Dry anaerobic digestion of differently sorted organic municipal solid waste: a full-scale experience.

This paper presents a comparison of dry anaerobic digestion reactors fed with differently sorted municipal organic solid wastes. One reactor was fed with source sorted organic wastes and a second reactor was fed with mixed organic wastes consisting of grey wastes, mechanically selected municipal solid wastes and sludge. The two reactors utilised the same process (Valorga) and operational conditions at full scale. The results of the study emphasise the influence of the kind of treated material on the process performances, especially in terms of biogas and methane production, thus, energy reclamation. The reactor treating the source sorted organic waste and the reactor treating the mixed organic wastes generated some 200 m3 and 60 m3 of biogas per ton of waste treated, respectively, while the specific methane production was some 0.40 and 0.13 m3CH4/kgTVS, respectively. The mass balance and the final fate of the digested material from the two reactors were also clearly different. As for the costs, these were some 29 Euro per ton of treated waste (50% for personnel) and 53 Euro/ton for disposing of the rejected materials. Incomes were some 100 Euro/ton (on average) and an other 15 Euro/ton came from green certificates. The initial investment was 16 million Euros.     

Evaluation of the reject waters from co-digestion of solid wastes from agro-industries in a municipal WWTP.

Overcapacities of anaerobic digesters at municipal WWTPs are frequently used for the treatment of organic wastes in order to increase the biogas production. However, "co-digestion" of organic wastes leads to additional nitrogen loading and to additional loads of non-biodegradable COD. The effects of (co-) digestion of organic wastes from agro-industries (slaughterhouses, dairies and leather industry) on the wastewater cycle have been evaluated in full-scale investigations at Leoben WWTP with a capacity of 90,000 pe where the methane production was increased from 700 to more than 1700 Nm3 CH4 per day. For this evaluation, mass balances for COD and nitrogen have been applied to estimate the fluxes of these substances. Application of this method is described in detail. As the additional loadings, it was found that related to methane production less nitrogen is released from the organic wastes than from the waste sludge. While the ammonia nitrogen load in the effluent from sludge digestion was about 100 g NH4-N per Nm3 of CH4 produced, in the effluent from the digestion of organic wastes only 70 g NH4-N/Nm3 CH4 were found. The decrease in the COD removal efficiency after digestion of the organic wastes started was not regarded as significant enough to be seen as a consequence of the treatment of external substrate.     

Optimization of municipal sludge and grease co-digestion using disintegration technologies

Many drivers tend to foster the development of renewable energy production in wastewater treatment plants as many expectations rely upon energy recovery from sewage sludge, for example through biogas use. This paper is focused on the assessment of grease waste (GW) as an adequate substrate for co-digestion with municipal sludge, as it has a methane potential of 479-710 LCH(4)/kg VS, as well as the evaluation of disintegration technologies as a method to optimize the co-digestion process. With this objective three different pre-treatments have been selected for evaluation: thermal hydrolysis, ultrasound and enzymatic treatment. Results have shown that co-digestion processes without pre-treatment had a maximum increment of 128% of the volumetric methane productivity when GW addition was 23% inlet (at 20 days of HRT and with an OLR of 3.0 kg COD/m(3)d), compared with conventional digestion of sewage sludge alone. Concerning the application of the selected disintegration technologies, all pre-treatments showed improvements in terms of methane yield (51.8, 89.5 and 57.6% more for thermal hydrolysis, ultrasound and enzymatic treatment, respectively, compared with non-pretreated wastes), thermal hydrolysis of GW and secondary sludge being the best configuration as it improved the solubilization of the organic matter and the hydrodynamic characteristics of digestates.     

Anaerobic digestion of space mission wastes.

The technical feasibility of applying leachbed high-solids anaerobic digestion for reduction and stabilization of the organic fraction of solid wastes generated during space missions was investigated. This process has the advantages of not requiring oxygen or high temperature and pressure while producing methane, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and compost as valuable products. Anaerobic biochemical methane potential assays run on several waste feedstocks expected during space missions resulted in ultimate methane yields ranging from 0.23 to 0.30 L g-1 VS added. Modifications for operation of a leachbed anaerobic digestion process in space environments were incorporated into a new design, which included; (1) flooded operation to force leachate through densified feedstock beds; and (2) separation of biogas from leachate in a gas collection reservoir. This mode of operation resulted in stable performance with 85% conversion of a typical space solid waste blend, and a methane yield of 0.3 Lg per g VS added after a retention time of 15 days. These results were reproduced in a full-scale prototype system. A detailed analysis of this process was conducted to design the system sized for a space mission with a six-person crew. Anaerobic digestion compared favorably with other technologies for solid waste stabilization.     

