Comprehensively evaluating the digestive performance of sludge with different lignocellulosic components in mesophilic anaerobic digester

Abstract

In excess sludge digestion, organic matters cannot be digested adequately due to its high lignocellulose content. This study attempted to comprehensively evaluate the digestive performances of sludge with different lignocellulosic components (hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin). Results show that hemicellulose/dealkaline lignin addition (S6) presents the highest methane yield of 203.6 mL/gVS. Compared to hemicellulose, dealkaline lignin is hardly degraded (lower than 10%), while its participation can promote the degradation of other organics in the system. Additionally, solo cellulose feedstock is difficult to be hydrolyzed (only 40.1%) without hemicellulose and dealkaline lignin addition. VFAs composition analysis indicates that VFA inhibition occurs in the digester with hemicellulose, cellulose and dealkaline lignin addition (S8). Microbial diversities of different digestive systems show that the relative abundance of Euryarchaeota in the digester S6 (7.2%) is much higher than others, and some specific microbes (Bacteroidetas and Firmicutes) are enriched in the S5 (74.1%) and S8 (54.7%) digesters.

Keywords: Digestion; Digestive performances; Lignocellulosic components; Microbial diversity; VFAs composition.