Anaerobic Fermentation of Organic Waste Materials and Valorisation

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 15284

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Interests: bioenergy processes; waste management

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Interests: renewable energy processes and anaerobic digestion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue that may be of interest to you. We cordially invite you to submit a manuscript for consideration and possible publication in this Special Issue on “Anaerobic Fermentation of Organic Waste Materials and Valorization” to be published in Fermentation (IF: 5.123, ISSN: 2311-5637) https://www.mdpi.com/journal/fermentation.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide an overview of the current technologies and energetic valorization for the anaerobic fermentation of organic waste materials, including biogas generation, volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, microbiology, and metabolism in the fermentation and pretreatment of organic waste materials.

The deadline for manuscript submission is December 31st, 2022. For more details, please visit the website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/fermentation/special_issues.

We invite you to submit to this Special Issue an original paper in the form of a scientific article, review, or communication and look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Thank you and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Jay J. Cheng
Dr. Yaojing Qiu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • anaerobic fermentation
  • biogas generation
  • volatile fatty acid (VFA) production
  • anaerobic fermentation metabolism
  • microbiome in anaerobic fermentation
  • pretreatment of organic waste materials

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1231 KiB  
Article
Simplicity Hits the Gas: A Robust, DIY Biogas Reactor Holds Potential in Research and Education in Bioeconomy
by Felipe Werle Vogel, Nicolas Carlotto, Zhongzhong Wang, Raquel González-Herrero, Juan Bautista Giménez, Aurora Seco and Manuel Porcar
Fermentation 2023, 9(9), 845; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9090845 - 15 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4651
Abstract
Biogas is a promising and robust renewable energy that holds potential as clean energy in the context of the current climatic emergency. Biogas has the immense advantage of coupling waste management and clean energy production. In other words, it is not only a [...] Read more.
Biogas is a promising and robust renewable energy that holds potential as clean energy in the context of the current climatic emergency. Biogas has the immense advantage of coupling waste management and clean energy production. In other words, it is not only a renewable energy source, but also a central tool in recycling a vast range of waste products from the agroindustry. Despite its potential, the process is microbiologically complex and is usually carried out in both industrial and pilot laboratories, utilizing a variety of reactors and systems. In this work, we present a very simple, Do It Yourself (DIY) biogas fermenter that we have designed, operated, and characterized. We propose this technology as both an inexpensive proxy for biogas reactors in academic and private laboratories and as an effective dissemination tool to foster the knowledge and potential of biogas as a key technology to contribute to the development of a global bioeconomy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation of Organic Waste Materials and Valorisation)
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17 pages, 1355 KiB  
Article
Supplemental Sewage Scum and Organic Municipal Solid Waste Addition to the Anaerobic Digestion of Thickened Waste Activated Sludge: Biomethane Potential and Microbiome Analysis
by Adewale Aromolaran, Majid Sartaj and Mohamed Abdallah
Fermentation 2023, 9(3), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9030237 - 28 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2149
Abstract
Sewage scum (SS) is collected from sedimentation tanks in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Despite its huge biogas potential, there is limited information on its potential as a co-substrate and microbial ecology, especially during anaerobic co-digestion (ACo-D) of the organic fraction of municipal solid [...] Read more.
Sewage scum (SS) is collected from sedimentation tanks in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Despite its huge biogas potential, there is limited information on its potential as a co-substrate and microbial ecology, especially during anaerobic co-digestion (ACo-D) of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS). In this biomethane potential (BMP) study, the bioenergy yield achieved by the supplemental addition of SS and OFMSW to TWAS was investigated, along with the microbial ecology. Compared with the digestion of TWAS alone, which produced 184.6 mLCH4 gVS−1, biomethane yield was enhanced by as much as 32.4–121.6% in trinary mixtures with SS and OFMSW, mainly due to the positive synergistic effect. Furthermore, a mixture of 40%SS + 10%TWAS + 50%OFMSW produced the highest biogas yield of 407 mLCH4 gVS−1, which is proof that existing WWTPs can produce additional energy by incorporating external bioresources, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Modified Gompertz and logistic function estimates showed that methane production rate improved by as much as 60% in a trinary mixture compared with the digestion of TWAS alone. The genus Methanosaeta, capable of generating methane by the acetoclastic methanogenic pathway among all the archaeal communities, was the most prominent, followed by hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanospirillum. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation of Organic Waste Materials and Valorisation)
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11 pages, 2783 KiB  
Article
Development of Digested Sludge-Assimilating and Biohydrogen-Yielding Microflorae
by Yuhei Hayakawa, Nobuhiro Aburai and Katsuhiko Fujii
Fermentation 2023, 9(2), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9020175 - 15 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1480
Abstract
