Biodegradation of Dog Waste Through Anaerobic Digestion at Different Temperatures

The objective of this work was to evaluate the biodegradation of CF by AD under different temperature conditions. The feces from a private kennel (82 animals) were characterized in terms of physical–chemical parameters. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests was conducted at three temperatures: ambient (17 to 22 °C), mesophilic (35 °C), thermophilic (55 °C) and mixed (55 °C + 35 °C). The methane production yield and kinetics was evaluated. The integrated management of dog waste was carried out in terms of the energetic recovery of biogas (energy production) and the energy consumption for the best energy balance. From the BMP test, the mesophilic treatment generated a volume of biogas (316.9 NmL gVS⁻¹) greater than the thermophilic treatment (202.7 NmL gVS⁻¹) (p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the most favorable energy balance was in the mesophilic condition (35 °C) (22.9 NL animal⁻¹ d⁻¹). The modified Gompertz model showed the best fit was the for all treatments. For the digester scaling, the effluent heating for 35 °C could be achieved by: (i) direct burning of biogas and use of a solar panel (1.36 m²); (ii) use of a solar panel (2.88 m²). AD has proven to be advantageous for the treatment for CF in terms of resource recovery and management of this waste.