Two-stage anaerobic digestion of tomato, cucumber, common reed and grass silage in leach-bed reactors and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors.

Anaerobic digestion of tomato, cucumber, common reed and grass silage was studied in four separate two-stage reactor configuration consisting of leach bed reactor (LBR) and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB). LBR studies showed that COD solubilization for cucumber and grass silage was higher (50%) than tomato (35%) and common reed (15%). Results also showed that 31-39% of initial TKN present in tomato and cucumber was solubilized in the leachates and 47-54% of the solubilized TKN was converted to NH(4)-N. The corresponding values for common reed and grass silage were 38-50% and 18-36%, respectively. Biomethanation of the leachates in UASB reactors resulted in methane yields of 0.03-0.14 m(3) CH(4) kg(-1)VS(fed) for the studied crop materials. Thus, high COD solubilization, high nitrogen mineralization and solubilization rates were feasible during anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic materials in a two-stage LBR-UASB reactor system.

[1]  P. Pavan,et al.  Thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion of cattle manure with agro-wastes and energy crops: comparison of pilot and full scale experiences. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[2]  Aijie Wang,et al.  Bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to hydrogen: Potential and challenges. , 2009, Biotechnology advances.

[3]  S. Heaven,et al.  Anaerobic digestion of maize in coupled leach-bed and anaerobic filter reactors. , 2008, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[4]  Jonatan Andersson,et al.  Evaluation of straw as a biofilm carrier in the methanogenic stage of two-stage anaerobic digestion of crop residues. , 2002, Bioresource technology.

[5]  J. Rintala,et al.  Laboratory investigations on co-digestion of energy crops and crop residues with cow manure for methane production: Effect of crop to manure ratio , 2007 .

[6]  F. Cecchi,et al.  Two-phase anaerobic digestion of a mixture of fruit and vegetable wastes , 1989 .

[7]  N. Carpita.  STRUCTURE AND BIOGENESIS OF THE CELL WALLS OF GRASSES. , 1996, Annual review of plant physiology and plant molecular biology.

[8]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater : supplement to the sixteenth edition , 1988 .

[9]  J. Rintala,et al.  Anaerobic digestion of grass silage in batch leach bed processes for methane production. , 2008, Bioresource technology.

[10]  Heijo Scharff,et al.  Effect of pH and VFA on hydrolysis of organic solid waste , 2000 .

[11]  P. Kaparaju,et al.  Effect of micro-aeration and leachate replacement on COD solubilization and VFA production during mono-digestion of grass-silage in one-stage leach-bed reactors. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[12]  M. Schindler,et al.  Pectins as mediators of wall porosity in soybean cells , 1988, Planta.

[13]  C. Gallert,et al.  Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion of source-sorted organic wastes: effect of ammonia on glucose degradation and methane production , 1997, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[14]  V. Gunaseelan.  Biochemical methane potential of fruits and vegetable solid waste feedstocks , 2004 .

[15]  Peter A. Troch,et al.  Fair and sustainable irrigation water management in the Babai basin, Nepal. , 2009, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[16]  J. Bertilsson,et al.  Effect of ensiling technology on protein degradation during ensilage , 2006 .

[17]  L Björnsson,et al.  Hydrolysis and microbial community analyses in two‐stage anaerobic digestion of energy crops , 2007, Journal of applied microbiology.

[18]  A. Lehtomäki,et al.  Two-Stage Anaerobic Digestion of Energy Crops: Methane Production, Nitrogen Mineralisation and Heavy Metal Mobilisation , 2006, Environmental technology.

[19]  I. S. Pretorius,et al.  Microbial Cellulose Utilization: Fundamentals and Biotechnology , 2002, Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews.

[20]  T. Asaeda,et al.  Growth performance of Phragmites australis in Japan: influence of geographic gradient , 2003 .

[21]  M. Jarvis.  Control of thickness of collenchyma cell walls by pectins , 1992, Planta.

[22]  M. Taherzadeh,et al.  Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Wastes to Improve Ethanol and Biogas Production: A Review , 2008, International journal of molecular sciences.

[23]  Sonia Heaven,et al.  Influence of inoculum to substrate ratio on the biochemical methane potential of maize in batch tests , 2006 .

[24]  J. Rintala,et al.  Anaerobic solubilisation of nitrogen from municipal solid waste (MSW) , 2003 .

[25]  P. Pullammanappallil,et al.  Single-stage, batch, leach-bed, thermophilic anaerobic digestion of spent sugar beet pulp. , 2008, Bioresource Technology.

[26]  R. Hodson,et al.  Preparation, Characterization, and Microbial Degradation of Specifically Radiolabeled [14C]Lignocelluloses from Marine and Freshwater Macrophytes , 1984, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[27]  R. R. Johnson,et al.  Digestibility of Forage Hemicellulose and Pectin by Rumen Bacteria in Vitro and the Effect of Lignification Thereon , 1962 .