Anaerobic treatment of apple waste with swine manure for biogas production: Batch and continuous operation

This study evaluated the performance of anaerobic digesters using a mixture of apple waste (AW) and swine manure (SM). Tests were performed using both batch and continuous digesters. The batch test evaluated the gas potential, gas production rate of the AW and SM (Experiment I), and the effect of AW co-digestion with SM (33:67,% volatile solids (VSs) basis) (Experiment II) at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures. The first-order kinetic model and modified Gompertz model were also evaluated for methane yield. The continuous test evaluated the performance of a single stage completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with different mixture ratios of AW and SM at mesophilic temperature. The ultimate biogas and methane productivity of AW in terms of total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) was determined to be 510 and 252 mL/g TCOD added, respectively. The mixture of AW and SM improved the biogas yield by approximately 16% and 48% at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures, respectively, compared to the use of SM only, but no significant difference was found in the methane yield. The difference between the predicted and measured methane yield was higher with a first order kinetic model (4.6–18.1%) than with a modified Gompertz model (1.2–3.4%). When testing continuous digestion, the methane yield increased from 146 to 190 mL/g TCOD added when the AW content in the feed was increased from 25% to 33% (VS basis) at a constant organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.6 g VS/L/d and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 30 days. However, the total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) accumulation increased rapidly and the pH, methane content, and biogas production decreased continuously when the AW content in the feed was increased to 50%.