Anaerobic digestion

Intro-
The more popular method of food-waste-to energy is anaerobic digestion
process. In this process, food and agricultural waste is broken down into bio-
energy sources and microbial fuel cells. Anaerobic digestion is becoming more
popular in modern times due to its eco-friendliness since the decomposition of
waste into energy source is done through natural decomposition of organic
waste. Anaerobic Digestion also offers a valuable and innovative way to divert
waste from the landfill, this is an immense benefit especially in developing and
agricultural countries. Many developed nations have started using this process
and established industrial plants for this purpose.
Method-
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is often considered to be a complex process as the
digestion itself is based on a reduction process consisting of a number of
biochemical reactions taking place in oxygen-deficient conditions (Adenkule &
Okolie, 2015). A wide range of food waste can be used as substrate for the
production of biogas (Adenkule & Okolie, 2015). Microorganisms carrying out the
digestion are affected by the physiology, nutritional needs, growth kinetics and
environmental sensitivity and thus can affect the conversion rate and yield
efficiency in each phase. Therefore, the composition of the biomass of food waste
can affect efficiency and degradation rate and as such must be ensured that the
biomass meets the nutritional requirements for the microorganisms to grow.
The anaerobic digestion process of food waste can be divided into two phases,
the acid phase and gas phase, with each phase having two steps each. In the acid
phase, the first stage is hydrolysis. This stage is carried out by strict anaerobic and
facultative bacteria such as clostridia, streptococci etc. (Adenkule & Okolie, 2015).
These bacteria secrete different types of extracellular enzymes that break down
unabsorbable organic waste and polymers such as lipids, polysaccharides, protein,
fats etc. into monomers i.e., monosaccharides, amino acids etc. which can be
used as energy and nutrition sources. Other microorganisms release specialized
enzymes that break down particular compounds such as sugar and protein. The
rate of decomposition greatly depends on the composition of the biomass and
some materials such as cellulose and hemicellulose transform comparatively
slower. The second step is acidogenesis. The monomers generated during the
hydrolysis step are taken up by various facultative and anaerobic bacteria and
broken down further into acids, alcohols, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide during
this stage. The concentration of hydrogen formed as an intermediate product
influences the type of final product produced during the fermentation process
(Adenkule & Okolie, 2015).
The second phase is the Gas(methane) phase which has two stages, acetogenesis
and methanogenesis. In acetogenesis, the products produced during acidogenesis
phase are consumed as substrates by other microorganisms and anaerobic
oxidation takes place. Products that cannot be turned into methane directly like
as volatile fatty acids (VFA) and alcohol are converted into methanogenic
substrates such as acetate, hydrogen and carbon dioxide, VFA with carbon chains
longer than one unit are oxidized into acetate and hydrogen (Adenkule & Okolie,
2015). During this stage, collaboration with methanogens will only occur if the
partial pressure of hydrogen is slow and to produce methane, they must
continuously consume H2. Therefore, it is important to check the partial pressure
of H2 present in the system during this stage. The methanogenesis stage is a
critical in the entire anaerobic digestion process. Here, methanogenic bacteria
produce methane and carbon dioxide from intermediate products while operating
in an anaerobic environment. This is the slowest biochemical reaction of the
entire process culminating in the formation of microbial fuel cells.

Pros-
Bangladesh being an agricultural country, produces lots of food products each
year. However, a large portion of food bought gets wasted and end up as organic
waste in landfills that cause damage to the area and also the environment.
