Enhanced mesophilic anaerobic digestion of waste sludge with the iron nanoparticles addition and kinetic analysis.

As the functional material, iron nanoparticles effectively promote anaerobic digestion (AD) process, including the hydrolysis-acidification process and the biogas production. In this study, nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) and Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) were added to AD reactors respectively. The AD process was evaluated by the reactors performances, including pH, biogas yields and compositions, as well as the removal ratio of total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS) and soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD). Three models (first-order kinetic model, transfer function model and Cone model) were used to explore the kinetics of AD biogas production. The results showed that adding appropriate dose of nZVI or Fe3O4 NPs enhanced anaerobic digestibility of sludge. The highest cumulative biogas yield of 140.34 L with 0.5 g L-1 nZVI and 137.13 L with 1 g L-1 Fe3O4 NPs were obtained by the 80 days of mesophilic operation, respectively. Cumulative biogas productions of these two reactors were significantly enhanced up to 15.70% and 13.44%. TS removal rates reached >70% in all AD reactors with iron nanoparticles, and the highest sCOD removal rates of nZVI and Fe3O4 NPs digesters on the 80th day were 88.22% and 77.63%, respectively. The results of the three-day fermentation experiment and the kinetic parameters showed that the nZVI or Fe3O4 NPs enhanced the hydrolysis-acidification process of the AD, which eventually promoted biogas production. The Cone model was satisfied with the experimental results, which could be used to evaluate the kinetics of AD with iron nanoparticles more reasonably.