Disintegration of Wastewater Activated Sludge (WAS) for Improved Biogas Production

Due to rapid urbanization, the number of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) has increased, and so has the associated waste generated by them. Sustainable management of this waste can lead to the creation of energy-rich biogas via fermentation processes. This review presents recent advances in the anaerobic digestion processes that have led to greater biogas production. Disintegration techniques for enhancing the fermentation of waste activated sludge can be apportioned into biological, physical and chemical means, which are included in this review; they were mainly compared and contrasted in terms of the ensuing biogas yield. It was found that ultrasonic- and microwave-assisted disintegration provides the highest biogas yield (>500%) although they tend to be the most energy demanding processes (>10,000 kJ kg−1 total solids).

[1]  A. Tiehm,et al.  Ultrasonic waste activated sludge disintegration for improving anaerobic stabilization. , 2001, Water research.

[2]  J. Baeyens,et al.  A review of classic Fenton's peroxidation as an advanced oxidation technique. , 2003, Journal of hazardous materials.

[3]  I. Ferrer,et al.  Optimization of the hydrolytic-acidogenic anaerobic digestion stage ( 55 1 o C ) of sewage sludge : influence of pH and solid content 2 3 , 2016 .

[4]  C. Gokcay,et al.  Enhancement of bio-gas production and xenobiotics degradation during anaerobic sludge digestion by ozone treated feed sludge. , 2013 .

[5]  W. Wonglertarak,et al.  Alkaline Pretreatment of Waste Activated Sludge in Anaerobic Digestion , 2014 .

[6]  K. Grübel,et al.  Considerations of Impact of Venturi Effect on Mesophilic Digestion , 2015 .

[7]  Xavier Font,et al.  Optimization of the hydrolytic-acidogenic anaerobic digestion stage (55 degrees C) of sewage sludge: influence of pH and solid content. , 2008, Water research.

[8]  Xuebin Lu,et al.  Influence of NaOH and thermal pretreatment on dewatered activated sludge solubilisation and subsequent anaerobic digestion: Focused on high-solid state. , 2015, Bioresource technology.

[9]  J. Kopp,et al.  Effects of disintegration on anaerobic degradation of sewage excess sludge in downflow stationary fixed film digesters. , 2000, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[10]  Jingping Hu,et al.  Synergetic conditioning of sewage sludge via Fe2+/persulfate and skeleton builder: Effect on sludge characteristics and dewaterability , 2015 .

[11]  Jong-In Han,et al.  The effects of waste-activated sludge pretreatment using hydrodynamic cavitation for methane production. , 2013, Ultrasonics sonochemistry.

[12]  G. Zeeman,et al.  Pretreatments to enhance the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[13]  Moktar Hamdi,et al.  Effect of thermal pretreatment on the biogas production and microbial communities balance during anaerobic digestion of urban and industrial waste activated sludge. , 2016, Bioresource technology.

[14]  Wei Wang,et al.  Ultrasonic treatment of biological sludge: Floc disintegration, cell lysis and inactivation. , 2007, Bioresource technology.

[15]  Isidre Ferrer,et al.  Enhancement of Thermophilic Anaerobic Sludge Digestion by70ºC Pre-Treatment: Energy Considerations , 2009 .

[16]  W. Gujer,et al.  Conversion processes in anaerobic digestion , 1983 .

[17]  Aniruddha B. Pandit,et al.  Modeling hydrodynamic cavitation , 1999 .

[18]  H. Carrère,et al.  Combination of Thermal Treatments and Anaerobic Digestion to Reduce Sewage Sludge Quantity and Improve Biogas Yield , 2006 .

[19]  S. Hasegawa,et al.  Solubilization of organic sludge by thermophilic aerobic bacteria as a pretreatment for anaerobic digestion. , 2000, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[20]  E. Dey,et al.  Enhanced efficiency of industrial-scale anaerobic digestion by the addition of glycosidic enzymes , 2008, Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering.

