TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of total solids content on biochar amended co-digestion of food waste and sludge
T2 - Microbial community dynamics, methane production and digestate quality assessment
AU - Johnravindar, Davidraj
AU - Kaur, Guneet
AU - Liang, Jialin
AU - Lou, Liwen
AU - Zhao, Jun
AU - Manu, M. K.
AU - Kumar, Rajat
AU - Varjani, Sunita
AU - Wong, Jonathan W.C.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - This study evaluates the impact of biochar addition on the performance of anaerobic co-digestion of food waste (FW) and sewage sludge at different total solids (TS) contents (2.5 %, 5.0 %, and 7.5 %). Biochar co-digestion improved hydrolysis and acidogenesis by neutralizing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) reducing its inhibitions (2.6-fold removal), which elevated the soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) degradation by 2.5 folds leading to a higher cumulative methane production compared to the control. This increase corresponded to an improvement of methane yields by ∼21 %−33 % (242–340 mL/gVSadd) at different TS contents. The biochar surface area offered substantial support for direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) activity, and biofilm-mediated growth of methanogens i.e., Methanosarcina, Methanosata, and Methanobrevibacter. The biochar-enriched digestate improved the seed germination index, and bioavailability of plant nutrients such as N, P, K, and NH4+–N. This study reports an improved biochar-mediated anaerobic co-digestion for efficient and sustainable FW valorization. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
AB - This study evaluates the impact of biochar addition on the performance of anaerobic co-digestion of food waste (FW) and sewage sludge at different total solids (TS) contents (2.5 %, 5.0 %, and 7.5 %). Biochar co-digestion improved hydrolysis and acidogenesis by neutralizing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) reducing its inhibitions (2.6-fold removal), which elevated the soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) degradation by 2.5 folds leading to a higher cumulative methane production compared to the control. This increase corresponded to an improvement of methane yields by ∼21 %−33 % (242–340 mL/gVSadd) at different TS contents. The biochar surface area offered substantial support for direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) activity, and biofilm-mediated growth of methanogens i.e., Methanosarcina, Methanosata, and Methanobrevibacter. The biochar-enriched digestate improved the seed germination index, and bioavailability of plant nutrients such as N, P, K, and NH4+–N. This study reports an improved biochar-mediated anaerobic co-digestion for efficient and sustainable FW valorization. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KW - Anaerobic co-digestion
KW - Biochar
KW - DIET
KW - Food waste
KW - Total solids content
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85134925534&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85134925534&origin=recordpage
U2 - 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127682
DO - 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127682
M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal
C2 - 35882316
SN - 0960-8524
VL - 361
JO - Bioresource Technology
JF - Bioresource Technology
M1 - 127682
ER -