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The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of the addition of garden waste (GW) on the performance of food waste (FW) anaerobic digestion. In this regard, a bench scale experiment was performed via biochemical methane potential test. The reactors were composed of flasks with a total volume of 310 mL and a useable volume of 120 mL, containing the waste mixtures in the different studied conditions. All reactors were incubated under 36 °C. A factorial design was used to evaluate the influence of three factors on methane production: inoculum and substrate ratio (I:S), volatile solid (VS) content of the mixture and type of substrate. The results indicated that the condition referred to an I:S ratio of 1:1, higher VS content (VSmix) and only FW as a substrate achieved the higher methane production and differed significantly from the others. This combination resulted in 67.5% of VS removal, 509 NmL of cumulative CH4 and a specific methane yield of 159 NmLCH4 gVS−1. The results obtained in this research indicated that the addition of GW on the anaerobic digestion of FW did not positively influence the methane production.

The Circular and Green Economy principles is inspiring new approaches to municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs) design and operation. Recently, an ever-growing interest is devoted to exploring the alternatives for switching the WWTPs from being able to ‘simply’ removing contaminants from water to biorefinery-like plants where energy and material can be recovered. In this perspective, both wastewater and residues from process can be valorised for recovering nutrients (N and P), producing value added products (i.e. biopolymers), energy vectors and biofuels (i.e. bio-H2, bio-CH4 and bioethanol). As an additional benefit, changing the approach for WWTPs design and operation will decrease the overall amount of landfilled residues. In this context, the present research is aimed at evaluating the CH4 production potential of MWW screening units’ residues. While such a stream is typically landfilled, the expected progressive increase of biodegradable matter content due to the ban on single-use plastic along with the boost of bioplastics makes the investigation of different biochemical valorisation routes more and more interesting from an environmental and economical perspective. Thus, a full-scale data collection campaign was performed to gain information on screening residues amount and properties and to analyse the relationship with influent flowrate. The most relevant residue properties were measured, and lab-scale tests were carried out to evaluate the bio-CH4 potential.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) under psychrophilic temperature has only recently garnered deserved attention. In major parts of Europe, USA, Canada and Australia, climatic conditions are more suited for psychrophilic (20 ℃) rather than mesophilic (35 - 37 ℃) and thermophilic (55 - 60 ℃) AD. Low temperature has adverse effects on important cellular processes which may render the cell biology inactive. Moreover, cold climate can also alter the physical and chemical properties of wastewater, thereby reducing the availability of substrate to microbes. Hence, the use of low temperature acclimated microbial biomass could overcome thermodynamic constraints and carry out flexible structural and conformational changes to proteins, membrane lipid composition, expression of cold-adapted enzymes through genotypic and phenotypic variations. Reduction in organic loading rate is beneficial to methane production under low temperatures. Moreover, modification in the design of existing reactors and the use of hybrid reactors have already demonstrated improved methane generation in the lab-scale. This review also discusses some novel strategies such as direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET), co-digestion of substrate, bioaugmentation, and bioelectrochemical system assisted AD which present promising prospects. While DIET can facilitate syntrophic electron exchange in diverse microbes, the addition of organic-rich co-substrate can help in maintaining suitable C/N ratio in the anaerobic digester which subsequently can enhance methane generation. Bioaugmentation with psychrophilic strains could reduce start-up time and ensure daily stable performance for wastewater treatment facilities at low temperatures. In addition to the technical discussion, the economic assessment and future outlook on psychrophilic AD are also highlighted.

Anaerobic digestion is a well-established technology for energy production and to diminish the environmental impact of different types of organic residues, which are mainly produced from human activities (processing food) but also from other recent activities related to energy generation processes (biofuel production). In the present study, mango organic residues: mango peel (MP) and mango seed (MS), and microalgal residue biomass (MRB) were co-digested in different proportions using a mixture design. The optimized mixture proportions of 60:20:20% of MP, MS and MRB, respectively, were determined by applying the simplex-centroid method to reach the highest biochemical methane potential (BMP); additionally, the mixture with the lowest BMP was selected (40:20:40%). The effects of thermal, physical and biological pretreatments of the selected mixtures were evaluated in order to improve its BMP. However, any pretreatment showed an improvement for the mixture 60:20:20, whereas the mixture 40:20:40 achieved an increment of 160.1, 72.5 and 96.4%, when the substrates were pretreated by thermal, physical and biological, respectively. The mixture optimization of these substrates shows an alternative way to reduce the environmental impact, due to their potential use in co-digestion process for biogas production.

Co-digestion is a well-established strategy to maximise the capacity of anaerobic digestion in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Many tools have been developed to optimise the blend composition. However, the logistics associated with each component of the blend remain a relatively unexplored field, which can yield significant planning challenges. In this paper, an ant colony optimisation based approach is proposed to address these challenges. The proposed algorithm maximises an objective function composed of a first term related to the quality of the sludge and a second term related to the distance between the sludge generator and the anaerobic co-digester. The algorithm successfully optimises the blend composition by considering the related logistics, achieving an optimum blend with an approximately 18% volume of co-substrate. The approach presented here has been used to plan co-digestion using real data from an actual sanitation network composed of 13 WWTPs in the area of the Besos river basin in Catalonia, and an optimised co-digestion planning strategy with a waste management cost reduction of 77% was obtained

The use of poultry manure (PM) in anaerobic digestion applications at high PM proportions is very limited due to its high nitrogen content since high levels of ammonia in the feedstock can lead to unstable and sub-optimal anaerobic digestion operation. This study investigated three methods to improve methane potential from PM at high PM proportions: (1) co-digestion of PM with a mixed substrate (MS) of a cheese factory and coffee-ground wastes at PM:MS ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100; (2) two-stage anaerobic digestion of PM and MS at PM:MS ratios of 100:0, 75:25, and 50:50, and (3) a novel post-hydrolysis ammonia stripping at pH 10 and 55 °C. The results indicated that co-digestion increased the methane potential in the samples due to reduced ammonia levels. A two-stage anaerobic digestion system further improved the methane potential by 21 and 41% in the cases of PM:MS at 100:0 and 75:25, while no improvement was observed in the case of PM:MS at 50:50. Post-hydrolysis ammonia stripping under the tested conditions achieved 79.2, 69, and 78.6% ammonia removal in PM:MS of 100:0, 75:25, and 50:50 and improved methane potential by 200, 150, and 64% when compared with the untreated samples.

Microalgae are a non-food grade, fast-growing, and non-land competitive biomass with relatively high energy content. The high lipid and mineral contents of microalgae render it beneficial for the production of biofuels and value-added products. The complete energy-effective harnessing of microalgae potentials concerning biodiesel production is faced with drawbacks because of the energy-intensive steps required to harvest and dry microalgae. The limitations have impelled the search for alternative and low-cost utilization of microalgae in wet form for biofuel production. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is among the wet techniques for the valorization of microalgae that is gaining immense research attention because of its simplicity. Also, the products can be recycled to reduce material costs. This review is focused on the recent trends and comparison of the AD process to maximize energy recovery from microalgae biomass and co-digestion of microalgae waste coupled to biodiesel production (after lipid extraction), respectively. The yield of methane gas in these two processes is compared and the pros and cons of biogas production using microalgae biomass and microalgae waste considering that the former produces biofuels and the later value-added products are discussed.

This work investigated the potential of generating biogas from mono-digestion of various substrates such as food and fruit waste (e.g., durian shell, dragon fruit peel and pineapple peel) and co-digestion in different combinations of a co-substrate as food waste as well as different types of fruit waste (durian shell, dragon fruit peel and pineapple peel). The mixture of food waste and fruit waste ratio varied as follows: 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75, which was based on weight. The batch experiments were carried out using 125 ml anaerobic digesters and were incubated for 50 days. For a mono-substrate, food waste produced the highest amount of methane gas (60.63 ± 1.02 ml/gvs) followed by durian shell (34.93 ± 1.30 ml/gvs), pineapple peel (31.70 ± 1.60 ml/gvs), and dragon fruit peel (30.12 ± 1.20 ml/gvs), respectively. The highest amount of methane gas came from food waste mixed with durian shell (FW75:D25), and it was on a higher level than food waste mixed with dragon fruit peel (FW75:DF25) and pineapple peel (FW75:P25). The highest methane gas production of co-digestion which was observed at the proportion of food waste and durian shell was 75:25 and produced higher content of methane gas than the highest methane gas production of mono-digestion (food waste) according to the high organic compound and optimum pH value in the system. The results showed that the co-digestion of durian shell and food waste improved methane production and reduced the startup time compared with their mono-digestion. On the other hand, pineapple peel was not suitable for co-digestion with food waste due to a decreasing pH value in the system.

There has been an increasing interest in continuous base-load low-carbon renewable energy generation in the United States. Several technologies have been developed to convert biomass into energy, a...

Anaerobic digestion found limited use in sludges from industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). So, it is of interest to assess the biodegradability and co-digestion performance of industrial sludges of biological origin alone and when mixed with municipal sludge. In this study, sludge from two different organized industrial districts (OIDs) and textile industry WWTPs are individually mixed with municipal sludge with and without ultrasound pretreatment to investigate their energy production potential and digestibility using biochemical methane potential tests. Sludges were used at different mass ratios in reactors with F/M ratio of 1. During operation, biogas amount and methane percentage were measured. Before and after reactor operation, total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and pH were measured as performance indicators of digestion. Methane production potential was highest in reactors containing only municipal sludge and lowest containing only industrial sludge. The specific methane production normalized with COD removed for OID I, OID II and textile sludges were 0.13 L/g, 0.11 L/g and 0.11 L/g, respectively; whereas average specific methane production for municipal sludge was 0.31 L/g. COD, TS and VS reductions were lower in industrial sludges compared to domestic sludge. The co-digestion reactors with mixed industrial and municipal sludge performed in accordance with the proportion of two sludges. Ultrasonication improved the digestion performance. Although adding industrial sludge reduced the observed biogas amount to lower than that expected, results show that it is possible to co-digest some industrial sludges with municipal sludge in closely coordinated additions (about

The disposal of large quantities of tobacco stalks and animal manures generated annually is among the serious challenges faced in China, especially the former, as its toxic composition (nicotine) can induce the risk of healthy impairment during tradition treatment process. Anaerobic digestion (AD) may be an efficient technique for tobacco stalks. Nevertheless, the impact of nicotine in tobacco stalks upon AD is still unclear so far. Thus, a simulated AD experiment using glucose with different nicotine concentrations was implemented, suggesting a nicotine concentration of more than 4% (w/w) could inhibit AD. The nicotine component in tobacco stalks would not be an inhibitor on AD because its content was far below 4%. Meanwhile, in order to efficiently treat abundant tobacco stalks and manure wastes at the same time, untreated and alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP)-pretreated tobacco stalks were co-digested with three typical manures, including pig manure (PM), chicken manure (CM), and dairy manure (DM), to investigate their digestion performance. Co-digestion of pretreated tobacco stalks and PM at 1:4 ratio exhibited the highest methane production of 397.2 mL/g VS and had a synergistic effect. This study provides valuable guidance for simultaneously converting these two wastes in future AD applications.

A search for alternatives economically viable and environmentally sound to the world energy demand, stimulated the research in the field of anaerobic digestion, as a form of renewable energy and the anaerobic co-digestion is an alternative to use different types of residues, including food wastes. Therefore, this article presents an analysis of the scientific advances realized of the period of 2015 to 2018 in terms of anaerobic co-digestion, with emphasis on the use of different food residues, especially fruit and vegetable wastes, a different configuration of reactors, and kind of operational conditions used. A description of environmental factors affecting the process efficiency and the biogas generation based on substrate characteristics is presented in this review since these factors play an important role in the biogas yield and determine the metabolic conditions of the microorganism growth. Therefore, research should focus on the anaerobic digestion process balance, to identify optimal operating conditions through the use and valorization of wastes. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This study uses a new approach for the recycling of plant nutrients by co-digesting sewage sludgewith fly ash from a wood combustion. Sewage sludge and fly ash both are enriched with nutrientsof the wastewater resp. wood, which makes these products an enhanced source for recycledfertilizers. The effects of the ash addition to the anaerobic digestion are studied in several labscale experiments including effects on the gas production and microbial activity. Following that,the fertilizing qualities of the digestate are evaluated by plant growth experiments. The resultsshow that the fertilizing qualities of the digested sludge were improved by the ash addition.Next to this, gas production results show that the methane production was not affected by theash addition, while the total gas release was reduced. The sulphur addition by the ashstimulated sulphate reducing bacteria. The sulphate reducing bacteria did not markedly inhibitthe methanogens. Validerad;2022;Nivå 2;2022-05-06 (hanlid)

The present study evaluates the influence of kitchen wastes on animal manures via anaerobic digestion for biogas production. The digestion was done using a digester with a capacity of 5L. The digester was loaded with the slurry of wastes prepared by mixing the wastes with water in ratio 1:1, and operated at mesophilic temperature of 37 ± 2°C for 30 days. The co-digestion of kitchen wastes with poultry droppings produced highest biogas yield (814.0 ml/kg VS fed) and the least (365.84 ml/kg VS fed) was from the co-digestion of kitchen wastes with the mixture of poultry droppings and cow dung. Composition analysis of the biogas showed the highest methane content (63.1%) from kitchen wastes and the lowest (56.2%) from co-digestion of kitchen wastes with poultry droppings. The pH range for optimum biogas production varied between 5.25 and 7.5. The study concluded that biogas yield from co-digestion of substrates, among other factors depends on the composition of participating substrates.

Modelling and optimisation of biogas production from different substrate mixtures is lagging behind in research and development. Current biogas production processes are not fully exploiting co-dige...

The pretreatment effects and synergistic effects of anaerobic co-digestion of pretreated corn stover (CS) with chicken manure (CM) were studied. Results showed that the NaOH-H2O2 pretreatment effect on CS was better than urea pretreatment in terms of anaerobic digestion promotion. The highest cumulative methane yield of 332.7 mL/g VS added was obtained from the CS (NaOH-H2O2 pretreated)/CM ratio of 1:3, and the highest cumulative methane yield of 319.7 mL/g VS added was obtained from the CS (urea pretreated)/CM ratio of 1:2. Synergistic effects were found in CS (NaOH-H2O2 pretreated)/CM ratios of 2:1, 1:2, 1:3 and CS (urea pretreated)/CM ratios of 1:1, 1:2. Synergistic effect was not found at CS (unpretreated)/CM ratios of 1:2 and 1:3. Pretreatment of CS can produce synergistic effect on anaerobic co-digestion and increase cumulative methane yield by 6.54–24.65%. Among the four kinetic models, modified Gompertz model was best fitted in describing the methane production during anaerobic co-digestion (R2 = 0.9845–0.9988).

Dry anaerobic digestion (AD) has advantages over wet AD in treating high-solid organic wastes like livestock and food wastes, but an elevated total solids (TS) content would affect the AD performances. In this study, methane production of digesters co-digesting pig manure (PM) and food waste (FW) at different TS contents (R1, TS 5%; R2, TS 10%; R3, TS 15%; and R4, TS 20%) was assessed. The results showed the specific methane yield had no significant difference with the increase of TS contents from 5% to 15% (278.8-291.7 NmL/g VSadded), while it was reduced at a 20% TS content (259.8 NmL/g VSadded). Two peaks of total volatile fatty acids and daily methane production were observed in the high-solid digesters (R2-R4), while only one peak occurred in wet AD (R1). A new kinetics model was developed to describe the two-peak methane production behavior at high TS contents. The analysis on the microbial community structure clearly showed the different evolutions of methanogenic pathways in low and high solids content systems. In dry AD (R4), there was a general shifting from the acetoclastic pathway, to mixotrophic pathway and hydrogenotrophic pathway, with the dominance of mixotrophic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens.

Using high-strength wastes, such as grease trap waste mixture (GTWM) from multiple commercial facilities, as a co-substrate in anaerobic digestion can contribute to a significant increase in methane production. However, challenges such as long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) accumulation, sludge flotation, washout and scum formation can lead to digester failure. In this study, the optimal operating condition to achieve the highest methane production from an anaerobic, semi-continuous flow, mesophilic co-digester at a solids retention time of 20 days was determined. The ratio of GTWM/sludge was increased based on volatile solids (VS) concentration from 10% to 50% in 10% increments. A 40% GTWM/sludge ratio was determined to be optimum in which up to 22%, 200% and 68% improvements in VS removal, daily biogas production and specific methane production, respectively, were observed with respect to control utilizing sludge only. Beyond a 40% GTWM/sludge, the anaerobic co-digester experienced failure and addition of biochar to mitigate LCFA inhibition to failing co-digester could not recover the process. Digester LCFA concentrations were also measured during stable and unstable digester operations.

Process instability with consecutive low methane production are common challenges of the anaerobic digestion (AD) of municipal wastes. In the present study, the co-digestion of sewage sludge and municipal biopulp was investigated at batch and continuously fed digesters. At batch tests, the highest methane yield for co-digestion (467 ± 17 mLCH4/gVS) was achieved when biopulp contributed to 80% of organic matter content and sludge the remaining 20%. At continuous mode operation, co-digestion achieved 0.91 ± 0.11 L/(L·d) methane productivity, while mono-digestion of sludge achieved 0.62 ± 0.05 L/(L·d). Potassium inhibition was investigated at the most efficient co-digestion scenario and was found that the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) occurred at 8 g-K+/L. Subsequently, the effect of K+ was investigated at different scenarios at continuous operation. Simulations based on BioModel described the inhibitory effect of K+ by introducing non-competitive inhibition of methanogens. Simulation results confirmed the strongly inhibitory effect of potassium to the AD process.

The objective of this study was to determine the efficiency and theoretical stability of the anaerobic digestion of the wastewater sludge obtained from a municipal wastewater treatment plant, using co-digestion with cocoa pod husks. The chemical structure of sewage sludge, including its high carbon and nitrogen content in carbohydrates and fats, gives it vast potential for biomethane generation. In this study, the main agri-food residues in the geographical area where the study was conducted that could be used for co-digestion were determined, and cocoa pod husks were found to be the best option based on elemental chemical analysis. The results demonstrate that the co-digestion of sewage sludge with cocoa pod husks can produce up to555.7 L CH_4/Kg SV. In this article, we also propose a method for estimating biochemical methane potential (theoretical BMP) based on chemical equations and a systematic review of the most relevant research in BMP.

Production of electricity, heat and fuel are important for today’s social and economic growth. Biogas produced by anaerobic co-digestion is an alternative, carbon-neutral, renewable fuel that can be generated from local, low-cost organic materials. Co-digestion of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and cow manure, was performed with a designed laboratory anaerobic fermentation system at 39°C ± 2°C. Co-digestion was conducted with 100% cow manure as a basis, and cow manure and water hyacinth ratios of 25%:75%:, 50%:50%, and 25%:75% for complete water hyacinth plants, water hyacinth roots and water hyacinth leaves fractions. Biogas production per gram volatile solid for anaerobic digested cow manure was between 134 ml to 355.59 ml. Co-digestion of cow manure and water hyacinth showed the highest average biogas production per gram volatile solids for complete water hyacinth and water hyacinth root mixture ratios of 25% cow manure and 75% of water hyacinth and water hyacinth roots yielding 273.01 ml and 462.63 ml respectively. The least biogas per gram volatile solids produced during co-fermentation was for complete water hyacinth and water hyacinth root with a ratio of 75% cow manure and 25% water hyacinth and water hyacinth root, yielding 163.77 ml and 250.28 ml respectively. Water hyacinth leave mixture at 50% cow manure and 50% water hyacinth leaves had the lowest average biogas production of 172.54 ml per gram volatile solids. The highest biogas production of 283.55 ml per gram volatile solids was achieved for a mixture of 75% cow manure and 25% water hyacinth leaves. The biogas composition without CO2 showed a biogas content for the cow manure between 54 and 65%. The application of co-digestion utilizing cow manure and water hyacinth as a feedstock could help minimize the negative environmental impact of water hyacinth and help to restore biodiversity, water quality and habitat of infested sites.

One of the simplest methods for increasing productivity in biogas production is co-digestion. Co-digestion leads to more biogas yield as well as more nutrient bioavailability. This study reports th...

This paper examined both experimental and a new modelling test for biogas production based on Co-Digestion Ratio (CDR) of vegetable peel (VP) with cow dung (CD) without external inoculum. For this, vegetable peel was used as a substrate and cow dung was used as a co-substrate. Reactors in triplicate were prepared. The vegetable peel concentrations were 12, 8, 6 and 4 g VS/l with the same cow dung concentration (4 g of VS/l) which corresponds to a CDR of 3:1, 2:1, 1.5:1 and 1:1. A new mathematical model corresponding to the biotech anaerobic digestion process based only on the (CDR) and (VS) was implemented under Matlab Simulink. The experimental results indicate that the optimal cumulative methane production (CMP) of 2000 ml was generated in the reactor containing a (CDR) of 3:1 which corresponds to a methane yield of 170 ml CH4/ g VS. i.e., an improvement between 23 and 26% comparing to all other CDRs . The experimental results were conformed by the new mathematical model. After applying the invented new idea by converting the constants (Rm, L and Gm) into functions (Rm =f1 (CDR), L=f2(CDR) and Gm = f3 (VS)) and relating them to each other using the Gompertz relation. The new model was able to predict the methane produced using only two inputs: VS and CDR. While in the literature studies, which were used Gompertz relationship for kinetic modelling, the constants must be recalculated each time as a new model, although the substrates used are the same, only the composition is different. Analysis of the variance (ANOVA) between the experimental and modelling results showed that there is no statistically significant difference, with a significance level of 0.05. Finally, the invented new idea can be a key to another different research that uses the same substrate.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an established method that has been extensively utilized for waste management, waste treatment, and biogas production. Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) is regarded as a practical approach to address substrate characteristics and system optimization issues. The distinction between AcoD and mono-digestion is that AcoD has a higher organic loading and significant substrate composition variation. There are many factors involved in AcoD which affect the biogas plant’s production ability and performance. Using response surface methodology (RSM) to forecast the optimal conditions for maximum biogas output, this article provides an overview of the different operational parameters in the AcoD process, modeling of the AcoD process, and overall process optimization. Standard software used for AcoD process simulation are Aspen Plus, SuperPro Designer, BioWin, CFD, and MATLAB. Review addresses design, development, and optimization frameworks for biogas production systems that take numerous aspects into account. The most significant AcoD optimization parameters include temperature, co-substrate concentration, inoculum ratio (percent), and C/N ratio.

The energy sector is an essential part of a country’s economy – it drives innovation and advances in industrialisation. Coal is the primary source of energy in South Africa. Coal contributes 95% of energy production; coal-fired power also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and is thus a hazard to human health and the environment. This calls for an energy mix that is renewable, sustainable, and affordable and that is carbon neutral (climate action). We investigated the potential of anaerobic mono-and co-digestion of goat manure, chicken manure, potato peels, maize pap, and cow manure inoculum for mesophilic recovery of renewable energy using the biomethane potential test. The substrates were characterised through proximate and ultimate analyses to determine the composition preferable for mono- and co-digestion. The key considerations in the determination of both the yield and production rate of methane from digestion of biomass are the substrate composition and characterisation. A high percentage of volatile solids favoured optimum biomethane production as highly volatile components provide microbes with balanced nutrients that enhance metabolic processes to produce biomethane. The mono-digestion process produced lower biomethane than did co-digestion. Higher production of biomethane by co-digestion was due to the balance of the micronutrients and macronutrients that favoured microbial metabolism and regulation of pH. Significance: The results highlight the need for appropriate techniques in combining energy and waste management. Biogas could provide solutions for some of South Africa’s energy necessities, particularly in rural areas that have abundant biogas.

[ES] Actualmente, la sostenibilidad del sector porcino depende de su capacidad para responder a la elevada demanda de productos ganaderos derivada del crecimiento de la población, adaptándose a los cambios en los contextos económico y político, y mejorando su rendimiento medioambiental mediante la mitigación de su impacto ambiental. En este contexto, el uso de subproductos agroindustriales ofrece materias primas alternativas en producción animal, con una menor carga ambiental asociada, en forma de piensos para el ganado, fuente de compuestos bioactivos o materias primas útiles en la producción de bioenergía. Esta tesis doctoral pretende evaluar el uso de subproductos agroindustriales mediterráneos como ingredientes en piensos para el ganado porcino o como co-substratos para la producción de biogás. Con este objetivo, se diseñaron y realizaron cuatro ensayos para evaluar el uso de subproductos de la industria del aceite de oliva y del zumo de naranja en alimentación porcina, evaluando su valor nutricional y las consecuencias de su inclusión sobre el rendimiento y la salud de los animales, la calidad del producto final y las emisiones de gases de los purines. Además, se realizó un ensayo para evaluar el efecto de cuatro sustratos agrícolas sobre el potencial bioquímico de metano (BMP) en co-digestión anaerobia con purines. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de los ensayos de valor nutricional indican que las tortas de aceituna y las pulpas de naranja ensayadas pueden ser incluidas en la dieta con cambios asociados en la excreción de nutrientes que conducen a modificaciones en las emisiones potenciales de amoníaco y BMP de los purines. En cuanto a los subproductos de la torta de aceituna, el ensayo de valor nutricional con tortas de aceituna crudas (COC) y parcialmente desgrasadas (PDOC) mostró que ambas tortas son fuentes apreciables de fibra insoluble, pero tienen un valor energético limitado (11.2 y 7.4 MJ/kg MS para COC y PDOC respectivamente) y un bajo valor como fuente de proteínas. En cambio, las pulpas de naranja deshidratadas (DOP) y ensilada secada al sol (ESDOP) ensayadas son una fuente de energía relevante (14.2 y 13.2 MJ/kg MS para DOP y ESDOP respectivamente) con valor añadido debido a su contenido en fibra soluble. En los ensayos de emisiones in vitro, los subproductos ensayados generaron una disminución en la excreción de N en la orina y, en el caso de la pulpa de aceituna, un aumento de la excreción de materia seca en heces. La emisión de amoniaco por kg de purín disminuyó con la inclusión de torta de aceituna y pulpa de naranja, mientras que el BMP por animal y día se vio negativamente afectado por la inclusión de torta de aceituna obteniendo un mayor BMP con estos subproductos. En cuanto a los ensayos de rendimientos productivos, la PDOC y la DOP pueden incluirse en la dieta hasta 120 y 240 g/kg respectivamente, sin efectos negativos en el caso de la PDOC y efectos menores para la DOP sobre los rendimientos productivos, la composición corporal y la calidad de la canal. La inclusión de PDOC y DOP no afectó a los recuentos microbianos ni al volumen, la composición y la emisión global de gases de los purines. Además, se observaron efectos beneficiosos sobre la grasa subcutánea con la inclusión de PDOC, mejorando su concentración en ácido oleico. La co-digestión anaerobia de subproductos agrícolas y purines mejora el BMP de la mezcla de sustratos en comparación con la digestión única de purines. Se obtuvieron mayores valores de BMP con la adición de los sustratos agrícolas, lo que confirma el mejor rendimiento de los sistemas en co-digestión a niveles de inclusión adecuados. Las combinaciones con tomate, pimiento y melocotón al nivel de inclusión 3 (50% de SV) alcanzaron el mayor BMP. Esto supuso un incremento del BMP del 41% con tomate, 44% con pimiento, 28% con melocotón y 12% con caqui. Los sustratos vegetales mostraron un mayor contenido en lípidos, prote, [CAT Actualment, la sostenibilitat del sector porcí depèn de la seua capacitat per a respondre a l'elevada demanda de productes ramaders derivada del creixement de la població, adaptant-se als canvis en els contextos econòmic i polític, i millorant el seu rendiment mediambiental mitjançant la mitigació del seu impacte ambiental. En aquest context, l'ús de subproductes agroindustrials ofereix matèries primeres alternatives en producció animal, amb una menor càrrega ambiental associada, en forma de pinsos per al bestiar, font de compostos bioactius o matèries primeres útils en la producció de bioenergia. Aquesta tesi doctoral pretén avaluar l'ús de subproductes agroindustrials mediterranis com a ingredients en pinsos per al bestiar porcí o com co-substrats per a la producció de biogàs. Amb aquest objectiu, es van dissenyar i realitzar quatre assajos per a avaluar l'ús de subproductes de la indústria de l'oli d'oliva i del suc de taronja en alimentació porcina, avaluant el seu valor nutricional i les conseqüències de la seua inclusió sobre el rendiment i la salut dels animals, la qualitat del producte final i les emissions de gasos dels purins. A més, es va realitzar un assaig per a avaluar l'efecte de quatre substrats agrícoles sobre el potencial bioquímic de metà (BMP) en co-digestió anaeròbia amb purins. Els resultats obtinguts a partir dels assajos de valor nutricional indiquen que les trotes d'oliva i les polpes de taronja assajades poden ser incloses en la dieta amb canvis associats en l'excreció de nutrients que condueixen a modificacions en les emissions potencials d'amoníac i BMP dels purins. Quant als subproductes de la torta d'oliva, l'assaig de valor nutricional amb tortes d'oliva crues (COC) i parcialment desengreixades (PDOC) va mostrar que totes dues coques són fonts apreciables de fibra insoluble, però tenen un valor energètic limitat (11.2 i 7.4 MJ/kg MS per a COC i PDOC respectivament) i un baix valor com a font de proteïnes. En canvi, les polpes de taronja deshidratades (DOP) i ensitjada assecada al sol (ESDOP) assajades són una font d'energia rellevant (14.2 i 13.2 MJ/kg MS per a DOP i ESDOP respectivament) amb valor afegit a causa del seu contingut en fibra soluble. Pel que fa als assajos d'emissions in vitro, els subproductes assajats van generar una disminució en l'excreció de N en l'orina i, en el cas de la polpa d'oliva, un augment de l'excreció de matèria seca en femtes. L'emissió d'amoníac per kg de purí va disminuir amb la inclusió de torta d'oliva i polpa de taronja, mentre que el BMP per animal i dia es va veure negativament afectat per la inclusió de torta d'oliva obtenint un major BMP amb aquests subproductes. Quant als assajos de rendiments productius, la PDOC i la DOP poden incloure's en la dieta fins a 120 i 240 g/kg respectivament, sense efectes negatius en el cas de la PDOC i efectes menors per a la DOP sobre els rendiments productius, la composició corporal i la qualitat de la canal. La inclusió de PDOC i DOP no va afectar els recomptes microbians ni al volum, la composició i l'emissió global de gasos dels purins. A més, es van observar efectes beneficiosos sobre el greix subcutani amb la inclusió de PDOC, millorant la seua concentració en àcid oleic. La co-digestió anaeròbia de subproductes agrícoles i purins millora el BMP de la mescla de substrats en comparació amb la digestió única de purins. Es van obtenir majors valors de BMP amb l'addició dels substrats agrícoles, la qual cosa confirma el millor rendiment dels sistemes en co-digestió a nivells d'inclusió adequats. Les combinacions amb tomaca, pimentó i bresquilla al nivell d'inclusió 3 (50% de SV) van aconseguir el major BMP. Això va suposar un increment del BMP del 41% amb tomaca, 44% amb pimentó, 28% amb bresquilla i 12% amb caqui. Els substrats vegetals van mostrar un major contingut en lípids, proteïnes, lignina i cel·lulosa que els substrats de fruita., [EN] Nowadays the sustainability of the pig sector relies on its capability to respond to the increasing demands for livestock products that are arising from population growth, adapting to changes in the economic and policy contexts, and improving its environmental performance through the mitigation of its impact on climate. In this framework, the use of the agro-industrial by-products offers potential alternative raw materials for animal production with a lower associated environmental burden in the form of feedstuffs for livestock, source of bioactive compounds or raw materials useful in bioenergy production. This PhD thesis aims to evaluate the use of Mediterranean agro-industrial by-products as feed ingredients for pigs or co-substrates for biogas production. To fulfil these objectives, four trials were designed and conducted to evaluate the use of olive oil and orange juice industry by-products in swine nutrition, assessing its nutritional value and the consequences of its inclusion in the diet on animals' performance and health, final product quality traits and gas emissions associated to the pig slurry. Additionally, one more trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of four agricultural substrates (tomato, pepper, peach and kaki) on the biochemical methane potential (BMP) in anaerobic co-digestion with pig slurry, focusing on the type of substrate and its inclusion level on the final substrate's mixture. The results presented in this PhD Thesis from the nutritional value assays indicate that the olive cakes and orange pulps tested can be potentially included in pig diets with associated changes in urine and faeces nutrients excretion that leads to modifications in the potential ammonia and BMP emissions from slurries. Concerning olive cake by-products, the nutritional value assay designed to test the crude (COC) and partially defatted (PDOC) olive cakes showed that they are appreciable sources of insoluble fibre but have limited energy value (11.2 and 7.4 MJ/kg DM for COC and PDOC respectively) and a low value as protein source. On the contrary, the dehydrated (DOP) and ensiled sun-dried (ESDOP) orange pulps tested are a relevant energy source (14.2 and 13.2 MJ/kg DM for DOP and ESDOP respectively) with added value in terms of SF concentration. With respect to the in vitro potential ammonia and BMP emissions assays, the by-products tested led to a decreased N excretion in urine and, in the case of the OC, increased DM excretion in faeces. The ammonia emission per kg of slurry decreased with the inclusion of olive cake and orange pulp, whereas the BMP per animal and per day was negatively affected by the inclusion of olive cake obtaining higher BMP with these by-products. Regarding the performance assays, the PDOC and the DOP may be included in balanced pig diets at rates of up to 120 and 240 g/kg respectively, without negative effects in the case of PDOC and minor effects for DOC on growth performance, body composition and carcass quality traits. Contrary to what was expected, the inclusion of PDOC and DOP did not affect microbial counts nor excreta volume, composition and global gas emission from the slurry. Additionally, beneficial effects on subcutaneous fat were observed with the inclusion of PDOC, improving its oleic acid concentration. The anaerobic co-digestion of agricultural by-products and pig slurry improves the BMP from the mixture compared to only pig slurry anaerobic digestion. Higher BMP values were obtained with increasing addition of agricultural substrate, confirming the better performance of co-digestion systems at adequate inclusion levels. In fact, combinations with tomato, pepper and peach at inclusion level 3 (50% of VS) achieved the highest BMP. This resulted in an increase in BMP of 41% with tomato, 44% with pepper, 28% with peach and 12% with kaki. Vegetable substrates (pepper and tomato) showed higher lipid, protein, lignin and cellulose content than fruit substrates (kaki and peach).

Digestates are often used as an organic soil fertilizers therefore content of nutrients is important from practical point of view. Assessment of the variability of N and P concentrations during co-digestion process of sewage sludge (SS) and brewery spent grain (BSG) was the aim of the study. The study was carried out in the reactors operating at temperature of 35oC in a semi-flow mode. Two experiments for the co-digestion process were performed at different hydraulic retention times (HRT). As a result, a slight decrease (of about 12%) in the concentration of total nitrogen was observed, to the average values measured in digestates ranged from 2765 to 3806 g m−3. An analogous tendency was observed in the case of total phosphorus. The addition of BSG as a co-substrate in the anaerobic digestion of SS and shortening of HRT did not cause changes in the nutrients concentration in digestate and its supernatant.

Management of grasslands in Ghana has become so poor that most rural communities result in bushfires that cause a lot of environmental challenges. Grass could be used for biogas generation. This study investigated the effect of grass and food waste co-digestion on the biogas yield and clarified how the addition of grass enhances the AD performance. Grass (GR) mixed with the co-substrate food waste (FW) was then evaluated under anaerobic conditions for the production of biogas (methane). Five laboratory-scale reactors, R1 (100% FW, 0% GR), R2 (75% FW, 25% GR), R3 (50% FW, 50% GR), R4 (25% FW, 75% GR) and R5 (0% FW, 100% GR) were set up with different proportions of grass and food waste which had 8% total solid concentration. Digestion was carried out for twenty (20) days at room temperature, 35&#176C ± 2&#176C. The biogas yield in the R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 was 805, 840, 485, 243 and 418 mL respectively. Food waste only produced 805 mL and grass only produced 418 mL of biogas. Food waste only produced 50% more biogas than grass. However, co-digestion at 75% FW, 25% resulted in 6% more biogas than food waste only.

This study examined the effectiveness of thermophilic sewage sludge co-digestion of and milled/non-milled brewery spent grain. In order to evaluate both the biogas potential and the biogas production rate, the experiments were conducted in batch-mode. Five runs were carried out, one of them concerned the anaerobic sewage sludge digestion (as control), whereas the others referred to the co-digestion of sewage sludge with addition of milled and non-milled brewery spent grain at doses of 5 and 10 g. The runs were conducted under thermophilic conditions (temperature 55±1°C) and lasted for 21 days. The effectiveness of the process was assessed on the basis of the volatile solids removal, biogas potential and the rate of biogas production. The physiochemical composition of reactor feed and digestate were characterized. The addition of the brewery spent grain resulted in increase of the biogas potential, but a decrease in the removal of volatile solids. In the case of biogas production rate, the highest value was recorded in the run with the addition of 10 g of milled and non-milled brewery spent grain (0.69 Ndm3dm-3d-1). There was no observed influence of milling on the thermophilic co-digestion effectiveness since the parameters specified revealed comparable values.

Agricultural wastes have severely polluted the environment and obstruct the sustainable development of modern agriculture due to a lack of effective disposal methods. The present study conducted batch experiments in which rice straw (RS) and pig manure (PM) mixtures were pretreated with a previously developed cellulolytic microflora prior to their mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion. Optimal anaerobic digestion (AD) performance of RS and PM could be achieved after biological pretreatment with this specific cellulolytic microflora for 30 h. Under this condition, the filter paper cellulase (FPase) and carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) activities in RS and PM degradation broths reached maxima of 2.25 and 2.58 IU/mL, respectively, and the weight loss ratio reached 39.4%. After the subsequent AD process, the methane yield of RS and PM mixtures reached 263.69 mL/g-VS, which was 47.6% higher than that of the control group (CK) without biological pretreatment (178.66 mL/g-VS). In addition, the daily methane production peak duration (3 day) of the anaerobic co-digestion of RS and PM after 30 h of biological pretreatment with this microflora was longer than that of CK (1 day). The above results further indicated that pretreatment of RS and PM mixtures with microflora greatly enhanced the methane yield and prolonged the peak period of methane production in the subsequent anaerobic co-digestion.

