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Low Temperature Pre-treatment of Organic Feedstocks with Selected Mineral Wastes Sustains Anaerobic Digestion Stability through Trace Metal Release

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Burhan ShamuradORCiD, Emeritus Professor Neil GrayORCiD, Dr Evangelos Petropoulos, Dr Jan DolfingORCiD, Marcos Quintela-Baluja, Reihaneh Bashiri, Shamas Tabraiz, Dr Paul Sallis

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This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by American Chemical Society , 2020.

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Abstract

A low-cost approach for enhancing mesophilic (37^oC) anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic waste using a low temperature (37^oC) pre-treatment with different mineral wastes (MW) was investigated. A higher and stable methane production rate, in comparison to MW-free controls, was achieved for 80 days at organic loading rates of 1 – 2 g VS/L. d, using a feed substrate pre-treated with incinerator bottom ash (IBA). The boiler ash and cement-based waste pre-treatments also produced high methane production rates but with some process instability. In contrast, an incinerator fly ash pre-treatment showed a progressive decrease in methane production rates and poor process stability, leading to reactor failure after 40 days. To avoid process instability and /or reactor failure two metrics had to be met: a) a methanogenesis to fermentation ratio higher than 0.6 and b) a cell specific methanogenic activity to cell specific fermentation activity ratio of > 1000. The prevalence of Methanofastidiosum together with a mixed community of acetoclastic (Methanosaeta) and hydrogenotrophic (Methanobacterium) methanogens in the stable IBA treatment indicated the importance of Methanofastidiosum as a potential indicator of a healthy and stable reactor.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Shamurad B, Gray N, Petropoulos E, Dolfing J, Quintela-Baluja M, Bashiri R, Tabraiz S, Sallis P

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Environmental Science and Technology

Year: 2020

Volume: 54

Issue: 14

Pages: 9095-9105

Print publication date: 21/07/2020

Online publication date: 17/06/2020

Acceptance date: 17/06/2020

Date deposited: 03/07/2020

ISSN (electronic): 1382-3124

Publisher: American Chemical Society

URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c01732

DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c01732

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