Mesophilic Digestion of the Organic Fraction of Refuse: Performance and Kinetic Study

Abstract
The anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste sorted by plant was investigated in a 3 m3 stirred digester, operating under mesophilic conditions. Yields of gas obtained at 7 kg total volatile solids per m3 per day and 15-day hydraulic residence time (about 10% biodegradeable solids, 20% total solids) were as much as 1.6 times the digester volume per day. Better sorting should improve the yields which already compare favorably with the existing literature data. A kinetic study on the substrate utilization was performed by employing the "first order" model.