Integrated production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) with municipal wastewater and sludge treatment at pilot scale

F Morgan-Sagastume; M Hjort; D Cirne; F Gérardin; S Lacroix; G Gaval; L Karabegovic; T Alexandersson; P Johansson; A Karlsson; S Bengtsson; M V Arcos-Hernández; P Magnusson; A Werker

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2015.01.046

Integrated production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) with municipal wastewater and sludge treatment at pilot scale

Bioresour Technol. 2015 Apr:181:78-89. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2015.01.046. Epub 2015 Jan 20.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ AnoxKaldnes, Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: fernando.morgan@anoxkaldnes.com.
² AnoxKaldnes, Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
³ Dept. of Biotechnology and Biosystems, Veolia Recherche et Innovation (VERI) - Centre de Recherche de Maisons Laffitte, Chemin de la Digue - BP 76, 78603 Maisons-Laffitte, France.

PMID: 25638407
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2015.01.046

Abstract

A pilot-scale process was operated over 22 months at the Brussels North Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in order to evaluate polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production integration with services of municipal wastewater and sludge management. Activated sludge was produced with PHA accumulation potential (PAP) by applying feast-famine selection while treating the readily biodegradable COD from influent wastewater (average removals of 70% COD, 60% CODsol, 24% nitrogen, and 46% phosphorus). The biomass PAP was evaluated to be in excess of 0.4gPHA/gVSS. Batch fermentation of full-scale WWTP sludge at selected temperatures (35, 42 and 55 °C) produced centrate (6-9.4 gCODVFA/L) of consistent VFA composition, with optimal fermentation performance at 42 °C. Centrate was used to accumulate PHA up to 0.39 gPHA/gVSS. The centrate nutrients are a challenge to the accumulation process but producing a biomass with 0.5 gPHA/gVSS is considered to be realistically achievable within the typically available carbon flows at municipal waste management facilities.

Keywords: Municipal wastewater treatment; Pilot scale; Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production; Sludge fermentation; Volatile fatty acid (VFA).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Batch Cell Culture Techniques
Belgium
Biomass
Cities*
Fatty Acids, Volatile / analysis
Fermentation
Nitrogen / pharmacology
Phosphorus / pharmacology
Pilot Projects
Polyhydroxyalkanoates / biosynthesis*
Sewage*
Wastewater*
Water Purification / methods*

Substances

Fatty Acids, Volatile
Polyhydroxyalkanoates
Sewage
Waste Water
Phosphorus
Nitrogen