Anaerobic digestion of liquid dairy manure using a sequential continuous‐stirred tank reactor system

BACKGROUND: Anaerobic digestion of liquid manure from flush dairy operations is an alternative to manure management practices with environmental benefits and producing biogas. A unique sequential reactor system was used to study the anaerobic digestion (AD) of flush dairy manure with the aim of determining (1) the effects of organic strength of the influent on AD performance; (2) whether phase separation is beneficial to treatment and AD design; and (3) whether there is any difference between completely mixed and plug‐flow approaches to implementing the AD process. RESULTS: The influent with high organic strength resulted in higher levels of biogas production and chemical oxygen demand (COD)/solids removal. When the manure stream is used as influent for the anaerobic digestion, the phenomenon of two‐stage anaerobic digestion process does not exist because the stream contained high levels of alkalinity and volatile fatty acids. The biogas production and COD/solids destruction achieved by plug‐flow and completely mixed reactor were very similar when treating the liquid manure stream. CONCLUSION: The organic strength of the influent significantly influenced AD performance. The plug‐flow reactor and the completely mixed reactor had a similar AD performance. For the type of manure and organic loading rate investigated, the results give indications for designing an AD process in flush dairy operations. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of retention time and organic loading rate on anaerobic acidification and biogasification of dairy manure

Vast amounts of animal manure produced from concentrated animal feeding operations have the potential to be converted into economic gain if the proper processing technology is employed. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an effective way to convert organic wastes including animal manure into profitable by‐products as well as to reduce the pollution of water, air, and soil caused by these wastes. Two‐phase AD of manure offers several advantages over conventional one‐phase AD. Solids reduction through hydrolysis/acidification might be very significant for animal manure which contains high amounts of solids. However, to date, studies of two‐phase AD of animal manure have been limited to screened manure. Therefore, this study investigated the two‐phase AD of dairy manure with particular emphasis on the effects of retention time and organic loading rate (OLR) on anaerobic acidification and biogasification of unscreened dairy manure. The results indicated that pre‐acidification of dairy manure in daily‐fed continuously‐mixed reactors with no recycle led to significantly high reduction efficiencies of volatile solids and, thus, biogas production in the subsequent methanogenic reactor especially at OLRs of 4–10 g VS dm^?3 day^?1. However, the extent of the stimulation in the biogas production relative to corresponding feed samples was quite variable (between 6.9 and 64.7%) for different solids retention times and OLR combinations. A relatively lower performance was observed for the high OLRs (20–30 g VS dm^?3 day^?1) used which was attributed to the possible wash‐out of the acidifiers at the considerably low retention times (1.25–4 days) used. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

去除牛粪厌氧生物转化过程中的H2S

The main aim of this research was the experimental study at lab scale to check the absorption technolOgytor the in situ removal of H2S from biogas during anaerobic digestion process.The reagent FeCll was used to check the removal efficiency of H,S produced from dairy manure during anaerobic bioconversion process.The expenments werc conducted under mesophilic conditions.Thc composition of biogas was analyzed by gas chromatography analyzer equipped with flame photometer and thermal conductivity detectors.Experimental results under the same conditions demonstrate that high concentration of HES in the form of FeS can be removed totally from the biogas using FeCl3 dosing with in anaerobic batch digester.     

去除牛粪厌氧生物转化过程中的H2S

The main aim of this research was the experimental study at lab scale to check the absorption technology for the in situ removal of H2S from biogas during anaerobic digestion process. The reagent FeCl3 was used to check the removal efficiency of H2S produced from dairy manure during anaerobic bioconversion process. The experiments were conducted under mesophilic conditions. The composition of biogas was analyzed by gas chromatography analyzer equipped with flame photometer and thermal conductivity detectors. Experimental results under the same conditions demonstrate that high concentration of H2S in the form of FeS can be removed totally from the biogas using FeCl3 dosing with in anaerobic batch digester.     

