Effect of substrate concentration on dry mesophilic anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW)

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 99; no. 14; pp. 6075 - 6080
• Main Authors: Fernández, J., Pérez, M., Romero, L.I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-09-2008; [New York, NY]: Elsevier Ltd; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anaerobic digestion; Anaerobiosis; Applied sciences; Biofuel production; Biogas; Biological and medical sciences; Biological treatment of sewage sludges and wastes; Biotechnology; Energy; Environment and pollution; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects; Mesophilic; Methane; Organic Chemicals - metabolism; Organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW); Pollution; Refuse Disposal; Wastes; Methane; Mesophilic; Organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW); Biogas; Anaerobic digestion; Substrate; Organic matter; Urban waste; Mesophily; Solid waste
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2007.12.048

The influence of total solid contents during anaerobic mesophilic treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW) has been studied in this work. The work was performed in batch reactors of 1.7
L capacity, during a period of 85–95 days. Two different organic substrate concentrations were studied: 931.1
mgDOC/L (20% TS) and 1423.4
mgDOC/L (30% TS). Experimental results showed that the reactor with 20% total solids content had significantly higher performance. Thus, the startup phase ended at 14 days and the total DOC removal was 67.53%. The startup in reactor R30 ended at 28 days obtaining 49.18% DOC removal. Also, the initial substrate concentration contributed substantially to the amount of methane in the biogas. Hence, the total methane production in the methanogenic phase was 7.01
L and 5.53
L at the end of the experiments for R20 and R30, respectively.