Comparative characteristics of native (liquid) and concentrated up to 40 % vinasse as a raw material for anaerobic fermentation

Abstract

The energy crisis that is currently taking place in Ukraine requires an active search for alternative energy sources. Ukraine provides itself with natural gas and oil of its own production only by 20 %. With the help of biogas technologies, it is possible to increase the share of energy from renewable sources, reduce the amount of waste generation, and limit greenhouse gas emissions. Biogas is produced as a result of methane fermentation of biomass. There is a significant problem with the waste of bioethanol production – beet vinasse, a dark-colored liquid with an unpleasant odor. Anaerobic fermentation technologies are the basis for the disposal of organic waste in the world. Vinasse concentration is one of the alternatives with which can be the efficiency of anaerobic digestion and reduce the negative economic and environmental consequences of applying large volumes of vinasse in the fields. Studies show that concentrated vinasse is more suiTable for methane fermentation than liquid vinasse. The process of concentrating vinasse is economically beneficial for plants, as it will reduce the size and cost of building biogas reactors and can facilitate the management and processing of vinasse. An additional advantage of using methanogenesis for waste utilization is obtaining the digestate – the product after methane fermentation and obtaining the main product − biogas. It can also be successfully used in agriculture as a fertilizer. It has many nutrients and does not pollute the environment, as it is free from fermentation products. The proposed technologies will allow sugar and alcohol plants to carry out waste-free production, receiving the main product biogas to meet their own energy needs, and digestate