Adaptation of thermophilic sludge-inoculum to co-digestion with Sherry-wine distillery wastewater

Abstract

In this work, the progression and microbial considerations have been taking into account in the adaptation of thermophilic sludge-inoculum to anaerobic co-digestion of Sherry-wine distillery wastewater (SW-DW) and sewage sludge (SS). For this purpose, the effect of increasing concentrations of SW-DW as co-substrates with SS was evaluated by measuring biodegradability parameters, biomethane productivity and shift in microbial community. Optimal productivity occurred when 50–75% of SW-DW was used due to consortia adaptation and more soluble compounds obtaining 0.272–0.277 L CH4·g−1 CODconsumed and TSremoval: 34.5–38.3%; TVSremoval: 51.0–53.2%; CODtremoval: 45.5–64.2%. At this both conditions, hydrolytic acidogenic bacteria reach the maximum levels improving the activity of acetogenic bacteria and acetate utilizing methanogens.