Biogas residues in the battle for terrestrial carbon sequestration: A comparative decomposition study in the grassland soils of the Greater Region.

The recycling of biogas residues resulting from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste on agricultural land is among the means to reduce chemical fertilizer use and combat climate change. This in sacco decomposition study investigates (1) the potential of the granulated biogas residue fraction to provide nutrients and enhance soil carbon sequestration when utilized as exogenous organic matter in grassland soils, and (2) the impact of different nitrogen fertilizers on the organic matter decomposition and nutrient release processes. The experiment was conducted in two permanent grasslands of the Greater Region over one management period using rooibos tea as a comparator material. The decomposition and chemical changes of the two materials after incubation in the soil were assessed by measuring the mass loss, total carbon and nitrogen status, and fibre composition in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Overall, after the incubation period, granulated biogas residue maintained up to 68% of its total mass, organic matter and total carbon; increased its content in recalcitrant organic matter by up to 45% and released 45% of its total nitrogen. Granulated biogas residue demonstrated resilience and a higher response uniformity when exposed to different nitrogen fertilizers, as opposed to the comparator material of rooibos tea. However, the magnitude of fertilizer-type effect varied, with ammonium nitrate and the combinatorial treatment of raw biogas residue mixed with urea leading to the highest organic matter loss from the bags. Our findings suggest that granulated biogas residue is a biofertilizer with the potential to supply nutrients to soil biota over time, and promote carbon sequestration in grassland soils, and thereby advance agricultural sustainability while contributing to climate change mitigation.

Efficient biodegradation of the recalcitrant organochlorine pesticide chlordecone under methanogenic conditions.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has long been studied as an effective environmental and economic strategy for treating matrices contaminated with recalcitrant pollutants. In the present work, we investigated the bioremediation potential of AD on organic waste contaminated with chlordecone (CLD), an organochlorine pesticide extensively used in the French West Indies and classified among the most persistent organic pollutants. Digestates from animal and plant origins were supplemented with CLD and incubated under methanogenic conditions for over 40 days. The redox potential and pH monitoring showed that methanogenic conditions were preserved during the entire incubation period despite the presence of CLD. In addition, the comparison of the total biogas generated from digestates with and without CLD demonstrated no adverse effects of CLD on biogas production. For the first time, a QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) extraction method, followed by GC-MS and LC-HRMS analyses, was developed to quantify CLD and its main known transformation products (TPs) in AD experiments. A decrease in CLD concentrations was evident to a greater extent under thermophilic conditions (55 °C) compared to mesophilic conditions (37.5 °C) (CLD removal of 85 % and 42 %, respectively, after 40 days of incubation). CLD degradation was confirmed by the detection and quantification of several TPs: 10-monohydroCLD (A1), two dihydroCLDs different from 2,8-dihydroCLD (A3), pentachloroindene (B1), tetrachloroindenes (B2, B3/B4), tetra- and tri-chloroindenecarboxylic acids (C1/C2, C3/C4). Determining TPs concentrations using the QuEChERS method provided an overview of CLD fate in AD. Overall, these results reveal that AD processes can efficiently degrade CLD into several TPs from A, B, and C families while maintaining satisfactory biogas production. They pave the way to developing a scaled-up AD process capable of treating CLD-contaminated organic wastes produced by farming, thus stopping any further transfer of CLD.

Pilot-scale biomethanation of cattle manure using dense membranes.

This study aimed at studying the biomethanation process using a 100 L pilot-scale digester equipped with a dense membrane for hydrogen injection. Hydrogen mass transfer was characterized and the impact of hydrogen flowrate, agitation rate and of the co-injection of CO2, on biogas production and composition, was precisely studied. A linear relationship between H2 flowrate and the CO2 and CH4 rates in biogas was found but no impact on biogas flowrate was shown. It was also noticed that, without exogenous CO2 injection, and for high H2 injection flowrates, residual H2 could be found at the digester outlet due to local CO2 limitation. Thus, this study suggested that biogas production in biomethanation process at the pilot scale was probably rather limited by the dissolved CO2 transport within the liquid phase than by the hydrogen mass transfer itself.

Impact of shear stress and impeller design on the production of biogas in anaerobic digesters.

Today, intensification of anaerobic digestion is still a scientific and technical challenge. The present study proposed combined experimental and computational fluid dynamics simulations to characterize the impact of shear stress and impeller design on the biogas production after sequential additions of substrate. Liquid phase (cattle manure digestate) rheological law was experimentally determined and input in numerical simulations. The results showed that the original use of a double helical ribbon in digester allowed a significantly faster dispersion of fresh substrate than the use of a classical Rushton turbine, leading to a 50% higher methane production rate. However, with both impellers, too high agitation rates entailed a clear slow-down of production rate and a decrease in CH4 content. To avoid this loss of productivity, it was shown that the maximal value of shear stress, determined by numerical simulations, was a consistent parameter to set the upper agitation conditions in digesters.