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Search results for: DIGESTION
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Effect of Individual Components of Lignocellulosic Biomass on Methane Production and Methanogen Community Structure
PublicationOne of the major factors that influences the economic feasibility of biogas production is the availability of digestible feedstocks. There is little research on the influence of the chemical composition of biomass on biogas synthesis, especially with regard to the content of lignocellulosic materials. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate how differences in the content of cellulose and lignin in lignocellulosic biomass...
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Energy neutrality versus carbon footprint minimization in municipal wastewater treatment plants
PublicationThis work aimed to compare the carbon footprint (CF) of six full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The CF was estimated in the range of 23–100 kg CO2e per population equivalent. In the total CF, the direct emissions held the highest share (62–74%) for the plants with energy recovery from biogas. In the plants depending entirely on the power grid, the indirect emissions due to energy consumption dominated the total CF (69–72%)....
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Interfacial behaviour of human bile and its substitution for in vitro lipolysis studies
PublicationThis study examined the interfacial evolution of individual bile salts (BSs) and their blends with phosphatidylcholine (BS/PC) to simulate the complex behaviour of human bile (HB) during lipolysis at the triglyceride/water interface. Using adsorption and desorption cycles, mimicking exposure to small intestinal fluids, we demonstrate that the interfacial behaviour of real HB can be replicated using simple mixtures of BSs and PC....
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Elementary analysis and energetic potential of the sludge from the Gdynia Dębogórze and Lębork wastewater treatment plants
PublicationThe paper aims to show the results of the elementary analysis of the sewage sludges from wastewater treatment plants in Gdynia Dębogórze and Lębork as well as measurements of the heat of combustion and the calculated calorific values according to regulation PN-93/Z-15008, taking into account water content and the composition of sewage sludge at different utilisation stages. The results presented in this paper are based on the analysis...
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Chapter 4. Electricity generation from glucose microbial fuel cell
PublicationThe microbial fuel cell was constructed to generate electricity with simultaneous digestion of a glucose fuel by a bacterial biofilm. The decomposition of glucose resulted in releasing of electrons to an anode and to production of some by-products, e.g. metane or organic acids. It was found that maximum electric power density strongly depended on the proton transport through the proton exchange membrane seperating the anolyte and...
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The impact of cooking method on the phenolic composition, total antioxidant activity and starch digestibility of rice (Oryza sativa L.)
PublicationThis study investigated changes in the phenolic composition, total antioxidant activity (TAA) and starch digestibility in white and brown rice due to three different cooking procedures, and subsequent reheating of cooked rice after storage. Among the analyzed samples, brown rice showed the highest TAA and phenolic content (622.5 mg kg-1 DW). All cooking methods resulted in significant decrease of phenolic content and TAA of rice...
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Colloidal transport of lipid digesta in human and porcine small intestinal mucus
PublicationSmall intestinal mucus transport of food-derived particulates has not been extensively studied, despite mucus being a barrier nutrients need to cross before absorption. We used complex dispersions of digesta obtained from simulated, dynamic gastrointestinal digestion of yogurt to examine the penetrability of human and porcine mucus to the particles formed of lipolysis products. Quantitative, time-lapse confocal microscopy revealed...
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Key issues in modeling and optimization of lignocellulosic biomass fermentative conversion to gaseous biofuels
PublicationThe industrial-scale production of lignocellulosic-based biofuels from biomass is expected to benefit society and the environment. The main pathways of residues processing include advanced hydrolysis and fermentation, pyrolysis, gasification, chemical synthesis and biological processes. The products of such treatment are second generation biofuels. The degree of fermentation of organic substances depends primarily on their composition...
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Sustainable Management of Food Wastes Through Cavitation-Assisted Conversion into Value-Added Products
PublicationMore than 30% of worldwide food consumption is thrown out as food wastes causing serious environmental, economic, and social problems. Therefore, it is required to develop sustainable food waste management methods leading to an enhancement in social and economic benefits and mitigation of environmental impacts. Anaerobic digestion can be regarded as one of those effective methods that can be employed for the conversion of food...
