72 mm respectively. Tissue outgrowth was negligible in all other culturing conditions. Thus this study demonstrates the advantage of employing a continuous flow bioreactor coupled with NaHCO₃ supplemented media for articular cartilage tissue engineering.

  2. Production of diosgenin from Dioscorea zingiberensis with mixed culture in a new tray bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yutong Cheng

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available A new tray bioreactor was developed for the production of diosgenin from Dioscorea zingiberensis with Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus fumigatus. The influence of initial moisture content, temperature, tray bed depth and mixing times was investigated. The best fermentation condition is initial moisture content of 75%, bioreactor temperature of 35°C, solid bed depth of 1.5 cm and three mixings carrying out on the first, third and fifth day. Under the optimized fermentation conditions, after 144 h incubation, maximum diogenin concentration of 68.2 μmol/g was detected.

  3. Bioreactor production of recombinant herpes simplex virus vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knop, David R; Harrell, Heather

    2007-01-01

    Serotypical application of herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors to gene therapy (type 1) and prophylactic vaccines (types 1 and 2) has garnered substantial clinical interest recently. HSV vectors and amplicons have also been employed as helper virus constructs for manufacture of the dependovirus adeno-associated virus (AAV). Large quantities of infectious HSV stocks are requisite for these therapeutic applications, requiring a scalable vector manufacturing and processing platform comprised of unit operations which accommodate the fragility of HSV. In this study, production of a replication deficient rHSV-1 vector bearing the rep and cap genes of AAV-2 (denoted rHSV-rep2/cap2) was investigated. Adaptation of rHSV production from T225 flasks to a packed bed, fed-batch bioreactor permitted an 1100-fold increment in total vector production without a decrease in specific vector yield (pfu/cell). The fed-batch bioreactor system afforded a rHSV-rep2/cap2 vector recovery of 2.8 x 10(12) pfu. The recovered vector was concentrated by tangential flow filtration (TFF), permitting vector stocks to be formulated at greater than 1.5 x 10(9) pfu/mL.

  4. Glyco-engineering for biopharmaceutical production in moss bioreactors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva L. Decker

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The production of recombinant biopharmaceuticals (pharmaceutical proteins is a strongly growing area in the pharmaceutical industry. While most products to date are produced in mammalian cell cultures, namely CHO cells, plant-based production systems gained increasing acceptance over the last years. Different plant systems have been established which are suitable for standardization and precise control of cultivation conditions, thus meeting the criteria for pharmaceutical production.The majority of biopharmaceuticals comprise glycoproteins. Therefore, differences in protein glycosylation between humans and plants have to be taken into account and plant-specific glycosylation has to be eliminated to avoid adverse effects on quality, safety and efficacy of the products.The basal land plant Physcomitrella patens (moss has been employed for the recombinant production of high-value therapeutic target proteins (e.g., Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, Complement Factor H, monoclonal antibodies, Erythropoietin. Being genetically excellently characterized and exceptionally amenable for precise gene targeting via homologous recombination, essential steps for the optimization of moss as a bioreactor for the production of recombinant proteins have been undertaken.Here, we discuss the glyco-engineering approaches to avoid non-human N- and O-glycosylation on target proteins produced in moss bioreactors.

  5. New bioreactor vessel for tissue engineering of human nasal septal chondrocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Princz Sascha

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Cultivation of human nasal septal chondrocytes in a self-established automated bioreactor system with a new designed reactor glass vessel and the results of a computational fluid dynamics model are presented. The first results show the effect of a homogeneous fluidic condition of the continuous medium flow and the resulting stresses on the scaffolds’ surface and their influence on the migration of the cells into the scaffold matrix under these conditions. For this purpose computational models, generated with the computational fluid dynamics software STAR-CCM+, and the results of alcian blue staining for newly synthesized sulphated glycosaminoglycans have been compared during cultivation in the new and a first version of the glass reactor vessel with inhomogeneous fluidic conditions, with the same automated bioreactor system and under similar cultivation conditions.

