Solid-state anaerobic co-digestion of hay and soybean processing waste for biogas production

Co-digestion of soybean processing waste (SPW) and hay in solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) for biogas production was investigated. Effects of the SPW to hay ratio, feedstock to effluent (inoculum) ratio, premixing of effluent with feedstock, and leachate recirculation on biogas production via SS-AD were studied. The highest methane yield of 258 L/kg VS was obtained with a SPW/hay ratio of 75:25 and feedstock/effluent (F/E) ratio of 3, which was 148% and 50% higher than that of 100% SPW and 100% hay, respectively. Increasing the F/E ratio from 1 to 5 decreased methane yield, however the highest volumetric methane yield (16.2 L/Lreactor) was obtained at an F/E of 3. There was no significant difference in methane yields between premixing 50% and 100% of the effluent. Leachate recirculation significantly accelerated the SS-AD start-up process when effluent was not completely premixed.