E.J. Martínez

Application of a packed bed reactor for the production of hydrogen from cheese whey permeate: Effect of organic loading rate

The production of H2 was studied using a packed bed reactor with polyurethane foam acting as support material. Experiments were performed using mixed microflora under non sterile conditions. The system was initially operated with synthetic wastewater as the sole substrate. Subsequently, cheese whey permeate was added to the system at varying organic loading rates (OLR). The performance of the reactor was evaluated by applying a continuous decrease in OLR. As a result, a significant decrease in H2 yields (HY) was observed with the decrease in OLR from 18.8 to 6.3 g chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L d. Microbial analysis demonstrated that the prevalence of non-hydrogen producers, Sporolactobacillus sp. and Prevotella, was the main reason for low HYs obtained. This behavior indicates that the fermentation under non-sterile conditions was favored by high concentrations of substrate by creating an adverse environment for nonhydrogen producer organisms.

New biofuel alternatives: integrating waste management and single cell oil production.

Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions have increased research efforts into alternatives in bio-based processes. With regard to transport fuel, bioethanol and biodiesel are still the main biofuels used. It is expected that future production of these biofuels will be based on processes using either non-food competing biomasses, or characterised by low CO2 emissions. Many microorganisms, such as microalgae, yeast, bacteria and fungi, have the ability to accumulate oils under special culture conditions. Microbial oils might become one of the potential feed-stocks for biodiesel production in the near future. The use of these oils is currently under extensive research in order to reduce production costs associated with the fermentation process, which is a crucial factor to increase economic feasibility. An important way to reduce processing costs is the use of wastes as carbon sources. The aim of the present review is to describe the main aspects related to the use of different oleaginous microorganisms for lipid production and their performance when using bio-wastes. The possibilities for combining hydrogen (H2) and lipid production are also explored in an attempt for improving the economic feasibility of the process.

Feasibility of anaerobic co-digestion of poultry blood with maize residues.

The potential of anaerobic digestion for the treatment of poultry blood was evaluated in batch assays at laboratory scale and in a mesophilic semi-continuously fed digester. The biodegradability test performed on poultry blood waste showed a strong inhibition. Maize residues were used as co-substrate to overcome inhibition thanks to nitrogen dilution. Under batch operation, increasing the maize concentration from 15% to 70% (volatile solids (VS) basis) provided an increase of biogas from 130±31 to 188±21 L CH4/kg VS. In the semi-continuous mesophilic anaerobic digester, the biogas yield was 165±17 L CH4/kg VS fed, as a result of strong volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation. Although physical modifications of maize particles were observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), an incomplete degradation was confirmed from analysis of digestates. Furthermore, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that along with VFA build-up, an accumulation of non-degraded materials took place.

Anaerobic Codigestion of Sludge: Addition of Butcher's Fat Waste as a Cosubstrate for Increasing Biogas Production

Fat waste discarded from butcheries was used as a cosubstrate in the anaerobic codigestion of sewage sludge (SS). The process was evaluated under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The codigestion was successfully attained despite some inhibitory stages initially present that had their origin in the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and adsorption of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). The addition of a fat waste improved digestion stability and increased biogas yields thanks to the higher organic loading rate (OLR) applied to the reactors. However, thermophilic digestion was characterized by an effluent of poor quality and high VFA content. Results from spectroscopic analysis suggested the adsorption of lipid components onto the anaerobic biomass, thus disturbing the complete degradation of substrate during the treatment. The formation of fatty aggregates in the thermophilic reactor prevented process failure by avoiding the exposure of biomass to the toxic effect of high LCFA concentrations.

Valorisation of used cooking oil sludge by codigestion with swine manure

The addition of lipid wastes to the digestion of swine manure was studied as a means of increasing biogas production. Lipid waste was obtained from a biodiesel plant where used cooking oil is the feedstock. Digestion of this co-substrate was proposed as a way of valorising residual streams from the process of biodiesel production and to integrate the digestion process into the biorefinery concept. Batch digestion tests were performed at different co-digesting proportions obtaining as a result an increase in biogas production with the increase in the amount of co-substrate added to the mixture. Semi-continuous digestion was studied at a 7% (w/w) mass fraction of total solids. Co-digestion was successful at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 50 d but a decrease to 30 d resulted in a decrease in specific gas production and accumulation of volatile and long chain fatty acids. The CH4 yield obtained was 326 ± 46 l/kg VSfeed at an HRT of 50 d, while this value was reduced to 274 ± 43 l/kg VSfeed when evaluated at an HRT of 30 d. However these values were higher than the one obtained under batch conditions (266 ± 40 l/kg VSfeed), thus indicating the need of acclimation to the co-substrate. Despite of operating at low organic loading rate (OLR), measurements from respirometry assays of digestate samples (at an HRT of 50 d) suggested that the effluent could not be directly applied to the soil as fertiliser and might have a negative effect over soil or crops.