Evaluation of Microbial Population Dynamics in Anaerobic Digesters during Stable Operation, Reactor Failure and Performance Recovery

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The co-utilization of agricultural and industrial waste streams as feedstock for anaerobic bioreactor systems has emerged as a promising technology for value-added product synthesis. Conversion of animal manures and waste streams originating from food processing and biofuel production industries to commercially important bio-products (such as biogas) serves multiple goals of environmental reclamation, renewable fuel production, greenhouse gas mitigation, and economic development. Anaerobic co-digestion of agricultural and industrial wastes is a growing industry in Canada with potential for significant expansion. One of the enduring challenges of anaerobic digesters is system stability in the face of varying feedstock quality to ensure reliable energy supplies and uninterrupted operations. Process instability can be caused by toxic, organic, or hydraulic overload. Factors leading to toxic overload include accidental spillage of toxic compounds (antimicrobial disinfectants, antibiotics) into the influent, while variable feed consistency, excessive solids content or insufficient retention time can lead to organic overload. Consequently, digesters are usually not operated at their maximum design capacity in order to avoid collapse of gas production. A better understanding of the complex processes involved in anaerobic digestion is needed to improve process stability, monitoring and overall efficiency.