Rapid start-up of mesophilic dry anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR)

Abstract

Under mesophilic conditions (37 °C), a bench-scale experiment of dry fermentation start-up using kitchen waste was conducted in a fed-batch single phase reactor over a period of 40 days. The results showed that (1) comparing biogas production, efficiencies, and methane concentrations, three apparent different stages emerged: adaption, growth, and stability; (2) in adaption and growth stages, daily biogas production was 0–0.2 L/day and 0.2–0.4 L/day, respectively, and the concentration of methane in the biogas was 22.91% and 48.79%, respectively, with a biodegradation rate of approximately 34.72% in the adaption phase and 27.60% during the growth phase; (3) in the stability stage, the biogas production efficiency attained the maximal level and stabilized at approximately 0.6–0.4 L/day and the concentration of methane was 54.32%. Furthermore, the pH fell to 4.15, and the concentration of chemical oxygen demand increased from 51.139 to 119.295 mg/ml.