Campos, J. L., del Rio, A. V., Pedrouso, A., Raux, P., Giustinianovich, E. A., & Mosquera-Corral, A. (2017). Granular biomass floatation: A simple kinetic/stoichiometric explanation. Chem. Eng. J., 311, 63–71.
Abstract: Floatation events are commonly observed in anammox, denitrifying and anaerobic granular systems mostly subjected to overloading conditions. Although several operational strategies have been proposed to avoid floatation of granular biomass, until now, there is no consensus about the conditions responsible for this phenomenon. In the present study, a simple explanation based on kinetic and stoichiometric principles defining the aforementioned processes is provided. The operational zones corresponding to evaluated parameters where risk of floatation exists are defined as a function of substrate concentration in the bulk liquid and the radius of the granule. Moreover, the possible control of biomass floatation by changing the operating temperature was analyzed. Defined operational zones and profiles fit data reported in literature for granular biomass floatation events. From the study the most influencing parameter on floatation occurrence has been identified as the substrate concentration in the bulk media. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Crutchik, D., Franchi, O., Caminos, L., Jeison, D., Belmonte, M., Pedrouso, A., et al. (2020). Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) Production: A Feasible Economic Option for the Treatment of Sewage Sludge in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants? Water, 12(4), 12 pp.
Abstract: Sludge is a by-product of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and its management contributes significantly to the operating costs. Large WWTPs usually have anaerobic sludge digesters to valorize sludge as methane and to reduce its mass. However, the low methane market price opens the possibility for generating other high value-added products from the organic matter in sludge, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). In this work, the economic feasibility of retrofitting two types of WWTPs to convert them into biofactories of crude PHAs was studied. Two cases were analyzed: (a) a large WWTP with anaerobic sludge digestion; and (b) a small WWTP where sludge is only dewatered. In a two-stage PHA-production system (biomass enrichment plus PHAs accumulation), the minimum PHAs cost would be 1.26 and 2.26 US$/kg PHA-crude for the large and small WWTPs, respectively. In a single-stage process, where a fraction of the secondary sludge (25%) is directly used to accumulate PHAs, the production costs would decrease by around 15.9% (small WWTPs) and 19.0% (large WWTPs), since capital costs associated with bioreactors decrease. Sensitivity analysis showed that the PHA/COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) yield is the most crucial parameter affecting the production costs. The energy, methane, and sludge management prices also have an essential effect on the production costs, and their effect depends on the WWTP's size.
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Da Silva, C., Astals, S., Peces, M., Campos, J. L., & Guerrero, L. (2018). Biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests: Reducing test time by early parameter estimation. Waste Manage., 71, 19–24.
Abstract: Biochemical methane potential (BMP) test is a key analytical technique to assess the implementation and optimisation of anaerobic biotechnologies. However, this technique is characterised by long testing times (from 20 to > 100 days), which is not suitable for waste utilities, consulting companies or plants operators whose decision-making processes cannot be held for such a long time. This study develops a statistically robust mathematical strategy using sensitivity functions for early prediction of BMP first-order model parameters, i.e. methane yield (B-0) and kinetic constant rate (k). The minimum testing time for early parameter estimation showed a potential correlation with the k value, where (i) slowly biodegradable substrates (k <= 0.1 d(-1)) have a minimum testing times of >= 15 days, (ii) moderately biodegradable substrates (0.1 < k < 0.2 d(-1)) have a minimum testing times between 8 and 15 days, and (iii) rapidly biodegradable substrates (k > 0.2 d(-1)) have testing times lower than 7 days. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Feinstein, A. D., Radica, M., Welbanks, L., Murray, C. A., Ohno, K., Coulombe, L. P., et al. (2023). Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS. Nature, Early Access.
Abstract: The Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b has been the subject of extensive efforts to determine its atmospheric properties using transmission spectroscopy(1-4). However, these efforts have been hampered by modelling degeneracies between composition and cloud properties that are caused by limited data quality(5-9). Here we present the transmission spectrum of WASP-39b obtained using the Single-Object Slitless Spectroscopy (SOSS) mode of the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument on the JWST. This spectrum spans 0.6-2.8 mu m in wavelength and shows several water-absorption bands, the potassium resonance doublet and signatures of clouds. The precision and broad wavelength coverage of NIRISS/SOSS allows us to break model degeneracies between cloud properties and the atmospheric composition of WASP-39b, favouring a heavy-element enhancement ('metallicity') of about 10-30 times the solar value, a sub-solar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio and a solar-to-super-solar potassium-to-oxygen (K/O) ratio. The observations are also best explained by wavelength-dependent, non-grey clouds with inhomogeneous coverageof the planet's terminator.
