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Research has demonstrated that depending on the type and concentration, microplastics affect anaerobic digestion (AD). Owing to the high abundance of polyamide-6 (PA6) in wastewater treatment plants and limited understanding of its behavior, this study investigates PA6 microplastics' effect in AD. Biochemical methane potential experiments were performed under mesophilic (35 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) conditions using PA6 at concentrations from 0 to 200 particles/g total solids (TS). Under both conditions, methane production increased in the highest (200 particles/g TS) PA6-dosed reactors, with thermophilic conditions having a statistically significant effect. Methane yield increased from 403.1 ± 5.3 mL/g VS to 436.6 ± 9.2 mL/g VS under thermophilic and from 332.1 ± 1.5 to 340.6 ± 6.6 mL/g VS under mesophilic conditions for the 200 particles/g TS dose, corresponding to increases of 8.3% and 2.6% respectively. PA6 crystallinity decreased from 32.8% to 27.1% and 26.8%, corresponding to decreases of 17.4% in mesophilic and 18.2% in thermophilic reactors compared to pristine control. Similarly, crystallinity decreased in PA6 microplastics collected from abiotic reactors, with thermophilic conditions showing a greater effect. The carbonyl index (CI) values were similar between biotic and abiotic reactors, but PA6 from all reactors had significantly higher CI than pristine PA6, suggesting abiotic factors also affect carbonyl bonds. Additionally, an increase in average PA6 mass was observed for mesophilic and thermophilic conditions by 22.0 % and 23.0 %, respectively. The study shows that temperature and other abiotic factors, like sludge chemistry, significantly influence the fate and effect of PA6 microplastics in digesters. Including abiotic reactors seems crucial for a full understanding of the impact of microbial and non-microbial factors in microplastic studies in the AD process. Studying the effects of microplastics on AD is only one part of the picture, whereas simultaneously examining their fate in digestion is necessary for a complete understanding., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to elucidate interaction of organics with microplastics in a comparative manner via the use of two model compounds (i.e., triclosan (TCS) and malachite green (MG)) having different physicochemical properties, onto polyethylene (PE). TCS, is hydrophobic with low solubility, while MG is hydrophilic with high aqueous solubility. Kinetic studies indicate faster sorption (t eq = 24 h) and equilibrium studies show much higher capacity (q e = 6,921 μg/g) for TCS, when compared to those of MG (t eq = 5 d, q e = 221 μg/g). While pseudo-kinetic model fits sorption of both organics to PE, equilibrium isotherms as well as the results on effect of particle size and pH indicate dissimilar sorption mechanisms. Considering pH PZC = 2, observation of favourable sorption of TCS in acidic regions and sorption being unaffected by particle size was explained by TCS sorption to be dominated by hydrophobic interactions in amorph regions of PE. Higher removal of MG was observed at lower surface charge of PE, and a clear favourable impact of surface area on MG sorptive capacity pointed to the presence of non-specific van der Waals type interactions on the surface of PE. Mechanistic evaluations presented here contribute to our understanding of interaction of MPs with organics in aquatic ecosystems.

