agro-food wastewater; biogas; low-temperature anaerobic digestion; microbial community; wastewater treatment; Wastewater; Biofuels; Industrial Waste; Anaerobiosis; Temperature; Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; Bacteria/metabolism; Bacteria/classification; Bioreactors; Waste Disposal, Fluid/methods; Agro foods; Chemical oxygen demand removals; Food production; Global population; High rate; Industrial wastewaters; Low-temperature anaerobic digestions; Microbial communities; Process performance; Bacteria; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Environmental Engineering; Water Science and Technology
Abstract :
[en] The fast-growing global population has led to a substantial increase in food production, which generates large volumes of wastewater during the process. Despite most industrial wastewater being discharged at lower ambient temperatures (<20 °C), majority of the high-rate anaerobic reactors are operated at mesophilic temperatures (>30 °C). High-rate low-temperature anaerobic digestion (LtAD) has proven successful in treating industrial wastewater both at laboratory and pilot scales, boasting efficient organic removal and biogas production. In this study, we demonstrated the feasibility of two full-scale high-rate LtAD bioreactors treating meat processing and dairy wastewater, and the microbial communities in both reactors were examined. Both reactors exhibited rapid start-up, achieving considerable chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies (total COD removal >80%) and generating high-quality biogas (CH4% in biogas >75%). Long-term operations (6-12 months) underscored the robustness of LtAD bioreactors even during winter periods (average temperature <12 °C), as evidenced by sustained high COD removal rates (total COD removal >80%). The stable performance was underpinned by a resilient microbial community comprising active acetoclastic methanogens, hydrolytic, and fermentative bacteria. These findings underscore the feasibility of high-rate low-temperature anaerobic wastewater treatment, offering promising solutions to the zero-emission wastewater treatment challenge.
Disciplines :
Microbiology
Author, co-author :
Paulo, Lara M; Microbial Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and Ryan Institute, University of Galway, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland, Dairy Processing Technology Centre, University of Limerick, Analog Devices Building, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland
Liu, Yu-Chen ; Microbial Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and Ryan Institute, University of Galway, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland
Castilla-Archilla, Juan ; Microbial Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and Ryan Institute, University of Galway, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland, Dairy Processing Technology Centre, University of Limerick, Analog Devices Building, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland
Ramiro-Garcia, Javier ; Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Hughes, Dermot; Dairy Processing Technology Centre, University of Limerick, Analog Devices Building, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland, NVP Energy, Galway Technology Centre, Mervue Business Park, Galway, Ireland
Mahony, Thérèse ; Microbial Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and Ryan Institute, University of Galway, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland, Dairy Processing Technology Centre, University of Limerick, Analog Devices Building, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland
Holohan, B Conall ; Microbial Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and Ryan Institute, University of Galway, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland, NVP Energy, Galway Technology Centre, Mervue Business Park, Galway, Ireland, Department of Microbiology, Huygensgebouw, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525AJ, The Netherlands
WILMES, Paul ; University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) > Systems Ecology
O'Flaherty, Vincent ; Microbial Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and Ryan Institute, University of Galway, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland, Dairy Processing Technology Centre, University of Limerick, Analog Devices Building, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland E-mail: vincent.oflaherty@universityofgalway.ie
External co-authors :
yes
Language :
English
Title :
Full-scale study on high-rate low-temperature anaerobic digestion of agro-food wastewater: process performances and microbial community.
We would like to thank Arrabawn Co.op and its staff at Kilconnell, Co. Galway, Ireland, ABP Food Group Ltd and its staff at Lurgan, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, and NVP Energy Ltd and its staff, for all their invaluable help during the trial. This work was financially supported by the Irish State through funding from the Technology Centres programme (TC/2014/0016) and Science Foundation Ireland (14/IA/2371).This work was financially supported by the Irish State through funding from the Technology Centres programme (TC/2014/ 0016) and Science Foundation Ireland (14/IA/2371).
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