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A new liquid-phase method and its comparison to two solid-phase microbial respiration activity methods to assess
Alexandros Evangelou1, Dimitrios Komilis1
1Laboratory of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi 671 32, Greece.
Waste Management (New York, N.Y.)
|October 27, 2019
Summary
This study compared three organic waste stability methods, finding solid-phase techniques superior to liquid-phase methods for assessing respiration activities and waste stability. Solid-phase methods offer better correlation for diverse organic substrates.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Waste Management
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Assessing organic waste stability is crucial for effective waste management and resource recovery.
- Existing methods for measuring respiration activity, a key indicator of stability, vary in their approach (solid-phase vs. liquid-phase).
- A direct comparison between solid-phase and liquid-phase stability assessment techniques is lacking in current scientific literature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the respiration activities of organic waste using three distinct stability assessment methods.
- To identify and propose the optimal method for evaluating organic waste stability.
- To address the research gap concerning the comparison of solid-phase and liquid-phase stability assessment techniques.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated respiration activities via oxygen consumption using two solid-phase methods and one manometric liquid-phase method (MANLIQ).
- Tested twenty-seven diverse organic substrates to ensure broad applicability.
- Oxygen consumption was measured through pressure drops (liquid-phase, static solid-phase) or direct O2 measurements (dynamic solid-phase).
Main Results:
- A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between the MANLIQ and static solid-phase methods.
- MANLIQ method showed high maximum rates for raw substrates (2900 mg O2 kg-1 VS h-1) but poor correlation with processing time.
- Solid-phase methods demonstrated a more visible correlation with processing time, despite substrate variability.
Conclusions:
- Solid-phase methods are preferable to the liquid-phase MANLIQ method for assessing the stability of various organic substrates.
- Solid-phase techniques provide more reliable correlations with processing time, crucial for practical waste management applications.
- Further research may refine solid-phase methods for enhanced accuracy and broader substrate applicability.
