Bio-methanization of organic fraction from municipal solid waste: temperature effects

The main objective of this study was to analyse the development of dry anaerobic digestion process of OFMSW in batch reactors under two temperature ranges, thermophilic (55°C) and mesophilic (35°C). The experimental results lead to the conclusion that the thermophilic range has a greater rate of hydrolysis and is therefore more effective to degrade wastes, shortening the overall operating time. For example, the hydrolytic step in the thermophilic (T) process lasted an average of 8 days versus 14 days in the mesophilic (M) range. The methanogenic phase lasted for 18 and 29 days in the T and M processes, respectively. The mesophilic range showed higher removal of the organic effluent but with greater uptime requirements. Moreover, the thermophilic range showed greater productivities than the mesophilic range, and the productivities were approximately doubled in terms of the produced biogas from a given amount of consumed organic matter.