Co-digestion of ruminal content and blood from slaughterhouse industries: influence of solid concentration and ammonium generation.

At the present time, organic solid wastes from industries and agricultural activities are considered to be promising substrates for biogas production via anaerobic digestion. Moreover solids stabilisation is required before reutilization or disposal. Slaughterhouses are among the most important industries in Uruguay and produce 150,000 tons of ruminal content (RC) and 30,000 tons of blood per year. In order to determine the influence of the solids and blood contents, the ammonia inhibition and the inoculum adaptation co-digestion batch tests were performed. A set of experiences with TS concentration of 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% and different ratios of RC/blood were carried out using an inoculum from an UASB reactor. In all experiences fast blood hydrolisation was observed. A higher methane production was detected in the experiences with higher TS content. However, the fraction of solids degradation was lower in these experiences. A plateau in the biogas production was found. The free ammonia level, which was above the reported inhibitory levels, could explain this behaviour. After the inhibition period the biogas production restarted probably due to the biomass acclimatisation to the ammonia. In order to determine the inoculum adaptation a new experiment was performed. The inoculum used was the sludge coming from the first set of experiences. Based upon batch tests a 3.5 m3 pilot reactor was designed and started up. Ammonia inhibition was avoided by the start-up strategy and in two weeks the biogas production was 3.5 m3/d. The VS stabilisation with a solid retention time of 20 days was of 43%. The pilot reactor working at steady state had a TS concentration of 3-4% with a ratio of RC/blood of 10:1 at the entrance.     

Anaerobic digestion as a sustainable solution for biosolids management by the Montreal metropolitan community.

The Quebec Waste Management Policy (1998-2008) is requesting that the municipalities prepare a waste management plan, including a global objective of 60% of these wastes to be diverted from landfill sites by reduction, re-usage, recycling and valorization. Around 5.8 million tons of wastes were generated on the territory of the Montreal Metropolitan Community in 2001 for a population of about 3.5 millions citizens. In this paper, we present different management scenarios in which anaerobic digestion was used as a valorization step, focusing on the energetic value of the methane produced and the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The four scenarios prepared cover the valorization of the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes, green wastes and excess sludge and showed potential methane generation of 17-140 Mm3 with a GHG reduction of 62,000-500,000 tons of CO2-equivalents.     

Biogas from waste materials as transportation fuel-benefits from an environmental point of view.

In this paper various biogas systems based on waste materials have been analysed from an environmental point of view. The analyses are based on Swedish conditions using a systems analysis approach from an energy and life cycle perspective. The biogas produced is used as a transportation fuel replacing petrol in light-duty vehicles. The overall aims are to quantify the potential environmental effects when current waste handling and transportation fuel systems are replaced. A general conclusion is that the indirect environmental benefits (e.g. reduced emissions of ammonia and methane, and nitrogen leaching) from altered handling of organic waste materials and land-use may often significantly exceed the direct environmental benefits achieved when biogas replaces petrol (e.g. reduced emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants). Such indirect benefits are seldom considered when biogas is evaluated from an environmental point of view. However, the environmental impact from different biogas systems can vary significantly due to factors such as the waste materials utilised, different reference systems being replaced, and local conditions.     

Towards new indicators for the prediction of solid waste anaerobic digestion properties.

The biochemical composition can be seen as a good indicator of both the biodegradability and the methane potential of a given waste. The work presented here is an attempt to elaborate a typology of wastes and to compare it to the anaerobic degradation characteristics. The first data indicate that there is a link between the ligno-cellulosic content of the waste and the biodegradability. When dealing with application to anaerobic digestion processes, having a tool to predict the ability of the waste to be degraded could be of the greatest interest for preventing failures, estimating biogas production, methane content, or for the management of co-digestion processes.     

Anaerobic waste activated sludge co-digestion with olive mill wastewater

Co-digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) with agro-industrial organic wastewaters is a technology that is increasingly being applied in order to produce increased gas yield from the biomass. In this study, the effect of olive mill wastewater (OMW) on the performance of a cascade of two anaerobic continuous stirred tank (CSTR) reactors treating thickened WAS at mesophilic conditions was investigated. The objectives of this work were (a) to evaluate the use of OMW as a co-substrate to improve biogas production, (b) to determine the optimum hydraulic retention time that provides an optimised biodegradation rate or methane production, and (c) to study the system stability after OMW addition in sewage sludge. The biogas production rate at steady state conditions reached 0.73, 0.63, 0.56 and 0.46 l(biogas)/l(reactor)/d for hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 12.3, 14, 16.4 and 19.7 d. The average removal of soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) ranged between 64 and 72% for organic loading rates between 0.49 and 0.75 g sCOD/l/d. Reduction in the volatile suspended solids ranged between 27 and 30%. In terms of biogas selectivity, values of 0.6 l(biogas)/g tCOD removed and 1.1 l(biogas)/g TVS removed were measured.     

