Production of sanitary safe water of high quality with membrane technology is an alternative for conventional disinfection methods, as UF and MF membranes are found to be an effective barrier for pathogenic protozoa cysts, bacteria, and partially, viruses. The application of membranes in water treatment enables the reduction of chlorine consumption during final disinfection, what is especially recommended for long water distribution systems, in which microbiological quality of water needs to be effectively maintained. Membrane filtration, especially ultrafiltration and microfiltration, can be applied to enhance and improve disinfection of water and biologically treated wastewater, as ultrafiltration act as a barrier for viruses, bacteria and protozoa, but microfiltration does not remove viruses. As an example of direct application of UF/MF to wastewater treatment, including disinfection, membrane bioreactors can be mentioned. Additionally, membrane techniques are used in removal of disinfection byproducts from water. For this purpose, high pressure driven membrane processes, i.e. reverse osmosis and nanofiltration are mainly applied, however, in the case of inorganic DBPs, electrodialysis or Donnan dialysis can also be considered.
Substitution of fossil fuels with alternative energy carriers has become necessary due to climate change and fossil fuel shortages. Fermentation as a way of producing biohydrogen, an attractive and environmentally friendly future energy carrier, has captured received increasing attention in recent years because of its high H2 production rate and a variety of readily available waste substrates used in the process. This paper discusses the state-of-the-art of fermentative biohydrogen production, factors affecting this process, as well as various bioreactor configurations and performance parameters, including H2 yield and H2 production rate.
The paper presents modeling and simulation results of the operation of a three-phase fluidized bed bioreactorwith partial recirculation of biomass. The proposed quantitative description of the bioreactor takes into account biomass growth on inert carriers, microorganisms decay and interphase biomass transfer. Stationary characteristics of the bioreactor and local stability of steady-stateswere determined. The influence of microbiological growth kinetics on the multiplicity of steady-states was discussed. The relationship between biofilm growth and boundaries of fluidized bed existence was shown.
A number of inorganic compounds, including anions such as nitrate(V), chlorate(VII), bromate (V),
arsenate(III) and (V), borate and fluoride as well as metals forming anions under certain conditions, have been
found in potentially harmful concentrations in numerous water sources. The maximum allowed levels of these
compounds in drinking water set by the WHO and a number of countries are very low (in the range of µg/l to a
few mg/l), thus the majority of them can be referred to as charged micropollutants. Several common treatment
technologies which are nowadays used for removal of inorganic contaminants from natural water supplies, represent serious exploitation problems. Membrane processes such as reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF),
ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) in hybrid systems, Donnan dialysis (DD) and electrodialysis (ED)
as well as membrane bioreactors (MBR), if properly selected, offer the advantage of producing high quality
drinking water without inorganic anions.
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The potential of organic wastes in Ukraine for biogas production and the prospects of using the family-type biogas plants for this purpose are shown. In the biogas laboratory of the Ukrainian National Forestry University the efficiency of the anaerobic mesophilic digestion of chicken manure of Poltava poultry farm, Kamianets-Podilsky poultry farm and sewage sludge from Lviv wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was investigated. Different integral indicators of the biogas production and significantly different dynamics of its formation over time were obtained for three investigated substrates. The value of average specific biogas production from the sewage sludge of Lviv WWTP is 0.494 dm3∙(day∙kg FM)–1, which is 5.1 times more comparing the chicken manure of Kamianets-Podilsky poultry farm and 8.0 times more than for the chicken manure of Poltava poultry farm. Strong negative effect of antibiotic treatment of chickens on methane contentin the obtained biogas was established experimentally.
The quantitative description of an airlift bioreactor, in which aerobic biodegradation limited by carbonaceous substrate and oxygen dissolved in a liquid takes place, is presented. This process is described by the double-substrate kinetics. Mathematical models based on the assumption of plug flow and dispersion flow of liquid through the riser and the downcomer in the reactor were proposed. Calculations were performed for two representative hydrodynamic regimes of reactor operation, i.e. with the presence of gas bubbles only within the riser and for complete gas circulation. The analysis aimed at how the choice of a mathematical model of the process would enable detecting the theoretical occurrence of oxygen deficiency in the airlift reactor. It was demonstrated that the simplification of numerical calculations by assuming the “plug flow” model instead of dispersion with high Péclet numbers posed a risk of improper evaluation of the presence of oxygen deficiency zones. Conclusions related to apparatusmodelling and process design were drawn on the basis of the results obtained. The paper is a continuation of an earlier publication (Grzywacz, 2012a) where an analysis of single-substrate models of the airlift reactor was presented.
The main goal of the present study was to examine the operating characteristics and mechanisms of membrane fouling in integrated membrane bioreactors (IMBRs) at diff erent temperatures. Two IMBRs, each with identical dimensions and confi gurations, were used in the study using synthetic domestic sewage at a low temperature (10°C) and high temperature (25°C). The results indicated that the removal effi ciency of chemical oxygen demand reached 93–96%, but the membrane contribution rate of IMBR2 (10°C) was higher than that of IMBR1 (25°C). The separation burden of the membrane on organic compounds increased at low temperature, which may have sped up the rate of membrane biofouling. The absolute rate of trans-membrane pressure build-up was faster at low temperature, leading to shorter IMBR operating times. Soluble microbial products (SMPs) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) in the IMBRs signifi cantly increased at low temperature. These substances intensifi ed defl occulation, with an accompanying reduction of fl oc size and the release of EPSs at low temperature, which facilitated the formation of cake foulants on the surface, covering the entire membrane area. The protein and polysaccharide concentrations of SMPs and EPSs in the IMBRs were correlated with the concentration of C8-HSL. It was demonstrated that temperature aff ected the concentration of C8-HSL, which controlled the excretion of EPSs and SMPs and thus the membrane biofouling process.
Typically applied static (i.e. non-agitated) cultures do not provide sufficient conditions for efficient propagation of suspended non-adherent cells, in general. Feasibility of small-scale wave-type agitated single-use bioreactors for gentle agitation underlies applicability of such systems for scaling-up of fragile biomass of animal cells. The basic aim of the study was to compare the results of non-adherent HL-60 cell propagation performed referentially as the batch culture in typical static (i.e. non-agitated) disposable culture flasks (50 cm3 of culture medium) and in ReadyToProcess WAVETM25 bioreactor system (GE Healthcare) equipped with disposable culture bag (300 cm3 of culture medium) subjected to continuous wave-type agitation. The density and viability of HL-60 cells were significantly higher for the bioprocess subjected to wave-type agitation, than in the reference static culture. The values of the specific rate of glucose consumption per cell (rglc=cell) exhibited by HL-60 cells maintained in the system with continuous wave-type agitation was significantly lower (i.e. up to more than 42%) than the values noted for the static culture, for exactly the same time-points of two compared cultures. The results of the studies undoubtedly and comprehensively confirmed the applicability of the studied disposable bioreactor with wave-induced agitation as the right platform for proceeding the propagation of non- adherent HL-60 cells and for providing the culture conditions required by HL-60 cells for sustainable metabolism.