Process performance of anaerobic co-digestion of waste activated sludge and aquaculture sludge

Abstract

The mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion (AcD) performances of waste activated sludge (WAS) and aquaculture sludge (AS) were studied. Mixtures of different compositions (0, 30, 50, 70 and 100 % of AS on the volume basis) were used as AcD substrates and tested via biochemical methane potential assay. The results showed that CH4 production increased with AS/WAS ratio increment, and AS alone used as the substrate showed the maximum CH4 yield, which was 8% higher than that achieved using WAS alone as the substrate. The CH4 yield values were well fitted with the modified Gompertz model. The maximum methane potential (P0) and maximum methane production rate (R0) increased from 66.8 mL CH4/g VSfed to 70.9 mL CH4/g VSfed and from 4.40 mL CH4/g VSfed·d to 5.59 mL CH4/g VSfed·d, respectively, as the AS/WAS ratio increased from 0% to 100 %. In addition, lower levels of free ammonia and non-biodegradable organic matter contributed to the CH4 production increasing with AS/WAS ratio increased.