Journal
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
Volume 102, Issue 17, Pages 7815-7826Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2011.06.053
Keywords
Sludge pretreatment; Microwave; Ultrasound; MicroSludge (R); Anaerobic digestion
Funding
- NSERC Discovery
- NSERC ENGAGE
- British Columbia Ministry of Labour and Citizens
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Microwave (2450 MHz, 1250 W), ultrasonic (20 kHz, 400 W) and chemo-mechanical (MicroSludge (R) with 900 mg/L NaOH followed by 83,000 kPa) pretreatments were applied to pulp mill waste sludge to enhance methane production and reduce digester sludge retention time. The effects of four variables (microwave temperature in a range of 50-175 degrees C) and sonication time (15-90 min), sludge type (primary or secondary) and digester temperature (mesophilic and thermophilic) were investigated. Microwave pretreatment proved to be the most effective, increasing specific methane yields of WAS samples by 90% compared to controls after 21 days of mesophilic digestion. Sonication solubilized the sludge samples better, but resulted in soluble non-biodegradable compounds. Based on the laboratory scale data, MicroSludge was found the least energy intensive pretreatment followed by sonication for 15 min alternative with net energy profits of 1366 and 386 kWh/tonne of total solids (TS), respectively. Pretreatment benefits were smaller for thermophilic digesters. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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