Typical energy requests for wastewater treatment are in the range 20–30 kWh per personequivalent per annum. Anaerobic digestion of excess sludge does offer a recovery of energy forthe wastewater treatment needs but only partially. Therefore, the implementation of anaerobic codigestionof sewage sludge and organic waste, collected separately, can improve the energyproduction allowing for the energy independence of this sector. In this paper, the results of amonitoring carried out during a period of more than one year and regarding the implementation ofthe co-digestion approach at a territorial level (40,000 inhabitants) are presented. We observed thatthe co-digestion of sewage sludge and pre-treated organic fraction of municipal solid waste (usingWackerbauerTM mill) doubled the biogas production from 1250 to 2300 m3/d, while increasing thelandfill sludge disposal by only 1 ton. It was demonstrated at a full-scale the possibility tocompletely cover the energy request of the wastewater treatment service while treating 5000 tonsof organic waste per year.
Full scale anaerobic co-digestion of wastewater sludge and separately collected biowaste: a way toward energy independence of wastewater treatment plants
MATTIOLI, ANDREA;BOLZONELLA, David;CECCHI, Franco
2015-01-01
Abstract
Typical energy requests for wastewater treatment are in the range 20–30 kWh per personequivalent per annum. Anaerobic digestion of excess sludge does offer a recovery of energy forthe wastewater treatment needs but only partially. Therefore, the implementation of anaerobic codigestionof sewage sludge and organic waste, collected separately, can improve the energyproduction allowing for the energy independence of this sector. In this paper, the results of amonitoring carried out during a period of more than one year and regarding the implementation ofthe co-digestion approach at a territorial level (40,000 inhabitants) are presented. We observed thatthe co-digestion of sewage sludge and pre-treated organic fraction of municipal solid waste (usingWackerbauerTM mill) doubled the biogas production from 1250 to 2300 m3/d, while increasing thelandfill sludge disposal by only 1 ton. It was demonstrated at a full-scale the possibility tocompletely cover the energy request of the wastewater treatment service while treating 5000 tonsof organic waste per year.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.