Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Methane production from anaerobic co-digestion of sludge with fruit and vegetable wastes: effect of mixing ratio and inoculum type

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Methane production from wastes, like sewage sludge and fruit and vegetable wastes, has double benefits; first is minimizing these wastes and second is energy recovery. The goal of this research is to enhance methane yield from anaerobic co-digestion of primary sludge (PS) with fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW) in Egypt using different mixture and various inoculum types. Bio-chemical methane potential (BMP) tests were conducted in a 500-mL glass reactor under mesophilic conditions (35–37 °C). In the first BMP tests, six mixtures with PS to FVW ratios of 100:0, 70:30, 50:50, 30:70, 20:80, and 0:100 (based on volatile solids) were performed to obtain the best mixture for an optimal methane production. In the second BMP tests, three types of inoculum (fresh cow manure, activated sludge, and excess sludge) were used to identify the optimal inoculum for the greatest methane production. The highest methane yield was observed at PS to FVW ratio of 50:50 (141 mL/g VS), which was higher than the individual digestion of the other used feedstock. However, the minimum methane yield was recorded at PS to FVW ratio of 20:80. On the other hand, using the activated sludge as inoculum improved the methane yields from anaerobic co-digestion of PS with FVW compared with the other types of inoculum. Statistical analysis of the results was conducted using ANOVA test. The results conducted that the production of methane was improved by anaerobic co-digestion of PS with FVW and using the activated sludge as inoculum.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. APHA (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. American Public Health Association/American Water Works Association/Water Environment Federation, 552.

  2. Appels L, Baeyens J, Degrève J, Dewil R (2008) Principles and potential of the anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 34(6):755–781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bolzonella D, Pavan P, Battistoni P, Cecchi F (2005) Mesophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge: influence of the solid retention time in the wastewater treatment process. Process Biochemistry 40(3–4):1453–1460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bolzonella D, Pavan P, Battistoni P, Cecchi F (2006) Anaerobic co-digestion of sludge with other organic wastes and phosphorus reclamation in wastewater treatment plants for biological nutrients removal. Water Science and Technology 53(12):177–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bouallagui H, Ben Cheikh R, Marouani L, Hamdi M (2003) Mesophilic biogas production from fruit and vegetable waste in a tubular digester. Bioresource Technology 86(1):85–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bouallagui H, Touhami Y, Ben Cheikh R, Hamdi M (2005) Bioreactor performance in anaerobic digestion of fruit and vegetable wastes. Process Biochemistry 40(3–4):989–995

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bouallagui H, Marouani L, Hamdi M (2010) Performances comparison between laboratory and full-scale anaerobic digesters treating a mixture of primary and waste activated sludge. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 55(1):29–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Buekens A (2005) Energy recovery from residual waste by means of anaerobic digestion technologies. The Future of Residual Waste Management in Europe 2005:1–15

    Google Scholar 

  9. Cavinato, C., Bolzonella, D., Pavan, P., Fatone, F., & Cecchi, F. (2013). Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion of waste activated sludge and source sorted biowaste in pilot-and full-scale reactors. Renewable Energy 55:260–265

  10. De La Rubia MA, Raposo F, Rincón B, Borja R (2009) Bioresource technology evaluation of the hydrolytic – acidogenic step of a two-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion process of sunflower oil cake. Bioresource Technology 100(18):4133–4138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Demirbas A, Ozturk T (2005) Anaerobic digestion of agricultural solid residues. International Journal of Green Energy 1(4):483–494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Dennis OE (2015) Effect of inoculums on biogas yield. IOSR Journal of Applied Chemistry (IOSR-JAC) 8(2):05–08

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  13. Di Maria F et al (2014) Co-treatment of fruit and vegetable waste in sludge digesters. an analysis of the relationship among bio-methane generation, process stability and digestate phytotoxicity. Waste Management 34(9):1603–1608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Dong B, Liu X, Dai L, Dai X (2013) Changes of heavy metal speciation during high-solid anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. Bioresource Technology 131:152–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Elango D, Pulikesi M, Baskaralingam P, Ramamurthi V, Sivanesan S (2007) Production of biogas from municipal solid waste with domestic sewage. Journal of Hazardous Materials 141(1):301–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Elsayed M, Andres Y, Blel W, Gad A (2015) Methane production by anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and wheat straw under mesophilic conditions. International Journal Of Scientific & Technology Research 4(06). www.ijstr.org.

