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Updated: Jul 21, 2025

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste
Published on: July 18, 2025
Volatile fatty acids bio-production using extracellular polymeric substances disengaged from sludge for carbon source
1State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China; State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Abstract:
Excessive waste-activated sludge (WAS) and insufficient carbon source (CS) for biological nitrogen removal (BNR) often coexist in municipal sewage treatment. Although the production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from WAS has been recognized as a promising solution, the development is limited by low VFAs production efficiency and dewatering deterioration of sludge. This study extracted the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from sludge by low-temperature thermal-hydrolysis (LTH) and high-speed hydro-cyclone (HSHC) pretreatment and recovered it for high-quality VFAs bio-production in thermophilic fermentation. Microbial mechanism analysis disclosed that interspecific interaction networks composed of functional flora, which accumulate VFAs by bio-converting EPS primarily and supplemented by EPS synthesis, guaranteed the efficient bio-production of VFAs. This process scheme shows promise in providing alternative denitrification CSs and avoiding deterioration of sludge dewaterability.
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