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To optimize the anaerobic digestion process of residual sludge, co-substrates addition and pre-treatments are increasingly being employed. Nevertheless, if these processes allow the optimization of biogas production, they can significantly impact the efficiency of mechanical dewatering processes for digested sludge. In this article, the impact of co-substrate addition (oily sludge) and thermal pre-treatment on the efficiency of mechanical dewatering of digested sludge was investigated. To this purpose, mechanical dewatering experiments were conducted at lab-scale by using a filtration-compression cell to determine the limit dryness of various digestates. In addition, control factors of the mechanical dewatering efficiency of digested sludge were investigated. Results highlight that 67% of the variance of the limit dryness of digestates is due to the variable “volatile solid/total solid ratio.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling anaerobic digestion processes is a key aspect of studying and optimizing digesters and related waste streams. However, for the satisfactory prediction of biogas production and effluent characteristics, some parameters have to be calibrated according to the characteristics of the substrates. This article describes a calibration procedure for the IWA 'Anaerobic Digestion Model no. 1′ applied to the modelling of a digester for treatment of pig slurry. The most sensitive parameters were selected and calibrated combining results froma continuous digester and frombatch trials run with the sludge sampled from the digester and the addition of specific substrates. According to the sensitivity analysis, acetoclastic methanogenesis, acetogenesis of propionate and acidogenesis of sugars were identified as the main sensitive steps in our case. The calibration procedure led us to modify slightly acetogenesis of propionate kinetic. However, acetoclastic methanogenesis and acidogenesis of sugars kinetics were significantly reduced by decreasing km and increasing Ks. Indeed, for instance, a decrease of km_ac from8 to 7 day-1 combined with an increase of Ks_ac from 0.15 to 1.5 kgCOD/m3was necessary. After calibration, ADM1 provides an accurate simulation of the continuous reactor results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human vocal folds are highly deformable non-linear oscillators. During phonation, they stretch up to 50% under the complex action of laryngeal muscles. Exploring the fluid/structure/acoustic interactions on a human-scale replica to study the role of the laryngeal muscles remains a challenge. For that purpose, we designed a novel in vitro testbed to control vocal-folds pre-phonatory deformation. The testbed was used to study the vibration and the sound production of vocal-fold replicas made of (i) silicone elastomers commonly used in voice research and (ii) a gelatin-based hydrogel we recently optimized to approximate the mechanics of vocal folds during finite strains under tension, compression and shear loadings. The geometrical and mechanical parameters measured during the experiments emphasized the effect of the vocal-fold material and pre-stretch on the vibration patterns and sounds. In particular, increasing the material stiffness increases glottal flow resistance, subglottal pressure required to sustain oscillations and vibratory fundamental frequency. In addition, although the hydrogel vocal folds only oscillate at low frequencies (close to 60 Hz), the subglottal pressure they require for that purpose is realistic (within the range 0.5-2 kPa), as well as their glottal opening and contact during a vibration cycle. The results also evidence the effect of adhesion forces on vibration and sound production., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The data presented in this article regroup characterisation of organic matter and nutritional composition of 42 organic wastes and residues usually used as substrates for anaerobic digestion. Those wastes have different origins from agro-industrial, agricultural and urban sectors in France including: algae, slaughterhouse waste, fat, food waste, fruits and vegetables residues, green waste, slurry, manure, wastewater treatment plant sludge and agricultural residues. The properties of organic matter are distinguished between global parameters (pH, total solids, volatile solids, COD and BMP), organic matter fractionation (biochemical and Van Soest) and the main nutrients content (N, P, K, Mg, Ca and S).

The main objective of this study was to develop a methodology to predict the hydrogen sulphide content of raw biogas produced during anaerobic mono-digestion of a bioenergy feedstock. Detailed chemical and biological analyses were made on 37 different feedstocks originating from urban wastewater treatment plants, farms, agri-food facilities and municipal wastes. Total sulphur content ranged from 1 to 29.6 mg S/kg of total solids, and 66% of the feedstocks analysed contained less than 5 mg S/kg of total solids. The biochemical methanogenic potential and biochemical biogas potential of each feedstock combined with its S content were used to predict appearance of H(2)S in the raw biogas. A model to link H(2)S in biogas with the carbon:sulphur ratio was established. Based on this model, a minimum carbon:sulphur ratio of 40 is required in feedstock to limit the concentration of hydrogen sulphide in raw biogas to less than 2% (volume/volume)., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Four proteins were isolated from depectinised elementary fibres of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), using either alkali or cellulase digestion treatments. All the four proteins were characterized by a deficiency or low contents of hydroxyproline and by high levels of glutamic acid/glutamine and/or aspartic acid/asparagine. The two proteoglycans solubilized with cellulase strongly reacted with beta-glucosyl Yariv reagent but not with alpha-glucosyl Yariv reagent and contained appreciable amounts of alanine, glycine, serine and threonine, suggesting a relationship with cell wall hydroxyproline-deficient arabinogalactan-proteins. The two alkali-extracted proteins did not show any reaction with beta-glucosyl Yariv dye. Due to the harsh treatment, they might only partially represent the original proteins. Due to its high level of glycine (41%), one of these proteins might be classified as a glycine-rich protein. The latter polypeptide, of low molecular molar mass, contained 14.6% leucine and might consist of a domain related to leucine-rich proteins. The data show that these proteins and arabinogalactan-protein-like proteoglycans were strongly associated with the secondary walls of flax fibres. Their presence in small amounts (0.1-0.4%), raises the problem of their putative structural role.

The proton spin-spin relaxation time, T2, measured from solid-state NMR, indicates a greater rigidity for cellulose than for the adhesive matrix between the microfibrils of flax ultimate fibres. Cytochemical and biochemical analyses allow the identification of: (1) EDTA-soluble RG I-polymers in the primary walls and cell junctions of fibres; (2) long 1 --> 4-beta-D-galactan chains between primary and secondary wall layers; and (3) arabinogalactan-proteins throughout the secondary walls. These polymers in the adhesive matrix between microfibrils and/or cellulose layers ensure that cracks propagate along the matrix rather than across the fibres and play an important role in allowing flax fibres to approach the tensile strength of advanced synthetic fibres like carbon and Kevlar.