Effects of Increasing Nitrogen Content on Process Stability and Reactor Performance in Anaerobic Digestion

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of different nitrogen increase rates in feedstock on the process stability and conversion efficiency in anaerobic digestion (AD). The research was conducted in continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR), initially filled with two different inocula: inocula #1 with low and #2 with high nitrogen (N) concentrations. Three N feeding regimes were investigated: the “0-increase” feeding regime with a constant N amount in feeding and the regimes “0.25-increase” and “0.5-increase” where the N concentrations in feedstock were raised by 0.25 and 0.5 g·kg−1, respectively, related to fresh matter (FM) every second week. The N concentration inside the reactors increased according to the feeding regimes. The levels of inhibition (Inhibition) in specific methane yields (SMY), related to the conversion efficiency of the substrates, were quantified. At the N concentration in digestate of 10.82 ± 0.52 g·kg−1 FM measured in the reactors with inoculum #2 and “0.5-increase” feeding regime, the level of inhibition was equal to 38.99% ± 14.99%. The results show that high nitrogen increase rates in feeding regime are negatively related to the efficiency of the AD process, even if low volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations indicate a stable process.

Keywords

• biogas
• methane
• ammonia
• inhibition
• acclimatization
• trace elements