Modern wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) effectively remove microplastics (MPs) from wastewater and unsurprisingly concentrate them in sludge. Hence through its beneficial use and disposal, sludge causes secondary release pathways of an estimated average amount of 10 6 to 10 14 wastewater-based MPs to various environmental compartments yearly. Despite these numbers, studies investigating sludge are scarce. Currently, majority of the studies in the field focus on identifying the magnitude of the problem, whereas research investigating the fate and effects of MPs during sludge treatment are very rare. This review aims to bring together and critically evaluate the limited studies conducted about MPs in the sludge treatment line and bring out the key gaps and research needs in the area. Studies conducted so far indicate that depending on the type, size, and amount of MPs, their effects during anaerobic digestion differ, with some studies demonstrating serious negative impact on biogas production. Possible effect mechanisms are also suggested such as formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and leaching of toxic chemicals. Moreover, a potential for sludge treatment processes (thickening, dewatering, drying, stabilization, etc.) to change the characteristics and the number of MPs, which may increase surface area available for adsorption and desorption of pollutants, was observed. Review uncovers that, in the broad universe of MPs, some highly abundant ones in sludge such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polycarbonate, and acrylic are not yet investigated in sludge treatment. Future research should focus not only to investigate the fate/effects but to fully understand the mechanisms behind these, which is missing in many studies reviewed. Besides, new studies show that effect of MPs start from the floc formation stage during biological treatment, which in fact determine the final sludge behavior in thickening and dewatering. Therefore, holistic approaches starting from wastewater till sludge exits WWTP seem necessary. Substantiating from polymer chemistry and response of plastics to stress conditions, review suggests possibilities of deterioration during sludge treatment processes. It becomes evident that some totally uninvestigated aspects such as disintegration conducted before stabilization, can change the fate of MPs during sludge treatment and may bring new perspectives to the solution of the problem., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, effects of ultrasound pretreatment on combustion characteristics and elemental composition of municipal sludge were examined for energy-based evaluation of sludge pretreatment. Waste activated sludge (WAS) from a municipal wastewater treatment plant was pretreated with ultrasound at varying durations and was subjected to anaerobic digestion in a biochemical methane potential (BMP) assay. Changes in gas production rates, calorific value (CV), elemental compositions, and ash contents of sludge samples were examined to assess the effects of pretreatment and digestion. Sonication at 0.73 W/mL enhanced gas production by 28%. Moreover, volatile solids (VS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals increased from 41 to 45% and 33 to 37%, respectively. Following anaerobic digestion, CVs of samples decreased by about 18%. Sonicated samples exhibited a higher decrease. In order to quantify the change in overall energy content, total solids (TS) reduction was also taken into account. Loss was magnified as both CV and the amount of TS that would provide the overall energy were reduced. This loss was 38% for the control group and 41% for the 15 min sonicated sludge. Digestion decreased the C content of sludge by about 20% and H content by 50% due to biogas production. Ash content increased relatively as some of the combustible solids were lost due to digestion. Experimental results indicate that if sludge is to be combusted, digestion with or without ultrasound pretreatment may be disadvantageous if the aim is to maximize energy gain from sludge.

Aroclor 1254 (A1254) is the most toxic commercial PCB mixture produced, primarily due to its relatively high concentrations of dioxin-like congeners. This study demonstrates a comparative evaluation of dechlorination of A1254 and PCB-118 by indigenous organohalide respiring bacteria enriched from three PCB impacted sites: Grasse River (GR), NY; Fox River (FR), WI; and Baltimore Harbor (BH), MD. PCB-118 dechlorination rates in GR, BH, and FR was 0.0308, 0.015, and 0.0006 Cl - /biphenyl/day, respectively. A1254 dechlorination rates in GR, FR, and BH were 0.0153, 0.0144, and 0.0048 Cl - /biphenyl/day, respectively. A1254 dechlorination was achieved through the removal of doubly-/singly-flanked chlorines in meta and para positions of mostly penta- followed by hexa- and hepta-chlorinated congeners by 88%, 69%, and 51% in GR, and 88%, 87%, and 83% in FR, respectively, while in BH mostly hepta- (70%) followed by hexa-chlorinated congeners (66%) were dechlorinated. A previously developed Anaerobic Dechlorination Model (ADM) quantified a total of 17 toxicity-related dechlorination pathways in all three sediment microcosms. The toxic equivalency of A1254 based on seven dioxin-like congeners decreased by about 53%, 45% and 21%, in GR, FR and BH microcosms, respectively. The dechlorination products were generally tetra- and tri-chlorinated congeners with unflanked chlorines, all of which is susceptible to further degradation by aerobic bacteria. Concerning the toxic congeners, ADM can be useful to initiate further research focusing on the stimulation of the toxicity reducing pathways for risk assessment and effective remediation strategies., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aroclor 1254 was the second most produced commercial PCB mixture and is found in soils, sediments and sewage throughout the globe. This commercial PCB mixture is considered particularly toxic because of the relatively high concentrations of congeners with dioxin-like properties. The potential for risk reduction by microbial reductive dechlorination of Aroclor 1254 (A1254) was investigated in sediment microcosms from Grasse River (GR), Massena, NY. The specificity of A1254 dechlorination was doubly- and singly-flanked chlorines in meta positions and to a less extent doubly-flanked para chlorines of 2345-substituted chlorobiphenyl rings. The average dechlorination rate of A1254 was 0.0153 Cl - /biphenyl/day, and dechlorination rates of single congeners ranged between 0.001 and 0.0074 Cl - /biphenyl/day. Potential risk associated with A1254 based on the toxic equivalency factors of the dioxin-like congeners was reduced by 83%. Additional potential risk associated with bioaccumulation in fish was reduced by 35% based on biota-sediment accumulation factor estimates for all detected congeners. Finally, the dechlorination end-products were tri- and tetra-chlorobiphenyls with unflanked chlorines, all of which are susceptible to further degradation by aerobic microorganisms. The combined results indicate that microbial reductive dechlorination has the potential for reducing risk associated with toxicity and bioaccumulation in fish in sites contaminated with A1254., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Alginates are natural polymers composed of mannuronic and guluronic acid residues. They are currently extracted from brown algae; however, alginate can also be synthesized by some species of Azotobacter and Pseudomonas. Alginates with different proportion of mannuronic and guluronic acids are known to have different characteristics and form gels at different extents in the presence of calcium ions. The aim of this work was to investigate the usefulness of alginate as a non-toxic coagulant used in purification of drinking water. This study utilized alginates from Azotobacter vinelandii having different guluronic acid levels. These were obtained partly by changing the cultivation parameters, partly by epimerizing a purified alginate sample in vitro using the A. vinelandii mannuronan C-5 epimerase AlgE1. The different alginates were then used for coagulation together with calcium. The results showed that turbidity removal capability was dependent on the content of guluronic acid residues. For the best performing samples, the turbidity decreased from 10 NTU to 1 NTU by the use of only 2 mg/L of alginate and 1.5 mM of calcium chloride.