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Ferraz, A. D. N., Machado, P. G., Jalil-Vega, F., Coelho, S. T., & Woods, J. (2022). Liquefied biomethane from sugarcane vinasse and municipal solid waste: Sustainable fuel for a green-gas heavy duty road freight transport corridor in Sao Paulo state. J. Clean. Prod., 335, 130281.
Abstract: Diversifying the energy components of a country's transport sector is essential to guarantee the fuel supply to consumers and increase the market dynamics and competitiveness. Among the known alternative fuels, biogas is a renewable source and after upgrading to biomethane, it presents a similar composition to natural gas (>90% of CH4; 35-40 MJ m(-3)). In addition, it can be produced from a wide variety of biological resources and at different scales In this study, two scenarios have been developed that evaluate the use of liquefied biomethane (LBM) as a diesel replacement option in the freight sector of an area of 248,223 km(2) (equivalent to the area of the UK). Sugarcane vinasse (SVC) and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) were the sole feedstocks for biogas production. The first scenario, non-restricted scenario (NRS), covered the entire territory while, the second scenario, restricted scenario (RS), includes only the area where gas pipelines are available. An economic assessment of the entire biogas value chain including, biogas production units, purification, transport and end-use was performed. The minimum selling price (MSP) of biomethane throughout the biogas chain was then estimated. LBM is estimated to be a cost-effective and affordable fuel choice compared to diesel. The technical potential of biogas production by the sugarcane mills and landfills of Sao Paulo state can replace up to half of the diesel consumed in the territory. The minimum distances and optimal locations methodology indicated the need for 120 liquefaction plants in the NRS, 35 injection points in the RS, and 7 refuelling stations to supply LBM throughout the state of Sao Paulo. The units for CO2 removal had the greatest influence on capital costs (similar to 60%) in both scenarios. Expenditure associated with the gas injection operation and its transport comprised more than 90% of the operating costs of the RS. Electricity purchasing represented the highest share of the operating costs at biogas purification (20%-30%) and biomethane liquefaction (65%-91%) units. Personnel costs are observed along the entire biogas chain, especially, in the biomethane transport step (40%), indicating an opportunity to generate wealth, jobs, and income. Despite our projections for the cost-effective and competitive supplies of LBM as a diesel replacement fuel, policy support measures such as a feed-in tariff, are likely to be necessary in order to overcome non-technical barriers and gain wider acceptability.
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Ortega, V., Donoso-Bravo, A., Chamy-Maggy, R., Campos, J. L., Mosquera-Corral, A., & Belmonte, M. (2022). Factors That Affect Methane Yield Using Raw Olive Alperujo (Unhydrolyzed) as Substrate in BMP Assays. Recycling, 7(2), 15.
Abstract: The olive alperujo (OA) corresponds to the solid waste generated in the olive oil extraction process using the two-phase centrifugation method. OA is produced in large quantities (800 kg OA/ton olives processed) and is characterized by its high moisture content, organic matter, and low pH. In Chile, the olive oil industry is recent, and one of its main challenges is to be able to manage OA to reduce the impact caused by its disposal. In this sense, its valorization as biogas by means of anaerobic digestion is an economically attractive option. For this, it is previously necessary to evaluate the biomethane potential (BMP) of the raw OA using batch assays. This study was focused on evaluating the factors that most affect the methane yield (MY) when using OA as substrate in BMP tests. First, a sweep analysis (Plackett-Burman) was applied to determine those factors that, according to the literature, would have an influence on the BMP tests. Among the factors studied, the most significant were preincubation, OA concentration, and agitation level. Subsequently, a 2(3) factorial experimental design was applied to evaluate the effect of these factors on MY at different levels. Results show that the OA concentration was the most significant factor affecting MY.
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