title: Performance of a fixed-bed reactor packed with carbon felt during anaerobic digestion of cellulose.
abstract: The anaerobic digestion of cellulose was assessed in batch and semi-continuous studies using a carbon felt fixed-bed reactor. In the batch operation, the volatile solids reduction (%) and the cumulative methane production during the mesophilic and thermophilic digestion were 52.2% and 15.9%, 96.7 and 49.2 ml/g-total solid fed, respectively. After 99 days of semi-continuous mesophilic digestion, the degradation of cellulose reached its highest level of 67.6% at the hydraulic retention time of 9 days. The methane production and methane concentration of biogas from the bioreactor were maintained at a steady state. The fixed-bed reactor with carbon felt would be suitable for the efficient anaerobic digestion of cellulose. The biomass distribution in the reactor was, in the liquid phase 0.73 g/l-reactor, in the felt 1.59 g/l-reactor, and on the felt surface 9.86 g/l-reactor, which indicated that most of the microbes were immobilized on the carbon felt fixed-bed in the reactor.
authors.affiliation: Biomass Research Group, Institute for Energy Utilization, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan.
authors.forename: Yingnan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsukahara
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yagishita
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawayama
mesh_terms: D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000378:metabolism*; D019149:Bioreactors; D002244:Carbon; D000077482:Carbon Fiber; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D007700:Kinetics; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
chemical_list: D000077482:Carbon Fiber; D002244:Carbon; D002482:Cellulose; D008697:Methane