Anaerobic Digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process in which organic matter is converted by

several independent, consecutive, and parallel reactions.

From: Biotreatment of Industrial Effluents, 2005

Related terms:

Digestion, Biogas, Methane, Sludge, pH, Pretreatment, Biomass, Digester, Mi-

cro-Organism

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Microbiology and biochemistry of

anaerobic digesters: an overview
Spyridon Achinas, ... Gerrit Jan Willem Euverink, in Bioreactors, 2020

Abstract
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a unique process where different microbial species
decompose organic materials in the absence of oxygen. AD has been widely practiced
in full-scale facilities all over the world. Several AD techniques have been applied
to convert livestock manures, waste waters, and solid lignocellulosic waste into
biogas. Among the different conversion processes of biomass, biological AD gains
importance because of its economical and efficient way of recovering carbon in
the form of renewable biogas fuel. Despite the progress in the engineering of AD
systems, pretreatment, microbiology, and reactor configurations create challenges
for further advancements in the operation of AD. The complex microbial activities
involved create constraints on the understanding of the interdependency of the
metabolomic versatility of trophic species.

> Read full chapter

Bioenergy
Mirjam Röder, Andrew Welfle, in Managing Global Warming, 2019

12.5.2 Anaerobic digestion of food wastes

The AD of food wastes also produces renewable fuels in the form of biogas, and
digestate that may be used as biofertilizers, which in turn can mitigate further
emissions by reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Significant quantities of
food wastes are produced around the world, and much is disposed of through landfill
sites.

The diversion of food wastes away from landfill to AD systems may therefore result in
large economic benefits by the avoidance of landfill taxes as well as benefits gained
through potential generation of bioenergy. AD technology pathways for food wastes
are best suited where “wet wastes” (typically < 15% solid material) can be collected
separately at source and utilized as either single or codigestates within centralized
systems [36].

> Read full chapter

Solid state anaerobic digestion of or-

ganic waste for the generation of biogas
and bio manure
Vijayalakshmi Arelli, ... Gangagni Rao Anupoju, in Advanced Organic Waste Man-
agement, 2022

Abstract
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an environmentally benign and economically viable
process for the treatment of organic wastes for the generation of added value
products such as bio gas, volatile fatty acids, bio hydrogen, alcohols and bio ma-
nure. AD is classified into two types, namely wet AD (WAD) and solid-state AD
(SSAD) depending on the total solid's concentration in feedstock. Wet AD is widely
accepted and implemented at full-scale globally for the concomitant treatment
and generation of biogas and bio manure but SSAD is still emerging. Although
SSAD has numerous advantages over Wet AD, but its implementation in real field
is only feasible when the techno-economic viability of the process is established.
Biomethanation of wastes containing high solids such as agricultural waste, MSW
through SSAD is a feasible approach but the limitation of pre-treatment needs to be
addressed to make the process economically feasible. This chapter details about the
classification of AD based on different factors and the merits and demerits of Wet
AD and SSAD. Advantages of the SSAD include less consumption of water content
in the feed stock and the moisture in the digestate is very less compare to WAD,
in addition to this it is more advantageous in terms of reactor volume, substrate
handling, methane yield and requirement of energy. Handling of raw substrate
which is having high TS such as agriculture waste, MSW, household waste and so on
is more suitable in SSAD compare to WAD. In this chapter various aspects related to
SSAD are discussed with following contents.

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Factors affecting anaerobic digestion

for biogas production: a review
Induchoodan TG, ... Ajay S Kalamdhad, in Advanced Organic Waste Management,
2022

14.2.2.3 Solid-State anaerobic digestion (SS-AD)

Anaerobic digestion can be broadly classified in terms of solid content into Liq-
uid/Wet and Solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD). Total solid concentrations
higher than 15 percent is referred to as SS-AD while vice-versa is liquid AD, which
is the conventionally followed procedure. SS-AD reduces the amount of water used
for the process, requires low reactor volume and energy used for heating, increases
OLR, and reduces the dewatering of digestate. However, the low moisture content in
digester leads to poor mixing. This poor mixing subsequently reduces metabolites’
dilution and diffusion rate and reduces the methane yield and lowers the VS reduc-
tion capacity. Sophisticated pieces of equipment are required in order to pump the
slurry due to its low moisture content. This increases the capital cost of the digester
unit (Fagbohungbe et al., 2015).

