Single Stage Anaerobic Digestion Process. Megas Process. Final Report

摘要

The rate-limiting step in the anaerobic digestion of domestic sewage sludge and agricultural manures is usually considered the conversion of acetate to methane and carbon dioxide. Some reports have suggested that phase transfer of endproduct carbon dioxide from the liquid to gaseous state may be the overall rate-limiting step. Research to date has focused on batch fermentation studies at varying carbon dioxide partial pressures (pCO sub 2 ) using simple substrates such as glucose or acetate. The results indicate that lowering the pCO sub 2 may increase methane production and waste stabilization rates. This research was conducted using continuous fermentations. Continuous fermentations using a complex synthetic waste were performed over a five-month period. The results obtained failed to support the findings of earlier batch studies where methane production increased as pCO sub 2 decreased. No significant difference in methane production was found between anaerobic digestion at low pCO sub 2 (0.1 to 0.15 atm) and normal pCO sub 2 (0.4 to 0.5 atm). 15 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs. (ERA citation 11:019399)