The Influence of Biochar Augmentation and Digestion Conditions on the Anaerobic Digestion of Water Hyacinth

Abstract

The augmentation of biochar (BC) during anaerobic digestion (AD) has been identified as a potential strategy for improving the AD of complex feedstocks. This study evaluates the influence of oak wood biochar 450◦ C and fermentation conditions during the AD of the invasive aquatic plant, water hyacinth (WH). Factorial 22 design of experiments (DOE) allowed the evaluation of the effect of the crucial processing conditions, inoculum-to-substrate ratio (ISR) and biochar load. Further optimisation was performed to identify the best processing conditions for the AD of WH, at an ideal ISR of 1. The contour plots suggested that methane yield is favoured at biochar loads of ≤0.5%, whereas the production rate is favoured by increasing biochar loads. However, biochar addition offered no further improvement or significant effect on the digestion of WH. The subsequent AD of WH samples collected from different locations in India and Uganda exhibited variable biochemical methane potential (BMP) yields. BC addition had little effect on BMP performance, and in some cases, it even reduced the BMP. This study concludes that the amendment potential of biochar is influenced by digestion conditions and the substrate, particularly when working with complex substrates.