Anaerobic co-digestion of swine manure and crude glycerol derived from animal fat - Effect of hydraulic retention time

Crude glycerol (CG), an abundant by-product of bio-diesel production, has been identified as a suitable co-substrate for improving the biogas production of livestock manure through anaerobic digestion (AD). In this study, the potential of utilizing CG generated from the esterification of animal fats for biogas production was studied in both batch and continuous AD experiments, with emphasis on the importance of the hydraulic retention time (HRT). Batch experiments showed that the limiting step in the methane production rate during CG mono-digestion was the 1,3-propanediol uptake. Additionally, biochemical methane potential tests indicated that the addition of 1% w/w CG to swine manure-AD is more efficient in terms of percent of theoretical amount of methane obtained than the addition of 3% w/w. However, in continuous experiments, co-digestion of manure with 3% w/w CG did not exhibit any sign of inhibition within the HRTs tested (17–22 days). Moreover, a 222% increase of biogas productivity was observed with 3% CG supplementation at an HRT of 17 days, in contrast to a 146% increase at an HRT of 22 days. Based on this, and on the similar efficiency of soluble COD removal among the processes (ca. 93%), it was shown that it is possible to reduce the HRT without affecting negatively the efficiency of conversion of manure. Moreover, it was shown that CG from 2nd generation biodiesel based on animal fat, is a suitable feedstock for boosting the methane production of manure-based biogas plants

On the Effect of Aqueous Ammonia Soaking Pre-Treatment on Continuous Anaerobic Digestion of Digested Swine Manure Fibers

(1) Background: The continuously increasing demand for renewable energy sources renders anaerobic digestion as one of the most promising technologies for renewable energy production. Due to the animal production intensification, manure is being used as the primary feedstock for most biogas plants. Their economical profitable operation, however, relies on increasing the methane yield from the solid fraction of manure, which is not so easily degradable. The solid fraction after anaerobic digestion, the so-called digested fibers, consists mainly of hardly biodegradable material and comes at a lower mass per unit volume of manure compared to the solid fraction before anaerobic digestion. Therefore, investigation on how to increase the biodegradability of digested fibers is very relevant. So far, Aqueous Ammonia Soaking (AAS), has been successfully applied on digested fibers separated from the effluent of a manure-fed, full-scale anaerobic digester to enhance their methane productivity in batch experiments. (2) Methods: In the present study, continuous experiments at a mesophilic (38 °C) CSTR-type anaerobic digester fed with swine manure first and a mixture of manure with AAS-treated digested fibers in the sequel, were performed. Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 (ADM1) previously fitted on manure fed digester was used in order to assess the effect of the addition of AAS-pre-treated digested manure fibers on the kinetics of anaerobic digestion process. (3) Results and Conclusions: The methane yield of AAS-treated digested fibers under continuous operation was 49–68% higher than that calculated in batch experiments in the past. It was found that AAS treatment had a profound effect mainly on the disintegration/hydrolysis rate of particulate carbohydrates. Comparison of the data obtained in the present study with the data obtained with AAS-pre-treated raw manure fibers in the past revealed that hydrolysis kinetics after AAS pre-treatment were similar for both types of biomasses

Effect of in situ acids removal on mixed glucose and xylose fermentation by <i>Clostridium tyrobutyricum</i>

In the present study, the effect of potassium ions and increasing concentrations of glucose and xylose on the growth of a strain of Clostridium tyrobutyricum, adapted to wheat straw hydrolysate, was investigated. Application of continuous fermentation of a mixture of glucose and xylose and in situ acid removal by reverse electro enhanced dialysis (REED) was investigated as a method to alleviate potassium and end-product inhibition and consequently enhance the sugar consumption rates and butyric acid productivity. It was found that glucose and xylose were not inhibitory up to a concentration of 50 and 37 g L(−1) respectively, and that they were consumed at comparable rates when fermented alone. However, continuous fermentation of a mixture of glucose and xylose resulted in a significantly decreased xylose consumption rate compared to that of glucose alone, supporting the conclusion that C. tyrobutyricum has a lower affinity for xylose than for glucose. Potassium ions negatively affected the effective maximum growth rate of C. tyrobutyricum at concentrations higher than 5 g L(−1) exhibiting a non-competitive type of inhibition. Continuous fermentation of a glucose and xylose mixture with simultaneous acid removal by REED resulted in a two to threefold increase of the glucose consumption rate, while the xylose consumption rate was enhanced sixfold compared to continuous fermentation without in situ acid removal. Similarly, butyric acid productivity was enhanced by a factor of 2–3, while the yield remained unaffected

Comparison of Different Strategies for Selection/Adaptation of Mixed Microbial Cultures Able to Ferment Crude Glycerol Derived from Second-Generation Biodiesel

Objective of this study was the selection and adaptation of mixed microbial cultures (MMCs), able to ferment crude glycerol generated from animal fat-based biodiesel and produce building-blocks and green chemicals. Various adaptation strategies have been investigated for the enrichment of suitable and stable MMC, trying to overcome inhibition problems and enhance substrate degradation efficiency, as well as generation of soluble fermentation products. Repeated transfers in small batches and fed-batch conditions have been applied, comparing the use of different inoculum, growth media, and Kinetic Control. The adaptation of activated sludge inoculum was performed successfully and continued unhindered for several months. The best results showed a substrate degradation efficiency of almost 100% (about 10 g/L glycerol in 21 h) and different dominant metabolic products were obtained, depending on the selection strategy (mainly 1,3-propanediol, ethanol, or butyrate). On the other hand, anaerobic sludge exhibited inactivation after a few transfers. To circumvent this problem, fed-batch mode was used as an alternative adaptation strategy, which led to effective substrate degradation and high 1,3-propanediol and butyrate production. Changes in microbial composition were monitored by means of Next Generation Sequencing, revealing a dominance of glycerol consuming species, such as Clostridium, Klebsiella, and Escherichia