Synergistic effect in anaerobic co-digestion of rice straw and dairy manure - a batch kinetic study

Methane yield of seven co-digestion mixture proportions (1:0, 5:1, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, and 0:1) of rice straw and dairy manure was investigated at a total solids (TS) loading of 8%. Methane yield was improved by 50–57% and 9–10% with co-digestion at mixture proportions of 1:1,1:3 and 1:5 compared to mono digestion of rice straw and dairy manure, respectively. The modified Gompertz model accounted well for the kinetic behavior of methane yield with an R² of 0.99 and Root Mean Square Error of 0.06–1.70. It was observed that the co-digestion caused a reduction in lag phase time and improvement in the maximum methane production rate. The positive synergistic effects are a result of nutrient balance with the co-digestion of dairy manure and rice straw.     

畜禽粪便、污泥、农村垃圾中温联合厌氧消化技术研究

利用中温厌氧消化工艺,在CSTR反应器内对畜禽粪便、污水处理厂污泥及农村生活垃圾3种原料进行联合厌氧消化试验研究,重点探讨了3种原料的配比问题。结果表明,在温度为37℃,停留时间为20 d,粪便、污泥、垃圾TS之比为6∶3∶1,容积负荷为3.61 g/(L.d)的条件下,系统稳定性和处理效果都比较理想,单位VS的产气率为0.36～0.39 L/g,VS去除率为45.1%～49.4%。     

城市生活垃圾和污水厂剩余污泥联合厌氧消化产气性能研究

以城市生活垃圾和污水厂剩余污泥为消化原料,在中温(35℃)条件下,采用序批式厌氧消化方式,研究了生活垃圾和剩余污泥不同混合比例下的厌氧消化产气性能,以及不同原料配比对厌氧消化过程及消化效率的影响。按照生活垃圾和剩余污泥VS比分别为1∶0(R1),2∶1(R2),1∶1(R3),1∶2(R4)和0∶1(R5),试验设置了5个试验组。研究结果表明:两种物料混合后有助于提高消化效果和产气性能,其中,当城市生活垃圾和剩余污泥VS比为2∶1时,系统厌氧消化效果最好,VS去除率为35.98%,单位VS产气量为348.84 m L/g,产气中甲烷含量为53.8%,消化时间较单纯生活垃圾厌氧消化缩短了9 d。说明一定比例的生活垃圾和剩余污泥联合厌氧消化是提高厌氧消化效率的有效途径。     

Semi-continuous co-digestion of solid slaughterhouse waste, manure, and fruit and vegetable waste

The potential of semi-continuous mesophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) for the treatment of solid slaughterhouse waste, fruit-vegetable wastes, and manure in a co-digestion process has been experimentally evaluated. A study was made at laboratory scale using four 2 L reactors working semi-continuously at 35 °C. The effect of the organic loading rate (OLR) was initially examined (using equal proportion of the three components on a volatile solids, VS, basis). Anaerobic co-digestion with OLRs in the range 0.3–1.3 kg VS m⁻³ d⁻¹ resulted in methane yields of 0.3 m³ kg⁻¹ VS added, with a methane content in the biogas of 54–56%. However, at a further increased loading, the biogas production decreased and there was a reduction in the methane yield indicating organic overload or insufficient buffering capacity in the digester.In the second part of the investigation, co-digestion was studied in a mixture experiment using 10 different feed compositions. The digestion of mixed substrates was in all cases better than that of the pure substrates, with the exception of the mixture of equal amounts of (VS/VS) solid cattle–swine slaughterhouse waste (SCSSW) with fruit and vegetable waste (FVW). For all other mixtures, the steady-state biogas production for the mixture was in the range 1.1–1.6 L d⁻¹, with a methane content of 50–57% after 60 days of operation. The methane yields were in the range 0.27–0.35 m³ kg⁻¹ VS added and VS reductions of more than 50% and up to 67% were obtained.     

