The effect of different carbon materials’ addition on the biomethane production from food waste
Abstract Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a useful process that could be utilized for food waste (FW) management. Previous studies have shown that carbon materials (CMs) could be an important additive for increasing biomethane yield. However, why CMs improve AD is still uncertain. A significant body of r...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02564-0 |
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| author | Michał Kozłowski Bernard Papaj Karolina Sobieraj Kacper Świechowski Katarzyna Kosiorowska Andrzej Białowiec |
| author_facet | Michał Kozłowski Bernard Papaj Karolina Sobieraj Kacper Świechowski Katarzyna Kosiorowska Andrzej Białowiec |
| author_sort | Michał Kozłowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a useful process that could be utilized for food waste (FW) management. Previous studies have shown that carbon materials (CMs) could be an important additive for increasing biomethane yield. However, why CMs improve AD is still uncertain. A significant body of research has been dedicated to investigating the impact of CMs supplementation on biogas production. However, this article specifically emphasizes examining this effect concerning the specific surface area and the functional groups (e.g. hydroxyl groups, carbonyl groups, or unsaturated carbon structures) present on the surface of CMs, produced by torrefaction—TP (240 °C/60 min), pyrolysis—BC (600 °C/60 min), and hydrothermal carbonization—HC (240 °C/60 min/6–10 Bar) processes. The analyses showed that the size of the specific surface area of the CMs (TP—7.72 m2 g−1, BC- 115.00 m2 g−1, HC—5.46 m2 g−1), does not correspond to the production of biomethane. The highest biomethane potential was found for CMs with the lowest SSA, precisely TP and HC, equal to 407 and 394 mL gVS−1, which was about 13 and 9% higher than production from FW as a sole source of carbon, respectively. The FTIR analysis confirmed the abundance of different organic functional groups on the surface of TP and HC, which could contribute to improved AD performance. These organic residuals, as thermal degradation products, could be an additional source of carbon for microorganisms. The addition of BC, with the highest SSA, decreased the first-order biomethane rate constant k by 16.4% in comparison to food waste without CMs, which could be related to the presence of harmful, more complex organic compounds on the surface of biochar. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5bec6c535e24517a3918c67021f83a8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5bec6c535e24517a3918c67021f83a82025-08-20T03:16:50ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-02564-0The effect of different carbon materials’ addition on the biomethane production from food wasteMichał Kozłowski0Bernard Papaj1Karolina Sobieraj2Kacper Świechowski3Katarzyna Kosiorowska4Andrzej Białowiec5Department of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life SciencesDepartment of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life SciencesDepartment of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life SciencesDepartment of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life SciencesDepartment of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life SciencesDepartment of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life SciencesAbstract Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a useful process that could be utilized for food waste (FW) management. Previous studies have shown that carbon materials (CMs) could be an important additive for increasing biomethane yield. However, why CMs improve AD is still uncertain. A significant body of research has been dedicated to investigating the impact of CMs supplementation on biogas production. However, this article specifically emphasizes examining this effect concerning the specific surface area and the functional groups (e.g. hydroxyl groups, carbonyl groups, or unsaturated carbon structures) present on the surface of CMs, produced by torrefaction—TP (240 °C/60 min), pyrolysis—BC (600 °C/60 min), and hydrothermal carbonization—HC (240 °C/60 min/6–10 Bar) processes. The analyses showed that the size of the specific surface area of the CMs (TP—7.72 m2 g−1, BC- 115.00 m2 g−1, HC—5.46 m2 g−1), does not correspond to the production of biomethane. The highest biomethane potential was found for CMs with the lowest SSA, precisely TP and HC, equal to 407 and 394 mL gVS−1, which was about 13 and 9% higher than production from FW as a sole source of carbon, respectively. The FTIR analysis confirmed the abundance of different organic functional groups on the surface of TP and HC, which could contribute to improved AD performance. These organic residuals, as thermal degradation products, could be an additional source of carbon for microorganisms. The addition of BC, with the highest SSA, decreased the first-order biomethane rate constant k by 16.4% in comparison to food waste without CMs, which could be related to the presence of harmful, more complex organic compounds on the surface of biochar.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02564-0Anaerobic digestionTorrefaction productBiocharHydrocharSpecific surface area |
| spellingShingle | Michał Kozłowski Bernard Papaj Karolina Sobieraj Kacper Świechowski Katarzyna Kosiorowska Andrzej Białowiec The effect of different carbon materials’ addition on the biomethane production from food waste Scientific Reports Anaerobic digestion Torrefaction product Biochar Hydrochar Specific surface area |
| title | The effect of different carbon materials’ addition on the biomethane production from food waste |
| title_full | The effect of different carbon materials’ addition on the biomethane production from food waste |
| title_fullStr | The effect of different carbon materials’ addition on the biomethane production from food waste |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of different carbon materials’ addition on the biomethane production from food waste |
| title_short | The effect of different carbon materials’ addition on the biomethane production from food waste |
| title_sort | effect of different carbon materials addition on the biomethane production from food waste |
| topic | Anaerobic digestion Torrefaction product Biochar Hydrochar Specific surface area |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02564-0 |
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