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Enhanced high-quality biomethane production from anaerobic digestion of primary sludge by corn stover biochar
Summary
Researchers showed that adding corn stover biochar to anaerobic digesters processing primary sewage sludge increased methane content from 67.5% to up to 87.3%, enhanced methane yields by up to 18%, and reduced digestate volume by 15% over a 116-day continuous trial — demonstrating biochar as a practical tool for improving both energy recovery and sludge reduction in wastewater treatment.
This study conducted batch and continuous tests to reveal the feasibility of corn stover biochar on improving anaerobic digestion of primary sludge (PS). Dosing biochar (1.82, 2.55 and 3.06 g/g Total Solids (TS)) in digester improved methane content increasing from 67.5% to 81.3-87.3% and enhanced methane production by 8.6-17.8%. Model analysis indicated that biochar accelerated PS hydrolysis and enhanced methane potential of PS. The mechanistic studies showed that biochar enhanced process stability provided by strong buffering capacity and alleviated NH inhibition. In continuous test over 116 days, the volatile solids (VS) destruction in the biochar-dosed digester increased by 14.9%, resulting in a 14% reduction in the volume of digestate for disposal. Biochar changed microbial community in an expected direction for anaerobic digestion. This work suggests that biochar technology would apply to co-digestion of WAS and PS to maximize the energy recovery and sludge reduction from the two sludge streams.