• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.532-539
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• 2012

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of substrate to inoculum ratio on ultimate methane potential ($B_u$) from piggery wastes. BMP(Biochemical methane potential) assays were executed for the three samples that have different organic characteristics (Filtrate of pig slurry, LF; Thermal hydrolysate of piggery sludge cake, TH; Mixture of LF and TH at the ratio of 4 to 1, Mix), and $B_u$ values obtained from BMP assays were compared with the theoretical methane potential ($B_{th}$) of each samples. While $B_u$ values (0.27, 0.44, and $0.46Nm^3\;Kg^{-1}-VS_{added}$) of TH sample that was pretreated with thermal hydrolysis were below the $B_{th}$ at all S/I ratios (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5), and $B_u$ values of LF (0.64 and $0.53Nm^3\;Kg^{-1}-VS_{added}$ for the S/I ratios of 0.1 and 0.3, respectively) at the lower S/I ratios of 0.1 and 0.3 exceeded the $B_{th}$ values ($0.418Nm^3\;Kg^{-1}-VS_{added}$). And also biodegradability ($B_u/B_{th}$) of LF sample were obtained as 152.07%, 122.67%, and 95.71% at the S/I ratios of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5, respectively, and unreasonable $B_u/B_{th}$ values were presented at lower S/I ratios of 0.1 and 0.3. $B_u$ and $B_u/B_{th}$ of Mix sample showed a similar tendency with those of LF sample. Therefore, TH sample by thermal hydrolysis pretreatment showed lower anaerobic biodegradability than those of other samples (LF and Mix) and ultimate methane potentials of LF and Mix samples were overestimated in the lower S/I ratio of 0.1 and 0.3.