Pilot scale fermentation coupled with anaerobic digestion of food waste - Effect of dynamic digestate recirculation

Marco Gottardo, Federico Micolucci, David Bolzonella, Hinrich Uellendahl and Paolo Pavan

Renewable Energy, 2017, vol. 114, issue PB, 455-463

Abstract: The anaerobic digestion in double stage is a known and adopted system, but the process productivity and optimization still remain an aspect to investigate. The accumulation of organic acids (produced during fermentative metabolism) in the first stage generally decrease the pH below the optimal values (5.5). A pre-evaluation strategy by control charts for further pH control is proposed. The process combines in series the 1st Fermentation process and the 2nd Anaerobic Digestion process, using the recirculation of the anaerobic digestion effluent, rich in buffer agents, to control the pH in the 1st stage. The recycle ratio becomes a further operating parameter that should be properly managed. A proper management as dynamic recirculation flow allows to maintain the pH of the first phase to values higher than 5. Specific hydrogen production, specific methane production and volatile fatty acid production; 170 L/kgTVS at 40% H2, 750 L at 67% CH4 and 14 gCOD/L VFA were obtained respectively.

Keywords: Hydrogen; Methane; Volatile fatty acids; Process control strategy; Control chart; Multivariate analysis; Anaerobic digestion; Food waste (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148117306626
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:114:y:2017:i:pb:p:455-463

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2017.07.047

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides

More articles in Renewable Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().