Enhancing methane production from dewatered waste activated sludge through alkaline and photocatalytic pretreatment.

Waste activated sludge generated from wastewater treatment plants makes an abundant source of biomass. Its effective utilization through anaerobic digestion (AD) requires pretreatment to disintegrate the sludge matrix and increase organic matter availability. In this study, dewatered waste activated sludge (DWAS) was subjected to alkaline, photocatalytic, and alkaline-photocatalytic pretreatment for its disintegration and subsequent methane production using different concentrations of sodium hydroxide and titania nanoparticles.

Effect of alkaline and alkaline-photocatalytic pretreatment on characteristics and biogas production of rice straw.

To overcome recalcitrant nature and investigate enhancement of biogas production of rice straw (RS), it was subjected to pretreatment under mild conditions. Alkaline pretreatment using sodium hydroxide (NaOH), photocatalytic pretreatment utilizing titania nanoparticles (TiO NPs) and alkaline-photocatalytic pretreatment was used to disrupt the lignocellulose complex. As compared to raw RS, maximum biogas and methane enhancement due to alkaline pretreatment was observed for 1.