Sludge accumulation and methanogenic activity in an anaerobic lagoon

2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 247-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Paing ◽  
B. Picot ◽  
J. P. Sambuco ◽  
A. Rambaud
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Anaerobic Degradation ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Anaerobic Fermentation ◽  
Methanogenic Activity ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Anaerobic Lagoon ◽  
Methane Production Rate ◽  
Sludge Accumulation

Sludge accumulation and the characteristics of anaerobic digestion in sludge had been investigated in a primary anaerobic lagoon. Methanogenic potential of sludge was evaluated by an anaerobic digestion test which measured the methane production rate. Sludge was sampled at several points in the lagoon to determine spatial variations and with a monthly frequency from the start-up of the lagoon to observe the development of anaerobic degradation. Maximum amounts of sludge accumulated near the inlet. The mean methane production of sludge was 2.9 ml gVS–1 d–1. Sludge near the outlet presented a greater methanogenic activity and a lesser concentration of volatile fatty acids than near the inlet. The different stages of anaerobic degradation were spatially separated, acidogenesis near the inlet and methanogenesis near the outlet. This staged distribution seemed to increase efficiency of anaerobic fermentation compared with septic tanks. Methane release at the surface of the lagoon was estimated to be very heterogeneous with a mean of 25 l m–2 d–1. The development of performance and sludge characteristics showed the rapid beginning of methanogenesis, three months after the start-up of the anaerobic lagoon. Considering the volume of accumulated sludge, it could however be expected that methanogenic activity would further increase.

Effect of a Cellulose-Degrading Strain on Anaerobic Fermentation of Corn Straw

2011 ◽  
Vol 356-360 ◽  
pp. 2510-2514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Fen Niu ◽  
Sai Yue Wang ◽  
Wen Di Xu ◽  
An Dong Ge ◽  
Hao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Anaerobic Fermentation ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Corn Straw ◽  
High Efficient ◽  
Important Significance ◽  
Strong Capacity

In order to improve the rate of degradation of cellulose in corn straw, the study has an important significance that compost corn straw with inoculating high-efficient microbe agents. The experiment inoculated a cellulose-degrading strain F2 which was screened from compost into compost pretreatment, the VS of corn straw reduced from 93.14% to 71.69% after 15 days, the content of cellulose reduced from 34.12g·kg-1 to 25.66g·kg-1, the rate of degradation was 24.79% which was 10.60% higher than those without the strain. An anaerobic fermentation experiment was carried out with the two groups of composted corn straw and mixed pig feces with a certain ratio, and investigations of biogas production, pH, content of volatile fatty acids(VFA) and rate of methane production were conducted. The results were that the corn straw composted with the cellulose-degrading strain peaked 4 days earlier, the maximal daily biogas production was 1470mL, the cumulative biogas production reached 23641mL which was 16.87% higher and operated stably earlier. The study showed that the cellulose-degrading strain had a strong capacity to degrade cellulose in corn straw, and then improved the performance of anaerobic digestion.

scholarly journals Modelling start-up performance of anaerobic digestion of saline-rich macro-algae

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2059-2065 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hierholtzer ◽  
J. C. Akunna
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Brown Seaweed ◽  
Adaptation Period ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Batch Tests ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Methane Potential ◽  
Methane Production Rate

Some of the key factors affecting the adaptation of anaerobic digestion processes to increasing levels of salinity were determined in batch tests using brown seaweed as a feedstock. It was found that cultures seeded with non-saline anaerobic inoculum required an adaptation period of up to two months to reach the same level of methane production rate as in those cultures seeded with saline-adapted inoculum. The Anaerobic Digestion Model No.1 (ADM1) was modified to include an extra inhibition function to account for the effect of salinity, and calibrated using a set of experimental data obtained from batch biochemical methane potential tests. After calibration, the model was able to accurately predict methane production rates. Thus, the results show that, in the absence of saline-adapted inoculum, non-saline inoculum can be used for the start-up of anaerobic digestion systems treating saline-rich feedstocks.