Generation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) tends to increase with the growing population and economic development of the society; therefore, establishing environmentally sustainable waste management strategies is crucial. In this sense, waste to energy strategies have come into prominence since they increase the resource efficiency and replace the fossil fuels with renewable energy sources by enabling material and energy recovery instead of landfill disposal of the wastes. Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), which is an alternative fuel produced from energy-rich Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) materials diverted from landfills, is one of the waste to energy strategies gaining more and more attention. This study aims to investigate the thermal characteristics and co-combustion efficiency of two RDF samples in Turkey. Proximate, ultimate and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) were conducted on these samples. Furthermore, elemental compositions of ash from RDF samples were determined by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis. The RDF samples were combusted alone and co-combusted in mixtures with coal and petroleum coke in a lab scale reactor at certain percentages on energy basis (3%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 30%) where co-combustion processes and efficiencies were investigated. It was found that the calorific values of RDF samples on dry basis were close to that of coal and a little lower compared to petroleum coke used in this study. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that when RDF in the mixture was higher than 10%, the CO concentration in the flue gas increased and so the combustion efficiency decreased; furthermore, the combustion characteristics changed from char combustion to volatile combustion. However, RDF addition to the fuel mixtures decreased the SO2 emission and did not change the NOx profiles. Also, XRF analysis showed that the slagging and fouling potential of RDF combustion was a function of RDF portion in fuel blend. When the RDF was combusted alone, the slagging and fouling indices of its ash were found to be higher than the limit values producing slagging and fouling., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Thermal drying is a common method to reach above 90% dry solids content (DS) in sludge. However, thermal drying requires high amount of energy and can be expensive. A greenhouse solar dryer (GSD) can be a cost-effective substitute if the drying performance, which is typically 70% DS, can be increased by additional heat. In this study feasibility of GSD supported with solar panels is evaluated as an alternative to thermal dryers to reach 90% DS. Evaluations are based on capital and O&M costs as well as area requirements for 37 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with various sludge production rates. Costs for the supported GSD system are compared to that of conventional and co-generation thermal dryers. To calculate the optimal costs associated with the drying system, an optimization model was developed in which area limitation was a constraint. Results showed that total cost was minimum when the DS in the GSD (DS(m,i)) was equal to the maximum attainable value (70% DS). On average, 58% of the total cost and 38% of total required area were associated with the GSD. Variations in costs for 37 WWTPs were due to differences in initial DS (DS(i,i)) and sludge production rates, indicating the importance of dewatering to lower drying costs. For large plants, GSD supported with solar panels provided savings in total costs especially in long term when compared to conventional and co-generation thermal dryers., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Alginate is a natural biopolymer composed of mannuronic and guluronic acid monomers. It is produced by algae and some species of Azotobacter and Pseudomonas. This study aims to investigate the effect of dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) and growth medium substrate and calcium concentrations on the monomeric composition of alginate produced by Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC® 9046 in a fermenter. Results showed that alginate production increased with increasing DOT from 1 to 5 %. The highest alginate production was obtained as 4.51 g/L under 20 g/L of sucrose and 50 mg/L of calcium at 5 % DOT. At these conditions, alginate was rich in mannuronic acid (up to 61 %) and it was particularly high at low calcium concentration. On the other hand, at extreme conditions such as high DOT level (10 % DOT) and low sucrose concentration (10 g/L), guluronic acid was dominant (ranging between 65 and 100 %).

