SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1984
STP32706S

Optimization Criteria for the Stabilization of Sewage Sludge and Biogas Production Through Anaerobic Digestion: An Example of an Environmental Biotechnology Application

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According to environmental protection and energy conservation principles, anaerobic digestion of activated sludges should have two main purposes: to stabilize the sludge within allowable limits and to increase biogas production as much as possible, in order to meet ecological requirement without neglecting a particular energy source. This implies optimization procedures for the design of the process, based upon its actual kinetics.

This optimization has been developed in the present paper on the basis of experimental results on anaerobic digestion kinetics achieved in previous research.

In particular, optimal biogas production has been determined under ecological constraint due to sludge stabilization.

This procedure has proved that the volatile solids (VS) concentration in the digester feed must be kept above an allowable limit, which has been determined in the authors' research.

If the process design is also required to keep the pollutant concentrations of the outlet supernatant liquor within allowable limits, optimization of biogas “production factors” is no longer feasible because, in this instance, a single digester would work as a purifier rather than a biogas productive unit.

Author Information

Ferraiolo, G
Instituto di Scienze e Tecnologie dell'Ingegneria Chimica, Facolta di Ingegneria-Universita di Genova, Genoa, Italy
del Borghi, M
Instituto di Scienze e Tecnologie dell'Ingegneria Chimica, Facolta di Ingegneria-Universita di Genova, Genoa, Italy
Solisio, C
Instituto di Scienze e Tecnologie dell'Ingegneria Chimica, Facolta di Ingegneria-Universita di Genova, Genoa, Italy
Gardi, G
Instituto di Scienze e Tecnologie dell'Ingegneria Chimica, Facolta di Ingegneria-Universita di Genova, Genoa, Italy
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Developed by Committee: D34
Pages: 260–277
DOI: 10.1520/STP32706S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4916-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0405-1