Effect of total solids on biogas production through anaerobic digestion of food waste

Anaerobic digestion of solid food waste is considered as a perspective way for its disposal. The effect of total solids (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) on the biogas production was investigated in the reactors with mesophilic temperature condition and hydraulic retention time of 30 d. The daily biogas production, cumulative biogas production, methane and carbon dioxide composition were measured. The volume of biogas produced was measured at regular intervals (24 h) using water displacement method. The experimental results show that the reactor with 10% of total solid content yielded higher biogas compared with other reactors. First-order reaction kinetics and modified Gompertz model were used for evaluating the kinetic study of process. The kinetic parameters were estimated for each reactor using MATLAB software.