The performance of an anaerobic bioreactor in treating mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste was investigated using experimental and modelling techniques. The key parameters measured during the experimental test period included the gas yield, leachate generation and settlement under applied load. Modelling of the anaerobic bioreactor was carried out using the University of Southampton landfill degradation and transport model. The model was used to simulate the actual gas production and settlement. A sensitivity analysis showed that the most influential model parameters are the monod growth rate and moisture. In this case, pH had no effect on the total gas production and waste settlement, and only a small variation in the gas production was observed when the heat transfer coefficient of waste was varied from 20 to 100 kJ/(m d K)-1. The anaerobic bioreactor contained 1.9 kg (dry) of mechanically biologically treated waste producing 10 L of landfill gas over 125 days.
Keywords: Mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste; anaerobic bioreactor; landfill degradation and transport model (LDAT); landfill gas and settlement.