The fate of biodegradable plastic during the anaerobic co-digestion of excess sludge and organic fraction of municipal solid waste

Abstract

Co-digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and excess sludge has several benefits especially related to improved methane production and better process stability. In recent years, the presence of biodegradable plastics is increasingly common in OFMSW especially since, as in Italy, biodegradable bags are used for its collection. In this paper, the influence and the fate of biodegradable bags during anaerobic co-digestion of excess sludge and OFMSW are assessed. The best results in terms of methane yield (about 180 NmL/g_VS) have been obtained with the 50:50 (VS basis) co-digestion of excess sludge and OFMSW with an organic loading rate of 2 kg_VS/m³·d. Bioplastic degradation is very limited during the co-digestion but it does not influence methane production or digestate chemical characteristics. However, the feeding of bioplastic bags seems to induce a higher phytotoxicity and the presence of undigested fragments is anyway a problem for further treatment or direct utilization of digestate.

Keywords: Bioplastics; Co-digestion; Excess sludge; Methane; Organic fraction of municipal solid waste; Phytotoxicity.