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Isolation of Human Progenitor Epidermal Cells on Collagen Type IV and Analysis of Their Markers with Flow Cytometry and PCR Methods
PublicationEpidermal stem cells, located in the skin, together with keratinocytes are transplanted in regenerative therapies, e.g., for the treatment of burns or other wounds. Here, we describe the protocol of their enzymatic isolation from human skin. It includes separation of the epidermis form the dermis by incubation with dispase followed by cell isolation for epidermis by digestion with trypsin. Cell isolated with this method can be...
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Novel application of terminal restriction fragments length polymorphism method (t-RFLP) for identification of six clinically important Candida sp.
PublicationTerminal restriction fragments length polymorphism method (t-RFLP) is a modified classical RFLP method. The main difference is based on carrying out PCR using a fluorescently labeled primer or primers. The result of such modification is that after digestion of amplicons only terminal fragments of PCR product (containing fluorescent dye) are visualized. T-RFLP method has found application in environmental microbiology and epidemiology....
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Influence of Phosphorus Speciation on Its Chemical Removal from Reject Water from Dewatering of Municipal Sewage Sludge
PublicationThe aim of the presented research was the assessment of phosphorus speciation impact on the precipitation of phosphorus in reject water using Ca(OH)2. To achieve this, phosphorus speciation (organic and inorganic phosphorus in suspension and in dissolved form) in reject water that is produced during sludge dewatering, after methane digestion in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), was determined. This study covered the materials...
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Effect of oxidation and in vitro intestinal hydrolysis on phospholipid toxicity towards HT29 cell line serving as a model of human intestinal epithelium
PublicationOxidation of food-derived phospholipids (PLs) can influence nutrient digestion and induce oxidative stress in gastrointestinal epithelium. In this study, hen egg yolk PL fraction was used to evaluate the effect of lipoxygenase (LOX)-induced PL oxidation on the rate of PL hydrolysis catalyzed by pancreatic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in the presence of bile salts (BSs). Then, PL/BS solutions containing native or oxidized PLs were used...
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Beata Krawczyk dr hab.
PeopleBeata Krawczyk, PhD, Professor Academic degrees, education, qualifications: B. Krawczyk earned his master degree in Biology at the University of Gdansk, Biology Faculty, in 1986, and her PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Gdansk, Biology Faculty, in 1996. Postdoctoral degree (habilitation) in biological sciences in the discipline biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, in 2009. In 2012...
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A simple modification to improve the accuracy of methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme quantitative polymerase chain reaction
PublicationDNA digestion with endonucleases sensitive to CpG methylation such as HpaII followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) quantitation is commonly used in molecular studies as a simple and inexpensive solution for assessment of region-specific DNA methylation. We observed that the results of such analyses were highly overestimated if mock-digested samples were applied as the reference.We determined DNA methylation levels in several...
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Development of an Analytical Protocol for Determination of Cyanide in Human Biological Samples Based on Application of Ion Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection
PublicationA simple and accurate ion chromatography (IC) method with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) was proposed for the determination of cyanide ion in urine, sweat, and saliva samples. The sample pretreatment relies on alkaline digestion and application of Dionex OnGuard II H cartridge. Under the optimized conditions, the method showed good linearity in the range of 1–100 μg/L for urine, 5–100 μg/L for saliva, and 3–100 μg/L for sweat...
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The process generation of WWTP models for optimization of activated sludge systems
PublicationThe objective of water and wastewater utilities, which are responsible for optimization of wastewater treatment plant operation, is threefold: environmental protection, saving money, and mitigation of pollutant emissions, both to water and air. The performed study aimed to assess the process generation of WWTP models that improve activated sludge systems operation, by means of new developed Mantis2 model. This model accounts for...
