Combined thermal hydrolysis pretreatment and anaerobic co-digestion of waste activated sludge and food waste

Amr Ismail, Farokh laqa Kakar, Elsayed Elbeshbishy and George Nakhla

Renewable Energy, 2022, vol. 195, issue C, 528-539

Abstract: In this study, the impact of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) on the mono- and co-digestion of thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) and food waste (FW) was carried out at temperatures of 150, 170, 190, and 210 °C and volumetric ratios of 90:10, 70:30, and 50:50 in batch anaerobic tests. THP enhanced solubilization, reduced volatile suspended solids (VSS) and the particle size of TWAS as the temperature increased showing optimal improvements at 170 °C. THP showed no significant impact on FW with only marginal improvements at 150 °C. Increasing the temperature beyond 170 °C for TWAS and 150 °C for FW deteriorated anaerobic biodegradability forming refractory compounds. Co-digestion improved methane yields and kinetics as the contribution of FW increased. Co-digestion of thermally pretreated TWAS with FW improved the methane yields by 27% and kinetics by 29% at 170 °C with no synergism. Co-digestion of thermally pretreated FW with TWAS improved methane yields by 15% and kinetics by 25% at 150 °C, with improvements up to 21% in synergy. THP of the mixed feedstocks improved methane yields by 53% and kinetics by 92% at 170 °C, with improvements becoming less pronounced with the increase in the volume of FW and temperature.

Keywords: Co-digestion; Thermal hydrolysis pretreatment; Methane yields; Gompertz; Kinetics; Synergy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:195:y:2022:i:c:p:528-539

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2022.06.042

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