Anaerobic co-digestion of sludge with other organic wastes and phosphorus reclamation in wastewater treatment plants for biological nutrients removal.

This paper deals with the performances obtained in full scale anaerobic digesters co-digesting waste activated sludge from biological nutrients removal wastewater treatment plants, together with different types of organic wastes (solid and liquid). Results showed that the biogas production can be increased from 4000 to some 18,000 m3 per month when treating some 3-5 tons per day of organic municipal solid waste together with waste activated sludge. On the other hand, the specific biogas production was improved, passing from 0.3 to 0.5 m3 per kgVS fed the reactor, when treating liquid effluents from cheese factories. The addition of the co-substrates gave minimal increases in the organic loading rate while the hydraulic retention time remained constant. Further, the potentiality of the struvite crystallisation process for treating anaerobic supernatant rich in nitrogen and phosphorus was studied: 80% removal of phosphorus was observed in all the tested conditions. In conclusion, a possible layout is proposed for designing or upgrading wastewater treatment plants for biological nutrients removal process.     

Optimised anaerobic treatment of house-sorted biodegradable waste and slaughterhouse waste in a high loaded half technical scale digester.

Anaerobic co-digestion of organic wastes from households, slaughterhouses and meat processing industries was optimised in a half technical scale plant. The plant was operated for 130 days using two different substrates under organic loading rates of 10 and 12 kgCOD.m(-3).d(-1). Since the substrates were rich in fat and protein components (TKN: 12 g.kg(-1) the treatment was challenging. The process was monitored on-line and in the laboratory. It was demonstrated that an intensive and stable co-digestion of partly hydrolysed organic waste and protein rich slaughterhouse waste can be achieved in the balance of inconsistent pH and buffering NH4-N. In the first experimental period the reduction of the substrate COD was almost complete in an overall stable process (COD reduction >82%). In the second period methane productivity increased, but certain intermediate products accumulated constantly. Process design options for a second digestion phase for advanced degradation were investigated. Potential causes for slow and reduced propionic and valeric acid degradation were assessed. Recommendations for full-scale process implementation can be made from the experimental results reported. The highly loaded and stable codigestion of these substrates may be a good technical and economic treatment alternative.     

Anaerobic codigestion of waste activated sludge and OFMSW: the experiences of viareggio and treviso plants (Italy).

The paper presents the results of two full-scale applications of the anaerobic co-digestion process of waste activated sludge together with the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes. The experiences were carried out at Viareggio and Treviso wastewater treatment plants (Italy). In the first plant, 3 tons per day of source sorted OFMSW were co-digested with waste activated sludge, increasing the organic loading rate from 1.0 to 1.2 kgTVS/m3d. This determined a 50% increase in biogas production. At Treviso WWTP, which has been working for 2 years, some 10 tons per day of separately collected OFMSW are treated using a low-energy consumption sorting line, which allows the removal of 99% and 90% of metals and plastics respectively. In these conditions, the biogas yield increased from 3,500 up to 17,500 m3/month. Industrial costs were evaluated less than 50 Euro per ton of organic waste, while the payback time was calculated as two years.     

Biogas production from anaerobic waste stabilisation ponds treating dairy and piggery wastewater in New Zealand.

New Zealand has over 1000 anaerobic wastewater stabilisation ponds used for the treatment of wastewater from farms and industry. Traditional anaerobic ponds were not designed to optimise anaerobic digestion of wastewater biomass to produce biogas and these uncovered ponds allowed biogas to escape to the atmosphere. This release of biogas not only causes odour problems, but contributes to GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and is wasteful of energy that could be captured and used. Biogas production from anaerobic stabilisation ponds treating piggery and dairy wastewater was measured using floating 25 m2 HDPE covers on the pond surface. Biogas composition was analysed monthly and gas production was continually monitored. Mean areal biogas (methane) production rates from piggery and dairy anaerobic ponds were 0.78 (0.53) m3/m2/d and 0.03 (0.023) m3/m2/d respectively. Average CH4 content of the piggery and dairy farm biogas were 72.0% and 80.3% respectively. Conversion of the average volume of methane gas that could be captured from the piggery and dairy farm ponds (393.4 m3/d and 40.7 m3/d) to electricity would reduce CO2 equivalent GHG emissions by 5.6 tonnes/d and 0.6 tonnes/d and generate 1,180 kWh/d and 122 kWh/d. These results suggest that anaerobic ponds in New Zealand release considerable amounts of GHG and that there is great potential for energy recovery.     

