Improvement of Biomethane Potential by Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Sewage Sludge and Cocoa Pod Husks
Corresponding email: ygarces@ucm.edu.co
Published at : 21 Jul 2020
Volume : IJtech
Vol 11, No 3 (2020)
DOI : https://doi.org/10.14716/ijtech.v11i3.4079
Mora-Cortés, D., Garcés-Gómez, Y.A., Pacheco, S.I., 2020. Improvement of Biomethane Potential by Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Sewage Sludge and Cocoa Pod Husks. International Journal of Technology. Volume 11(3), pp. 482-491
| Daniela Mora-Cortés | Universidad Católica de Manizales, Environmental Engineering, Cra 23 No 60-63, 170001, Colombia |
| Yeison Alberto Garcés-Gómez | Universidad Católica de Manizales, Academic Unit in Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Cra 23 No 60-63, 170001, Colombia |
| Sebastian I. Pacheco | Universidad Católica de Manizales, Academic Unit in Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Cra 23 No 60-63, 170001, Colombia |
The objective of this study was to determine the efficiency and theoretical stability of the anaerobic digestion of the wastewater sludge obtained from a municipal wastewater treatment plant, using co-digestion with cocoa pod husks. The chemical structure of sewage sludge, including its high carbon and nitrogen content in carbohydrates and fats, gives it vast potential for biomethane generation. In this study, the main agri-food residues in the geographical area where the study was conducted that could be used for co-digestion were determined, and cocoa pod husks were found to be the best option based on elemental chemical analysis. The results demonstrate that the co-digestion of sewage sludge with cocoa pod husks can produce up to 555.7 L CH_4/Kg SV. In this article, we also propose a method for estimating biochemical methane potential (theoretical BMP) based on chemical equations and a systematic review of the most relevant research in BMP.
Anaerobic digestion; Biomethane potential (BMP), Cocoa pod husks; Methane production; Sewage sludge
Due to climate change and the
global energy crisis, the world is searching a green and carbon-neutral energy
source which could replace fossil fuels (Chin et al., 2019; Kusrini et al., 2019). The security of the energy supply,
particularly through renewable energy, and the reduction of CO2
The conventional wastewater treatment plant sludge line generates a large amount of waste after decanting the solids from the primary (sedimentation) and secondary (biological) treatments. All the sludge is concentrated through different methods such as flotation, thickening, centrifugation, and dewatering. Variations in the quantity and quality of the mixed sludge are primarily defined by domestic and industrial habits, as well as by the correct functioning of the different treatment units (Alrawashdeh et al., 2017; Agabo-García et al., 2019).
Different technologies are being widely studied to increase the potential of biomethane in anaerobic digestion processes (Ariyanto et al., 2017). These studies focused mainly on increasing the biodegradability of sludge by physicochemical, biological, and/or biochemical methods, thus improving the hydrolysis stage in the overall anaerobic digestion process (Tetteh et al., 2018). All these methods have led to higher recovery volumes and biomethane yields, even on a real scale, as a result of: (i) the rupture of the cell membranes of pathogens, which prevents competitiveness with microbial anaerobic digestion consortia; and (ii) the increase in available compounds, such as proteins, sugars, ammonia compounds, or volatile fatty acids that serve as food for anaerobic digestion consortia. A review of the most relevant research is presented in Table 1, taking into account that the articles mainly rely on the testing of the biochemical potential of domestic wastewater sludge in anaerobic systems and the different types of agricultural waste substrates used for co-digestion with this type of sludge. Parameters such as the type of reactor used and the inoculum/substrate ratio were also taken into account in the review.
Table 1 Summary of literature on methane production from sewage sludge and co-digestion with other substrates
The substrate ratio and concentration
levels for biogas production were determined by co-digesting municipal sewage
sludge and cocoa pod husks, an agro-food waste that was previously wasted in
the study region, by means of an iterative process. A C:N ratio was achieved
for high biogas production. The biogas yield demonstrating that this
co-digestion is an efficient alternative, partly solving two problems, namely,
the use of sludge which is mostly being deposited in the municipality's landfill
site and the use of waste from the municipality's cocoa production. Further
consideration should be given to increasing the representative sample with
various types and quantities of food waste resources for use as a co-substrate
from local production. The optimal conditions with stable biogas production
from co-digestion between agri-food waste and domestic wastewater developed in
this study will be used to expand biogas production plants on a commercial
scale in future engineering applications. The municipal council is planning to
develop a biogas plant to support familiar small industries in production with
the use of the green fuel results of this research.
This work was supported by the
Universidad Católica de Manizales with the research groups on Technological and
Environmental Development GIDTA, and Education and Educators Traning EFE.
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| R2-CE-4079-20200526223537.docx | Supplementary figures to the development of the research that due to the size of the document cannot be added to it |
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