Surrogate organisms have been used to study highly pathogenic organisms, or organisms that cannot be cultured in the laboratory. Surrogates are selected based on multiple similarities to the pathogen, such as morphology, genome size and structure, and environmental characteristics. This dissertation utilized MS2 coliphage as a surrogate for norovirus and Ebola virus in three environments. MS2 is an icosahedral, single-stranded RNA bacteriophage. It is a male-specific coliphage that infects the bacteria Escherichia coli. Its properties, such as morphology and survival in the environment, have been likened to those of many enteric viruses. Because of this, it has been used as a surrogate for pathogenic enteric viruses for disinfection testing on surfaces, in water and in food; modeling the movement and survival of pathogens in different environments; and transfer properties from surfaces. This dissertation utilized MS2 as a surrogate in three different studies. In the first, MS2 is used as a surrogate for human enteric viruses in irrigation canals to predict the re-suspension of pathogenic viruses from bed sediment into overlying irrigation water using a flume to re-create field conditions in the laboratory. MS2 re-suspension into the overlying water was characterized at varying flow rates and velocities using two sediment types. Its overall re-suspension was not statistically significantly different (p > 0.05) between flow rates. The additional studies in this dissertation used MS2 as a surrogate for Ebola virus in human waste. Ebola virus is a BSL-4 organism that is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids. It is found in bodily fluids in concentrations between 10^5.5 and 10⁸ genome copies per milliliter. In the first study using MS2 as a surrogate for Ebola virus, efficacies of four disinfectants were tested using 10¹² PFU of MS2 in one liter containing 2.25% (w/v) organic matter at three contact times (1, 15 and 30 minutes). The purpose of this study was to assess the disinfectants on reducing virus in waste before toilet flushing. Peracetic acid and quaternary ammonium formulation were found to reduce the concentration of MS2 in the toilet bowl the fastest (within one minute) with the greatest reduction (2.26 and 1.99 log₁₀), when compared with the other disinfectants. Reductions observed from hydrogen peroxide were significantly less than those from peracetic acid and quaternary ammonium (p < 0.05). The contamination of restroom surfaces by MS2 was also evaluated after toilet flushing with and without disinfectant treatment. All four disinfectants were found to significantly reduce the viral concentrations on fomites after 15 minutes of contact (p < 0.05). Despite disinfectant use, three sites were contaminated in 100% of trials (N = 18). These were the toilet bowl rim, the toilet seat top and underside. The final study evaluated the inactivation of MS2 and several other viruses by thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digestion. Little information is available on the influence of the wastewater treatment process, specifically anaerobic digestion, on emerging viruses, such as Ebola virus. It is important to evaluate this process due to the environmental disposal and discharge of wastewater and solids into the environment. All viruses were recoverable after mesophilic digestion (reductions from 1.8-6.6 log₁₀ per mL), except the lipid-containing bacteriophage Φ6. Thermophilic digestion inactivated all viruses significantly (p = 0.0011) more than mesophilic digestion. The reductions by thermophilic digestion ranged from 2.8-7.1 log₁₀ per mL. The inactivation between the initial concentration and both digestion types was statistically significant (p = 0.007).

