Evaluation of the biogas potential of a lignocellulosic residue

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion (AD) or methanization is a biological process that allows the treatment of organic wastes and the production of renewable energy as biogas. This research describes assessment and optimization of dates pedicels rich in organic components under the conditions of mesophiles in co-digestion in association with the cattle manure and sludge of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). To realize this objectives, we investigated the impact of substrate load (date pedicel) on the co-digestion anaerobic of date pedicels and the sludge in wastewater treatment plants. The different parameters of the digester stability such as the pH, VFA, CAT, ammoniacal nitrogen, and the volume of biogas produced were followed. The results show that by increasing the mass of the pedicels and therefore the percentage of the substrate in the reactor, from 0.5 to 1% (W/V), the volume of produced biogas increases by five times. However, an increase in the percentage of the substrate introduced into the digester from 1 to 2% resulted in a slight decrease in the volume of biogas produced. The use of fresh cattle manure as inoculum shown a significant improvement (40%) in the production of biogas, which can be attributed to the nature of the inoculum. Indeed, cattle manure fresh is more adapted for the fermentation of lignocellulosic materials unlike sludge of wastewater treatment plants which may contain toxic substances that limit their use in AD.