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- Title
Advanced Anaerobic Bioconversion of Lignocellulosic Waste for Bioregenerative Life Support Following Thermal Water Treatment and Biodegradation by Fibrobacter Succinogenes .
- Authors
Geert Lissens; Willy Verstraete; Tobias Albrecht; Gerd Brunner; Catherine Creuly
- Abstract
The feasibility of nearly-complete conversion of lignocellulosic waste (70% food crops, 20% faecal matter and 10% green algae) into biogas was investigated in the context of a life support project. The treatment comprised a series of processes, i.e., a mesophilic laboratory scale CSTR (continuously stirred tank reactor), an upflow biofilm reactor, a fiber liquefaction reactor employing the rumen bacterium Fibrobacter succinogenes and a hydrothermolysis system in near-critical water. By the one-stage CSTR, a biogas yield of 75% with a specific biogas production of 0.37 l biogas g-1 VSS (volatile suspended solids) added at a RT (hydraulic retention time) of 2025 d was obtained. Biogas yields could not be increased considerably at higher RT, indicating the depletion of readily available substrate after 25 d. The solids present in the CSTR-effluent were subsequently treated in two ways. Hydrothermal treatment (T ~ 310350 °C, p ~ 240 bar) resulted in effective carbon liquefaction (5060% without and 83% with carbon dioxide saturation) and complete sanitation of the residue. Application of the cellulolytic Fibrobacter succinogenes converted remaining cellulose contained in the CSTR-effluent into acetate and propionate mainly. Subsequent anaerobic digestion of the hydrothermolysis and the Fibrobacter hydrolysates allowed conversion of 4860% and 30%, respectively. Thus, the total process yielded biogas corresponding with conversions up to 90% of the original organic matter. It appears that particularly mesophilic digestion in conjunction with hydrothermolysis at near-critical conditions offers interesting features for (nearly) complete and hygienic carbon and energy recovery from human waste in a bioregenerative life support context.
- Subjects
LIGNOCELLULOSE; MICROBIAL aggregation; WATER purification; BIOGAS
- Publication
Biodegradation, 2004, Vol 15, Issue 3, p173
- ISSN
0923-9820
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1023/B:BIOD.0000026515.16311.4a