The use of renewable waste for bioenergy production is in discussion because of the concurrence to the food or animal feed. The treatment of organic waste is necessary in order to keep clean the environment. The combination of those proposals, the waste utilization and the production of renewable energy can be combined with several techniques. In Vietnam the energy demand will increase rapidly in the next years, because a lot of people do not have access to electricity. The development of power sources is limited mainly to large central power plants using hydropower and traditional fossil fuels. So in the country there exists a considerable potential for sustainable energy sources like biomass and residues. The biogas potential is large due to the high livestock population. There are more than 30 million animals in farms, mostly pigs, cattle, and water buffalo. There is a high potential for biogas utilization. Biogas production is economic in small and in big plants, so household biogas digesters are one opportunity for production of renewable energy in small villages or cities with a high livestock population. The advantage of anaerobic treatment of organic waste is the work in closed loops. The treatment of organic waste and the utilization of digested sludge from wastewater treatment plants are samples for the circulation of materials after use. The remaining materials can be used in the natural circulation process, because the nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and carbon, and also trace elements remain in the digested matter. In biogas plants a huge variety of substrates can be used. The adaption of biogas technology to the special conditions of the substrates, the increase of the prices for energy, the aim to replace fossil energies with renewable energies will be forced in the next years. / Việc sử dụng chất thải có thể tái tạo được để sản xuất năng lượng sinh học là vấn đề còn đang được thảo luận vì sự cạnh tranh với thức ăn hoặc thức ăn cho động vật. Việc xử lý các chất thải hữu cơ là cần thiết để giữ sạch môi trường. Sự kết hợp của các đề xuất đó, tận dụng các chất thải và sản xuất năng lượng tái tạo có thể có thể được kết hợp với một số kỹ thuật. Ở Việt Nam, nhu cầu năng lượng sẽ tăng lên nhanh chóng trong những năm tiếp theo, bởi vì rất nhiều người vẫn chưa có điện sử dụng. Sự phát triển của các nguồn năng lượng chỉ giới hạn chủ yếu là các nhà máy điện lớn trung tâm sử dụng thủy điện và các nhiên liệu hóa thạch truyền thống. Vì vậy, trong nước tồn tại tiềm năng đáng kể cho các nguồn năng lượng bền vững như sinh khối và những nguồn khác. Tiềm năng khí sinh học lớn do quần thể động vật nuôi rất lớn. Có hơn 30 triệu động vật trong trang trại, chủ yếu là lợn, bò, trâu nước. Tiềm năng sử dụng khí sinh học rất cao. Sản xuất khí sinh học rất có hiệu quả kinh tế trong các nhà máy nhỏ và lớn, do đó, các thiết bị phản ứng tạo khí sinh học ở các hộ gia đình là một cơ hội để sản xuất năng lượng tái tạo trong các thành phố hay làng mạc nhỏ với số lượng lớn các gia súc được chăn nuôi. Ưu điểm của việc xử lý kỵ khí các chất thải hữu cơ là làm việc trong vòng khép kín. Việc xử lý các chất thải hữu cơ và sử dụng bùn phân hủy từ các nhà máy xử lý nước thải là các ví dụ cho việc tuần hoàn các vật chất sau khi sử dụng. Các vật chất còn lại có thể được sử dụng trong quá trình tuần hoàn tự nhiên, vì các chất dinh dưỡng như phốt pho, nitơ và carbon, và cả các nguyên tố vi lượng vẫn tồn tại trong nguyên liệu đã phân hủy. Trong các nhà máy khí sinh học, rất nhiều loại chất nền có thể được sử dụng. Sự cải tiến công nghệ sản xuất khí sinh học theo các điều kiện đặc biệt của các chất nền, sự gia tăng của giá năng lượng, mục đích thay thế nguồn năng lượng hóa thạch bằng năng lượng tái tạo sẽ là bắt buộc trong những năm tới.

