Identifying targets for increased biogasproduction through chemical and organicmatter characterization of digestate from full‑scale biogas plants : what remains and why?

• Background: This study examines the destiny of macromolecules in different full-scale biogas processes. From previousstudies it is clear that the residual organic matter in outgoing digestates can have significant biogas potential,but the factors dictating the size and composition of this residual fraction and how they correlate with the residualmethane potential (RMP) are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to generate additional knowledge of thecomposition of residual digestate fractions and to understand how they correlate with various operational and chemicalparameters. The organic composition of both the substrates and digestates from nine biogas plants operating onfood waste, sewage sludge, or agricultural waste was characterized and the residual organic fractions were linked tosubstrate type, trace metal content, ammonia concentration, operational parameters, RMP, and enzyme activity.Results: Carbohydrates represented the largest fraction of the total VS (32–68%) in most substrates. However, inthe digestates protein was instead the most abundant residual macromolecule in almost all plants (3–21 g/kg). Thedegradation efficiency of proteins generally lower (28–79%) compared to carbohydrates (67–94%) and fats (86–91%).High residual protein content was coupled to recalcitrant protein fractions and microbial biomass, either from thesubstrate or formed in the degradation process. Co-digesting sewage sludge with fat increased the protein degradationefficiency with 18%, possibly through a priming mechanism where addition of easily degradable substrates alsotriggers the degradation of more complex fractions. In this study, high residual methane production (> 140 L CH4/kgVS) was firstly coupled to operation at unstable process conditions caused mainly by ammonia inhibition (0.74 mgNH3-N/kg) and/or trace element deficiency and, secondly, to short hydraulic retention time (HRT) (55 days) relative tothe slow digestion of agricultural waste and manure.Conclusions: Operation at unstable conditions was one reason for the high residual macromolecule content andhigh RMP. The outgoing protein content was relatively high in all digesters and improving the degradation of proteinsrepresents one important way to increase the VS reduction and methane production in biogas plants. Post-treatment

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Biokemi och molekylärbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Industriell bioteknik -- Bioenergi (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Industrial Biotechnology -- Bioenergy (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Anaerobic digestion

Degradation efficiency

Residual methane potential

Macromolecules

Full-scale biogas plants

Trace metals

Ammonia

Enzyme activity

Biogas

Digestate

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