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Hydrolysis and acidification of waste-activated sludge in the presence of biosurfactant rhamnolipid: effect of pH

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Abstract

In this investigation, the effect of pH (4.0–11.0) on waste-activated sludge (WAS) hydrolysis and acidification in the presence of a biosurfactant rhamnolipid (RL) were studied. The results showed that the hydrolysis and acidification of WAS in the presence of RL at alkaline pH values were more efficient than that at acidic and near-neutral pH values. After 6 h of hydrolysis, the soluble protein and carbohydrate were 1,654.7 and 675.9 mg/L (pH 11.0), and 825.6 and 376.0 mg/L (pH 7.0), whereas the values were only 315.0 and 84.0 mg/L at pH 4.0 and 164.1 and 32.0 mg/L for the blank, respectively. After 2 or 3 days of fermentation, the accumulated short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) reached the highest and then decreased with a further increase in time at all investigated pH values. The analysis of SCFA compositions showed that acetic, propionic, and iso-valeric acids were the three main products at any pH value. A higher pH contributed to a greater proportion of acetic acid and a lesser proportion of iso-valeric acid; a lower pH resulted in a greater proportion of iso-valeric and lesser proportion of acetic acid in the initial fermentation. The proportions of acetic acid for the system with biosurfactant RL addition were 16.65, 36.33, and 62.94 %, respectively, at pH 4.0, 7.0, and 11.0 after 1 day. Correspondingly, the proportions were 40.34, 12.60, and 11.01 % for iso-valeric acid.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 51078128), International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (no. 2011DFA90740), Planned Science and Technology Project of Hunan Province, China (no. 2011SK3215) and Shanghai Tongji Gao Tingyao Environmental Science & Technology Development Foundation (STGEF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Kun Luo, Xin Yi, Qi Yang, Xiao-ming Li, Hong-bo Chen, Xian Liu & Guang-ming Zeng

  2. Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Kun Luo, Xin Yi, Qi Yang, Xiao-ming Li, Hong-bo Chen, Xian Liu & Guang-ming Zeng

  3. Hunan University Design Institute Co. Ltd., Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Qing Ye

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  1. Kun Luo
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  2. Qing Ye
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  3. Xin Yi
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  4. Qi Yang
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Correspondence to Qi Yang.

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Luo, K., Ye, Q., Yi, X. et al. Hydrolysis and acidification of waste-activated sludge in the presence of biosurfactant rhamnolipid: effect of pH. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 5597–5604 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4378-4

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