• Energy Research

This study investigates the co-digestion of poultry manure (PM) with sugar beet pulp residues (SBPR) obtained from saccharification and dewatering of sugar beet pulp. The laboratory-scale experiments were conducted under batch and semi-continuous conditions at mesophilic temperatures (35 °C). Batch tests gave specific biogas and methane yields of 590 dm3/kgVSfed and 423 dm3CH4/kgVSfed, respectively for SBPR, whereas the corresponding values for PM were 434 dm3/kgVSfed and 300 dm3CH4/kgVSfed. The co-digestion of PM with SBPR was found to increase biogas and methane yields compared to the manure alone. In semi-continuous reactor experiments, the highest methane yield of 346 dm3 CH4/kgVSfed was achieved for the mixture containing poultry manure with 50% SBPR (weight basis) and a solids retention time (SRT) of 20 days. However, when poultry manure was digested as a sole feedstock, the biogas production was inhibited by ammonia, whereas the co-digestion of PM with 25% SBPR was slightly affected by volatile fatty acids, which concentrations exceeded 4000 g/m3.

Research into fermentative production of lactic acid from agricultural by-products has recently concentrated on the direct conversion of biomass, whereby pure sugars are replaced with inexpensive feedstock in the process of lactic acid production. In our studies, for the first time, the source of carbon used is sugar beet pulp, generated as a by-product of industrial sugar production. In this paper, we focus on the simultaneous saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass and fermentation of lactic acid, using mixed cultures with complementary assimilation profiles. Lactic acid is one of the primary platform chemicals, and can be used to synthesize a wide variety of useful products, including green propylene glycol. A series of controlled batch fermentations was conducted under various conditions, including pretreatment with enzymatic hydrolysis. Inoculation was performed in two sequential stages, to avoid carbon catabolite repression. Biologically-synthesized lactic acid was catalytically reduced to propylene glycol over 5% Ru/C. The highest lactic acid yield was obtained with mixed cultures. The yield of propylene glycol from the biological lactic acid was similar to that obtained with a water solution of pure lactic acid. Our results show that simultaneous saccharification and fermentation enables generation of lactic acid, suitable for further chemical transformations, from agricultural residues.

Abstract This study investigated the use of mineral fertilizers for the improvement of biogas production from vegetable wastes. Five fertilizers of various chemical composition were selected, and two blends of vegetable wastes were composed for the experiments. The results demonstrated the highest improvement in biogas production using the mineral fertilizer SUBSTRAL dedicated to conifers, which was characterized by a diverse chemical composition and the lack of sulfur. The addition of this fertilizer in a dose of 1 g/kg increased methane and hydrogen yields by up to 49% compared to the control. The maximum methane production of 336 NmL/gVS was achieved after supplementation of the mixture containing corn, green pees and green bean wastes, whereas the highest hydrogen yield of 49 NmL/gVS was reported in the experiments with the blend containing carrot, cauliflower and broccoli. A simplified cost analysis showed that the use of 1 kg of mineral fertilizer to supplement the anaerobic digestion of vegetable waste for biogas production can generate additional revenues of up to 2399 €.

The anaerobic digestion of municipal sewage sludge (SS) with swine manure (SM) and poultry manure (PM) was undertaken. It was found that a mixture of sewage sludge with a 30% addition of swine manure gave around 400 dm(3)/kg VS of biogas, whereas the maximal biogas yield from ternary mixture (SS:SM:PM=70:20:10 by weight) was only 336 dm(3)/kg VS. An inhibition of methanogenesis by free ammonia was observed in poultry manure experiments. The anaerobic digestion was inefficient in pathogen inactivation as the reduction in the number of E. coli an Enterobacteriaceae was only by one logarithmic unit. A substantial portion of pathogens was also released into the supernatant.

