Effect of microwave asisted acid&alkali pretreatment on biogas production from poultry manure

In this study, the effect of microwave-assisted acid/alkaline chemical pretreatment on the methane production potential of poultry manure was investigated. Microwave irradiation was applied to chicken manure prepared in three different acidic conditions in this study, namely pH values of 2, 3 and 4 and two different alkali conditions, pH 10 and pH 12 respectively. Microwave pre-processing was carried out with three different powers of 300, 450 and 600W, and three different application time 2.4 and 6 minutes. According to the experimental results, the maximum yield in microwave treated poultry manure was obtained at the application time of 6 minutes and at 300W microwave power. Additionally, sCOD and the potential of biomethane were increased by 61% and 50%, respectively. While acid or alkali pre-treatment resulted in high sCOD (%45-63%), methane yield was not increased. Because, the methanogens in the anaerobic digestion process can be adversely affected by these pretreatment methods.