  6. Predictive control of hollow-fiber bioreactors for the production of monoclonal antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dowd, J E; Weber, I; Rodriguez, B; Piret, J M; Kwok, K E

    1999-05-20

    The selection of medium feed rates for perfusion bioreactors represents a challenge for process optimization, particularly in bioreactors that are sampled infrequently. When the present and immediate future of a bioprocess can be adequately described, predictive control can minimize deviations from set points in a manner that can maximize process consistency. Predictive control of perfusion hollow-fiber bioreactors was investigated in a series of hybridoma cell cultures that compared operator control to computer estimation of feed rates. Adaptive software routines were developed to estimate the current and predict the future glucose uptake and lactate production of the bioprocess at each sampling interval. The current and future glucose uptake rates were used to select the perfusion feed rate in a designed response to deviations from the set point values. The routines presented a graphical user interface through which the operator was able to view the up-to-date culture performance and assess the model description of the immediate future culture performance. In addition, fewer samples were taken in the computer-estimated cultures, reducing labor and analytical expense. The use of these predictive controller routines and the graphical user interface decreased the glucose and lactate concentration variances up to sevenfold, and antibody yields increased by 10% to 43%. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  7. Evaluating the efficiency of municipalities in collecting and processing municipal solid waste: A shared input DEA-model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogge, Nicky; De Jaeger, Simon

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Complexity in local waste management calls for more in depth efficiency analysis. ► Shared-input Data Envelopment Analysis can provide solution. ► Considerable room for the Flemish municipalities to improve their cost efficiency. - Abstract: This paper proposed an adjusted “shared-input” version of the popular efficiency measurement technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that enables evaluating municipality waste collection and processing performances in settings in which one input (waste costs) is shared among treatment efforts of multiple municipal solid waste fractions. The main advantage of this version of DEA is that it not only provides an estimate of the municipalities overall cost efficiency but also estimates of the municipalities’ cost efficiency in the treatment of the different fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW). To illustrate the practical usefulness of the shared input DEA-model, we apply the model to data on 293 municipalities in Flanders, Belgium, for the year 2008.

  8. In Vitro Model for Hepatotoxicity Studies Based on Primary Human Hepatocyte Cultivation in a Perfused 3D Bioreactor System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knöspel, Fanny; Jacobs, Frank; Freyer, Nora; Damm, Georg; De Bondt, An; van den Wyngaert, Ilse; Snoeys, Jan; Monshouwer, Mario; Richter, Marco; Strahl, Nadja; Seehofer, Daniel; Zeilinger, Katrin

    2016-04-16

    Accurate prediction of the potential hepatotoxic nature of new pharmaceuticals remains highly challenging. Therefore, novel in vitro models with improved external validity are needed to investigate hepatic metabolism and timely identify any toxicity of drugs in humans. In this study, we examined the effects of diclofenac, as a model substance with a known risk of hepatotoxicity in vivo, in a dynamic multi-compartment bioreactor using primary human liver cells. Biotransformation pathways of the drug and possible effects on metabolic activities, morphology and cell transcriptome were evaluated. Formation rates of diclofenac metabolites were relatively stable over the application period of seven days in bioreactors exposed to 300 µM diclofenac (300 µM bioreactors (300 µM BR)), while in bioreactors exposed to 1000 µM diclofenac (1000 µM BR) metabolite concentrations declined drastically. The biochemical data showed a significant decrease in lactate production and for the higher dose a significant increase in ammonia secretion, indicating a dose-dependent effect of diclofenac application. The microarray analyses performed revealed a stable hepatic phenotype of the cells over time and the observed transcriptional changes were in line with functional readouts of the system. In conclusion, the data highlight the suitability of the bioreactor technology for studying the hepatotoxicity of drugs in vitro.