The study investigated co-digestion batch experiments using kitchen waste (KW) and garden waste (GW) collected from individual households. Grass and leaves were first subjected to a 3-day hyperthermophilic pretreatment at 70 °C and 80 °C and then co-digested with kitchen waste at 35 °C and 55 °C. The hyperthermophilic pretreatment resulted in the solubilization of organic material with the release of fatty acids, whereas the biogas yield was negligible. In the second stage, the greatest methane yield of 387 NmL/gVS was achieved for the mono-digestion of leaves, whereas the co-digestion of grass with 50% KW gave the highest hydrogen production of 88 NmL/gVS. Considering the overall process performance, the best operating conditions were established using a 3-day hyperthermophilic pretreatment at 70 °C, followed by co-digestion at 55 °C in the second stage for the mixture of 25% garden waste with 75% KW.

This study investigates the anaerobic digestion of the hydromechanically sorted organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (HS-OFMSW) co-digested with sewage sludge (SS). Eight laboratory-scale experiments were conducted under semi-continuous conditions at 15 and 20 days of solids retention time (SRT). The biogas yield from the waste reached 309 to 315 dm(3)/kgVS and 320 to 361 dm(3)/kgVS under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively. The addition of SS to HS-OFMSW (1:1 by weight) improved the C/N balance of the mixture, and the production of biogas through anaerobic mesophilic digestion increased to 494 dm(3)/kgVS, which corresponded to 316 dm(3)CH4/kgVS. However, when SS and HS-OFMSW were treated under thermophilic conditions, methanogenesis was inhibited by volatile fatty acids and free ammonia, which concentrations reached 5744 gCH3COOH/m(3) and 1009 gNH3/m(3), respectively.

Large amounts of waste biomass are generated in sugar factories from the processing of sugar beets. After diffusion with hot water to draw the sugar from the beet pieces, a wet material remains called pulp. In this study, waste sugar beet pulp biomass was enzymatically depolymerized, and the obtained hydrolyzates were subjected to fermentation processes. Bioethanol, biomethane, and biohydrogen were produced directly from the substrate or in combined mode. Stillage, a distillery by-product, was used as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion. During biosynthesis of ethanol, most of the carbohydrates released from the sugar beet pulp were utilized by a co-culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ethanol Red, and Scheffersomyces stipitis LOCK0047 giving 12.6 g/L of ethanol. Stillage containing unfermented sugars (mainly arabinose, galactose and raffinose) was found to be a good substrate for methane production (444 dm3 CH4/kg volatile solids (VS)). Better results were achieved with this medium than with enzymatic saccharified biomass. Thermal pre-treatment and adjusting the pH of the inoculum resulted in higher hydrogen production. The largest (p < 0.05) hydrogen yield (252 dm3 H2/kg VS) was achieved with sugar beet stillage (SBS). In contrast, without pre-treatment the same medium yielded 35 dm3 H2/kg VS. However, dark fermentation of biohydrogen was more efficient when sugar beet pulp hydrolyzate was used.

Currently, most cotton textile waste is sent to landfill. However, due to the use of synthetic additives and the chemical treatment of cotton fibers, cotton textile waste is difficult to biodegrade. Cotton textile waste can also be subjected to material recycling, or to incineration/gasification to produce energy. Here, we present the optimization of acid hydrolysis of cotton yarn fibers for glucose efficiency. The cotton yarn hydrolysates showed great potential for replacing simple sugar solutions in fermentation media. The highest glucose concentration was obtained in the hydrolysates of cotton yarn hydrolyzed in a 2% solution of sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid at 140–160 °C for 2 h. After 2 h of hydrolysis at 140 °C with 2% H3PO4, the concentration of glucose in the cotton yarn hydrolysate (13.19 g/L) increased fivefold compared with cotton yarn treated under the same conditions with H2SO4 (2.65 g/L). The structural modifications in the solid residues after acid hydrolysis were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), and Raman spectroscopy. The SEM images, IR spectra, and Raman spectra revealed that the most significant changes in the morphology of the fibers occurred when the process was carried out at high temperatures (≥140 °C). Better growth of the yeast strains Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ethanol Red and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Tokay ŁOCK0204 was observed in the medium containing phosphoric acid hydrolysate. The maximum methane yield of 278 dm3/kgVS and the maximum hydrogen yield of 42 dm/kgVS were reported for cotton yarn waste after pretreatment with H3PO4. This might have been linked to the beneficial effect of phosphorus, which is a key nutrient for anaerobic digestion. The proposed hydrolysis method does not generate fermentation inhibitors.