Journal
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
Volume 171, Issue -, Pages 44-49Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.08.029
Keywords
Anaerobic digestion; Waste activated sludge; Ultrasound pre-treatment; Microwave pre-treatment; Pilot scale
Funding
- Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders [IWT/100196]
- Research Council of the KU Leuven [OT/13/063]
- Industrial Research Council of the KU Leuven [KP/10/006 AOPtimise]
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Anaerobic digestion is a well-known technique for the recovery of energy from waste sludge. Pre-treatment methods are useful tools to improve the biodegradability of the sludge and to enhance the digestion efficiency. In this study, an ultrasound (US) and a microwave (MW) pre-treatment were compared in a long-term digestion experiment, using 3 small pilot scale semi-continuous digesters (SRT = 20 days). A specific energy of 96 kJ/kg sludge was applied, hence enabling to compare the effectiveness of both pre-treatment methods towards sludge solubilisation and biogas production enhancement. Total and volatile solids (TS and VS), COD, carbohydrates and proteins were monitored throughout the digestion experiment. It was seen that US was most effective in COD solubilisation. The average biogas increment was 20% for the microwave pre-treatment and 27% for the ultrasonic pre-treatment. However, this additional biogas production did not outweigh the energy consumed by the pre-treatment, leading to a negative energy balance. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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