Title: Anaerobic digestion of simulated-organic fraction of municipal solid waste: effect of alkaline pretreatment

Authors: Rania Alqaralleh; Robert Delatolla; Kevin Kennedy

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada ' Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada ' Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada

Abstract: The rapid accumulation of municipal solid waste is of significant environmental concern. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising solution for stabilising the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). The study characterises the effects of alkaline pretreatment of simulated-organic fraction of municipal solid waste (S-OFMSW) using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) at four pH values of 10, 11, 12 and 13 and two temperatures of 23±1°C and 80±1°C. Pretreatment at pH 13 and 80±1°C demonstrated the maximum S-OFMSW solubility for both NaOH and KOH. However, biogas production from BMP assays for both pretreatment chemicals demonstrated the greatest biogas yields relative to removed volatile solids (VS) at pH 12 and 23±1°C. Semi-continuous reactor experiments of S-OFMSW pretreated with NaOH and KOH at pH 12 and 23±1°C at SRTs of 10, 15, and 20 days demonstrated that pretreatment significantly improves the AD performance at SRTs of 10 and 15 days.

Keywords: alkaline pretreatment; temperature effects; anaerobic digestion; sodium hydroxide; potassium hydroxide; solubilisation; methane yield; waste management; simulation; organic fraction; municipal solid waste; MSW; biogas; volatile solids removal.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2015.071292

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2015 Vol.16 No.2, pp.166 - 185

Accepted: 16 Apr 2015
Published online: 19 Aug 2015 *

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