We initially studied the treatment of acid rock drainage using a sulfate-reducing bioreactor with zero-valent iron as the electron donor. The results demonstrate that this electron donor can serve as the sole exogenous slow-release electron donor to drive sulfate reduction over 400 operational days at short HRTs (1-3 days). The synthetic acid rock drainage contained high heavy metal concentrations (up to 50 mg/L of copper) and pH values ranging from 3.0 to 7.0. Treatment of this acid rock drainage efficiently removed Cu, Cd and Pb (>99.7%) and increased pH to circumneutral values (7.3-7.7). Elemental analysis indicated that formation of insoluble metal sulfides was responsible for the effective metal removal in the zero valent iron columns. In the second study, three inoculated columns containing anaerobic granular sludge were fed a synthetic medium containing H₂SO₄ and Cu²⁺ during the experimental period of 4 months. Algae biomass promoted 80% of sulfate removal (12.7 mg SO₄²⁻ d-1), enabling near complete Cu removal (>99.5 %), and alkalinity generation, raising the effluent pH to 6.5. In the algae amended columns Cu²⁺ was precipitated with biogenic H2S produced by sulfate reduction. Whole cell algae and lipid extracted algae biomasses were both shown to be effective e-donors in driving sulfate reduction of ARD, thus enabling the precipitation and removal of Cu²⁺. The precipitate retained in the columns was composed mostly of insoluble copper sulfide formed from the biogenic sulfide, as shown by sequential extraction and X-ray diffraction. In the third study, several pretreatments, i.e., thermal, chemical, sonication and combinations thereof, that enhance anaerobic biodegradability of Chlorella protothecoides biomass were evaluated. The results demonstrate that anaerobic digestion of pretreated Chlorella protothecoides biomass generates energy-rich methane and recovers nitrogen nutrients. Sonication of algal biomass under optimized conditions provided a significant increase in the methane yield (327 mL STP CH₄ g⁻¹ VS) compared to untreated algae (146 mL STP CH₄ g⁻¹ VS), as demonstrated in anaerobic digestion experiments incubated for 41 days. In contrast, thermal pretreatment provided only a moderate increase of the methane yield and alkaline treatment led to a decrease of the methane yield compared to the untreated algal biomass. Additionally, sonication treatment provided a 4.1-fold increase in the release of ammonia nitrogen during anaerobic digestion of the algal biomass. In the fourth study, the nutrient recovery and biogas generation from the anaerobic digestion of waste biomass from algal biofuel production was investigated. Anaerobic digestion of whole cell and lipid extracted Chlorella sorokiniana-1412 released 48.1 and 61.5% of the total algal nitrogen as NH₄⁺-N, and 87.7 and 93.6% of the total algal P as soluble P, respectively. The biochemical methane potential, quantified through the methane yield of whole cell algae and lipid extracted algae, was 0.298 and 0.253 L methane/g algal volatile solids, respectively. The conversion of lipid extracted algae and whole cell algae biomasses to methane was very similar (38 and 41% on a COD basis, respectively), indicating that the energy yield was not significantly lowered by extraction of the lipid fraction (which accounted for 9% of algal dry weight). Sonication improved the access of hydrolytic enzymes to algal biopolymers, compensating in part for the energy lost due to lipid extraction. The above results demonstrate that algal waste from the biodiesel industry has the potential to be recycled through anaerobic digestion into valuable nutrients and energy. These studies indicate that zero valent iron and algae biomass are promising reactive materials for the treatment of acid rock drainage in sulfate-reducing permeable reactive barrier systems. Additionally, to promote algae cultivation for the biodiesel industry, the anaerobic digestion of algae residues can generate nutrients and energy, making algae cultivation more fiscally attractive.

<p>All products will eventually end up as waste, which in a sustainable society has to be handled in an efficient and environment friendly way. This report focuses on waste fractions meant for combustion, often difficult to characterize. However, more homogeneous fractions that are treated biologically are also discussed.</p><p>The study concerns the region of Borås, Sweden, where the waste plant Sobacken has provided a good starting point. On this site, fuel to the Energy-from-Waste plant of Borås Energi is prepared and the biological waste is treated through anaerobic digestion.</p><p>One important part of the study has been to collect experience-based knowledge from the technical staff at Sobacken and Borås Energi. This information was compiled into an overview of wanted and unwanted fractions to the preparation plant and the boilers respectively. The purpose of this overview is to complement existing delivery terms and thereby facilitate an increased quality of the fuel from the suppliers.</p><p>A significant element of the analysis has been to characterize the content of the industrial waste sent to Sobacken for combustion. Chemical analyses of the prepared fuel as well as the conducted waste component analysis indicate a heterogeneous composition of the waste. A heterogeneous fuel often results in an uneven combustion, leading to higher emissions and an unwanted variation in the energy production.