Chemie Ingenieur Technik, Vol.89, No.6, 724-732, 2017
Influence of the Substrate/Inoculum Ratio on Process Stability and Performance during Batch Digestion of Grass Silage
The impact of the substrate/inoculum ratio on the performance and process stability during batch digestion of grass silage, an important substrate in biogas plants, was investigated. The methane yield, degradability, and evolution of intermediary products were monitored in mesophilic reactors fed with increasing amounts of grass silage. A first-order kinetics model was also applied. Signs of inhibition were observed for the highest loadings, but the system recovered and process failure was not observed. The methane yield decreased with increasing loading but the system was resilient to high loadings under batch conditions.
Keywords:Anaerobic digestion;Grass silage;Kinetic evaluation;Process performance;Substrate;inoculum ratio