Evaluating resilience during feed overload in a thermophilic anaerobic digester

This project involved measuring resilience in replicate anaerobic digesters during a feed overload experiment. The digesters were thermophilic (56C), 10 liter, semi-Continuous Stir Tank Reactors (CSTR). Five digesters were operated: four replicates and one control. The digesters were derived from a pilot-scale (40 cubic meter) digester located at West Virginia State University. The feedstock was poultry litter. The parent digester was previously described by Bombardiere et al. (2007) and Espinosa et al. (2006); microbe diversity was presented in Smith et al (2014). Samples were collected before and after feed pulses (poultry litter) that consisted of increased COD. Analysis of digester performance and microbial diversity for this experiment will be provided in a publication.