Feasibility of biohydrogen production by anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge

Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge for hydrogen production was performed in serum bottles under various volatile solids (VS) concentrations (0.5–5.0%) and mixing ratios of two substrates (0:100–100:0, VS basis). Through response surface methodology, empirical equations for hydrogen evolution were obtained. The specific hydrogen production potential of food waste was higher than that of sewage sludge. However, hydrogen production potential increased as sewage sludge composition increased up to 13–19% at all the VS concentrations. The maximum specific hydrogen production potential of 122.9 ml/g carbohydrate-COD was found at the waste composition of 87:13 (food waste:sewage sludge) and the VS concentration of 3.0%. The relationship between carbohydrate concentration, protein concentration, and hydrogen production potential indicated that enriched protein by adding sewage sludge might enhance hydrogen production potential. The maximum specific hydrogen production rate was 111.2 ml H₂/g VSS/h. Food waste and sewage sludge were, therefore, considered as a suitable main substrate and a useful auxiliary substrate, respectively, for hydrogen production. The metabolic results indicated that the fermentation of organic matters was successfully achieved and the characteristics of the heat-treated seed sludge were similar to those of anaerobic spore-forming bacteria, Clostridium sp.     

Anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge,wine vinasse and poultry manure for bio-hydrogen production

The influence of the addition of poultry manure on the thermophilic acid co-fermentation of sewage sludge and wine vinasse was studied. For this, discontinuous tests were carried out to determine the potential for hydrogen production (BHP tests) of 50:50 mixtures of sludge and wine vinasse with different amounts of poultry manure (10  g/L, 20  g/L and 30  g/L). The hydrogen production performance was determined under the tested conditions. The experimental results revealed performance values of TCOD and SCOD, TS and VS, similar in all tests, with removal efficiencies lower than 25%. Likewise, an increase in the production of volatile fatty acids was observed. Regarding the yield, the best results were obtained for the mixture with 10 g/L of poultry manure (with a C/N ratio: 27). Thus, the H₂ production and the yield expressed as mL H₂/gVS_added was 18.20% and 27.57% higher in the test with 10  g/L of poultry manure compared to the test with 20  g/L. Furthermore, from 20 g/L of poultry manure, the mixtures showed poorer purification behavior and performance.     

果蔬废弃物与剩余污泥协同厌氧消化特性研究

为了提升污泥的厌氧消化效率,文章从改善原料碳氮比入手,在温度为35℃,挥发性固体(VS)浓度为4%条件下,将果蔬废弃物与污泥按不同VS比例复配,并进行协同厌氧消化产甲烷潜力实验。实验结果表明:在厌氧消化过程中,不同配比实验组的pH值、氨氮浓度和挥发性脂肪酸浓度均在适宜的范围内;不同配比实验组的累积产甲烷量由高到低依次为6∶4,5∶5,4∶6,3∶7,8∶2,7∶3,2∶8,1∶9和9∶1,其分别比纯污泥组提高了516%,485%,430%,360%,335%,330%,290%,144%和-64%。通过Gomperzt修正方程拟合发现,果蔬废弃物与污泥协同厌氧消化的最佳VS配比为6∶4,此时体系的单位VS理论甲烷产率和单位VS最大甲烷日产量分别为114.05mL/g和14.61 mL/(g·d),分别比纯污泥组提高了422%和353%。     

The effect of waste paper on the kinetics of biogas yield from the co-digestion of cow dung and water hyacinth

The effect of waste paper on biogas yield produced by co-digesting fixed amount of cow dung and water hyacinth in five digesters A-E was studied at room temperature. Waste paper was observed to improve biogas yield in digesters B-E with digester A acting as the control. However, as the amount of waste paper increased the biogas yield was observed to decrease. Kinetic model based on first order kinetic was derived to estimate the maximum, ultimate, biogas yield and also the ultimate methane yield from these biomass mixtures. The maximum biogas yield estimated using this model for digesters B-E were 0.282, 0.262, 0.233, and 0.217 lg⁻¹ VS fed with goodness of fit (R²) of 0.995, 0.99, 0.889, and 0.925 respectively, which were obtained by fitting the experimental biogas yield (y_t) against (exp(kt)−1)/exp(kt). The ultimate biogas and methane yield at very low batch solid load were extrapolated to be 0.34 and 0.204 lg⁻¹ VS fed respectively. In essence, the addition of waste paper in the co-digestion of cow dung and water hyacinth can be a feasible means of improving biogas yield and also alternative means of recycling waste paper. Furthermore, the kinetic model developed can compliment other models used in anaerobic digestion of agricultural and solid waste.     

