Tailored short-chain fatty acids conversion from waste activated sludge fermentation via persulfate oxidation and C3-C5 io-SRB metabolizers

Huijie Tan; Aijuan Zhou; Lijun Jia; Yanqing Duan; Zhihong Liu; Wenjing Zhao; Zhangwei He; Wenzong Liu; Xiuping Yue

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118967

Tailored short-chain fatty acids conversion from waste activated sludge fermentation via persulfate oxidation and C3-C5 io-SRB metabolizers

J Environ Manage. 2023 Nov 15:346:118967. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118967. Epub 2023 Sep 13.

Authors

Huijie Tan¹, Aijuan Zhou², Lijun Jia³, Yanqing Duan⁴, Zhihong Liu⁵, Wenjing Zhao⁶, Zhangwei He⁷, Wenzong Liu⁸, Xiuping Yue⁹

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China; Shanxi Shanan Lide Environmental Science & Technology Co., LTD, Taiyuan, 030032, China. Electronic address: tanhuijie@link.tyut.edu.cn.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China; Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan, 030000, China. Electronic address: zhouaijuan@tyut.edu.cn.
³ Shanxi Shanan Lide Environmental Science & Technology Co., LTD, Taiyuan, 030032, China. Electronic address: 1149202977@qq.com.
⁴ Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Taiyuan Institute of Technology, Taiyuan, 030008, China. Electronic address: duanyanqing@tit.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China. Electronic address: liuzhihong@tyut.edu.cn.
⁶ Shanxi Shanan Lide Environmental Science & Technology Co., LTD, Taiyuan, 030032, China. Electronic address: 873482262@qq.com.
⁷ Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, 710055, China. Electronic address: zwhe@xauat.edu.cn.
⁸ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 51805, China. Electronic address: liuwenzong@hit.edu.cn.
⁹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China; Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan, 030000, China; Shanxi Engineer Research Institute of Sludge Disposition and Resources, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China. Electronic address: yuexiuping@tyut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37714089
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118967

Abstract

Boosting acetate production from waste activated sludge (WAS) fermentation is often hindered by the inefficient solubilization in the hydrolysis step and the high hydrogen pressure ( [Formula: see text] ) during the acidogenesis of C3-C5 short-chain fatty acid (SCFAs), i.e., propionate (HPr), butyrate (HBu) and valerate (HVa). Therefore, this study employed persulfate (PS) oxidation and C3-C5 incomplete-oxidative sulfate reducing bacteria (io-SRB) metabolizers to tailor SCFAs conversion from WAS fermentation. The decomposition efficiency, performance of SCFAs production was investigated. Results showed that the PS significantly promoted WAS decomposition, with a dissolution rate of 39.4%, which is 26.0% higher than the un-treated test. Furthermore, SCFAs yields were increased to 462.7 ± 42 mg COD/g VSS in PS-HBu-SRB, which was 7.4 and 2.2 times higher than that of un-treated and sole PS tests, respectively. In particular, the sum of acetate and HPr reached the peak value of 85%, indicating that HBu-SRB mediation promoted the biotransformation of HBu and macromolecular organics by reducing the [Formula: see text] restriction. Meanwhile, sulfate radical (SO₄∙^-)-based oxidation (SR-AOPs) was effective in the decomposition of WAS, the oxidative product, i.e., sulfate served the necessary electron acceptor for the metabolism of io-SRB. Further analysis of Mantel test revealed the cluster of the functional genus and their interaction with environmental variables. Additionally, molecular ecological network analysis explored the potential synergistic and competitive relationships between critical genera. Additionally, the potential synergistic and competitive relationships between critical genera was explored by molecular ecological network analysis. This study provides new insights into the integration of SR-AOPs with microbial mediation in accelerating SCFAs production from WAS fermentation.

Keywords: MENs analysis; Microbial community; Persulfate; Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs); Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB).

MeSH terms

Acetates
Anaerobiosis
Fatty Acids, Volatile*
Fermentation
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Sewage*
Sulfates

Substances

Sewage
Fatty Acids, Volatile
Acetates
Sulfates