Improved energy recovery from municipal solid wastes in sanitary landfills by two-phase digestion of biomass

Thesis/Dissertation · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6034575

Onu, Chukwu

The concept under investigaton was the separation of the acidogenic and the methanogenic phases of anaerobic fermentation, converting the sanitary landfill into an acid reactor and using a separate upflow fixed-film anaerobic reactor for methanogenesis. Acidic leachate from the landfill simulator was used as the influent substrate to the anaerobic reactor. The goal of the study was to improve both methane yield and concentration through nutrient addition and two-phase digestion of MSW. Sewage sludge was utilized to provide moisture, buffering capacity, nutrients, and an adequate microbial population. Single-phase systems with other enhancement techniques were also compared to the two-phase with sludge addition. Data from this study indicated that gas produced in the anaerobic reactor had methane concentration as high as 80 Mole % at the fixed-bed reactor (FBR) hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 7 days. The system reached a cumulative methane production rate of 78.6 {ell}/kg dry waste at an estimated cumulative production rate of approximately 270 {ell}/kg/yr. This performance was better than that reported in the literature for a similar type of feed. This study has also indicated that sewage sludge addition appears to be a successful enhancement technique for methane gas production from municipal solid waste. The addition of mineral nutrients and buffer solutions appears to have influenced the development of a dominant population of methanogenic bacteria in the FBR as indicated by the COD removal efficiency of 90% and 100% conversion of all influent organic acids. In terms of the overall system performance, the two-phase system was superior to the one-phase technique currently in use for methane generation.

• Research Organization: West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6034575
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
090900* -- Biomass Fuels-- Processing-- (1990-)
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320604 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Municipalities & Community Systems-- Municipal Waste Management-- (1980-)
ALKANES
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
ANALOG SYSTEMS
BACTERIA
BIOCONVERSION
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BIOLOGICAL WASTES
BIOREACTORS
CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
DIGESTION
DISPERSIONS
EFFICIENCY
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GAS YIELDS
HYDROCARBONS
LEACHATES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATERIALS RECOVERY
METHANE
METHANOGENIC BACTERIA
MICROORGANISMS
MIXTURES
MOISTURE
MUNICIPAL WASTES
NUTRIENTS
OPTIMIZATION
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
SANITARY LANDFILLS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SEWAGE
SEWAGE SLUDGE
SIMULATORS
SLUDGES
SOLID WASTES
SOLUTIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION
WASTES
YIELDS