Anaerobic Digestion technologies for the treatment of Municipal Solid Waste

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is used in several regions worldwide and systems span a range of design options including wet, dry, thermophilic, mesophilic, batch, continuous, single-stage, and multi-stage configurations. This paper reviews a number of commercial and emerging solid waste digestion systems discussing performance and costs. Systems yield 250–710 m3 of biogas per tonne of VS at rates of 1–6 m3/m3/d with methane content of 55–65%, depending on MSW composition. Economies of scale have been shown for system costs. Economic viability depends heavily on capital and operating costs, tipping fees and product/co-product revenues.