Microbial fuel cells for polishing effluents of anaerobic digesters under inhibition, due to organic and nitrogen overloads
The combination of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process with a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) coupled to an ammonia stripping unit as a post-treatment was assessed both in series operation, to improve the quality of the effluent, and in loop configuration recirculating the effluent, to increase t...
| Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | article |
| Publication Date: | 2017 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repository: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/116776 |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/116776 https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jctb.5308 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Biocarburants Ammonia recovery Inhibition phenomenon Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) System stability Thermophilic anaerobic digestion Biocombustibles Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria agroalimentària |
| Summary: | The combination of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process with a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) coupled to an ammonia stripping unit as a post-treatment was assessed both in series operation, to improve the quality of the effluent, and in loop configuration recirculating the effluent, to increase the AD robustness. The MEC allowed maintaining the chemical oxygen demand removal of the whole system of 46 ± 5% despite the AD destabilization after doubling the organic and nitrogen loads, while recovering 40 ± 3% of ammonia. The AD-MEC system, in loop configuration, helped to recover the AD (55% increase in methane productivity) and attained a more stable and robust operation. The microbial population assessment revealed an enhancement of AD methanogenic archaea numbers and a shift in eubacterial population. The AD-MEC combined system is a promising strategy for stabilizing AD against organic and nitrogen overloads, while improving the quality of the effluent and recovering nutrients for their reutilization |
|---|