Digested sludge (DS) is a waste product of anaerobic digestion that is produced during the biodegradation of excess sludge. It cannot be used as a substrate for further biogas production owing to its recalcitrant nature. In the present study, we used a heat [...] Read more.
Digested sludge (DS) is a waste product of anaerobic digestion that is produced during the biodegradation of excess sludge. It cannot be used as a substrate for further biogas production owing to its recalcitrant nature. In the present study, we used a heat treatment technique to convert DABYS microflora (DABYS = digested sludge-assimilating and biogas-yielding soil microflora), which degraded DS and produced methane gas, to a microflora that could produce hydrogen gas from DS. Heat treatment at 80 and 100 °C inactivated the methanogens that consume hydrogen for methane production but did not affect the thermotolerant bacteria. We developed three microflorae (DABYS-A80, DABYS-A100, and DABYS-80B) to exclusively produce hydrogen gas. They included representatives from the anaerobic eubacterial families Clostridiaceae and Enterobacteriaceae. Pseudomonas sp. was also present in DABYS-A80 and DABYS-A100. It is thought that bacteria in the Enterobacteriaceae family or Pseudomonas genus survive heat treatment because they are embedded in microgranules. Enzymatic analysis suggested that the microflorae hydrolyzed DS using cellulase, chitinase, and protease. Under optimum culture conditions, DABYS-A80, -A100, and B-100 produced gas yields of 8.0, 7.1, and 2.6 mL, respectively, from 1.0 g of dried DS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation of Organic Waste Materials and Valorisation)
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11 pages, 1159 KiB  
Article
Methane and Hydrogen Sulfide Production from the Anaerobic Digestion of Fish Sludge from Recirculating Aquaculture Systems: Effect of Varying Initial Solid Concentrations
by Abhinav Choudhury, Christine Lepine and Christopher Good
Fermentation 2023, 9(2), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9020094 - 20 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3870
Abstract
Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are efficient at solid waste capture and collection but generate a concentrated waste stream. Anaerobic digestion (AD) could be one potential treatment option for RAS facilities. However, the concentration of organic matter in the sludge can significantly affect the [...] Read more.
Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are efficient at solid waste capture and collection but generate a concentrated waste stream. Anaerobic digestion (AD) could be one potential treatment option for RAS facilities. However, the concentration of organic matter in the sludge can significantly affect the biogas quality from AD. This study evaluated the effect of fish sludge (FS) solid concentration on biogas quality. Three FS treatments consisted of different initial total solid concentrations (1.5%, 2.5%, and 3.5%) from a mixture of sludge produced by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Methane (CH4) production was measured, quantified, and normalized on a volatile solids (VS) basis. The highest solid concentration treatment produced 23% more CH4 than the lowest solid concentration (519 mL/g VS versus 422 mL/g VS, respectively). Peak CH4 production occurred on Day 7 for the lowest FS concentration (78.2 mL/day), while the highest FS concentration peaked on Day 11 (96 mL/day). Peak hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations ranged from 1803–2074 ppm across treatments, signifying the requirement of downstream unit processes for H2S removal from biogas. Overall, this study demonstrated that increasing the FS concentration can significantly enhance CH4 production without affecting the stability of the digestion process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation of Organic Waste Materials and Valorisation)
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17 pages, 2794 KiB  
Article
Thermodynamic Equilibrium Study of Anaerobic Digestion through Helmholtz Equation of State
by Fabio Giudici, Federico Moretta and Giulia Bozzano
Fermentation 2023, 9(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9010069 - 13 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2235
Abstract
The growing attention regarding a more sustainable future, and thus into energy recovery and waste reduction technologies, has intensified the interest towards processes which allow to exploit waste and biomasses to generate energy, such as the anaerobic digestion. Improving the efficiency of this [...] Read more.
The growing attention regarding a more sustainable future, and thus into energy recovery and waste reduction technologies, has intensified the interest towards processes which allow to exploit waste and biomasses to generate energy, such as the anaerobic digestion. Improving the efficiency of this industrial application is crucial to increase methane production, and is essential from the economic, environmental and safety point of view. This study focuses on the thermodynamic modelling of a steady-state reactor as a flash unit, in order to determine the best operating conditions to produce the maximum amount of pure bio-methane. To this purpose, a new hybrid approach based on the Peng–Robinson cubic equation of state and on the Multi-Parameter Helmholtz-Energy EoS has been proposed. The simulations, performed using the developed algorithm at temperatures between 20 and 55 °C and at pressure values between 0.3 atm and 1.5 atm, point out that the fugacity of the mixture evaluated with the proposed technique is much more accurate and reliable than the one calculated with the PR EoS. In addition, this research has shown not only that the purity and the production of the biogas can be optimised by working at mesophilic conditions and at pressure between 1 atm and 1.5 atm, but also that it is not convenient to operate in a temperature range of 42 °C–45 °C, since about 20 % more H2S goes into the exiting biogas, reducing the CH4 amount and raising the post-treatment costs. Lastly, it has been seen that there is a significant water content in the vapour phase (∼5 %wt.), and this is a factor to be taken into account in order to improve the process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation of Organic Waste Materials and Valorisation)
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