Tuesday, April 20, 2010
11-19

Evaluation of microbial consortia for anaerobic degradation of fique pulp wastes

Mabel J. Quintero1, Liliana Castro2, Alex O. Velázquez1, Heider Carreño1, Carolina Guzmán1, Claudia C. Ortiz1, and Humberto Escalante2. (1) Bacteriology and Clinical Laboratory School, Universidad Industrial de Santander, FACULTAD DE SALUD Carrera 32 No 29 – 31 oficina 305, Bucaramanga, Colombia, (2) School of Chemical Engineering, Universidad Industrial de Santander, cra 27 calle 9 Escuela de ingeniería química - oficina 206, Bucaramanga, Colombia

In Colombia, there are 24.000 ha sown with Fique (Furcraea sp, Agavaceae, family’s) producing approximately 500.000 tons of waste-matter per year. This processing generates 3% of fiber and 97% of waste pulp (juice and pulp). This residue is discarded directly to the environment (soil and water) causing a serious contamination problem. The physical and chemical composition of waste pulp represents a potential substrate for anaerobic bioconversion systems. In this sense, it is possible to generate biogas as an alternative for the production of renewable energy, decrease pollution levels and produce an added value to the fique. The aim of this research was to study the viability to produce methane using fique’s waste pulp. The selection of microbial consortium for biogas production was carried out from seven inoculums from different biological sources: ruminal liquid (RL), pig waste slurry (PWS), cow manure (CM), anaerobic sludge from the water treatment plant residual (AS) and the co-digestion between each inoculum with the ruminal liquid in a 1:1 ratio. The experiments were developed in anaerobic reactors of 500 ml, with a fermentation volume of 400 ml and at 39 ºC. The co-digestion RL/PWS showed the best values of hydrolytic activity (0.004 UI/ml), methanogenic activity (5,11 gCOD/gVSS*d) and substrate adaption (43% of methane).Keywords: Anaerobic Digestion; Microbial Consortium; Co-digestion; Hydrolytic Activity; Methanogenic Activity; Adaptation to Substrate.

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