Anaerobic Digestion of Pig-Manure Solids at Low Temperatures: Start-Up Strategies and Effects of Mode of Operation, Adapted Inoculum, and Bedding Material

The objective of this study was to obtain start-up strategies for the operation of a dry anaerobic digestion (DAD) system treating pig-manure (PM) solids at low-temperatures, and evaluate the effects of operation mode, adapted inoculum, and bedding material on the performance. A DAD system coupled with an inoculum system (two-stage DAD) was operated at 20 +/- 1 degrees C to digest PM solids (Total Solids, TS: 27%) with wheat straw or woodchips as bedding materials (TS substrate-mixture: 45%) using a liquid inoculum. Static DAD was also operated in parallel for comparison purposes. Overall, the percolation-recirculation mode of operation was superior to the static mode; the former had more than a 3-fold increase in specific methane yield in cycle 3. Using the adapted inoculum in cycle-2 improved methane yield by 7% and 26% for cycles 1 and 3, respectively, under the percolation-recirculation mode of operation. In addition, the digestate resulting from the digestion of woodchips + PM solids had better physical characteristics than wheat straw + PM solids. Thus, anaerobic digestion of pig-manure solids at low-temperatures with appropriate start-up strategies, inoculum, and bedding material is a promising technology for transforming PM solids into biogas and using its digestate as biofertilizer.