Marika Murto

Evaluation of parameters for monitoring an anaerobic co-digestion process

Abstract The system investigated in this study is an anaerobic digester at a municipal wastewater treatment plant operating on sludge from the wastewater treatment, co-digested with carbohydrate-rich food-processing waste. The digester is run below maximum capacity to prevent overload. Process monitoring at present is not extensive, even for the measurement of on-line gas production rate and off-line pH. Much could be gained if a better program for monitoring and control was developed, so that the full capacity of the system could be utilised without the risk of overload. The only limit presently set for correct process operation is that the pH should be above 6.8. In the present investigation, the pH was compared with alkalinity, gas production rate, gas composition and the concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFA). Changes in organic load were monitored in the full-scale anaerobic digester and in laboratory-scale models of the plant. Gas-phase parameters showed a slow response to changes in load. The VFA concentrations were superior for indicating overload of the microbial system, but alkalinity and pH also proved to be good monitoring parameters. The possibility of using pH as a process indicator is, however, strongly dependent on the buffering capacity. In this study, a minor change in the amount of carbohydrates in the substrate had drastic effects on the buffering effect of the system.

Evaluation of new methods for the monitoring of alkalinity dissolved hydrogen and the microbial community in anaerobic digestion

New methods for spectrophotometric alkalinity measurement, dissolved hydrogen monitoring and for obtaining a fingerprint of the microbial community were evaluated as tools for process monitoring in anaerobic digestion. The anaerobic digestion process was operated at organic loading rates of 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 g volatile solids l(-1)d(-1) and subjected to pulse loads of carbohydrate, lipid, protein and a mixed sludge substrate. The spectrophotometric alkalinity monitoring method showed good agreement with traditional titrimetric alkalinity monitoring and has the advantage of being easy to modify to on-line monitoring applications. The on-line monitoring of dissolved hydrogen gave valuable information about approaching process overload and can be a good complement to the conventional monitoring of volatile fatty acids. Changing process conditions were also reflected in the microbial fingerprint that could be achieved by partitioning in two-phase systems. The investigated methods showed potential for application in increasing our understanding of the anaerobic digestion process as well as for being applicable for monitoring in the complex environment of full-scale anaerobic digestion processes.

Evaluation of biogas production from seaweed in batch tests and in UASB reactors combined with the removal of heavy metals.

Seaweed can be anaerobically digested for the production of energy-rich methane. However, the use of seaweed digestate as a fertilizer may be restricted because of the high heavy metal content especially cadmium. Reducing the concentration of heavy metals in the digestate will enable its use as a fertilizer. In this laboratory-scale study, the potential of seaweed and its leachate in the production of methane were evaluated in batch tests. The effect of removing the heavy metals from seaweed leachate was evaluated in both batch test and treatment in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The heavy metals were removed from seaweed leachate using an imminodiacetic acid (IDA) polyacrylamide cryogel carrier. The methane yield obtained in the anaerobic digestion of seaweed was 0.12 N l CH(4)/g VS(added). The same methane yield was obtained when the seaweed leachate was used for methane production. The IDA-cryogel carrier was efficient in removing Cd(2+), Cu(2+), Ni(2+) and Zn(2+) ions from seaweed leachate. The removal of heavy metals in the seaweed leachate led to a decrease in the methane yield. The maximum sustainable organic loading rate (OLR) attained in the UASB reactor was 20.6 g tCOD/l/day corresponding to a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12 h and with a total COD removal efficiency of about 81%. Hydrolysis and treatment with IDA cryogel reduced the heavy metals content in the seaweed leachate before methane production. This study also demonstrated the suitability of the treatment of seaweed leachate in a UASB reactor.

Biogas production from wheat straw in batch and UASB reactors: The roles of pretreatment and seaweed hydrolysate as a co-substrate

This research evaluated biogas production in batch and UASB reactors from pilot-scale acid catalysed steam pretreated and enzymatic hydrolysed wheat straw. The results showed that the pretreatment was efficient and, a sugar yield of 95% was obtained. The pretreatment improved the methane yield (0.28 m(3)/kg VS(added)) by 57% compared to untreated straw. Treatment of the straw hydrolysate with nutrient supplementation in a UASB reactor resulted in a high methane production rate, 2.70 m(3)/m(3).d at a sustainable OLR of 10.4 kg COD/m(3).d and with a COD reduction of 94%. Alternatively, co-digestion of the straw and seaweed hydrolysates in a UASB reactor also maintained a stable anaerobic process and can thus reduce the cost of nutrients addition. We have shown that biogas production from wheat straw can be competitive by pretreatment, high methane production rate in UASB reactors and also by co-digestion with seaweed hydrolysate.

