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Improving Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge by Hydrogen Addition: Analysis of Microbial Populations and Process Performance

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  • Elia Judith Martínez

    (Chemical and Environmental Bioprocess Engineering Group, Natural Resources Institute (IRENA), University of Leon, Av. de Portugal 41, 24009 Leon, Spain)

  • Ana Sotres

    (Chemical and Environmental Bioprocess Engineering Group, Natural Resources Institute (IRENA), University of Leon, Av. de Portugal 41, 24009 Leon, Spain)

  • Cristián B. Arenas

    (Chemical and Environmental Bioprocess Engineering Group, Natural Resources Institute (IRENA), University of Leon, Av. de Portugal 41, 24009 Leon, Spain)

  • Daniel Blanco

    (Chemical and Environmental Bioprocess Engineering Group, Natural Resources Institute (IRENA), University of Leon, Av. de Portugal 41, 24009 Leon, Spain)

  • Olegario Martínez

    (Chemical and Environmental Bioprocess Engineering Group, Natural Resources Institute (IRENA), University of Leon, Av. de Portugal 41, 24009 Leon, Spain)

  • Xiomar Gómez

    (Chemical and Environmental Bioprocess Engineering Group, Natural Resources Institute (IRENA), University of Leon, Av. de Portugal 41, 24009 Leon, Spain)

Abstract

The effect of hydrogen pulse addition on digestion performance of sewage sludge was evaluated as a means for studying the increase in efficiency of methane production. Microbial communities were also evaluated to get an insight of the changes caused by the operational modifications of the digester. An energy evaluation of this alternative was performed considering the theoretical process of coupling bioelectrochemical systems (BES) for the treatment of wastewater along with hydrogen production and the subsequent anaerobic digestion. The addition of hydrogen to sewage sludge digestion resulted in an increase of 12% in biogas production over the control (1353 mL CH 4 d −1 at an injection flow rate of 1938 mL H 2 d −1 ). The liquid phase of the sludge reactor and the H 2 supplemented one did not show significant differences, thus indicating that the application of hydrogen as the co-substrate was not detrimental. High-throughput sequencing analysis showed slight changes in archaeal relative abundance after hydrogen addition, whereas eubacterial community structure and composition revealed noteworthy shifts. The mass and energy balance indicated that the amount of hydrogen obtained from a hypothetical BES can be assimilated in the sludge digester, improving biogas production, but this configuration was not capable of covering all energy needs under the proposed scenario.

Suggested Citation

  • Elia Judith Martínez & Ana Sotres & Cristián B. Arenas & Daniel Blanco & Olegario Martínez & Xiomar Gómez, 2019. "Improving Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge by Hydrogen Addition: Analysis of Microbial Populations and Process Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:7:p:1228-:d:218537
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gu, Yifan & Li, Yue & Li, Xuyao & Luo, Pengzhou & Wang, Hongtao & Robinson, Zoe P. & Wang, Xin & Wu, Jiang & Li, Fengting, 2017. "The feasibility and challenges of energy self-sufficient wastewater treatment plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 1463-1475.
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    3. Escapa, A. & Mateos, R. & Martínez, E.J. & Blanes, J., 2016. "Microbial electrolysis cells: An emerging technology for wastewater treatment and energy recovery. From laboratory to pilot plant and beyond," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 942-956.
    4. Pöschl, Martina & Ward, Shane & Owende, Philip, 2010. "Evaluation of energy efficiency of various biogas production and utilization pathways," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(11), pages 3305-3321, November.
    5. Stanisław Wacławek & Klaudiusz Grübel & Daniele Silvestri & Vinod V. T. Padil & Maria Wacławek & Miroslav Černík & Rajender S. Varma, 2018. "Disintegration of Wastewater Activated Sludge (WAS) for Improved Biogas Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Achinas, Spyridon & Willem Euverink, Gerrit Jan, 2020. "Rambling facets of manure-based biogas production in Europe: A briefing," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Simona Di Fraia & M. Rakib Uddin, 2022. "Energy Recovery from Waste Paper and Deinking Sludge to Support the Demand of the Paper Industry: A Numerical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, April.
    3. Fagbohungbe, Michael O. & Komolafe, Abiodun O. & Okere, Uchechukwu V., 2019. "Renewable hydrogen anaerobic fermentation technology: Problems and potentials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Alberto Carotenuto & Simona Di Fraia & Nicola Massarotti & Szymon Sobek & M. Rakib Uddin & Laura Vanoli & Sebastian Werle, 2023. "Sewage Sludge Gasification Process Optimization for Combined Heat and Power Generation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-22, June.
    5. Cristian Bernabé Arenas Sevillano & Marco Chiappero & Xiomar Gomez & Silvia Fiore & E. Judith Martínez, 2020. "Improving the Anaerobic Digestion of Wine-Industry Liquid Wastes: Treatment by Electro-Oxidation and Use of Biochar as an Additive," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.

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