[21]  J. M. Chimenos,et al.  The role of additives on anaerobic digestion: a review , 2016 .

[22]  Yixing Yuan,et al.  Two-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion from waste activated sludge enhanced by low-temperature thermal hydrolysis , 2016 .

[23]  M. Casellas,et al.  Pre-treatment of activated sludge: Effect of sonication on aerobic and anaerobic digestibility , 2009 .

[24]  Ronja Beijer.  Enzymatic treatement of wastewater sludge in presence of a cation binding agent : improved solubilisation and increased methane production , 2008 .

[25]  R. K. Saray,et al.  Evaluation of thermal pretreatment and digestion temperature rise in a biogas fueled combined cooling, heat, and power system using exergo-economic analysis , 2018 .

[26]  Anastasia Zabaniotou,et al.  Utilization of sewage sludge in EU application of old and new methods--A review , 2008 .

[27]  Dieter Deublein,et al.  Biogas from Waste and Renewable Resources: An Introduction , 2008 .

[28]  M. Carballa,et al.  Influence of ozone pre-treatment on sludge anaerobic digestion: removal of pharmaceutical and personal care products. , 2007, Chemosphere.

[29]  Hélène Carrère,et al.  Thermal, chemical and thermo-chemical pre-treatment of waste activated sludge for anaerobic digestion. , 2004 .

[30]  Alfredo Córdova Lizama,et al.  Effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on the semicontinuous anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge with increasing loading rates , 2018 .

[31]  Youcai Zhao,et al.  Overview of pretreatment strategies for enhancing sewage sludge disintegration and subsequent anaerobic digestion: Current advances, full-scale application and future perspectives , 2017 .

[32]  William H. Glaze,et al.  The Chemistry of Water Treatment Processes Involving Ozone, Hydrogen Peroxide and Ultraviolet Radiation , 1987 .

[33]  Sheng Chang,et al.  Biological hydrolysis pretreatment on secondary sludge: Enhancement of anaerobic digestion and mechanism study. , 2017, Bioresource technology.

[34]  Fengqin Wang,et al.  Application of advanced oxidation methods for landfill leachate treatment – A review , 2003 .

[35]  R. Rosal,et al.  Ozonation as pre-treatment of activated sludge process of a wastewater containing benzalkonium chloride and NiO nanoparticles , 2016 .

[36]  R. Cossu,et al.  Effectiveness of aerobic pretreatment of municipal solid waste for accelerating biogas generation during simulated landfilling , 2018, Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering.

[37]  A. Battimelli,et al.  Anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge combined with ozone post-treatment and recycling. , 2003, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[38]  D. Karakashev,et al.  Microwave and thermal pretreatment as methods for increasing the biogas potential of secondary sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants. , 2013, Bioresource Technology.

[39]  S. Sawayama,et al.  Enhancement of Biogas Production from Sewage Sludge with the Addition of Geobacillus sp. Strain AT1 Culture , 2004 .

[40]  Talat Mahmood,et al.  Pretreatment technologies for advancing anaerobic digestion of pulp and paper biotreatment residues. , 2007, Water research.

[41]  O. E. Monayeri,et al.  EFFECT OF THERMAL PRETREATMENT ON THE SOLUBILIZATION OF ORGANIC MATTERS IN A MIXTURE OF PRIMARY AND WASTE ACTIVATED SLUDGE , 2015 .

[42]  Saija Rasi,et al.  Trace compounds of biogas from different biogas production plants. , 2007 .

[43]  K. Nakamura,et al.  Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of thermal pretreated sludge: role of microbial community structure and correlation with process performances. , 2015, Water research.

[44]  A. Machnicka,et al.  Use of Hydrodynamic Disintegration to Accelerate Anaerobic Digestion of Surplus Activated Sludge , 2009, Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation.

[45]  P. Jeníček,et al.  Thermophilic versus Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge: A Comparative Review , 2016, Bioengineering.

