Effect of Biochar on Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Untreated Sewage Sludge with Municipal Organic Waste under Mesophilic Conditions

Joisleen Ramírez, Euclides Deago and Arthur Mc Carty James Rivas ()
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Joisleen Ramírez: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Panama City 0819-07289, Panama
Euclides Deago: Sistema Nacional de Investigación (SNI), Clayton, City of Knowledge Edf. 205, Panama City 0819-10280, Panama
Arthur Mc Carty James Rivas: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Panama City 0819-07289, Panama

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological process that occurs in the limited presence of oxygen. This process involves various difficulties during the operation, such as acidification and increased concentration of volatile fatty acids, which can inhibit methane production. Therefore, in this work, the impact of biochar on the co-digestion of untreated sludge and residual biomass under mesophilic conditions was studied. For the production of biochar, the gasification process was used at different temperatures: 759 °C (BL), 798 °C (BM), and 888 °C (BH). This biochar was added in concentrations of 0 g/L, 3.33 g/L, and 6.67 g/L at the beginning of the co-digestion process. The results showed that a concentration of 6.67 g/L with BH biochar increased the PBM by 18% compared to the control sample and reduced the chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 88%. In addition, there was a reduction of volatile fatty acids (VFA) of 42.75%. Furthermore, FTIR analysis demonstrated that biochar has appropriate functional groups for this process. These data suggest a good interaction of biochar with the mixture of sludge and municipal waste, indicating that biochar can improve the anaerobic co-digestion of untreated sludge and municipal waste.

Keywords: biochar; sewage sludge; anaerobic digestion; mesophilic conditions; methane; chemical oxygen demand (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: 2024
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