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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #173373
Title: EFFECT OF MIXING IN ANAEROBIC DIGESTOR ON CONVERSION OF FARM WASTE TO METHANE IN 100L UPFLOW BIOREACTOR

Author
item BOROLE, ABHIJEET - OAK RIDGE NATL. LAB
item Klasson, K Thomas
item RIDENOUR, WHITNEY - OAK RIDGE INST.,SCI./ENG.
item HOLLAND, JUSTIN - OAK RIDGE INST.,SCI./ENG.

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/6/2005
Publication Date: 5/1/2005
Citation: Borole, A.P., Klasson, K.T., Ridenour, W., Holland, J. 2005. Effect of mixing in anaerobic digestor on conversion of farm waste to methane in 100l upflow bioreactor (abstract). 27th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals. Paper No. 5-53.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Conversion of manure waste from dairy farms has been used for methane production for decades, however, problems such as digestor failure are routine. This has been investigated in small scale digestors previously, however, a larger scale detailed study has not been reported yet. We report production of methane in 100L digestor and the results of investigation of the effect of partial mixing induced by gas upflow/recirculation in the digestor. The digestor ran for over 45 days (three times the hydraulic retention time) with and without the mixing induced by gas upflow. The results showed a dramatic effect of mixing on digestor operation. Without mixing, the digestor fails within 30 days, while with mixing continuous production of methane is observed. This study demonstrates the importance of mixing and its critical role in design of anaerobic digestors.