The effect of extreme temperatures (70–80°C) on the effluent quality and sludge characteristics of UASB reactors

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 325-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghida Lepistö ◽  
Jukka Rintala
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Granular Sludge ◽  
Anaerobic Sludge ◽  
Methanogenic Activity ◽  
Sludge Characteristics ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Thermomechanical Pulping ◽  
Increasing Temperature ◽  
Uasb Reactors

The study focused on the effluent quality and sludge characteristics during the start-up and operation of extreme thermophilic (70 to 80°C) upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors, inoculated with mesophilic and thermophilic granular sludge and fed with acetate, volatile fatty acids (VFA), and thermomechanical pulping (TMP) whitewater. Low effluent quality and long start-up periods were observed during the start-up of the 70 to 76°C, VFA-fed UASB reactors inoculated with mesophilic granulae, while better effluent quality and considerably shorter start-up periods were observed when thermophilic (55/70°C) inocula were used. With VFA feed, a significant amount of acetate was removed at 70°C and even at 80°C, while propionate removal was negligible. With TMP whitewater feed, low VFA effluent concentration was obtained at 70°C. The volatile solids (VS) and the VS/total solids (TS) content of the sludge decreased significantly during the first 2–3 months of operation when mesophilic inocula were used. The initial specific methanogenic activity (ISMA) of the extreme thermophilic sludge decreased with increasing temperature and was slightly higher on glucose than on acetate. At 70 to 80°C, various rod-like bacteria were dispersed through the granulae in either individual or in low density micro colonies surrounded with a varying degree of precipitates.

Effects of thermochemical pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge

1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 209-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuzo Tanaka ◽  
Toshio Kobayashi ◽  
Ken-ichi Kamiyama ◽  
Ma. Lolita N. Signey Bildan
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Batch Experiments ◽  
Industrial Wastewaters ◽  
Thermochemical Pretreatment ◽  
Chemical Heating ◽  
Methane Production Rate

Effects of pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) were investigated in terms of VSS solubilization and methane production by batch experiments. The methods of pretreatment studied are NaOH addition (chemical), heating (thermal) and heating with NaOH addition (thermochemical) to the domestic WAS and to the combined WAS from domestic, commercial and industrial wastewaters. The thermochemical pretreatment gave the best result among three methods in the combined WAS, i.e., the VSS was solubilized by 40-50% and the methane production increased by more than 200% over the control when the WAS was heated at 130°C for 5 minutes with the dose 0.3 g NaOH/g VSS. In the domestic WAS, the VSS solubilization rate was 70-80% but the increase of the methane production was about 30% after thermochemically pretreated. The domestic WAS consists of 41% protein, 25% lipid and 14% carbohydrate on COD basis, and the solubilization rate of protein, which is the largest constituent of the WAS, was 63% in the thermochemical pretreatment. Although the effect of the thermochemical pretreatment on the methane production was higher to the combined WAS than to the domestic WAS, the methane production rate was 21.9 ml CH4/g VSSWAS·day in the domestic WAS and 12.8 ml CH4/g VSSWAS·day in the combined WAS.

Control of sulfate reduction by molybdate in anaerobic digestion

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 143-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuzo Tanaka ◽  
Young-Ho Lee
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sulfate Reduction ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Continuous Operation ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Control Batch

Control of sulfate reduction by adding molybdate was investigated to enhance the methane production under batch and continuous operation in the anaerobic digestion of a sulfate-rich lysine wastewater. In phase 1 of the continuous operation, four anaerobic filters were fed with the lysine wastewater and then added with molybdate at 1,3,5 and 10 mM just after methane producing bacteria (MPB) were completely inhited by H2S produced by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). In phase 2, three anaerobic filters were operated with continuous or intermittent addition of 3 mM molybdate from the beginning of operation, including one with no molybdate as a control. Batch experiments revealed that the sulfate reduction was strongly inhibited and finally ceased by adding 3 mM or more of molybdate, resulting in great enhancement of the methane production. In phase 1 of the continuous experiments, all reactors showed the cessation of the methane production when the content of H2S reached 9–10 % in biogas, but the MPB activity was gradually recovered after initiating the molybdate addition at 3 or 5 mM. The 10 mM dosage of molybdate, however, had an inhibiting effect to MPB as well as SRB, resulting in the accumulation of acetate within the reactor. In phase 2, the control reactor continued to decrease the methane production, and a methane conversion rate was only 3 % in the control, while 35 and 10 % in continuously-added and intermittently-added reactors, respectively. Thus, it was confirmed that the MPB activity was greatly enhanced under control of the SRB activity by the continuous addition of molybdate. Comparing phase 2 with phase 1, addition from the start-up of the process is considered more effective than addition after the methane production dropped in the control of the sulfate reduction by molybdate.

