This
study reported a high-efficiency and low-cost sludge pretreatment
method using calcium hypochlorite [Ca(ClO)2] for promoting
anaerobic fermentation performance. The experimental results indicated
that the cumulative hydrogen yield was enhanced from 1.87 to 16.72
mL/g volatile suspended solids (VSSs) when the Ca(ClO)2 dosage was increased from 0 to 1.5 g/L and then reduced to 13.80
mL/g VSSs when the Ca(ClO)2 dosage reached 1.8 g/L. The
mechanism study revealed that Ca(ClO)2 efficiently disrupted
sludge extracellular polymeric substances and microbial cells, producing
more soluble organics for the subsequent biochemical processes. Beyond
that, the biodegradability of sludge organics was promoted by Ca(ClO)2 pretreatment. Biochemical reaction kinetic analysis indicated
that the activities of microbes responsible for hydrogen consumption
were severely inhibited when treated with Ca(ClO)2. The
two decomposition products of Ca(ClO)2, Ca(OH)2 and HClO, positively affected the hydrogen yield, with the contribution
of Ca(OH)2 being greater than HClO. Microbial community
analysis illustrated that the fermentative microbes were markedly
enriched by Ca(ClO)2 pretreatment, with the abundances
found to be 3.21 and 45.62% in control and Ca(ClO)2-pretreated
fermenters, respectively. After fermentation, the Ca(ClO)2-pretreated sludge showed better dewaterability than the control,
and the organic pollutants diclofenac and sulfamethazine, as well
as the fecal coliforms, were largely removed by Ca(ClO)2.