An investigation was conducted for 15 months to assess the potential for methane production from high solids slurries consisting of manure from laying chickens combined with 0, 20, 40, and 60% by volatile solids (VS) weight chopped wheat straw. Two pilot scale digesters, each with an operating volume of 100 liters, were fed on alternate days at loading rates of 6 kg VS/m 3 -day. Retention times were held constant at 15 days, and the temperatures were maintained at 35 C. The methanogenic bacteria appeared to acclimate successfully to high concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (4.5 g/liter). Greatest gas production and volatile solids breakdown were observed for the digester fed 100% chicken manure (2.95 v/v gas/digester per day and 57.4%, respectively). Although addition of wheat straw provided a more stable environment for the methanogenic bacteria, gas production decreased with increasing amounts of straw (1.75 v/v gas/digester per day for 40% manure plus 60% straw). (
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.