Waste activated sludge lysate treatment: Resource recovery and refractory organics degradation

Sludge lysate is an unavoidable and refractory liquid produced from the waste activated sludge hydrothermal pyrolysis, which contains plenty of hazardous refractory organic compounds and value-added organic resources. Here, the proof of concept for an integrated strategy that couples technically compatible pretreatment to microbial electrolysis assisted AD (ME-AD) system is investigated for sludge lysate treatment and resource recovery. The pretreatment process shows a positive effectiveness on the ME-AD by reducing the organic load and inhibitory matters, which promote the residual refractory organic compounds (Maillard reaction products and humic acid-like substances) and carbon sources further biodegradation and bio-transformation. Combining membrane separation with ME-AD increased not only both the yield and purity of methane to 268.76 mL CH4/g COD and 98%, respectively, but also the recovery of 70.0-82.4% crude proteins (9.1 +/- 0.5 g/L) from sludge lysate. Alternatively, the alkaline precipitation combined with ME-AD enhanced the recovery efficiency of shortchain fatty acids (SCFAs). The visible decreasing in the unpleasant color of the effluents was observed, implying that the degradation of harmful refractory organic was almost eliminated in sludge lysate. This strategy is worthy to be developed in WWTP for sludge lysate treatment with considerable bio-resources recovery and refractory organics removal.

Automated summary

The study proved the effectiveness of an integrated strategy combining pretreatment with microbial electrolysis-assisted anaerobic digestion system for sludge lysate treatment and resource recovery. The pretreatment enhanced the biodegradation and bio-transformation of organic compounds, while membrane separation improved methane yield and purity, as well as protein recovery. This strategy shows potential for widespread adoption in wastewater treatment plants for sludge lysate treatment and sustainable resource recovery.