Analysis of the potential for anaerobic composting of a particulate industrial waste
Date
1992
Authors
Adeel, Zafar
Major Professor
Advisor
Levine, Audrey D.
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Abstract
The potential of anaerobically producing a compost from a particulate industrial waste containing a high concentration of suspended solids was studied. Utilizing centrifugation to concentrate the solids, batch tests were conducted at high
initial Total Suspended Solids (TSS₁) concentrations (15% to 35% TSS₁) to simulate composting systems. A number of parameters including biogas production and its methane content, variation in COD, rate of solubilization, concentration of volatile acids, variation in organic carbon, and destruction of volatile solids were monitored to evaluate degradability. The batch tests were conducted at both mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures, and the particulate waste showed significant degradation in all cases. The biogas production rates for these batch tests were lower than reported for typical high-solids anaerobic digestion systems. The thermophilic systems were shown to be better performers in terms of methane generation, solubilization of particulates, volatile solids destruction, and acetic acid uptake.
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thesis