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Biomass and Biofuel Production

D.J. Roddy, in Comprehensive Renewable Energy, 2012

5.01.5.1 Anaerobic Digestion

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is arguably not a new process: it has been used for many
years for animal manure management. Increasingly, however, it is now being used
as a means of converting waste materials – usually wet materials with a high organic
content – into a biogas that can be used directly as a heating fuel or upgraded to
serve as a replacement for natural gas. At one end of the technology spectrum, it
can be found in the form of a small on-farm unit in (say) China where it is used to
convert animal wastes and vegetable wastes into a cooking fuel. At the other end
of the spectrum, there are people in Germany (where there are more than 6000
sizable plants in operation) working on technology for upgrading the gas to be
compatible with the standard of their national gas grids [11], and others working
on the efficiency of the AD process itself.

AD is a microbial process in which complex organic materials are broken down

into their simpler chemical components by various enzymes [12]. This occurs in
the absence of oxygen and results in the production of biogas and a digestate.
Biogas composition is approximately 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide. Typical
feedstocks for AD reactors often consist of animal slurries, energy crops, and other
agricultural, retail, and industrial wastes. The process can be summarized in four
main stages:

1. Hydrolysis. The complex organic materials (e.g., proteins, lipids, and carbohy-
drates) are broken down into low-molecular-weight compounds such as amino
acids, fatty acids, and simple sugars.
2. Acidogenesis. Acid bacteria promote a process of fermentation, producing
volatile fatty acids (VFAs), alcohols, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide.
3. Acetogenesis. Acetic acid, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen are formed from the
VFAs by acid-forming bacteria or acetogens.
4. Methanogenesis. Methanogenic bacteria continue the consumption of the
VFAs and produce methane gas [13].

The biogas produced can be used as a renewable fuel for various purposes, for
instance in the production of heat and/or power by direct combustion. The digestate
produced can be used as a fertilizer, subject to appropriate storage and application
methods to prevent nitrate leaching [14]. Feedstocks with a high lipid content tend to
produce higher methane yields, while feedstocks with a high carbohydrate content
tend to produce more CO2.

Three different forms of bacteria are active during the AD process: fermentative bac-
teria, acetogens, and methanogens. The efficiency of these different bacteria, and
ultimately therefore the gas yield of the digester, is directly affected by temperature
and pH. It is therefore important to find the right balance to provide a dynamic
equilibrium among the three bacterial groups. AD systems usually operate in one
of two main temperature ranges: mesophilic (20–40 °C) and thermophilic (>40 °C).
Thermophilic temperatures have the benefit of providing sanitation by killing more
pathogens. The optimum temperature for thermophilic digestion is around 60 °C,
although a temperature between 52 and 56 °C may be used in practice to allow
for variations in temperature without threatening some of the active microbes [15].
Because the microorganisms active during the different phases of AD have different
requirements, the process is often carried out in two stages, with thermophilic
conditions in the first stage and mesophilic conditions in the second stage [16].

Thermophilic processes require a shorter retention time of up to 20 days compared

to mesophilic digestion, which may take over a month. An increase in process
temperature generally increases the metabolic rate of the bacteria. However, this
also results in a higher concentration of free ammonia, which itself inhibits the AD
process. Some studies have found that wastes with high ammonia content (e.g., cow
manure) were inhibited at higher temperatures [17]. Fluctuations in temperature
can cause instability in the digestion process, affecting the gas yield. This can result
from large variations in outdoor temperature, especially in highland and northern
climates [15, 18].