</p><p>Through the waste component analysis, a comprehensive picture of the waste composition was attained. Materials non-valid for delivery mostly consisted of wet domestic waste (biodegradable materials), but some hazardous waste was also found. The results of the waste component analysis were communicated to the involved suppliers and this has already resulted in a considerable reduction of the amount of biodegradable waste in the deliveries of industrial waste.</p> / <p>Förr eller senare blir alla produkter avfall, som i ett uthålligt samhälle måste hanteras på ett resurssnålt och miljövänligt sätt. Det här arbetet är främst inriktat mot de svåridentifierade fraktionerna som är ämnade för förbränning, men berör även de mer homogena fraktionerna som behandlas biologiskt genom rötning.</p><p>Arbetet har utförts i Boråsregionen där Sobackens avfallsanläggning, med beredning av avfallsbränsle till Borås Energis två FB-pannor och rötkammare, har utgjort en naturlig utgångspunkt.</p><p>Ett stort inslag i arbetet var sammanställning av erfarenhetsbaserade kunskaper hos driftteknikerna på beredningsanläggningen, liksom hos Anders Johnsson på Borås Energi. På detta sätt erhölls viktig information om både bra och dåliga fraktioner, för såväl avfallskross som för pannor. Dessa fakta har bland annat använts för att sätta samman en översikt över önskade respektive oönskade fraktioner. Översikten är tänkt som komplement till befintliga leveransregler, i syfte att förenkla för avfallsleverantörerna.</p><p>Stor vikt har lagts vid att försöka kartlägga sammansättningen av det verksamhetsavfall som kommer in till Sobackens beredningsanläggning. Både kemiska analyser av bränsleprov och utförd plockanalys visar på en heterogen sammansättning i avfallet. Ett heterogent bränsle brinner i många fall ojämt, vilket resulterar i högre emissionsnivåer samt en icke-önskvärd variation i energiproduktion.</p><p>I och med plockanalysen erhölls en övergripande bild av förbränningsavfallets sammansättning. Det icke leveransgilla materialet som påträffades utgjordes främst av blött hushållsavfall (biologiskt nedbrytbart material), men även av en del elektronik påträffades. Efter avslutad analys kommunicerades erhållna resultat med aktuella leverantörer, vilket hittills har resulterat i en betydande minskning av biologiskt nedbrytbart material i verksamhetsavfallet.</p>

Vid tillverkning av massa och papper förorenas årligen 505 miljoner kubikmeter vatten som måste renas innan det släpps tillbaka till omgivningen. Vid reningen avskiljs först stora partiklar som sedan avvattnas och förbränns. Vattnet som blir kvar genomgår ytterligare en rening, varvid det bildas bioslam. Bioslammet innehåller mycket intracellulärt vatten, vilket gör det kostsamt och energikrävande att avvattna. Det är även sedan 2005 förbjudet att dumpa organiskt material, varför en mer ekonomiskt attraktiv behandling av slammet är anaerob nedbrytning. I denna nedbrytning omvandlas det organiska materialet till metan och koldioxid där metanet är den eftertraktade gasen. Bioslammet innehåller dock partiklar såsom träfiberrester och mikroorganismer med komplex struktur och är näringsfattigt. Någon form av sönderdelande förbehandling underlättar därför rötningsprocessen. I detta projekt undersöktes termisk förbehandling i kombination med kemisk förbehandling på bioslam från Stora Enso Skoghalls bruk på Hammarö. Själva rötningen skedde i två omgångar varav den första omgången med termisk förbehandling vid 70C och den andra vid 140C. Den kemiska förbehandlingen skedde med tillsats av lut (natriumhydroxid), kalk (kalciumhydroxid) och syra (fosforsyra) vid pH 9 och 11 för baserna och pH 2 och 4 för syran. Även neutrala prov (endast värmebehandling) och ett blankprov (ingen förbehandling) gjordes. Bioslammet ympades med kommunalt slam från Fiskartorpets reningsverk i Kristinehamn som har en mesofil bakteriekultur. Rötningen varade i 19 dagar per omgång i en temperatur på 35C och skedde satsvis i E-kolvar försedda med påsar för gasuppsamling. Totalt rötades 42 prov per omgång som utgjordes av sju mätpunkter á sex replikat för goda statistiska underlag. Resultaten gav en indikation för högst metanproduktion för proven behandlade med kalk vid 140C och för provet utan kemisk förbehandling vid 140C. Lägst produktion hade det kalkbehandlade provet vid pH 9 och 70C följt av blankprovet. Lutproven gav lägre metanproduktion vid 140C än vid 70C och fosforsyran hade så gott som oförändrad produktion mellan temperaturerna. Gemensamt för alla prover som behandlats vid 70C var att de fick en högre procentandel metan då de behandlats vid 140C. De resultat som erhållits är dock osäkra då det i vissa fall var stor spridning mellan provens biogasproduktion inom de enskilda förbehandlingsområdena. / In the pulp and paper process 505 million tons of water are polluted annually, which has to be purified before it is returned to the surrounding lakes. When the water is treated bigger particles are first separated to form sludge, then dewatered and finally incinerated. The excess water is further treated were a type of sludge  bio sludge  is formed. The bio sludge contains high concentration of intracellular water, why it is expensive and energy demanding to dewater. It is also forbidden to dump organic