Abstract

BRAYAN ALEXIS, Parra Orobio et al. Evaluation of sewage sludge from municipal WWTP as inoculum in the anaerobic digestion of biowaste. Rev. ion [online]. 2016, vol.29, n.1, pp.37-46. ISSN 0120-100X.  https://doi.org/10.18273/revion.v29n1-2016003.

The quantity and quality of inoculum used in the Anaerobic Digestion (AD), impact seriously on the biodegradability and the amount of methane produced. This research evaluated the effect of the source of inoculum municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) on the production of methane as a source of renewable energy AD from Municipal Biowaste (MB), analyzing the Substrate-Inoculum (S/I) ratio and the buffering capacity of the inoculum as key aspects. The experiments were performed on a laboratory scale by testing Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) in the mesophilic range with a retention time of solids (RTS) 21 days; two inoculums from UASB reactors and the other of an anaerobic sludge digester. The S/I ratios ranged between 0.5 and 12gVS_substrategVS-1_inoculum. Although it was found that there were no statistically significant differences between the inoculum (p>0.05), the inoculum from the anaerobic digester presented a better performance because of its greater capacity buffer. The S/I ratio showed statistically significant differences (p<0,05), being below 1 ratio that presented the best productions of methane (> 70mLCH₄gVS^-1_substrate) hydrolysis rates (from 0,15 to 0,21d^-1) and phases of lethargy (2,7-9,3d).

Keywords : biowaste; renewable energy; hydrolysis; anaerobic sludge; methane; substrate-inoculum ratio.

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