  17. Elsayed M, Andres Y, Blel W, Gad A, Ahmed A (2016) Effect of VS organic loads and buckwheat husk on methane production by anaerobic co-digestion of primary sludge and wheat straw. Energy Conversion and Management. 117:538–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Elsayed M, Andres Y, Blel W, Hassan R, Ahmed A (2019) Effect of inoculum VS, organic loads and I/S on the biochemical methane potential of sludge, buckwheat husk and straw. Desalination and Water Treatment 157:69–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Forster-Carneiro T, Pérez M, Romero LI (2007a) Composting potential of different inoculum sources in the modified SEBAC system treatment of municipal solid wastes. Bioresource Technology 98(17):3354–3366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Forster-Carneiro T, Pérez M, Romero LI, Sales D (2007b) Dry-thermophilic anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of the municipal solid waste: focusing on the inoculum sources. Bioresource Technology 98(17):3195–3203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Gómez X, Cuetos MJ, Cara J, Morán A, García AI (2006) Anaerobic co-digestion of primary sludge and the fruit and vegetable fraction of the municipal solid wastes. Conditions for mixing and evaluation of the organic loading rate. Renewable Energy 31(12):2017–2024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Habiba L, Hassib B, Moktar H (2009) Improvement of activated sludge stabilisation and filterability during anaerobic digestion by fruit and vegetable waste addition. Bioresource technology 100(4):1555–1560

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Hartmann H, Ahring BK (2006) Strategies for the anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste: an overview. Water Science and Technology 53(8):7–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Heo, Nam Hyo et al. (2003) Single-stage anaerobic codigestion for mixture wastes of simulated Korean food waste and waste activated sludge. In Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 567–79

  25. Hidalgo D, Martín-Marroquín JM (2014) Effects of inoculum source and co-digestion strategies on anaerobic digestion of residues generated in the treatment of waste vegetable oils. Journal of Environmental Management 142:17–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Hobson PN, Wheatley AD (1993) Anaerobic digestion: modern theory and practice. Elsevier applied Science, London

    Google Scholar 

  27. Koch K, Plabst M, Schmidt A, Helmreich B, Drewes JE (2016) Co-digestion of food waste in a municipal wastewater treatment plant: comparison of batch tests and full-scale experiences. Waste Management 47:28–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Krupp M, Schubert J, Widmann R (2005) Feasibility study for co-digestion of sewage sludge with OFMSW on two wastewater treatment plants in Germany. Waste Management 25(4):393–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Lastella G, Testa C, Cornacchia G, Notornicola M, Voltasio F, Sharma VK (2002) Anaerobic digestion of semi-solid organic waste: biogas production and its purification. Energy Conversion and Management 43(1):63–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Lawal AA, Dzivama AU, Wasinda MK (2016) Effect of inoculum to substrate ratio on biogas production of sheep paunch manure. Research in Agricultural Engineering 62(1):8–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Li L et al (2011) The influence of inoculum sources on anaerobic biogasification of NaOH-treated corn stover. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects 33(2):138–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Mata-Alvarez J, Macé S, Llabrés P (2000) Anaerobic digestion of organic solid wastes. an overview of research achievements and perspectives. Bioresource Technology 74(1):3–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Mudhoo A, Kumar S (2013) Effects of heavy metals as stress factors on anaerobic digestion processes and biogas production from biomass. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 10(6):1383–1398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Nansubuga I et al (2015) Enhancement of biogas potential of primary sludge by co-digestion with cow manure and brewery sludge. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering 8(4):86–94

