Anaerobic digestion of solid wastes of cane sugar industry

Thesis/Dissertation · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:6565277

Dasgupta, A

The cane sugar manufacturing industry generates large quantities of lignocellulosic solid wastes, namely bagasse and cachaza. Bagasse is the fibrous residue of the cane after extracting the juice. Cachaza is the filter cake of the precipitated insoluble sugars. This research investigates the feasibility of anaerobic digestion of a mixture of bagasse and cachaza to produce methane. Two rations of bagasse-cachaza mix as substrates were investigated. The first one was 8:1 which represents the average ratio of bagasse and cachaza produced in a raw sugar mill. The second ratio investigated was 2.4:1 which represents the proportion of bagasse and cachaza wastes after 70% of the bagasse is burned in sugar mill boilers. An acclimated microbial culture for this substrate was developed. Organic Loading-Detention Time relationships were established for an optimum system. Pre-treatment techniques of the substrate were investigated as a means of enhancing the digestibility of the cellulosic substrate. Recirculation of the filtrate was evaluated as a method for increasing solids retention time without increasing hydraulic detention time. The kinetics of the digestion process for bagasse-cachaza mixed substrate was investigated and growth constants were determined. The bionutritional characteristics of the substrate used for the digestion were evaluated. Based on the results obtained, mass balances and preliminary economic analysis of the digestion system were developed.

• OSTI ID: 6565277
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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AGRICULTURAL WASTES
ALKANES
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
BAGASSE
BIOCHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
BIOCONVERSION
BIOSYNTHESIS
DIGESTION
DISPERSIONS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
GRAMINEAE
GRASS
HYDROCARBONS
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
INDUSTRY
KINETICS
MANAGEMENT
MASS BALANCE
METHANE
MICROORGANISMS
MIXTURES
OPTIMIZATION
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC WASTES
PLANTS
PROCESSING
PRODUCTION
REACTION KINETICS
SUGAR CANE
SUGAR INDUSTRY
SYNTHESIS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES