IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i20p14896-d1260408.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving the Biogas Production and Methane Yield in a UASB Reactor with the Addition of Sulfate

Author

Listed:
  • Dimitra Theodosi Palimeri

    (School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece)

  • Konstantina Papadopoulou

    (School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece)

  • Apostolos G. Vlyssides

    (School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece)

  • Anestis A. Vlysidis

    (School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

Sulfate is of great importance in anaerobic digestion as its addition can help control the microbial community. In this study, the effect of sulfuric acid addition on the performance of a UASB reactor fed with hydrolyzed starch was investigated. The total organic carbon (TOC), Fe, SO 4 2− removal and methane production were monitored under various chemical oxygen demand (COD) to SO 4 2− ratios, hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and organic loading rates (OLRs). When the HRT was 16 h, and the OLR was equal to 2 g COD/L UASB -day, methane production was 0.24 L CH 4 /L UASB -day. After the addition of sulfuric acid, TOC removal reached 95%, and the population of Ruminococcus sp. that utilize soluble carbohydrates increased by 19.7%. Nitrogen removal was less than 25%, while the population of Ignavibacterium sp. accounted for 2.3%. When the HRT, OLR and COD/SO 4 2− ratios were equal to 16 h, 2 g COD/L UASB -d and 3.72, respectively, methane production was 0.267 L CH 4 /L UASB -day. When the OLR increased to 5.94 g, the COD/L UASB -day and COD/SO 4 2− ratios were equal to 12.5, and methane production was three times higher (0.84 L CH 4 /L UASB -day), with a methane content in the produced biogas greater than 70% due to the increased amount of Methanosaeta sp. and direct interspecies electron transfer. Sulfate addition increased the relative abundance of Desulfovibrio sp., accounting for 9.9% and an iron accumulation exceeding 98.0%. This study indicates that appropriate sulfate concentrations in the feed in combination with the presence of iron in the UASB lead to enhanced methane yields.

Suggested Citation

  • Dimitra Theodosi Palimeri & Konstantina Papadopoulou & Apostolos G. Vlyssides & Anestis A. Vlysidis, 2023. "Improving the Biogas Production and Methane Yield in a UASB Reactor with the Addition of Sulfate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-21, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:14896-:d:1260408
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/14896/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/14896/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Zixin & Wang, Tengfei & Si, Buchun & Watson, Jamison & Zhang, Yuanhui, 2021. "Accelerating anaerobic digestion for methane production: Potential role of direct interspecies electron transfer," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Zexi & Ding, Ke & Ma, Xiaojun & Tang, Shuai & Wang, Zixin & Lu, Haifeng & Jiang, Weizhong & Si, Buchun, 2023. "Hydrodynamic design of down-flow packed bed reactor regulated the biohydrogen production and microbial enrichment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    2. Yang, Min & Watson, Jamison & Wang, Zixin & Si, Buchun & Jiang, Weizhong & Zhou, Bo & Zhang, Yuanhui, 2022. "Understanding and design of two-stage fermentation: A perspective of interspecies electron transfer," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Rubén Agregán & José M. Lorenzo & Manoj Kumar & Mohammad Ali Shariati & Muhammad Usman Khan & Abid Sarwar & Muhammad Sultan & Maksim Rebezov & Muhammad Usman, 2022. "Anaerobic Digestion of Lignocellulose Components: Challenges and Novel Approaches," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-24, November.
    4. Li, Lei & Xu, Ying & Dai, Xiaohu & Dai, Lingling, 2021. "Principles and advancements in improving anaerobic digestion of organic waste via direct interspecies electron transfer," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    5. Khan, Muhammad Usman & Lee, Jonathan Tian En & Bashir, Muhammad Aamir & Dissanayake, Pavani Dulanja & Ok, Yong Sik & Tong, Yen Wah & Shariati, Mohammad Ali & Wu, Sarah & Ahring, Birgitte Kiaer, 2021. "Current status of biogas upgrading for direct biomethane use: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Tsui, To-Hung & Zhang, Le & Zhang, Jingxin & Dai, Yanjun & Tong, Yen Wah, 2022. "Engineering interface between bioenergy recovery and biogas desulfurization: Sustainability interplays of biochar application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    7. Pengjiao Tian & Binbin Gong & Kaijian Bi & Yuxin Liu & Jing Ma & Xiqing Wang & Zhangsun Ouyang & Xian Cui, 2023. "Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Pig Manure and Rice Straw: Optimization of Process Parameters for Enhancing Biogas Production and System Stability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:14896-:d:1260408. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.