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Combined Mesophilic Anaerobic and Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion Process: Effect on Sludge Degradation and Variation of Sludge Property

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Abstract

One-stage autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) is effective for the reduction of volatile solids (VSs) and pathogen in sewage sludges. A novel process of combining mesophilic (<35 °C) anaerobic digestion with a thermophilic (55 °C) aerobic digestion process (AN/TAD) occurred in a one-stage digester, which was designed for aeration energy savings. The efficiency of sludge degradation and variation of sludge properties by batch experiments were evaluated for the AN/TAD digester with an effective volume of 23 L for 30 days compared with conventional thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD). The AN/TAD system can efficiently achieve sludge stabilization on the 16th day with a VS removal rate of 38.1 %. The AN/TAD system was operated at lower ORP values in a digestion period with higher contents of total organic compounds, volatile fatty acids, protein, and polysaccharide in the soluble phase than those of the TAD system, which can rapidly decreased and had low values in the late period of digestion for the AN/TAD system. In the AN/TAD system, intracellular substances had lysis because of initial hydrolytic acidification.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Jiangsu Overseas Research and Training Program for University Prominent Young and Middle-aged Teachers and Presidents, the Item of Jiangsu Province “333 Hi-class personnel training project” (no. BRA2011185), and the Environmental Protection Agency of Jiangsu Province (no. 2008020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, China

    Jiehong Cheng, Feng Kong & Xian Chen

  2. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China

    Yuehong Ji

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  1. Jiehong Cheng
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  2. Yuehong Ji
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  3. Feng Kong
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  4. Xian Chen
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Correspondence to Jiehong Cheng.

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Cheng, J., Ji, Y., Kong, F. et al. Combined Mesophilic Anaerobic and Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion Process: Effect on Sludge Degradation and Variation of Sludge Property. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 171, 1701–1714 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-013-0453-2

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