Browsing by Author "Smozinski, Nicole"
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- Enhanced biomethane production by co-digestion of mixed sewage sludge and dephenolised two-phase olive pomacePublication . Fragoso, Rita; Henriques, Ana Catarina; Ochando-Pulido, Javier; Smozinski, Nicole; Duarte, ElizabethIn this study, co-digestion of mixed sewage sludge from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and partially dephenolised twophase olive pomace (DOP) as a co-substrate was addressed with the aim of improving the biodigestibility of both substrates. The introduction of DOP into WWTP anaerobic digester facilities could significantly increase biomethane production and enhance the sustainability of both activities. An improvement in the system’s performance was supported by stability parameters: total alkalinity increased and stabilised with the addition of 5% v/v DOP, and the specific energy loading rate was maintained at 0.177 ± 0.03 d−1, which indicated better buffer capacity and stability in the bioreactor, and the possibility of enhancing the organic loading rate. In terms of average daily biogas production rate, an increase of 39% was achieved, up to 0.39 ± 0.11 L L−1d−1. Moreover, there was a 40% and 37% improvement in specific methane production and methane production rate, respectively, up to 0.28 ± 0.02 L CH4 g TVS −1 and 0.26 ± 0.08 L L−1d−1. In addition, the proposed strategy leads to an energy saving of 20,328.6 kWh year−1 at the WWTP as a result of the electric energy production surplus, corresponding to an annual saving of €3293.23
- Enhancing Bioenergy Recovery from Agro-food Biowastes as a Strategy to Promote Circular BioeconomyPublication . Duarte, Elizabeth; Fragoso, Rita; Smozinski, Nicole; Tavares, JorgeAgro-food industries produce large amounts of wastes challenging innovative and efficient valorisation strategies promoting the circular bioeconomy concept. Anaerobic digestion technology is an interesting route for bioenergy recovery in the agro-food chain sector. In this work, a simple approach is proposed for assessing energy performance of livestock manure and mixed sewage sludge, as substrate by coupling the potential addition of several agro-food biowastes (co-substrate: fruit and vegetable biowastes, fish canning industry, other manures, coffee wastes, and non-edible crops). The results obtained showed an increase of energy performance indicator ranging from 30 to 250% and 62 to 539%, for livestock manure and mixed sewage sludge, respectively. This conceptual approach for feedstocks promotes the circular bioeconomy as it encourages the stakeholders to a smart use of anaerobic biotechnology at rural-level or urban-level