Sustainability, Vol. 11, Pages 2933: Interactive Effects of Chemical Composition of Food Waste during Anaerobic Co-Digestion under Thermophilic Temperature (Sustainability)

The effects of chemical composition (carbohydrates, lipids, and protein) on the anaerobic co-digestion performance of food wastes (FW) were investigated from the viewpoints of methane production, dynamic parameters, and microbial community structure. The results of this study showed that a notable gasification rate was positively correlated with the proportion of the composition. A T2 reactor, which consisted of 60% carbohydrates, 20% lipids, and 20% protein, held a higher gasification rate of 65.09% compared to other groups, while its process parameters showed some deficiency regarding the stability of digestion, especially for low biochemical methane potential (BMP), which was not beneficial for the actual practice. A T4 reactor, with a highest gasification rate of 70.68%, held the maximum BMP (497.44 mL/g VS). The stable chemical parameters achieved the optimal proportion, consisting of 40% carbohydrates, 40% lipids, and 20% protein. Furthermore, its microbial populations were rich and achieved a balance of the two main dominant communities of acetoclastic methanogens and hydrogenotrophic methanogens, whose relative abundance was close. It was obvious that interactive effects were caused by different proportional composition, which led to constantly changing chemical parameters and microbial community.