Use of diluted poultry manure as a low-cost emulsifier for anaerobic digestion of used cooking oil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anaerobic co-digestion of diluted poultry manure (DPM) and used cooking oil (UCO). Mixtures of DPM with different UCO dosages (1 to 6% v/v) were prepared using a high-shear emulsifier and digested in batch anaerobic reactors. Increasing the UCO dosage increased the emulsion COD (from initially 64 to 182 g.L-1) but emulsion stability was affected adversely. UCO at the optimum dosage (1.5 to 2.0% v/v) was further digested in a semi-continuous mesophilic anaerobic reactor, to assess process feasibility at organic loading rates (OLRs) up to 8 g.L-1.d(-1). The reactor was stable, yielding biogas at 0.45 L.g(-1) COD, with low supernatant COD (<6 g.L-1), negligible VFA accumulation and no foaming.