[46]  X. Y. Li,et al.  Influence of loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on the flocculation, sedimentation and dewaterability of activated sludge. , 2007, Water research.

[47]  Zhiguo Yuan,et al.  Enhancing methane production from waste activated sludge using combined free nitrous acid and heat pre-treatment. , 2014, Water research.

[48]  B. Aylin Alagöz,et al.  Ultrasound assisted biogas production from co-digestion of wastewater sludges and agricultural wastes: Comparison with microwave pre-treatment. , 2018, Ultrasonics sonochemistry.

[49]  M. Barjenbruch,et al.  Enzymatic, mechanical and thermal pre-treatment of surplus sludge , 2003 .

[50]  R. Borja,et al.  Increase in biogas production in anaerobic sludge digestion by combining aerobic hydrolysis and addition of metallic wastes , 2018, Renewable Energy.

[51]  Shizong Wang,et al.  Activation of peroxymonosulfate by sludge-derived biochar for the degradation of triclosan in water and wastewater , 2019, Chemical Engineering Journal.

[52]  J. Jansen,et al.  Alternative Method for Sludge Reduction Using Commercial Enzymes. , 2003 .

[53]  K. Ahn,et al.  Effects of ozone treatment on the biodegradability of sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants. , 2002, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[54]  I. Yeom,et al.  Nano‐layered TiO2 for effective bacterial disintegration of waste activated sludge and biogas production , 2018 .

[55]  Richard A. Brown,et al.  In Situ Chemical Oxidation: Technology Description and Status , 2011 .

[56]  D. Silvestri,et al.  A new method for assessment of the sludge disintegration degree with the use of differential centrifugal sedimentation , 2019, Environmental technology.

[57]  P. Zhou,et al.  New insights into the enhancement of biochemical degradation potential from waste activated sludge with low organic content by Potassium Monopersulfate treatment. , 2018, Bioresource technology.

[58]  K. Grübel,et al.  Improving of anaerobic digestion by dry ice disintegration of activated sludge , 2014 .

[59]  N. Eshtiaghi,et al.  Improvement of anaerobic digestion of sewage mixed sludge using free nitrous acid and Fenton pre-treatment , 2018, Biotechnology for Biofuels.

[60]  P. Lant,et al.  Decreasing activated sludge thermal hydrolysis temperature reduces product colour, without decreasing degradability. , 2008, Water research.

[61]  K. Kennedy,et al.  Improving biogas production from anaerobic co-digestion of Thickened Waste Activated Sludge (TWAS) and fat, oil and grease (FOG) using a dual-stage hyper-thermophilic/thermophilic semi-continuous reactor. , 2018, Journal of environmental management.

[62]  M. Martín,et al.  Evaluation of the improvement of sonication pre-treatment in the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. , 2015, Journal of environmental management.

[63]  M. Spérandio,et al.  Technical and Economical Evaluation of a Thermal, and Two Oxidative Techniques for the Reduction of Excess Sludge Production , 2006 .

[64]  G. Zeng,et al.  Roles of acid-producing bacteria in anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge , 2018, Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering.

[65]  Xavier Font,et al.  Long term operation of a thermophilic anaerobic reactor: process stability and efficiency at decreasing sludge retention time. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[66]  I. Yeom,et al.  Biological pretreatment of non-flocculated sludge augments the biogas production in the anaerobic digestion of the pretreated waste activated sludge , 2013, Environmental technology.

[67]  Y. Zhuo,et al.  Energy efficiency of pre-treating excess sewage sludge with microwave irradiation. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[68]  Zhiwei Zhao,et al.  Effect of endogenous hydrolytic enzymes pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of sludge. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[69]  M. Anjum,et al.  Visible light photocatalytic disintegration of waste activated sludge for enhancing biogas production. , 2017, Journal of environmental management.

[70]  A. Pandit,et al.  Experimental quantification of chemical effects of hydrodynamic cavitation , 2000 .

