Influence of organic loading rate and temperature fluctuation caused by solar energy heating on food waste anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion, one of the most currently remarkable techniques for biogas production, has provided a method of high organic solid waste disposal. Operating temperature, especially in the winter of northern city, makes biomass degradation less efficient. The microorganisms that take on the role of gas production are greatly affected by temperature. In our study, solar energy was selected for anaerobic digestion and winter was selected as the experimental environment. Anaerobic digestion was performed with solar heating and electric heating separately. Parameters were tested (pH, soluble chemical oxygen demand, total ammonia nitrogen, total volatile fatty acids), and microbial structure was monitored. The volume of methane produced was measured over 60 days. The methane yield differed by 15.92% under different conditions. It is clearly shown that methane yield can be improved by a steady temperature environment. Nevertheless, dominant bacteria and microbial structure did not seem to be much different. This study may provide more energy-saving ideas for winter anaerobic digestion projects in northern regions.