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Phenolic and petrochemical wastewater treatment in AnMBR under extreme conditions: High salinity, high temperature, and high concentration of toxic compounds

Garcia Rea, V.S. (author)

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biochemical process in which organic matter is converted into biogas in a series of biochemical reactions. The development of high-rate anaerobic reactors (HRAR) led to the breakthrough of full-scale applications of AD for the treatment of industrial wastewater. HRARs, such as the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket ...

doctoral thesis 2023

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Magnetite as a Game-Changer: Exploring its potential for enhancing anaerobic degradation of phenolic wastewater in AnMBR while tackling membrane fouling challenges

Mostafa Mohamed Abdelsadek Elshourbagy, Mostafa (author)

Aromatic compounds have always been of concern regarding their toxicity to living organisms, including microorganisms. With more anthropogenic activities (e.g. coal gasification), the need for feasible treatment of industrial effluents is highly prioritised. With the anaerobic degradation process being a competitive solution, these compounds’...

master thesis 2023

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Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors under Extreme Conditions: Mesophilic and Thermophilic Degradation of Phenol at High Salinity

Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author)

Industrial wastewaters generated in chemical industries are often characterized by extreme conditions, such as the presence of complex, recalcitrant, and toxic aromatic compounds, high temperature, and high salinity. The mentioned conditions predominantly occur when chemical industries reduce process water use or strive for closing water loops....

doctoral thesis 2022

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Degradation of p-cresol, resorcinol, and phenol in anaerobic membrane bioreactors under saline conditions

Garcia Rea, V.S. (author), Egerland Bueno, B. (author), Cerqueda-Garcia, Daniel (author), Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

Treating petrochemical wastewater is a challenge for conventional anaerobic reactors. One example is coal gasification wastewater that, besides its salinity, is rich in toxic and inhibitory aromatics, such as phenol, cresols, and resorcinol. Studies have shown that phenol and p-cresol share the same degradation intermediates, whereas...

journal article 2022

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Syntrophic acetate oxidation having a key role in thermophilic phenol conversion in anaerobic membrane bioreactor under saline conditions

Garcia Rea, V.S. (author), Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Elkalliny, A.S.M. (author), Cerqueda-García, Daniel (author), Lindeboom, R.E.F. (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

Phenol conversion under saline thermophilic anaerobic conditions requires the development and sustenance of a highly specialized microbial community. In the present research, an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) fed with an influent containing 0.5 g·L⁻¹ phenol and 6.5 gNa⁺·L⁻¹ was operated at 55 °C for 300...

journal article 2022

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Effects of large salinity fluctuations on an anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating phenolic wastewater

Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Oosterkamp, M.J. (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

High salinity is becoming more common in industrial process water and final effluents, particularly when striving to close water loops. There is limited knowledge on the anaerobic treatment of chemical wastewaters characterized by distinct salinity fluctuations. This study investigates the high and fluctuating salinity effects on the...

journal article 2021

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Biodegradability Assessment of Aniline under Methanogenic and Saline Conditions in Batch and AnMBR

Huisman, Daniël (author)

Aniline, a toxic aromatic amine present in certain wastewaters from the petroleum-, pharmaceutical- , and textile industry is regarded recalcitrant under strict anaerobic conditions. This study assessed the feasibility of methanogenic aniline biodegradation under saline (8 gNa+/L) conditions (1) by performing biodegradability batch assays using...

master thesis 2020

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Influence of particle size distribution on anaerobic degradation of phenol and analysis of methanogenic microbial community

Wang, Jing (author), Wu, Benteng (author), Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), He, Chunhua (author), Hu, Zhenhu (author), Wang, Wei (author)

Sludge morphology considerably affects the mechanism underlying microbial anaerobic degradation of phenol. Here, we assessed the phenol degradation rate, specific methanogenic activity, electron transport activity, coenzyme F₄₂₀ concentration, and microbial community structure of five phenol-degrading sludge of varying particle...

journal article 2020

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Enhancing Phenol Conversion Rates in Saline Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Using Acetate and Butyrate as Additional Carbon and Energy Sources

Garcia Rea, V.S. (author), Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Fonseca Aponte, L.M. (author), Cerqueda-Garcia, Daniel (author), Mollamohseni Quchani, K. (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

Phenolic industrial wastewater, such as those from coal gasification, are considered a challenge for conventional anaerobic wastewater treatment systems because of its extreme characteristics such as presence of recalcitrant compounds, high toxicity, and salinity. However, anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) are considered of potential...

journal article 2020

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Anaerobic Conversion of Saline Phenol-Containing Wastewater Under Thermophilic Conditions in a Membrane Bioreactor

Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Garcia Rea, V.S. (author), Cerqueda Garcia, D. (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

Closing water loops in chemical industries result in hot and highly saline residual streams, often characterized by high strength and the presence of refractory or toxic compounds. These streams are attractive for anaerobic technologies, provided the chemical compounds are biodegradable. However, under such harsh conditions, effective biomass...