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) is a platform technology that is able to realize versatile engineering functions and recover valuable resources in an energy-efficient manner. One of the potential applications of BES is to remove and recover nutrients simultaneously from nutrient-rich wastewater, such as digested manure from livestock. A four-chamber BES was developed and used in this study to explore the potential to remove and recover hexavalent Chromium from synthetic wastewater, and ammonia and phosphate from digested manure. The BES was able to achieve 99.6% removal of Chromium by membrane adsorption in 5 days but failed to recover in the concentration chamber. Nutrients were removed from the waste stream and recovered in the recirculated catholyte by the electrical field generated from the waste. The BES was demonstrated to achieve substantial COD removal, nutrients removal and recovery. On average, the removal efficiencies were about 50% for COD, 85% for NH4-N and 40% for PO4-P, and the concentration of NH4-N recovered in the catholyte was 670 mg/L after 5 cycles under an applied voltage of 0.8 V. PO4-P was not recovered in solution, probably because it has precipitated under the alkaline condition together with Mg2+ and Ca2+ concentrated in the catholyte. It was also demonstrated that nutrients removal and recovery depended on the current generation and were mostly completed at high current. To sum up, the BES was proven to be an effective and sustainable approach to remove and recover nutrients from digested manure. / Master of Science

Thesis (PhD (Food Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / In the absence of anaerobic granules, anaerobically digested sewage sludge is frequently used to seed industrial upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. Because of its flocculent nature, start-up with digested sludge instead of granular sludge proceeds much slower and presents various operational problems. Any manner in which the granulation of digested sludge can be enhanced would benefit UASB reactor start-up and application in developing countries such as South Africa. The main objective of this dissertation was to improve granulation and reduce UASB reactor start-up by using pre-treated digested sludge as seed. The sludge was pre-treated based on the batch granulation-enhancement model of Britz et al. (2002). The main aim of the model was to improve extracellular polymer (ECP) production of lactate-utilising populations by applying short-term controlled organic overloading in a mechanically agitated environment. The batch granulation-enhancement (pre-treatment) process was applied to an ECP-producing digester strain, Propionibacterium jensenii S1. Non-methanogenic aggregates were formed when batch units were incubated on a roller-table instead of a linear-shake platform. Larger, more stable aggregates were obtained in the presence of apricot effluent medium. Preliminary batch granulation-enhancement studies confirmed that using the roller-table as mixing system had a positive influence on batch granulation-enhancement. The roller-table showed the most potential for handling larger volumes in comparison to a linear-shake waterbath and linear-shake platform. The addition of 450 mg.L-1 Fe2+ at the start of the study also influenced aggregate numbers positively. These studies revealed that pre-treatment results varied depending on the seed sludge source. A denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method was applied for the detection of Archaea in digested sludges and UASB granules. In addition, a methanogenic marker containing methanogens important to the granulation process was constructed to aid identification. The positive influence of DMSO and “touchdown” PCR on the elimination of artifactual double bands in DGGE fingerprints were also demonstrated. Results revealed that only one of the four digested sludges tested contained Methanosaeta concilii (critical to granular nuclei formation) while it was present in all the UASB granules regardless of substrate type. Four digested sludges were obtained from stable secondary digesters. DGGE indicated the presence of M. concilii in all sludges. The Athlone 4Sb-sludge was the only sludge which exhibited measurable methanogenic activity during substrate dependent activity testing. The ST-sludge showed the highest increase in volatile suspended solids (VSS) particles ≥0.25 mm2. Laboratory-scale UASB reactor start-up was done with both sludges and start-up proceeded better in the Athlone 4Sb-reactor. Athlone 4Sb-sludge batches were pre-treated in a rolling-batch reactor in the presence of either lactate or sucrose and used to seed lab-scale UASB reactors B (sucrose seed) and C (lactate seed). Start-up efficiencies were compared to a control (Reactor A). Overall Reactor B was more efficient that the control. At the end of the study the Reactor B sludge had a higher methanogenic activity than the control reactor. It also had the highest increase in VSS ≥1.0 mm2. Pre-treatment of digested sludge in the presence of sucrose, therefore, aided granulation and reduced UASB reactor start-up time.

