A comparative study on the alternating mesophilic and thermophilic two-stage anaerobic digestion of food waste

An alternating mesophilic and thermophilic two stage anaerobic digestion(AD) process was conducted. The temperature of the acidogenic(A) and methanogenic(M) reactors was controlled as follows: System 1(S1) mesophilic A-mesophilic M;(S2) mesophilic A-thermophilic M; and(S3)thermophilic A-mesophilic M. Initially, the AD reactor was acclimatized and inoculated with digester sludge. Food waste was added with the soluble chemical oxygen demand(SCOD) concentrations of41.4–47.0 g/L and volatile fatty acids of 2.0–3.2 g/L. Based on the results, the highest total chemical oxygen demand removal(86.6%) was recorded in S2 while S3 exhibited the highest SCOD removal(96.6%). Comparing S1 with S2, total solids removal increased by 0.5%; S3 on the other hand decreased by 0.1 % as compared to S1. However, volatile solids(VS) removal in S1, S2, and S3was 78.5%, 81.7%, and 79.2%, respectively. S2 also exhibited the highest CH4 content, yield, and production rate of 70.7%, 0.44 L CH4/g VSadded, and 1.23 L CH4/(L·day), respectively. Bacterial community structure revealed that the richness, diversity, evenness, and dominance of S2 were high except for the archaeal community. The terminal restriction fragments dendrogram also revealed that the microbial community of the acidogenic and methanogenic reactors in S2 was distinct. Therefore,S2 was the best among the systems for the operation of two-stage AD of food waste in terms of CH4production, nutrient removal, and microbial community structure.     

Long-term anaerobic digestion of food waste stabilized by trace elements

The purpose of this study was to examine if long-term anaerobic digestion of food waste in a semi-continuous single-stage reactor could be stabilized by supplementing trace elements. Contrary to the failure of anaerobic digestion of food waste alone, stable anaerobic digestion of food waste was achieved for 368 days by supplementing trace elements. Under the conditions of OLR (organic loading rates) of 2.19-6.64 g VS (volatile solid)/L day and 20-30 days of HRT (hydraulic retention time), a high methane yield (352-450 mL CH(4)/g VS(added)) was obtained, and no significant accumulation of volatile fatty acids was observed. The subsequent investigation on effects of individual trace elements (Co, Fe, Mo and Ni) showed that iron was essential for maintaining stable methane production. These results proved that the food waste used in this study was deficient in trace elements.