This work explores the use of a model-based control scheme to enhance the productivity of polyhroxyalkanoate (PHA) production in a mixed culture two-stage system fed with synthetic wastewater. The controller supplies pulses of substrate while regulating the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and uses the data to fit a dynamic mathematical model, which in turn is used to predict the time until ...

Flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry(Py-GC/MS) was used to study the structural transformations of humic fractions formed as a result of composting processes of diverse organic materials (solid wastes of wineries, solid olive-mill wastes, domestic wastes, ovine manures plus straw, and mixtures of animal manures). Sodium hydroxide-extracted total humic-like extracts (THE; humic p...

With the exhaustion of fossil fuels and the severe pollution of the environment, it’s urgent to find substitute renewable energy resources. Biomass is a kind of widespread and abundant renewable resource with lower sulfur content than fossil fuels, so the pollution to environment from biomass usage is much slighter than that from fossil fuels usage. Besides, zero emission of CO2 can be realized...

An overview of the main soil characteristics and threats in the Mediterranean Basin are analysed. Low organic matter content is one of the common features of Mediterranean soils. The re-use of organic wastes through soil system for different land purposes seem to be the best way to maintain or improve organic matter contents in those soils. An extensive characterisation of different sources of ...

The hazardous organic residual wastes produced by the sodium hydrosulfite industry are demonstrated to be convertible into a novel solid lubricant. Identification and isolation of the organic residues are achieved by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). FTIR and GC-MS provide important information abo...

A biotechnology for aerobic conversion of food waste into organic fertilizer under controlled aeration, stirring, pH and temperature at 55-65 degrees C, is proposed. To maintain neutral pH at the beginning of the bioconversion 5% CaCO3 was added to the total solids of the food waste. The addition of 20% horticultural waste compost as a bulking agent to the food wastes (w.w./w.w.), improved the ...

The possibility of generating electricity with microbial fuel cells has been recognized for some time, but practical applications have been slow to develop. The recent development of a microbial fuel cell that can harvest electricity from the organic matter stored in marine sediments has demonstrated the feasibility of producing useful amounts of electricity in remote environments. Further stud...

Use of conventional organic solvents often leads to the formation of hazardous waste, the disposal of which is a matter of environmental concern. Carbon dioxide is considered to be a green reaction medium and a good replacement for conventional organic solvents as it is benign and leads to elimination/reduction of hazardous wastes. Use of CO2 at near/above critical conditions has several additi...

High-solids anaerobic digestion (HSAD) processes, when applied to different types of organic fractions of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), may easily be subjected to inhibition due to organic overloading. In this study, a new approach for predicting these phenomena was proposed based on the estimation of the putrescibility (oxygen consumption in 20 h biodegradation, OD(20)) of the organic mixture...