The Influence of Biochar Augmentation and Digestion Conditions on the Anaerobic Digestion of Water Hyacinth

Jessica Quintana-Najera, A. John Blacker, Louise A. Fletcher, Douglas G. Bray and Andrew B. Ross
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Jessica Quintana-Najera: School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
A. John Blacker: Institute of Process Research and Development, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Louise A. Fletcher: School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Douglas G. Bray: School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Andrew B. Ross: School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: The augmentation of biochar (BC) during anaerobic digestion (AD) has been identified as a potential strategy for improving the AD of complex feedstocks. This study evaluates the influence of oak wood biochar 450 °C and fermentation conditions during the AD of the invasive aquatic plant, water hyacinth (WH). Factorial 2 2 design of experiments (DOE) allowed the evaluation of the effect of the crucial processing conditions, inoculum-to-substrate ratio (ISR) and biochar load. Further optimisation was performed to identify the best processing conditions for the AD of WH, at an ideal ISR of 1. The contour plots suggested that methane yield is favoured at biochar loads of ≤0.5%, whereas the production rate is favoured by increasing biochar loads. However, biochar addition offered no further improvement or significant effect on the digestion of WH. The subsequent AD of WH samples collected from different locations in India and Uganda exhibited variable biochemical methane potential (BMP) yields. BC addition had little effect on BMP performance, and in some cases, it even reduced the BMP. This study concludes that the amendment potential of biochar is influenced by digestion conditions and the substrate, particularly when working with complex substrates.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; water hyacinth; biochar; design of experiments (DOE); inoculum-to-substrate ratio (ISR) (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: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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