Effects of household detergent on anaerobic fermentation of kitchen wastewater from food waste disposer

This study examines the effects of household detergent on anaerobic methane fermentation of wastewater from food waste disposers (FWDs). Anaerobic toxicity assay (ATA) demonstrated that methane production substantially decreased at a higher detergent concentration. The Gompertz three-parameter model fitted well with the ATA results, and both the extent of methane production (M) and methane production rate (R-m) obtained from the model were strongly affected by the concentration of the detergent. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the detergent was 603 mg/L based on R-m. Results from fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) analysis of microbial culture revealed that deterioration of methane fermentation was attributed to impaired structure of anaerobic microbial membrane due to detergent. This study suggests that wastewater from FWD could be used for methane production, but it is necessary to reduce the concentration of detergent prior to anaerobic fermentation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.