scholarly journals Effects of sulfonamide antibiotics on digestion performance and microbial community during swine manure anaerobic digestion

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaona Wang ◽  
Kang Du ◽  
Rongfang Yuan ◽  
Huilun Chen ◽  
Fei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Batch Reactor ◽  
Inhibition Mechanism ◽  
Sulfonamide Antibiotics ◽  
High Concentration

The effects of four types of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs), including sulfaquinoxaline, sulfamethoxazole, sulfamethoxydiazine and sulfathiazole, on the digestion performance during anaerobic digestion process were studied using a lab-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor, and the changes of the community structure in the presence of SAs were investigated with the help of high throughput sequencing. The results indicated that when SAs were added, the hydrolytic acidification process was inhibited, and the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) was induced, resulting in the suppression of methane production. However, the inhibition mechanism of different SAs was quite different. The inhibitory effect of high concentration of SAs on the hydrolysis of solid particulate matter into dissolved organic matter followed the order of sulfaquinoxaline > sulfamethoxydiazine > sulfathiazole > sulfamethoxazole. SAs have obvious inhibitory effects on acidification and methanation of dissolved organic matter, especially sulfathiazole. The richness and the community composition of the microorganism including bacteria and archaea in the digestion system were affected by SAs. Under the effect of SAs, the relative abundance of many microorganisms is negatively correlated with methane production, among which Methanobrevibacter, a kind of Archaea, had the greatest influence on methane production.

Application of Methanobrevibacter acididurans in anaerobic digestion

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 109-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.V. Savant ◽  
D.R. Ranade
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Anaerobic Digesters ◽  
Hydrogenotrophic Methanogen ◽  
Distillery Wastewater ◽  
Acid Tolerant ◽  
Acidic Conditions

To operate anaerobic digesters successfully under acidic conditions, hydrogen utilizing methanogens which can grow efficiently at low pH and tolerate high volatile fatty acids (VFA) are desirable. An acid tolerant hydrogenotrophic methanogen viz. Methanobrevibacter acididurans isolated from slurry of an anaerobic digester running on alcohol distillery wastewater has been described earlier by this lab. This organism could grow optimally at pH 6.0. In the experiments reported herein, M. acididurans showed better methanogenesis under acidic conditions with high VFA, particularly acetate, than Methanobacterium bryantii, a common hydrogenotrophic inhabitant of anaerobic digesters. Addition of M. acididurans culture to digesting slurry of acidogenic as well as methanogenic digesters running on distillery wastewater showed increase in methane production and decrease in accumulation of volatile fatty acids. The results proved the feasibility of application of M. acididurans in anaerobic digesters.

Temperature effects on the trophic stages of perennial rye grass anaerobic digestion

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Cysneiros ◽  
A. Thuillier ◽  
R. Villemont ◽  
A. Littlestone ◽  
T. Mahony ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Batch Mode ◽  
Rye Grass ◽  
Long Term Experiment ◽  
Rate Limiting

Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors (CSTRs), operated in batch mode, were used to evaluate the feasibility of psychrophilic (low temperature) digestion of perennial rye grass in a long term experiment (150 days) for the first time. The reactors were operated in parallel at 3 different temperatures, 10, 15 and 37 °C. Hydrolysis, acidification and methanogenesis were assessed by VS degradation, by soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) production, and by methane production, respectively. Hydrolysis was the rate-limiting step at all temperatures and the rates and extent of hydrolysis were considerably lower at 15 and 10 °C, than at 37 °C. The total VS degradation was 53%, 34% and 19% at 37, 15 and 10 °C, respectively. Acidification was not affected by temperature and VFA production and consumption was balanced in all cases, except at 10 °C. Methane yields were 0.215 m3 CH4 kg−1 VS−1 added, 0.160 m3 CH4 kg−1 VS−1 added and 0.125 m3 CH4 kg−1 VS−1 added at 37, 15 and 10 °C, respectively. Methanogenesis was not strongly affected at 15 °C but it became rate-limiting at 10 °C. Overall, the solid degradation and methane production performance under psychrophilic conditions was encouraging and greater than previously reported. Considering the non-acclimated, mesophilic nature of the inoculum, there are grounds to believe that low-temperature anaerobic digestion of grass could be feasible if coupled to efficient hydrolysis of the biomass.

