Improving anaerobic digestion of chicken manure under optimized biochar supplementation strategies

Junyi Ma; Fengfen Chen; Shuaixing Xue; Junting Pan; Benyamin Khoshnevisan; Yadong Yang; Hongbin Liu; Ling Qiu

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2021.124697

Improving anaerobic digestion of chicken manure under optimized biochar supplementation strategies

Bioresour Technol. 2021 Apr:325:124697. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.124697. Epub 2021 Jan 12.

Authors

Junyi Ma¹, Fengfen Chen¹, Shuaixing Xue¹, Junting Pan², Benyamin Khoshnevisan², Yadong Yang², Hongbin Liu², Ling Qiu³

Affiliations

¹ Western Scientific Observation and Experiment Station of Development and Utilization of Rural Renewable Energy of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
² Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
³ Western Scientific Observation and Experiment Station of Development and Utilization of Rural Renewable Energy of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China. Electronic address: xbgzzh@163.com.

PMID: 33461122
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.124697

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion of chicken manure was carried out in this study basing on central composite design to identify the most optimal strategy for biochar supplementation. Model of cumulative methane production (CMP) was established by using response surface methodology. The optimal conditions predicted accordingly, including manure loading of 51.8 g VS/L, biochar dosage of 3.3% VS_manure, and cellulose loading of 98.0 g VS/L, were expected to maximize CMP, i.e., 294 mL/g VS_manure. The results also demonstrated that biochar dosage and its interaction with manure loading were key factors with significant impact on CMP. Biochar dosage higher than 3.5% VS_manure was observed to weaken the transformation of organic substances to methane. Higher dosage of biochar could considerably reduce concentration of organic acids, total ammonia nitrogen, as well as soluble salts. Verification experiment supported validity of the optimal strategy and provided data for cost assessment, which showed positive cost balances from biochar supplementation.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Biochar; Cumulativemethane production; Process equilibrium; Response surface methodology.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Animals
Bioreactors
Charcoal
Chickens*
Dietary Supplements
Manure*
Methane

Substances

Manure
biochar
Charcoal
Methane