Anaerobic Treatment of Dairy Wastewater: Impact of Substrate-to-Inoculum Ratio on Biomethane Production
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 1
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion (AD) of synthetic and real dairy wastewater was the focus of the study for parametric estimation of kinetic models with examining biochemical methane potential (BMP), treatment efficiency, and energy effectiveness of the process. The effect of substrate-to-inoculum ratio () on batch reactor performance was investigated under mesophilic () conditions for 30 days. Based on the volatile solid (VS) content, three different ratios were considered: (Treatment A), (Treatment B), and (Treatment C). Organic matter removal in VS units was as high as 56%. Almost 90% of the biogas was produced during the first 14 days of digestion, with a biogas yield of , , and VS for Treatments A, B, and C, respectively. Methane content increased with increasing inoculum amounts in the medium. The experimental cumulative methane yield from both synthetic and real dairy wastewater was contoured for parametric estimation in four different kinetic models, namely first-order (FO), modified Gompertz equation (GE), modified logistic (LM), and modified transference (TM) models. The modified TM model was the best fit for overall treatment, with predicted methane production potential of 279.8 and VS compared with the experimental value of 272 and VS in treatment C for synthetic and real dairy wastewater, respectively. Preliminary studies showed the potential of energy generation, which may supplement 32% of the overall energy use. These results demonstrate the importance of understanding the effect of the ratio involved in AD to treat synthetic and real dairy wastewater.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published paper.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, for the grant to Dr. Md Oayes Midda [Grant number DST/TMD-EWO/WTI/2K19/EWFH/2019/226(C)]. The authors thank the Material Research Centre at MNIT Jaipur, India, for providing the necessary facilities for characterization.
References
Admasu, A., W. Bogale, and Y. S. Mekonnen. 2022. “Experimental and simulation analysis of biogas production from beverage wastewater sludge for electricity generation.” Sci. Rep. 12 (1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12811-3.
Alberts, J. J., and Z. Filip. 1998. “Metal binding in estuarine humic and fulvic acids: FTIR analysis of humic acid-metal complexes.” Environ. Technol. 19 (9): 923–931. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593331908616750.
Alves, M. M., M. A. Pereira, D. Z. Sousa, A. J. Cavaleiro, M. Picavet, H. Smidt, and A. J. M. Stams. 2009. “Waste lipids to energy: How to optimize methane production from long-chain fatty acids (LCFA).” Microb. Biotechnol. 2 (5): 538–550. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-7915.2009.00100.x.
Andrade, L. H., F. D. Mendez, J. C. Espindola, and M. C. S. Amaral. 2014. “Internal versus external submerged membrane bioreactor configurations for dairy wastewater treatment.” Desalin. Water Treat. 52 (16–18): 2920–2932. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2013.799048.
Antwi, P., J. Li, P. O. Boadi, J. Meng, F. K. Quashie, X. Wang, N. Ren, and G. Buelna. 2017. “Efficiency of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating potato starch processing wastewater and related process kinetics, functional microbial community and sludge morphology.” Bioresour. Technol. 239 (Sep): 105–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.04.124.
APHA (American Public Health Association). 2017. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. Washington, DC: APHA.
Balasundaram, G., P. K. Vidyarthi, P. Gahlot, P. Arora, V. Kumar, M. Kumar, A. A. Kazmi, and V. K. Tyagi. 2022. “Energy feasibility and life cycle assessment of sludge pretreatment methods for advanced anaerobic digestion.” Bioresour. Technol. 357 (Aug): 127345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127345.
Bandyopadhyay, R., S. D. Chowdhury, P. Bhunia, and R. Y. Surampalli. 2023. “Impact of the organic strength of dairy wastewater and vermibed depth on the performance of macrophyte-assisted vermifilters.” J. Hazards Toxic Radioact. Waste. 27 (3): 04023012. https://doi.org/10.1061/JHTRBP.HZENG-1205.
Basheer, F., A. Aziz, D. Sharma, A. Sengar, and I. H. Farooqi. 2021. “Bioenergy production and slaughterhouse wastewater treatment in a column-type anaerobic sequencing batch reactor without any external mixer or gas or liquid recirculation.” J. Environ. Eng. 147 (3): 04021004. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001859.