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Energy and valuable organic products recovery from anaerobic processes
PublicationChapter 8 contains: Introduction, Energy balance in wastewater treatment plants and potential energy recovery, Potential valuable products recovery, Anaerobic processes focused on liquid products recovery; Anaerobic digestion (AD) processes focused on gaseous products recovery, Processes enhancing energy and valuable organic products recovery, Conclusions and perspectives. Anaerobic processes offer different pathways for the recovery...
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A Comprehensive Review of Phytonutrients as a Dietary Therapy for Obesity
PublicationObesity is a complex medical condition mainly caused by eating habits, genetics, lifestyle, and medicine. The present study deals with traditional diets like the Mediterranean diet, Nordic diet, African Heritage diet, Asian diet, and DASH, as these are considered to be sustainable diets for curing obesity. However, the bioavailability of phytonutrients consumed in the diet may vary, depending on several factors such as digestion...
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Sodium alginate decreases the permeability of intestinal mucus
PublicationIn the small intestine the nature of the environment leads to a highly heterogeneous mucus layer primarily composed of the MUC2 mucin. We set out to investigate whether the soluble dietary fibre sodium alginate could alter the permeability of the mucus layer. The alginate was shown to freely diffuse into the mucus and to have minimal effect on the bulk rheology when added at concentrations below 0.1%. Despite this lack of interaction...
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Metody oczyszczania odcieków z procesów przeróbki osadów w komorach fermentacji
PublicationOdcieki z beztlenowych procesów przeróbki osadu w komorach fermentacji (tzw. wody poosadowe) są istotnym źródłem azotu dopływającego do części biologicznej oczyszczalni ścieków. Odpowiednie oczyszczanie tych wód może więc, w bardzo istotny sposób wpłynąć na warunki eksploatacji oczyszczalni. Konwencjonalny proces usuwania amoniaku za pomocą dwóch faz, tj. nitryfikacji i denitryfikacji, są coraz częściej zastępowane przez jednoetapowy...
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ABSORPCJA, METABOLIZM I ROLA BIOLOGICZNA KWASÓW NUKLEINOWYCH OBECNYCH W ŻYWNOŚCI
PublicationKwasy nukleinowe należą do niedocenianych składników żywności, szczególnie surowej lub nisko przetworzonej. W niniejszej publikacji skupiono się na omówieniu przemian, jakim podlegają kwasy nukleinowe w przewodzie pokarmowym człowieka, procesie absorpcji nukleotydów oraz nukleozydów z przewodu pokarmowego, a także przedstawiono podstawowe etapy ich metabolizmu w komórkach organizmu. Produkty trawienia kwasów nukleinowych stanowią...
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Modelling of dark fermentation of glucose and sour cabbage
PublicationIn the article, modified Anaerobic Digestion Models 1 (ADM-1) was tested for modelling dark fermentation for hydrogen production. The model refitting was done with the Euler method. The new model was based on sets of differential equations. The model was checked for hydrogen production from sour cabbage in batch and semi-batch in 5 g VSS (volatile solid suspension)/L and at the semi-batch process from glucose at 5 and 10 g VSS/L....
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Isolation and structure of a covalent cross-link adduct between mitomycin C and DNA
PublicationA DNA cross-link adduct of the antitumor agent mitomycin C (MC) to DNA has been isolated and characterized; the results provide direct proof for bifunctional alkylation of DNA by MC. Exposure of MC to Micrococcus luteus DNA under reductive conditions and subsequent nuclease digestion yielded adducts formed between MC and deoxyguanosine residues. In addition to the two known monoadducts, a bisadduct was obtained. Reductive MC activation...
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Elementary analysis and energetic potential of the municipal sewage sludges from the Gdańsk and Kościerzyna WWTPs
PublicationThis paper aims to present municipal sewage sludge (MSS) elementary analysis and energetic potential based on measurement of heat of combustion (higher heating value HHV) and calculation of calorific values (lower heating value LHV). The analysis takes into the consideration water content in sewage sludge, at different utilization stages, in wastewater treatment plants in Gdańsk Wschód and Kościerzyna – Pomeranian Voivodeship....