Sludges originating from water resource recovery facilities act as a sink for various contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Investigation of such pollutants provides detailed information about the pollutant burden of the region from which incoming wastewater is derived. However, the current extraction methods for PCBs in wastewater and sludge are both time- and solvent-consuming. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to develop a practical PCB extraction procedure and to monitor PCB levels in sludge originating from an urban water resource recovery facility (WRRF). Procedure applicability was shown by comparing the extraction results of certified reference materials with that of Soxhlet and by checking surrogate recovery. Diethyl ether, hexane, and hexane:acetone mixture were evaluated as the PCB extraction solvent; hexane was the most efficient solvent with the recovery results (89 to 102%) in an acceptable range of 70 to 130%. The PCB concentrations of the WRRF sludges were in the range of 3.6 ± 0.3 to 64.4 ± 9.3 μg/kg dry matter.

Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) have drawn significant attention within the last decade for both scientific and legislative reasons. In Turkey, the Regulation Regarding the Use of Domestic and Urban Sludges on Land states a limit value for the sum of nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO) and nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO) as NPE (NPE=NP+NP1EO+NP2EO). Unfortunately a standard method for the determination of these chemicals has not been yet set by the authorities and no data exists about the concentrations of NP and NPEOs in sewage sludge in Turkey. The aim of this study is to propose simple and easily applicable extraction and measurement techniques for 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP), NP, NP1EO and NP2EO in sewage sludge samples and investigate the year round concentrations in a Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Turkey. Different extraction techniques and GC/MS methods for sewage sludge were tested. The best extraction method for these compounds was found to be ultrasonication (5 min) using acetone as the solvent with acceptable recovery of analytes suggested by USEPA and other studies. The optimized extraction method showed good repeatability with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 6%. The recovery of analytes were within acceptable limits suggested by USEPA and other studies. The limits of detection (LODs) were 6 µg kg(-1) for NP and NP1EO, 12 µg kg(-1) for NP2EO and 0.03 µg kg(-1) for 4-n-NP. The developed method was applied to sewage sludge samples obtained from the Central WWTP in Ankara, Turkey. The sum NPE (NP+NP1EO+NP2EO) was found to be in between 5.5 µg kg(-1) and 19.5 µg kg(-1), values which are in compliance with Turkish and European regulations., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Nonylphenol (NP) compounds are toxic and persistent chemicals that are not fully degraded either in natural or engineered systems. Current knowledge indicates that these compounds concentrate in sewage sludge. Therefore, investigating the degradation patterns and types of metabolites formed during sludge treatment are important for land application of sewage sludge. Unfortunately, the information on the fate of nonylphenol compounds in sludge treatment is very limited. This study aims to investigate the biodegradation patterns of nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO) in aerobic batch digesters. For this purpose, two NP2EO spiked and two control laboratory aerobic batch digesters were operated. The spiked digester contained 3 mg/L NP2EO in the whole reactor content. The compounds of interest (parent compound and expected metabolites) were extracted with sonication and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as a function of time. Results showed that, following the day of spike, NP2EO degraded rapidly. The metabolites observed were nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO), NP and dominantly, nonylphenoxy acetic acid (NP1EC). The mass balance over the reactors indicated that the total mass spiked was highly accounted for by the products analyzed. The time dependent analysis indicated that the parent compound degradation and daughter product formation followed first order kinetics. The digester performance parameters analyzed (VS and COD reduction) indicated that the spike of NP2EO did not affect the digester performance., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Nonylphenol compounds have high commercial, industrial and domestic uses owing to their surface active properties. In addition to their toxic, carcinogenic and persistent characteristics; they have drawn the attention of scientists lately