Anaerobic digestion of dairy cattle manure is a common practice; however, the low biogas yield of manure can hamper the profitability of anaerobic digestion systems in small to medium dairy cattle farms . To make this technology more attractive to farmers, an increase in biogas yield per cubic meter of reactor could be achieved by co-digesting animal manure with co-substrates such as straw (in its raw form or pre-treated). A Techno-economic assessment of anaerobic co-digestion of cattle manure and raw and briquetted straw has been carried out. The results obtained from the techno-economic assessment showed that for a farm of 250 adult cattle heads the revenues generated in an anaerobic mono-digestion process are not able to offset the initial required investment. However, the co-digestion of manure with raw or briquetted straw showed better economic performance and positive returns (net present values > 0, internal rate of return > 9% and a RETURN of the investment in 11 years) for farmers willing to implement anaerobic digestion. Electricity selling price, and the price of the straw are the key parameters to determine the profitability of the system. Moreover, pre-treatments to increase the straw biogas production have been assessed and evaluated from a technic and economic perspective. Alkali and microwave-alkali straw pre-treatments showed the best results with an increase in biogas production of 156% and 92% compared to raw straw.

The demand for uniformly sized and shaped produce that are aesthetically pleasing results in significant food waste throughout the world. Cucumber waste is a major agricultural waste product in a number of countries, especially areas with high pickle production. Opportunity exists for wastewater treatment plants containing anaerobic digesters to utilize cucumber agricultural and industrial waste for biogas production. The biomethane potential of cucumber waste as a substrate for co-digestion with sewage sludge was assessed. The impact of long-term co-digestion of cucumber was then evaluated using mesophilic continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTRs), in both single- and two-stage anaerobic co-digestion with sewage sludge. Ground cucumber waste was added to sewage sludge at 8% of the volume (4.5-4.6% of the organic load) and CSTRs were maintained for five hydraulic retention times (HRTs). One-stage co-digestion of cucumber waste produced comparable gas levels as CSTRs without cucumbers (averaging 219 and 221 m

The dynamics of microbial communities involved in anaerobic digestion of mixed organic waste are notoriously complex and difficult to model, yet successful operation of anaerobic digestion is critical to the goals of diverting high-moisture organic waste from landfills. Machine learning (ML) is ideally suited to capturing complex and nonlinear behavior that cannot be modeled mechanistically. This study uses 8 years of data collected from an industrial-scale anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) operation at a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Oakland, California, combined with a powerful automated ML method, Tree-based Pipeline Optimization Tool, to develop an improved understanding of how different waste inputs and operating conditions impact biogas yield. The model inputs included daily input volumes of 31 waste streams and 5 operating parameters. Because different wastes are broken down at varying rates, the model explored a range of time lags ascribed to each waste input ranging from 0 to 30 days. The results suggest that the waste types (including rendering waste, lactose, poultry waste, and fats, oils, and greases) differ considerably in their impact on biogas yield on both a per-gallon basis and a mass of volatile solids basis, while operating parameters are not useful predictors in a carefully operated facility.

Considerable amounts of slaughterhouse wastes (SHW) are generated in Indian urban centres causing serious environmental issues that demand effective treatment and disposal. The present study evaluates the effect of pasteurization (70 °C for 1 h) and extrusion pre-treatment on pathogen removal and methane production from SHW in anaerobic mono- and co-digestion with mixed vegetable, fruit and flower market wastes (VMW) under controlled batch anaerobic digestion (AD) tests. The complete destruction of pathogen was observed in post-pasteurized SHW, whereas the post-extruded SHW showed significant reduction (p

This study presents the effect of mechanical, chemical, thermal, and hybrid pretreatment on anaerobic digestion of fruit-juice industrial waste (FW) co-digested with municipal sewage sludge (MSS). The pretreatment of the substrates with ultrasonication, microwave, weak alkali-acid caused an increase in cumulative biogas production of approximately 20.9, 14.9, 8.1, and 5.2%, respectively. Beside this, thermal and strong acid-alkali pretreatment reduced biogas production. The highest cumulative biogas and methane yield was increased with hybrid pretreatment which contains ultrasonication (US) and alkali (AL) pretreatment by 36% and 49%, respectively. Also, compared to untreated mixture, the soluble COD, carbohydrate, and protein removal efficiencies were increased from 42.6% to 65.6%, 65.1% to 86.6%, and 17.3% to 62.4%, respectively for US-AL pretreatment. The kinetic parameters of cumulative biogas production for the selected reactors were further estimated with Monod, Cone, and Transference Function models.

Biomass is an attractive energy source that can be used for production of heat, power, and transport fuels, and when produced and used on a sustainable basis, can make a large contribution to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a suitable technology for reducing organic matter and generating bioenergy in the form of biogas. This study investigates the factors allowing the optimization of the process of biogas production from the co-digestion of wheat straw (WS) and bovine manure. The statistical analysis of the experiments carried out show that ultrasonic processing plays a fundamental role by sonication density and solids concentration leading to improved characteristics of WS by reducing particle size and increasing concentration of soluble chemical oxygen demand. The higher the sonicating power used, the more the waste particles are disrupted. The optimality obtained under mesophilic conditions for WS pretreated with 4% w/w (weight by weight) H2O2 at temperature 36 °C under 10 minutes of ultrasonication at 25 kHz improves the methane yield by 64%.

The agro-industry of tomato generates three types of residues: ripe rotten tomato (unfit for consumption) (RT), green (unripe) tomato (GT), and tomato branches including leaves and stems (TB). These materials are commonly wasted or used as feed for livestock. Energy production through anaerobic digestion is an alternative way to manage and simultaneously valorise these materials. Initially, the operating conditions of mono anaerobic digestion were investigated using RT. Thus, a design of experiments based on a two-level fractional factorial design with resolution V was performed to determine the factors that affect biochemical methane potential (BMP). The substrate to inoculum ratio (SIR), total volatile solids concentration (VSt), working volume (WV), presence of nutrients (Nu), and the pre-incubation of the inoculum (Inc) were investigated. The results showed that SIR is the most important factor. The maximum BMP for RT was 297 NmLCH4/gVS with SIR = 0.5, tVS = 20 g/L, WV = 20%, no pre-incubation and the presence of nutrients. Using these optimum operating conditions, co-digestion was investigated through a mixture design approach. The substrates RT and GT presented similar BMP values, whereas TB led to a significantly lower BMP. Indeed, when high concentrations of TB were used, a significant decrease in methane production was observed. Nonetheless, the highest BMP was achieved with a mixture of 63% RT + 20% GT + 17% TB, with a production of 324 NmLCH4/gVS, corresponding to a synergetic co-digestion performance index of about 1.20. In general, although the substrate RT generates the highest BMP, the mixture with GT did not impair the methane yield. Overall, the co-digestion of tomato residues must be conducted with SIR close to 0.5 and the content of tomato branches in the reaction mixture should be kept low (up to 20%).

