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A robust, low-temperature, closed-loop anaerobic system for high-solid mixed farm wastes: advancing agricultural waste management solutions in Canada

Authors: Bele VGoyette BAn CAchouri IEChaib ORajagopal R


Affiliations

1 Sherbrooke Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2000 College Street, Sherbrooke, QC, J1M 0C8, Canada.
2 Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8, Canada.
3 Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada.
4 Sherbrooke Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2000 College Street, Sherbrooke, QC, J1M 0C8, Canada. rajinikanth.rajagopal@agr.gc.ca.

Description

This study investigates the effectiveness of low-temperature (20 ± 1 °C) anaerobic digestion (AD) for two organic multiple farm substrate combinations: Set 1 comprising chicken manure (CM), dairy manure (DM), and waste corn silage (CS) and Set 2 comprising CM, DM, pig manure (PM), and CS. Inoculum adaptation steps were carried out using CM and CM+DM for Set 1 and Set 2, respectively. Over three consecutive operating cycles spanning 245 days with increasing organic loads, 4.3 and 2.8 g VS L-1 d-1 for Sets 1 and 2 during Cycles 1 to 5.1 and 4.6 g VS L-1 d-1for Sets 1 and 2 during Cycle 3, a closed-loop two-stage liquid-solid AD system was employed, with performance assessed via stability ratios of short-chain volatile fatty acids and alkalinity. Results demonstrate that mono-digestion of CM with adapted inoculum yielded the highest biogas production of 424 ± 4 L over 77 days, indicating superior performance by Set 1 during Phase I, whereas a similar performance was observed during Phase 2, where Sets 1 and 2 exhibited highest specific methane yields of 0.233 ± 0.028 and 0.262 ± 0.004 L g-1 VSfed, respectively, over 68 days. Analysis of heavy metal concentrations in digestates revealed a significant decrease compared to initial raw substrate concentrations, highlighting their role as nutrients for microbial growth. This study, the first of its kind, highlights the potential of low-temperature AD systems to manage diverse organic residues/byproducts and offers insights into effective performance monitoring without compromising system integrity.


Keywords: Agricultural multi-substrateAnaerobic digestionHeavy metal concentrationsLow-temperatureMethane yieldPercolation-recirculation


Links

PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38777978/

DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33654-7