na de Queiroz Silva

Degradation of a model azo dye in submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAMBR) operated with powdered activated carbon (PAC).

This work investigated the anaerobic degradation of the model azo dye Remazol Yellow Gold RNL in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) and two submerged anaerobic membrane (SAMBR) bioreactors, one of which (SAMBR-1) was operated with powdered activated carbon (PAC) in its interior. The reactors were operated at 35 °C with a hydraulic retention time of 24 h in three operational phases, aimed to assess the effect of external sources of carbon (glucose) or redox mediator (yeast extract) on the removal or color and organic matter. The results showed that removal efficiencies of COD (73-94%) and color (90-94%) were higher for SAMBR-1 when compared to SAMBR-2 (operated without PAC) and UASB reactors. In addition, the presence of PAC in SAMBR-1 increased reactor stability, thereby leading to a lower accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFA). The microfiltration membrane was responsible for an additional removal of ~50% of soluble residual COD in the form of VFA, thus improving permeate quality. On its turn, PAC exhibited the ability to adsorb byproducts (aromatic amines) of azo dye degradation as well as to act as source of immobilized redox mediator (quinone groups on its surface), thereby enhancing color removal.

Considerações práticas sobre o teste de demanda química de oxigênio (DQO) aplicado a análise de efluentes anaeróbios

This paper presents practical results on the influence of chloride, amonium, sulphide and iron on the chemical oxygen demand (COD) test, as well as experimental values of stoichiometric coefficients to convert the specific organic matter (protein, carbohydrate and lipid) into COD. The paper also presents results that compare the titrimetric and colorimetric methods used to measure the COD and makes a critical analysis of the use of COD test as a tool to monitor the efficiency of anaerobic treatment systems.

Quantification of the inert chemical oxygen demand of raw wastewater and evaluation of soluble microbial product production in demo-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors under different operational conditions.

This paper investigates the production of soluble microbial products (SMPs) in demonstration-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors operated under different conditions and fed with raw wastewater. The results showed that 9.2 +/- 1.3% of the influent soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) could be considered inert to anaerobic treatment and that the amount of COD produced by biomass varied from 30 to 70 mg x L(-1), accounting for 45 to 63% of the soluble effluent COD. The accumulation of SMP appeared to be dependent on the hydraulic retention time (HRT) applied to the reactors, with a larger accumulation of SMP observed at the lowest HRT (5 hours); this may have been due to stress conditions caused by high upflow velocity (1.1 m x h(-1)). In terms of residual COD characterization, ultrafiltration results showed that higher amounts of high molecular weight compounds were found when HRT was the lowest (5 hours), and that the molecular weight distribution depended on the operational condition of the reactors. Biodegradability tests showed that the low and high molecular weight SMPs were only partially degraded anaerobically (10 to 60%) and that the high molecular weight SMPs were difficult to degrade aerobically.

Enhancement of anaerobic degradation of azo dye with riboflavin and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide harvested by osmotic lysis of wasted fermentation yeasts

ABSTRACT The study presented here aims at identifying the source of redox mediators (riboflavin), electron carriers nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and carbon to perform decolorization of azo dye under anaerobic conditions after osmotic shock pretreatment of residual yeast from industrial fermentation. Pretreatment conditions were optimized by Doehlert experiment, varying NaCl concentration, temperature, yeast density and time. After the optimization, the riboflavin concentration in the residual yeast lysate (RYL) was 46% higher than the one present in commercial yeast extract. Moreover, similar NAD concentration was observed in both extracts. Subsequently, two decolorization experiments were performed, that is, a batch experiment (48 h) and a kinetic experiment (102 h). The results of the batch experiment showed that the use of the RYL produced by the optimized method increased decolorization rates and led to color removal efficiencies similar to those found when using the commercial extract (∼80%) and from 23% to 50% higher when compared to the control (without redox mediators). Kinetics analysis showed that methane production was also higher in the presence of yeast extract and RYL, and biogas was mostly generated after stabilization of color removal. In all kinetics experiments the azo dye degradation followed the pseudo-second-order model, which suggested that there was a concomitant adsorption/degradation of the dye on the biomass cell surface. Therefore, results showed the possibility of applying the pretreated residual yeast to improve color removal under anaerobic conditions, which is a sustainable process.

Characterization of enalapril and ranitidine chlorination by-products by liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry and their toxicity evaluation.

Due to its low cost, its capability for disinfection and oxidation, chlorination using gaseous chlorine or hypochlorite salts, has also been commonly applied in water treatment plants for oxidation and disinfection purposes. Little is known about the identity and toxicity of by-products resulting from the chlorination of pharmaceutical micropollutants, such as enalapril (ENA) and ranitidine (RAN). ENA and RAN chlorination by-products were characterized in this study by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC/HRMS) and their toxicity were assessed by MTT assay. Chlorination experiments with ENA and RAN solutions (10 mg L) indicate degradation efficiencies of 100% for both compounds after only 5 min of exposure to chlorine at concentration of 9.53 mg Cl2 L. On the other hand mineralization rates were lower than 3%, thereby indicating there was accumulation of degradation by-products in all experiments. Mass spectrometric analysis revealed, at all times of reaction after the addition of hypochlorite, the presence of 1-(2-((4-(chlorophenyl)-1-ethoxy-1-oxobutan-2-yl)amino)propanoyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (enalapril by-product) and N-chloro-N-(2-(((chloro-5-((dimethylamino)methyl)furan-2-yl)methyl)sulfinyl)ethyl)-N-methyl-2nitroethene 1,1-diamine (ranitidine by-product). Despite the formation of oxidized chlorinated by-products in all chlorination assays, the treated solutions were nontoxic to HepG2 cells by the MTT assay. It has been observed that chlorination (10 mg L, 5 min) of ENA and RAN solutions exhibited high degradation efficiencies of the target compounds and low mineralization rates. Based on the mass spectrometry data, the routes for ENA and RAN successive oxidation by chlorine has been proposed.