Methane Production by Co-Digesting Vinasse and Whey in an AnSBBR: Effect of Mixture Ratio and Feed Strategy

Journal Article · Tue Jan 15 04:00:00 EST 2019 · Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/S12010-018-2802-7· OSTI ID:22927907

Lovato, Giovanna; Albanez, Roberta; Triveloni, Marianne; Ratusznei, Suzana M.; Rodrigues, José A. D., ^[1]

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1. Mauá Institute of Technology (EEM/IMT), Mauá School of Engineering (Brazil)

The most common approach to deal with vinasse (sugarcane stillage) is fertigation, but this technique compromises soil structure and surrounding water bodies. A possible solution is to transport vinasse to local cheese whey producers and perform the co-digestion of these wastewaters together, reducing their organic load and generating bioenergy. Therefore, this study investigated the application of an AnSBBR (anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor) operated in batch and fed-batch mode, co-digesting vinasse and whey at 30 °C. The effect of influent composition and feeding strategy was assessed. In all conditions, the system achieved high organic matter removal (approximately 83%). Increasing the percentage of vinasse from 0 to 100% in the influent resulted in a decrease in methane productivity (76.3 to 51.1 molCH{sub 4} m{sup −3} day{sup −1}) and yield (12.7 to 9.1 molCH{sub 4} kgCOD{sup −1}), but fed-batch mode operation improved reactor performance (73.0 molCH{sub 4} m{sup −3} day{sup −1} and 11.5 molCH{sub 4} kgCOD{sup −1}). From the kinetic metabolic model, it was possible to infer that, at the best condition, methane is produced in a similar way from the acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic routes. A scheme of four parallel reactors with a volume of 16,950 m{sup 3} each was proposed in the scale-up estimation, with an energy recovery estimated in 28,745 MWh per month.

• OSTI ID: 22927907
• Journal Information: Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Journal Name: Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 187; ISSN ABIBDL; ISSN 0273-2289
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
CHEESE
DIGESTION
METHANE
ORGANIC MATTER
SOILS
STILLAGE
SUGAR CANE
WASTE WATER
WHEY