Thermophilic co-digestion of poultry litter and crude glycerol

Crude glycerol was evaluated as co-substrate in a thermophilic digester that had been stabilized on poultry litter feedstock. The experiment showed that crude glycerol caused stress to the system whereby methane and total biogas production greatly decreased. However, the digester microbiome was resilient and methane production eventually recovered. The microbiome was sampled simultaneously in the treatment digester and a control digester. Experiments were conducted in 10 liter, semi-continuously stirred reactor vessels.