Effect of pH, substrate loading, oxygen, and methanogens inhibitors on volatile fatty acid (VFA) production from citrus waste by anaerobic digestion

Bahriye Eryildiz, Lukitawesa*, Mohammad J. Taherzadeh

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

155 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Citrus waste from e.g., juice production is a potential substrate for anaerobic digestion (AD). However, due to the toxic citrus peel oil content, citrus waste has several challenges in biogas production. Hence, volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are very interesting intermediate products of AD. This paper was aimed to investigate VFA production from citrus wastes by boosting its production and inhibiting methane formation. Therefore, the effects of inoculum to substrate ratio (ISR), O2 presence, pH, and inhibitor for methanogens, in VFA production from citrus waste through acidification process were studied. The addition of 2 g/L methanogens inhibitor and the presence of O2 in the reactors were able to reduce methane production. The highest yield of VFA (0.793 g VFA/g VSadded) was achieved at controlled pH at 6 and low substrate loading (ISR 1:1). Acetic acid (32%), caproic acid (21%), and butyric acid (15%) dominate the VFA composition in this condition.

Original languageEnglish
Article number122800
JournalBioresource Technology
Volume302
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • 2-bromoethanesulfonate (BES)
  • Anaerobic digestion, citrus waste
  • Inoculum to substrate ratio
  • Oxygen
  • Volatile fatty acids

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