Solid-state Anaerobic Digestion Research Articles

Solid-state anaerobic digestion of wheat straw: Impact of S/I ratio and pilot-scale fungal pretreatment

Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SSAD) of fungal pretreated wheat straw was evaluated in a leach bed reactor. During a first experiment, the effect of Substrate/Inoculum (S/I) ratios on the start-up phase was investigated. High S/I increased methane productivity but also raised the risk of reactor failure due to Volatile Fatty Acid (VFA) accumulation. With S/I ratios between 1.2 and 3.6 (Volatile Solid (VS) basis), the SSAD start-up using wheat straw was successful. Moreover, reactors were able to recover from acidification when the Total VFA/alkalinity ratio was lower than 2 gHAc_eq/gCaCO3, with VFA concentrations lower than 10 g/L and a pH close to 5.5. The conventional threshold of 0.6 gHAc_eq/gCaCO3 for stable wet AD is therefore not adapted to SSAD.During a second experiment, after the wheat straw was submitted to a fungal pretreatment in a non-sterile pilot-scale reactor, it was digested with an S/I ratio of 2.8-2.9. Under batch SSAD conditions, the biodegradability of pretreated wheat straw was slightly improved in comparison to the control (254 versus 215 NmL/g VS, respectively). Considering mass losses occurring during the pretreatment step, suboptimal pretreatment conditions caused a slightly lower methane production (161 versus 171 NmL/gTSinitial after 60-days anaerobic digestion). Nevertheless, pretreatment improved the start-up phase with lower acidification relative to controls. It would be particularly beneficial to improve the methane production in reactors with short reaction times.

Techno-economic analyses of solid-state anaerobic digestion and composting of yard trimmings

Solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) and composting are two potential alternatives to divert yard trimmings from landfills. This study aimed to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of commercial-scale SS-AD and composting systems (20,000 metric tons (MT)/year) that received both yard trimmings and liquid AD effluent using a modeling software, SuperPro Designer. Both the SS-AD and composting systems were shown to be economically feasible. While their revenues were comparable ($48/MT), SS-AD with digestate drying showed a higher capital cost ($256/MT vs. $84/MT) but a lower non-facility-dependent operating cost ($11/MT vs. $21/MT) than composting. The payback time, internal rate of return (IRR), and net present value (NPV) were estimated to be ∼10 years, 8%, and $0.2 million, respectively, for SS-AD, and ∼4.9 years, 33%, and $1.8 million, respectively, for composting. Digestate drying was necessary to make SS-AD profitable via the sale of byproduct, but it was also the most energy intensive step, relying on heat recovery to reduce costs. Moreover, the economics of SS-AD were highly improved (NPV $2 million) with financial incentives (i.e. investment tax credits), indicating that incentives were critical to the economic feasibility of current SS-AD systems that utilize lignocellulosic biomass. However, renewable identification numbers (RINs) and renewable energy certificates (RECs) had minor effects. Furthermore, the economics of both systems were most sensitive to plant size, tipping fees, and byproduct/compost price. The results suggest SS-AD may be favored for centralized management while composting for de-centralized management of yard trimmings. Alternative ways to valorize digestate should be evaluated in future studies.

Comparison of leachate percolation and immersion using different inoculation strategies in thermophilic solid-state anaerobic digestion of pig urine and rice straw

Heterogeneous distribution of substrate and microorganisms and low mass transfer limit methane production dramatically in solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD). To overcome this challenge, this study determined the optimal inoculation strategy (complete premix/slurry application) for reusing solid digestate as inoculum and the optimal leachate circulation method (percolation/immersion) using batch digestion. Initially, percolation and immersion (1 h per 3 days) were compared and the result shows that immersing rice straw into leachate was superior to leachate percolation in methane production. Effect of the immersion period (24, 48 and 72 h) in each circulation cycle on methane production was then evaluated for each inoculation strategy. Methane production increased until the immersion period up to 24 h and then decreased, while the average cumulative methane yield with an immersion period of 24 h was (180 mL/g volatile solids). Slurry application with an immersion period 24 h is recommended as the optimum operating condition.

