Anaerobic co-digestion of municipal biomass wastes and waste activated sludge: Dynamic model and material balances

The organic matter degradation process during anaerobic co-digestion of municipal biomass waste (MBW) and waste-activated sludge (WAS) under different organic loading rates (OLRs) was investigated in bench-scale and pilot-scale semi-continuous stirred tank reactors. To better understand the degradation process of MBW and WAS co-digestion and provide theoretical guidance for engineering application, anaerobic digestion model No.1 was revised for the co-digestion of MBW and WAS. The results showed that the degradation of organic matter could be characterized into three different fractions, including readily hydrolyzable organics, easily degradable particulate organics, and recalcitrant particle organics. Hydrolysis was the rate-limiting step under lower OLRs, and methanogenesisis was the rate-limiting step for an OLR of 8.0 kg volatile solid (VS)/(m³·day). The hydrolytic parameters of carbohydrate, protein, and lipids were 0.104, 0.083, and 0.084 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/(kg COD·hr), respectively, and the reaction rate parameters of lipid fermentation were 1 and 1.25 kg COD/(kg COD·hr) for OLRs of 4.0 and 6.0 kg VS/(m³·day). A revised model was used to simulate methane yield, and the results fit well with the experimental data. Material balance data were acquired based on the revised model, which showed that 58.50% of total COD was converted to methane.