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Title: Evaluating the biogas potential of the dry fraction from pretreatment of food waste from households

Abstract

Highlights: ► A novel approach for biogas production from a waste fraction that today is incinerated. ► Biogas production is possible in spite of the impurities of the waste. ► Tracer studies are applied in a novel way. ► Structural material is needed to improve the flow pattern of the waste. ► We provide a solution to biological treatment for the complex waste fraction. - Abstract: At the waste handling company NSR, Helsingborg, Sweden, the food waste fraction of source separated municipal solid waste is pretreated to obtain a liquid fraction, which is used for biogas production, and a dry fraction, which is at present incinerated. This pretreatment and separation is performed to remove impurities, however also some of the organic material is removed. The possibility of realising the methane potential of the dry fraction through batch-wise dry anaerobic digestion was investigated. The anaerobic digestion technique used was a two-stage process consisting of a static leach bed reactor and a methane reactor. Treatment of the dry fraction alone and in a mixture with structural material was tested to investigate the effect on the porosity of the leach bed. A tracer experiment was carried out to investigate the liquid flow throughmore » the leach beds, and this method proved useful in demonstrating a more homogenous flow through the leach bed when structural material was added. Addition of structural material to the dry fraction was needed to achieve a functional digestion process. A methane yield of 98 m{sup 3}/ton was obtained from the dry fraction mixed with structural material after 76 days of digestion. This was in the same range as obtained in the laboratory scale biochemical methane potential test, showing that it was possible to extract the organic content in the dry fraction in this type of dry digestion system for the production of methane.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Department of Biotechnology, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden)
  2. Rosqvist Resurs, Gamla Malmövägen 25, SE-230 41 Klågerup (Sweden)
  3. NSR AB, Hjortshögsvägen 1, SE-251 89 Helsingborg (Sweden)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22300355
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Waste Management
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 33; Journal Issue: 5; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0956-053X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; ANAEROBIC DIGESTION; FOOD; HOUSEHOLDS; LEACHING; LIQUID FLOW; METHANE; MUNICIPAL WASTES; POROSITY; SOLID WASTES; SWEDEN; WASTE PROCESSING

Citation Formats

Murto, Marika, Björnsson, Lovisa, Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Rosqvist, Håkan, and Bohn, Irene. Evaluating the biogas potential of the dry fraction from pretreatment of food waste from households. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.1016/J.WASMAN.2013.01.034.
Murto, Marika, Björnsson, Lovisa, Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Rosqvist, Håkan, & Bohn, Irene. Evaluating the biogas potential of the dry fraction from pretreatment of food waste from households. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WASMAN.2013.01.034
Murto, Marika, Björnsson, Lovisa, Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Rosqvist, Håkan, and Bohn, Irene. 2013. "Evaluating the biogas potential of the dry fraction from pretreatment of food waste from households". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WASMAN.2013.01.034.
@article{osti_22300355,
title = {Evaluating the biogas potential of the dry fraction from pretreatment of food waste from households},
author = {Murto, Marika and Björnsson, Lovisa and Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund and Rosqvist, Håkan and Bohn, Irene},
abstractNote = {Highlights: ► A novel approach for biogas production from a waste fraction that today is incinerated. ► Biogas production is possible in spite of the impurities of the waste. ► Tracer studies are applied in a novel way. ► Structural material is needed to improve the flow pattern of the waste. ► We provide a solution to biological treatment for the complex waste fraction. - Abstract: At the waste handling company NSR, Helsingborg, Sweden, the food waste fraction of source separated municipal solid waste is pretreated to obtain a liquid fraction, which is used for biogas production, and a dry fraction, which is at present incinerated. This pretreatment and separation is performed to remove impurities, however also some of the organic material is removed. The possibility of realising the methane potential of the dry fraction through batch-wise dry anaerobic digestion was investigated. The anaerobic digestion technique used was a two-stage process consisting of a static leach bed reactor and a methane reactor. Treatment of the dry fraction alone and in a mixture with structural material was tested to investigate the effect on the porosity of the leach bed. A tracer experiment was carried out to investigate the liquid flow through the leach beds, and this method proved useful in demonstrating a more homogenous flow through the leach bed when structural material was added. Addition of structural material to the dry fraction was needed to achieve a functional digestion process. A methane yield of 98 m{sup 3}/ton was obtained from the dry fraction mixed with structural material after 76 days of digestion. This was in the same range as obtained in the laboratory scale biochemical methane potential test, showing that it was possible to extract the organic content in the dry fraction in this type of dry digestion system for the production of methane.},
doi = {10.1016/J.WASMAN.2013.01.034},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22300355}, journal = {Waste Management},
issn = {0956-053X},
number = 5,
volume = 33,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Wed May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}