Effects of synthesized AlFe2O4 and MgFe2O4 nanoparticles on biogas production from anaerobically digested sugar refinery wastewater

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2023-02, Vol.30 (10), p.25613-25619
• Main Authors: Amo-Duodu, Gloria, Rathilal, Sudesh, Chollom, Martha Noro, Tetteh, Emmanuel Kweinor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: activated sludge; aluminum; anaerobic digestion; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; biodegradability; biogas; bioreactors; chemical oxygen demand; Earth and Environmental Science; economic sustainability; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; ferrimagnetic materials; gas production (biological); magnesium; magnetism; methane; methane production; nanoparticles; sugars; Sustainable Research for Energy and Environment; Waste Water Technology; wastewater; wastewater treatment; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-24655-5

The application of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) toward sustainable water economy and bioenergy production has become a subject of great interest. Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been widely exploited in wastewater treatment settings, whereby utilization of MNP additives by microorganism response for degradation of organics into biogas is seen to be eco-friendly and economically viable. The present study investigated the impact of two synthesized MNPs such as aluminum ferrite (AlFe 2 O 4 ) and magnesium ferrite (MgFe 2 O 4 ) on biogas production via biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests. A BMP set-up of three (3) bioreactors was tested with a working volume of 0.8 L which comprises 0.5 L wastewater (WW) and 0.3 L activated sludge (AS) with 1.5 g of the MNPs and a control system without MNPs. The degradation of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was increased with set-ups that contained MNPs as compared to the control system, MgFe 2 O 4 (93.96%) > AlFe 2 O 4 (85.95%) > control (68.83%). In terms of biogas production, the methane yield was also recorded as MgFe 2 O 4 (85.7%) > AlFe 2 O 4 (84.3%) > control (65.7%). The physical and chemical stability of MNPs makes them more advantageous for application in biogas production. In the prospects of biogas enhancement and biodegradability, integrating MNPs in an anaerobic digestion system will result in a more efficient anaerobic process performance for biogas production.