[71]  H. Tsuno,et al.  Advanced sewage treatment process with excess sludge reduction and phosphorus recovery. , 2005, Water research.

[72]  M. Dębowski,et al.  Application of an Innovative Ultrasound Disintegrator for Sewage Sludge Conditioning Before Methane Fermentation , 2018, Journal of Ecological Engineering.

[73]  Yongzhong Feng,et al.  Review on Research Achievements of Biogas from Anaerobic Digestion , 2016 .

[74]  J. Müller,et al.  Prospects and problems of sludge pre-treatment processes. , 2001, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[75]  H. Woo,et al.  Maximization of volatile fatty acids production from alginate in acidogenesis. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[76]  Changgeng Liu,et al.  Sulfate radical-based oxidation for sludge treatment: A review , 2018 .

[77]  Y. N. A. Soh,et al.  Transformation of dissolved organic matters produced from alkaline-ultrasonic sludge pretreatment in anaerobic digestion: From macro to micro. , 2018, Water research.

[78]  I. Oller,et al.  Combination of Advanced Oxidation Processes and biological treatments for wastewater decontamination--a review. , 2011, The Science of the total environment.

[79]  Rajesh Singh,et al.  Kinetic modelling of methane production during bio-electrolysis from anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and food waste. , 2018, Bioresource technology.

[80]  I. Ferrer,et al.  Increasing biogas production by thermal (70 °C) sludge pre-treatment prior to thermophilic anaerobic digestion , 2008 .

[81]  D. Mavinic,et al.  Effects of microwave, ultrasonic and enzymatic treatment on chemical and physical properties of waste-activated sludge , 2014, Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering.

[82]  P. Kaparaju,et al.  Screening pretreatment methods to enhance thermophilic anaerobic digestion of pulp and paper mill wastewater treatment secondary sludge , 2013 .

[83]  J. M. Park,et al.  Influence of thermophilic aerobic digestion as a sludge pre-treatment and solids retention time of mesophilic anaerobic digestion on the methane production, sludge digestion and microbial communities in a sequential digestion process. , 2014, Water research.

[84]  J. G. Berlanga,et al.  Ozonation as a Pre-treatment for Anaerobic Digestion of Waste-Activated Sludge: Effect of the Ozone Doses , 2015 .

[85]  Jeongsik Kim,et al.  Effects of various pretreatments for enhanced anaerobic digestion with waste activated sludge. , 2003, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering.

[86]  S. Kavitha,et al.  Various Sludge Pretreatments: Their Impact on Biogas Generation , 2017 .

[87]  Treavor H. Boyer,et al.  Degradation of pharmaceuticals and metabolite in synthetic human urine by UV, UV/H2O2, and UV/PDS. , 2015, Environmental science & technology.

[88]  J. Müller,et al.  Disintegration as a key-step in sewage sludge treatment , 2000 .

[89]  K. Show,et al.  Influence of Ultrasonication on Anaerobic Bioconversion of Sludge , 2007, Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation.

[90]  I. Yeom,et al.  The enhancement of anaerobic biodegradability of waste activated sludge by surfactant mediated biological pretreatment. , 2014, Bioresource technology.

[91]  J. Tay,et al.  "Weak" ultrasonic pre-treatment on anaerobic digestion of flocculated activated biosolids. , 2002, Water research.

[92]  J. Degrève,et al.  Comparing the influence of low power ultrasonic and microwave pre-treatments on the solubilisation and semi-continuous anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge. , 2014, Bioresource technology.

[93]  K. Ikehata,et al.  Degradation of Recalcitrant Surfactants in Wastewater by Ozonation and Advanced Oxidation Processes: A Review , 2004 .

[94]  Junhe Lu,et al.  Degradation of trimethoprim by thermo-activated persulfate oxidation: Reaction kinetics and transformation mechanisms , 2016 .

[95]  N. P. Vichare,et al.  Cavitation reactors: Efficiency assessment using a model reaction , 2001 .

