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Digestion of cattle manure under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions: characterization of organic matter applying thermal analysis and 1H NMR

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Abstract

Digestion of cattle manure collected from a livestock farm together with bedding material (straw) has been studied under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions in batch reactors. The digestion was carried out for a prolonged period with the aim of evaluating the changes undergone by the organic matter. The mesophilic digestion carried out revealed a greater capacity to produce gas and transform organic matter, while a higher conversion rate, but a lower gas yield, was obtained under thermophilic conditions. Degradation of the organic matter was evaluated by means of thermal analysis and 1H NMR. Stabilisation through anaerobic digestion (either mesophilic or thermophilic) resulted in an increase in the quality of the organic matter, as characterised by an enrichment in thermostable compounds, and an accumulation of long chain aliphatic materials. The experiments performed demonstrated the transformation of organic matter into complex materials under anaerobic conditions with an accumulation of aliphatic components under both types of conditions tested. Degradation through mesophilic digestion, in comparison to the thermophilic process, resulted in a greater destruction of straw particles.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank collaboration of the WWTP of León-SALEAL (mancomunidad municipal para el saneamiento integral de León y su alfoz).

They also would like to thank Dr Margarida Gairí (NMR Facility at Parc Cientific de Barcelona) for access to 600 MHz spectrometer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering Area, University of Leon, IRENA-ESTIA, Avda. de Portugal 41, 24071, León, Spain

    X. Gómez, D. Blanco, A. Lobato & J. Martin-Villacorta

  2. Animal Production Department, University of León, Campus de Vegazana S/N, 24071, León, Spain

    A. Calleja

  3. Laboratorio de Técnicas Instrumentales, University of León, Campus de Vegazana S/N, 24071, León, Spain

    F. Martínez-Núñez

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  1. X. Gómez
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  2. D. Blanco
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  3. A. Lobato
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  5. F. Martínez-Núñez
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  6. J. Martin-Villacorta
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Correspondence to X. Gómez.

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Gómez, X., Blanco, D., Lobato, A. et al. Digestion of cattle manure under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions: characterization of organic matter applying thermal analysis and 1H NMR. Biodegradation 22, 623–635 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-010-9436-y

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