Feedstock and inoculum characteristics and process parameters as predictors for methane yield in mesophilic solid-state anaerobic digestion

Abstract: In this study, several linear regression models were tested to predict the cumulative 30-day methane yield produced in mesophilic solid-state anaerobic digestion, employing diverse lignocellulosic biomass sources. Data collected from 13 studies were utilized, totalizing 86 experimental points, divided into regression and validation. Models containing higher order terms, the inverse of variables and interactions among all eleven input variables were tested. Simple linear models utilizing a single variable were unable to describe the methane production, giving an R² lower than 0.37. However, combinations of multiple variables and its inverses as only independent variable permitted an increase in simple linear models predictive capacity up to 63% of experimental variability. Higher order models presented an improvement in predictive quality: for a fourth-order multiple linear model, a validation R² of 0.8329 was achieved. In view of the obtained results, the proposed linear regression models consist in an attractive tool to propose experimental routines and to investigate new biomass sources for methane production using solid-state anaerobic digestion, significantly reducing time and cost requirements to experiments’ execution.

Enhancement of the solid-state anaerobic digestion of rice straw by liquor supplementation

Solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) has gained attention in recent years because it is robust, cheap and easy to operate. However, at high loads, the SS-AD is often plagued by acidification and poor methane yields. Mesophilic and thermophilic SS-AD at the different substrate to inoculum ratios (S/I) aided by liquor supplementation was studied in batch mode. Results demonstrated that the liquor supplementation reinvigorated the failed or inhibited SS-AD processes giving methane yields as high as 260.3 ± 5 mL CH4/g VS and improved process stability evidenced low VFA accumulation (˂1 g/L). The achieved methane yield was 85% of the biochemical methane potential achieved under unlimiting batch assay. This study, therefore, revealed that the methane yield in an SS-AD of lignocellulosic biomass can be significantly boosted at high loads by simply adding recycled water or sludge supernatant especially in an inhibited SS-AD process.

Optimization of C/N Ratio to Biogas Production from Rice Husk Waste by Using Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SS-AD)

Optimization of C/N Ratio to Biogas Production from Rice Husk Waste by Using Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SS-AD)

The Influence of NaOH Pretreatment to Biogas Production from Rice Husk Waste by Using Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SS-AD)

The Influence of NaOH Pretreatment to Biogas Production from Rice Husk Waste by Using Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SS-AD)

Enhanced Biogas Production from Sawdust with Various Pretreatments During Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion: An Overview

Enhanced Biogas Production from Sawdust with Various Pretreatments During Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion: An Overview

Study on the Influence of L-AD (Liquid Anaerobic Digestion) and SS-AD (Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion) Methods to Biogas Production from Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Study on the Influence of L-AD (Liquid Anaerobic Digestion) and SS-AD (Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion) Methods to Biogas Production from Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>)

Effect of inoculum and substrate/inoculum ratio on the performance and methanogenic archaeal community structure in solid state anaerobic co-digestion of tomato residues with dairy manure and corn stover

Effects of methanogenic community of inoculum (liquid anaerobic digestion effluent (L-AD effluent), waste activated sludge (WAS), and anaerobic granular sludge (AGS)) and substrate/inoculum ratio (S/I) on reactor performance in solid state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) were investigated. L-AD effluent, which can provide sufficient microbes and enough buffering capacity to the reactor at an S/I ratio of 6, was found to quickly initiate SS-AD processes. The highest methane production was obtained in reactor inoculated with WAS at an S/I ratio of 2. Higher volatile fatty acids and total ammonia nitrogen concentrations were found when AGS was used as inoculum, which led to a low methane production. Methanosaetaceae, Methanosaetaceae, and Methanosaetaceae together with Methanobacteriaceae were the dominant methanogens in reactors inoculated with L-AD effluent, WAS, and AGS, respectively. These findings suggest among the three inoculum, L-AD effluent is the most effective inoculum for SS-AD of on farm organic waste.