[96]  Johng-Hwa Ahn,et al.  Effects of Microwave Pretreatment on Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion for Mixture of Primary and Secondary Sludges Compared with Thermal Pretreatment , 2011 .

[97]  H. Carrère,et al.  Pretreatment methods to improve sludge anaerobic degradability: a review. , 2010, Journal of hazardous materials.

[98]  E. Trably,et al.  Pretreatment of food waste for methane and hydrogen recovery: A review. , 2017, Bioresource technology.

[99]  P. Jeníček,et al.  Disintegration of excess activated sludge--evaluation and experience of full-scale applications. , 2006, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[100]  Zhiwei Zhou,et al.  Effects of ultrasound pretreatment on the characteristic evolutions of drinking water treatment sludge and its impact on coagulation property of sludge recycling process. , 2015, Ultrasonics sonochemistry.

[101]  A. Mudhoo.  Biogas Production: Pretreatment Methods in Anaerobic Digestion , 2012 .

[102]  K. Kennedy,et al.  Enhanced disinfection and methane production from sewage sludge by microwave irradiation. , 2009 .

[103]  H. Carrère,et al.  Impact of initial biodegradability on sludge anaerobic digestion enhancement by thermal pretreatment , 2008, Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering.

[104]  B. Jonsson,et al.  Activity, life time and effect of hydrolytic enzymes for enhanced biogas production from sludge anaerobic digestion. , 2016, Water research.

[105]  K. Grübel,et al.  The use of hydrodynamic disintegration as a means to improve anaerobic digestion of activated sludge. , 2012 .

[106]  K. Show,et al.  Performance of high-rate sludge digesters fed with sonicated sludge. , 2006, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[107]  Adriana Artola,et al.  Effects of thermal and mechanical pretreatments of secondary sludge on biogas production under thermophilic conditions , 2007 .

[108]  J. M. Park,et al.  Microbial community structure in a thermophilic aerobic digester used as a sludge pretreatment process for the mesophilic anaerobic digestion and the enhancement of methane production. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[109]  Małgorzata Wzorek,et al.  Characterisation of the properties of alternative fuels containing sewage sludge , 2012 .

[110]  Alicia A. Modenbach,et al.  The use of high‐solids loadings in biomass pretreatment—a review , 2012, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[111]  K. Grübel,et al.  Hybrid alkali-hydrodynamic disintegration of waste-activated sludge before two-stage anaerobic digestion process , 2014, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[112]  H. Carrère,et al.  Solubilisation of waste-activated sludge by ultrasonic treatment , 2005 .

[113]  I. Yeom,et al.  Effect of deflocculation on the efficiency of low-energy microwave pretreatment and anaerobic biodegradation of waste activated sludge , 2015 .

[114]  A. Nzila.  Mini review: Update on bioaugmentation in anaerobic processes for biogas production. , 2017, Anaerobe.

[115]  Steven E. Woodard,et al.  A hydrolysis/thickening/filtration process for the treatment of waste activated sludge , 1994 .

[116]  H. Carrère,et al.  Combined Ozone Pretreatment and Anaerobic Digestion for the Reduction of Biological Sludge Production in Wastewater Treatment , 2007 .

[117]  J. Wawrzyńczyk.  Enzymatic treatment of wastewater sludge. Sludge solubilisation, improvement of anaerobic digestion and extraction of extracellular polymeric substances. , 2007 .

[118]  Sureewan Sittijunda,et al.  Co-Digestion of Napier Grass and Its Silage with Cow Dung for Methane Production , 2017 .

[119]  S. Wacławek,et al.  Impact of peroxydisulphate on disintegration and sedimentation properties of municipal wastewater activated sludge , 2015, Chemical Papers.

[120]  J. Jansen,et al.  Strategies for enzyme dosing to enhance anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge , 2007 .

[121]  E. Nikolakaki,et al.  Sonochemical disinfection of municipal wastewater. , 2007, Journal of hazardous materials.

