| Abstrakt: |
Anaerobic digestion (AD) can be a suitable alternative for industrial waste treatment and energy recovery. In this study, the AD of açaí seeds was evaluated under mesophilic temperature and dry regime. The stirred-tank reactor, composed of açaí seeds (25%), inoculum (45%), and water (30%), was started up and operated in batch mode for 40 days. The results demonstrate that the total solids' biodegradation reached 59.38%, and the accumulated biogas produced was higher than 6 L. A stable methane content was obtained after 22 days of digestion, with a composition of around 60%. The experimental methane yield (156.65 mL CH4 g−1 TS) was higher than the theoretical methane yield (116.36 mL CH4 g−1 TS), demonstrating that the dry AD process was favorable to methane production. From the biogas combustion in a heat and power unit, 21.88 kWh of electricity and 98.48 MJ of heat could be produced from 1 ton of açaí seeds submitted to dry AD, mitigating a total of 7.15 × 10−3 tCO2eq. From the proposed industrial process intensification, the adoption of dry AD could supply 43.19% of the energy required by the açaí processing industry. Hence, the AD can be a technological route for bioenergy recovery, contributing for reducing the açaí industry's carbon footprint while promoting environmental, social, and economic benefits for the local sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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