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Macêdo WV, Harpøth RD, Poulsen JS, de Jonge N, Fischer CH, Agneessens LM, Nielsen JL, Biller P, Rickers CK, Vergeynst L. Anaerobic digestion of wastewater from hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge and combined wheat straw-manure. Bioresour Technol 2024; 399:130559. [PMID: 38460566 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) shows promise for converting wet biomass waste into biofuel, but the resulting high-strength process water (PW) requires treatment. This study explored enhancing energy recovery by anaerobic digestion using semi-batch reactors. Co-digesting manure with HTL-PW from wheat straw-manure co-HTL yielded methane (43-49% of the chemical oxygen demand, COD) at concentrations up to 17.8 gCOD·L-1, whereas HTL-PW from sewage sludge yielded methane (43% of the COD) up to only 12.8 gCOD·L-1 and complete inhibition occurred at 17 gCOD·L-1. Microbial community shifts confirmed inhibition of methanogenic archaea, while hydrolytic-fermentative bacteria were resilient. Differences in chemical composition, particularly higher levels of N-containing heterocyclic compounds in PW of sewage sludge, likely caused the microbial inhibition. The considerable potential of combining HTL with anaerobic digestion for enhanced energy recovery from straw-manure in an agricultural context is demonstrated, yet sewage sludge HTL-PW requires more advanced approaches to deal with methanogenesis inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Williane Vieira Macêdo
- Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Aarhus University Centre for Water Technology (WATEC), Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Rune Dall Harpøth
- Danish Technological Institute, Teknologiparken, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jan Struckmann Poulsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark
| | - Nadieh de Jonge
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark
| | | | | | - Jeppe Lund Nielsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark
| | - Patrick Biller
- Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Aarhus University Centre for Water Technology (WATEC), Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Leendert Vergeynst
- Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Aarhus University Centre for Water Technology (WATEC), Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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Maegaard K, Garcia-Robledo E, Kofoed MVW, Agneessens LM, de Jonge N, Nielsen JL, Ottosen LDM, Nielsen LP, Revsbech NP. Biogas upgrading with hydrogenotrophic methanogenic biofilms. Bioresour Technol 2019; 287:121422. [PMID: 31085427 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogen produced from periodic excess of electrical energy may be added to biogas reactors where it is converted to CH4 that can be utilized in the existing energy grid. The major challenge with this technology is gas-to-liquid mass transfer limitation. The microbial conversions in reactors designed for hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis were studied with microsensors for H2, pH, and CO2. The H2 consumption potential was dependent on the CO2 concentration, but could partially recover after CO2 depletion. Reactors with 3-dimensional biofilm carrier material and a large gas headspace allowed for a methanogenic biofilm in direct contact with the gas phase. A high density of Methanoculleus sp. in the biofilm mediated a high rate of CH4 production, and it was calculated that a reactor filled with 75% carrier material could mediate a biogas upgrading from 50 to 95% CH4 within 24 h when an equivalent amount of H2 was added.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Maegaard
- WATEC, Section of Microbiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Emilio Garcia-Robledo
- WATEC, Section of Microbiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Biology, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain
| | - Michael V W Kofoed
- Biological and Chemical Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Laura M Agneessens
- Biological and Chemical Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Nadieh de Jonge
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Jeppe L Nielsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Lars D M Ottosen
- Biological and Chemical Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Lars Peter Nielsen
- WATEC, Section of Microbiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Niels Peter Revsbech
- WATEC, Section of Microbiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
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