Evaluation of gas production in a industrial anaerobic digester by means of biochemical methane potential of organic municipal solid waste components

The Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) of several components of the Organic Fraction of the Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) were tested in order to assess the possibility to obtain a good estimate of the biogas production of a real scale anaerobic digestion plant. In particular, five different fractions and a mixed food waste sample were tested with batch anaerobic digesters at 37°C and both the BMP after 21 days (BMP21) and final BMP (BMPf) were measured. Regarding the mixed food waste substrate it was found an average BMP21 of about 405 NL/kgVS and a BMPf of 484 NL/kgVS with an average methane content of 57%. From the experimental results, some industrial potential biogas production were defined to compare them with data from real anaerobic digestion plants. In particular two different plants were considered: one located in a rural area that treats the source selected OFMSW from a public collection point, another located in a city area with a curbside collection system. Furthermore, studying the BMP of the pre-treatment reject of these plants, it was possible to study the pre-treatment efficiency and the difference performance of the two real plants.