The United Kingdom is an example of a country where AD technology is currently

underexploited but may be about to attract significant interest under new incentive
regimes. The United Kingdom has substantial biomass resources, which could be
processed via AD: about 150 million wet tonnes of livestock slurry (pig and cattle), 3.4
million wet tonnes of used poultry litter and excreta, together with 1 million tonnes
of food production residues (vegetable and dairy processing residues). In addition
to this, there is about 90 million tonnes of waste produced in the United Kingdom
each year with a high biodegradable fraction of 62%. This biodegradable waste will
produce about 150 m3 tonne−1 of biogas at 60% methane concentration. Using a
process efficiency of 70%, a 70% load factor, and the known 37 GJ tonne−1 energy
content for methane, after accounting for the 20–40% of energy needed to maintain
the temperature of the processor, AD could provide the United Kingdom with about
1.4 GW of electricity, representing about 2% of the UK’s installed capacity.

UK agriculture contributes 7% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions, including 67% of

nitrous oxide and 37% of methane. Main sources of greenhouse gas emissions are
from animals (32%), manure management (20%), and soil breakdown (48%). During
storage of animal manure, significant greenhouse gas emissions occur, particularly
of N2O and CH4, as a result of uncontrolled AD processes. AD exploits this process so
that methane can be used as a fuel resulting in reduced emissions of approximately
90%. A well-managed AD scheme aims to maximize methane generation, but not to
release any gas to the atmosphere, thereby reducing overall emissions. In addition,
it provides an energy source with no net release of carbon. AD has considerable
potential to contribute to the production of renewable energy on farms in addition
to reducing the overall contribution of agriculture to global warming.
In order to upgrade biogas to make it compatible with natural gas (which is mainly
methane with small amounts of higher hydrocarbons), there is a requirement to re-
move CO2, hydrogen sulfide, and siloxanes. Hydrogen sulfide levels can be reduced
using biological scrubbing (with alkaline water) or chemical desulfurization (using
iron oxides and other iron salts). This would usually be followed by fine desulfur-
ization in an adsorptive process using activated carbon or possibly zinc oxide [11].
Siloxanes are usually removed using activated carbon [19]. There are a number of
options for CO2 removal, ranging from mature technologies using chemical solvents
(e.g., amine solutions) or physical solvents (e.g., Selexol) to the latest developments
in membrane separation technology [20]. For further information on the upgrading
of biogas to make it compatible with natural gas, the reader is referred to Reference
11.

> Read full chapter

FUELS – HYDROGEN PRODUCTION

| Biomass: Fermentation
W. Wukovits, W. Schnitzhofer, in Encyclopedia of Electrochemical Power Sources,
2009

Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Reforming

Anaerobic digestion (Figure 1, route 2) is a series of processes whereby microor-
ganisms break down biodegradable materials in the absence of oxygen to produce
biogas. The formation of biogas, which occurs widely in nature, is observed wher-
ever organic material undergoes degradation under exclusion of oxygen. Today,
anaerobic digestion is frequently used for the treatment of organic wastes and
wastewater sludge that results in a volume and mass reduction of the materials. The
nutrient-rich solids remaining after digestion can then be used as fertilizer.

The process by which biogas is formed involves a complex interaction of vari-

ous microorganisms and takes place in basically four separate phases, as shown
schematically in Figure 2. In the first step – the hydrolysis phase – complex organic
compounds (e.g., fats and carbohydrates) are split into simpler components. The
following acidification phase (acidogenesis) involves the breakdown of products of
hydrolysis into short-chain fatty acids by acidogenic bacteria. During acetogenesis,
the third phase of biogas production, the products of the acidogenesis phase are
converted to acetic acid, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, which are used to form
methane by methanogenic microorganisms in the final methanogenesis phase.
Figure 2. Phases of biogas production and their intermediates.