Enhancement of biohythane production from solid waste by co-digestion with palm oil mill effluent in two-stage thermophilic fermentation

Improvement of biohythane production from oil palm industry solid waste residues by co-digestion with palm oil mill effluent (POME) in two-stage thermophilic fermentation was investigated. A two-stage co-digestion of solid waste with POME has biohythane production of 26.5–34 m³/ton waste. The co-digestion of solid waste with POME increased biohythane production of 67–114% compared to digestion POME alone. Co-digestion of solid waste with POME enhanced hydrolysis constant (k_h) from 0.07 to 0.113 to 0.120–0.223 d⁻¹. The hydrolysis constant (k_h) of co-digestion was 10 times higher than the single digestion of solid waste. Clostridium sp. was predominated in the hydrogen stage, while Methanosphaera sp. was predominant in methane stage. The co-digestion of solid waste with readily biodegradable organic matter (POME) could significantly increase biohythane production with achieving the significant cost reduction for pretreatment of solid wastes.     

Anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge with switchgrass: Experimental and kinetic evaluation

Sewage sludge removal via anaerobic digestion provides energy production in addition to waste minimization. Several strategies, such as anaerobic co-digestion, were developed to increase energy production from sewage sludge by improving C/N balance. In this study, anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge with an energy crop, namely switchgrass, was evaluated. As a result of studies implemented at different mixing ratios, maximum methane production was measured as 272.06 mLCH₄/gVS at the mixing ratio of 0.4:0.6 (sewage sludge:switchgrass). According to modified kinetic models used for interpretation of synergetic and/or antagonistic effects, anaerobic co-digestion has a synergetic effect on biogas production from both biomass.     

Feasibility of bio-hythane production by co-digesting skim latex serum (SLS) with palm oil mill effluent (POME) through two-phase anaerobic process

Hydrogenogenic batch fermentation without nutrients addition was investigated at different SLS: POME mixing ratios of 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, 80:20, 75:25, 70:30, 65:35, 60:40, 55:45,50:50, and 0:100 (Volatile Solid, VS basis) at initial organic concentrations of 21 and 7 g-VS/L. Satisfactory hydrogen yield of 84.5 ± 0.7 mL H₂/g-VS_added was achieved from 7 g-VS/L batch having SLS: POME-VS mixing ratio of 55:45. Adding NaHCO₃ 3 g/L or 0.43 g-NaHCO₃/g-VS) in the two-stage anaerobic system at 7 g-VS/L could provide sufficient buffering capacity. Hydrogenogenic effluent from 7 g-VS/L batch at SLS: POME mixing ratio of 55:45 (VS basis) could further generate rather high methane yield of 311.2 ± 8.0 mL- CH₄/g-VS_added in themethanogenic stage.According to the experimental results, bio-hythane approximately 55.5 × 10⁶ m³/year with 21% (V/V) of hydrogen, equivalent to51.0 × 10⁶ l-gasoline could be produced potentially from 3.88 × 10⁶ m³ of mixed SLS and POME through the two-stage anaerobic co-digestion.     

Incorporation of fish by-product into the semi-continuous anaerobic co-digestion of pre-treated lignocellulose and cow manure,with recovery of digestate's nutrients

Norway's fish processing industry generates large amounts of fish waste every year. The high-risk waste fraction with most of its oil removed has not yet been tested for energy production. The stability of an anaerobic digestion process that incorporates this material with steam exploded Salix and cow manure was tested using mesophilic, semi-continuous laboratory-scale digesters. The effects of recycling the liquid digestate fraction were also investigated. The removal of ammonium (NH₄⁺) and phosphate (PO₄³⁻) from the rejected digestate using struvite precipitation and bentonite adsorption were tested to generate a nutrient-enriched, final solid fertiliser. Adding 20% fish by-product (volatile solids basis) increased methane yields by 35%, while recycling the digestate caused a slight increase. The NH₄⁺–N levels reached 4–5 g l⁻¹ in the reactors with recirculation and fish feed. Although these levels may threaten methanogenesis, the stability of the process was maintained during the entire period due to the good balance between the lignocellulose, proteins and fats provided by the co-digestion mixture and the positive effects of recirculation. The NH₄⁺ and PO₄³⁻ were successfully removed from the rejected liquid digestate. The reductions using struvite reached 87% and 60% (pH 9.5 and Mg²⁺:NH₄⁺:PO₄³⁻ ratio of 1.2:1:1), while bentonite achieved 82% and 52%, respectively.     

