The synergistic effect of the thickened digestate treatment in the vortex layer apparatus prior to its recirculation into the reactor on the characteristics of anaerobic bioconversion of organic waste

Abstract

For the first time, the effect of thickened digestate treatment in a vortex layer apparatus (VLA) prior to its recirculation into anaerobic reactor on the efficiency of anaerobic bioconversion of an organic substrate was investigated. At the hydraulic retention time of the recirculated digestate in VLA for 30 seconds, of the substrate in the anaerobic bioreactor for 8 days and the recirculation coefficient of 1.5, the average specific yield of biogas increased by 75.2%, and the average volumetric methane production – by 16.8%. There was no increase in methane concentration in biogas, while the average concentration of hydrogen sulfide in biogas decreased by 8 times.