Okoro-Shekwaga, C orcid.org/0000-0003-2198-2034, Ross, AB and Camargo-Valero, MA orcid.org/0000-0003-2962-1698 (2019) Improving the biomethane yield from food waste by boosting hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Applied Energy, 254. 113629. ISSN 0306-2619
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion of food waste is usually impacted by high levels of VFAs, resulting in low pH and inhibited methane production from acetate (acetoclastic methanogenesis); however, this could be harnessed for improving methane production via hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis (biomethanation). In this study, batch anaerobic digestion of food waste was conducted to enhance biomethanation by supplying hydrogen gas (H2), using a gas mixture of 5%-H2 and 95%-N2. The addition of H2 influenced a temporal microbial shift in substrate utilisation from dissolved organic nutrients to H2 and CO2 and was perceived to have enhanced the hydrogenotrophic methanogenic activity. As a result, with the release of hydrogen as degradation progressed (secondary fermentation) hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was further enriched. This resulted in an enhancement of the upgrading of the biogas, with a 12.1% increase in biomethane (from 417.6 to 468.3 NmL-CH4/gVSadded) and 38.9% reduction in CO2 (from 227.1 to 138.7 NmL-CO2/gVSadded). Furthermore, the availability of hydrogen gas at the start of the process promoted faster propionate degradation, by the enhanced activity of the H2-utilisers, thereby, reducing likely propionate-induced inhibitions. The high level of acidification from VFAs production helped to prevent excessive pH increases from the enhanced hydrogenotrophic methanogenic activity. Therefore, it was found that the addition of hydrogen gas to AD reactors treating food waste showed great potential for enhanced methane yield and biogas upgrade, supported by VFAs-induced pH buffer. This creates the possibility to optimise hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis towards obtaining biogas of the right quality for injection into the gas grid.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Applied Energy. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Biomethanation; Anaerobic digestion; Food waste; Hydrogen injection; Hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Aug 2019 10:01 |
Last Modified: | 12 Aug 2020 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113629 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:149382 |