Biochemical methane potential of oil-extracted microalgae and glycerol in co-digestion with chicken litter

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 224; pp. 373 - 379
• Main Authors: Meneses-Reyes, José Carlos, Hernández-Eugenio, Guadalupe, Huber, David H., Balagurusamy, Nagamani, Espinosa-Solares, Teodoro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Acetates - metabolism; Anaerobiosis; Animals; Biodiesel residuals; Biofuels - analysis; Butyric Acid - metabolism; Chickens; Fatty Acids, Volatile - analysis; Glycerol; Glycerol - metabolism; Gompertz model; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Mesophilic; Methane - biosynthesis; Microalgae - metabolism; Models, Theoretical; Oil-extracted microalgae; Oils - isolation & purification; Principal Component Analysis; Propionates - pharmacology; Refuse Disposal - methods; VFAs profile; Waste Products; Oil-extracted microalgae; Gompertz model; Glycerol; Biodiesel residuals; Mesophilic; VFAs profile
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.11.012

[Display omitted] •Triple co-digestion with oil-extracted microalgae, glycerol and chicken litter.•Oil-extracted microalgae in co-digestion with chicken litter enhances BMP.•Maximum methane yield at C:N 6.94 in triple co-digestion.•Triple co-digestion M:G:CL (30:3:67) enhances BMP. The objective of this work was to evaluate the technical feasibility of using both oil-extracted microalgae (M) and glycerol (G) in co-digestion with chicken litter (CL), thereby improving biochemical methane potential (BMP). Different feedstock ratios of M (0–30%), G (0–3%) and CL (67–100%) were investigated to determine the best co-digestion condition under mesophilic conditions. According to the modified Gompertz model, the best BMP (131.1mLCH4gVSfed-1) was obtained with the triple co-digestion (M:G:CL) in a proportion of 30:3:67. This yielded a methane production rate (μm) of 3.3mLCH4gVSfed-1d−1 and a lag time (λ) of 17.4d. This treatment reduced chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 91.02% and increased the methane yield 15.8% with respect to the CL control.