Thermophilic biomethanation of sugarcane molasses comparing single and two-stage systems: Process performance and energetic potential

This study compares two- and single-stage thermophilic (55 °C) anaerobic systems as approaches for recovering bioenergy from sugarcane molasses. A bench-scale reactor was initially fed for 344 d with fermented molasses in a two-stage approach (RM-I). The same reactor was further fed with fresh molasses for 192 d, characterizing a single-stage system (RM-II). Increasing organic loading rates (up to 10 kg-COD m−3 d−1) were assessed in both...