title: A process for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from municipal wastewater treatment with biological carbon and nitrogen removal demonstrated at pilot-scale.
abstract: A process was developed for biological treatment of municipal wastewater for carbon and nitrogen removal while producing added-value polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). The process comprised steps for pre-denitrification, nitrification and post-denitrification and included integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) with biofilm carrier media to support nitrification. In a pilot-scale demonstration (500-800L), wastewater treatment performance, in line with European standards, were achieved for total chemical oxygen demand (83% removal) and total nitrogen (80% removal) while producing a biomass that was able to accumulate up to 49% PHA of volatile suspended solids with acetic acid or fermented organic residues as substrates. Robust performance in wastewater treatment and enrichment of PHA-producing biomass was demonstrated under realistic conditions including influent variability during 225days of operation. The IFAS system was found to be advantageous since maintaining nitrification on the biofilm allowed for a relatively low (2days) solids retention time (SRT) for the suspended biomass in the bulk phase. Lower SRT has advantages in higher biomass yield and higher active fraction in the biomass which leads to higher PHA productivity and content. The outcomes show that production of added-value biopolymers may be readily integrated with carbon and nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater.
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: simonbengtsson99@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bengtsson
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alexandersson
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quadri
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hjort
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Morgan-Sagastume
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anterrieu
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arcos-Hernandez
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lamija
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Karabegovic
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magnusson
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Werker
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D018533:Biomass; D001709:Biotechnology; D002244:Carbon / Q000302:isolation & purification; D058440:Denitrification; D005285:Fermentation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Biopolymers; Integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS); Mixed microbial cultures; Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR); Municipal wastewater; Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)