due to their endocrine disrupting properties. Their widespread use and disposal cause them to enter wastewater treatment systems at high concentrations. Since they are highly persistent and hydrophobic, they accumulate mostly on sludge. In this study using Anaerobic Toxicity Assay (ATA) tests, the toxicity of a model nonylphenol compound, nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO), for anaerobic digestion of sludge was determined. The test bottles were dosed with NP2EO in acetone, with concentrations ranging from 1 mg L(-1) to 30 mg L(-1). During the tests, gas productions and compositions in terms of methane and carbon dioxide were monitored. To be able to judge about the fate, the target compounds were extracted from water and sludge and analyzed using GC/MS. The sludge samples used for assembling the reactors were found to contain NP and NP1EO but no NP2EO. After the assay was completed, all the NP2EO spiked into the live reactors was found to disappear. The increase seen in NP1EO and NP and further accumulation of NP in the system, indicated the conversion of NP2EO to these metabolites. On the other hand, no conversion was observed in abiotic reactors. Inhibition of NP2EO for anaerobic microorganisms was not observed throughout the tests considering the biogas production of the test reactors in comparison to the control reactors., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The anaerobic digestion process that successfully reduces the organic content of sludge is one of the most common alternatives to meet pathogen reduction requirements for particular classes of biosolids. However, recently it was reported that, much higher densities of indicator bacteria were measured in dewatered cake samples compared to samples collected after anaerobic digestion. Additionally, this increase was commonly observed after centrifugation but not after belt filter dewatering. Several hypotheses were tested to explain this occurrence; however, much of the attention was given to the reactivation of the indicator bacteria which might enter a viable but non-culturable state (VBNC) during digestion. The objective of this research is to examine sludge samples from 5 different full-scale treatment plants in order to observe the effect of dewatering processes on the reactivation potential of indicator bacteria. The bacterial enumerations were performed by both Standard Culturing Methods (SCM) and quantitative polymerase chain (qPCR) on samples collected after digestion and dewatering. Results obtained by SCM indicated that in two investigated treatment plants operating belt filter dewatering, an average 0.6 log decrease was observed after the dewatering process. However, 0.7-1.4 log increases were observed immediately after centrifuge dewatering for the other three treatment plants. On the other hand, qPCR results gave 0.1-1.9 log higher numbers compared to SCM. Comparative evaluation of results obtained by two analytical methods for five treatment plants indicates that the differences observed might be originating from both reactivation of VBNC bacteria and amplification of DNA from dead cells found in the sludge., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Alginate is a copolymer of β-D: -mannuronic and α-L: -guluronic acids. Distribution of these monomers in the alginate structure is one of the important characteristics that affect the commercial value of the polymer. In the present work, the effect of agitation speed in the range of 200-700 rpm on alginate production by Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC(®) 9046 was investigated at a dissolved oxygen tension of 5% of air saturation. Experiments were conducted in a fermentor operated in batch mode for 72 h while the production of biomass and alginate, the consumption of substrate and the change in culture broth viscosity and monomer distribution of the polymer were monitored. Results showed that the growth rate of the bacteria increased from 0.165 to 0.239 h(-1) by the increase of mixing speed from 200 to 400 rpm. On the other hand, alginate production was found to be the most efficient at 400 rpm with the highest value of 4.51 g/l achieved at the end of fermentation. The viscosity of culture broth showed similar trends to alginate production. Viscosity was recorded as 24.61 cP at 400 rpm while it was only 4.26 cP at 700 rpm. The MM- and GG-block contents were almost equal in most of the culture times at 400 rpm. On the other hand, GG-blocks dominated at both low and high mixing speeds. Knowing that GG-blocks make rigid and protective gels with divalent cations, due to the higher GG-block content, the gel formation potential is higher at 200 rpm as well at 700 rpm, which might originate from the unfavorable environmental conditions that the bacteria were exposed to.