Integrated Taguchi method and response surface methodology to confirm hydrogen production by anaerobic fermentation of cow manure

In the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of integrating the Taguchi method and the response surface methodology (RSM) to predict and optimize fermentative hydrogen production of cow manure (CM) slurry, a mixture of CM and tap water that was equivalent to 6% of the volatile solid (VS) content. Batch vial tests were first conducted in accordance with an experimental design using the Taguchi method L₁₈ orthogonal array that selected the significant influencing factors (temperature and pH) of hydrogen production, and then the RSM with a central composite design was used for the following experiments based on the aforementioned factors. Finally, fermentation experiments in triplicate were carried out in a 2-L semi-continuously stirred tank reactor (semi-CSTR) with a fixed organic loading rate (OLR), solid retention time (SRT) and varying temperatures and pH under a steady-state operation. Through a series of investigations conducted in this study, our experimental data confirmed that the optimal conditions were 60 °C with pH 5.20 ± 0.21, resulting in hydrogen content (HC) of 54.64 ± 11.45%, volumetric hydrogen production (VHP) of 405.54 ± 193.61 ml-H₂/l/d, and specific hydrogen yield (SHY) of 10.25 ± 4.96 ml-H₂/g-VS. This study demonstrates a good performance of the Taguchi method with pretests and the prediction of the response surfaces methodology. The confirmed experimental results show the behavior of anaerobic fermenters’ treating in significant factors, which will comply with management strategies for treatment of relative organic wastes in the future.     

Effect of pH on continuous biohydrogen production from liquid swine manure with glucose supplement using an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor

pH is considered as one of the most important factors governing the hydrogen fermentation process. In this project, five pH levels, ranging from 4.4 to 5.6 at 0.3 increments, were tested to evaluate the pH effect on hydrogen production from swine manure supplemented with glucose in an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor system with 16 h of hydraulic retention time (HRT). The optimal hydrogen yield (1.50 mol H₂/mol glucose) was achieved at pH 5.0 when the maximum production rate of 2.25 L/d/L was obtained. Continuous hydrogen production was achieved for over 3 weeks for pH 5.0, 4.7, and 4.4, with no significant methane produced. However, as pH increased to 5.3 and 5.6, methane production was observed in the biogas with concurrent reductions in hydrogen production, indicating that methanogens could become increasingly activated for pH 5.3 or higher. Acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, and ethanol were the main aqueous products whose distribution was significantly affected by pH as well.     

鸡粪与NaOH预处理麦秸联合厌氧发酵产气性能与协同效果研究

试验研究了不同负荷下不同混合比例的鸡粪与NaOH预处理麦秸的厌氧发酵产气性能和协同作用效果。以鸡粪和2%NaOH预处理后的麦秸作为发酵原料,研究了混合物料在3种负荷和9种混合比例条件下的厌氧发酵产气情况。结果表明:在3种负荷(50,65,80 g/L)中,均是鸡粪和麦秸比例为1∶2时产气效果最佳,其累计产气量分别达到32 000,43 030 mL和50 370 mL;其TS产气率分别达到328.2,356.9,352.8 mL/g,比纯鸡粪相应负荷分别提高了27%,29%,23%。不同比例下,3种负荷中,均是65 g/L时产气效果最好,鸡粪与麦秸的协同作用使累计产气量提高了7%～17.7%。     

Green biohydrogen production in a Co-digestion process from mixture of high carbohydrate food waste and cattle/chicken manure digestate