The use of hybrid anaerobic solid–liquid (HASL) system for the treatment of lipid‐containing food waste

The hybrid anaerobic solid–liquid (HASL) system was a modified two‐phase anaerobic digester developed for bioconversion of food waste. The aim of this study was to estimate the feasibility of the HASL system for the treatment of food waste with a high content of lipids. The presence of lipids in food waste increased the energy value of nutrients but could inhibit growth of methanogens. The positive effect of lipids on the performance of anaerobic digestion dominated when the contents of lipids were in the range from 20 to 30% of total solids of food waste. Lipid contents of 40% diminished the production of volatile fatty acids in the acidogenic reactor as well as biogas production and the concentration of total bacteria and methanogens in the methanogenic reactor. Therefore, the HASL system can be used for the treatment of lipid‐containing food wastes if the lipid content is below 40% of total solids. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Staged and non‐staged anaerobic filters: performance in relation to physical and biological characteristics of microbial aggregates

This work describes a comparative study of staged and non‐staged anaerobic filters for treating a synthetic dairy waste. The effect of decreasing the hydraulic retention time from 2 days to 10 h at a constant substrate concentration of 9 g COD dm⁻³ by applying lateral feedings in the staged digester was evaluated with respect to overall reactor performance, in comparison with a conventional up‐flow anaerobic filter. There was no advantage on the use of a multi‐feed staged system under the operating conditions tested. The overall performance and the microbial activity segregation were similar for both configurations. The microbial aggregates present in both digesters, particularly in the top sections, changed significantly in biological, physical and morphological properties. The presence of aggregates larger than 4 mm equivalent diameter in those sections did not prevent a strong washout phenomenon. An effect of disintegration attributed to biogas accumulation and release was observed, when those large particles become smaller and their surface became rougher. Due to biomass accumulation, at the end of the trial period, only 40% of the total volume was occupied by the liquid phase. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of biogas technology on nutrient flows for small- and medium-scale pig farms in Vietnam

Increased demand for meat products has led to increased livestock production in Vietnam, which now risks environmental pollution from inappropriate animal manure management on livestock farms. Biogas technology is generally considered an efficient solution for such farms to produce renewable biofuel for use in the household and to reduce the pollution impact from animal waste. However, with biogas technology, farmers may reduce their use of manure for fertilising crops. This field survey investigated nutrient flows on small- and medium-scale livestock farms with and without biogas in Northern Vietnam, in order to identify existing problems and possibilities for sustainable livestock production. A field survey was conducted on 12 pig farms with biogas and 12 pig farms without biogas in Quoc Oai district, Hanoi city. In general, the non-biogas pig farms used on average 3.8 ton compost and 3.1 ton fresh solid manure ha^?1?crop^?1 for each of three crops typically grown per year on their arable land. They discharged on average 16?% of the total manure produced into the environment in liquid form through the public sewage system. On biogas pig farms, the use of fresh solid manure for crops and discharge of liquid manure was lower, as manure was used to produce biogas. However, excessive use of washing water on several of these farms resulted in very dilute slurry (solid manure:water ratio 1:11) entering the biogas digester. This lowered the retention time in the digester (below the optimum range of 35?C55?days), leading to low biogas production rates and possible accumulation of sediment. The digestate was also highly diluted and hence difficult and costly to transport and apply to crops, so it was largely (60?%) discharged to the environment. The input volume of washing water should therefore be reduced to a ratio of 1:5. For better sustainability, appropriate technologies are needed to absorb nutrients from the digestate before discharge and to recycle these nutrients to crops.     

Effects of different manuring systems with and without biogas digestion on nitrogen cycle and crop yield in mixed organic dairy farming systems

Field trials were carried out between 2002 and 2005 to investigate the effects of biogas digestion in a mixed organic dairy farming system with arable land and grassland on nutrient cycling, nitrogen (N) uptake and crop yields within a cropping system comprising a whole crop rotation. Five treatments were carried out: (i) solid farmyard manure, (ii) undigested liquid slurry, (iii) digested liquid slurry, (iv) digestion of liquid slurry and field residues such as crop residues and cover crops, and (v) similar to iv, but with additional N inputs at the equivalent of 40 kg N ha⁻¹ farmland through digestion of purchased substrates. The term “manure” is used in the present study to mean all kind of aboveground organic residues left on the field (“immobile manures”, such as crop residues and green manures incorporated directly into the soil) or added as stable wastes or effluents of biogas digestion (“mobile manures”). The total aboveground biomass growth and the overall aboveground N uptake of non-legume maincrops were higher in the liquid slurry manure treatment than in the solid farmyard manure system (+5% and +9%, respectively). The digestion of the liquid slurry increased N uptake and crop yields only after soil incorporation of the slurry shortly after field spreading. The additional collection and digestion of field residues such as cover crops and crop residues, combined with a reallocation of the effluents, strongly increased the amounts of “mobile” manure, allowing a more focussed allocation of the available N. This led to an increase in the aboveground N uptake (+12%) and biomass yield (+4%) of the five non-legume crops, due to a better adapted allocation of nutrients in space and time. Results obtained with spring wheat showed that removal of cover crops in autumn, and their digestion, combined with subsequent use as manure in spring resulted in a better synchronisation of the crop N demand and the soil N availability, in comparison with a strategy where the biomass was left on the field as green (immobile) manure. The inclusion of external substrates led to a further increase of 8% in N uptake, but not to a significant increase in aboveground dry matter yields.     

