Enhanced biogas production by anaerobic co-digestion from a trinary mix substrate over a binary mix substrate

The synergetic enhancement of mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of trinary and binary mix of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) + primary sludge (PS) + thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) as substrates was investigated through batch biological methane potential (BMP) and semi-continuous flow reactor tests. Cumulative biogas yield (CBY) yield for the binary mix of OFMSW:TWAS was 555, 580, and 660 mL/g volatile solids (VS)added for an OFMSW:TWAS ratio of 25:75, 50:50, and 75:25, respectively, which was 48, 78.5, and 140% higher than the calculated expected biogas (CEB) yield from the corresponding individual substrates. The trinary mixture of OFMSW:TWAS:PS at ratios of 25:37.5:375.5, 50:25:25 and 75:12.5:12.5 was able to produce 680, 710 and 780 mL/g VSadded, respectively, which was 25.5, 62.0 and 135.6% more biogas than the calculated expected biogas yield from the corresponding individual substrates. Cumulative methane yield (CMY) of trinary mixtures was also higher than the corresponding binary mixtures (20, 27, and 12 % increase for OFMSW:TWAS:PS at a ratio of 25:37.5:37.5, 50:25:25, and 75:12.5:12.5 compared to the binary mix of OFMSW:TWAS at a ratio of 25:75, 50:50, and 75:25, respectively). Methane content of the biogas varied from 54 to 57%. The results from semi-continuous flow anaerobic reactors under hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 15, 10 and 7 days supported the results of batch biological methane potential tests. The results were conclusive that enhancement in biogas production was noticeably higher from the co-digestion of trinary mix of organic fraction of municipal solid waste+ thickened waste activated sludge + primary sludge than the binary mix organic fraction of municipal solid waste+thickened waste activated sludge or thickened waste activated sludge+primary sludge with concomitant improvements in VS removal and biodegradability for tri-digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste, thickened waste activated sludge and primary sludge.