BACKGROUND: Olive mill wastewater (OMW) represents an environmental problem due to its high organic load and relevant concentration of phenolic compounds (PCs). OMW treatment and disposal represents a relevant challenge and cost for olive mills and multi-utilities in charge of waste management in Mediterranean countries. The goal of this study was to develop an anaerobic co-digestion (co-AD) process of OMW and sewage sludge (SwS) from municipal wastewater treatment. RESULTS: Different volumetric OMW:SwS ratios up to 100% OMW were fed in continuous 1.7-L bioreactors. The reactors fed with raw OMW (rOMW) performed better than those fed with OMW dephenolized by adsorption (dOMW). At a 23-day hydraulic retention time, the best performances were obtained in the reactor fed with 25% rOMW, with a 105% increase in methane yield in comparison to the 100% SwS test. At a 40-day hydraulic retention time, the reactor fed with 40% rOMW attained a 268 NLCH4/kgvolatile solids methane yield. The conversion of phenolic compoundsreached 70% when the hydraulic retention time was increased from 23 to 40 days. A cost–benefit analysis indicated that both rOMW co-AD in existing digesters and phenolic compounds recovery from OMW followed by co-AD of dOMW can lead to relevant additional revenues for the multi-utilities in charge of wastewater management. CONCLUSION: This work proves that, using the existing network of SwS anaerobic digesters, it is feasible to co-digest the entire OMW production in regions characterized by intense olive oil production, thus attaining a relevant increase in methane production yield (a 144% increase in comparison to 100% SwS).

Dimitrios Komilis thanks TECNIOspring programme for the 2014-2016 incoming fellowship in UAB (no. TECSPR13-1-0006). Raquel Barrena thanks TECNIOspring programme for the outgoing + return fellowship (no. TECSPR15-1-0051). Goal of the work was to study the effect of mixing aerobically pretreated organic municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) with raw OFMSW in an anaerobic digestion process. The optimum time of aerobic pretreatment was found to be five days, as this was indicated via biological activity measurements (oxygen uptake rate, enzymatic activities, temperature). The aerobically pretreated wastes or a liquid extract from those pretreated wastes were, each separately, mixed with simulated OFMSW in various experiments. The mixtures were anaerobically digested for 28 days and five different treatments were performed including the blanks. The methane generation results were fitted to a typical anaerobic model to calculate theoretical maximum methane potential, maximum methane generation rate and theoretical lag time. Results indicated that the addition of 5-day aerobically pretreated OFMSW in solid form to raw OFMSW resulted in a 18 % net increase of the methane production. The Rmax was also increased by 39 % while no significant differences in the lag time of the methanogenic phase were observed. The addition of the liquid extract that was obtained from the 5-day pretreated OFMSW did not result in a statistically significant increase of the net methane production of the raw OFMSW.

A persistent topic of the anaerobic digestion of biowaste is the efficient use of co-substrates. According to Renewable Energy Sources Act the co-substrate input is limited to 10 percent of the average daily substrate feed in Germany. In this concern, the primary focus of this paper is to understand the suitability of crude glycerol in anaerobic digestion of biowaste. Two identical lab-scale anaerobic digester units were added with crude glycerol, and each unit was equipped with four identical fermenters. Unit A was fed with an average organic loading rate of 4.5 kg VS m&minus, 3 d&minus, 1, and the average organic loading rate of unit B was set at 5.5 kg VS m&minus, 1. The share of crude glycerol in the total feed was 0.77 percent of the fresh matter. The abort criterion is a ratio of the volatile organic acids and buffer capacity (FOS/TAC) in the fermenter above 1.2. The abort criterion was reached after 16 days. In summary, the results lead us to the conclusion crude glycerol is not suitable as a co-substrate for anaerobic digestion for several reasons.

International audience; Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising biological process that converts waste into sustainable energy. To fully exploit AD's capability, we need to deepen our knowledge of the microbiota involved in this complex bioprocess. High-throughput methodologies open new perspectives to investigate the AD process at the molecular level, supported by recent data integration methodologies to extract relevant information. In this study, we investigated the link between microbial activity and substrate degradation in a lab-scale anaerobic codigestion experiment, where digesters were fed with nine different mixtures of three cosubstrates (fish waste, sewage sludge, and grass). Samples were profiled using 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics. In this article, we propose a suite of multivariate tools to statistically integrate these data and identify coordinated patterns between groups of microbial and metabolic profiles specific of each cosubstrate. Five main groups of features were successfully evidenced, including cadaverine degradation found to be associated with the activity of microorganisms from the order Clostridiales and the genus Methanosarcina. This study highlights the potential of data integration toward a comprehensive understanding of AD microbiota.

The inoculum to substrate (I:S) ratio is a crucial operating parameter during the start-up period of anaerobic digestion (AD) processes and this ratio shows high differentiation with respect to substrate composition. While spent coffee grounds (SCG) have started to gain attraction in AD as a co-substrate due to their vast production and promising methane potential, there is still not enough information on the operative environment of SCG-based biogas reactors. This study investigated the optimal I:S ratio during anaerobic co-digestion of SCG and cow manure. Biochemical methane potential tests were conducted at mesophilic conditions and the influence of I:S ratio on methane production and digestion stability was evaluated at a wide range of I:S ratios from 0.5:1 to 4:1 (volatile solids (VS) basis). Methane yields increased gradually starting from the I:S ratio of 0.5:1 up to 3:1 and the highest methane yield (225 mlCH4 gVS−1) was achieved at the I:S ratio of 3:1. Comparatively lower methane yields were obtained at the ratios of 3.5:1 and 4:1. Instable AD conditions were established at the lowest I:S ratio examined (0.5:1), which caused volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation. The results highlighted that anaerobic co-digestion of SCG and cow manure is a promising approach, while the I:S ratio should be well-maintained due to the high potential risk of rapid and/or excess VFA production of these feedstocks.