Zur Reaktionstechnik der anaeroben Fermentation

Chemical reaction engineering of anaerobic fermentation. Anaerobic fermentation has already been used for more than 50 years for the disposal of excess activated sludge. In recent years, increasing costs and considerable problems encountered in connection with the disposal of activated sludge have encouraged the development of anaerobic processes for the treatment of industrial waste water. Various aspects which have to be taken into account when planning a digester plant are discussed. Reduction in residence time with concomitant increase of biogas production rate is possible by retention of biomass. In this way catabolic performances are obtained comparable to those of aerobic high capacity activated sludge plants. Anaerobic waste treatment appears so far to be a real purification method because the predominant part of the organic pollution (more than 95%) is eliminated under energy saving conditions. The by-product biogas contributes to the energy self-sufficiency of the process.     

Anaerobic digestion of seaweed for biogas: A kinetic evaluation

A kinetic study of biogas production in batch digesters by anaerobic digestion of seaweed, Sargassum tenerrimum, with a mixed bacterial culture consisting of methanogenic bacteria and an algin-degrading bacterial strain was carried out at different concentrations of dry total solids. Specific rate constants of biogas production during the lag, exponential and monomolecular (stationary) phases of bacterial growth were determined. About half the total volume of biogas was generated during the exponential phase irrespective of the concentration of seaweed in the digesters. The specific rates of substrate destruction and biogas generation in the stationary phase decreased with increasing substrate concentration. The yield of biogas per gram dry total solids of seaweed was about the same at all concentrations, but with a marked decline at 12% (w/v) total solids. The maximum destruction of volatile solids effected was about 63% over a period of 72 days.     

Combined Ozone Pretreatment and Anaerobic Digestion for the Reduction of Biological Sludge Production in Wastewater Treatment

The ever-increasing amount of solid waste generated by wastewater treatment plants highlights emerging economic and environmental issues. In order to develop new processes producing less sludge, the use of ozone combined with anaerobic digestion was investigated for waste activated sludge treatment. This paper was aimed at evaluating the impact of ozone pretreatment on anaerobic digestion and particularly the enhancement of biogas production. Sludge solubilization was estimated in terms of modification of chemical oxygen demand, solids and nitrogen. Batch anaerobic digestion highlighted the enhancement of ozonated sludge biodegradability. Ozonation led to an increase in biogas production. The ozone dose of 0.15 g O₃/g total solids resulted in a considerable increase in the soluble COD ratio from 4% to 37%. This ozone dose achieved the highest increase in biogas production: 2.4 times greater than without chemical pretreatment.     

A comparison of treatment methods for palm oil mill effluent (POME) wastes

A study of the operational variables involved in the treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) was carried out. These included the acidic or alkaline nature of the POME discharged from the oil mills, the efficiency of the decay (or digestion) of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) contents of the POME, the economic benefits that could arise from the digested sludge and biogas and finally the net economic recovery abilities of the various treatment methods available. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) contents of the POME must be reduced to an acceptable level of 2000–3000 mg solids dm^?3 of sludge before the latter can be used as a fertiliser material. In 10 days of operational periods various anaerobic digestion treatment methods gave COD reduction efficiencies of 76–96%, the batch pond anaerobic digestion mode gave an efficiency of 76.5%, the continuous pond modes 92.5–95.5% and the tank digester 93.8%. In all anaerobic operations the optimal pH values of the POME media were in the range 7.1–7.6 and a ratio of the volatile acids to the total alkalinity of the media (VA/TA) of 0.3 or less was found to enhance the performance of these digesters. Economic analyses carried out on all modes of treatment gave the following economic recovery abilities: the decanter/drier system gave a break-even situation of 3 years, the tank digester system, 2 years, and the single stage anaerobic pond system, 6 years. The batch pond system appeared not to give a break-even situation. Of the treatment methods examined the decanter/drier and tank digester systems were concluded to be optimal.     

