Improving Evaluation of Anaerobic Digestion Processes

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Diverting organic waste from landfills substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions and leachate production. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of liquid and solid organic wastes from municipal, industrial and agricultural sources is a preferred waste management strategy. AD stabilizes the waste and generates biogas that can be used for electricity and heating purposes, or upgraded to renewable natural gas (RNG). The equipment requested in this proposal will provide all trainees associated with BioZone with knowledge and the necessary equipment to quantify biogas production from a wide range of solid and liquid organic residues. The research centres around the use of variations of the well-established Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) and Anaerobic Toxicity Assays (ATA). These two assays continue to be valuable tools to access the potential for biogas production or for inhibition of biogas generation for all kinds of different organic waste material. ******The BMP and ATA methods are prone to uncertainties from repetitive gas volume measurement with syringes from 100-200 mL rubber-stoppered glass bottles. To minimize these errors, and to accommodate real solid wastes with heterogeneous composition and large particle size (e.g. green bin waste), we need to carry out BMP tests in large bottles from 1 to 10 L. Such experiments will be greatly improved with the use of an automated gas measurement system and larger walk-in heated chambers for incubating bottles. Therefore, we are requesting a set of 24 MilliGas counters that will measure the amount of gas produced in a continuous and accurate way. Data acquisition software and a computer are also needed to store and process data from the MilliGas counters. BMP bottles are first prepared inside an anaerobic chamber to minimize oxygen contamination. A gas meter to monitor the H2 and O2 composition inside the chamber is requested to replace a poorly functioning instrument. BMP bottles will be incubated at 37oC or 55oC in the requested small walk-in chamber. Bottles will be sampled regularly for fermentation products, and gas composition, while DNA, RNA or protein will be extracted for microbial community or enzymatic analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding the process under study. ******The equipment requested will support undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates and technicians in our collaborative research centre called BioZone. Highlighted projects include resource recycling and renewable energy production from pulp and paper mills and greenhouse gas emission reduction from landfills in Ontario and Brazil. New AD technology is expected to completely change how mixed organic solid and liquid waste is treated in Canada and around the world. The trainees involved will be well-prepared for future greener waste and wastewater management strategies and the circular economy.**