However, anaerobic digestion can greatly help in reducing landfills by diverting
the organic waste away from open environments into enclosed and controlled
spaces. Anaerobic digestion also helps in maintaining the nutrient cycle and
recycling food waste into organic fertilizer that can be used reused in farms. But
one of the biggest benefits and its main selling point is the production of heat,
electricity, or fuel from biogas which would lessen the country’s dependence on
fossil fuel and natural gas energy. Other than environmental benefits, it also has
economic benefits. The adoption of anaerobic digestion can create local job
opportunities in digester plants and increase local tax revenue. New work
positions created can reduce the unemployment problem and improve individual
financial condition by creating opportunities for skilled laborers for plant
operations and system maintenance, local contractors specializing in site work,
concrete, plumbing, electrical, permitting and engineering during the planning
and construction phase of the operations, businesses that could trade and
specialize in nutrient, manure solids and energy markets and Agro-tourism
(MVTechnologies, 2020). Converting to biogas and biofuel an also reduce energy
costs and with the amount of food created and wasted, we can also trade fuel
with other countries for more revenue. As biofuel is considered environment-
friendly, Bangladesh can receive more funding and benefits from international
environmental protection organizations and UNEP to further develop Bangladesh.
Cons-
Despite the benefits, this process does have its share of criticisms. First of all,
while anaerobic digestion works regardless of the nature of the food waste, it is
not very efficient unless industrial-scale setups need to be done for it to be
economically viable which would require a high level of investment in farms and
wastewater treatment facilities. Skilled workers are also a necessity for maximum
efficiency. Anaerobic digestion does not convert as large a proportion of the
carbon in the biomass to biogas as can be achieved using other process such as
gasification (ANAEROBIC DIGESTION, 2015). Besides this, nutrient removal is not
as efficient as in aerobic treatment if used as a water treatment process
(ANAEROBIC DIGESTION, 2015). Therefore, water treatment plants need to treat
waste water post-process with membrane filtration or even further aerobic
treatment before it can be discharged to any water body.
International relevancy-
Despite the disadvantages the benefits are enough for many countries to utilizing
anaerobic digestion (AD) process. There are about 250 farm-scale anaerobic
digesters, around 1,250 wastewater treatment plants, and 38 industrial (stand-
alone) AD plants in the world (ABC, 2016). Some mentionable countries include
Mexico which has a covered lagoon digester at Juan Diego Farm. In Thailand, the
Ban Nue Farm uses a plug flow digester. A food-waste-to-energy company in the
UK called ReFood uses its anaerobic digestion technology to produce a high-
quality fertilizer (Rawat, 2021). This liquid fertilizer produced from digestate (a by-
product of AD) is a suitable alternative to traditional chemical fertilizers. The
fertilizer is rich in major plant nutrients, contains no fossil fuels maximizing plant
growth. Moreover, it meets the requirements of UK for quality, consistency and
safety (Rawat, 2021). Swedish biotech Biofrigas produces biomethane to power
households and restaurants. Additionally, this fuel can also be used by small
farms. In the United States, over 1,200 WRRFs have anaerobic digesters that treat
wastewater solids and produce biogas (EPA, n/a). Two examples are The
Barstow’s Dairy and Bakery where hundred pounds of manure per day are treated
through an anaerobic digester to generate electricity and The Massachusetts
Farm Energy Program (MFEP), a joint project of the Center for EcoTechnology and
the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources which offers a range of
services to the farming community to reduce energy use and produce renewable
energy that focuses on bringing projects from concept to completion (Premo,
2020)
References:
1. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Anaerobic Digestion vs Composting,
(2015). Retrieved from https://blog.anaerobic-digestion.com/anaerobic-
digestion-vs-composting/
2. Adenkule, K. F. & Okolie J. A. (2015). A Review of Biochemical Process of
Anaerobic Digestion. Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology, 06(03), 1-7,
doi: 10.4236/abb.2015.63020
3. Rawat, S. (2021). Transforming Food waste into Bioenergy. Labiotech.eu.
retrieved from https://www.labiotech.eu/in-depth/food-waste-bioenergy/
4. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). Types of Anaerobic
Digesters. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/anaerobic-
digestion/types-anaerobic-digesters
5. Premo, B. (2020). Anaerobic Digestion: A Solution to Diverting Wasted
Food. Center for EcoTechnology. Retrieved from
https://www.centerforecotechnology.org/anaerobic-digestion-a-solution-
to-diverting-food-waste/