  9. In Vitro Model for Hepatotoxicity Studies Based on Primary Human Hepatocyte Cultivation in a Perfused 3D Bioreactor System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fanny Knöspel

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Accurate prediction of the potential hepatotoxic nature of new pharmaceuticals remains highly challenging. Therefore, novel in vitro models with improved external validity are needed to investigate hepatic metabolism and timely identify any toxicity of drugs in humans. In this study, we examined the effects of diclofenac, as a model substance with a known risk of hepatotoxicity in vivo, in a dynamic multi-compartment bioreactor using primary human liver cells. Biotransformation pathways of the drug and possible effects on metabolic activities, morphology and cell transcriptome were evaluated. Formation rates of diclofenac metabolites were relatively stable over the application period of seven days in bioreactors exposed to 300 µM diclofenac (300 µM bioreactors (300 µM BR, while in bioreactors exposed to 1000 µM diclofenac (1000 µM BR metabolite concentrations declined drastically. The biochemical data showed a significant decrease in lactate production and for the higher dose a significant increase in ammonia secretion, indicating a dose-dependent effect of diclofenac application. The microarray analyses performed revealed a stable hepatic phenotype of the cells over time and the observed transcriptional changes were in line with functional readouts of the system. In conclusion, the data highlight the suitability of the bioreactor technology for studying the hepatotoxicity of drugs in vitro.

  10. Mathematical modeling of wastewater decolorization in a trickle-bed bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skybová, T; Přibyl, M; Pocedič, J; Hasal, P

    2012-02-20

    This work focuses on mathematical modeling of removal of organic dyes from textile industry waste waters by a white-rot fungus Irpex lacteus in a trickle-bed bioreactor. We developed a mathematical model of biomass and decolorization process dynamics. The model comprises mass balances of glucose and the dye in a fungal biofilm and a liquid film. The biofilm is modeled using a spatially two-dimensional domain. The liquid film is considered as homogeneous in the direction normal to the biofilm surface. The biomass growth, decay and the erosion of the biofilm are taken into account. Using experimental data, we identified values of key model parameters: the dye degradation rate constant, biofilm corrugation factor and liquid velocity. Considering the dye degradation rate constant 1×10⁻⁵ kg m⁻³ s⁻¹, we found optimal values of the corrugation factor 0.853 and 0.59 and values of the liquid velocity 5.23×10⁻³ m s⁻¹ and 6.2×10⁻³ m s⁻¹ at initial dye concentrations 0.09433 kg m⁻³ and 0.05284 kg m⁻³, respectively. A good agreement between the simulated and experimental data using estimated values of the model parameters was achieved. The model can be used to simulate the performance of laboratory scale trickle-bed bioreactor operated in a batch regime or to estimate values of principal parameters of the bioreactor system. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Innovation Management in Swedish Municipalities

    OpenAIRE

    Wihlman, Thomas; Hoppe, Magnus; Wihlman, Ulla; Sandmark, Hélène

    2016-01-01

    Research on public sector innovation is still limited, and increased knowledge of innovation processes is needed. This article is a based on a study of the implementation of innovation policies in Swedish municipalities, and gives a first-hand, empirical view of some of the complexities of innovation in the public sector. The study took place in four municipalities in central Sweden. The municipalities varied in size and organisational forms. Interviews and policy documents were used for data...

  12. Energy and greenhouse gas life cycle assessment and cost analysis of aerobic and anaerobic membrane bioreactor systems: Influence of scale, population density, climate, and methane recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    This study calculated the energy and greenhouse gas life cycle and cost profiles of transitional aerobic membrane bioreactors (AeMBR) and anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR). Membrane bioreactors (MBR) represent a promising technology for decentralized wastewater treatment and...

