Enhanced biomethane recovery from fat, oil, and grease through co-digestion with food waste and addition of conductive materials.

In this study, the effect of conductive additives on co-digestion of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) and food waste (FW) was evaluated. Initially, biochemical methane potential (BMP) test was conducted for optimization of mixing ratio of FW and FOG. The optimal methane production (800 L (kg VS)) was obtained from co-digestion of 70% FW + 30% FOG (w/w), which was 1.

Impacts of seasonal variation and operating parameters on double-stage trommel performance.

The high-level objective of this research was to quantify and assess impact of uncertainties of trommel screening with respect to feed-rate variation, clogging of screen apertures, and seasonal variation in waste characteristics, including particle size distribution (PSD) and composition using full-scale trials. A two-stage trommel screen which is operated at a municipal solid waste processing facility located in a cold region (Edmonton, Canada) was evaluated. The waste processed was co-mingled refuse with the recyclable material removed.

Benefits to decomposition rates when using digestate as compost co-feedstock: Part II - Focus on microbial community dynamics.

Linkage between composting reactor performance and microbial community dynamics was investigated during co-composting of digestate and fresh feedstock (organic fraction of municipal solid waste) using 25L reactors. Previously, the relationship between composting performance and various physicochemical parameters were reported in Part I of the study (Arab and McCartney, 2017). Three digestate to fresh feedstock ratios (0, 40, and 100%; wet weight basis) were selected for analysis of microbial community dynamics.

Benefits to decomposition rates when using digestate as compost co-feedstock: Part I - Focus on physicochemical parameters.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has gained a significant role in municipal solid waste management, but managing a high volume of digestate is one of the challenges with AD technology. One option is to mix digestate with fresh and/or stabilized organic waste and then feed to the composting process. In this study, the effect of co-composting anaerobic digestate (in different quantities) on a composting process was investigated.

An enhanced compost temperature sampling framework: case study of a covered aerated static pile.

Spatial and temporal temperature variations exist in a compost pile. This study demonstrates that systematic temperature sampling of a compost pile, as is widely done, tends to underestimate these variations, which in turn may lead to false conclusions about the sanitary condition of the final product. To address these variations, a proper scheme of temperature sampling needs to be used.

A laboratory-scale comparison of compost and sand--compost--perlite as methane-oxidizing biofilter media.

Municipal solid waste landfills produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. A treatment approach is to passively vent landfill gas through a methane-oxidizing biofilter medium, a porous substrate that facilitates the growth of methanotrophic bacteria. Two substrates, compost and a sand-compost-perlite (SCP) mixture, were evaluated in a laboratory-scale experiment for their suitability as biofilter media.