Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Evaluation of Integrated Anaerobic Digestion and Hydrothermal Carbonization for Bioenergy Production
Published on: June 15, 2014
Unveiling the role of activated carbon on hydrolysis process in anaerobic digestion
Wangwang Yan1, Liang Zhang1, Surya Maitri Wijaya2
1Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 637141 Singapore, Singapore.
Abstract:
Conventionally, activated carbon is widely applied in water treatment systems due to its capability of adsorbing inhibitors or stimulating methanogenesis rate. This study demonstrates that powder activated carbon (PAC) also stimulate hydrolysis in anaerobic digestion (AD) of thermal hydrolysis pretreated sludge. This is evidenced with 0.95-1.42 times higher methane generation, 12.46-20.06% higher volatile solids removal and greater refractory compounds degradation stimulated by PAC. Functional prediction reveals that genes coding hydrolytic enzymes and xenobiotics metabolism were highly expressed with the presence of PAC. Furthermore, the stimulated hydrolysis activity was effectively maintained at PAC concentration as low as 0.125 g/L, though methanogenesis rate reduced by 80.30% compared to 1 g/L case. This study reports the role of activated carbon on the hydrolysis which has been ignored previously and the impact of PAC on AD performance in long-term operation. The results improve understanding on the true function of PAC in AD system.
More Related Videos
10:44Preparation of Biomass-based Mesoporous Carbon with Higher Nitrogen-/Oxygen-chelating Adsorption for CuII Through Microwave Pre-Pyrolysis
Published on: February 12, 2019
11:31Continuously-stirred Anaerobic Digester to Convert Organic Wastes into Biogas: System Setup and Basic Operation
Published on: July 13, 2012
Related Concept Videos
Bioremediation
Environmental Applications of Microorganisms
Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs
Catalysis
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...
Amino Acid Catabolism