Industrial production leads to toxic heavy metal pollution in water bodies. Copper is one of the examples that requires removal from effluents before being discharged. It is difficult and sometimes very expensive to remove toxic heavy metals by conventional treatment techniques. This study aims to remove copper by the use of bacterial alginate as a non-conventional technique. Bacterial alginates (natural polymers composed of mannuronic and guluronic acid monomers) were synthesized by Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC(®) 9046 in a laboratory fermentor under controlled environmental conditions. The alginates produced, with a range of different characteristics in terms of monomer distribution and viscosity, were investigated for maximum copper uptake capacities. The average copper uptake capacities of alginates produced were found to be about 1.90 mmol/L Cu(2+)/g alginate. Although the GG-block amount of alginates was varied from 12 to 87% and culture broth viscosities were changed within the range of 1.47 and 14 cP, neither the block distribution nor viscosities of alginate samples considerably affected the copper uptake of alginates.

In this study ultrasonic pretreatment was investigated in order to improve anaerobic digestion. First, the most effective sonication time was selected during the preliminary studies conducted on waste activated sludge samples. Then the optimal time selected was confirmed running batch anaerobic reactors. In the last part of the experiments, the effect of sonication was investigated for different operational conditions of semi-continuous digesters. Preliminary studies showed 15 min of sonication increased 50 mg/L initial soluble COD concentration up to a value of 2500 mg/L. Batch anaerobic digester results indicated that the increased soluble substrate improved anaerobic biodegradability concurrently, again with the maximal improvement observed for 15 min of sonication. Results from semi-continuous reactors indicated that at SRT of 15 days and OLR of 0.5 kg/m(3) d, ultrasonic pretreatment improved the daily biogas production, methane production and volatile solids reduction significantly when compared to control system. During the operation of reactors at 7.5 days of SRT, pretreatment helped to keep the reactors working. A simple economical analysis of the system was performed using the data obtained during the laboratory study., (2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Sludge pretreatment by mechanical, chemical or thermal methods before anaerobic digestion has been applied to increase the digestability of excess sludge. Pretreatment processes rely on their ability to disrupt cell membranes and to release organic materials from the cells into the aqueous phase. Pretreatment by mechanical disintegration has grown rapidly in recent years in parallel with the advances in technology. Ultrasonic sludge disintegration -one of the most commonly used mechanical pretreatment methods- enables the occurrence of cavitation bubbles for the break-up of microorganism cells to extract intracellular materials. The purpose of this study was to conduct disintegration experiments to optimize sonication parameters and to operate subsequent batch anaerobic digesters to examine the effect of food to microorganism ratio (F/M) in sonicated and unsonicated samples. Results showed that high sonication powers and longer treatment times were effective in sludge disintegration in terms of soluble chemical oxygen demand release. Sonicated sludge digested in batch reactors with higher initial F/M ratio caused higher methane generations, higher sludge reductions and had better dewatering characteristics.