This study was investigated biohydrogen production on the effects of different ratio of food waste to seed digestate and pH value from co-digestion process in anaerobic reactor. The seed digestate was mixture of cattle manure 45%, corn silage 25%, chicken manure 15%, and olive pomace 15% which was collected from the biogas plant in central Italy. It was found that the peaks of total biogas and the biohydrogen productions were 1355 ± 26 and 436 ± 10 mL whereas the biohydrogen yield was 50.4 mL/g-VS (45.8 mL/g-COD) with 43.33% COD removal rate, the bacteria to substrate volatile solids (VS) ratio was 2:1 where seed digestate to food waste was 6:4 under pH 6.5. As a consequence, food waste with a high COD concentration can be adapted C/N ratio by the cattle manure and chicken manure in the seed digestate which resulted in a high biohydrogen production. The food waste co-digestion system mixed with biogas plant digestate is one of approach to increase total biogas production.     

Pre-treatment study on two-stage biohydrogen and biomethane productions in a continuous co-digestion process from a mixture of swine manure and pineapple waste

This study involves continuous co-digestion of swine manure and pineapple waste mixture using two-stage anaerobic reactors and examines hydraulic retention time (HRT) and substrate heat pre-treatment. The maximum hydrogen and methane production rates of 1488.62 and 991.57 mL/L/d, respectively, reached optimal HRTs of 4.5 h in the hydrogen production fermenter (HPF) and 9 d in the methane production fermenter (MPF) using heat pre-treatment. Acetic acid is a dominant volatile fatty acid of the soluble metabolites with values 70%–73% under all the tested conditions and increased values under heat pre-treatment and high HRT. Firmicutes and Euryarchaeota are the main bacteria species detected in HPF and MPF, respectively. The optimal total energy of 196.47 kJ/L/d and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 90% were obtained by a complete anaerobic co-digestion process at a high substrate concentration of 105 g COD/L and low HRT of 4.5 h. This shows that the two-stage co-digestion process could increase the COD removal efficiency, hydrogen production rate, and net energy gains and produce high quality biogas and significantly reduce fermentation time.     

Comparative performance of a UASB reactor and an anaerobic packed-bed reactor when treating potato waste leachate

The results presented in this paper are from studies on a laboratory-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor and an anaerobic packed-bed (APB) reactor treating potato leachate at increasing organic loading rates from 1.5 to 7.0 g COD/1/day. The hydraulic retention times ranged from 13.2 to 2.8 days for both reactors during the 100 days of the experiment. The maximum organic loading rates possible in the laboratory-scale UASB and APB reactors for stable operation were approximately 6.1 and 4.7 g COD/l day, respectively. The COD removal efficiencies of both reactors were greater than 90% based on the total COD of the effluent. The methane yield increased with increasing organic loading rate up to 0.23 l CH₄/g COD_degraded in the UASB reactor and 0.161 CH₄/g COD_degraded in the APB reactor. The UASB could be run at a higher organic loading rate than the APB reactor and achieved a higher methane yield. Signs of reactor instability were decreasing partial alkalinity and pH and increasing amounts of volatile fatty acids. The study demonstrated the suitability of the UASB and a packed-bed reactor for treating leachate from potato waste.     

Effect of bioaugmentation on hydrogen production from organic fraction of municipal solid waste

In the present study, the effect of bioaugmentation with three bacterial species (i.e. E. coli, Bacillus subtilis and Enterobacter aerogenes) on the hydrogen production from organic fraction of municipal solid waste was evaluated at different bacteria/sludge ratios (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35 and 0.40). Cumulative hydrogen production, lag phases, and maximum hydrogen production rates were analyzed using modified Gompertz model. The highest cumulative and volumetric hydrogen production of 564.4 ± 10.9 mL and 1.61L_H2/L_substrate respectively was achieved for bioaugmentation with Bacillus subtilis at bacteria/sludge ratio of 0.25. The corresponding highest hydrogen yield was 43.68 mLH₂/gCarbo. For bioaugmentation with E. coli and Enterobacter aerogenes, the maximum cumulative hydrogen production of 423.4 ± 10.6 mL and 486.3 ± 10.6 mL respectively was obtained from bacteria/sludge ratio of 0.20. Corresponding highest hydrogen yields were 32.9 mLH₂/gCarbo and 37.1 mLH₂/gCarbo respectively. Bioaugmentation shortened the lag phases and improved COD removal. Volatile fatty acid generation was also improved with the bioaugmentation.