Enhancement of methane production and bio-stabilisation of municipal solid waste in anaerobic bioreactor landfill

The aim of the experiment was to enhance biodegradation and methane production of municipal solid waste (MSW). Two groups of simulated anaerobic bioreactor landfill were used; one group of mixed MSW with three bioreactors (R1, R2 and R3) and second group was compostable MSW with two bioreactors (R4 and R5). The different combinations of operational parameters were aeration with addition of aerobic microbial culture, anaerobic sludge, coarse gravel mixing, intermediate soil cover and varied leachate recirculation rate. The results observed at the end of 270 days prevail that the process combination of above operational parameters adopted in compostable MSW bioreactor was more efficient approach for stabilization of MSW. It has accelerated the methane production rate (141.28 L kg(-1) dry waste) by 25%. It was also observed that the degradation time of MSW was reduced by 25% compared to maximum values quoted in the literature. The nonlinear regression of the cumulative biogas production and digestion time shows that Gompertz growth equation fits the results well. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.