Microbial anaerobic digestion: process dynamics and implications from the renewable energy, environmental and agronomy perspectives (original) (raw)
Related papers
2. Production of Biogas by Anaerobic Digestion Elements of Anaerobic Digestion Systems
Anaerobic digestion is a natural process in which bacteria convert organic materials into biogas. It occurs in marshes and wetlands, and in the digestive tract of ruminants. The bacteria are also active in landfills where they are the principal process degrading landfilled food wastes and other biomass. Biogas can be collected and used as a potential energy resource. The process occurs in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment through the activities of acid-and methane-forming bacteria that break down the organic material and produce methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO ) in a gaseous form known as biogas.
Anaerobic Digestion Process: An Effective Tool for Waste Management and Renewable Energy Production
The quest for a sustainable and effective waste management is highly increasing due to several environmental and economic concerns such as climatic change and diminishing resources of fossil energy and raw materials. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the most promising alternative for disposal of many different kinds of organic wastes because of its inherent high energy recovery, elimination of greenhouse gases and rendering pathogens and odorous emissions innocuous.AD is a process by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. It involves four major steps: hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis. Hydrolysis is the rate-limiting step of the overall process degradation. The paper is an overview of the process of AD, its applications and means of enhancement for sustainable waste management and renewable energy production.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2013
With an ever increasing population rate; a vast array of biomass wastes rich in organic and inorganic nutrients as well as pathogenic microorganisms will result from the diversified human, industrial and agricultural activities. Anaerobic digestion is applauded as one of the best ways to properly handle and manage these wastes. Animal wastes have been recognized as suitable substrates for anaerobic digestion process, a natural biological process in which complex organic materials are broken down into simpler molecules in the absence of oxygen by the concerted activities of four sets of metabolically linked microorganisms. This process occurs in an airtight chamber (biodigester) via four stages represented by hydrolytic, acidogenic, acetogenic and methanogenic microorganisms. The microbial population and structure can be identified by the combined use of culture-based, microscopic and molecular techniques. Overall, the process is affected by bio-digester design, operational factors and manure characteristics. The purpose of anaerobic digestion is the production of a renewable energy source (biogas) and an odor
Anaerobic digestion for sustainable development: a natural approach
Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research, 2002
After the discovery of methane gas by Alessandro Volta in 1776, it took about 100 years before anaerobic processes for the treatment of wastewater and sludges were introduced. The development of high rate anaerobic digesters for the treatment of sewage and industrial wastewater took until the nineteen-seventies and for solid waste even till the nineteen-eighties. All digesters have in common that they apply natural anaerobic consortia of microorganisms for degradation and transformation processes. In view of this, it could be rewarding to evaluate the efficiency of natural ecosystems for their possible application. Examples of high rate anaerobic natural systems include the forestomach of ruminants and the hindgut of certain insects, such as termites and cockroaches. These 'natural reactors' exhibit volumetric methane production rates as high as 35 l/l.d. The development of anaerobic reactors based on such natural anaerobic systems could produce eco-technologies for the effe...
Entropy, 2021
Anaerobic digestion is a well-known technology with wide application in the treatment of high-strength organic wastes. The economic feasibility of this type of installation is usually attained thanks to the availability of fiscal incentives. In this review, an analysis of the different factors associated with this biological treatment and a description of alternatives available in literature for increasing performance of the process were provided. The possible integration of this process into a biorefinery as a way for producing energy and chemical products from the conversion of wastes and biomass also analyzed. The future outlook of anaerobic digestion will be closely linked to circular economy principles. Therefore, this technology should be properly integrated into any production system where energy can be recovered from organics. Digestion can play a major role in any transformation process where by-products need further stabilization or it can be the central core of any waste ...
Anaerobic process for the biogas production
Journal Nano, Science & Tecnology, 2020
The industrialization of the last century has created an increase in the greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, etc) that makes inevitablethe increase of the global temperature. However that can be mitigated in several ways, one of the most relevant is the change ofthe actual energy mix based on fossils fuels. Although in Latin-American a great proportion of the energy mix is provided byhydroelectric energy, the climate changes is also affecting negatively this source of power due to the change in the dry-wetseason patterns.Also there are regions where the net power (electrical and others) does not reach the total of the population,especially in rural zones. The renewable energies play here an important role as alternative source of energy as an action tomitigate the global warming. Colombia with an important agricultural sector produces important amounts of residues that can beconverted in energy through the anaerobic process to produce biogas. In this way these residues (biomass) are as the same timeproducing an energy product (biogas) as bio-fertilizer (manure) from the transformation of the organic waste.
Combining Anaerobic Digestion and Waste-to-Energy
12th Annual North American Waste-to-Energy Conference, 2004
A large fraction of the municipal solid wastes (MSW) stream in the U.S. comprises of natural organic compounds (i.e., food and plant wastes) with high moisture content and low heating value. While these properties are undesirable during the combustion of MSW in waste-to-energy (WTE) plants, they are required for anaerobic digestion (AD). During AD, methane gas is produced that can be captured and used for energy generation. The required long residence times limit the throughput of an AD plant but further development may result in increasing the rates of bioreactions. This paper introduces current AD practices and identifies possible synergies between AD and WTE. It is suggested that co-siting of WTE and AD facilities may result in mutual benefits.