Development of a cartridge design anaerobic digestion system for lignocellulosic biomass

A novel cartridge design anaerobic digestion system was developed for the treatment of lignocellulosic biomass. This new design is composed of a novel anaerobic digestion chamber with three replaceable feedstock cartridges. This design has multiple advantages, e.g. high stability, easy to operate, and no liquid waste, over conventional anaerobic digestion systems. In a seven-month test, maize straw was employed as the feedstock, and the system was operated in three scenarios: no rotation of cartridge; rotation with 14 g dry maize straw in each cartridge; and rotation with 28 g dry maize straw in each cartridge. Results showed that biogas production from this system was comparable to solid-state anaerobic digestion units, and the rotation of cartridges significantly improved the stability of methane yield and reduced hydrogen sulfide in biogas. Digestion effluent was completely reused in the rotation tests.