Anaerobic co-digestion of high-strength organic wastes pretreated by thermal hydrolysis. (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Choi, Gyucheol; Kim, Jaai; Lee, Seungyong; Lee, Changsoo
• Is Part Of: Bioresource technology. Volume 257(2018)
• Page Start: 238
• Page End: 248
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: Anaerobic digestion -- Hydrogen sulfide -- Microbial community structure -- Pretreatment -- Thermal hydrolysis; Biomass -- Periodicals; Biomass energy -- Periodicals; Bioremediation -- Periodicals; Agricultural wastes -- Periodicals; Factory and trade waste -- Periodicals; Organic wastes -- Periodicals; Bioénergie -- Périodiques; Déchets agricoles -- Périodiques; Déchets industriels -- Périodiques; Déchets organiques -- Périodiques; Déchets (Combustible) -- Périodiques; 662.88
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.02.090
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-8524

Abstract

Highlights: A full-scale TH-AD plant was simulated in two lab-scale reactors run in parallel. TH pretreatment effectively solubilized a mixture of high-suspended-solids wastes. The reactors maintained efficient and stable performance at 20-d HRT for 8 months. FeCl3 addition reduced H2 S and greatly affected the microbial community structure. The reactors were highly resilient to interrupted feeding and temperature failure. Abstract: Thermal hydrolysis (TH) pretreatment was investigated for the anaerobic digestion (AD) of a mixture of high-strength organic wastes (i.e., dewatered human feces, dewatered sewage sludge, and food wastewater) at laboratory scale to simulate a full-scale plant and evaluate its feasibility. The reactors maintained efficient and stable performance at a hydraulic retention time of 20 days, which may be not sufficient for the mesophilic AD of high-suspended-solid wastes, despite the temporal variations in organic load. The addition of FeCl3 was effective in controlling H2 S and resulted in significant changes in the microbial community structure, particularly the methanogens. The temporary interruption in feeding or temperature control led to immediate performance deterioration, but it recovered rapidly when normal operations were resumed. The overall results suggest that the AD process coupled with TH pretreatment can provide an efficient, robust, and resilient system to manage high-suspended-solid wastes, supporting the feasibility of its full-scale implementation.