Solid-state anaerobic digestion facilitates the removal of antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements from cattle manure

Livestock manure is a hotspot for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Solid-state anaerobic digestion (SAD) is a high efficiency livestock manure treatment, but the changes in ARGs and microbial communities during SAD are unknown. Therefore, thermophilic SAD (55 °C), mesophilic SAD (35 °C), and liquid anaerobic digestion (35 °C) were conducted to investigate the impacts of SAD on ARGs, mobile genetic elements, and microbial communities. Compared with liquid anaerobic digestion, SAD significantly reduced at least 7/10 ARGs and all of the mobile genetic elements considered, where the total abundance of ARG was 23.7% higher in the thermophilic SAD product than the mesophilic SAD product. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the main potential hosts for ARGs, and their decreased abundances were mainly responsible for the reductions in ARGs during SAD. This study demonstrated that SAD is a promising method for decreasing the ARGs risk in livestock manure.

Poultry Litter Solid State Anaerobic Digestion: Effect of Digestate Recirculation Intervals and Substrate/Inoculum Ratios on Process Efficiency

This study evaluated the effect of the substrate:inoculum ratio and digestate recirculation conditions on the biogas and methane yield, free ammonia concentration and solid phase agronomic quality (after treatment) of poultry litter solid state anaerobic digestion (SSAD). Experimental tests were conducted using a central composite design (2²), with four trials at the factorial points and three at the central points, using poultry litter as substrate that was collected after 12 cycles of broiler production (TS 76% (w.w-1)). Three laboratory-scale reactors containing 3 kg of poultry litter each were operated at mesophilic conditions (37°C) and seven experimental runs were performed at retention time of 30 days each. There were three substrate:inoculum ratios (1:1; 1:1.66 and 1:3) and three daily recirculation intervals (2, 3 and 4 times per day), and each recirculation event lasted 15 min. The highest biogas and methane yields were183 LNbiogas.kgVSadd-1and 74 LNmethane.kgVSadd-1, respectively, and they were obtained at the substrate:inoculum ratio of 1:3 with a digestate recirculation frequency of four times a day. Digestate recirculation was the variable that influenced the concentration of free ammonia; the most frequently recirculated tests had lower concentrations (below 60 mgNH3.L-1). After the SSAD process, we identified a transfer of nutrients (N, P, K) from the solid phase to the liquid phase. The nutrient concentrations in the solid phase (Nout = 11 g.kg-1, Kout=5 g.kg-1 and Pout = 7 g.kg-1) indicated that the digested poultry litter still has potential for use in fertilization. In this study, it was estimated that 90 m³biogas.tonspoultrylitter-1 was generated using SSAD. Whereas 100 tons of poultry litter are produced after 12 production cycles, the biogas generation capacity reaches 9,000 m³/year. In this scenario, farmers can use biogas from poultry litter SSAD as an additional source of energy.n capacity reaches 9000 m³/year. In this scenario, farmers can use biogas from poultry litter SSAD as an additional source of energy.

Construction and evaluation of efficient solid-state anaerobic digestion system via vinegar residue

Anaerobic digestion is a feasible method for vinegar residue disposal. However, its treatment efficiency is limited significantly by the low degradation of lignocellulose. In this study, a stable and efficient anaerobic digestion system for vinegar residue was constructed. The continuous solid-state reactor achieved a specific production of 418 mL·g-1 VS biogas and 223 mL·g-1 VS methane at a high organic loading rate (OLR) of 5.83 gVS·(L·d)−1. The stable degradation of lignocellulose between 39.5% and 36.4% was key factor for stable anaerobic digestion at high OLR. This stability under optimum OLR was due to the increase in the degradation of hemicellulose, which compensated for the loss of lignocellulose degradation. The enrichment of microorganism related to lignocellulose hydrolysis and the stable microbial community structure ensured efficient anaerobic digestion under high OLR condition. Digestion efficiency can be further improved mainly by increasing cellulose degradation. This investigation provided the theoretical basis for practical application of this digestion system for solid vinegar residue treatment.

Molecular characterization of digestates from solid-state anaerobic digestion of pig slurry and straw using analytical pyrolysis

Straw and pig slurry Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion (SS-AD) was carried out in a pilot-scale apparatus using percolate recirculation technology. The digestion experiments were performed using 1, 2 and 4 recirculations per day; an additional experiment without percolate recirculation was used as control. The initial mixture and the digestates were analysed by means of chemical analyses and Pyrolysis–Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py–GC/MS), a direct analytical technique that allows investigating the changes in the organic matter (OM) composition of digestates and the effect of percolate recirculation frequency. Chemical analyses suggested a positive effect of percolate recirculation on OM degradation. The highest values of OM loss were found with 2 (26%) and 4 (31%) recirculation cycles per day, that also corresponded with the lowest values of the hydrophilic water extractable organic matter fraction (5.5 and 6.3% respectively). Py-GC/MS showed that the anaerobic digestion proceeded with progressive polysaccharide degradation (from c. 19% in the initial mixture to 10–8% with 2–4 recirculation cycles) and selective enrichment of lignin derived compounds (from c. 58% in the initial mixture to 67–69% with 2–4 recirculation cycles). In addition, a shift in the fatty acids distribution was observed with a decrease in the long/short chain ratio of fatty acid methyl esters. These results indicate that under our experimental conditions, percolate recirculation had a positive effect on the OM degradation. Also OM stabilization is observed with relative increases in recalcitrant lignin at the expense of the more liable polysaccharide fraction. This paper represents the first attempt to apply Py-GC/MS to evaluate the OM quality in digestates obtained by SS-AD of pig slurry and straw optimized by percolate recirculation.

Conversion of organic residue from solid-state anaerobic digestion of livestock waste to produce the solid fuel through hydrothermal carbonization

The solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) has promoted the development and application for biogas production from biomass which operate a high solid content feedstock, as higher than 15% of total solids. However, the digested byproduct of SS-AD can be used as a fertilizer or as solid fuel, but it has serious problems: high moisture content and poor dewaterability. The organic residue from SS-AD has to be improved to address these problems and to make it a useful alternative energy source. Hydrothermal carbonization was investigated for conversion of the organic residue from the SS-AD of livestock waste to solid fuels. The effects of hydrothermal carbonization were evaluated by varying the reaction temperatures within the range of 180-240℃. Hydrothermal carbonization increased the calorific value through the reduction of the hydrogen and oxygen contents of the solid fuel, in addition to its drying performance. Therefore, after the hydrothermal carbonization, the H/C and O/C atomic ratios decreased through the chemical conversion. Thermogravimatric analysis provided the changed combustion characteristics due to the improvement of the fuel properties. As a result, the hydrothermal carbonization process can be said to be an advantageous technology in terms of improving the properties of organic waste as a solid-recovered fuel product.

Optimization of Biogas Production from Rice Husk Waste by Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SSAD) Using Response Surface Methodology

Optimization of Biogas Production from Rice Husk Waste by Solid State Anaerobic Digestion (SSAD) Using Response Surface Methodology

Comparison of kinetic model for biogas production from corn cob

Energy demand increases every day, while the energy source especially fossil energy depletes increasingly. One of the solutions to overcome the energy depletion is to provide renewable energies such as biogas. Biogas can be generated by corn cob and food waste. In this study, biogas production was carried out by solid-state anaerobic digestion. The steps of biogas production were the preparation of feedstock, the solid-state anaerobic digestion, and the measurement of biogas volume. This study was conducted on TS content of 20%, 22%, and 24%. The aim of this research was to compare kinetic models of biogas production from corn cob and food waste as a co-digestion using the linear, exponential equation, and first-kinetic models. The result showed that the exponential equation had a better correlation than the linear equation on the ascending graph of biogas production. On the contrary, the linear equation had a better correlation than the exponential equation on the descending graph of biogas production. The correlation values on the first-kinetic model had the smallest value compared to the linear and exponential models.

