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Title: Anaerobic co-digestion of sugarcane press mud with vinasse on methane yield

Journal Article · · Waste Management
 [1];  [2]
  1. Instituto Superior Politécnico “José Antonio Echeverría” (Cujae), Centro de Estudio de Ingeniería de Procesos (CIPRO), Calle 114 No. 11901 e/ Rotonda y Ciclovía, Marianao, CP 19390 La Habana (Cuba)
  2. Universidad de Sancti Spíritus “José Martí Pérez” (UNISS), Centro de Energía y Procesos Industriales (CEEPI), Avenida de los Mártires 360, CP 60100 Sancti Spíritus (Cuba)

Highlights: • Press mud and vinasse co-digestion was investigated. •Methane yield during co-digestion was 64% higher to mono-digestion. • Press mud and vinasse co-digestion increased process stability. - Abstract: The conversion efficiency of high solids waste digestion as sugarcane press mud (P) may be limited due to hydrolysis step. The option of co-digestion with vinasse, main liquid waste generated from ethanol production, was investigated under batch regime at mesophilic conditions (37.5 ± 1 °C) and the best mixture was evaluated under semicontinuous regime in stirred-tank reactors. The maximum values for methane yield in batch tests were for V{sub 75}/P{sub 25} and V{sub 50}/P{sub 50} mixtures (on basis of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) percentage added in the mixture), with an average value of 246 N mL CH{sub 4} g{sup −1} COD{sub fed}, which was 13% higher than that of press mud alone. A highest methane production rate of 69.6 N mL CH{sub 4} g{sup −1} COD{sub fed}{sup −1} d{sup −1} was obtained for the mixtureV{sub 75}/P{sub 25}. During the experiment carried out in CSTR reactors, the organic loading rate (OLR) was increased from 0.5 up to 2.2 g VS L{sup −1} d{sup −1}. Methane yields of 365 L CH{sub 4} kg{sup −1} VS and biogas productivities of 1.6 L L{sup −1} were obtained in co-digestion, which was 64% higher in comparison to mono-digestion. The performance of the process in mono-digestion was less stable than in co-digestion, with a significant fall of methane yield to 1.8 kg VS m{sup −3} d{sup −1}, and a partial inhibition of the methanogenic archaeas when the OLR was increased up to 2.2 kg VS m{sup −3} d{sup −1}. The co-digestion of vinasse with press mud is a good option for the treatment of streams at the alcohol-sugar industry.

OSTI ID:
22742134
Journal Information:
Waste Management, Vol. 68; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0956-053X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English