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Enhanced Hydrolysis and Acidification of Waste Activated Sludge by Biosurfactant Rhamnolipid

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Abstract

The effect of biosurfactant rhamnolipid (RL) on hydrolysis and acidification of waste activated sludge (WAS) was investigated. The results indicated that RL could greatly reduce the surface tension of sludge, resulting in stimulating the hydrolysis rate of WAS and enhancing the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). With the increase of RL dosage from 0.2 to 0.5 g/g DS, the maximum soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD), protein and carbohydrate concentration increased correspondingly. After 6 h of hydrolysis, SCOD, protein and carbohydrate concentration increased from 371.9, 93.3 and 9.0 mg/l to 3,994.5, 800.0 and 401.4 mg/l at RL 0.3 g/g DS, respectively. Furthermore, the release of NH4 +-N, PO4 3−-P and the accumulation of SCFAs also improved in the presence of RL. The maximum SCFAs was 1,829.9 mg COD/l at RL 0.3 g/g DS, while it was only 377.7 mg COD/l for the blank test. The propionic acid and acetic acid were the mainly SCFAs produced, accounting for 50–60% of total SCFAs.

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Abbreviations

RL:

Biosurfactant rhamnolipid

SCFAs:

Short-chain fatty acids

WAS:

Waste activated sludge

SCOD:

Soluble chemical oxygen demand

TCOD:

Total chemical oxygen demand

DS:

Dry sludge

VSS:

Volatile suspended solids

SDBS:

Sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate

SDS:

Sodium dodecyl sulphate

EPS:

Extracellular polymeric substances

CMC:

Critical micelle concentration

ME:

Mixed enzyme

TSS:

Total suspended solids

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51078128), International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China (No. 2011DFA90740), Planned Science and Technology Project of Hunan Province, China (No. 2011SK3215), and the Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy Electric-Technology of Hunan Province (No. 2012KFJJ007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Xin Yi, Kun Luo, Qi Yang, Xiao-Ming Li, Wei-Guang Deng, Hong-Bo Cheng, Zi-long Wang & Guang-Ming Zeng

  2. Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control, Hunan University, Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, China

    Xin Yi, Kun Luo, Qi Yang, Xiao-Ming Li, Wei-Guang Deng, Hong-Bo Cheng, Zi-long Wang & Guang-Ming Zeng

  3. Department of Bioengineering and Environmental Science, Changsha College, Changsha, 410003, China

    Kun Luo

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  1. Xin Yi
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Correspondence to Qi Yang or Xiao-Ming Li.

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Yi, X., Luo, K., Yang, Q. et al. Enhanced Hydrolysis and Acidification of Waste Activated Sludge by Biosurfactant Rhamnolipid. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 171, 1416–1428 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-013-0439-0

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