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Waste activated sludge hydrolysis during ultrasonication: two-step disintegration.
Si-Kyung Cho1, Hang-Sik Shin, Dong-Hoon Kim
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, KAIST, 373-1 Guseong-Dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. sikyung@kaist.ac.kr
Bioresource Technology
|August 2, 2012
Summary
Ultrasonication of waste activated sludge (WAS) involves floc disintegration (FD) and cell lysis (CL). FD dominates initially, followed by CL, with FD occurring five times faster than CL.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Biotechnology
- Wastewater Treatment
Background:
- Waste activated sludge (WAS) hydrolysis is crucial for wastewater treatment.
- Understanding the mechanisms of sludge disintegration is key to optimizing treatment processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To differentiate floc disintegration (FD) and cell lysis (CL) during WAS hydrolysis via ultrasonication.
- To analyze the kinetics of these two disintegration processes.
Main Methods:
- Measuring ribonucleic acid (RNA) and bound extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) concentrations.
- Conducting kinetic analysis of WAS hydrolysis under ultrasonication.
Main Results:
- Distinct decreasing patterns of RNA and EPS concentrations indicated simultaneous but sequential FD and CL.
- The dominant process shifted from FD to CL after 10 minutes of ultrasonication.
- FD exhibited a hydrolysis rate constant five times greater than CL.
Conclusions:
- The two-step disintegration process involves initial disintegration of sludge flocs (FD) followed by microbial cell lysis (CL).
- Differences in the strengths of flocs and cells explain the varying hydrolysis rates.
- Differential solubilization rates drive the sequential disintegration of WAS.
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