[122]  Haslenda Hashim,et al.  Biogas as a renewable energy fuel – A review of biogas upgrading, utilisation and storage , 2017 .

[123]  M. Sievers,et al.  Sludge treatment by ozonation--evaluation of full-scale results. , 2004, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[124]  Damien J Batstone,et al.  Temperature phased anaerobic digestion increases apparent hydrolysis rate for waste activated sludge. , 2011, Water research.

[125]  TATuP Redaktion,et al.  The Future of Biogas in Europe , 1997 .

[126]  J. R. Portela,et al.  Enhancement of methane production in mesophilic anaerobic digestion of secondary sewage sludge by advanced thermal hydrolysis pretreatment. , 2015, Water research.

[127]  Sergio Francisco de Aquino,et al.  Integrated model of the production of soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in anaerobic chemostats during transient conditions , 2008 .

[128]  Duu-Jong Lee,et al.  Conditioning of wastewater sludge using freezing and thawing: role of curing. , 2011, Water research.

[129]  Rajender S. Varma,et al.  Lignocellulosic Biomass Transformations via Greener Oxidative Pretreatment Processes: Access to Energy and Value-Added Chemicals , 2018, Front. Chem..

[130]  T. Meyer,et al.  Anaerobic digestion of pulp and paper mill wastewater and sludge. , 2014, Water research.

[131]  M. Torrijos,et al.  Investigations on the changes in anaerobic biodegradability and biotoxicity of an industrial microbial biomass induced by a thermochemical pretreatment. , 2000, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[132]  K. Mirota,et al.  Badania i ocena możliwości stosowania zwężki kawitacyjnej do intensyfikacji procesu fermentacji osadów ściekowych , 2011 .

[133]  D J Batstone,et al.  Model assisted startup of anaerobic digesters fed with thermally hydrolysed activated sludge. , 2010, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[134]  T. Zhu,et al.  Review of Excess Sludge Disintegration Research , 2013 .

[135]  A. Montusiewicz,et al.  Freezing/thawing effects on anaerobic digestion of mixed sewage sludge. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[136]  Krzysztof Barbusiński,et al.  Fenton reaction - controversy concerning the chemistry , 2009 .

[137]  Huagen Liang,et al.  Enhancement of Sewage Sludge Anaerobic Digestibility by Sulfate Radical Pretreatment , 2012 .

[138]  J. Rajesh Banu,et al.  Effect of cation binding agents on sludge solubilization potential of bacteria , 2012, Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering.

[139]  G. Zeng,et al.  Improved methane production from waste activated sludge by combining free ammonia with heat pretreatment: Performance, mechanisms and applications. , 2018, Bioresource technology.

[140]  N. P. Vichare,et al.  Optimization of Hydrodynamic Cavitation Using a Model Reaction , 2000 .

[141]  I. Yeom,et al.  Solubilization of municipal sewage waste activated sludge by novel lytic bacterial strains , 2014, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[142]  S. Wacławek,et al.  Chemistry of persulfates in water and wastewater treatment: A review , 2017 .

[143]  U. Kepp,et al.  Enhanced stabilisation of sewage sludge through thermal hydrolysis - three years of experience with full scale plant , 2000 .

[144]  Willy Verstraete,et al.  High-rate iron-rich activated sludge as stabilizing agent for the anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste. , 2013, Water research.

[145]  J. Labanda,et al.  Effect of ultrasound, low-temperature thermal and alkali pre-treatments on waste activated sludge rheology, hygienization and methane potential. , 2014, Water research.

[146]  J. Baeyens,et al.  Peroxidation enhances the biogas production in the anaerobic digestion of biosolids. , 2007, Journal of hazardous materials.

[147]  W. Shin,et al.  Activation of Persulfate by Nanosized Zero-Valent Iron (NZVI): Mechanisms and Transformation Products of NZVI. , 2018, Environmental science & technology.