Batstone, D. J., and B. Virdis. 2014. “The role of anaerobic digestion in the emerging energy economy.” Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 27 (Jun): 142–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2014.01.013.
Bhuyar, K. D., S. G. Suke, and S. D. Dawande. 2015. “Treatment of milk wastewater using up-flow anaerobic packed bed reactor.” Polish J. Chem. Technol. 17 (2): 84–88. https://doi.org/10.1515/pjct-2015-0034.
Cao, X., X. Wang, H. Wang, and F. Liu. 2023. “Effects of substrate rheological properties on microbial community and biogas production in anaerobic digestion.” J. Environ. Eng. 149 (8): 04023042. https://doi.org/10.1061/JOEEDU.EEENG-7223.
Charalambous, P., J. Shin, S. G. Shin, and I. Vyrides. 2020. “Anaerobic digestion of industrial dairy wastewater and cheese whey: Performance of internal circulation bioreactor and laboratory batch test at pH 5-6.” Renew. Energy 147 (Mar): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.08.091.
Chen, R., M. M. Rojas-Downing, Y. Zhong, C. M. Saffron, and W. Liao. 2015. “Life cycle and economic assessment of anaerobic co-digestion of dairy manure and food waste.” Ind. Biotechnol. 11 (2): 127–139. https://doi.org/10.1089/ind.2014.0029.
Chen, X., R. Tang, Y. Wang, S. Yuan, W. Wang, I. M. Ali, and Z. H. Hu. 2021. “Effect of ultrasonic and ozone pretreatment on the fate of enteric indicator bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes, and anaerobic digestion of dairy wastewater.” Bioresour. Technol. 320 (Jan): 124356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.124356.
Chou, Y. C., and J. J. Su. 2019. “Biogas production by anaerobic co-digestion of dairy wastewater with the crude glycerol from slaughterhouse sludge cake transesterification.” Animals 9 (9): 618. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090618.
Córdoba, V., M. Fernández, and E. Santalla. 2018. “The effect of substrate/inoculum ratio on the kinetics of methane production in swine wastewater anaerobic digestion.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 25 (22): 21308–21317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0039-6.
Cuetos, M. J., A. Morán, M. Otero, and X. Gómez. 2009. “Anaerobic co-digestion of poultry blood with OFMSW: FTIR and TG-DTG study of process stabilization.” Environ. Technol. 30 (6): 571–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330902835730.
DAHD (Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying). 2022. Basic animal husbandry statistics. The Hague, Netherlands: Dept. of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India.
De Mes, T. Z. D., A. J. M. Stams, J. H. Reith, and G. Zeeman. 2003. “Methane production by anaerobic digestion of wastewater and solid wastes production.” In Bio-methane Bio-hydrogen. The Hague, Netherlands: Dutch Biological Hydrogen Foundation.
Donoso-Bravo, A., S. I. Pérez-Elvira, and F. Fdz-Polanco. 2010. “Application of simplified models for anaerobic biodegradability tests. Evaluation of pre-treatment processes.” Chem. Eng. J. 160 (2): 607–614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2010.03.082.
Emebu, S., J. Pecha, and D. Janáčová. 2022. “Review on anaerobic digestion models: Model classification & elaboration of process phenomena.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 160 (May): 12288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112288.
Enokihara, G. H., C. C. A. Loures, H. J. Izário Filho, M. A. K. Alcântara, A. F. Siqueira, P. C. M. Da Rós, D. A. S. Napoleão, and L. G. de Aguiar. 2022. “Kinetic modelling of total organic carbon degradation in dairy wastewater.” Environ. Technol. 2022 (Oct): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2022.2130103.
Feng, L., Y. Li, C. Chen, X. Liu, X. Xiao, X. Ma, R. Zhang, Y. He, and G. Liu. 2013. “Biochemical methane potential (BMP) of vinegar residue and the influence of feed to inoculum ratios on biogas production.” Bioresources 8 (2): 2487–2498. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.8.2.2487-2498.
Ferreira, T. F., P. A. Santos, A. V. Paula, H. F. de Castro, and G. S. S. Andrade. 2021. “Biogas generation by hybrid treatment of dairy wastewater with lipolytic whole cell preparations and anaerobic sludge.” Biochem. Eng. J. 169 (May): 107965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2021.107965.