Evaluation of anaerobic biodegradability of forage rice straw fertilized with livestock waste

Fertilizing livestock waste for forage rice production can remove nitrogen and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, rice straw can be used for biogas production. Here, the growth characteristics of different forage rice varieties in Japanese paddy fields fertilized with liquid cattle waste were investigated. Six experimental plots were established in a paddy field planted with three varieties of forage rice developed for livestock feed. Methane production potential assays were then conducted to investigate the anaerobic digestion characteristics of the stems and leaves of these three varieties. The total methane production potential of the Leafstar variety was higher than that of other varieties, while its lag phase was significantly shorter. Co-digestion of ethanol fermentation residue with Leafstar straw revealed that the NH(4)(+)-N concentration decreased as the C/N ratio increased. Additionally, the methane production potential of the mixed substrate was higher than that of ethanol fermentation residue or forage rice straw applied alone. Hence, Leafstar forage rice is a promising variety for establishment of agricultural resource recycling systems in which higher straw biomass can be achieved by applying liquid cattle waste and more biogas can be produced due to the potential for increased methane production.     

Autogenerative high pressure digestion: anaerobic digestion and biogas upgrading in a single step reactor system

Conventional anaerobic digestion is a widely applied technology to produce biogas from organic wastes and residues. The biogas calorific value depends on the CH, content which generally ranges between 55 and 65%. Biogas upgrading to so-called 'green gas', with natural gas quality, generally proceeds with add-on technologies, applicable only for biogas flows > 100 m3/h. In the concept of autogenerative high pressure digestion (AHPD), methanogenic biomass builds up pressure inside the reactor. Since CO2 has a higher solubility than CH4, it will proportion more to the liquid phase at higher pressures. Therefore, AHPD biogas is characterised by a high CH4 content, reaching equilibrium values between 90 and 95% at a pressure of 3-90 bar. In addition, also H2S and NH3 are theoretically more soluble in the bulk liquid than CO2. Moreover, the water content of the already compressed biogas is calculated to have a dew point <--10 degrees C. Ideally, high-quality biogas can be directly used for electricity and heat generation, or injected in a local natural gas distribution net. In the present study, using sodium acetate as substrate and anaerobic granular sludge as inoculum, batch-fed reactors showed a pressure increase up to 90 bars, the maximum allowable value for our used reactors. However, the specific methanogenic activity (SMA) of the sludge decreased on average by 30% compared to digestion at ambient pressure (1 bar). Other results show no effect of pressure exposure on the SMA assessed under atmospheric conditions. These first results show that the proposed AHPD process is a highly promising technology for anaerobic digestion and biogas upgrading in a single step reactor system.     

Co-digestion of energy crops and the source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste.

The biological and technical performance during co-digestion of energy crops and the source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste has been investigated at laboratory and pilot scale. A 50:50 (TS-based) mixture of energy crops and organic waste reached a loading rate of 6.0 gVS L(-1)d(-1) with a methane yield of 0.33-0.38 LgVS(-1), while a 80:20 mixture showed elevated levels of volatile fatty acids at 5.5 gVS L(-1)d(-1) The better performance of the 50:50 mixture can partly be explained by a better nutritional composition. Mincing the ley crop reduced viscosity and reduced problems with fibre floating and scum-blanket formation. The electricity consumed for mincing and stirring at a full-scale plant corresponds to ca 3% of the energy produced. Calculations of the costs for full-scale plants indicate that the price of the upgraded biogas has to be at least 0.078 Euro/kWh in order to balance the costs.     

