RESUMO
Incineration and burial are the current practices for pig carcasses disposal but are not environmentally friendly. Anaerobic digestion can be a better alternative if the process inhibition by carcass digestion can be ameliorated. This study successfully mitigated the inhibition in anaerobic digestion of carcasses by hydrochar addition and by co-digestion with RS and HRS. Biogas production from SP of the pretreated hydrothermal carcasses was enhanced by 60.7 to 90.8% through hydrochar addition. The highest biogas production of 450â¯mL/g-VS was obtained at 4â¯g-hydrochar/L addition. The methane content was also increased from 57.5% to up to 69.8%. Each gram of hydrochar removed 25â¯mg of ammonium and 50â¯mg of VFA. Hydrochar addition promoted the conversion of VFA to biogas by strengthening the intensity of functional groups and the immobilization of microbial biomass. Co-digestion of SP with RS or HRS also increased the biogas production, and the optimal production of 428â¯mL/gâ¯VS was obtained at 70% SP and 30% RS. The co-digestion of carcass SP with RS and the addition of hydrochar can be a promising solution for improving biogas production from a pig carcass, and can be potentially developed as a sustainable waste management method.
