Author(s)

William Wanasolo, Samwel Victor Manyele, John Makunza

Department of Chemical and Mining Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

A kinetic study of biogas production from Urban Solid Waste (USW) generated in Dar es Salaam city (Tanzania) is presented. An experimental bioreactor simulating mesophilic conditions of most USW landfills was developed. The goal of the study was to generate the kinetic order of reaction with respect to biodegradable organic waste and use it to model biogas production from food residues mixed with fruit waste. Anaerobic biodegradation was employed under temperature range of 28℃ - 38℃. The main controls were leachate recirculation and pH adjustments to minimize acid inhibitory effects and accelerate waste biodegradation. The experimental setup comprised of three sets of bioreactors. A biodegradation rate law in differential form was proposed and the numerical values of kinetic order and rate constant were determined using initial rate method as 0.994 and 0.3093 mol^0.006·day^-1, respectively. Results obtained were consistent with that found in literature and model predictions were in reasonable agreement with experimental data.

Urban and Municipal Solid Waste; Biogas Production; Anaerobic Biodegradation; Mesophilic Conditions; Order of Reaction; Kinetic Model; Initial Rate Method; Renewable Energy; Bioreactor; Landfill; Biodegradable Organic Waste

W. Wanasolo, S. Manyele and J. Makunza, "A Kinetic Study of Anaerobic Biodegradation of Food and Fruit Residues during Biogas Generation Using Initial Rate Method," Engineering, Vol. 5 No. 7, 2013, pp. 577-586. doi: 10.4236/eng.2013.57070.