Variability of nutrients in co-digestion of sewage sludge and old landfill leachate

The study examined the variability of N and P concentrations in bioaugmented and non-bioaugmented anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and old landfill leachate. On the basis of different nutrient forms (TN, N-NH+, TP, P-PO43-) a verification was made whether adding leachate from the matured landfill, as well as bioaugmentation with the use of commercial product Arkea (R), could lead to the changes of nutrient content in the digest and its supernatant. The results indicated that bioaugmented and non-bioaugmented co-digestion of sewage sludge and old landfill leachate had no essential effect on the digester supernatant quality. However, a significant influence was found considering digest composition. The much lower concentration of total nitrogen and total phosphorus was achieved applying bioaugmented co-digestion.