Hassan, A. N., and B. K. Nelson. 2012. “Invited review: Anaerobic fermentation of dairy food wastewater.” J. Dairy Sci. 95 (11): 6188–6203. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-5732.
Ji, J., A. Kakade, Z. Yu, A. Khan, P. Liu, and X. Li. 2020. “Anaerobic membrane bioreactors for treatment of emerging contaminants: A review.” J. Environ. Manage. 270 (Sep): 110913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110913.
Kafle, G. K., and L. Chen. 2016. “Comparison on batch anaerobic digestion of five different livestock manures and prediction of biochemical methane potential (BMP) using different statistical models.” Waste Manage. 48 (Feb): 492–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2015.10.021.
Kheiredine, B., K. Derbal, and M. Bencheikh-Lehocine. 2014. “Effect of inoculums to substrate ratio on thermophilic anaerobic digestion of the dairy wastewater.” Chem. Eng. Trans. 37 (Aug): 865–870. https://doi.org/10.3303/CET1437145.
Kong, X., S. Xu, J. Liu, H. Li, K. Zhao, and L. He. 2016. “Enhancing anaerobic digestion of high-pressure extruded food waste by inoculum optimization.” J. Environ. Manage. 166 (Jan): 31–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.10.002.
Li, L., X. Kong, F. Yang, D. Li, Z. Yuan, and Y. Sun. 2012. “Biogas production potential and kinetics of microwave and conventional thermal pretreatment of grass.” Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 166 (5): 1183–1191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-011-9503-9.
Li, Y., Z. Chen, Y. Peng, W. Huang, J. Liu, V. Mironov, and S. Zhang. 2022. “Deeper insights into the effects of substrate to inoculum ratio selection on the relationship of kinetic parameters, microbial communities, and key metabolic pathways during the anaerobic digestion of food waste.” Water Res. 217 (Jun): 118440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118440.
Liu, G., R. Zhang, H. M. El-Mashad, and R. Dong. 2009. “Effect of feed to inoculum ratios on biogas yields of food and green wastes.” Bioresour. Technol. 100 (21): 5103–5108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2009.03.081.
Liu, Y.-C., J. Ramiro-Garcia, L. M. Paulo, C. M. Braguglia, M. C. Gagliano, and V. O’Flaherty. 2023. “Psychrophilic and mesophilic anaerobic treatment of synthetic dairy wastewater with long chain fatty acids: Process performances and microbial community dynamics.” Bioresour. Technol. 380 (Jul): 129124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129124.
Ma, X., T. Jiang, J. Chang, Q. Tang, T. Luo, and Z. Cui. 2019. “Effect of substrate to inoculum ratio on biogas production and microbial community during hemi-solid-state batch anaerobic co-digestion of rape straw and dairy manure.” Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 189 (Nov): 884–902. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-019-03035-9.
Magdziarz, A., and M. Wilk. 2013. “Thermogravimetric study of biomass, sewage sludge and coal combustion.” Energy Convers. Manage. 75 (Nov): 425–430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2013.06.016.
Martínez, E. J., M. V. Gil, C. Fernandez, J. G. Rosas, and X. Gómez. 2016. “Anaerobic codigestion of sludge: Addition of butcher’s fat waste as a cosubstrate for increasing biogas production.” PLoS One 11 (4): e0153139. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153139.
Mothe, S., V. R. Polisetty, P. Sridhar, R. Y. Surampalli, T. C. Zhang, R. D. Tyagi, and P. Bhunia. 2022. “Comparison of GHG emissions from open field burning and anaerobic digestion of rice straw.” Environ. Technol. 2022 (Dec): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2022.2153749.
Neves, L., R. Oliveira, and M. M. Alves. 2004. “Influence of inoculum activity on the bio-methanization of a kitchen waste under different waste/inoculum ratios.” Process Biochem. 39 (12): 2019–2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2003.10.002.
Parihar, R. K., S. P. Chaurasia, and M. O. Midda. 2023. “An overview of anaerobic membrane bioreactors’ evolving research statistics for treating wastewater.” Mater. Today Proc. 2023 (Mar): 21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2023.03.156.
