Evaluation of biogas production in anaerobic reactors fed with food waste and crude glycerol

• Grant number: 20/04360-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2020
• End date: January 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Lorena Oliveira Pires
• Grantee: Arthur Ivers Braga
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The increasing global concern towards environmental issues has brought about questions and problems, such as pollution and renewable energetic issues, due to the impact on nature and also the increase in consumption. Because of that, renewable fuel has gained visibility and increase in its demand. One example is the biodiesel, produced in large scale in our country and several others, through transesterification. This process, besides generating the fuel, also produces high quantities of glycerol, an alcohol which ends up being an environmental and economic problem to the country, once it generates an exceeding product, despite being used in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, there is the solid waste, such as organic foods, often misused, produced daily and in large quantities, which may pollute water fountains and be disease vectors. Thus, a good and feasible alternative to minimize and /or handle these problems is anaerobic digestion, which uses adapted microorganisms in an oxygen - free environment in order to degrade organic matter in their metabolism and produce other compounds of interest, such as methane (biogas) and other inorganic elements. This project has as its main aim to quantify biogas produced during the process of food waste anaerobic digestion with crude glycerol, from the production of biodiesel. This will occur feeding in different proportions of both wastes in the reactor, as well as the monitoring of glycerol and organic matter consumption by bacteria.