During anaerobic digestion bacteria inside the digester require a carbon source for their growth and metabolism, sewage sludge was used as a carbon source in this study. The COD content was used to measure the disappearance of the substrate. COD content was reduced by 48.3% and 49% in the methanogenic and sulphidogenic bioreactors, respectively, while sulphate concentration was reduced by 40%, producing 70mg/L of hydrogen sulphide as the end product over the first 5-7 days. Sulphate (which is used as a terminal electron acceptor of sulphur reducing bacteria) has little or no effect on the sulphidogenic and methanogenic proteases. Sulphite and sulphide (the intermediate and end product of sulphate reduction) increased protease activity by 20% and 40%-80%, respectively. Maximum protease activity occurred on day 21 in the methanogenic reactor and on day 9 in the sulphidogenic reactor. The absorbance, which indicates the level of amino acid increased to 2 and 9 for methanogenic and sulphidogenic bioreactors, respectively. Proteases that were active during anaerobic digestion were associated with the pellet (organic particulate matter) of the sewage. These enzymes have an optimum activity at pH 10 and at temperature of 50°C. The proteases that were active at pH 5 and 7, had optimum temperatures at 30°C and 60°C, respectively. Due to their association with organic particulate matter, these enzymes were stable at their optimum temperatures for at least five hours at their respective pH. Inhibition by PMSF, TPCK and 1.10-phenanthroline suggested that proteases inside the anaerobic digester are a mixture of cysteine, serine and metalloproteases. At pH 5, however, EDTA appeared to enhance protease activity by 368% (three-fold). Acetic acid decreased protease activity by 21%, while both propionic and butyric acid at 200 mg/L cause total inhibition of protease activity while these acids at higher pH (where they exist as their corresponding salts) exerted little effect. Copper, iron and zinc inhibited protease activity by 85% at pH 5 with concentrations ranging between 200 and 600 mg/L. On the other hand, nickel, showed an increase in protease activity of nearly 250%. At pH 7 and 10, copper had no effect on protease activity while iron, nickel and zinc inhibited these enzymes by 20-40%. Proteases at pH 7 were extracted from the pellet by sonication, releasing 50% of the total enzymes into the solution. The enzymes were precipitated by ammonium sulphate precipitation, and further purified by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Ion exchange chromatography revealed that most of the enzymes that hydrolyse proteins are negatively charged while gel filtration showed that their molecular weight is approximately 500 kDa.

No description available.

The Best PhD Thesis in the Faculties of Dentistry, Engineering, Medicine and Science (University of Hong Kong), Li Ka Shing Prize,1993-1995 / published_or_final_version / Civil and Structural Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / abstract / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) together with potentially toxic metals (PTMs), are present in large amounts in sewage sludge which was used as a tool to expose terrestrial molluscs to environmental concentrations of these pollutants. Pastures fertilised with sewage sludge had significantly fewer adult slugs collected per replicate (C: 58.4; T: 26.2; S.E.D. 0.14; p&lt;.05) and eggs (C: 16.6; T: 9.1; S.E.D. 0.17; p&lt;0.05).  No differences with treatment, in tissue concentrations of EDCs or PTMs or in hepatopancreas or gonad structure, were detected.  However, hepatopancreatic proteins (cyclophilin, paramyosin and trypsin) were significantly altered (p&lt;0.01). In a laboratory study, exposure, via feed, to 0x (Control), 1x (T1), 10x (T2) or 110x (T3) the environmental dose of sludge extract resulted in a dose-related increase in mean mortality rates (relative to controls) in adult slugs (<i>Deroceras reticulatum</i>).  Exposure for 3 weeks induced no measurable differences in tissue pollutant concentrations or hepatopancreas or gonad histology. Fewer slug eggs exposed to sludge and/or dehydration (2x2; 10 eggs/replicate); hatched following sludge exposure (C hydrated 64.5%;T hydrated 24.5%; p&lt;0.05; S.E.D. 2.169; C dehydrated 48.9%; T dehydrated 17.4%; p&lt;0.05; S.E.D. 4.256) but not following dehydration.  There was no significant interaction between sludge exposure and dehydration but survival was lowest in animals exposed to both. Slug behaviour was affected by exposure to sludge, including increasing avoidance and huddling behaviours. The results indicate that terrestrial molluscs may be used as invertebrate sentinels to assess the effects of ECD and PTM exposure.

