Effect of pH on Anaerobic Degradation of Amino Acids to Produce Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs)
Conference Year
January 2023
Abstract
Waste generation by society is increasing, alongside a growing demand for fuels and other commodity chemicals which rely on fossil resources, that contribute significantly to global warming and air pollution. Organic residual streams, like wastewater sludge, which contains 30% to 70% of amino acids, have great potential to be an alternative for that. The anaerobic digestion of these streams produces volatile fatty acids (VFAs), that can be utilized to produce chemicals, such as bioplastics and biofuels. Microorganisms can produce VFAs under certain range of pHs. This study showed that when pH was dropped to 5.5 VFAs production was twice as higher as when the pH was uncontrolled.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Matthew Scarborough
Status
Graduate
Student College
Larner College of Medicine
Second Student College
College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Program/Major
Environmental Engineering
Primary Research Category
Engineering and Math Science
Effect of pH on Anaerobic Degradation of Amino Acids to Produce Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs)
Waste generation by society is increasing, alongside a growing demand for fuels and other commodity chemicals which rely on fossil resources, that contribute significantly to global warming and air pollution. Organic residual streams, like wastewater sludge, which contains 30% to 70% of amino acids, have great potential to be an alternative for that. The anaerobic digestion of these streams produces volatile fatty acids (VFAs), that can be utilized to produce chemicals, such as bioplastics and biofuels. Microorganisms can produce VFAs under certain range of pHs. This study showed that when pH was dropped to 5.5 VFAs production was twice as higher as when the pH was uncontrolled.