Hydrothermal pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of washed vinegar residue

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the acetate separation from fresh vinegar residue (FVR) to avoid inhibition of methanogenesis and hydrothermal treatment on washed vinegar residue (WVR) to enhance methane production. The optimal liquid-solid ratio was 10:1mL/g for the washing of FVR. The methane yields of the FVR, WVR, and washed leachate (WL) were 273L/kgVS, 199L/kgVS, and 306.9L/kgCOD, respectively. The optimal hydrothermal temperature was 160°C for WVR, with maximum methane yield of 258.38L/kgVS. Hydrothermal pretreatment destroyed the structure of lignocellulose and improved the hydrolysis of hemicellulose. Compared with thermophilic digestion of FVR, thermophilic digestion of 160°C treated FVR, and thermophilic digestion of WVR with mesophilic digestion of WL, the thermophilic digestion of 160°C treated WVR with mesophilic digestion of WL obtained the maximum total methane yield of 102.5L/kgFVR.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Hydrothermal pretreatment; Methane yield; Vinegar residue.