Anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge and organic waste is an important process to minimize the waste mass andproduce energy-rich biogas. Increasing the temperature from mesophilic (35°C) to thermophilic (55°C) conditions is amethod to increase the biogas yield and kill pathogens. However, the microorganisms that carry out degradation oforganic matter are different in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions and the shift in microbial community that occurswhen the temperature is increased can lead to unstable operation or process failure. The best strategy for convertingmesophilic digesters to thermophilic conditions is unknown.The goal of this study is to clarify how different conversion strategies affect the microbial communities in anaerobicdigesters. We will analyze samples collected during a pilot-scale experiment carried out at Rya wastewater treatmentplant in Gothenburg. Six reactors were operated in parallel, three were converted to thermophilic conditions and threeserved as mesophilic controls. The measurements and samples collected during the experiment form a unique set ofdata with high practical relevance because of the similarity to full-scale conditions. We will use high-throughput DNAsequencing to examine changes in the microbial community during the temperature increase.
Page manager Published: Wed 11 Nov 2020.
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