The anaerobic co-digestion of fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) and municipal sewage sludge (MSS) is investigated under mesophilic conditions. This was done at a constant hydraulic retention time (HRT) similar to that typically used at waste water treatment plant digesters, 20 days. The effects on digester performance of the FVW:MSS ratio and the organic loading rate (OLR) were examined. Initially the digester was fed with MSS from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) with an average OLR of 1.03 kgVS (m3 d)-1. The co-digestion of MSS and FVW was performed at various ratios of FVW in the mixture, while increasing the OLRs, from 1.03 to 4.78 kgVS (m3 d)-1. The experimental specific methane production (SMP) was 0.303 m3 (kgVS)-1 for MSS and 0.403 m3 (kgVS)-1 for FVW as single substrate. This value varied for co-digestion with a maximum of 0.445 m3 (kgVS)-1 for a FVW:MSS ratio of 40:60. Alkalinity and pH values remain relatively constant regardless the different FVW:MSS ratios fed. As this ratio increases, the removal of the volatile solids (VS) increased from 38.7% to 82%. The average methane content of digester biogas was about 62-64%.
Keywords: Co-digestion; biogas; fruit and vegetable waste; municipal sewage sludge; organic loading rate.