journal article 2020

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Impact of increased phenol loading rate on the phenol removal of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor operated at high sodium concentration

Gao, Chang (author)

Certain industrial wastewaters have posed a big challenge to biological water treatment systems because of their high toxic organic compounds concentration (e.g. phenol) and high salinity. The maximum biomass specific phenol bioconversion rate (PhCR) of a mesophilic (35 °C) anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) under high sodium concentration ...

master thesis 2019

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Comparative performance of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor and anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating phenolic wastewater: Overcoming high salinity

Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Oosterkamp, M.J. (author), Wang, W. (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) offer an attractive option for treating industrial wastewaters under extreme conditions that might hamper granulation, biomass retention and reduce biological activity. This study assesses the long-term performance of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) and an AnMBR treating highly saline...

journal article 2019

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Natural organic matter-cations complexation and its impact on water treatment: A critical review

Adusei-Gyamfi, Junias (author), Ouddane, Baghdad (author), Rietveld, L.C. (author), Cornard, Jean Paul (author), Criquet, Justine (author)

The quality and quantity of natural organic matter (NOM) has been observed to evolve which poses challenges to water treatment facilities. Even though NOM may not be toxic itself, its presence in water has aesthetic effects, enhances biological growth in distribution networks, binds with pollutants and controls the bioavailability of trace...

review 2019

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Impact of long-term salinity exposure in anaerobic membrane bioreactors treating phenolic wastewater: Performance robustness and endured microbial community

Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Oosterkamp, M.J. (author), Wang, W.W. (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

Industrial wastewaters are becoming increasingly associated with extreme conditions such as the presence of refractory compounds and high salinity that adversely affect biomass retention or reduce biological activity. Hence, this study evaluated the impact of long-term salinity increase to 20 gNa⁺.L⁻¹ on the...

journal article 2018

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Temperature susceptibility of a mesophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating saline phenol-containing wastewater

Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Wang, W.W. (author), Cerqueda Garcia, D. (author), Oosterkamp, M.J. (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

This study examined the temperature susceptibility of a continuous-flow lab-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) to temperature shifts from 35 °C to 55 °C and its bioconversion robustness treating synthetic phenolic wastewater at 16 gNa^+.L⁻¹. During the experiment, the mesophilic reactor was subjected to stepwise...

journal article 2018

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Trace metals supplementation in anaerobic membrane bioreactors treating highly saline phenolic wastewater

Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Lafita Lopez, C. (author), Gabaldón, Carmen (author), Spanjers, H. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

Biomass requires trace metals (TM) for maintaining its growth and activity. This study aimed to determine the effect of TM supplementation and partitioning on the specific methanogenic activity (SMA), with a focus on cobalt and tungsten, during the start-up of two lab-scale Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors (AnMBRs) treating saline phenolic...

journal article 2017

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Potential impact of methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) on phenols degradation in an UASB reactor and its degradation properties

Wang, Wei (author), Yang, Kai (author), Muñoz Sierra, Julian (author), Zhang, X. (author), Yuan, Shoujun (author), Hu, Zhenhu (author)

Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) as a solvent is extensively used for the phenols extraction from the wastewater, so it is unavoidable to expose in the effluent due to the solubility and leakage problem. The present study evaluated the impact of MIBK on phenols degradation in an UASB reactor and analyzed its degradation properties. The results...

journal article 2017

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Modelling and design of a flat plate fixed film photoreactor for phenol degradation

Galnares de la Garza, F.O. (author)

This paper presents the mathematical modelling and design of a flat plate photoreactor with a fixed film photocatalyst to degrade phenol. Phenol was used as target pollutant as it is one of the most studied contaminants in photocatalysis and it is present in many of the wastewater streams containing pesticides, drugs, and dyes which cannot be...

student report 2016

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Micromechanical properties of a new polymeric microcapsule for self-healing cementitious materials

Lv, Leyang (author), Schlangen, E. (author), Yang, Z. (author), Xing, Feng (author)

Self-healing cementitious materials containing a microencapsulated healing agent are appealing due to their great application potential in improving the serviceability and durability of concrete structures. In this study, poly(phenol-formaldehyde) (PF) microcapsules that aim to provide a self-healing function for cementitious materials were...

journal article 2016

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Substrate-dependent kinetics in tyrosinase-based biosensing: Amperometry vs. spectrophotometry

Rassaei, L. (author), Cui, J. (author), Goluch, E.D. (author), Lemay, S.G. (author)

Despite the broad use of enzymes in electroanalytical biosensors, the influence of enzyme kinetics on the function of prototype sensors is often overlooked or neglected. In the present study, we employ amperometry as an alternative or complementary method to study the kinetics of tyrosinase, whose catalytic activity results in o-quinone products...

journal article 2012