The Impact of Sewage Sludge-Sweet Sorghum Blends on the Biogas Production for Energy Purposes

Hubert Prask, Małgorzata Fugol, Arkadiusz Dyjakon (), Liliana Głąb, Józef Sowiński and Alena Whitaker
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Hubert Prask: Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
Małgorzata Fugol: Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
Arkadiusz Dyjakon: Department of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
Liliana Głąb: Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland
Józef Sowiński: Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland
Alena Whitaker: Biological Systems Engineering and Global Resource Systems, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: The paper presents research on the impact of adding various forms of sorghum to sewage sludge on the anaerobic digestion process. The use of liquid sewage sludge alone in biogas plants at wastewater treatment plants is inefficient due to the low total solid (dry matter) content of this substrate. The tests revealed that the production of methane in biogas is low and amounted to 17.9% (105.4 Nm 3 ?Mg ?1 , VS—volatile solid). Therefore, other substrates should be blended with sewage sludge to increase the total solid of the batch. Sorghum silage, sorghum pomace, and sorghum juice were added to the sewage sludge in various proportions during the research. As a result, the improvement of the biogas process, the stabilization of the biogas production curve, as well as the increase in methane yield were observed. The most biogas and methane were obtained from a mixture of sorghum juice (5%) and sewage sludge (664.8 Nm 3 ?Mg ?1 VS and 53.9%, respectively). Biogas production from other substrates based on sorghum and sewage sludge ranged from 457.4 to 588.8 Nm 3 ?Mg ?1 VS. For a mixture of juice (7%) and sewage sludge, the batch was acidified, and biogas production was only 281.5 Nm 3 ?Mg ?1 VS. Studies have shown that intelligent blending of an alternative raw material (compared to traditional maize silage) with sewage sludge allows for similar biogas yields while maintaining a stable anaerobic digestion process.

Keywords: sorghum; sewage sludge; blends; anaerobic digestion; biogas yield; biogas composition (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 (1)

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