Anaerobic Digestion of Municipal Solid Waste With Primary Sewage Sludge Addition

Authors: EBRU DEMİREKLER, G. K. ANDERSON

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the addition of primary sewage sludge (PSS) on the performances and stabilities of three laboratory-scale semi-batch anaerobic digesters, operated at 35^oC, treating municipal solid waste (MSW) during the start-up period. Different MSW:PSS ratios were used in the feeds of the three digesters. The addition of PSS significantly increased the stability of the system and the process performance in terms of specific gas production rate (SGPR). The use of inoculum from an operating anaerobic digester enabled a quick start-up. Even though the digesters were started up with high organic loading rates (5.2 kg UKM m$^{-3}$ day$^{-1}$, 3.9 kg UKM m$^{-3}$ day$^{-1}$, and 3.2 kg UKM m$^{-3}$ day$^{-1}$), there were no indications of failure in any of the digesters.

Keywords: Municipal solid waste anaerobic digestion, stability, primary sewage sludge, performance.

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