Evaluación del potencial acidogénico para producción de AGV de melaza de la industria azucarera como valorización de este subproducto/Acidogenic potential assessment to VFA production from sugar cane molasses as valorization of this by-product/Avaliação do potencial acidogênica para a produção de VFA de melaço da industria de cana de açúcar como valorização deste subproduto

The acidogenic potential of molasses from the sugar industry was evaluated using 4 different Organic Loading Rates (OLR) (6.02±4.33; 13.96±7.11; 15.81±4.83; 26.94±13.27kgCOD/m3.d) in an upfl ow reactor with granular sludge. No pH control or methanogenesis inhibitors were used. The reactor was continuously operated during 148 days. The acidogenic potential was evaluated based on the net degree of acidifi cation (DAn). For the fi rst 3 OLR, %DAn did not show any signifi cant variability (29.46 ± 13.01; 20.23 ± 13.67; 24.63 ± 19.49), but for the highest OLR, %DAn dropped to a third of its initial value (10.21 ± 7.14), although the volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration was the highest (2644.89mgCOD/L). Also, a COD balance was done for each of the 4 OLR. The VFA percentage in the effl uent was assumed to be the most easily fermentable organic fraction in the effluent. The obtained results suggest that an internal recirculation of the effluent could help to increase the %DAn so the produced VFA can be used as substrate for the obtention of other valuable bioproducts. This article describes an upflow reactor is used as an alternative to those studied (CSRT and batch) presenting different results.