Notre étude porte sur la preuve de concept de contrôle électrochimique de la méthanogénèse, métabolisme clé de la digestion anaérobie et de la bioremédiation des eaux, en exploitant le principe des piles à combustible microbiennes. Une première partie bibliographique vise à décrire les mécanismes de la méthanogénèse dans le contexte de l'auto-épuration des eaux et de production naturelle de gaz à effet de serre (GES). Les technologies de pile à combustibles microbiennes y sont traitées. Une analyse critique des études sur le contrôle électrochimique de la méthanogénèse permet de dimensionner un montage expérimental dédié à la quantification des GES en cultures biologiques électro-stimulées. Sa conception, sa validation ainsi que les méthodes de mise en culture sont décrites dans une seconde partie. Une série de cultures préliminaires sur des boues digérées anaérobies de station d'épuration permettent d'identifier et fixer les paramètres expérimentaux. Dans une troisième partie, une étude expérimentale fait la preuve de concept de contrôle électrochimique de la méthanogénèse avec une diminution significative de 33% en CH4 (tension de +300 mV vs Ag/AgCl) par rapport à la méthanogénèse naturelle non stimulée. Toutefois, la stimulation contribue à multiplier par 10 la production de CO2. Ce constat amène la problématique supplémentaire d'impact sur l'effet de serre des cultures étudiées. Nous allons donc plus loin que l'objectif initial en nous intéressant à l'empreinte carbone générée par l'ensemble des GES. Le traitement électrochimique, outre la diminution du CH4 produit, permet de diminuer la contribution à l'effet de serre de 15% des cultures électro-stimulées / Our study focuses on the proof of concept of electrochemical control of methanogenesis, key metabolism of anaerobic digestion and water bioremediation, using the principle of microbial fuel cells. A first bibliographic section aims to describe the mechanisms of methanogenesis in the context of self-purification of water and natural production of greenhouse gases (GHG). Microbial fuel cell technologies are addressed. A critical analysis of the studies dealing with electrochemical control of methanogenesis makes it possible to size an experimental setup dedicated to quantification of GHGs in electro-stimulated biological cultures. Its design, validation and methods of cultivation are described in a second part. A series of preliminary cultures on anaerobic digested sewage sludge make it possible to identify and set the experimental parameters. In a third part, an experimental study proves the concept of electrochemical control of methanogenesis with a significant decrease of 33% in CH4 (voltage of +300 mV vs Ag/AgCl) compared to natural unstimulated methanogenesis. However, stimulation contributes to a 10-fold increase in CO2 production. This observation leads to the additional problem of impact on the greenhouse effect of the cultures studied. We go further than the initial objective by looking at the carbon footprint generated by all GHGs. The electrochemical treatment, in addition to the reduction of CH4 produced, makes it possible to reduce the contribution to the greenhouse effect of 15% of electro-stimulated cultures

This thesis describes two different sample preparation strategies for inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), and their ability regarding multi element quantification in complex samples. Sensitivity, repeatability, reproducibility and accuracy were investigated. The aim was to increase the over all efficiency, the speed of analysis, and/or the sensitivity of the analytical method. The intention was to measure analytes with concentrations ranging from ng/g to mg/g simultaneously. The aim was additionally to study chemical and physical processes occurring during the sample preparation, the sample transport to the plasma, and the atomization therein. In the first sample preparation strategy, a hydrophilic highly cross-linked iminodiacetate-agarose adsorbent, IDA-Novarose, was used for preconcentration of metal ions, and matrix elimination in natural water samples. The sorbent was synthesized with different binding capacities. The effect of the capacity on preconcentration, matrix elimination, and uptake capability at high flow rates was studied. For a high capacity IDA-Novarose (≥ 45 µmole/ml) quantitative uptake was seen even at high flow rates (100 ml/min) for Cu2+ with a high affinity to the adsorbent, and for Cd2+ with a moderate affinity. For lower capacities the uptake of Cd2+ was affected by the sample matrix and the flow rate. A method based on the determination of the conditional stability constant of the metal sorbent complex was suggested for the prediction of the sorbent capacity needed to obtain quantitative recovery and optimal matrix elimination. The sorbent was used in a flow system with online buffering for the analysis of a certified riverine water (SLRS-3), tap water and lake water. With few exceptions the results obtained by ICP-AES after preconcentration agreed well with the certified concentrations and results obtained by ICP-MS. The other sample preparation strategy discussed is a method for non digested biological samples from different animal organs for the multi element analysis by ICP-AES. This “mix and measure method” consists of a simple homogenization of the sample with a mixing rod in a small amount of neutral media, followed by dilution and direct measurement with ICP-AES. The total time of analysis is only a few minutes. The ability of this fast method to accurately quantify some elements of toxic, environmental, and/or physiological concern with the lowest possible sample dilution and the highest possible plasma load was evaluated. In 10 % liver slurry Cd, Co, and Sr, at concentration levels around 0.05 µg/g were quantified simultaneously with P and K around 2000 µg/g and with several other elements in between (Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, and Zn). The relative standard deviation of repeated measurements of samples was around 5 - 6 % for regardless of the concentration of the element. The method was also used for fast screening of the elemental distribution in mice organs (brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung and spleen).