Biomethane potential test for rapid evaluation of anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge from multiple materials for a proposed large scale digester

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY DAM HA LUONG THANH BIOMETHANE POTENTIAL TEST FOR RAPID EVALUATION OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF SEWAGE SLUDGE FROM MULTIPLE MATERIALS FOR A PROPOSED LARGE-SCALE DIGESTER BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode: Full-time Major: Environmental Science and Management Faculty: International Training and Development Center Batch: 2012 - 2016 Thai Nguyen, 2016 DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of environmental Science and Management Student name Dam Ha Luong Thanh Student ID DTN1353110232 Biomethane potential test for rapid evaluation of anaerobic digestion Thesis Tiltle of sewage sludge from multiple materials for a proposed large-scale digester Supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen The Hung, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam Abstract This paper examines the biomethane potential from organic wastes The biomethane potential test is used to assess the suitability of different substrates for biomethane production A methodology for accurately estimating the biomethane potential from multiple heterogeneous organic waste substrates is sought Three main substrates were identified as possible substrates for biogas production, namely: pig manure, food waste, and beer processing waste The biomethane potential of these substrates ranged from as low as 82 L CH4 kgVS-1 for beer processing waste to as high as 112 L CH4 kgVS-1 for food waste treatment The objective of the paper is to suggest an optimum substrate mix in terms of biomethane yield per unit substrate for the proposed anaerobic digester This should maximise the yield of biomethane per capital investment Pig manure displayed the highest biomethane yield (13 Lkg-1) followed by food waste (3 Lkg-1) and beer processing waste (2 Lkg-1) Keywords biomethane potential test, anaerobic digestion, sewage sludge, biogas Number of papers 40 pages Date of submission: 21/09/2016 Supervisor’s signature: ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completion of my Bachelor Thesis at Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry has not been achieved by my efforts alone, but memorably contributed by many wonderful people to whom I must express my great thanks My sincere gratitude is offered to Assoc Prof Nguyen The Hung who gave me a precious opportunity to carry out this study along with his enthusiastic support throughout my thesis with his patience and knowledge whilst allowing me the room to work in my own way I attribute the level of my Bachelor degree to his encouragement and effort A word of thanks must be also recorded to Ms Anurag Deo and Ms Mette Axelsson Bjerg from Linköping University for their commitment and companionship as teammates throughout this study, especially during the time they constructed their Master Thesis of Biogas plant in Thai Nguyen Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) I would also like to offer special thanks to Mr Duong Manh Cuong (MS), lecturer in Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Technology, TUAF for his suggestions and assistance in setting up my experiment I am also grateful to all laboratory technicians and managers, Mrs Hoan, Mrs, Phuong, and Mr Lam from Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Technology, TUAF for their whole-hearted help during the time I carry out my experiment To my family, my heartfelt thanks are expressed for their unconditional love and belief DAM HA LUONG THANH iii TABLE OF CONTENS List of figures vi List of table vii List of abbreviation viii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research rationale 1.2 Research’s objectives .3 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Limitation .3 PART II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Sewage sludge 2.1.1 Type of sewage sludge 2.1.2 Component of sewage sludge 2.2 Anaerobic sludge digestion 2.2.1 Fundamentals of anaerobic digestion 2.2.2 Current status of anaerobic digestion process .10 2.2.3 Factors influencing the anaerobic digestion process .12 2.2.3.1 pH 13 2.2.3.2 Alkalinity 14 2.2.3.3 Temperature 14 2.2.3.4 VFAs .15 2.2.3.5 Ammonia 16 2.2.4 Nutrient requirements for anaerobic digestion .17 2.2.5 Anaerobic digestion in sewage sludge treatment 18 iv 2.3 Summary 20 PART III: MATERIALS AND METHODS .21 3.1 Materials .21 3.1.1 Inoculum 21 3.1.2 Substrates .21 3.2 Experimental methods 21 3.2.1 Biomethane potential test equipment 21 3.2.2 Experiment protocols .22 3.2.2.1 Analyzing total solid (TS), volatile solid (VS) and organic loading rate (OLR) 22 3.2.2.2 Preparing solution 23 3.2.2.3 Biomethane Potential (BMP) experiment .25 PART IV RESULT .28 4.1 Characteristics of inoculum and materials 28 4.2 Operation results 28 4.3 Methane potential per mass of substrate 30 PART V DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 32 5.1 Discussion 32 5.2 Conclusion 33 REFERENCES 34 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Anaerobic digestion process of organic maters (Thanh, N 2014) 10 Figure Factors influencing AD performance .13 Figure Analysimg CH4 concentration .26 Figure Monitoring biogas production 26 Figure Methane production curve of materials 30 vi LIST OF TABLE Table Typical constituents of different types of sludge .8 Table Summarises the optimal concentration and effects of these nutrients in the anaerobic digestion process 17 Table Advantages and disadvantages of anaerobic sludge digestion 19 Table Preparation of nutrient solution .23 Table