Effects of ultrasonic pretreatment on the solubilization and kinetic study of biogas production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge

Abstract Waste activated sludge (WAS) is a polluting waste with severe management problems that must be treated to prevent pollution and human health risks. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the most used process to stabilize sludge; however, it must be improved because the biomethanation of sludge entails low biodegradability, pathogen inactivation, and biogas production. This study investigated the effects of ultrasonic pretreatment (USp) of WAS as a strategy to improve AD. Macromolecule solubilization, heavy metal behavior, pathogen inactivation and biogas production were evaluated. USp was applied at a range of 5000–35000 kJ/kg TS (total solids). The maximum solubilization degree of soluble chemical oxygen demand was 26%, and 22.9% of proteins at 35000 kJ/kg TS. The highest USp reduced only 2 log units of pathogens; nevertheless, a high inactivation was obtained when TS were reduced to 2% and continuous stirring was applied. AD of raw and sonicated WAS were compared with biochemical methane potential tests, and a biogas overproduction of 31.43% (219.5 mL/g VS) was achieved at highest USp. A modified Gompertz model was used for kinetic study of biogas production. The kinetic parameters at highest energy were: biogas production potential, G 0  = 634.2 mL; maximum biogas production rate, R max  = 57.23 mL/day.