Kraft Lignin Grafted with Polyvinylpyrrolidone as a Novel Microbial Carrier in Biogas Production

Agnieszka A. Pilarska, Agnieszka Wolna-Maruwka and Krzysztof Pilarski
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Agnieszka A. Pilarska: Institute of Food Technology of Plant Origin, Poznań University of Life Sciences, ul. Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Agnieszka Wolna-Maruwka: Department of General and Environmental Microbiology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, ul. Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Krzysztof Pilarski: Institute of Biosystems Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, ul. Wojska Polskiego 50, 60-637 Poznań, Poland

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-22

Abstract: The objective of this study was to verify the effect of kraft lignin as a microbial carrier on biogas/methane yield. An anaerobic co-digestion test process was carried out, in which confectionery waste was used with sewage sludge. At the first stage of the study pure lignin and lignin combined with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were subjected to an extensive physicochemical analysis. Their morphology, dispersion and adsorption properties were determined. The two materials were also subjected to thermal, spectroscopic and elementary analysis. The anaerobic digestion of the two substrates was carried out with and without the addition of the carrier, under mesophilic conditions and in periodic operation. The monitoring and analysis of the two essential parameters, i.e., pH and volatile fatty acids/total alkalinity (VFA/TA) ratio, revealed that the process was stable in both tests. Microbial and biochemical analyses showed intensified proliferation of eubacteria and increased dehydrogenase activity in samples prepared with the lignin + PVP material. The cell count increased by 46% in the stuffed wafers (WAF) + sewage sludge (SS) variant with the carrier, whereas the enzyme activity increased by 43%. Cell immobilisation noticeably improved the process efficiency. The biogas production increased from 722 m 3 Mg −1 VS to 850 m 3 Mg −1 VS (VS – volatile solids), whereas the methane production increased from 428 m 3 Mg −1 VS to 503 m 3 Mg −1 VS (by about 18%). The research proved that lignin could be used as a very effective microbial carrier in anaerobic digestion (AD).

Keywords: anaerobic co-digestion; waste wafers; sewage sludge; carrier materials; process efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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