The Effects of Microwave Pretreatment of Dairy Manure on Methane Production

Ian Chan, Asha Srinivasan, Ping H. Liao, Kwang V. Lo, Donald S. Mavinic, Jim Atwater, James R. Thompson

Dairy Education and Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Department of Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

DOI: 10.4236/nr.2013.43031                

Abstract

This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficiency of a liquid-solids separation process and microwave pretreatment, as well as anaerobic biodegradability of microwave pretreated dairy manure. Liquid-solids separation of raw dairy manure resulted in solid and liquid fractions having different properties, with the solid fractions richer in total and volatile solids content and liquid fractions richer in nutrients and metal ions. Substantial amounts of soluble chemical oxygen demand and nutrients were released into the solution after the microwave treatment. The microwave pretreated dairy manure was also subjected to anaerobic digestion. The kinetic parameters of methane production potential, maximum methane production rate and lag time were determined using the modified Gompertz equation. Anaerobic digestion of liquid manure, without microwave treatment, outperformed the sets with microwave treatment. The microwave-treated liquid dairy manure, without acid addition had better results in terms of methane potential and methane production, than with acid addition. Thermophilic digestion exhibited a higher maximum methane production rate than that of mesophilic digestion, but lower methane yields. The microwave pretreatment of dairy manure resulted in high soluble chemical oxygen demand; however, methane yield was not increased.

Keywords

Liquid-Solids Separation; Microwave Treatment; Anaerobic Digestion; Methane Production