  13. 3D perfusion bioreactor-activated porous granules on implant fixation and early bone formation in sheep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Ming; Henriksen, Susan S; Martinetti, Roberta; Overgaard, Søren

    2017-11-01

    Early fixation of total joint arthroplasties is crucial for ensuring implant survival. An alternative bone graft material in revision surgery is needed to replace the current gold standard, allograft, seeing that the latter is associated with several disadvantages. The incubation of such a construct in a perfusion bioreactor has been shown to produce viable bone graft materials. This study aimed at producing larger amounts of viable bone graft material (hydroxyapatite 70% and β-tricalcium-phosphate 30%) in a novel perfusion bioreactor. The abilities of the bioreactor-activated graft material to induce early implant fixation were tested in a bilateral implant defect model in sheep, with allograft as the control group. Defects were bilaterally created in the distal femurs of the animals, and titanium implants were inserted. The concentric gaps around the implants were randomly filled with either allograft, granules, granules with bone marrow aspirate or bioreactor-activated graft material. Following an observation time of 6 weeks, early implant fixation and bone formation were assessed by micro-CT scanning, mechanical testing, and histomorphometry. Bone formations were seen in all groups, while no significant differences between groups were found regarding early implant fixation. The microarchitecture of the bone formed by the synthetic graft materials resembled that of allograft. Histomorphometry revealed that allograft induced significantly more bone and less fibrous tissue (p formation was observed in all groups, while the bioreactor-activated graft material did not reveal additional effects on early implant fixation comparable to allograft in this model. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 2465-2476, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. CONSTRUCTION OF MODULAR FIELD-BIOREACTOR FOR ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT

    Science.gov (United States)

    The paper focuses on the improvements to engineered features of a passive technology that has been used for remediation of acid rock drainage (ARD). This passive remedial technology, a sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) bioreactor, takes advantage of the ability of SRB that, if sup...

  15. COMPOST-FREE BIOREACTOR TREATMENT OF ACID ROCK DRAINAGE - TECHNOLOGY CAPSULE

    Science.gov (United States)

    As part of the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program, an evaluation of the compost-free bioreactor treatment of acid rock drainage (ARD) from the Aspen Seep was conducted at the Leviathan Mine Superfund site located in a remote, high altitude area of Alpine Co...

  16. Adaptive Municipal e-forms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuiper, P.M.; van Dijk, Elisabeth M.A.G.; Boerma, A.K.; Weibelzahl, S.; Cristea, A.

    2006-01-01

    Adaptation of electronic forms seems to be a step forward to reduce the burden for people who fill in forms. Municipalities more and more offer eforms online that can be used to request a municipal product or service. To create adaptive e-forms that satisfy the need of end-users, involvement of

  17. A novel customizable modular bioreactor system for whole-heart cultivation under controlled 3D biomechanical stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hülsmann, Jörn; Aubin, Hug; Kranz, Alexander; Godehardt, Erhardt; Munakata, Hiroshi; Kamiya, Hiroyuki; Barth, Mareike; Lichtenberg, Artur; Akhyari, Payam

    2013-09-01

    In the last decade, cardiovascular tissue engineering has made great progress developing new strategies for regenerative medicine applications. However, while tissue engineered heart valves are already entering the clinical routine, tissue engineered myocardial substitutes are still restrained to experimental approaches. In contrast to the heart valves, tissue engineered myocardium cannot be repopulated in vivo because of its biological complexity, requiring elaborate cultivation conditions ex vivo. Although new promising approaches-like the whole-heart decellularization concept-have entered the myocardial tissue engineering field, bioreactor technology needed for the generation of functional myocardial tissue still lags behind in the sense of user-friendly, flexible and low cost systems. Here, we present a novel customizable modular bioreactor system that can be used for whole-heart cultivation. Out of a commercially obtainable original equipment manufacturer platform we constructed a modular bioreactor system specifically aimed at the cultivation of decellularized whole-hearts through perfusion and controlled 3D biomechanical stimulation with a simple but highly flexible operation platform based on LabVIEW. The modular setup not only allows a wide range of variance regarding medium conditioning under controlled 3D myocardial stretching but can also easily be upgraded for e.g. electrophysiological monitoring or stimulation, allowing for a tailor-made low-cost myocardial bioreactor system.

