The IWA Anaerobic Digestion Modelling Task Group was established in 1997 at the 8th World Congress on Anaerobic Digestion (Sendai, Japan) with the goal of developing a generalised anaerobic digestion model. The structured model includes multiple steps describing biochemical as well as physicochemical processes. The biochemical steps include disintegration from homogeneous particulates to carbohydrates, proteins and lipids; extracellular hydrolysis of these particulate substrates to sugars, amino acids, and long chain fatty acids (LCFA), respectively; acidogenesis from sugars and amino acids to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and hydrogen; acetogenesis of LCFA and VFAs to acetate; and separate methanogenesis steps from acetate and hydrogen/CO 2 . The physico-chemical equations describe ion association and dissociation, and gas-liquid transfer. Implemented as a differential and algebraic equation (DAE)

No abstract

No abstract

A review of the kinetics of anaerobic treatment and the reported values of such kinetic parameters as the maximum specific substrate utilization rate (k), the half-saturation constant (Ks), the microbial growth yield (Y), and the microorganism decay rate constant (b) are presented. The available kinetic information is presented for each subprocess: (a) hydrolysis of complex, paniculate organic materials; (b) fermentation of amino acids and sugars; (c) anaerobic oxidation of long-chain fatty acids and alcohols; (d) anaerobic oxidation of intermediary products (such as short-chain fatty acids); (e) homoacetogenesis; and (f) methanogenesis. The intrinsic rates of each step as well as mass transfer limitations and their effect on the intrinsic kinetics are discussed and areas requiring further research are also identified. Substantial variation exists in the reported values of the kinetic coefficients. This variation is due in part to the variability in mode of operation, environmental and operational conditions in the various studies as well as to the lack of a widely accepted standard procedure for measuring and expressing the biokinetic coefficients. The hydrolysis step is usually assumed to follow first-order kinetics. Whenever the kinetics of the hydrolysis step were studied, they were generally found to be the limiting-step in the overall conversion of complex substrates to methane. With the exception of the hydrolysis step, all other subprocesses of anaerobic treatment have been successfully modeled by following Monod kinetics. The Contois and Chen & Hashimoto model has also been used quite extensively to account for the effect of influent substrate concentration on effluent quality. Based on a brief overview of the observed phenomena related to the kinetics of mass transfer in methanogenesis, it is concluded that with but few exceptions, the evidence for the significance of mass transfer effects in the different reactor configurations is circumstantial and, in some cases, contradictory. Our understanding of the kinetics of paniculate substrate removal in biofilms is still incomplete for engineering applications, and more research is necessary.

The biocathode of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) offers a promising potential for the reductive treatment of oxidized pollutants. In this study, we demonstrated biological Cr(VI) reduction in the cathode of a MFC and identified putative Cr(VI) reducing microorganisms. The MFC was continuously monitored for Cr(VI) reduction and power generation. Acetate was provided to the anode compartment as substrate and bicarbonate was added to the cathode compartment as the sole external carbon source. The contribution of biomass decay and abiotic processes on Cr(VI) reduction was minimal, confirming that most of the Cr(VI) reduction was assisted by microbial activity in the cathode, which utilizes electrons and protons generated from the oxidation of acetate in the anode compartment. Relatively fast Cr(VI) reduction was observed at initial Cr(VI) concentrations below 80 mg/L. However, at 80 mg Cr(VI)/L, Cr(VI) reduction was extremely slow. A maximum Cr(VI) reduction rate of 0.46 mg Cr(VI)/g VSS.h was achieved, which resulted in a current and power density of 123.4 mA/m(2) and 55.5 mW/m(2), respectively. The reduced chromium was nondetectable in the supernatant of the catholyte which indicated complete removal of chromium as Cr(OH)(3) precipitate. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene based clone library revealed that the cathode biomass was largely dominated by phylotypes closely related to Trichococcus pasteurii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the putative Cr(VI) reducers.