Title: Comparative assessment of anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures

Authors: Dinesh Surroop, Romeela Mohee

Addresses: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius. ' Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius

Abstract: Anaerobic digestion is an environmentally sound treatment option for the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and simultaneously producing methane gas which is a source of renewable energy. The COD reduction of the substrate was 72% for the mesophilic condition and 72.3% for the thermophilic condition. 1200 cm³ of methane was produced in the mesophilic condition and 1260 cm³ in the thermophilic condition. The methane content, by volume, in the biogas was found to be 60% and 63% in the mesophilic and thermophilic condition respectively. It was also found that 0.723 cm³ of methane per unit weight of substrate was produced at the mesophilic condition and 0.760 cm³ of methane per unit weight of substrate at the thermophilic condition. The gas production rate for mesophilic and thermophilic condition were 0.0214 m³ (m³d)⁻¹ and 0.046 m³ (m³d)⁻¹ respectively and the methane yield was more or less the same in both cases. The methane yield in mesophilic condition was 0.0614 m³/kg COD and that at thermophilic condition was 0.0612 m³/kg COD.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; MSW; municipal solid waste; organic fraction; biogas; mesophilic temperature; thermophilic temperature; methane yield.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2011.039272

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2011 Vol.14 No.1/2/3/4, pp.238 - 251

Published online: 29 Jan 2015 *

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