Chicken manure

Leach bed reactors (LBRs) are dry anaerobic systemsthat are suitable for feedstocks containing high solid content, such as chickenmanure. These systems can be operated with minimum water addition. To enhancebiogas production, chicken manure was mixed with zeolite and packed in the LBR.The generated leachate was then treated in a continuous stirred tank reactor(CSTR), where most of the methane was produced. The supernatant of the CSTR wasrecirculated to the LBR. It was found that the presence of zeolite in the LBRincreased the methane yield, expressed in L CH4 per g of volatilesolids of chicken manure entering the system, from 0.142 (control experiment)to 0.171. Zeolite also favored the methane production rate and the stability ofthe system. The microbial analysis of the CSTR fed on the leachate from the LBRamended with zeolite showed a higher relative abundance of Methanosaeta than the control experiment. Both CSTRs establishedsignificantly different profiles from the inoculum after operation of 120 days.