秸秆与猪粪混合高固厌氧消化产气性能及关键微生物分析

高固厌氧消化（HS-AD）是处理木质纤维素类原料和其他高固含率有机原料的有效方式之一。本文以节能高效为出发点,研究秸秆和猪粪为混合原料,两者不同配比（秸秆/猪粪的质量比2∶1、1∶1和1∶2）条件下,反应器的运行情况及关键微生物变化情况。结果表明：原料的配比对高固厌氧消化的产气量有明显影响。相比于其他两组实验,秸秆和猪粪的配比为2∶1时,累计产气量最大为229.66L,最终甲烷含量稳定在60.7%左右,转化为单位VS产甲烷量为131.8mL/g VS。同时,反应过程中液相性质（pH、VFA、TIC）的变化,也说明秸秆和猪粪配比为2∶1时,运行平稳且产气较好。另外,微生物分析结果显示,秸秆和猪粪配比为2∶1的实验组,在实验启动的前期,甲烷八叠球菌（Methanosarcinaceae）的相对丰度较高,并且细菌和古菌群落的丰富度和多样性都优于其他两组。     

Sorption enhanced steam reforming (SESR): a direct route towards efficient hydrogen production from biomass‐derived compounds

OVERVIEW: Efficient conversion of biomass to hydrogen is imperative in order to realize sustainable hydrogen production. Sorption enhanced steam reforming (SESR) is an emerging technology to produce high purity hydrogen directly from biomass‐derived oxygenates, by integrating steam reforming, water‐gas shift and CO₂ separation in one‐stage. Factors such as simplicity of the hydrogen production process, flexibility in feedstock, high hydrogen yield and low cost, make the SESR process attractive for biomass conversion to fuels. IMPACT: Recent work has demonstrated that SESR of biomass‐derived oxygenates has greater potential than conventional steam reforming for hydrogen production. The flexibility of SESR processes resides in the diversity of feedstocks, which can be gases (e.g. biogas, syngas from biomass gasification), liquids (e.g. bioethanol, glycerol, sugars or liquid wastes from biomass processing) and solids (e.g. lignocellulosic biomass). SESR can be developed to realize a simple biomass conversion process but with high energy efficiency. APPLICATIONS: Hydrogen production by SESR of biomass‐derived compounds can be integrated into existing oil refineries and bio‐refineries for hydrotreating processing, making the production of gasoline and diesel greener. Moreover, hydrogen from SESR can be directly fed to fuel cells for power generation. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Solids and COD Balances to Describe Fed-Batch Codigestion of Sludge and Completely Prehydrolyzed Lignocellulosics

Material balances of volatile solids, total dry solids and COD in an anaerobic digester fed with mixtures of domestic sludges and prehydrolyzed lignocellulosics are proposed to describe fed-batch operation. Separate complete prehydrolysis of the feed performed to increase its contents of soluble organic substances proves to strongly affect the methanogenic phase, probably due to the formation of toxic inhibitors during lignin hydrolysis. This suggests that the removal of the residue remaining after hemicellulosic sugars solubilization is necessary to offer acceptable methane yields in a poorly-mixed digester as that used in this study. Although the proposed approach seems to apply satisfactorily to COD only at relatively low organic load, it can be proposed as a useful tool to follow the solids breakdown during fed-batch operation.     

Biochemical Conversion of Microalgae Biomass into Biofuel

Biofuel production via microalgae is a promising and sustainable alternative to replace the typical fossil fuel that is the main contributor to the global warming. However, for a cost‐effective biofuel production, further advanced research is still needed for large‐scale operation. This article is a tutorial review on conversion processes of microalgae into biofuel, with emphasis on biochemical conversion. The following topics are discussed: (i) microalgae biomass and its composition, (ii) thermochemical conversion, (iii) chemical conversion, and (iv) biochemical conversion. In addition, various aspects of anaerobic digestion, digester designs, and effects of operating conditions on the production of methane, bioethanol, and biohydrogen are discussed. The general kinetics of biomass conversion into biofuel is presented. This study suggests, if that biomass contains less than 50 % moisture, then it is recommended to use the direct combustion method; otherwise, biochemical conversion is the most suitable process to biofuel production.     

