Evaluation of Mixing Effects on Solid-state Anaerobic Digestion Performance of Dairy Manure and Sawdust Bedding Mixtures

The influence of mixing on biogas production and organic material removal performance of solid state anaerobic digestion of dairy manure and sawdust bedding mixtures was evaluated using 22 L volume lab-scale digesters. After 45 days of anaerobic digestion at $37^{\circ}C$, cumulative methane yield of unmixed test unit ($73.1N{\cdot}mL/g-VS$) was almost 1.3 times of that of mixed one ($56.3N{\cdot}mL/g-VS$). The biodegradable volatile solids removal rate of unmixed test unit was 67%, which was almost 28% greater than mixed one. Our results reveal that unmixed condition is better than mixed one in terms of biogas production and organic material reduction.