Preparation of sodium hydrate solution 24 Table Characteristics of inoculum and materials 28 Table Bio-methane potential of substrates 29 Table Weighted average methane potential per kg of substrate 30 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATION AD : Anaerobic digestion BMP : Biomethane potential test ORL : Organic loading rate TS : Total solids VFAs : Volatile fatty acids VS : Volatile solids Ww : Wet weight WWTs : Wastewater treatment WWTPs : Wastewater treatment plans viii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research rationale In recent years, there are several techniques for the treatment and management of sewage sludge, including landfill, incineration, composting, and anaerobic digestion (AD) process Among them, AD is the most commonly used technique since biogas, which is a valuable form of bio-energy, can be extracted from sewage waste Anaerobic digestion is a process by which organic materials are naturally broken down into biogas and bio-fertilizer In this process involving several sequential biochemical stages, many different microorganisms participate in a complex web of interacting processes which result in the decomposition of complex organic compounds as carbohydrates, fats and proteins to the final products as methane and carbon dioxide This process occurs naturally in many environments with limited access to oxygen, for example in bogs and marshes, rice paddies and in the stomach of ruminants, such as cows Besides, it happens in the absent of oxygen naturally, or in sealed, free-oxygen tanks called anaerobic digesters AD of solid organic waste such as bio-waste, sludge, cattle manure, energy crops, and other biomasses, for bio-energy production is widely applied technologies The production of biogas in AD offers several advantages over the other alternatives These include biogas production, nutrient recovery, and reduction of waste organic content and pathogen agents Sewage sludge can be described as a byproduct mixture of solid and water from wastewater treatment (CIWEM, 1995) By applying several different treatment processes, the resulting sewage sludge types extremely differ in their characteristics Constituents of sewage sludge regarding to carbonhydrate, proteins, lipids are highly depended on their origin The presence of significant concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in sewage sludge make it possible for fertilizing soil because these elements are essential for plant growth Anaerobic digestion instability is resulted from the fluctuation in organic loading rate, heterogeneity of waste or excessive inhibitors Towards improving AD performance in biogas production and accelerating the microbial activities for higher quality of biosolids, several environmental conditions should be meticulously controlled Additionally, various studied have demonstrated that hydrolysis phase is a ratelimiting stage, and seriously impacts on the performance of AD At present, end-users in Vietnam, often have difficulties in controlling the technology efficiently, due to poor management competence (Jiang et al., 2011) This leads to production being inadequate in periods of high demand in low temperature regions during winter, and excessive during periods of high temperature and high production of excreta (Cu et al., 2012) There is thus a need to improve knowledge about biogas production potential using local biomass, in order to develop digesters adapted to the local environment and individual management schemes, thus ensuring production of the gas needed for cooking, heating and light (Vu et al., 2007; Cu et al., 2012) Hence, there is an associated need to review, develop and validate methods to assess biogas production which can be used in laboratories with limited access to analytical instruments Research carried out at laboratories in regions with limited access to high- Figure Materials to analyses CH4 concentration (a) (b) (c) Figure Monitoring and analysing biogas production (a) Measure total amount of gas produced (b) Collect biogas from digester (c) Analyses CH4 concentration 26 3) Every time of analyzing CH4 concentration, 10ml 7M NaOH solution is used, inject the gas collected from bottle throughout NaOH by using Dr Einhorn’s fermentation saccharometer with dilution tube Then report the concentration of CH4(%) in the gas produced 27 PART IV RESULT 4.1 Characteristics of inoculum and materials Table Characteristics of inoculum and materials Materials TS (%) VS (% TS) pH Inoculum 1,049561 56,6667 7,45 Pig manure 27,21356 80,7019 6,8 Beer waste 15,00174 95,079 6,97 Food waste 8,659650788 87,86878477 7,64 Table presents the determined characteristics of selected potential materials and inoculum for biogas production The pH value of all substrates and inoculum are at the needed pH range 6.5 – 7.8 (47) 4.2 Operation results The gas produced during BMP test, Methane yields are reported as the average of triplicate samples as shown in Table The bio-methane potential was calculated by these given formulas: V(methane) = [231* ((P + 2)* 0.0011635822+0.986) – 231]*CH4 Concentration BMP = ( ) ( ) The cumulative CH4 yield of pig manure, beer waste and food waste were presented in Figures A gradual generation of CH4 yield lasted 52 days for these batch tests All 28 these curves were S shaped, which was divided into three phase, namely initial, intermediate and final phases All three substrates reached the highest yield of methane at the day 48, then the methane potential tent to zero Table Bio-methane potential of substrates Substrate Methane CH4 produced Concentration (mL) (%) 54 25 46 93 65 34 52 82 166 87 53 112 Gas produced (mL) BMP (mLCH4/gVSadded) Pig manure Beer