Biogas production from a native beverage vinasse using a modified UASB bioreactor

This work evaluated the redesign of an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) bioreactor to increase biogas production from anaerobic digestion of vinasse and compared the redesign UASB bioreactor with a conventional UASB design. Vinasse contains a high level of organic matter, 120.2 ± 18.4 g O2/L of chemical organic demand (COD), and a 0.8 biodegradability index (BI). Thus, vinasse is a potential nutrient source for biogas production by anaerobic digestion. The modified UASB bioreactor has an innovation that consisted in a second leach bed sludge, which improved the methane proportion in biogas producing 2140 mL CH4/day as compared to the traditional bioreactor (1840 mL CH4/day).