Intrinsic gas production kinetics of selected intermediates in anaerobic filters for demand-orientated energy supply

ABSTRACT

As a consequence of a growing share of solar and wind power, recent research on biogas production highlighted a need for demand-orientated, flexible gas production to provide grid services and enable a decentralized stabilization of the electricity infrastructure. Two-staged anaerobic digestion is particularly suitable for shifting the methane production into times of higher demand due to the spatio-temporal separation of hydrolysis and methanogenesis. To provide a basis for predicting gas production in an anaerobic filter, kinetic parameters of gas production have been determined experimentally in this study. A new methodology is used, enabling their determination during continuous operation. An order in methane production rate could be established by comparing the half lives of methane production. The order was beginning with the fastest: acetic acid>ethanol>butyric acid>iso-butyric acid>valeric acid>propionic acid>1,2propanediol>lactic acid. However, the mixture of a natural hydrolysate from the acidification tank appeared to produce methane faster than all single components tested.

KEYWORDS:

• Anaerobic digestion
• VFA degradation
• biogas
• two stage
• two phase

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Johannes Hagen Krümpel http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3546-4986

Lukas Illi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9441-8349

Additional information

Funding

This study originates from the project ‘Methanoquant’ [FKZ 03SF0423B] and is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) and the Projektträger Jülich (PtJ).