Relative Importance of Trophic Group Concentrations during Anaerobic Degradation of Volatile Fatty Acids

1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 5009-5016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravi K. Voolapalli ◽  
David C. Stuckey
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Anaerobic Degradation ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Bulk Liquid ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Methanogenic Activity ◽  
Degradation Rates ◽  
Optimum Utilization ◽  
Reducing Equivalents

ABSTRACT Although obligate syntrophic reactions cannot proceed without hydrogenotrophs, it has been unclear from the literature whether potential improvements are achievable with higher concentrations of hydrogenotrophs. In this study, the relative importance of formate-/H2-utilizing and acetate-utilizing trophic groups in the anaerobic degradation of butyrate and propionate was assessed by adding various proportions of these enriched cultures to a mixed anaerobic seed inoculum. The improvement resulting from the additional acetate-utilizing cultures was much greater than with formate/H2 utilizers. Furthermore, formate/H2utilizers did not improve propionate utilization significantly, suggesting the importance of optimum utilization of hydrogenotrophic capacity. During most of the volatile fatty acid (VFA) degradation period, the system responded with characteristic hydrogen levels to maintain the Gibbs free energy of oxidation approximately constant for both butyrate (−6 kJ) and propionate (−14 kJ). These free-energy values were independent of methanogenic activity, as well as the volume of the seed inoculum and the VFA concentrations present. By comparing the experimental results with kinetic and mass transfer models, it was postulated that the diffusional transfer of reducing equivalents was the major limiting factor for efficient VFA degradation. Therefore, for optimum utilization of the hydrogenotrophs, low acetate concentrations are vital to enable the system to respond with higher formate/H2 levels, thus leading to improved transfer of reducing equivalents. Due to the small number of propionate utilizers (and hence their limited surface area) and low bulk liquid concentrations, the additional formate/H2 utilizers were of minimal use for improving the degradation rate further. The butyrate degradation rates strongly correlated with the cumulative activity of hydrogenotrophs and acetotrophs over the experimental range studied, indicating the need to model obligate syntrophic reactions as a dependent function of methanogenic activity.

Study of Methane Production by High Temperature Anaerobic Fermentation of Chicken Manure and Stalks

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-557
Author(s):  
Yongku Li ◽  
Xiaomin Hu ◽  
Lei Feng
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Anaerobic Fermentation ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Chicken Manure ◽  
Biogas Slurry ◽  
Production Rates

The changing parameters, as the biogas production rate, the methane production rate, the cumulative biogas amount, the cumulative methane amount, the biogas composition, pH etc. in high temperature anaerobic fermentation of chicken manure and stalks were analyzed by experiments with different mass ratios of chicken manure or livestock manure and stalks with a high C/N ratio. The methane production mechanism of high temperature anaerobic digestion of chicken manure and stalks was discussed in detail. It showed that not only the biogas production rates but also the methane production rates of R1–R7 demonstrated the trend of initial increase and then decrease after 50 d of high temperature anaerobic digestion. Besides, the gas production of R1 with pure chicken manure stopped on the 30th d of the reaction. The gas production of other groups R2–R7 also stopped on the corresponding 34th, 36th, 36th, 37th, 37th, and 37th day, respectively. At the end of the reaction, the cumulative biogas amounts and the cumulative methane amounts of R1–R7 were 411.58 and 269.54, 459.91 and 314.41, 425.32 and 294.11, 401.85 and 272.54, 382.63 and 257.07, 363.04 and 218.16, and 257.15 and 160.10 N ml/(g VS). The biogas slurry pH of R1–R7 all demonstrated a trend of initial decrease and then increase, e. g., pH of R2 reached the minimum of 5.94 on the 5th day. pH values of other groups were between 6.01 and 6.39. After the addition of 4 g of sodium bicarbonate on the 7th day, biogas slurry pH of R1–R7 all increased. pH was maintained between 7.16 and 7.44 until the end of the reaction.

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