The Multifunctional Effect of Porous Additives on the Alleviation of Ammonia and Sulfate Co-Inhibition in Anaerobic Digestion

Christos A. Tzenos, Sotirios D. Kalamaras, Eleni-Anna Economou, George Em. Romanos, Charitomeni M. Veziri, Anastasios Mitsopoulos, Georgios C. Menexes, Themistoklis Sfetsas () and Thomas A. Kotsopoulos ()
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Christos A. Tzenos: Department of Hydraulics, Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Sotirios D. Kalamaras: Department of Hydraulics, Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Eleni-Anna Economou: QLAB Private Company, Research & Development, Quality Control and Testing Services, 57008 Thessaloniki, Greece
George Em. Romanos: Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Agia Paraskevi, 15310 Athens, Greece
Charitomeni M. Veziri: Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Agia Paraskevi, 15310 Athens, Greece
Anastasios Mitsopoulos: QLAB Private Company, Research & Development, Quality Control and Testing Services, 57008 Thessaloniki, Greece
Georgios C. Menexes: Department of Hydraulics, Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Themistoklis Sfetsas: QLAB Private Company, Research & Development, Quality Control and Testing Services, 57008 Thessaloniki, Greece
Thomas A. Kotsopoulos: Department of Hydraulics, Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: Ammonia and sulfide derived from the reduction of sulfate by the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are two of the most common inhibitors in anaerobic digestion. Zeolites and bentonites are characterized as porous materials able to adsorb both ammonia and sulfur compounds and seem to be promising candidates as additives in anaerobic digestion to counteract this co-inhibition. In this study, bentonite and zeolite 13X were subjected to alkali modification at different concentrations of NaOH to alter their physicochemical properties, and their effect on the alleviation of ammonia and sulfate co-inhibition in anaerobic digestion of cow manure was examined. The methane production in 13X treatments (13X without NaOH, 13X02-NaOH 0.2 M and 13X1-NaOH 1 M) was elevated by increasing the NaOH concentration in the modification step, resulting in a significance increase by 8.96%, 11.0% and 15.56% in 13X treatments compared to the treatment without additive. Bentonite treatments did not show the same behavior on the toxicity mitigation. The results appear to be influenced by the combined effect of 13X zeolites on the sulfur compounds adsorption and on the increase in pH and Na + concentration in the batch reactors.

Keywords: alleviation, ammonia and sulfate inhibition; anaerobic digestion; zeolite; bentonite (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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