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The effectiveness and treatment conditions of FeCl 3 - and AlCl 3 -coagulated municipal sewage sludge from chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) using anaerobic digestion (AD) and the structure of microbial community were investigated. The results based on 297 measurements under different operational conditions demonstrate good average AD performance of CEPT sludge, that is, percent volatile solid reduction of 58 %, specific biogas production (or biogas yield) of 0.92 m 3 /kg volatile solids (VS) destroyed, and methane content of 65.4 %. FeCl 3 dosing, organic loading rate, temperature, and hydraulic retention time all significantly affected AD performance. FeCl 3 dosing greatly improved specific methane production (methane yield) by 38–54 % and significantly reduced hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) content in biogas (from up to 13,250 to <200 ppm), contributing to higher methane recovery and simplified biogas cleaning for power generation. Metagenomic analysis suggested that anaerobic digesters of both CEPT sludge and combined primary and secondary sludge were dominated by Bacteroidetes , Proteobacteria , Firmicutes , Actinobacteria , Thermotogae , and Chloroflexi . However, Methanomicrobia methanogens were better enriched in the anaerobic digesters of CEPT sludge than in the combined sludge. Further, different sources of CEPT sludge with various chemical properties nurtured shared and unique microbial community composition. Combined, this study supports AD as an efficient technology for CEPT sludge treatment and poses first insights into the microbial community structure.

Psoriasis is a systemic, immune-metabolic disease with strong genetic predispositions and autoimmune pathogenic traits. During psoriasis progression, a wide spectrum of comorbidities comes into play with the leading role of the cardio-metabolic syndrome (CMS) that occurs with the frequency of 30-50% amongst the psoriatic patients. Both conditions-psoriasis and CMS-have numerous common pathways, mainly related to proinflammatory pathways and cytokine profiles. Surprisingly, despite the years of research, the exact pathways linking the occurrence of CMS in the psoriasis population are still not fully understood. Recently published papers, both clinical and based on the basic science, shed new light into this relationship providing an insight into novel key-players proteins with plausible effects on above-mentioned interplay. Taking into account recent advances in this important medical matter, this review aims to discuss comprehensively the role of four proteins: proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type-9 (PSCK9), angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPLT8), sortilin (SORT1), and cholesteryl ester transfer proteins (CEPT) as plausible links between psoriasis and CMS.

To lower energy consumption at a sewage treatment plant (STP), primary settling could be enhanced to direct more chemical oxygen demand (COD) to anaerobic digestion (AD) for increased biogas production and decreased aeration. Primary settling can be chemically enhanced by applying flocculation aids (FAs). FAs are refractory compounds that may affect all sludge treatment facilities. In this study the consequences are investigated of the application of FAs for chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) on AD and subsequent dewatering of digested sludge in a conventional STP. It was found that FAs maintain their effect throughout all sludge processing facilities. With CEPT, more readily degradable solids were removed, resulting in a higher bio methane potential of the primary sludge. In AD, FAs lowered the viscosity; meanwhile an increased hydrolysis rate was observed. But FAs also partially irreversibly bound substrate in such way that it is not available for biological degradation anymore. In subsequent dewatering of digested sludge, a higher dry solids concentration was observed with CEPT. A computer simulation showed that in a conventional STP, CEPT would not be economically feasible. However, several benefits were discussed that can make CEPT an interesting option for future low COD/N-tolerant STPs with, for example, Anammox processes for N removal.

Alternative wastewater treatment (WWT) technologies with lower environmental impacts seem to be the way forward in the pursuit of sustainable wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Process modelling of material and energy flows together with life-cycle assessment (LCA) can help to better understand these impacts and show the right direction for their development. Here, we apply this combined approach to three scenarios: conventional WWT; conventional WWT + chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT); conventional WWT + CEPT + side stream partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A). For each scenario, equations were developed to calculate chemical oxygen demand and nitrogen flow (solid and dissolved form) through the WWTP and to estimate the energy demands of its unit operations. LCA showed that the main environmental impact categories for all scenarios were global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication potential (EP) and marine aquatic eco-toxicity potential (MAETP). Compared with conventional WWT, CEPT and CEPT combined with PN/A resulted in a higher sum of normalized and weighed environmental indicators, by 19.5% and 16.4%, respectively (20.0% and 18.3% including biogenic carbon). Interestingly, the environmentally positive features of the alternative scenarios were often traded-off against other increased negative impacts. This suggests that further development is needed to consider these technologies a sustainable alternative.

Oxygen is often required to treat newborns with respiratory disorders, and prolonged exposure to high oxygen concentrations impairs lung development. Ferroptosis plays a vital role in the development of many diseases and has become the focus of treatment and prognosis improvement for related diseases, such as neurological diseases, infections, cancers, and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Whether ferroptosis participates in the pathogenesis of hyperoxia-induced lung injury remains unknown. The aims of this study are to determine the effects of hyperoxia on lung ferroptosis and development in neonatal mice. Newborn C57BL/6 mice were reared in either room air (RA) or hyperoxia (85% O ) at postnatal days 1-7. On postnatal days 3 and 7, the lungs were harvested for histological and biochemical analysis. The mice reared in hyperoxia exhibited significantly higher Fe , malondialdehyde, and iron deposition and significantly lower glutathione, glutathione peroxidase 4, and vascular density than did those reared in RA on postnatal days 3 and 7. The mice reared in hyperoxia exhibited a comparable mean linear intercept on postnatal day 3 and a significantly higher mean linear intercept than the mice reared in RA on postnatal day 7. These findings demonstrate that ferroptosis was induced at a time point preceding impaired lung development, adding credence to the hypothesis that ferroptosis is involved in the pathogenesis of hyperoxia-induced lung injury and suggest that ferroptosis inhibitors might attenuate hyperoxia-induced lung injury.

