Enhanced hydrolysis of carbohydrates in primary sludge under biosulfidogenic conditions

The potential for using readily available and cost-effective complex carbon sources, such as primary sludge (PS), for the bioremediation of sulfate-rich effluent streams, including acid mine drainage, has been constrained by the slow rate of solubilization and low yield of soluble products. Disposal of PS also remains a global problem. Recent studies of a patented recycling sludge bed reactor have shown that the solubilization of PS is enhanced under biosulfidogenic conditions. The current study investigated the enhanced solubilization of the carbohydrate fraction of PS under these conditions, using selective metabolic inhibitors. The mean maximum rate of reducing sugar production was significantly higher under sulfidogenic (167 mg L−1 h−1) than methanogenic (51 mg L−1 h−1) conditions and the utlization of volatile fatty acids under sulfidogenic conditions was rapid. Analysis of VFA profiles indicated preferential utilization of longer chain acids under sulfidogenic conditions and of acetate in the methanogenic systems and that the acetogenic step was unlikely to be rate-limiting in the solubilization of complex carbon.