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The anaerobic digestion process in anaerobic membrane bioreactors is an effective way for waste management, energy sustainability and pollution control in the environment. This digestion process basically involves the production of volatile fatty acids and biohydrogen as intermediate products and methane as a final product. This paper compares the value of bioproducts from different stages of anaerobic membrane bioreactors through a thorough assessment. The value was assessed in terms of technical feasibility, economic assessment, environmental impact and impact on society. Even though the current research objective is more inclined to optimize the production of methane, the intermediate products could also be considered as economically attractive and environment friendly options. Hence, this is the first review study to correlate the idea into an anaerobic membrane bioreactor which is expected to guide future research pathways regarding anaerobic process and its bioproducts.

This study presented an approach to upgrade biomass and pyrolysis products using a process based on torrefaction liquid washing combined with torrefaction pretreatment. The torrefaction of cotton stalk was first conducted at 250°C for 30min and then the resulting torrefaction liquid products were collected and reused to wash cottonstalk. The pyrolysis of the original and pretreated cotton stalk was performed at 500°C for 15min in a fixed-bed reactor. The results indicated that the combined pretreatment obviously reduced the metallic species in cotton stalk, decreased the water and acids contents while promoted phenols in bio-oil, declined the ash content in biochar, as well as improved the heating value of non-condensable gas. Overall, the combined pretreatment did not only allow to reuse the liquid products issued from torrefaction pretreatment but also improved the quality of biomass and the pyrolysis products, making it a novel promising pretreatment method.

The use of nopal cladodes (Opuntia streptacantha) as raw material for Pb(2+) biosorption was investigated. Batch experiments were carried out to determine Pb(2+) sorption capacity and the efficiency of the sorption process under different pH, initial Pb(2+) and nopal biomass concentrations. The experimental data showed a good fit to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms models. The maximum adsorption capacity for Pb(2+) was 0.14 mmol g(-1) with an efficiency higher than 94% (pH 5.0 and 2.5 g L(-1) nopal biomass). The Pb(2+) kinetics were best described by the pseudo-second-order rate model. The rate constant, the initial sorption rate and the equilibrium sorption capacity were determined. The practical implication of this study is the development of an effective and economic technology in which the nopal biomass did not undergo any chemical or physical pretreatment, which added to nopal abundance in Mexico and its low cost makes it a good option for Pb(2+) removal from contaminated waters.

Few studies have focused on the feasibility of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for removing quinolones antibiotics and their anti-shock capabilities. After 1.5 years of operation, the removal efficiency of 10 mg/L ciprofloxacin in MFCs increased to 99.00% in 88 h. These results are in accordance with the enhanced activity of biofilms and voltage output of MFCs. Additionally, the anti-shock capacities of the biofilms in MFCs were evaluated by treating ofloxacin and enrofloxacin and operating at different temperature and salinity. These MFCs can remove 87.31% and 40.81% of ofloxacin and enrofloxacin in 72 h, respectively. Even exposed to a low temperature of 10 °C or a salinity of 3%, the MFCs can achieve greater than 50% and nearly 80% of ciprofloxacin removal efficiency, respectively. The enrichment of Alcaligenes and Chryseobacterium contributed mostly to the removal of quinolones antibiotics. This study provides scientific evidences for treating wastewater containing quinolones antibiotics using MFCs.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of shrimp shell biochar (SBC) and nickel (Ni) loaded SBC in increasing methane yield during anaerobic digestion of food waste. The results indicated that the methane yields of control (without SBC), SBC, SBC loaded with the low concentration of Ni, and SBC loaded with the high concentration of Ni were 81.8, 116.1, 134.7, and 99.2 mL/(g·VS), respectively. SBC promoted the efficiency and stability of the whole anaerobic digestion process including hydrolysis, volatile fatty acid conversion and methanogenesis. While the invigorating effect of loaded Ni at the low concentration of 0.88 mg/g was mainly concentrated in methanogenesis, the inhibition effect of the high Ni concentration was comprehensive. SBC helped Methanosarcina proliferation, and low concentration Ni promoted the number and activity of Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta. The results show that biochar loaded with a low level of trace elements such as Ni can promote the anaerobic digestion process.

The feasibility and operation performance of the gasification of rice straw in an atmospheric fluidized-bed gasifier was studied. The gasification was carried out between 700 and 850 °C. The stoichiometric air-fuel ratio (A/F) for rice straw was 4.28 and air supplied was 7-25% of that necessary for stoichiometric combustion. Mass and power balances, tar concentration, produced gas composition, gas phase ammonia, chloride and potassium concentrations, agglomeration tendencies and gas efficiencies were assessed. Agglomeration was avoided by replacing the normal alumina-silicate bed by a mixture of alumina-silicate sand and MgO. It was shown that it is possible to produce high quality syngas from the gasification of rice straw. Under the experimental conditions used, the higher heating value (HHV) of the produced gas reached 5.1 MJ Nm(-3), the hot gas efficiency 61% and the cold gas efficiency 52%. The obtained results prove that rice straw may be used as fuel for close-coupled boiler-gasifier systems.

A simple expression for the apparent reaction rate of large wood char gasification with steam is proposed. Large char samples were gasified under steam atmosphere using a thermo-balance reactor. The apparent reaction rate was expressed as the product of the intrinsic rate and the effective factor. The effective factor was modified to include the effect of change in char diameter and intrinsic reaction rate during the reaction. Assuming uniform conversion ratio throughout a particle, the simplified reaction scheme was divided into three stages. In the initial stage, the local conversion ratio increases without particle shrinkage. In the middle stage, the particle shrinks following the shrinking core model without change in the local conversion ratio. In the final stage, the local conversion ratio increases without particle shrinkage. The validity of the modified effective value was confirmed by comparison with experimental results.

Anaerobic co-digestion generally results in a higher yield of biogas than mono-digestion, hence co-digestion has become a topic of general interest in recent studies of anaerobic digestion. Compared with mono-digestion, co-digestion utilizes multiple substrates. The balance of substrate nutrient in co-digestion comprises better adjustments of C/N ratio, pH, moisture, trace elements, and dilution of toxic substances. All of these changes could result in positive shifts in microbial community structure and function in the digestion processes and consequent augmentation of biogas production. Nevertheless, there have been few reviews on the interaction of nutrient and microbial community in co-digestions. The objective of this review is to investigate recent achievements and perspectives on the interaction of substrate nutrient balance and microbial community structure and function. This may provide valuable information on the optimization of combinations of substrates and prediction of bioreactor performance.