Pellera, F.-M., and E. Gidarakos. 2016. “Effect of substrate to inoculum ratio and inoculum type on the biochemical methane potential of solid agroindustrial waste.” J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 4 (3): 3217–3229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2016.05.026.
Pommier, S., D. Chenu, M. Quintard, and X. Lefebvre. 2006. “A logistic model for the prediction of the influence of water on the solid waste methanization in landfill.” Biotechnol. Bioeng. 97 (3): 473–482. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.21241.
Rad, S. J., and M. J. Lewis. 2014. “Water utilisation, energy utilisation and waste water management in the dairy industry: A review.” Int. J. Dairy Technol. 67 (1): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0307.12096.
Rodgers, M., L. W. Xiao, and J. Mulqueen. 2006. “Synthetic dairy wastewater treatment using a new horizontal-flow biofilm reactor.” J. Environ. Sci. Health., Part A. 41 (5): 751–761. https://doi.org/10.1080/10934520600614322.
Samal, K., R. Roshan, and P. Bhunia. 2017. “Performance assessment of a Canna indica assisted vermifilter for synthetic dairy wastewater treatment.” Process Saf. Environ. Prot. 111 (Oct): 363–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2017.07.027.
Sampson, I. E., C. P. Ukpaka, and D. N. Ogbonna. 2018. “Modeling an anaerobic reactor for the treatment of industrial waste water.” Int. J. Adv. Sci. Technol. Eng. 4 (10): 62–85.
Sasidharan, R., A. Kumar, B. Paramasivan, and A. Sahoo. 2023. “Reduced graphene oxide-nano zerovalent iron assisted anaerobic digestion of dairy wastewater: A potential strategy for enrichment.” J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 11 (3): 110035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2023.110035.
Sharma, S. K., D. S. Verma, L. U. Khan, S. Kumar, and S. B. Khan. 2018. Handbook of materials characterization. New York: Springer.
Sohn, W., W. Guo, H. H. Ngo, L. Deng, D. Cheng, and X. Zhang. 2021. “A review on membrane fouling control in anaerobic membrane bioreactors by adding performance enhancers.” J. Water Process Eng. 40 (Apr): 101867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101867.
Szabo-Corbacho, M. A., S. Pacheco-Ruiz, D. Míguez, C. M. Hooijmans, H. A. García, D. Brdjanovic, and J. B. van Lier. 2021. “Impact of solids retention time on the biological performance of an AnMBR treating lipid-rich synthetic dairy wastewater.” Environ. Technol. 42 (4): 597–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2019.1639829.
USEPA. 1993. Method 410.4, revision 2.0: The determination of chemical oxygen demand by semi-automated colorimetry. Cincinnati: USEPA.
Weiss, A., and L. Schebek. 2021. “The net energy ratio of microalgae biofuels production based on correlated cultivation parameters in flat plate photobioreactors.” J. Cleaner Prod. 287 (Mar): 125073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125073.
Xing, B. S., S. Cao, Y. Han, J. Wen, K. Zhang, and X. C. Wang. 2020. “Stable and high-rate anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and cow manure: Optimisation of start-up conditions.” Bioresour. Technol. 307 (Jul): 123195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123195.
Yahya, M., C. Herrmann, S. Ismaili, C. Jost, I. Truppel, and A. Ghorbal. 2022. “Kinetic studies for hydrogen and methane co-production from food wastes using multiple models.” Biomass Bioenergy 161 (Jun): 106449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2022.106449.
Ye, M., and Y.-Y. Li. 2023. “Methanogenic treatment of dairy wastewater: A review of current obstacles and new technological perspectives.” Sci. Total Environ. 866 (Mar): 161447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161447.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 1 • January 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 5, 2023
Accepted: Jul 27, 2023
Published online: Oct 20, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 20, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Anaerobic processes
- Biological processes
- Biomass
- Chemicals
- Chemistry
- Continuum mechanics
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Energy engineering
- Energy sources (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Environmental engineering
- Fuels
- Geology
- Geotechnical engineering
- Kinetics
- Mathematics
- Methane
- Non-renewable energy
- Organic compounds
- Parameters (statistics)
- Solid mechanics
- Statistics
- Substrates
- Waste management
- Waste treatment
- Wastewater management
- Wastewater treatment
- Water treatment
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.