Effects of Nitrilotriacetic Acid on Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Food Waste and Sludge

The role of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) with the addition of four trace elements on mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sludge was investigated in batch reactor. Five different NTA concentrations (0, 8, 80, 800 and 8000 μM) were evaluated. The greatest coenzyme F420 content of five digester were 1.210 ± 0.210, 1.286 ± 0.179, 1.547 ± 0.187, 1.400 ± 0.222 and 0.955 ± 0.146 μmol L −1 during whole digestion process. The ultimate biogas yield of five digester were 198.1, 200.7, 239.7, 219.5 and 174.8 mL g −1 -VS added , respectively. The results indicated that the addition of NTA increased the biogas yield of anaerobic digester at an adequate concentration (around 80 μM).