Many types of organic substrate can be used to produce biogas. Animal excrement is
mainly used (e.g., cattle and pig liquid manure) as the basic substrate in farm-based
operations. To increase biogas production, other organic materials can be cofer-
mented. In recent years, for example, energy crops have replaced animal excrement.
Further materials for fermentation and cofermentation include residues from the
food industry, vegetable waste from wholesale markets, food waste, grass clippings,
and municipal organic waste. The higher the content of substances such as fats,
starch, and sugars that are easy to break down, the greater is the gas yield. The
composition of the resulting biogas strongly depends on the choice of substrate; the
range of composition for each of the main components is given in Table 3. Oxygen
and nitrogen together with significant amounts of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide
may be also present.

Table 3. Main components and composition of biogas

Component Composition (vol%)

CH4 50–75
CO2 25–45
H2O 2–7
Methane and carbon dioxide are primarily produced during anaerobic digestion.
Hydrogen appears only as an intermediate; it is immediately consumed by mi-
croorganisms to build methane. Biogas is usually combusted in gas engines to
produce electric power and heat. Recently, several initiatives have been undertaken
to upgrade biogas (i.e., to separate methane from carbon dioxide) and feed it to
the local natural gas grid. On the other hand, biogas is also a suitable feedstock for
hydrogen production via a reforming process (Figure 1, route 11). The number of
steps in the process is the same as in the conventional steam reforming of natural gas
(see FUELS – HYDROGEN PRODUCTION: Natural Gas: Conventional Steam-Re-
forming). Nevertheless, owing to the different compositions of feedstock and, most
importantly, the necessary low capacities of reformers, adjustments have to be made
to both the process setup and the operating conditions. The main challenge is
the development of small-scale reformer systems with improved heat and steam
management. Additionally, a screening of the catalysts is required to evaluate and
compare their stability, performance, and durability. A further objective of research
and development is the implementation of a cost-effective cleaning unit for biogas.
Since biogas may contain high amounts of hydrogen sulfide (20–20 000 ppm), a
desulfurization step must be included to enable the use of biogas in a reforming
process.

> Read full chapter

Source reduction, waste minimization,

and cleaner technologies
Chaudhery Mustansar Hussain, ... Samiha Nuzhat, in Source Reduction and Waste
Minimization, 2022

2.4.1 Anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion is the process through which microorganisms break down the
biodegradable compounds in anaerobic environment. Among its multiple implica-
tions in various sectors of waste management, this process is widely used for waste-
water and sludge treatment (Appels et al., 2008; Deleris et al., 2002). This process is
also found useful to minimize amount of produced sludge that can be considered as
a source-level sludge minimization technique (Wei et al., 2003). Besides, anaerobic
digestion is also applicable to minimize waste produced in food industries, as food
components are mostly biodegradable by anaerobic microbes. Anaerobic digestion
is also favorable to treat organic solid waste but in such regards, choosing suitable
microbes is necessary (Khalid et al., 2011). In the industries, anaerobic digestion
is often introduced by installing UASB (Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) or fac-
ultative lagoons. Facultative lagoons are historically used as anaerobic digesters
due to their technological simplicity and efficiency as anaerobic digester. These
lagoons are very efficient in minimizing complex sludge and liquid organic waste
using a less expensive workflow (Hamilton, 2004). Implementation of anaerobic
digester in recent days is associated with UASB technology where industries form
a sludge blanket that is degraded by anaerobic microorganisms. Besides, it is often
regarded as a very environment friendly technology, as its implementation in the
industries found significant economic benefit from production of biogas and
bio-oil along with huge reduction of waste-borne carbon dioxide (Chinnaraj and
Rao, 2006). Apart from industrial implementation, cities like San Francisco could
successfully introduce anaerobic digestion at household level food waste treatment
(Zhang et al., 2007). Thus, anaerobic digestion, being a popular biological treatment
methodology can help industries in minimizing several different types of waste at a
source-level.

Here, Fig. 2.4 illustrates an overview on basic biochemical reactions of anaerobic

digestion.

Figure 2.4. Summary of biochemical reactions for anaerobic digestion.