Life cycle assessment of integrated solid state anaerobic digestion and composting for on-farm organic residues treatment

Driven by the gradual changes in the structure of energy consumption and improvements of living standards in China, the volume of on-farm organic solid waste is increasing. If untreated, these unutilized on-farm organic solid wastes can cause environmental problems. This paper presents the results of a life cycle assessment to compare the environmental impacts of different on-farm organic waste (which includes dairy manure, corn stover and tomato residue) treatment strategies, including anaerobic digestion (AD), composting, and AD followed by composting. The input life cycle inventory data are specific to China. The potential environmental impacts of different waste management strategies were assessed based on their acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), global warming potential (GWP), ecotoxicity potential (ETP), and resource depletion (RD). The results show that the preferred treatment strategy for dairy manure is the one that integrated corn stover and tomato residue utilization and solid state AD technologies into the system. The GWP of integrated solid state AD and composting was the least, which is -2900 kg CO2 eq/ t of dairy manure and approximately 14.8 times less than that of current status (i.e., liquid AD of dairy manure). Solid state AD of dairy manure, corn stover and tomato residues is the most favorable option in terms of AP, EP and ETP, which are more than 40% lower than that of the current status (i.e., AP: 3.11 kg SO2, EP: −0.94 kg N, and ETP: −881 CTUe (Comparative Toxic Units ecotoxicity)). The results also show that there is a significant potential for AP, EP, ETP, and GWP reduction, if AD is used prior to composting. The scenario analysis for transportation distance showed that locating the AD plant and composting facility on the farm was advantageous in terms of all the life cycle impact categories.

Role of soil in improving process performance and methane yield of anaerobic digestion with corn straw as substrate

Solid-state anaerobic digestion is widely used in lieu of liquid-stage anaerobic digestion for treating biowastes due to the former's advantages. However, unsatisfactory process performance and low methane yields inhibit the development of solid-state anaerobic digestion for treating lignocellulosic material. Soil, with the potential of inter-species electron transfer, buffer capacity, and nutritional elements for microbial growth, was used to improve the anaerobic digestion efficiency. At the same time, simultaneous NaOH treatment was adopted to simplify the lignocellulose treatment process. Results include daily methane yield enhancement and improved methane content. The maximum methane yield (344 L/kg volatile solid) was obtained at 1% NaOH for the group with soil addition; pH was maintained in a suitable range (6.6–7.8). The difference in total methane yield between a solid-state digester with no NaOH but with soil addition and a digester with 1% NaOH without soil addition was not significant, which indicates that soil stimulated the potential methane yield and could be an alternative for simultaneous NaOH treatment. The cations contained in soil is verified to be the main reason to improve the anaerobic digestion efficiency. Therefore, the discovery found in this study can be the reference for various biowastes conversion via solid-state anaerobic digestion.

Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion of Dairy Manure from a Sawdust-Bedded Pack Barn: Moisture Responses

Bedded pack manure has long been considered an unsuitable feedstock for conventional anaerobic digestion systems due to its high solids content. However, solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) provides an opportunity to generate methane from such high-solids feedstocks. This study was conducted to determine the influence of moisture content on the digestion of bedded pack dairy manure using SS-AD. Mixtures of sawdust bedding and dairy manure were prepared with moisture contents (MCs) of 70, 76, and 83% and digested at 37 °C for 85 days. The performance of digesters containing manure at 83% MC was 1.3 to 1.4-fold higher than that of digesters containing 70% MC manure in terms of volatile solids (VS) reduction and biogas production. VS reduction rates were 55 to 75% and cumulative methane yield ranged from 64 to 90 NmL (gVS)−1. These values are lower than those from SS-AD of fresh manure and this is likely due to the partial decomposition of biodegradable materials during the two to three-month period before the manure was removed from the barn. However, in terms of efficient management of farm odors and providing a renewable energy source for heating, SS-AD of bedded pack manure offers a potential alternative to the conventional composting systems currently in use.