A Study of Two-Stage Anaerobic Digestion of Solid Potato Waste using Reactors under Mesophilic and Thermophilic Conditions

A two-stage anaerobic digestion process operated under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions was investigated for the treatment of solid potato waste to determine optimal methane yield, efficiency of operation and process stability. A solid-bed reactor was used for hydrolysis/acidification stage while an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was used in the second stage, for methanogenesis. Three sets of conditions were investigated: (I) mesophilic + mesophilic, (II) mesophilic + thermophilic and (III) thermophilic + thermophilic in the hydrolysis/acidification and methanogenesis reactors, respectively. The methane yield was higher under mesophilic conditions (0.49 1 CH4 g COD−1 degraded) than thermophilic conditions (0.41 1 CH4 g COD−1 degraded) with reference to the methanogenic reactors. (COD) - chemical oxygen demand. However, the digestion period was shorter in systems II and III than in system I. Also, in system III the UASB reactor (thermophilic conditions) could handle a higher organic loading rate (OLR) (36 g COD 1−1d−1) than in system I (11 g COD 1−1d−1) (mesophilic conditions) with stable operation. Higher OLRs in the methanogenic reactors resulted in reactor failure due to increasing total volatile fatty acid levels. In all systems, the concentration of propionate was one of the highest, higher than acetic acid, among the volatile fatty acids in the effluent. The results show the feasibility of using a two-stage system to treat solid potato waste under both mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. If the aim is to treat solid potato waste completely within a short period of time thermophilic conditions are to be preferred, but to obtain higher methane yield mesophilic conditions are preferable and therefore there is a need to balance methane yield and complete digestion period when dealing with large quantities of solid potato waste.

Immobilisation of TiO2 for combined photocatalytic-biological azo dye degradation

The biodegradability of the azo dye Remazol Red RR (100 mg/l) was evaluated using unadapted activated sludge and the experiment confirmed the recalcitrance of the dye. Using a combination of photocatalysis and an aerobic biological step, the biodegradability was improved significantly and complete removal of both colour and COD were achieved. Furthermore, TiO2 was successfully immobilised on borosilicate glass slides by calcination, which facilitates reuse of the catalyst. The catalytic activity of the immobilised TiO2 was close to that of suspended TiO2. A reduced activity was however observed when the TiO2 slides were used repeatedly. When comparing NaOH, calcination and UV irradiation for regeneration of the TiO2 slides, immersion in NaOH was shown to be the most efficient method.

Two-Stage Dry Anaerobic Digestion of Beach Cast Seaweed and Its Codigestion with Cow Manure

Two-stage, dry anaerobic codigestion of seaweed and solid cow manure was studied on a laboratory scale. A methane yield of 0.14 L/g VSadded was obtained when digesting solid cow manure in a leach bed process and a methane yield of 0.16 L/g VSadded and 0.11 L/g VSadded was obtained from seaweed and seaweed/solid manure in a two-stage anaerobic process, respectively. The results showed that it was beneficial to operate the second stage methane reactor for the digestion of seaweed, which produced 83% of the methane, while the remainder was produced in the first leach bed reactor. Also, the two-stage system was more stable for the codigestion for seaweed and manure when compared to their separate digestion. In addition, the initial ammonia inhibition observed for manure digestion and the acidification of the leach bed reactor in seaweed digestion were both avoided when the materials were codigested. The seaweed had a higher Cd content of 0.2 mg Cd/kg TS than the manure, 0.04 mg Cd/kg TS, and presents a risk of surpassing limit values set for fertiliser quality of seaweed digestate. Evaluation of the heavy metal content of seaweed or a mixture of seaweed and manure digestate is recommended before farmland application.

Evaluating the biogas potential of the dry fraction from pretreatment of food waste from households

At the waste handling company NSR, Helsingborg, Sweden, the food waste fraction of source separated municipal solid waste is pretreated to obtain a liquid fraction, which is used for biogas production, and a dry fraction, which is at present incinerated. This pretreatment and separation is performed to remove impurities, however also some of the organic material is removed. The possibility of realising the methane potential of the dry fraction through batch-wise dry anaerobic digestion was investigated. The anaerobic digestion technique used was a two-stage process consisting of a static leach bed reactor and a methane reactor. Treatment of the dry fraction alone and in a mixture with structural material was tested to investigate the effect on the porosity of the leach bed. A tracer experiment was carried out to investigate the liquid flow through the leach beds, and this method proved useful in demonstrating a more homogenous flow through the leach bed when structural material was added. Addition of structural material to the dry fraction was needed to achieve a functional digestion process. A methane yield of 98 m3/ton was obtained from the dry fraction mixed with structural material after 76 days of digestion. This was in the same range as obtained in the laboratory scale biochemical methane potential test, showing that it was possible to extract the organic content in the dry fraction in this type of dry digestion system for the production of methane.

Characterisation of anaerobic mixed cultures by partition in an aqueous two-phase system

A method to characterise a dynamic microbial consortium is described. By exploiting differences in surface properties between different cells and between cells of different physiological status, it was possible to develop a partition pattern for a mixed culture under different conditions. The separation method used was partition in aqueous two-phase systems and when using a counter current extraction process one could clearly differentiate the partition profile between resting, active and overloaded biomethanation cultures.