In different reaction mechanisms, anaerobic digestion breaks down larger biochem-

ical compounds into smaller compounds. The microorganisms used in this process
regulate secretion of suitable enzymes to assist the digestion process. The pace and
effectivity of the process is also maintained by suitable carbon-nitrogen ratio of the
used waste materials.
> Read full chapter

Recent advancements in anaerobic di-

gestion: A Novel approche for waste to
energy
Arun Sathyan, ... Meena Khwaraikpam, in Advanced Organic Waste Management,
2022

Abstract
Anaerobic digestion technology has drawn immense interest in the recent past as it
addresses both increasing energy requirements as well as environmental pollution,
the two major challenges faced by the rapidly developing world. However, to be able
to meet the fast-growing energy needs and to substitute the conventional energy
options, the anaerobic digestion process needs significant improvement in its
yield and efficiency. Low methane yield, long hydraulic retention time (HRT),
production of inhibitory compounds, reactor instability are major obstacles that
prevent the wide application of this technology. Besides, anaerobic co-digestion that
uses the combination of different feedstocks has proved to have many advantages
like improved microbial stability, methane yield, and low HRT. The co-digestion
technique helps to maintain the optimum carbon to nitrogen ratio as well as
increase the conversion rate from acidification to methanogenesis phase by reducing
the intermediate inhibitory compounds like volatile fatty acids and free ammonia.
Another important technique that enhances the anaerobic digestion process is the
pretreatment of feedstock by accelerating the hydrolysis phase and can induce
a tremendous reduction in HRT. Therefore, in this chapter, we include various
pretreatment processes and their effect on biogas enhancement. The chapter also
provides a comprehensive overview of methods that aid anaerobic digestion and
concludes with proposals to future studies.

> Read full chapter

Anaerobic digestion of various feed-

stocks for second-generation biofuel
production
R. Muthudineshkumar, R. Anand, in Advances in Eco-Fuels for a Sustainable Envi-
ronment, 2019
6.11.6 Changing aspects of microbial population
The anaerobic digestion fundamentally depends upon the dynamics of the microbial
populations. The population growth of these microbial communities depends upon
the environment conditions. The activities of the microbial communities re also af-
fected by the surrounding environment conditions [96]. The total solid content in the
anaerobic digestion also plays an important role in regard to microbial communities
such as in the case study of the analysis of household garbage waste containing
10%–35% of total solid content, which showed an impact on the activity of microbial
communities [96]. The solid-state studies regarding population dynamics are very
few; mostly, the population dynamics in the liquid state are studied and documented
[97]. The study becomes even tougher because the development of the biofilm can
interfere with the biogas transfer and hydric transfer. This challenges the study of
microbial population dynamics even greater when there are no reliable monitoring
indicators. The liquid phase management depends on the process; a recent study
[98] of anaerobic digestion of cow manure in a reactor with a capacity of 8 L was
unable to deliver proof for transfers of microbial populations between the liquid and
the solid phases of the investigation, or key fluctuations as a function of the depth
of the sampling.

> Read full chapter

Types, sources and management of ur-

ban wastes
Tahir Noor, ... Syed Makhdoom Hussain, in Urban Ecology, 2020

2.4.6 Anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a process of recovering sustainable energy from biodegrad-
able waste products obtained from agricultural residues, sewage sludge, residues
from wood industry, municipal and industrial wastewater, livestock manure, brewery
and food wastes (Sawatdeenarunat et al., 2015). Anaerobic digestion has many
benefits such as reduction in greenhouse gas emission, reduction in organic waste
and production of methane gas (Čater et al., 2015). Besides these benefits the main
challenge is to process the lignocellulose waste via hydrolysis. This process requires
technologies for pretreatment associated with anaerobic digestion (Ozbayram et al.,
2017). Specific microorganisms present within the gut systems of certain animals
secrete enzymes such as hemi-cellulases, lignin breaking enzymes and cellulases
that are responsible for breakdown of lignin (Lazuka et al., 2015). Ruminants includ-
 ing sheep, goat and cattle have intestinal microbial symbionts which enable them to
feed on plant fibers. The microbiota within their gut systems is adapted to different
types of diet and they meet their metabolic needs by gaining energy (Morgavi et al.,
2015).

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