Impact of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles on Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Cow Manure and Sewage Sludge

Tariq Alkhrissat, Ghada Kassab () and Mu’tasim Abdel-Jaber
Additional contact information
Tariq Alkhrissat: Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan
Ghada Kassab: Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
Mu’tasim Abdel-Jaber: Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: Supplementation with iron oxide nanoparticles has been suggested as a potential method for improving energy generation through anaerobic digestion, specifically by enhancing the rate of methane production. This investigation examined the effects of iron oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles (NPs) on anaerobic co-digestion of cow manure (CM) and sewage sludge (SS) through batch testing conducted under mesophilic conditions (35 °C) using a RESPIROMETRIC Sensor System 6 Maxi—BMP (RSS-BMP). The use of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles at doses of 40, 80, 120, and 160 mg/L (batches M1, M2, M3, and M5) was studied. The use of 160 mg/L Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles in combination with mixtures of different ratios (M4, M5, and M6) was further investigated. The findings indicate that the addition of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles at a concentration of 40 mg/L to anaerobic batches did not significantly impact the hydrolysis process and subsequent methane production. Exposing the samples to Fe 3 O 4 NPs at concentrations of 80, 120, and 160 mg/L resulted in a similar positive effect, as evidenced by hydrolysis percentages of approximately 94%, compared to 60% for the control (C2). Furthermore, methane production also increased. The use of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles at a concentration of 160 mg/L resulted in biodegradability of 97.3%, compared to 51.4% for the control incubation (C2). Moreover, the findings demonstrate that supplementing anaerobic batches with 160 mg/L Fe 3 O 4 NPs at varying mixture ratios (M4, M5, and M6) had a significant impact on both hydrolysis and methane production. Specifically, hydrolysis percentages of 94.24, 98.74, and 96.78% were achieved for M4, M5, and M6, respectively, whereas the percentages for the control incubation (C1, C2, and C3) were only 56.78, 60.21, and 58.74%. Additionally, the use of 160 mg/L Fe 3 O 4 NPs in mixtures M4, M5, and M6 resulted in biodegradability percentages of 78.4, 97.3, and 88.3%, respectively. In contrast, for the control incubation (C1, C2, and C3) biodegradability was only 44.24, 51.4, and 49.1%.

Keywords: co-digestion; cow manure; iron oxide nanoparticles; BMP system; sewage sludge (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/15/5844/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/15/5844/ (text/html)

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:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:15:p:5844-:d:1212236

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().