Papers by Ilona Sarvari Horvath
Water Research, Oct 1, 2019
• Anaerobic treatment of oily wastewater was investigated in both full and lab scale • The AnMBBR... more • Anaerobic treatment of oily wastewater was investigated in both full and lab scale • The AnMBBR was able to handle double to triple the OLR than the full-scale tank • AnMMBRs achieved similar COD reduction (60%) at much shorter HRT (30days) • Mesophilic AnMBBR performed better with higher treatment capacity than thermophilic • AnMBBR has a potential to treat wastewaters with oil derivatives and toxic compounds.
Frontiers in Microbiology, Jan 28, 2021
Biofuel research journal, Dec 1, 2015
Utilisation of wheat straw and wool textile waste in dry anaerobic digestion (AD) process was inv... more Utilisation of wheat straw and wool textile waste in dry anaerobic digestion (AD) process was investigated. Dry-AD of the individual substrates as well as co-digestion of those were evaluated using different total solid (TS) contents ranging between 6 to 30%. Additionally, the effects of the addition of nutrients and cellulose-or protein-degrading enzymes on the performance of the AD process were also investigated. Dry-AD of the wheat straw resulted in methane yields of 0.081 -0.200 Nm 3 CH4/kgVS with the lowest and highest values obtained at 30 and 21% TS, respectively. The addition of the cellulolytic enzymes could significantly increase the yield in the reactor containing 13% TS (0.231 Nm 3 CH4/kg VS). Likewise, degradation of wool textile waste was enhanced significantly at TS of 13% with the addition of the protein-degrading enzyme (0.131 Nm 3 CH4/kg VS). Furthermore, the co-digestion of these two substrates showed higher methane yields compared with the methane potentials calculated for the individual fractions at all the investigated TS contents due to synergetic effects and better nutritional balance.
European Biomass Conference and Exhibition Proceedings, 2016
In Victoria, Australia, organic waste makes up approximately 50% of the average household municip... more In Victoria, Australia, organic waste makes up approximately 50% of the average household municipal solid waste. All organic matter is a potential feedstock for anaerobic digestion however there remains a large proportion that is underutilised. Garden waste (GW) is one such lignocellulosic material with a complex cellulosehemicellulose-lignin structure making it resistant to degradation. Dilute alkaline-autoclaving (A-A) pretreatment was performed on GW at various particle sizes (unground and ground <10mm) and NaOH concentrations (0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% w/w), in order to assess their effects on enhancing biogas production. Batch tests showed the highest methane yield (213.70 L/kg VS) was obtained from ground GW treated at 1.0% NaOH, a 214.2% increase from untreated GW. FTIR spectroscopy was used to measure cellulose total crystallinity index (TCI), with results showing a correlation between enhanced biogas yield and reduction in TCI, with TCI 1.4973 for ground 1.0% NaOH in comparison to TCI 1.9023 for untreated GW. The findings so far have shown promise for A-A pretreatment in converting GW from a waste material to a value-added resource with the potential for use as a feedstock for bioenergy production.
Journal of environmental chemical engineering, Dec 1, 2017
Renewable Energy, Jun 1, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Jun 8, 2017
Integration of wheat straw for a biorefinery-based energy generation process by producing ethanol... more Integration of wheat straw for a biorefinery-based energy generation process by producing ethanol and biogas together with the production of high-protein fungal biomass (suitable for feed application) was the main focus of the present study. An edible ascomycete fungal strain Neurospora intermedia was used for the ethanol fermentation and subsequent biomass production from dilute phosphoric acid (0.7 to 1.2% w/v) pretreated wheat straw. At optimum pretreatment conditions, an ethanol yield of 84 to 90% of the theoretical maximum, based on glucan content of substrate straw, was observed from fungal fermentation post the enzymatic hydrolysis process. The biogas production from the pretreated straw slurry showed an improved methane yield potential up to 162% increase, as compared to that of the untreated straw. Additional biogas production, using the syrup, a waste stream obtained post the ethanol fermentation, resulted in a combined total energy output of 15.8 MJ/kg wheat straw. Moreover, using thin stillage (a waste stream from the first-generation wheat-based ethanol process) as a co-substrate to the biogas process resulted in an additional increase by about 14 to 27% in the total energy output as compared to using only wheat straw-based substrates.
