Comparison of Two Process Schemes Combining Hydrothermal Treatment and Acidogenic Fermentation of Source-Separated Organics

• Main Authors: Long Lin, Ehssan Hosseini Koupaie, Armineh Azizi, Amir Abbas Bazyar Lakeh, Bipro R. Dhar, Hisham Hafez, Elsayed Elbeshbishy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: acidogenic fermentation; hydrothermal treatment; source separated organics; volatile fatty acids; particulate organics solubilization; microbial community analysis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/24/8/1466

This study compares the effects of pre- and post-hydrothermal treatment of source- separated organics (SSO) on solubilization of particulate organics and acidogenic fermentation for volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production. The overall COD solubilization and solids removal efficiencies from both schemes were comparable. However, the pre-hydrolysis of SSO followed by acidogenic fermentation resulted in a relatively higher VFA yield of 433 mg/g VSS, which was 18% higher than that of a process scheme with a post-hydrolysis of dewatered solids from the fermentation process. Regarding the composition of VFA, the dominance of acetate and butyrate was comparable in both process schemes, while propionate concentration considerably increased in the process with pre-hydrolysis of SSO. The microbial community results showed that the relative abundance of <i>Firmicutes</i> increased substantially in the fermentation of pretreated SSO, indicating that there might be different metabolic pathways for production of VFAs in fermentation process operated with pre-treated SSO. The possible reason might be that the abundance of soluble organic matters due to pre-hydrolysis might stimulate the growth of more kinetically efficient fermentative bacteria as indicated by the increase in <i>Firmicutes</i> percentage.