Source-Separated Industrial Wastewater Is a Candidate for Biogas Production through Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion is a potential treatment for industrial wastewater that provides valuable end-products, including renewable energy (biogas). However, waste streams may be too variable, too dilute at high volumes, or missing key components for stable digestion; all factors that increase costs and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Fermentation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/10/3/165 |
| _version_ | 1797241082817282048 |
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| author | Jake A. K. Elliott Christian Krohn Andrew S. Ball |
| author_facet | Jake A. K. Elliott Christian Krohn Andrew S. Ball |
| author_sort | Jake A. K. Elliott |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anaerobic digestion is a potential treatment for industrial wastewater that provides valuable end-products, including renewable energy (biogas). However, waste streams may be too variable, too dilute at high volumes, or missing key components for stable digestion; all factors that increase costs and operational difficulty, making optimisation crucial. Anaerobic digestion may benefit from process intensification, particularly the novel combination of high-strength source-separated wastewater to minimise volume, together with the use of biosolids biochar as a chemical and microbial stabiliser. This study investigates the stability, yield, and microbial community dynamics of the anaerobic digestion of source-separated industrial wastewater from a food manufacturer and a logistics company, using biosolids biochar as an additive, focusing on gas and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, process stability, and the microbial community using bench-scale semi-continuous reactors at 30- and 45-day hydraulic retention time (HRT). While gas yields were lower than expected, stability was possible at high HRT. Methane production reached 0.24 and 0.43 L day<sup>−1</sup> per litre reactor working volume at 30- and 45-day HRT, respectively, despite high VFA concentration, and was linked to the relative abundance of <i>Methanosarcina</i> in the microbial community. Interactions between substrate, VFA concentration, and the microbial community were observed. Biochar-assisted anaerobic digestion holds promise for the treatment of source-separated wastewater. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:17:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19670e8dddba4d61a9c1ff6726ddef78 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-5637 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:17:41Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fermentation |
| spelling | doaj.art-19670e8dddba4d61a9c1ff6726ddef782024-03-27T13:38:01ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372024-03-0110316510.3390/fermentation10030165Source-Separated Industrial Wastewater Is a Candidate for Biogas Production through Anaerobic DigestionJake A. K. Elliott0Christian Krohn1Andrew S. Ball2ARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, AustraliaARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, AustraliaARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, AustraliaAnaerobic digestion is a potential treatment for industrial wastewater that provides valuable end-products, including renewable energy (biogas). However, waste streams may be too variable, too dilute at high volumes, or missing key components for stable digestion; all factors that increase costs and operational difficulty, making optimisation crucial. Anaerobic digestion may benefit from process intensification, particularly the novel combination of high-strength source-separated wastewater to minimise volume, together with the use of biosolids biochar as a chemical and microbial stabiliser. This study investigates the stability, yield, and microbial community dynamics of the anaerobic digestion of source-separated industrial wastewater from a food manufacturer and a logistics company, using biosolids biochar as an additive, focusing on gas and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, process stability, and the microbial community using bench-scale semi-continuous reactors at 30- and 45-day hydraulic retention time (HRT). While gas yields were lower than expected, stability was possible at high HRT. Methane production reached 0.24 and 0.43 L day<sup>−1</sup> per litre reactor working volume at 30- and 45-day HRT, respectively, despite high VFA concentration, and was linked to the relative abundance of <i>Methanosarcina</i> in the microbial community. Interactions between substrate, VFA concentration, and the microbial community were observed. Biochar-assisted anaerobic digestion holds promise for the treatment of source-separated wastewater.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/10/3/165anaerobic digestionbiosolids biocharwastewatersource separationmicrobial community |
| spellingShingle | Jake A. K. Elliott Christian Krohn Andrew S. Ball Source-Separated Industrial Wastewater Is a Candidate for Biogas Production through Anaerobic Digestion Fermentation anaerobic digestion biosolids biochar wastewater source separation microbial community |
| title | Source-Separated Industrial Wastewater Is a Candidate for Biogas Production through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_full | Source-Separated Industrial Wastewater Is a Candidate for Biogas Production through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_fullStr | Source-Separated Industrial Wastewater Is a Candidate for Biogas Production through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Source-Separated Industrial Wastewater Is a Candidate for Biogas Production through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_short | Source-Separated Industrial Wastewater Is a Candidate for Biogas Production through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_sort | source separated industrial wastewater is a candidate for biogas production through anaerobic digestion |
| topic | anaerobic digestion biosolids biochar wastewater source separation microbial community |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/10/3/165 |
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