Influence of temperature on performance of anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste

The influence of temperature on the performance of anaerobic reactors for treating the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was studied. Batch digestion of OFMSW was carried out for 32 d at different temperature (25 degrees C, 35 degrees C, 45 degrees C and 55 degrees C) conditions for total solid concentrations (TS) 17% with the ratio of total organic carbon to nitrogen (C/N) being, 25:1 respectively, while keeping other parameters constant such as inoculum, start-up pH, reactor volume (2 L) and so on. Temperature can influence the methanogenic bacteria activity, accordingly inhibiting the OFMSW biodegradation and stabilization efficiency. Anaerobic reactors excelled at TS reduction, total volatile solid reduction, chemical oxygen demand reduction, increasing cumulative biogas production, whose rate was at temperature (35 degrees C and 55 degrees C) conditions. Methane concentration in the biogas was above 65% in four reactors. In addition, the fluctuation of temperatures resulted in the biogas production variation. The data obtained indicated that temperature had a significant influence on anaerobic process.