Characterization and modelling of primary settlers have been neglected pretty much to date. However, whole plant and resource recovery modelling requires primary settler model development, as current models lack detail in describing the dynamics and the diversity of the removal process for different particulate fractions. This paper focuses on the improved modelling and experimental characterization of primary settlers. First, a new modelling concept based on particle settling velocity distribution is proposed which is then applied for the development of an improved primary settler model as well as for its characterization under addition of chemicals (chemically enhanced primary treatment, CEPT). This model is compared to two existing simple primary settler models (Otterpohl and Freund; Lessard and Beck), showing to be better than the first one and statistically comparable to the second one, but with easier calibration thanks to the ease with which wastewater characteristics can be translated into model parameters. Second, the changes in the activated sludge model (ASM)-based chemical oxygen demand fractionation between inlet and outlet induced by primary settling is investigated, showing that typical wastewater fractions are modified by primary treatment. As they clearly impact the downstream processes, both model improvements demonstrate the need for more detailed primary settler models in view of whole plant modelling.

Bioleaching using an iron-oxidizing bacterium, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, and its biogenic flocculants was evaluated to improve the dewaterability of chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) sewage sludge. CEPT sludge in flasks was inoculated with A. ferrooxidans culture, medium-free cells and the cell-free culture filtrate with and without the energy substance Fe(2+), and periodically the sludge samples were analysed for the dewaterability. This investigation proves that bioleaching effectively improved the sludge dewaterability as evidenced from drastic reduction in capillary suction time (≤20 seconds) and specific resistance to filtration (≥90%); however, it requires an adaptability period of 1-2 days. On the other hand, the biogenic flocculant produced by A. ferrooxidans greatly decreased the time-to-filtration and facilitated the dewaterability within 4 h. Results indicate that rapid dewatering of CEPT sludge by biogenic flocculants provides an opportunity to replace the synthetic organic polymer for dewatering.

The sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is a wastewater treatment option feasible for low flows. The objective of this research was to optimize SBR by varying its operational parameters, viz. (i) settling time and (ii) reaction time. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, raw wastewater was fed into the SBR after conventional settling, while in Phase 2 raw wastewater was fed into the SBR after coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation. A bench-scale model was set up and domestic wastewater was used for this study. Performance of the treatment system was evaluated through 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS). The results demonstrated that reaction time was reduced to 4 h in Phase 2 compared to 10 h in Phase 1. The BOD, COD and TSS removal efficiencies observed in Phase 1 were 80%, 80% and 73%, respectively, and for Phase 2 the removal efficiencies were 74%, 75% and 80% respectively. National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) were met in both cases and the treatment cost per cubic metre of wastewater for Phase 2 was 2.5 times lower compared to Phase 1.

Measurements for determining the effect of chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) on the efficiency of pollutant removal from wastewater were carried out using conventional inorganic coagulants PIX113 with polymer A110 (Kemipol, Police, Poland) and unconventional cationic organic coagulants Cofloc (Attana, Coalville, UK) C29510 (Kemipol, Police, Poland) and Sedifloc 575 (3F Chimica, Sandrigo, Italy). The average removal efficiency in the 2-h sedimentation process was 46%, 34%, 8%, 12% for the total suspended solids, organic matter (COD), total nitrogen, and total phosphorus, respectively. The use of organic coagulants contributed to 14–81% increase of pollutant removal efficiency. Substantial discrepancies in biological nutrient removal processes were not discovered in two-phase (anaerobic-anoxic) experiments without and with the addition of the organic coagulants. The increase in organic matter removal efficiency as a result of the CEPT process may contribute to a 65–80% increase in biogas production. The conducted research confirms the possibility of using organic coagulants in the primary precipitation process in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in accordance with the principles of maximum energy recovery, thereby promoting renewable energy sources. Additionally, organic coagulants, as opposed to inorganic ones, do not cause a significant increase of chloride and sulfate ion concentrations, which facilitates the use of treated wastewater in the water reuse systems, such as irrigation of agricultural crops.

This paper proposes a family of N-Branch hybrid switched inductor and capacitor (SLC) converters. With the single circuit, the multi-level output voltage or current could be generated. The proposed converter is suitable both for the voltage source and the current source. The same LC network is reused for different LC branches. The proposed converter is controlled by the phase shift control method with a time domain multiplexing concept. The N level circuit is operated with the same frequency. One cycle period is divided into N small time cycles for each branch. The phase shift for each branch is 360°/N. The load voltage could be changed by modifying the duty cycle of the transistor. When the SLCs work in the resonant condition, the soft switching will be acquired. The power loss of transistors could be sharply reduced. In this paper, a 300 W SLC converter is constructed to verify the theoretical analysis and operation mechanism in the resonant condition and hard switching condition. With the experimental and simulated verification, the soft switching and the stable multi-level output voltage or current are achieved. The proposed SLC converter could be used for the multi-level voltage power supply system, such as the electric vehicle, the electric aircraft, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and a new energy generation system.