Effect of Corn Stover Biochar on Anaerobic Digestion of Fruit Residue in Liquid Phase

Abstract

In this study, a series of experiments were conducted to thoroughly investigate the effects of various concentrations (0 g/L, 5 g/L, 10 g/L, 15 g/L, 20 g/L, 25 g/L, 30 g/L, 40 g/L) of corn stover biochar additions on the anaerobic digestion characteristics of fruit residue in the liquid phase. The results indicated that, when the biochar was added at a concentration of 20 g/L, the gas production was significantly increased by 4.4% compared to the control group (i.e., no biochar added, concentration of 0 g/L). However, when the concentration of biochar was increased to 25 g/L and above, the gas production gradually decreased with further increments of the added concentration. Additionally, the addition of 20 g/L biochar facilitated the maintenance of pH stability in the anaerobic digestion system. Meanwhile, introducing an appropriate amount of biochar effectively promoted the degradation of dissolved chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) in organic waste. Overall, the moderate addition of biochar had a positive impact on enhancing gas and potential hydrogen production during the liquid-phase anaerobic digestion of fruit residue.

Keywords: Biochar, Anaerobic digestion, liquid phase, fruit residue