The sulfur chain in biogas production from sulfate‐rich liquid substrates: a review on dynamic modeling with vinasse as model substrate

Vinasse is a sulfate‐rich liquid substrate, from which high levels of hydrogen sulfide in biogas can be obtained due to the sulfate reduction process under anaerobic conditions. Hydrogen sulfide is corrosive and toxic and must be removed for any utilization of the biogas. Mathematical models have been developed to study separately sulfate reduction in anaerobic digestion and sulfide removal from biogas streams. However, the levels of hydrogen sulfide produced in the anaerobic digestion stage have an effect on the sulfide removal processes in the next stage. As a method to study both processes and their interaction, a new approach is introduced and reviewed in the present article: the sulfur chain in biogas production. The necessity of studying the sulfate reduction processes in vinasse as a typical sulfate‐rich substrate to predict hydrogen sulfide concentrations in the gas phase, as well as the best model approach to that aim are established here. In addition, the approaches to model sulfide removal based on direct conversion processes, the models' capability to predict the removal of hydrogen sulfide from the biogas (at levels between 20 000 and 30 000 ppm_v) as well as the concentration profile of the reactants in this removal processes are discussed. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of coagulation on palm oil mill effluent and subsequent treatment of coagulated sludge by anaerobic digestion

A new effluent treatment scheme is proposed for treating palm oil mill effluent based on coagulation and anaerobic digestion of coagulated sludge. The effectiveness of anionic (N9901) and cationic (N9907) polyelectrolytes manufactured by NALCO (Malaysia) was evaluated both as coagulant and coagulant aid. The results showed that the anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes were best suited as a coagulant aid, and the cationic polyelectrolyte showed better performance than the anionic polyelectrolyte. For an influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of 59 700 mg L^?1 at an alum dosage of 1700 mg L^?1, the residual COD, suspended solid removal, sludge volume and pH were found to be 39 665 mg L^?1, 87%, 260 mL L^?1 and 6.3, respectively. For the above influent COD and alum dosage with the addition of 2 mg L^?1 of cationic polyelectrolyte as coagulant aid, the results were 30 870 mg L^?1, 90%, 240 mL L^?1 and 6.2, respectively. The sludge resulting from the coagulation process using alum as coagulant and cationic polyelectrolyte as coagulant aid was tested for its digestibility in an anaerobic digester. The quantity of biogas generated per gram of volatile solids (VS) destroyed at a loading rate of 26.7 ± 0.5 and 35.2 ± 0.4 g VS L^?1 d^?1 was found to be 0.68 and 0.72 L g^?1 VS destroyed. The anaerobic biomass when subjected to varying alum dosage in the coagulated palm oil sludge did not exhibit inhibition as the digester performance was in conformity with the regular treatment process Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

小球藻对奶牛场沼液处理能力及生物质生产的探究

为资源化处理奶牛场沼液、探究小球藻Chlorella vulgaris NIES-227对奶牛场沼液的处理能力以及生物质利用潜力,在柱式光生物反应器中利用小球藻处理沼液占比分别为25%、50%、75%和 100% 4种不同浓度的未灭菌污水。研究结果显示,各浓度污水中总氮、总磷和COD的去除率分别为36.0%～92.5%、42.8%～100%和6.9%～32.2%。在沼液占比为25%的污水中氮磷的去除率最高,氨氮、总氮和总磷的去除效率分别可达99.9%、91.0%和100%。微藻在低浓度沼液（25%～50%）中生长状态良好,在沼液占比为50%的污水中可获得最高生物质产率393.6 mg/(L·d)。但是在高浓度沼液（75%～100%）中微藻生长受到一定抑制,导致氮磷的去除效果变差。培养期间细菌的数量增长显著,促进了COD的去除。各浓度沼液生物质中总脂、总糖和蛋白质含量分别为13.2%～32.2%、12.3%～27.6%和16.2%～30.9%。实验数据表明,低浓度沼液能产生更多高能量组分的生物质,适合用作生物燃料的开发;高浓度沼液能产生含较多蛋白质的生物质,更适合用作动物饲料。     

Application of A/O‐MBR for treatment of digestate from anaerobic digestion of cow manure

BACKGROUND: Anaerobic digestion (AD) is widely used as an animal manure bioconversion technology. However, the effluent obtained from the digester during the wet‐AD process requires to be treated carefully before discharge if AD technology is to be developed as an effective and environmentally advantageous animal manure treatment. RESULTS: An anoxic/aerobic‐membrane bioreactor(A/O‐MBR) system has been developed for digestate treatment in an AD system treating cow manure. The performance of the A/O‐MBR system in terms of removal of nitrogen, COD and phosphorus were investigated. Results indicated that the average removal efficiencies of NH₄‐N⁺, COD and PO₄^3?‐P were 98.1%, 96.3% and 76.6%, respectively. The fouled membrane from the A/O‐MBR system was cleaned effectively using NaOH and a 30h soak time. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that it is technically feasible to use the A/O‐MBR for the treatment of digestate from a cow manure AD system, and can provide an environmentally acceptable way for the application of wet‐AD in animal manure treatment. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry