Hydrolysis Optimization of By-Products from the Potato Processing Industry and Biomethane Production from Starch Hydrolysates

Dimitra Theodosi Palimeri, Konstantina Papadopoulou, Apostolos G. Vlyssides and Anestis A. Vlysidis ()
Additional contact information
Dimitra Theodosi Palimeri: School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece
Konstantina Papadopoulou: School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece
Apostolos G. Vlyssides: School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece
Anestis A. Vlysidis: School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-20

Abstract: This study aims to investigate the use of Fenton reagents for the efficient hydrolysis of starch, an industrial by-product obtained from the potato processing industry. A full factorial design experiment (FFD) was conducted and a statistical model was developed for simulating the hydrolysis process. The most important factors were the hydrolysis temperature and the amount of H 2 O 2 followed by the interaction of FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O and temperature. At maximum levels of FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O (1.00g/L), H 2 O 2 (0.51 g/L), and temperature (70.0 °C), a 99.5% hydrolysis yield was achieved, with a carbohydrate content of 28.65 g/L. Furthermore, analysis of hydrolysis kinetics demonstrated that an increased concentration of FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O results in a decelerated rate of starch hydrolysis. Moreover, biodegradability tests were carried out to estimate the methane production potential from the produced hydrolysates. The specific methanogenic activity (SMA) was reached at 0.669 ± 0.014 g CH 4 -COD g −1 VSS day −1 proving the effectiveness of the hydrolysis process and highlighting the potential of industrial starch for bioenergy production. A preliminary cost analysis showed that a small investment for utilizing the starch in an existing wastewater treatment facility of a potato processing company becomes profitable before the end of the 3rd year, obtaining a net present value (NPV) 37.5% higher than that of the current utilization scenario.

Keywords: starch hydrolysis; waste valorization; biomethane production; anaerobic digestion; potato processing industry; Fenton reagents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/14860/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/14860/ (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:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:14860-:d:1259339

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

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