Optimisation of anaerobic digestion of organic solid waste for the production of quality compost for soil amendment
type: CreativeWork
description: Organic Fractions of Municipal Solid waste (OFMSW) is rich in organic matter, which can be recycled through energy recovery and compost production. The move towards sustainable management of OFMSW is shifting from energy recovery alone to the integration of separation at source, feedstock selection and disposal/reuse of the residuals. The sustainable management of OFMSW presents a challenge due to policy shifts and increasing pressure on landfills. This research was proposed in this background to establish a suitable feedstock combination of source separated wastes for biogas and compost production. Little information is available on factors affecting the combined anaerobic/aerobic treatment of source separated OFMSW and the soil enhancing qualities of the resulting post treated digestate (anaerobic digestate compost). This study investigated suitability of laboratory simulated feedstock for biogas and compost production and the impacts of the compost produced on physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. The study was carried out in five stages. The first stage investigated the natural buffering capacity, biogas production and degradability of various proportions of food and green wastes in anaerobic cultures. The studies showed that a waste mixture of food waste: green waste: inoculum in the ratio 2 :2:1 as optimal for biogas production, volatile solids destruction and pH stability. The study also showed that the choice of waste mixture can be useful for pH control during anaerobic digestion of OFMSW. The second stage, investigated the factors affecting aerobic post-treatment of the anaerobic digestate obtained from the first stage. Results showed increasing solids concentration and decreasing C:N ratio with increasing aerobic treatment. Generally, the results (TS, TVS, C: N) suggest increasing digestate stability with increasing aerobic post treatment. The third stage investigated the quality and stability of the post- anaerobically treated digestate u…
abstract: Organic Fractions of Municipal Solid waste (OFMSW) is rich in organic matter, which can be recycled through energy recovery and compost production. The move towards sustainable management of OFMSW is shifting from energy recovery alone to the integration of separation at source, feedstock selection and disposal/reuse of the residuals. The sustainable management of OFMSW presents a challenge due to policy shifts and increasing pressure on landfills. This research was proposed in this background to establish a suitable feedstock combination of source separated wastes for biogas and compost production. Little information is available on factors affecting the combined anaerobic/aerobic treatment of source separated OFMSW and the soil enhancing qualities of the resulting post treated digestate (anaerobic digestate compost). This study investigated suitability of laboratory simulated feedstock for biogas and compost production and the impacts of the compost produced on physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. The study was carried out in five stages. The first stage investigated the natural buffering capacity, biogas production and degradability of various proportions of food and green wastes in anaerobic cultures. The studies showed that a waste mixture of food waste: green waste: inoculum in the ratio 2 :2:1 as optimal for biogas production, volatile solids destruction and pH stability. The study also showed that the choice of waste mixture can be useful for pH control during anaerobic digestion of OFMSW. The second stage, investigated the factors affecting aerobic post-treatment of the anaerobic digestate obtained from the first stage. Results showed increasing solids concentration and decreasing C:N ratio with increasing aerobic treatment. Generally, the results (TS, TVS, C: N) suggest increasing digestate stability with increasing aerobic post treatment. The third stage investigated the quality and stability of the post- anaerobically treated digestate u…
author: Abdullahi, Yusuf
language: eng
date published: 2008-11
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:50:10Z
provider: Abertay University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Abertay Dundee