Dry anaerobic digestion in batch mode: Design and operation of a laboratory-scale, completely mixed reactor

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) Vol. 30; no. 10; pp. 1768 - 1771
• Main Authors: Guendouz, J., Buffière, P., Cacho, J., Carrère, M., Delgenes, J.-P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Ammonia; Ammonia - metabolism; Anaerobic digestion; Bacteria, Anaerobic - metabolism; Bioreactors; Chromatography, Gas; Digestion; Drying; Environment and Society; Environmental Sciences; Feedstock; Methane; Methane - biosynthesis; Reactors; Refuse Disposal - instrumentation; Refuse Disposal - methods; Waste management; Wastes; OPERATING CONDITIONS; ANAEROBIC DIGESTION; URBAN WASTE; SOLID WASTE; ECHELLE LABORATOIRE
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2009.12.024

A laboratory-scale (40 l) reactor was designed to investigate dry anaerobic digestion. The reactor is equipped with an intermittent paddle mixer, enabling complete mixing in the reactor. Three consecutive batch dry digestion tests of municipal solid waste were performed under mesophilic conditions and compared to operation results obtained on a pilot-scale (21 m 3) with the same feedstock. Biogas and methane production at the end of the tests were similar (around 200 m 3 CH 4STP/tVS), and the dynamics of methane production and VFA accumulation concurred. However, the maximal levels of VFA transitory accumulation varied between reactors and between runs in a same reactor. Ammonia levels were similar in both reactors. These results show that the new reactor accurately imitates the conditions found in larger ones. Adaptation of micro-organisms to the waste and operating conditions was also pointed out along the consecutive batches.