Effect of wood ash treatment on improving the fermentability of wood hydrolysate

Biocatalytic methanation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in a fixed bed bioreactor

Biocatalytic methanation of H2 and CO2 was studied in a fixed bed reactor system consisting of two solid state bioreactors in series connected to a recirculation system. Bioreactors were packed with a mixture of vermiculite shales and granular perlite material as a support material. A maximal methane productivity of 6.35l/lreactord was achieved at a hydrogen feed rate of 25.2l/lreactord, while hydrogen conversion rate was 100%. However, stable operation of the reactor at this efficiency remains to be achieved. Very simple reactor design, constructed from low cost materials, and the idea of exploiting waste material as a robust source of nutrients for methanogens makes this study very interesting regarding the overall usability and suitability of the system as part of a decentralized energy system.

Wood ash amendment to biogas reactors as an alternative to landfilling? A preliminary study on changes in process chemistry and biology

Wood ash addition to biogas plants represents an alternative to commonly used landfilling by improving the reactor performance, raising the pH and alleviating potential limits of trace elements. This study is the first on the effects of wood ash on reactor conditions and microbial communities in cattle slurry-based biogas reactors. General process parameters [temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, ammonia, volatile fatty acids, carbon/nitrogen (C/N), total solids (TS), volatile solids, and gas quantity and quality] were monitored along with molecular analyses of methanogens by polymerase chain reaction- denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and modern microarrays (archaea and bacteria). A prompt pH rise was observed, as was an increase in C/N ratio and volatile fatty acids. Biogas production was inhibited, but recovered to even higher production rates and methane concentration after single amendment. High sulphur levels in the wood ash generated hydrogen sulphide and potentially hampered methanogenesis. Methanosarcina was the most dominant methanogen in all reactors; however, diversity was higher in ash-amended reactors. Bacterial groups like Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were favoured, which could improve the hydrolytic efficiency of the reactors. We recommend constant monitoring of the chemical composition of the used wood ash and suggest that ash amendment is adequate if added to the substrate at a rate low enough to allow adaptation of the microbiota (e.g. 0.25 g g(-1) TS). It could further help to enrich digestate with important nutrients, for example phosphorus, calcium and magnesium, but further experiments are required for the evaluation of wood ash concentrations that are tolerable for anaerobic digestion.