Commonly used pretreatment method of alkaline solubilization (using NaOH) and a relatively new technology of microwave (MW) irradiation (160 degrees C) were combined as a pretreatment method of waste activated sludge (WAS) in this study. First alkaline and MW pretreatment methods were examined separately, then their combination for different conditions was investigated in terms of their effect on COD solubilization, turbidity and capillary suction time (CST). For combined pretreatments, soluble COD to total COD ratio (SCOD/TCOD) of WAS increased from 0.005 (control) to 0.18, 0.27, 0.34 and 0.37 for combined methods of MW and pH-10, 11, 12 and 12.5, respectively. Deteriorated dewaterability due to alkaline pretreatment was also improved due to the incorporation of MW irradiation. Further, with small scale batch anaerobic reactors, pH-10, pH-12, MW (alone), MW+pH-10 and MW+pH-12 pretreated WAS samples were anaerobically digested. Highest total gas and methane productions were achieved with MW+pH-12 pretreatment with 16.3% and 18.9% improvements over control reactor, respectively. Finally the performance of MW+pH-12 pretreatment was examined with 2L anaerobic semi-continuous reactors for 92 days and compared to that of the control reactors. These reactors were operated at an SRT of 15 days. After steady state, 43.5% and 55% improvements were obtained in respective daily total gas and methane productions. TS, VS and TCOD reductions were improved by 24.9%, 35.4% and 30.3%, respectively based on a relative calculation with respect to control reactors. This way combined alkaline-microwave treatment proved to be an effective sludge minimization method. Pretreated digested sludge had 22% improved dewaterability than unpretreated digested sludge. Higher SCOD and NH(3)-N concentrations were measured in the pretreated digested sludge supernatant; however, PO(4)-P concentration did not increase much.

Multivalent cations have been known to be important components of activated sludge floc structure due to their bridging ability of the negatively charged sites on the biopolymer network. Recently in batch systems it was found that excess concentration of monovalent cations led to the deterioration in settleability, dewaterability of sludges and effluent quality of the system. In this study, effect of influent monovalent cations (potassium and sodium) on activated sludge floc structure was investigated in semi-continuous reactors. Results revealed that the increase in concentration of both ions correlated to the general increase in total EPS concentration. The zeta potential values were affected by the cation type and dose in such a way that sludge from sodium reactors had always higher zeta potential values (higher negative charge) than the sludges from potassium reactors. Flocs from sodium reactors were more fragile and weak and the capillary suction time values of these sludges were higher compared to those from potassium reactors. The findings of this research conclude that the floc structure is significantly weakened with the increase of monovalent cations. Even though EPS is produced, it is unable to bind the floc components together. With this, the physical properties of sludge deteriorate for both cations.

The effect of C/N ratio of activated sludge on heavy metal biosorption was investigated. Three sets of semi-continuous reactors with different feed C/N ratios (9, 21 and 43 mg COD/mg TKN) were set up. Sorption equilibrium tests have indicated that the biosorptive capacity of activated sludge was highly dependent on metal species and the C/N ratio. The increase in C/N ratio resulted in an increase in the Cd(II) sorption capacity of activated sludge whereas it decreased the Cu(II) sorption capacity. As for Zn(II), a different behavior was observed such that, the highest and lowest capacities have occurred at C/N ratio of 21 and 43, respectively. For Ni(II) biosorption, isotherm tests produced greatly scattered data; so, it was not possible to obtain any plausible result to indicate the relationship between maximum adsorptive capacity and C/N ratio. The accompanying release of Ca(II) and Mg(II) ions and also carbohydrates into the solution during biosorption have indicated that ion exchange mechanism was involved however, was not the only mechanism during the sorption process.

The applicability of Fenton's oxidation to improve the biodegradability of a pharmaceutical wastewater to be treated biologically was investigated. The wastewater was originated from a factory producing a variety of pharmaceutical chemicals. Treatability studies were conducted under laboratory conditions with all chemicals (having COD varying from 900 to 7000 mg/L) produced in the factory in order to determine the operational conditions to utilize in the full-scale treatment plant. Optimum pH was determined as 3.5 and 7.0 for the first (oxidation) and second stage (coagulation) of the Fenton process, respectively. For all chemicals, COD removal efficiency was highest when the molar ratio of H(2)O(2)/Fe(2+) was 150-250. At H(2)O(2)/Fe(2+) ratio of 155, 0.3M H(2)O(2) and 0.002 M Fe(2+), provided 45-65% COD removal. The wastewater treatment plant that employs Fenton oxidation followed by aerobic degradation in sequencing batch reactors (SBR), built after these treatability studies provided an overall COD removal efficiency of 98%, and compliance with the discharge limits. The efficiency of the Fenton's oxidation was around 45-50% and the efficiency in the SBR system which has two reactors each having a volume of 8m(3) and operated with a total cycle time of 1 day, was around 98%, regarding the COD removal.