Green chemistry and chemical engineering, Jun 29, 2015
Bioresource Technology, 2018
An effective method for the production of value-added chemicals from food waste and lignocellulos... more An effective method for the production of value-added chemicals from food waste and lignocellulosic materials is a hybrid thermal-biological process, which involves gasification of the solid materials to syngas (primarily CO and H 2 ) followed by fermentation. This paper reviews the recent advances in this process. The special focus is on the cultivation methods that involve the use of single strains, defined mixed cultures and undefined mixed cultures for production of carboxylic acids and higher alcohols. A rate limiting step in these processes is the low mass transfer between the gas and the liquid phases. Therefore, novel techniques that can enhance the gas-liquid mass transfer including membrane-and trickle-bed bioreactors were discussed. Such bioreactors have shown promising results in increasing the volumetric mass transfer coefficient ( a). High gas pressure also influences the mass transfer in certain batch processes, although the presence of impurities in the gas would impede the process.
Bioengineered
Agricultural residues are constantly increasing with increased farming processes, and improper di... more Agricultural residues are constantly increasing with increased farming processes, and improper disposal is detrimental to the environment. Majority of these waste residues are rich in lignocellulose, which makes them suitable substrate for bacterial fermentation in the production of value-added products. In this study, bacterial cellulose (BC), a purer and better form of cellulose, was produced by two Komagataeibacter sp. isolated from rotten banana and kombucha drink using corncob (CC) and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) enzymatic hydrolyzate, under different fermentation conditions, that is, static, continuous, and intermittent agitation. The physicochemical and mechanical properties of the BC films were then investigated by Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetry analysis, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), and Dynamic mechanical analysis. Agitation gave a higher BC yield, with Komagataeibacter sp. CCUG73629 producing BC from CC with a dry weight of 1.6 g/L and 1.4 g/L under continuous and intermittent agitation, respectively, compared with that of 0.9 g/L in HS medium. While BC yield of dry weight up to 1.2 g/L was obtained from SCB by Komagataeibacter sp. CCUG73630 under continuous agitation compared to that of 0.3 g/L in HS medium. FTIR analysis showed BC bands associated with cellulose I, with high thermal stability. The FE-SEM analysis showed that BC fibers were highly ordered and densely packed. Although the BC produced by both strains showed similar physicochemical and morphological properties, the BC produced by the Komagataeibacter sp. CCUG73630 in CC under intermittent agitation had the best modulus of elasticity, 10.8 GPa and tensile strength, 70.9 MPa.
Biogas reactors can be utilized more efficiently when straw and food waste are digested together ... more Biogas reactors can be utilized more efficiently when straw and food waste are digested together instead of separately. In the present study, straw in the form of pellets and briquettes has been us ...
International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture, 2020
Purpose Anaerobic digestion produces renewable energy, biogas, from organic residues, but also di... more Purpose Anaerobic digestion produces renewable energy, biogas, from organic residues, but also digestate, a valuable organic fertiliser. Previous studies have indicated that digestate contains ample plant available nitrogen (N), but there are also concerns about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after application of digestates to soil. The aim of this study was to compare digestate and undigested feedstock for fertiliser effect as well as greenhouse gas emissions during the next season. Methods Digestate and its feedstock, manure, were compared as N fertilisers for wheat. Mixing digestate with biochar before application was also tested. After harvest, soil samples were frozen and dried. Then GHG emissions immediately after a re-wetting of dry soil and after thawing of frozen soil were measured to determine emissions after a non-growing season (dry or cold). Results All N in digestate was plant available, while there was no significant N fertiliser effect of the undigested manure. N2O e...
Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2017
Bioresource Technology, 2017
Bioresource technology, 2017
In this work, a plug flow reactor was developed for continuous dry digestion processes and its ef... more In this work, a plug flow reactor was developed for continuous dry digestion processes and its efficiency was investigated using untreated manure bedded with straw at 22% total solids content. This newly developed reactor worked successfully for 230days at increasing organic loading rates of 2.8, 4.2 and 6gVS/L/d and retention times of 60, 40 and 28days, respectively. Organic loading rates up to 4.2gVS/L/d gave a better process stability, with methane yields up to 0.163LCH4/gVSadded/d which is 56% of the theoretical yield. Further increase of organic loading rate to 6gVS/L/d caused process instability with lower volatile solid removal efficiency and cellulose degradation.
Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 2016
Biodegradation and Bioremediation of Polluted Systems - New Advances and Technologies, 2015
Chemical Engineering Journal, 2015
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Papers by Ilona Sarvari Horvath