Simulation and Optimization of Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Food Waste with Palm Oil Mill Effluent for Biogas Production

Abstract

Food waste (FW) utilized as substrate for anaerobic digestion (AD) to produce biogas is promising. Simultaneously, waste is handled and value-added products such as biogas and fertilizer are produced. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is used as the co-substrate. This study aims to simulate the complete process flow of anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD), consisting of pre-treatment of feedstock, biogas upgrading, wastewater treatment and sludge dying using SuperPro Designer. Parameters, namely hydraulic retention time (HRT), recycle ratio of sludge, water to FW ratio (kg/kg) and co-substrate to FW ratio (kg/kg), would affect the performance of digester. The optimization of these parameters is performed using Design-Expert software, involving response surface methodology (RSM). The effects on responses such as methane flow, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and volatile solid (VS) removal efficiencies are analyzed. In treating 25,000 kg/h of feed, the optimized values for HRT, recycle ratio, water to feedstock ratio, POME to FW ratio are 37.2 days, 0.381, 0.027 and 0.004, respectively. The methane yield is 0.30 L CH4/g of COD removed, with COD and VS removal efficiencies of 81.5% and 68.9%, respectively. The project is profitable, with a payback period of 6.14 years and net present value (NPV) of $5,680,000. A comprehensive understanding of AD matures it for commercialization purposes.

Optimization of the Performances of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)-Based Biogas Plants Using Comparative Analysis and Response Surface Methodology

“…The coefficient of variation (CV) and coefficient of determination (R 2 ) are used to assess the model's fit and accuracy. The lower CV value obtained indicates higher reliability [16]. The CV obtained for the methane flow model is 29.91%.…”

“…It gauges how much the model's mean is deviated from. The model is adequate if R 2 and adjusted R 2 are close to each other [16].…”

“…CCD is the most commonly used model, but BBD was used in this case. The advantages of this over CCD and FFD are that the design matrix is less complex, with more time and cost efficiency for a large number of experiments [8,16].…”

Biogas Production Optimization in the Anaerobic Codigestion Process: A Critical Review on Process Parameters Modeling and Simulation Tools

“…Tis reduces time and excessive resource usage. Several researchers have used diferent models to simulate the AD process reaction paths, including AP [109,110], ADM1 [111,112], and Design-Expert software [113]. AP is a comprehensive process simulation tool that can be applied to a broad range of biochemical processes, which makes it suitable for several applications beyond AD.…”

Wybrane zagadnienia z zakresu produkcji surowców, żywności i kosmetyków, t. 3

“…Improper waste management creates unfavorable odors that attract pests. The decomposition of waste contributes to the release of greenhouse gases, as well as dioxins and other hazardous organic compounds that are harmful to humans [Tiong et al 2021].…”