Biogas production from sugarcane vinasse at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures by static granular bed reactor (SGBR)

This study aimed to investigate the production of methane from sugarcane vinasse using static granular bed reactors (SGBR) at mesophilic (35 degrees C) and thermophilic (55 degrees C) temperatures at three hydraulic retention time (HRT) levels, i.e., 2, 3 and 4 d. The thermophilic system outperformed the mesophilic one. Also, the methane production for HRT of 4 d is higher than two other HRTs (2 and 3 d), so that it is obtained 435 LCH4.kgvs(-1). Furthermore, the highest methane production is 2.76 m3CH4.kgCOD(-1) in which obtains at the thermophilic temperature and HRT of 4 d. The highest COD reduction is about 39% that achieves at thermophilic temperature and HRT of 4 d. The results show that SGBR systems have potential to be used in vinasse processing, but further research efforts are still required to define suitable operating conditions.