Assessing the role of biochemical methane potential tests in determining anaerobic degradability rate and extent

The biodegradability and bioavailability of hydrolysis-limited substrates under anaerobic (and aerobic) conditions can be represented by two key parameters--degradability (f(d)), or the percentage that can be effectively be destroyed during digestion, and first order hydrolysis coefficient (k(hyd)), or the speed at which material breaks down. Biochemical methane potential (BMP) testing uses a batch test (in triplicate), and by fitting against a first order model, can fit both parameters in the same test. BMP testing is now being widely used for anaerobic process feasibility and design purposes, and standardisation efforts are ongoing. In this paper, we address a number of key issues relating to the test method and its analysis. This includes proposal of a new fitting and parameter estimation method, evaluation of the impact of inoculum to substrate ratio on fitted parameters, and comparison to performance in continuous systems. The new parameter estimation technique provides an estimate of parameter uncertainty and correlation, and is clearly more suitable than model transformation and linear regression. An inoculum volume ratio of at least 50% (2:1 on VS basis) was required on a cellulose substrate to use methane production as primary indicator, as found by comparing methane production and solubilisation of cellulose. Finally, on a typical material, waste activated sludge, the batch test was slightly conservative in terms of degradability and rate, indicating a bias in the BMP test. The test is a cost-effective and capable method to evaluate potential substrates, but it should be noted that it is generally conservative, especially if sub-optimal inoculum is used.     

Characterisation of the recalcitrant organic compounds in leachates formed during the anaerobic biodegradation of waste

This study investigates the use of UV absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy to assess the early development of recalcitrant organic compounds in leachates formed during the anaerobic biodegradation of municipal solid waste. Biochemical methane potential tests were carried out on fresh waste (FW) and composted waste (CW) over a period of 150 days and leachates produced from the degradation of two wastes were analysed for humic-like (H-L) and fulvic-like (F-L) structures by UV spectroscopy and fluorescence excitation-emission-matrix analyses. During anaerobic biodegradation, the synthesis and utilization of H-L and F-L structures in the leachates over time was indicative of the generation of the recalcitrant organic compounds. The results obtained from UV absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy suggested that CW leachates resulted in a higher concentration and more condensed form of recalcitrant H-L and F-L molecules than FW leachates. These findings demonstrate how fluorescence and UV absorption spectroscopy can be used as an indicator for monitoring the evolution of recalcitrant organic compounds (H-L and F-L substances) in leachates formed at different stages of waste biodegradation.     

Immersed membrane bioreactor (IMBR) for treatment of combined domestic and dairy wastewater in an isolated farm.

In many regions dairy farms and milk processing industries discharge large quantities of their wastes to the surroundings posing serious environmental risks. This problem is mostly faced in small dairy farms and isolated communities lacking both central collection and conventional wastewater treatment systems. Dairy wastewater is characterized by high concentrations of organic matter, solids, nutrients, as well as fractions of dissolved inorganic pollutants, exceeding those levels considered typical for high strength domestic wastewaters. With the purpose of treating the combined dairy and domestic wastewater from a small dairy farm in the Negev Desert of Israel, the use of a recent emerging technology of Immersed Membrane BioReactor (IMBR) was evaluated over the course of 500 test hours, under a variety of wastewater feed quality conditions (during the test periods, the feed BOD5 ranged from 315 ppm up to 4,170 ppm). The overall performance of a pilot-scale Ultrafiltration (UF) IMBR process for a combined domestic and dairy wastewater was analyzed based on the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The IMBR performance in terms of membrane performance (permeate flux, transmembrane pressure, and organic removal) and DEA model (Technical Efficiency) was acceptable. DEA is an empirically based methodology and the research approach has been found to be effective in the depiction and analysis for complex systems, where a large number of mutual interacting variables are involved.     

Feasibility tests for treating shampoo and hair colorant wastewaters using anaerobic processes

Wastes from the personal care product (PCP) industry are often high in biodegradable carbon, which makes them amenable to aerobic biological treatment, although process costs are usually high due to aeration inefficiencies, high electricity demand and production of large amounts of sludge. As such, anaerobic treatment technologies are being considered to lower net energy costs by reducing air use and increasing methane production. To assess the amenability of PCP wastes to anaerobic treatment, methane yields and rates were quantified in different anaerobic reactors treating typical PCP wastes, including wastes from shampoo and hair colorant products. Overall, shampoo wastes were more amenable to methanogenesis with almost double the methane yields compared with colour wastes. To assess relevant microbial guilds, qPCR was performed on reactor biomass samples. Methanosaetaceae abundances were always significantly higher than Methanosarcinaceae and Methanomicrobiales abundances (P < 0.05), and did not differ significantly between waste types. Although colour wastes were less amenable to anaerobic treatment than shampoo wastes, differences cannot be explained by relative microbial abundances and probably result from the presence of inhibiting compounds in hair colorants (e.g., oxidants) at higher levels. Results showed that anaerobic technologies have great potential for treating PCP wastes, but additional work is needed to establish the basis of elevated methane yields and inhibition, especially when colorant wastes are present.