Detection of efficiency of microwave-enhanced sludge treatments by dielectric measurements

Microwave irradiation is a promising pre-treatment method for sludge stabilisation, but there are few studies focusing its effect on organic matter solubility and biodegradability of wastewater and sludge originated from the food industry. In our research, microwave irradiation was applied standalone and in combination with alkaline treatment to enhance the solubilisation and biodegradation of organic matter content of meat industry wastewater and municipal sludge, respectively. The energy efficiency was investigated, as well. Dielectric measurement is a suitable method to detect physicochemical changes, therefore our research work covered the determination of dielectric properties of the investigated materials. Our experimental results have revealed that the lower power and energy intensity microwave-alkaline treatments were the most efficient pre-treatment process from energetically aspects to increase the organic matter solubility and biodegradability of wastewater and sludge. Furthermore, a strong linear correlation was found between the dielectric constant and the indicators of the solubility of organic matter (SCOD/TCOD) and aerobic biodegradability (BOD/COD) in both treated materials, respectively. Our results show that the dielectric measurements can be applied for detection of physicochemical changes, predict the improvement of biodegradability, and considered as a promising method to estimate the efficiency of sludge pre-treatment methods.

Environmental Impact Assessment of Nanofluids Containing Mixtures of Surfactants And Silica Nanoparticles

Due to the widespread use of nanoparticles in surfactant-based formulations, their release into the environment and wastewater is unavoidable, causing a toxic effect to biota and/or wastewater treatment processes. Because of concerns about the environmental impact of nanofluids, the study of the fate and environmental impact, hazards and toxicity of nanoparticles is beginning. However, the interactions between nanoparticles and surfactants as well as the biodegradability in mixtures have been little studied until now. In this work the environmental impact of nanofluids containing mixtures of surfactants and silica nanoparticles were evaluated. The systems studied were hydrophilic silica nanoparticles (size 7 and 12 nm), a non-ionic surfactant (alkyl polyglucoside), an anionic surfactant (ether carboxylic acid), and mixtures of them. The aerobic ultimate biodegradation and interfacial and adsorption properties of surfactants, nanoparticles and mixtures during the biodegradation process were also evaluated. Aerobic biodegradability was determined by measurements of dissolved organic carbon for solutions with variable concentrations of surfactants and nanoparticles. The ultimate biodegradation was studied below and above the CMC of the individual surfactants. Interfacial and adsorption properties of surfactants solutions containing nanoparticles are influenced by the addition of silica particles. It was determined that silica nanoparticles reduced the capability of non-ionic surfactants to decrease the surface tension. Thus, silica NP promoted a considerable increase of their CMC, whereas the effect was the opposite in case of anionic surfactants. The increasing concentration of surfactant and nanoparticles in the test medium causes a decrease in the maximum levels of mineralization reached for both types of surfactants. The presence of silica nanoparticles in the medium reduces the biodegradability of binary mixtures non-ionic-anionic- surfactants solutions, being this effect more intense for larger nanoparticles. These results could be taken into account to model the behavior of nanofluids in aquatic environments and to select appropriate nanofluids containing nanoparticles and surfactants with low environmental impact.

Biodegradation of Poly(Lactic Acid) Biocomposites under Controlled Composting Conditions and Freshwater Biotope

The influence of additives such as natural-based plasticiser acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC), CaCO3 and lignin-coated cellulose nanocrystals (L-CNC) on the biodegradation of polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites was studied by monitoring microbial metabolic activity through respirometry. Ternary biocomposites and control samples were processed by a twin-screw extruder equipped with a flat film die. Commonly available compost was used for the determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of PLA biocomposites under controlled composting conditions (ISO 14855-1). In addition, the hydro-degradability of prepared films in a freshwater biotope was analysed. To determine the efficiency of hydro-degradation, qualitative analyses (SEM, DSC, TGA and FTIR) were conducted. The results showed obvious differences in the degradation rate of PLA biocomposites. The application of ATBC at 10 wt.% loading increased the biodegradation rate of PLA. The addition of 10 wt.% of CaCO3 into the plasticised PLA matrix ensured an even higher degradation rate at aerobic thermophilic composting conditions. In such samples (PLA/ATBC/CaCO3), 94% biodegradation in 60 days was observed. In contrast, neat PLA exposed to the same conditions achieved only 16% biodegradation. Slightly inhibited microorganism activity was also observed for ternary PLA biocomposites containing L-CNC (1 wt.% loading). The results of qualitative analyses of degradation in a freshwater biotope confirmed increased biodegradation potential of ternary biocomposites containing both CaCO3 and ATBC. Significant differences in the chemical and structural compositions of PLA biocomposites were found in the evaluated period of three months.

Possibilities for detection of the change of biodegradability of wastewater by dielectric constant measurements

Nowadays, the development of rapid and non-destructive measurement methods have high importance. The dielectric measurement is a promising technique to detect the chemical and physicho-chemical change of different materials. The dielectric behavior of pure water is widely investigated for decades, but there is very few information available related to the dielectric parameters of wastewater. Our study aims to investigate the applicability of dielectric measurements for the detection of the change of biodegradability of wastewater. In the experiments the change of organic matter solubility and biodegradability of sugar beet processing wastewater, meat processing wastewater, dairy industry wastewater and municipal wastewater was examined. Our results show that dielectric constant - measured at the frequency of 2400 MHz - has a strong linear correlation with the soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD), which makes possible the fast detection of disintegration efficiency of different wastewater and sludge treatment processes, or the organic matter removal efficiency of wastewater purification technologies. Furthermore, our results verified that the change of aerobic biodegradability (expressed in BOD5/SCOD ratio) show also good linear correlation with the dielectric constant. These preliminary results enable to develop a dielectric behavior based detection method for the estimation of the efficiency of wastewater treatment processes.

Enhanced biodegradability of dairy sludge by microwave assisted alkaline and acidic pre-treatments

Considering the rapid, volumetric and selective heating effects of microwaves the microwave assisted chemical methods could provide appropriate alternatives for conventional thermal methods in sludge processing. Microwave irradiation alone is suitable to accelerate the hydrolysis stage of anaerobic decomposition of sludge resulted in accelerated biogas production rate and in higher biogas yield. Alkaline pre-treatments increase the organic matter solubility and suitable for disintegration of sludge particles. In some study are concluded that acidic conditions help the disintegration of waste activated sludge and assist in the solubilisation of carbohydrates and proteins which led to increased higher biogas production, as well. Beside the promising results related to effects of microwave pre-treatments on anaerobic digestion of sludge there are very few reports on the investigation of combined acidic/alkali-microwave pre-treatment method for food industry originated sludge. Hence, our study focused on the examination of the effects of combined microwave-alkali and microwave-acidic pre-treatment on aerobic and anaerobic biodegradability of sludge produced in dairy industry Our experimental results verified, that microwave irradiation with alkaline dosage improve the solubility of organic matters in the pH range of 8-12. But enhancement of disintegration was not correlated linearly with biodegradability. During pre-treatment stage, applying pH over 10, the aerobic biodegradability show decreasing tendency. Applying of acidic condition during microwave irradiation resulted in lower disintegration degree than obtained for microwave-alkaline sludge pre-treatment method. But with microwave assisted acidic pre-treatments a higher aerobic biodegradability could be achieved than with alkaline dosage. In microwave pre-treatments acidic condition was preferable to increase the shorter aerobic biodegradability; the alkaline condition was favourable to intensify the anaerobic digestion process.