Treatment of the liquid phase of digestate from a biogas plant for water reuse.

Biogas plants struggle with managing nitrogen-rich digestate from manure co-digestion. In this study, the biologically treated liquid phase of digestate from an aerobic granular sludge batch reactor (GSBR) containing oxidized nitrogen forms (NOx), phosphorus, COD and total suspended solids was post-denitrified (P-D), and then ultrafiltered. In P-D, various hydraulic retention times (from 10 to 60 h) and biomass concentrations (from 6 to 14 g MLSS/L) were tested. Then, waste glycerin (GL) was added to the P-D reactor at a CODGL/NOx ratio of 1.1, causing a large number of phosphate-accumulating and denitrifying Janibacter sp., and PHB-accumulating and denitrifying Paracoccus sp. and Thauera sp. to be present in granules, which improved nutrient removal. The effluent was ultrafiltered at 0.3 and 0.5 MPa. After biological treatment supported with GL and followed by ultrafiltration, the purified liquid phase of the digestate met FAO standards for water reuse for irrigation.