    Google Scholar 

  35. Neves L, Oliveira R, Alves MMM (2004) Influence of inoculum activity on the bio-methanization of a kitchen waste under different waste/inoculum ratios. Process Biochemistry 39(12):2019–2024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Park ND, Thring RW, Garton RP, Rutherford MP, Helle SS (2011) Increased biogas production in a wastewater treatment plant by anaerobic co-digestion of fruit and vegetable waste and sewer sludge - a full scale study. Water Science and Technology 64(9):1851–1856

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Pavi S, Kramer LE, Gomes LP, Miranda LAS (2017) Biogas production from co-digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste and fruit and vegetable waste. Bioresource technology 228:362–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Saad MFM, Rahman NÁA, Yusoff MZM (2019) Hydrogen and methane production from co-digestion of food waste and chicken manure. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies 28(4):2805–2814

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Scano EA, Asquer C, Pistis A, Ortu L, Demontis V, Cocco D (2014) Biogas from anaerobic digestion of fruit and vegetable wastes: experimental results on pilot-scale and preliminary performance evaluation of a full-scale power plant. Energy Conversion and Management 77:22–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Sibiya N, Muzenda E(2014) A review of biogas production optimization from grass silage. 2028: 51–54.

  41. Siddiqui Z, Horan NJJ, Anaman K (2011) Optimisation of C:N ratio for co-digested processed industrial food waste and sewage sludge using the BMP test. International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering 9(1)

  42. Silvestre G, Rodríguez-Abalde A, Fernández B, Flotats X, Bonmatí A (2011) Biomass adaptation over anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and trapped grease waste. Bioresource Technology 102(13):6830–6836

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Sosnowski P, Wieczorek A, Ledakowicz S (2003) Anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and organic fraction of municipal solid wastes. Advances in Environmental Research 7(3):609–616

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Sosnowski P, Klepacz-Smolka A, Kaczorek K, Ledakowicz S (2008) Kinetic investigations of methane co-fermentation of sewage sludge and organic fraction of municipal solid wastes. Bioresource Technology 99(13):5731–5737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Turovskiy IS, Mathai PK (2006) Wastewater sludge processing. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken

    Book  Google Scholar 

  46. Velmurugan B, Arathy EC, Hemalatha R, Philip JE, Alwar Ramanujam R (2010) Anaerobic co-digestion of fruit and vegetable wastes and primary sewage sludge. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering 52(1):19–22

    Google Scholar 

  47. Wanga L et al (2014) Anaerobic co-digestion of kitchen waste and fruit/vegetable waste: lab-scale and pilot-scale studies. Waste Management 34(12):2627–2633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Ward AJ, Hobbs PJ, Holliman PJ, Jones DL (2008) Optimisation of the anaerobic digestion of agricultural resources. Bioresource Technology 99(17):7928–7940

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Yadvika et al (2004) Enhancement of biogas production from solid substrates using different techniques - a review. Bioresource Technology 95(1):1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Yavini TD, Chia AI, John A (2014) Evaluation of the effect of total solids concentration on biogas yields of agricultural wastes. International Journal of Environmental Sciences 3(2):70–75

    Google Scholar 

  51. Zahan, Zubayeda, Maazuza Z. Othman, and William Rajendram. 2016. Anaerobic codigestion of municipal wastewater treatment plant sludge with food waste: a case study. BioMed Research International 2016.

  52. Zhang W, Wei Q, Wu S, Qi D, Li W, Zuo Z, Dong R (2014) Batch anaerobic co-digestion of pig manure with dewatered sewage sludge under mesophilic conditions. Applied Energy 128:175–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.04.071

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the ministry of higher education and Aswan University (Egypt).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mahmoud Elsayed.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Elsayed, M., Diab, A. & Soliman, M. Methane production from anaerobic co-digestion of sludge with fruit and vegetable wastes: effect of mixing ratio and inoculum type. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 11, 989–998 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00785-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00785-z

Keywords

Navigation