Biogas production from chicken manure at different organic loadings using a special zeolite additive (ZeoVit sorbent)

Abstract

This work was aimed at investigating biogas production from chicken manure (common agricultural organic waste) using different organic loadings and a special zeolite additive (ZeoVit sorbent), by applying a small-sized batch-type bioreactor operating under mesophilic conditions (35°C) with mechanical mixing of the substrate. The effect of the zeolite used in the amount of 10% (percent of dry organic matter) on the promotion of biogas production efficiency was investigated under different organic loadings (80, 120, and 180 g VS L-1) of the bioreactor. It was found that increasing the organic load also increased the promoting effect of the zeolite additive, for which the best results achieved were 10% and 14% for the cumulative biogas yield and total amount of methane, respectively. The obtained results show that the zeolite additive can greatly impact the biogas yield, whereas its promoting effect upon the methane concentration was much lower (4%). The methane concentration reached a maximal value of ~ 70%, while the concentrations of the most important components of the cumulative produced biogas were 60%, 38%, and 0.03% for CH4, CO2, and H2S, respectively.