Long-term assessment of anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and microalgae: process stabilization, methane yield and agronomic properties of digestate
This study aimed at assessing the anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and microalgal biomass. Microalgae were harvested from an open treatment pond used for digestate treatment. For that, two continuous laboratory-scale reactors were operated over 200 days at ambient temperature. Results obtained s...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/438904 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/438904 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2025.103947 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Anaerobic digestion Biofertilizer Biogas Microalgal biomass Resource recovery VFA Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Impacte ambiental |
| Sumario: | This study aimed at assessing the anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and microalgal biomass. Microalgae were harvested from an open treatment pond used for digestate treatment. For that, two continuous laboratory-scale reactors were operated over 200 days at ambient temperature. Results obtained showed that the reactor fed with a 75:25 mixture of food waste and microalgae (based on volatile solids) improved process stability, overcoming volatile fatty acid accumulation and pH drop, compared to mono-digestion of food waste. Consequently, co-digestion increased methane yield in 20–32 % (0.22 L CH4/g VS). Moreover, the agronomic assessment revealed that digestates exhibited potential for use as a biofertilizer, i.e. adequate organic matter and nutrient contents heavy metals concentrations below limits established by different regulations (i.e., Zn, Ni, Cr, and Cu). These findings indicate that the anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and microalgae may offer potential for biomass valorisation in a circular approach, generating bioenergy and biofertilizer. |
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