Improved volatile fatty acids production from proteins of sewage sludge with anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) under anaerobic condition

Organic matters in sewage sludge can be converted into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as renewable carbon sources. This work for the first time applied anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) for enhancing VFA production from sewage sludge. With 0.066 or 0.33 g AQDS g−1 dried solids (DS), the yields for VFAs peak at 403 or 563 mg l−1, 1.9- or 2.7-fold to the control. The accumulated VFAs were principally composed of acetate and propionate. The AQDS enhances degradation rates of model proteins (bovine serum albumin), but had little enhancement on that of model polysaccharides (dextrans). The acidification step is proposed the rate-limiting step for VFA production from sewage sludge, in which the AQDS molecules shuttle electrons to accelerate the redox reactions associated with amino acid degradation. Methanogenic activities are inhibited in the presence of AQDS. The AQDS-assisted VFAs are renewable organic carbon sources, although their direct use for anaerobic digestion is not advised.