...Environmental Technology iFirst, 2012, 1–8 Development of a simple model for anaerobic digestion based on preliminary measurements of the bacterial sulphur activity in wastewater stabilization ponds Casimir Harerimanaa , Chéma Keffalab∗ , Hugues Jupsinb and Jean-Luc Vaselb a Centre b Département Universitaire de Recherche Multidisciplinaire en Environnement (CURME), Université du Burundi, Bujumbura, Burundi; des Sciences et Gestion de l’Environnement, Unité ‘Assainissement et Environnement’, Université de Liège, Arlon, Belgium (Received 12 March 2012; final version received 26 August 2012 ) The present study was undertaken to develop a simple and practical model for anaerobic digestion, encompassing sulphate reduction and sulphur oxidation, in a waste stabilization pond. The basic microbiological phases of the model consisted of four processes, namely acidogenesis, methanogenesis, sulphate reduction and sulphur oxidation. It also incorporated multiple reaction stoichiometry and substrate utilization kinetics. The study also aimed to investigate the mutual interaction between sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and photosynthetic sulphur bacteria (PSB) in an anaerobic sludge consortia using batch reactors. The results revealed that for an initial concentration of sulphate ranging between 250 and 2800 mg.l−1 , SRB activity ranged between 20 and 190 mgSO2− reduced . The gVSS−1 .d−1 and PSB activity varied between 60 and 4 320 mgSO2− produced .gVSS−1 .d−1 , and PSB activity...
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