Biotechnology and Sustainability: Potential of anaerobic digestion on waste reduction, energy and biofertilizers production

Abstract

This paper aims to install and evaluate a sustainable: Project “Vitrine da Sustentabilidade”, integrated unit that demonstrates the production and use of bioenergy and bio fertilizers. It analyzes the performance of a 10 m3 PVC tubular reactor in the treatment of food waste from the Restaurant of the University of Brasilia. Organic loading rate, pH, temperature, solids removal rate, biogas production and its composition are verified. The reactor experimentally operated under relative thermal stability conditions, during four months, in mesophilic environment (22-33ºC) with average organic rate of 23.9 kgSV/m3day. It presented an average biogas production rate of 13.8 dm3/kgSVday, total solids removal rate (96%) and volatile solids removal rate (18.7%). The generated biogas presented a higher CO2 concentration and fractions of other gases, without considerable methane concentration. The project holds the potential efficiency and replicability for technological innovation at the biogas and bio fertilizer production.