Separation by settling is one of the most troublesome stages of an activated sludge process. A decrease in the efficiency of separation of microbial biomass from the treated effluent causes a decrease in the overall efficiency of the treatment plant. One of the most common problems in activated sludge systems to negatively influence the settleability is sludge bulking which can be defined as non-settling situation of microbial mass. The main objective of this study is to find out the effect of phosphorus deficiency on bulking of activated sludge. In order to achieve this aim, the effects of a strictly phosphorus limited environment was investigated by running 6 semi-continuous activated sludge reactors. Since the specific aim of the study is to identify the effects of magnesium and calcium ions on sludge bulking in a phosphorus deficient medium, 3 different magnesium and calcium concentrations (5, 10, 20 meq l(-1)) were studied. Laboratory scale reactors were fed with synthetic wastewater and operated at a sludge age of 8 days. Results showed that, phosphorus deficiency caused sludge bulking. Sludge samples examined under microscope showed that the floc structures from reactors fed with different cations are significantly different. To identify the differences, a series of chemical analyses were conducted on the sludge samples. In addition to that, sludge volume index (SVI) values were monitored on a daily basis. Next, the concentration of phosphorus in the feed medium was increased in two separate steps and the possibility to cure the sludge bulking problem was investigated. It was found that bulking of activated sludges due to phosphorus deficiency could be cured by the addition of phosphorus. For phosphorus deficient bulking in relation to the cations present in the system some mechanisms are suggested.

Landfilling is one of the most common methods that are used in the final disposal of sludge world wide, as well as in Turkey. However, increasing sludge quantities and limited landfilling areas make this method difficult to apply. The use of sludge in agriculture presents a possible alternative for disposal. However, it also poses some risks to be evaluated. In this respect, it is important to identify the heavy metal content of sewage sludges because of its adverse health effects. This study aims to determine the heavy metal contents of sludges and wastewaters from three different wastewater treatment plants in Turkey. The selection of plants was carried out according to the different treatment technologies applied to wastewater and sludge in those plants. Heavy metal analysis of sludges and wastewaters was conducted using a microwave assisted digestion procedure. After sampling and analysis, the results show that all the related metal concentrations are below the values that are set in the Soil Pollution Control Regulation of Turkey. However, in two of the three plants, Zn and Ni concentration should be tracked carefully.

Dental wastes are regulated under medical waste control regulations in most countries. Even though the quantity of hazardous wastes in dental solid wastes is a small proportion, there is still cross infection risk and potential danger for environment associated with mismanaged wastes. For this reason, knowledge of waste composition and development of proper management alternatives are necessary. In this study, the composition of solid wastes coming from eight clinics of the dental school of a University hospital in Turkey is examined. Although the waste has some variations between the two samplings, the general picture is such that the major components remain pretty much the same (in terms of %) for a fixed clinic. The composition of waste changes from one clinic to the other as expected. However, one can deduce from the data obtained that at about 35%, rubber gloves constitute close to the half of the total solid waste in almost all the clinics. Other major component is paper forming approximately 30% of the solid waste. In general, total waste coming from the clinics is related with the number of procedures conducted on patients at the clinics. Only a small fraction of the waste is hazardous indicating that at Hacettepe University School of Dentistry, hazardous waste collection rules are obeyed in most of the times.

The effect of carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) of the feed on the physical and surface chemical properties of activated sludge is investigated. Semi-continuous reactors with 2 liters volume were operated at a mean cell residence time of 8 days. These mixed culture reactors were operated at 3 different carbon to nitrogen ratio. The operation of conventional activated sludge plants treating municipal wastewater is represented with reactors having a C/N ratio of 21 (in terms of the ratio of COD to TKN). Carbon and nitrogen limited activated sludge systems are represented by reactors with a C/N ratio of 9 and 43, respectively. The results show that C/N ratio has a profound effect on the ultimate physical and surface chemical properties of activated sludge. Both the steady state microorganism concentration and the amount of microbial extracellular polymers produced increase with increasing C/N ratio. The sludge becomes much harder to dewater and settle and it becomes more viscous as the C/N ratio increases. A decrease in surface hydrophobicity and an increase in surface charge of the sludge accompany these physical changes.