Title: Life cycle assessment of biogas production from mixtures of vinasse and concentrated latex wastewater

Authors: Phairat Usubharatana; Thiwawan Sakdamnoensakul; Kanchana Chongchit; Harnpon Phungrassami

Addresses: Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University, Khlong Nueng, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand ' Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University, Khlong Nueng, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand ' Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University, Khlong Nueng, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand ' Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University, Khlong Nueng, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand

Abstract: Environmental impacts of biogas production were evaluated by a life cycle assessment (LCA) of mixtures of vinasse and concentrated latex wastewater (CLWW) as: 1) single-stage and two-stage anaerobic digestion with different ratios and initial pH; 2) LCA of thermal energy from biogas. Results showed that almost all two-stage anaerobic digestion processes produced higher amounts of biogas and methane than the single-stage. Environmental impact was assessed for 1 MJ of thermal energy production. Two-stage anaerobic digestion produced less environmental impact in terms of global warming potential (GWP), acidification (AD) and energy use (EU) than single-stage at 64.82, 64.86 and 64.72%, respectively. Anaerobic digestion significantly contributed to environmental impact using sodium hydroxide solution for pretreatment.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; biogas production; concentrated latex wastewater; CLWW; life cycle assessment; LCA; vinasse.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2022.128249

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2022 Vol.30 No.2, pp.203 - 220

Received: 17 Oct 2019
Accepted: 17 Jun 2020
Published online: 12 Jan 2023 *

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