Bioavailability of dissolved organic matter in biogas slurry enhanced by catalytic ozonation combined with membrane separation

Large molecular weight pig biogas slurry (L-PBS) and small molecular weight pig biogas slurry (S-PBS) were separated from original pig biogas slurry (O-PBS) using a 100 kDa membrane. The original bioavailability and biosafety of L-PBS was very low. In order to enhance the total bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen (TB-DON) and total bioavailable dissolved organic phosphorus (TB-DOP), optimum catalytic ozonation of L-PBS conditions were determined using Box-behnken design models (P < 0.0001) and intersection tests. The optimal values for ozone concentration, pH value, active catalyst concentration and reaction time were 2.63 mg.L-1, 6.48, 1.43 g.L-1 and 40 min, respectively. Catalytic ozonation can effectively decompose and transform 68.07% of LPBS into S-PBS to improve content organic bioavailability, with a molecular weight distribution of 0-1 kDa (13.53%), 1-5 kDa (16.62%), 5-10 kDa (11.16%), 10-30 kDa (11.73%), 30-100 kDa (15.04%). Catalytic ozonation of L-PBS can reduce protein levels from 85.28% to 47.18%, but increases the proportion of fulvic and humic components from 10.22% to 32.67% and 4.51%-20.15%, respectively. Because catalytic ozonation changes the internal components and molecular weights of L-PBS, both saw increases in TB-DON and TB-DOP from 3.33% to 41.12% and 2.43%-37.88%, respectively, with a large number of TB-DON and TB-DOP derived from hydrophilic organic components during catalytic ozonation. These important internal mechanisms changed by catalytic ozonation can effectively reduce the ecotoxicity (IR, from 76.5% to 33.1%) and phytotoxicity (GI, enhanced from 35.4% to 70.3%) of L-PBS. Therefore, catalytic ozonation combined with membrane separation is a choice technology in improving the nutrition of biogas slurry and reduce its ecological risk.