  18. Gas hold-up and oxygen mass transfer in three pneumatic bioreactors operating with sugarcane bagasse suspensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esperança, M N; Cunha, F M; Cerri, M O; Zangirolami, T C; Farinas, C S; Badino, A C

    2014-05-01

    Sugarcane bagasse is a low-cost and abundant by-product generated by the bioethanol industry, and is a potential substrate for cellulolytic enzyme production. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of air flow rate (QAIR), solids loading (%S), sugarcane bagasse type, and particle size on the gas hold-up (εG) and volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (kLa) in three different pneumatic bioreactors, using response surface methodology. Concentric tube airlift (CTA), split-cylinder airlift (SCA), and bubble column (BC) bioreactor types were tested. QAIR and %S affected oxygen mass transfer positively and negatively, respectively, while sugarcane bagasse type and particle size (within the range studied) did not influence kLa. Using large particles of untreated sugarcane bagasse, the loop-type bioreactors (CTA and SCA) exhibited higher mass transfer, compared to the BC reactor. At higher %S, SCA presented a higher kLa value (0.0448 s−1) than CTA, and the best operational conditions in terms of oxygen mass transfer were achieved for %S 27.0 L min−1. These results demonstrated that pneumatic bioreactors can provide elevated oxygen transfer in the presence of vegetal biomass, making them an excellent option for use in three-phase systems for cellulolytic enzyme production by filamentous fungi.

  19. Bioprocess development for kefiran production by Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens in semi industrial scale bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Joe Dailin

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens is non-pathogenic gram positive bacteria isolated from kefir grains and able to produce extracellular exopolysaccharides named kefiran. This polysaccharide contains approximately equal amounts of glucose and galactose. Kefiran has wide applications in pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, an approach has been extensively studied to increase kefiran production for pharmaceutical application in industrial scale. The present work aims to maximize kefiran production through the optimization of medium composition and production in semi industrial scale bioreactor. The composition of the optimal medium for kefiran production contained sucrose, yeast extract and K2HPO4 at 20.0, 6.0, 0.25 g L−1, respectively. The optimized medium significantly increased both cell growth and kefiran production by about 170.56% and 58.02%, respectively, in comparison with the unoptimized medium. Furthermore, the kinetics of cell growth and kefiran production in batch culture of L. kefiranofaciens was investigated under un-controlled pH conditions in 16-L scale bioreactor. The maximal cell mass in bioreactor culture reached 2.76 g L−1 concomitant with kefiran production of 1.91 g L−1.

  20. Bioprocess development for kefiran production by Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens in semi industrial scale bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dailin, Daniel Joe; Elsayed, Elsayed Ahmed; Othman, Nor Zalina; Malek, Roslinda; Phin, Hiew Siaw; Aziz, Ramlan; Wadaan, Mohamad; El Enshasy, Hesham Ali

    2016-07-01

    Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens is non-pathogenic gram positive bacteria isolated from kefir grains and able to produce extracellular exopolysaccharides named kefiran. This polysaccharide contains approximately equal amounts of glucose and galactose. Kefiran has wide applications in pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, an approach has been extensively studied to increase kefiran production for pharmaceutical application in industrial scale. The present work aims to maximize kefiran production through the optimization of medium composition and production in semi industrial scale bioreactor. The composition of the optimal medium for kefiran production contained sucrose, yeast extract and K2HPO4 at 20.0, 6.0, 0.25 g L(-1), respectively. The optimized medium significantly increased both cell growth and kefiran production by about 170.56% and 58.02%, respectively, in comparison with the unoptimized medium. Furthermore, the kinetics of cell growth and kefiran production in batch culture of L. kefiranofaciens was investigated under un-controlled pH conditions in 16-L scale bioreactor. The maximal cell mass in bioreactor culture reached 2.76 g L(-1) concomitant with kefiran production of 1.91 g L(-1).