Production of Volatile Fatty Acids during the Hydrolysis and Acidogenesis of Pistia stratiotes Using Ruminal Fluid
2015
Hernández-García, H. | Olguín, E. J. | Sánchez-Galván, G. | Monroy-Hermosillo, O.
Aquatic plant biomass has been shown to have a great potential for biogas production. The use of ruminal fluid has been shown to improve the degradation of the lignocellulosic material with its conversion into volatile fatty acids (VFA) during a first phase of hydrolysis–acidogenesis. VFAs are important as the feedstock for methane and hydrogen production in a second phase process within a biorefinery. The objective of this work was to produce a high yield of VFA during a first phase of anaerobic hydrolysis–acidogenesis of Pistia stratiotes biomass assessing the effect of the use of rumen fluid as inoculum and of daily adjustment of pH in batch-operated reactors. One liter anaerobic reactors containing 15 gSV L⁻¹ of P. stratiotes biomass were incubated at 30 ± 2 °C and agitated once a day. The inoculum concentration had no significant effect on the increase in VFA concentration and 20 % (V/V) was used in all treatments. The final average VFA concentration and conversion coefficients from VS to VFA in the inoculated treatment with no pH adjustment (T1) and with pH adjustment (T2) (1817 mgCOD L⁻¹ and 0.1319 mgVFA mgVS⁻¹, respectively) were significantly higher than those found in the treatment with no inoculum (T0). There were no significant differences between T0 and T1 in the VS degradation rate. In contrast, the degradation rate in T2 was significantly higher. Thus, the addition of ruminal fluid promoted the production of VFA, and the pH adjustment had no significant effect on this parameter but did influence the biomass degradation.
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