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Cząsteczki mikroRNA - nowy biologicznie aktywny składnik mleka kobiecego
PublicationCząsteczki mikroRNA są krótkimi, niekodującymi oligonukleotydami odpowiadającymi za potranskrypcyjną regulację ekspresji genów. W wyniku ich aktywności kontrolowanych jest wiele procesów komórkowych oraz szlaków sygnalizacyjnych. Od 2010 roku wiadomo, że wchodzą one w skład mleka kobiecego, które obecnie uznaje się za jedno z najbogatszych pokarmowych źródeł mikroRNA. Funkcje tych cząsteczek w organizmie karmionego mlekiem matki...
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Tuning of food wastes bioavailability as feedstock for bio-conversion processes by acoustic cavitation and SPC, SPS, or H2O2 as external oxidants
PublicationThe growing amount of food wastes makes them a suitable source for the generation of bioproducts through anaerobic digestion. Appropriate hydrolysis of the feedstock can enhance the efficiency of production of desired products. In this work, acoustic cavitation (AC) was employed as a pretreatment method to enhance hydrolysis stage by the modification of model (potato-based) food waste for increase in soluble chemical oxygen demand...
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Advantageous conditions of saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuels generation via fermentation processes
PublicationProcessing of lignocellulosic biomass includes four major unit operations: pre-treatment, hydrolysis, fermentation and product purifcation prior to biofuel generation via anaerobic digestion. The microorganisms involved in the fermentation metabolize only simple molecules, i.e., monosugars which can be obtained by carrying out the degradation of complex polymers, the main component of lignocellulosic biomass. The object of this...
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Annual variability of heavy metal content in Svalbard reindeer faeces as a result of dietary preferences
PublicationDuring both winter and summer, Svalbard reindeer selectively feed on different types of vegetation that are not only a source of nutritional value, but also a place of heavy metal accumulation. In the present study, the content of cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, nickel, manganese, and zinc in reindeer excrement was measured. The main aims were to determine the seasonal content of several heavy metals in Svalbard reindeer...
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Mass spectrometric identification of 13C-Labeled metaboloites during anaerobic propanoic acid oxidation
PublicationBiowaste digestion is a possibility to gain biogas as a renewable fuel source. However, the anaerobic food chain may be disrupted by, e.g., substrate overload or by inhibitors, leading to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), predominantly of propanoic acid (PA). VFA Accumulation may cause a rapid pH decrease, less biogas production, or even a total inhibition. To maintain high biogas productivity or to prevent a collapse...
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Methodology Approach for Microplastics Isolation from Samples Containing Sucrose
PublicationThe growing production and use of plastics significantly contribute to microplastics (MPs) contamination in the environment. Humans are exposed to MPs primarily through the gastrointestinal route, as these particles are present in beverages and food, e.g., sugar. Effective isolation and identification of MPs from food is essential for their elimination. This study aimed to evaluate factors influencing the isolation of MPs from...
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Mass Spectrometric Identification of 13C-Labeled Metabolites DuringAnaerobic Propanoic Acid Oxidation
PublicationBiowaste digestion is a possibility to gain biogas as a renewable fuel source. However, the anaerobic food chain may be disrupted by, e.g., substrate overload or by inhibitors, leading to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), predominantly of propanoic acid (PA). VFA Accumulation may cause a rapid pH decrease, less biogas production, or even a total inhibition. To maintain high biogas productivity or to prevent a collapse...
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Ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis as a tool for monitoring methanogenic archaea changes in an anaerobic digester
PublicationThe applicability of a newly-designed PCR primer pair in examination of methanogenic Archaea in a digester treating plant biomass was evaluated by Ribosmal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (RISA). To find a suitable approach, three variants of RISA were tested: (1) standard, polyacrylamide gel-based, (2) automated, utilized capillary electrophoresis (GA-ARISA), and (3) automated microfluidics-based (MF-ARISA). All three techniques yielded...
