Anaerobic co-digestion: Current status and perspectives

Renisha Karki; Wachiranon Chuenchart; K C Surendra; Shilva Shrestha; Lutgarde Raskin; Shihwu Sung; Andrew Hashimoto; Samir Kumar Khanal

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125001

Anaerobic co-digestion: Current status and perspectives

Bioresour Technol. 2021 Jun:330:125001. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125001. Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Authors

Renisha Karki¹, Wachiranon Chuenchart², K C Surendra³, Shilva Shrestha⁴, Lutgarde Raskin⁵, Shihwu Sung⁶, Andrew Hashimoto¹, Samir Kumar Khanal⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 2540 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
³ Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA; Global Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, 44600 Kathmandu, Nepal.
⁴ Joint Bioenergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA; Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 1351 Beal Avenue, 107 EWRE Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125, USA.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 1351 Beal Avenue, 107 EWRE Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125, USA.
⁶ College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management (CAFNRM), University of Hawai'i at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
⁷ Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 2540 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. Electronic address: khanal@hawaii.edu.

PMID: 33773269
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125001

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion is a long-established technology for the valorization of diverse organic wastes with concomitant generation of valuable resources. However, mono-digestion (i.e., anaerobic digestion using one feedstock) suffers from challenges associated with feedstock characteristics. Co-digestion using multiple feedstocks provides the potential to overcome these limitations. Significant research and development efforts have highlighted several inherent merits of co-digestion, including enhanced digestibility due to synergistic effects of co-substrates, better process stability, and higher nutrient value of the produced co-digestate. However, studies focused on the underlying effects of diverse co-feedstocks on digester performance and stability have not been synthesized so far. This review fills this gap by highlighting the limitations of mono-digestion and critically examining the benefits of co-digestion. Furthermore, this review discusses synergistic effect of co-substrates, characterization of microbial communities, the prediction of biogas production via different kinetic models, and highlights future research directions for the development of a sustainable biorefinery.

Keywords: Anaerobic co-digestion; Co-digestate management; Kinetic modeling; Microbial community; Synergistic effect.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Biofuels
Bioreactors*
Digestion
Methane
Microbiota*

Substances

Biofuels
Methane