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The thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAD) of sewage sludge has often been found to be less stable than mesophilic treatment. In comparison to mesophilic digesters, thermophilic reactors treating sludge are generally characterized by relatively high concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the effluent along with poor effluent quality, indicating a lower level of process stability. However, reviewing the literature related to the procedure for obtaining a thermophilic inoculum, it seems that most of the problems associated with the instability and the accumulation of organic intermediates are the result of the manner in which the thermophilic sludge has been obtained. In this paper, the different options available for obtaining an anaerobic digester operating at thermophilic temperature (55°C) have been reviewed. In this light, rapid heating to the target temperature followed by the development of thermophilic microorganisms, which can be determined by VFA dropping to ≤500 mg acetic acid L−1 before increasing the organic loading rate (OLR), has been determined the most suitable means of establishing TAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have emerged as a technology that is able to recover resources from different kinds of substrates, especially wastewater. Nutrient recovery, mostly based on membrane reactor configuration, is a clear niche for BES application. The recovery of nitrogen or phosphorus allows for treatment of wastewater while simultaneously collecting a concentrated stream with nutrients that can be reintroduced into the system, becoming a circular economy solution. The aim of this study is to review recent advances in membrane-based BESs for nitrogen and phosphorus recovery and compare the recovery efficiencies and energy requirements of each system. Finally, there is a discussion of the main issues that arise from using membrane-based BESs. The results presented in this review show that it would be beneficial to intensify research on BESs to improve recovery efficiencies at the lowest construction cost in order to take the final step towards scaling up and commercialising this technology.

The disposal of excess sludge from wastewater treatment plants is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) which combines thermophilic and mesophilic processes in one, brings together the advantages of both systems. The aim of the present work was to develop a simple kinetic model to describe the TPAD of sewage sludge in batch completely stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) and to determine the kinetic parameters of both thermophilic and mesophilic stages. A zero-order kinetic equation described the thermophilic step after 2, 4 and 6 days of digestion time (experiment 1, 2 and 3, respectively), yet a first-order equation was found to be adequate to correlate the methane gas accumulated with time in the mesophilic step, the kinetic constant being 0.21 days(-1). The methane yield coefficient obtained was found to be almost proportional to the digestion time used in the thermophilic step with values of 0.067, 0.132 and 0.193 L CH(4) STP/g VS(added) for experiments 1, 2 and 3, respectively. By contrast, the kinetic constant of the mesophilic stage was not influenced by the digestion time used in the thermophilic phase.

Regulations regarding the land application of sewage sludge require the performance of highly efficient treatments for pathogen reduction, such as temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD). Several semi-continuous experiments with different solid residence times (SRTs) have been made to find the best combination - TPAD 15/15, TPAD 5/15, TPAD 3/15 or TPAD 3/12. TPAD systems showed better performance in terms of VS destruction, gas production, sludge dewaterability, and process stability at total SRT of 15 days, compared with single-stage mesophilic or thermophilic digestion at the same SRT. Average VS reductions (VSR) using the overall TPAD 5/15 (78%), TPAD 3/15 (87%), and TPAD 3/12 (87%) were significantly higher than mesophilic control operating with an SRT of 15 days (40% VSR). The best results were obtained for TPAD 3/15 with 0.62 LCH(4) g(-1) VS(r), faecal coliform 10(3) MPN/g TS, and Salmonella spp. 1 MPN/4 g TS. Although both TPAD 3/15 and TPAD 3/12 were efficient enough to obtain Class A biosolids., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Thermophilic-mesophilic-phase anaerobic digestion assays were carried out in three discontinuous reactors: R1, R2 and R3, which were in thermophilic conditions (55 degrees C) during 2, 4 and 6 days, respectively. After the first stage, the temperature was reduced to 35 degrees C, and at the end of the two-stages, the R2 and R3 systems achieved volatile solid reductions of 45% and 52%, respectively. Faecal coliforms and Salmonella spp. densities below 1000 MPN/g TS and 3MPN/4 g TS, respectively, were also observed. The highest methane yield and the best dewaterability were obtained for R3: 193 mL CH(4)g(-1) VS(added) and 3 min of time-to filter. For R2 and R1, 133 and 97 mL CH(4)g(-1) VS(added), and 4 and 9 min, respectively, were obtained. Although the best results were achieved maintaining thermophilic conditions during the 6 days; however, to take Class A-cataloguing product, for agrarian ends, 4 days operating under thermophilic conditions was sufficient.