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Development of a simple biogas analyzer module (BAM) for real-time biogas production monitoring
PublicationAnaerobic digestion (AD) relies on the cooperation of specific microbial communities, making it susceptible to process disruptions that could impact biogas production. In this regard, this study presents a technological solution based on the Arduino platform, in the form of a simple online monitoring system that can track the produced biogas profile, named as biogas analyzer module (BAM). The applicability of the BAM focused on...
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Wastewater Engineering 2020/21 (Environmental Engineering, II stopnia, stacjonarne, II semestr))
e-Learning CoursesWastewater sources and flows Wastewater characterization based on physical and biodegradation criteria Preliminary treatment unit operations (screens, grit chambers, primary clarifiers) Biological processes (suspended growth vs. attached growth, hybrid systems, granular sludge) for wastewater treatment. Principles of biological nutrient removal (nitrification, denitrification, enhanced biological P removal, anammox). Implementation...
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The Toolbox of Methods for Multidirectional Characterization of Dietary Nucleic Acids; Verification for Raw and Processed Food Products
PublicationCurrently, the nutritional value of food is associated mainly with components such as proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. However, another important macromolecules present in many foods are dietary nucleic acids (dietNA), i.e., DNA as well as both coding and non-coding RNAs. In the context of food chemistry and nutrition, dietNA are nowadays vastly neglected. In consequence, there are no dedicated methodologies to characterize...
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Mass Spectrometric Identification of 13C-labeled Metabolites During anaerobic Propanoic Acid Oxidation
PublicationBiowaste digestion is a possibility to gain biogas as a renewable fuel source. However, the anaerobic food chain may be disrupted by, e.g., substrate overload or by inhibitors, leading to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), predominantly of propanoic acid (PA). VFA Accumulation may cause a rapid pH decrease, less biogas production, or even a total inhibition. To maintain high biogas productivity or to prevent a collapse...
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Principles and applications of Ligation Mediated PCR methods for DNA-based typing of microbial organisms
PublicationA significant number of DNA-based techniques has been introduced into the field of microorganisms’ characterization and taxonomy. These genomic fingerprinting methods were developed to detect DNA sequence polymorphisms by using general principles, such as restriction endonuclease analysis, molecular hybridization, and PCR amplification. In recent years, some alternative techniques based on ligation of oligonucleotide adapters before...
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Indirect Determination of MCPD Fatty Acid Esters in Lipid Fractions of Commercially Available Infant Formulas for the Assessment of Infants’ Health Risk
PublicationMCPD esters are intensively investigated food lipid contaminants for over a decade. Concern related to their presence in various types of food products is related to the fact that possible free MCPD release from its esterified form during digestion may lead to elevated daily intake of these toxicants.Special attention should be devoted into powdered infant formulas, which contain significant amounts of refined vegetable oils, likely...
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The role of electrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis treatment in the enhancement of the electrochemical properties of 3D-printed carbon black/poly(lactic acid) structures
PublicationAdditive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is beginning to play an unprecedented role in developing many applications for industrial or personalized products. The conductive composite structures require additional treatment to achieve an electroactive surface useful for electrochemical devices. In this paper, the surfaces of carbon black/poly(lactic acid) CB-PLA printouts were activated by electrolysis or enzymatic digestion...
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Biomass in biogas production: Pretreatment and codigestion
PublicationGlobally, there is increasing awareness that the implementation of ‘waste to energy’ technology is one of the best means to achieve sustainable energy development. The most popular approach is the conversion of organic-rich compounds into clean and renewable products by anaerobic digestion (AD). Biogas can be produced from agricultural residues, municipal/industrial biowastes, and sustainable biomass, especially materials that...
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Environmental impacts of food waste management technologies: A critical review of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies
PublicationFood waste is a serious global problem. Therefore, it is essential to reduce food waste and adopt recycling strategies to minimize its environmental impacts. However, conventional waste disposal methods emit harmful gases such as dioxin, CH4, N2O, and NH3, which contaminate the air and water resources. This work reviews the environmental consequences of food waste based on lifecycle assessment (LCA) techniques using methods such...