waste since 2005, why a more economically attractive treatment of the water is anaerobic digestion. In the digestion organic compounds is converted into methane and carbon dioxide where the methane is the desired gas. The bio sludge also contains fiber residues and microorganisms with complex structure and is nutrient-poor, which makes it hard to digest. Some kind of disintegrating pretreatment is needed and co-digestion with a more nutrient-rich sludge to facilitate the digestion process. In this project thermal pretreatment in combination with chemical pretreatment was examined on bio sludge from Stora Enso Skoghalls bruk at Hammarö. The anaerobe digestion was done by two rounds whereof the first round thermal pretreated at 70C and the second at 140C. The chemical pretreatment was done by additive of sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide and phosphoric acid at pH 9 and 11 for the bases and pH 2 and 4 for the acid. Also neutral samples (no chemical pretreatment) and a reference sample (no pretreatment) were done. The bio sludge were co-digested with municipal sludge from Fiskartorpets reningsverk in Kristinehamn which has a mesophilic bacterial culture. The anaerobic digestion lasted for 19 days per round at a temperature of 35C and were done batch wise in E-flasks provided with a small bag for gas collection. Totally 42 samples were made per round which consisted of seven measurement points and six replicates each for a good statistical basis. The results gave an indication of the highest methane production for the samples treated with calcium hydroxide at 140C and the neutral sample treated at 140C. The sample treated with calcium hydroxide at pH 9 and 70C gave the lowest production of methane followed by the reference sample. The samples treated with sodium hydroxide gave a lower methane production at 140C than at 70C while the acid treated samples had almost the same production at the two different temperatures. All the samples had in common a higher proportion of methane in the biogas when treated at 140C than at 70C. The results should be taken with caution since the distribution amongst the samples within the same pretreatment method sometimes is very high.

Scum is an integral component of solids management in MWWTP and is composed of fats, oils, grease and other entrained floatable materials that are collected during primary clarification. Lab scale BMP tests showed the addition of 14.5 g VS/L of scum exhibited the greatest increase in biogas production of 1.6 times per g VS added compared to the control, while a higher additional scum loading of 33.7 g VS/L reduced the biogas yield to 32% of the control reactor. Lab scale semi-continuous digestion measured the effects of scum loading and temperature of pretreatment in the scum concentrator. At 15 d and 20 d HRTs the greatest observed improvement in biogas was achieved by adding 3% scum by volume and pretreating the scum at 70°C in a scum concentrator with respective improvements of 24% and 16%.

Biogas production from organic materials can be used as a renewable vehicle fuel, provide heat and generate electricity and can thereby reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis focuses on the biogas production based on lignocelluloses. There is an abundant availability of lignocelluloses, constituting 50% of the total biomass worldwide. However, the biomass recalcitrance limits the microbial degradation as well as the biogas production from these types of materials. In the present work different pretreatment methods have been performed in order to decrease the biomass recalcitrance and improve the biogas production. Steam explosion pretreatment, together with the addition of sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide, has been performed on lignocellulosic-rich paper tube residuals. The pretreatment has resulted in methane yields of up to 493 NmL/gVS, which is an increase by 107% compared with untreated material. Furthermore, the use of an organic solvent, N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO), was evaluated as a pretreatment method for spruce (both chips and milled), rice straw, and triticale straw. The NMMO pretreatment resulted in 202, 395, 328, and 362 NmL CH4/g carbohydrates produced of these substrates, respectively, corresponding to an increase of between 400-1,200% compared with the untreated version of the same material. Moreover, the paper tube residuals have been co-digested with an unstable nitrogen-rich substrate mixture, mainly based on municipal solid waste. The addition of the lignocellulosic-rich paper tubes in a co-digestion process showed stabilizing effects and prevented the accumulation of volatile fatty acids with a subsequent reactor failure. Additionally, synergistic effects have been found leading to between 15-33% higher methane yields when paper tubes were added to the co-digestion process compared with the yields calculated from the methane potentials of the two substrates. Substrate characterization analysis can be used to study the changes on the lignocellulosic components after the pretreatment, relating the changes to the performance in the anaerobic digestion. Increased accessible surface area, measured by the Simons’ stain and the enzymatic adsorption methods, as well as decreased crystallinity, determined by using the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, can all be linked to improved biogas production after pretreatment. Finally, the NMMO pretreatment on forest residues has been financially evaluated for an industrial scale process design. The base case that was evaluated simulated a case where pretreated forest residues were co-digested with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste to obtain optimal nutritional balance for the anaerobic digestion. This process has been found to be economically feasible with an internal rate of return of 20.7%. / <p>Akademisk avhandling som för avläggande av teknologie doktorsexamen vid Chalmers tekniska högskola försvaras vid offentlig disputation den 24 maj 2013, klockan 10.00 i KA,Kemigården 4, Göteborg</p>

