Process Optimisation of Anaerobic Digestion Treating High-Strength Wastewater in the Australian Red Meat Processing Industry

Abstract

This work represents and reviews a compilation of investigations into improving anaerobic digestion performance of high-strength wastewater in the Australian Red Meat Processing industry. The industry produces significant quantities of organic-rich wastewater which requires treatment prior to release to the environment. Anaerobic lagoons are a cost-effective method of waste treatment where land availability is not an issue; however, the high fat load in the wastewater can negatively impact the anaerobic lagoon system and result in compromised anaerobic digestion performance. This paper will discuss the importance of upstream primary pre-treatment and review a series of investigations focused on optimising digester performance and improving fat biodegradability. These studies include: 1. the effect of temperature and mixing; 2. the influence of feedstock trace element composition and supplementation, and; 3. the potential benefit from pre-treatments such as chemical, thermobaric, thermochemical and bio-surfactant. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for covered anaerobic lagoon operation and provides recommendations to promote optimum digester performance and future opportunities in adopting alternate anaerobic digestion technology options. Finally, the paper provides recent trends toward the use of other waste streams for co-digestion and discusses this in terms of digester optimization and technology options.

Preventive Improvement of Wastewater Treatment Efficiency

“…These studies include the following: influence of temperature and mixing; the influence of microelement composition and additives; potential benefits from the previous treatments such as chemical, thermobaric, thermochemical, and bi-PAR. Recommendations are given for the optimal operation of the cooking apparatus and future possibilities in adopting alternative variants of anaerobic digestion technology [11].…”

The role of soils in provision of energy

“…Forest residues include dead wood and the remnants from wood processing (sawdust, bark and black liquor) [47,122]. Municipal and industry wastes include wastes from the food industry [123,124], including animal rendering [125], municipal solid wastes [126] and sewage sludge [127]. On average, the per capita rate of waste generation is 1.22 t yr −1 for agricultural residues and 0.27 t yr −1 for municipal solid wastes [128], which over a world population in 2018 of 7.59 × 10 9 [129], amounts to approximately 9.54 × 10 9 t yr −1 agricultural waste and 2.05 × 10 9 t yr −1 municipal solid waste (comparable to 2.01 × 10 9 t yr −1 quoted for municipal solid waste by Kaza et al [130]).…”

Criticality Analysis Based on Reliability and Failure Propagation Effect for a Complex Wastewater Treatment Plant

“…Because of the potentially catastrophic consequences for the environment and life itself involved in the wastewater treatment process, every human settlement is forced to address the problem of returning sick water into the environment in a manner that is both responsible and as efficient as possible. In this regard, several studies have been conducted aiming to optimize wastewater treatment processes or even critical subprocesses, such as the anaerobic digestion [24], addressing the mentioned criticality.…”