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Development of a two‐phase combination fermenter for the conversion of cellulose to methane
Author(s) -
Khan A. W.,
Miller S. Shea,
Murray William D.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.260250611
Subject(s) - industrial fermentation , cellulose , methane , chemistry , phase (matter) , pulp and paper industry , biochemical engineering , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , fermentation , engineering
Cellulose degradation to methane under continuous fermentation conditions was compared using fully mixed, fully mixed with solids return, sludge‐blanket, and fixed‐film fermenters. In fully mixed fermenters, a decrease in hydraulic retention time (HRT) of two weeks or less caused the wash out of anaerobes capable of converting volatile fatty acids to methane, while at increased feeding rates over 1 g/L day the rapid growth of cellulolytic anaerobes upset the balance between acid formation and its conversion to CH 4 . Circulation of cellulose and difficulty in settling of cellulose with attached bacteria imposed problems in the use of other types of fermenters. On the basis of information obtained from this study, a fermenter which combined a fully mixed phase for cellulose degradation and a fixed‐film phase with pre‐immobilized bacteria for converting fatty acids to CH 4 in one vessel, was devised. Using this fermenter, a mixed culture converted cellulose to CH 4 at 4.8 g/L day at a HRT of six days as compared to 0.7 g/L day at a HRT of 28 days in the fully mixed fermenter.