The application of anaerobic digestion technology is growing worldwide, mainly because of its environmental benefits. Nevertheless, anaerobic degradation is a rather slow and sensitive process. One of the reasons is the recalcitrance nature of certain fractions of the substrate (e.g., lignocelluloses) used for microbial degradation; thus, the hydrolysis becomes the rate-limiting step. The other reason is that the degradation of organic matter is based on a highly dynamic, multi-step process of physicochemical and biochemical reactions. The reactions take place in a sequential and parallel way under symbiotic interrelation of a variety of anaerobic microorganisms, which all together make the process sensitive. The first stage of the decomposition of the organic matter is performed by fast growing (hydrolytic and acid forming) microorganisms, while in the second stage the organic acids produced are metabolized by the slow growing methanogens, which are more sensitive than the acidogens; thus, methanogenesis becomes the rate-limiting step. The first part of this work evaluates the effects of a pretreatment using an organic solvent, N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO), on cellulose-based materials in order to overcome the challenge of biomass recalcitrance and to increase the rate of the hydrolysis. NMMO-pretreatment of straw separated from the cattle and horse manure resulted in increased methane yields, by 53% and 51%, respectively, in batch digestion tests. The same kind of pretreatment of the forest residues led to an increase by 141% in the methane production during the following batch digestion assays. The second part of this work evaluates the efficacy of a two-stage process to overcome the second challenge with methanogenesis as the rate-limiting step, by using CSTR (continuous stirred tank reactors) and UASB (up flow anaerobic sludge blanket) on a wide variety of different waste fractions in order to decrease the time needed for the digestion process. In the two-stage semi-continuous process, the NMMO-pretreatment of jeans increased the biogas yield due to a more efficient hydrolysis compared to that of the untreated jeans. The results indicated that a higher organic loading rate (OLR) and a lower retention time could be achieved if the material was easily degradable. Comparing the two-stage and the single-stage process, treating the municipal solid waste (MSW) and waste from several food processing industries (FPW), showed that the OLR could be increased from 2 gVS/l/d to 10 gVS/l /d, and at the same time the HRT could be decreased from 10 to 3 days, which is a significant improvement that could be beneficial from an industrial point of view. The conventional single stage, on the other hand, could only handle an OLR of 3 gVS/l/d and HRT of 7 days.

Fruits are among the most important commodities in global trading due to its fundamental nutritional values. In 2012, the fruits supply was 115 kg/person/year, however, only 50 % of the fruits reached their consumers and the rest ended up as waste during the long fruit supply chain. The waste from fruits is mostly dumped or burned, creating a serious environmental problem. A more sustainable handling of the waste is therefore highly desirable. One of them is conversion of the fruits wastes into biogas through anaerobic digestion. One challenge with the conversion of fruits wastes into biogas is the presence of antimicrobial compounds in the fruits, which reduce the biogas yield or even cause a total failure of the process. Fruit flavors have been reported to have antimicrobial activity against several microorganisms and being responsible for the defense system in the fruits. However, there is only scarce information about the effect of fruit flavors on anaerobic digesting microbia. The objectives of the present thesis were: 1) to investigate the inhibitory activity of the fruit flavors on anaerobic digestion; 2) to remove the flavor compound by pretreatment; and 3) to protect the cell from the flavor compounds using a membrane bioreactor. The inhibitory activity of the fruit flavors was examined from different groups of flavors by adding a single flavor compound into the batch anaerobic digesting system, at three different concentrations. Among the flavors added, myrcene and octanol were found to exhibit a strong inhibitory activity, with 50 % reduction of the methane production at low concentrations, ca. 0.005–0.05 %. These flavors can be found in oranges, strawberries, grapes, plums, and mangoes. The other flavors tested showed moderate and low inhibitory activity, which might not affect the anaerobic