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Integrated plant-wide modelling for evaluation of the energy balance and greenhouse gas footprint in large wastewater treatment plants
PublicationModern wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) should maintain a balance between three combined sustainability criteria, including effluent quality, energy performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. All of these criteria were considered in the integrated plant-wide model developed in this study. The proposed model incorporates new features, including: (i) the addition of associated facilities to the overall energy balance and...
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Optimization of vortex-assisted supramolecular solvent-based liquid liquid microextraction for the determination of mercury in real water and food samples
PublicationA novel method was developed for sample preparation for spectrophotometric determination of Hg(II) in water and food samples. The method was based on vortex-assisted supramolecular solvent-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (VA-SUPRASs-LLME). Analytical parameters such as pH, chelating agent, solvent type and volume, vortex time and salting out effect were optimized. Surface and normal probability plots were drawn for the variables...
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Biochemical assays of intensified methane content in biogas from low-temperature processing of waste activated sludge
PublicationAnaerobic digestion (AD) is implemented as an important ‘waste to energy’ approach for converting organic-rich byproducts such as sewage sludge into biogas and nutrient-rich digestate. Sewage sludge consists of primary sludge and waste activated sludge (WAS), and low biodegradability of WAS limits methane production. This study presents the influence of the low-temperature pretreatment (LT-PT) of WAS on the efficiency of AD. Different...
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Wastewater Engineering 2021/22 (Environmental Engineering, II stopnia, stacjonarne, II semestr))
e-Learning CoursesWastewater sources and flows Wastewater characterization based on physical and biodegradation criteria Preliminary treatment unit operations (screens, grit chambers, primary clarifiers) Biological processes (suspended growth vs. attached growth, hybrid systems, granular sludge) for wastewater treatment Principles of biological nutrient removal (nitrification, denitrification, enhanced biological P removal, anammox) Implementation...
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Wastewater Engineering 2022/23 (Environmental Engineering, II stopnia, stacjonarne, II semestr))
e-Learning CoursesWastewater sources and flows Wastewater characterization based on physical and biodegradation criteria Preliminary treatment unit operations (screens, grit chambers, primary clarifiers) Biological processes (suspended growth vs. attached growth, hybrid systems, granular sludge) for wastewater treatment Principles of biological nutrient removal (nitrification, denitrification, enhanced biological P removal, anammox) Implementation...
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Wastewater Engineering 2024/25 (Environmental Engineering, II stopnia, stacjonarne, II semestr)
e-Learning CoursesWastewater sources and flows Wastewater characterization based on physical and biodegradation criteria Preliminary treatment unit operations (screens, grit chambers, primary clarifiers) Biological processes (suspended growth vs. attached growth, hybrid systems, granular sludge) for wastewater treatment Principles of biological nutrient removal (nitrification, denitrification, enhanced biological P removal, anammox) Implementation...
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Wastewater Engineering 2023/24 (Environmental Engineering, II stopnia, stacjonarne, II semestr)
e-Learning CoursesWastewater sources and flows Wastewater characterization based on physical and biodegradation criteria Preliminary treatment unit operations (screens, grit chambers, primary clarifiers) Biological processes (suspended growth vs. attached growth, hybrid systems, granular sludge) for wastewater treatment Principles of biological nutrient removal (nitrification, denitrification, enhanced biological P removal, anammox) Implementation...
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Valorization of paper-mill sludge laden with 2-chlorotoluene using hydroxyapatite@biochar nanocomposite to enrich methanogenic community: A techno-economic approach
PublicationWhile several studies have investigated the anaerobic digestion of paper-mill sludge (PMS), this technology suffers from nutrient insufficiency, inhibition by aromatic compounds, and low bio-CH4 yield. Hence, PMS was anaerobically co-digested with chicken manure (CM) and supplemented by hydroxyapatite@biochar (HAP@BC) nanocomposite for enhancing 2-chlorotoluene degradation and enriching the methanogenic archaea. Multiple continuous...