Biogas production by anaerobic co-digestion of cattle slurry and cheese whey

Biogas yield of mixtures of cattle slurry and cheese whey, rates of production of methane, removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) were investigated at 35 °C. Stable biogas production of 621 l/kg volatile solids at a hydraulic retention time of 42 days in a mixture containing 50% slurry and whey was obtained. The concentration of methane in the biogas was around 55%. Maximum removal efficiencies for COD and BOD5 were 82% and 90%, respectively. A maximum biogas production increase of 79% with respect to the start-up phase was achieved. The result of this study show that co-digestion of a high volume of whey (up to 65% in volume) is possible without the use of chemicals for pH correction, but also that this kind of mix has a similar energetic potential for anaerobic digestion as energy crops such as maize.