digestion of the fruits wastes. In order to overcome the inhibitory effects of the fruit flavor, two approaches were proposed in this thesis, namely, fruit flavor removal by leaching pretreatment and cell protection from fruit flavor using a membrane bioreactor. Orange peel waste and D-limonene were used as a model of fruit waste and inhibitor, respectively. The leaching pretreatment uses solvent to extract the limonene from the orange peel. The methane yield increased by 356 % from 0.061 Nm3/kg VS to 0.217 Nm3/kg VS, by pretreating the peel using hexane with peel and a hexane ratio of 1:12 at room temperature for 10 min. Alternative to limonene removal, the cells were encased in a hydrophilic membrane, which is impermeable to hydrophobic limonene. This method yielded more than six times higher methane yield, compared to the free cell. At the highest organic loading rate, examined in this work, 3 g VS/L/day, the methane yield of the reactor containing the free cell was only 0.05 Nm3/kg VS, corresponding to 10 % of the theoretical yield, whereas 0.33 Nm3/kg VS methane yield was achieved using a membrane bioreactor corresponding to 75 % of the theoretical yield. / <p>Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Borås to be publicly defended on November 27th 2014, 10.00 a.m. in room E310, University of Borås, Allégatan 1, Borås.</p>

The overall goal of the thesis was to develop and optimize the moving bed biofilm reactor technology under anaerobic conditions. The thesis work was divided into two different series of experiments. Hence, at first, the reactor start-up on synthetic substrate was evaluated and it was proven that the anaerobic moving bed biofilm reactor technology could successfully treat concentrated wastewater. Subsequently, a study on Fort Garry Brewery wastewater was conducted to optimize the process for a typical North American industrial wastewater. The aim was successfully achieved and a potential design to treat Fort Garry Brewery wastewater was developed. The anaerobic moving bed biofilm reactor was found to be capable in treating brewery wastewater with potential savings to the industry paying surcharges for discharging wastewater over the city sewer bylaw limits. / October 2016

A number of advanced pre-treatment techniques and methods have been evaluated for the sole purpose of improving digestibility of waste activated sludge. The pre-treatment of waste activated sludge (WAS) offers the benefit of releasing solubilized substrates, making them readily available to be utilized in the anaerobic digestion process. Other potential benefits include: reducing shock loading to the digester, improving overall digestibility and potentially providing filament / foaming control. Chlorine dioxide, a well-known disinfectant and oxidizing agent has been utilized in many drinking water processes around the world. Its use in wastewater treatment processes however is limited; especially in Canada where legislation has prevented its use for final effluent disinfection. As an oxidizing agent, chlorine dioxide induces cell rupture resulting in the release of soluble material, which when fed into the digester, may serve as readily available substrate for active microorganisms. This mode of action creates the potential for chlorine dioxide to be used as a sludge pre-treatment agent to improve digester performance and in alleviating pre-existing filamentous sludge bulking. This study was conducted using waste activated sludge obtained from the City of Winnipeg’s South End Water Pollution Control Centre (SEWPCC), with the following objectives: 1. Determine the efficacy of chlorine dioxide in alleviating pre-existing filamentous sludge bulking; 2. Determine chlorine dioxide ability to increase WAS solubilization; and 3. Define impact of chlorine dioxide on anaerobic digester performance. WAS pre-treatment using chlorine dioxide was found to be effective in alleviating filamentous bulking. This is significant as filamentous bulking in the activated sludge may lead several problems downstream. Following pre-treatment, sludge bulking was determined to be alleviated as observed by photomicrographic evidence and as measured by a 57% decrease in the stirred sludge volume index (sSVI). Particulate COD solubilization increased by 60%, 76%, and 74% over the untreated sludge for WAS pre-treated with 25, 50, and 100 mg ClO2/L (v/v), respectively. The pre-treatment of sludge using chlorine dioxide did not have any negative impact on digester performance although it also did not lead to improved performance. The volatile solids destruction and COD removal remained unchanged for both untreated and pre-treated sludge. Chlorine dioxide pre-treatment did not affect anaerobic digestion even at the lowest SRT evaluated; it is possible to decrease the digester SRT to as low as 6 days while maintaining the solids destruction and COD removal capability. Biogas production did not improve with increasing chlorine dioxide dosage during pre-treatment but also was not hindered by the pre-treatment agent. Chlorine dioxide was shown to alleviate filamentous bulking and improve solubility and has the potential to improve digester performance without negative impacts to the digester. However, the full benefit of the pre-treatment method may only be realized for complex “difficult to disintegrate” sludge types. / October 2016