Micro-scale anaerobic digestion of point source components of organic fraction of municipal solid waste

Chanakya, HN and Sharma, Isha and Ramachandra, TV (2009) Micro-scale anaerobic digestion of point source components of organic fraction of municipal solid waste. In: Waste Management, 29 (4). pp. 1306-1312.

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Abstract

The fermentation characteristics of six specific types of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) were examined, with an emphasis on properties that are needed when designing plug-flow type anaerobic bioreactors. More specifically, the decomposition patterns of a vegetable (cabbage), fruits (banana and citrus peels), fresh leaf litter of bamboo and teak leaves, and paper (newsprint) waste streams as feedstocks were studied. Individual OFMSW components were placed into nylon mesh bags and subjected to various fermentation periods (solids retention time, SRT) within the inlet of a functioning plug-flow biogas fermentor. These were removed at periodic intervals, and their composition was analyzed to monitor decomposition rates and changes in chemical composition. Components like cabbage waste, banana peels, and orange peels fermented rapidly both in a plug-flow biogas reactor (PFBR) as well as under a biological methane potential (BMP) assay, while other OFMSW components (leaf litter from bamboo and teak leaves and newsprint) fermented slowly with poor process stability and moderate biodegradation. For fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW), a rapid and efficient removal of pectins is the main cause of rapid disintegration of these feedstocks, which left behind very little compost forming residues (2–5%). Teak and bamboo leaves and newsprint decomposed only to 25–50% in 30 d. These results confirm the potential for volatile fatty acids accumulation in a PFBR’s inlet and suggest a modification of the inlet zone or operation of a PFBR with the above feedstocks.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Waste Management
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Elsevier Science.
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Sustainable Technologies (formerly ASTRA) Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	09 Dec 2009 11:33
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:29
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/19712

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