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	C. Rico, H. Garcia and J. L. Rico, “Physical-Anaerobic-Chemical Process for Treatment of Dairy Manure,” Bioresource Technology, Vol. 102, No. 3, 2011, pp. 21432150. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2010.10.068
[2]	K. V. Lo, N. R. Bulley, P. H. Liao and A. J. Whitehead, “The Effect of Solids-Separation Pretreatment on Biogas Production from Dairy Manure,” Agricultural Wastes, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1983, pp. 155-165. doi:10.1016/0141-4607(83)90114-2
[3]	K. V. Lo and P. H. Liao, “Methane Production Using a Whole and Screened Dairy Manure in Conventional and Fixed-Film Reactors,” Biotechnology Bioengineering, Vol. 27, No. 3, 1985, pp. 266-272. doi:10.1002/bit.260270309
[4]	C. Rico, H. Garcia, J. L. Rico and I. Tejero, “Characterisation of Solid and Liquid Fractions of Dairy Manure with Regard to Their Component Distribution and Methane Production,” Bioresource Technology, Vol. 98, No. 5, 2007, pp. 971-979. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2006.04.032
[5]	W. I. Chan, P. H. Liao and K. V. Lo, “Effects of Irradiation Intensity and pH on Nutrients Release and Solids Destruction of Waste Activated Sludge Using the Microwave Enhanced Advanced Oxidation Process,” Water Environment Research, Vol. 82, No. 11, 2010, pp. 2229-2238. doi:10.2175/106143010X12681059116419
[6]	A. Kenge, P. H. Liao and K. V. Lo, “Treating Solid Dairy Manure Using Microwave-Enhanced Advanced Oxidation Process,” Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part-B, Vol. 44, No. 6, 2009, pp. 606-612. doi:10.1080/03601230903000693
[7]	P. H. Liao, K. V. Lo, W. I. Chan and W. T. Wong, “Sludge Reduction and Volatile Fatty Acid Recovery Using Microwave Advanced Oxidation Process,” Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part-A, Vol. 42, No. 5, 2007, pp. 633-639. doi:10.1080/10934520701244417
[8]	W. T. Wong, K. V. Lo and P. H. Liao, “Factors Affecting Nutrient Solubilization from Sewage Sludge in Microwave Advanced Oxidation Process,” Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, Vol. 42, No. 6, 2007, pp. 825-829. doi:10.1080/10934520701304914
[9]	American Public Health Association, “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater,” 20th Edition, American Public Health Association, Washington DC, 1998.
[10]	A. M. Wolf, P. A. Kleinman, A. N. Sharpley and D. B. Beegle, “Development of a Water-Extractable Phosphorus Test for Manure: An Interlaboratory Study,” Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 69, No. 3, 2005, pp. 695-700. doi:10.2136/sssaj2004.0096
[11]	K. V. Lo and P. H. Liao, “Microwave Enhanced Advanced Oxidation in the Treatment of Diary Manure,” Microwave Heating; In Tech, Open Access Publisher, Rijeka, 2011.
[12]	S. K. Yawson, P. H. Liao and K. V. Lo, “Two-Stage Dilute Acid Hydrolysis of Dairy Manure for Nutrient Release, Solids Reduction and Reducing Sugar Production,” Natural Resources, Vol. 2, No. 4, 2011, pp. 224-233. doi:10.4236/nr.2011.24028
[13]	Y. Chen, J. J. Cheng and K. C. Creamer, “Inhibition of Anaerobic Digestion Process: A Review,” Bioresource Technology, Vol. 99, No. 10, 2008, pp. 4044-4064. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2007.01.057
[14]	A. T. Quitain, M. Faisal, K. Kang, H. Daimon and K. Fujie, “Low-Molecular-Weight Carboxylic Acids Produced from Hydrothermal Treatment of Organic Wastes,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 93, No. 2, 2002, pp. 209-220. doi:10.1016/S0304-3894(02)00024-9
[15]	R. Sierra-Alverez and G. Lettinga, “The Methanogenic Toxicity of Wastewater Lignin and Lignin Related Compounds,” Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Vol. 34, No. 4, 1991, pp. 443-455.
[16]	J. Yang and R. E. Speece, “The Effects of Chloroform Toxicity on Methane Fermentation,” Water Research, Vol. 20, No. 12, 1986, pp. 1273-1279. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(86)90158-2
[17]	I. W. Koster, A. Rinzema, A. L. De Vigt and G. Lettinga, “Sulfide Inhibition of the Methanogenic Activity of Granular Sludge at Various pH Levels,” Water Research, Vol. 20, No. 12, 1986, pp. 1561-1567. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(86)90121-1
[18]	E. Colleran, S. Finnegan and P. Lens, “Anaerobic Treatment of Sulfate Containing Waste Streams,” Antonie ven Leeuwenhoek, Vol. 67, No. 1, 1995, pp. 29-46. doi:10.1007/BF00872194
[19]	A. G. Hashimoto, “Methane from Swine Manure: Effect of Temperature and Influent Substrate Concentration on Kinetic Parameter (k),” Agricultural Wastes, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1984, pp. 299-308. doi:10.1016/0141-4607(84)90088-X
[20]	A. G. Hashimoto, “Ammonia Inhibition of Methanogensis from Cattle Wastes,” Agricultural Wastes, Vol. 17, No. 4, 1986, pp. 241-261. doi:10.1016/0141-4607(86)90133-2
[21]	B. Braun, P. Huber and J. Meyrath, “Ammonia Toxicity in Liquid Piggery Manure Digestion,” Biotechnology Letters, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1981, pp. 159-144. doi:10.1007/BF00239655
[22]	G. F. Parkin and S. W. Millar, “Response of Methane Fermentation to Continuous Addition of Selected Industrial Toxicants,” Proceedings of the 37th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference, West Lafayette, 1983, pp. 729-744.
[23]	I. Angelidaki and B. K. Ahring, “Anaerobic Thermophilic Digestion of Manure at Different Ammonia Loads: Effect of Temperature,” Water Research, Vol. 28, No. 3, 1994, pp. 727-731. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(94)90153-8
[24]	K. H. Hansen, I. Angelidaki and B. K. Ahring, “Improving Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Swine Manure,” Water Research, 33, No. 8, 1999, pp. 1805-1810. doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(98)00410-2
[25]	G. Zeeman, W. M. Wiegan, M. E. Koster-Treflers and G. Lettinga, “The Influence of the Total Ammonia Concentration on the Thermophilic Digestion of Cow Manure,” Agricultural Wastes, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1985, pp. 19-35. doi:10.1016/S0141-4607(85)80014-7
[26]	I. Angelidaki and B. K. Ahring, “Thermophilic Digestion of Livestock Waste: The Effect of Ammonia,” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 38, No. 4, 1993, pp. 560-564. doi:10.1007/BF00242955
[27]	I. Angelidaki, L. Ellegarrd and B. K. Ahring, “A Mathematical Model for Dynamic Simulation of Anaerobic Digestion of Complex Substrates: Focusing on Ammonia Inhibition,” Biotechnology Bioengineering, Vol. 42, No. 2, 1993, pp. 159-166. doi:10.1002/bit.260420203
[28]	Y. Jin, Z. Hu and Z. Wen, “Enhancing Anaerobic Digestibility and Phosphorus Recovery of Dairy Manure Through Microwave-Based Thermochemical Pretreatment,” Water Research, Vol. 43, No. 14, 2009, pp. 3493-3502.
[29]	W. Quao, X. Yan, J. Ye, Y. Sun, W. Wang and Z. Zhang, “Evaluation of Biogas Production from Different Biomass Waste with/without Hydrothermal Pretreatment,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 36, No. 12, 2011, pp. 3313-3318. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2011.05.002
[30]	C. S. Raju, S. Sutaryo, A. J. Ward and H. B. Moller, “Effects of High-Temperature Isochoric Pretreatment on the Methane Yields of Cattle, Pig and Chicken Manure,” Environmental Technology, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2012, pp. 239-244. doi:10.1080/09593330.2012.689482
[31]	B. Budiyono, I. N. Widiasa, S. Johari and S. Sunarso, “The Kinetic of Biogas Production Rate from Cattle Manure in Batch Mode,” International Journal of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2010, pp. 39-45.
[32]	S. Adiga, R. Ramya, B. B. Shankar, H. P. Jagadish and C. R. Geetha, “Kinetics of Anaerobic Digestion of Water Hyacinth, Poultry Litter, Cow Manure and Primary Sludge: A Comparative Study,” Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Biotechnology and Environment, Vol. 42, 2012, pp. 73-78.
[33]	X. Gomez, D. Blanco, A. Lobato, A. Calleja, F. MartinezNunez and J. Martin-Villacorta, “Digestion of Cattle Manure under Mesophilic and Thermophilic Conditions: Characterization of Organic Matter Applying Thermal Analysis and 1H NMR,” Biodegradation, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2011, pp. 623-635. doi:10.1007/s10532-010-9436-y