Semi-continuous production of volatile fatty acids from citrus waste using membrane bioreactors

Lukitawesa, Bahriye Eryildiz, Amir Mahboubi, Ria Millati*, Mohammad J. Taherzadeh

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In the production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from citrus waste, organic loadings rates (OLR) from 1 to 8 g VS/L·d were applied in semi-continuous anaerobic fermentation using a tubular membrane bioreactor (MBR). Filtration fluxes of the membrane were in the range of 7.9–8.5 L/m2·h. trans-Membrane pressure (TMP) revolved around 24.1–67.5 mbar. No obvious fouling and clogging occurred. The highest yield of VFAs 0.67 g VFA/g VS (volatile solids) was achieved at OLR 4 g VS/L·d. When citrus waste was pretreated to remove D-limonene using an airlift reactor, the highest yield of VFAs 0.84 g VFA/g VS was also obtained at OLR 4 g VS/L·d. A further increase in OLR of up to 8 g VS/L·d caused a sharp decrease in yield for the untreated citrus waste and only marginal changes were observed for the pretreated citrus waste. The main composition of VFAs was acetate, butyrate, caproate, and propionate.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number102545
    JournalInnovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies
    Volume67
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jan 2021

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

    Keywords

    • Anaerobic fermentation
    • Citrus waste
    • Membrane bioreactor
    • Semi-continuous
    • Volatile fatty acids, D-limonene

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