As a first step in understanding the chemistry of toxic elements in sludged soil, this thesis presents a comprehensive model of their chemistry in the digester. A review of the literature had shown that heavy metals were likely to be held in 3 pools: as precipitated and detrital mineral phases 'Particulate'; as complexes with the flocculated biomass 'Biofloc'; and as complexes in solution 'Soluble'. A simple pragmatic fractionation procedure has been offered to separate these 3 pools based on their physical properties in water. A mass-balance between the pools showed that the 'Particulate' fraction held only 5-16% of the heavy metals but contained them in the highest concentration. The 'Biofloc' held 82-94% of the heavy metals. The 'Particulate' material was subdivided by density separation and examined by a combination of analytical SEM and XRD. Thirty-four minerals were identified by XRD, many of which were detrital. Secondary precipitates on the surface of detrital minerals were revealed by the SEM; of these only the sulphides were found to contain detectable levels of heavy metals. Eleven minerals were identified in the 'Biofloc', of which most were clays. The fractionation scheme defined 2 fractions that could hold heavy metals by complexation. The 'Soluble' had a CEC of 8.8 meq/gm and the 'Biofloc' 4 meq/gm. Complexation by the heavy metals and a few other important cations was measured. A thermodynamic model was built which describes the possible solution species, mineral phases and complexation by the biomass in terms of a set of 33 primary components. This model was solved by computer for an 'average' sludge based on published analyses, and considered 313 solution species, 42 exchange reactions and 129 possible minerals. The predicted speciation was broadly in line with observations and suggested that the majority of the heavy metals separating with the 'Biofloc' would have been held as fine enmeshed sulphide precipitates. The model may be used with existing programs such as MINEQL and GEOCHEM. Preliminary studies have shown that with a few additions the model may be used to describe the heavy metals in sludged soil.

Orientador: Marisa Spirandeli Crespi / Coorientador: Sonia de Almeida / Banca: Valdir Schalch / Banca: Wellington Cyro de Almeida Leite / Resumo: Com a crescente preocupação em preservação do meio ambiente e qualidade de vida da população, observa-se um aumento de 95% na quantidade de esgoto tratado no Brasil entre 2000 e 2008. Entretanto, tal evento acarreta na geração de um resíduo denominado lodo de esgoto que é geralmente disposto em aterros sanitários licenciados para este fim. A problemática atual é o fato de que tais aterros já não comportam mais tanto lodo, e é necessária uma alternativa viável de descarte desse resíduo. Para tanto, torna-se imprescindível a caracterização química e comportamento térmico do lodo de esgoto para futuros estudos de reaproveitamento e alocação. Neste estudo, apresentam-se a caracterização química e estudo de decomposição térmica dos lodos das estações de tratamento das cidades de Jaú e São Carlos, ambas no estado de São Paulo. As amostras foram coletadas e tratadas de acordo com cada técnica de análise. O lodo de Jáu apresentou 70% de sua massa de matéria orgânica, enquanto que o lodo de São Carlos apresentou 55%, segundo a análise termogravimétrica. A presença de matéria orgânica nos lodos foi confirmada através das técnicas de demanda química de oxigênio, difratometria de Raios-X e espectroscopia na região do infravermelho. Houve diferença no tamanho de partículas dos lodos, enquanto Jaú apresentou partículas maiores, com cerca de 860nm, São Carlos possui partículas em torno de 310nm. A partir da análise de espectroscopia de absorção atômica, obteve-se a concentração de metais nos lodos e observou-se que esta encontra-se dentro do limite máximo permitido pela legislação vigente no Brasil para reuso como fertilizante agrícola, de acordo somente com este parâmetro. Entretanto, a análise de compostos orgânicos através da cromatografia gasosa acoplada a espectrometria de... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: With the growing concern for environmental preservation and quality of life, there is increase of 95% in the amount of treated sewage in Brazil between 2000 and 2008. However, it leads in the generation of a residue named sewage sludge which is generally disposed in sanitary landfills licensed to this application. The current problem is the fact of such landfills no longer can storage much more sludge, and it is required a viable alternative for disposal of this waste. Therefore, chemical characterization and thermal behavior of sewage sludge becomes essential for posterior reuse studies and storage. This study presents the chemical characterization and study of thermal decomposition of sewage sludge from treatment plants of the cities of São Carlos and Jaú, both in the São Paulo state. The samples were collected and handled according to each analysis technique requirements. The amount of organic matter, in mass fraction, in the sludge of Jau was 70%, while the sludge of São Carlos was 55%, according to the thermal analysis. The presence of organic matter in the sludge was confirmed by the techniques of chemical oxygen demand, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The size of the sludge particles of Jaú was around 860nm, while the sludge of São Carlos was around 310nm. The analysis of atomic absorption spectroscopy showed that the concentrations of metals in the sludge samples were according the Brazilian law for reuse as agricultural fertilizer, according only to this parameter. However, the analysis of organic compounds by gas chromatography mass spectrometry indicated the presence of numerous compounds which are not cited in the law and are potentially harmful to the environment. The kinetic evaluation showed the effect of kinetics compensation on the reaction of degradation of organic matter... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Thesis (M.Ph.)--Chinese University of Hongkong. / Bibliography: leaves 366-391.

Thesis. 1977. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / Ph.D.