waste Food waste At the beginning of 16 days, all except compared and blank samples had lower biogas yield, the order of which was food waste>pig manure>beer waste The rate of biogas production began to increasing after 16 days fermentation.However, the yield of beer waste sample slightly decreased after 41 days, then increase again after day 45 and reach the maximum of 143mLCH4/gVSadded The ultimate order ofcumulative biogas yield was food waste > pig manure > beer waste Food waste was the substrate giving the highest yield (112 mLCH4/gVSadded) among three substrates studied, which followed by pig manure and beer waste (93 and 82 mL CH4/g VSadded) corresponding However, the rates of methane production differ significantly according to the type of wastewater and various mixing ratio of co- 29 digestion The typical composition of methane is 55-75% (Karellas et al., 2010) The maximum percentage of methane gas obtained from all three substrate in this experiment ranges from 53 to 68%, which is in the typical range (Karellas et al., 2010) 250 BMP (mL Ch4/gVSadded) 200 150 Beer waste Pig manure 100 Food waste 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 Time (Days) Figure Methane production curve of materials 4.3 Methane potential per mass of substrate Table Weighted average methane potential per kg of substrate VS Substrate mLCH4/gVSadded (% total wet weigh) Methan yield (L/kg wet weigh) Pig manure 15,73071576 80,91819177 13 Beer waste 1,883015742 91,3040409 Food waste 2,968521587 110,805928 30 Typically for an operator of an anaerobic digester, the input substrate is best described in terms of wet weight (ww) or actual weight arriving at the facility Methane production is best understood in terms of L of methane per kg of substrate delivered to the facility The methane potential per kg of substrate is outlined in Table The pig manure is the highest yield substrate per kg of wet weight (13 L CH4/ Kg ww) followed by the food waste and the beer waste (3 and L CH4 /Kg ww respectively) 31 PART V DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Discussion The experiment were carried out for 52 days, the biogas production started immediately at all reactors and reach their maximum cumulative methane value after 48 days After 48 days of observation, the methane production tent to decrease However, this phenomenon is predictable dueto the stationary phase of microorganism growth (Torres-Castillo et al., 1995) A wide range of co-digestion with food waste and various substrate such as beer processing waste, pig manure has been considered as potential sources for methane production In the initiating stage of fermentation, beer waste sample had the similar speed of biogas production but with normal cumulative biogas production The reason might be the nearly neutral zymotic fluid in the end, inhibition effect occurred after 16 days fermentation to methanogens rather than acidification generated by acetic acid bacteria, which led to the low biogas production efficiency (82mL cumulative biogas yield) Pig manure sample had a faster speed at the beginning, and continue increasing its biogas production, and then came up to the peak of biogas efficiency It might be because the mixed anaerobic fermentation bacteria could better adapt to this zymotic fluid with the organic loading conditions, which could breed in abundance and cooperate with methanogens to convert organism from the zymotic fluid The methane‐producing curve of pig manure sample was similar to beer waste, both of which appeared dead time from day 11th to 16th, then produced biogas with higher speed, and ultimately reached 191mL in the 45th day As a result, food waste sample havingthe top speed of biogas production in the initiating stage as well as the largest 32 biogas yield, and was significantly better than pig manure and beer waste samples account of biogas production efficiency and cumulative biogas production, which presentedimportant references for reasonable adjustment to the organic Increasing amount of substrate in the mixture ratio can improve the biogas potential production However, too large amount of materials in digesters can cause the biogas potential production to decrease because of the overload organic loading rate, the microorganisms in the system cannot consume all the food Food waste shows higher methane production and biogas yield than beer waste and pig manure These results may be concluded that the food waste is an easily biodegradable 5.2 Conclusion The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of the biogas yield performance in biogas production using various parameters The main parameters in this study are the raw materials, the mixing and the temperature The effect of sludge and solid content to biogas yield was studied by performing the BMP batch experiments The BMP results as presented in this paper suggest that pig manure, food waste and beer processing waste effluent sludge are all potentially high methane yielding feedstocks However food waste in particular were deemed to 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DTN1353110232 Biomethane potential test for rapid evaluation of anaerobic digestion Thesis Tiltle of sewage sludge from multiple materials for a proposed large-scale digester Supervisor Assoc Prof Dr... dairy wastewater, the conventional anaerobic reactors are generally nominated for treatment Currently, variety studies of dairy wastewater treatment have shown a wide range of application of anaerobic. .. more advanced reactors applied for AD treatment (Ward, A. J., et al, 2008) The evolution of AD applications was also confirmed by a broad range of potential substrates for this process Anaerobic