Model for Estimating Methane Production from MSW Organic Fraction after Reactivation

final destination of Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) is at least partly dependent on utilisation of landfills, with a consequent condition of potential emissions. In these anaerobic bioreactors the biodegradable part of the waste can be converted into biogas, with the simultaneous advantage of waste stabilization and the production of an important energy source. In order to forecast the actual operating performances of these types of anaerobic reactors, it is necessary to evaluate their kinetic aspects, in connection with operating parameters and the quality of the waste that is introduced in the landfill. We studied the strategy of obtaining a rapid reactivation of the organic waste by increasing its water content, and the consequence of this procedure on the rate and quantity of biogas production. To this aim, we utilized two established theoretical predictive models found in the existing literature, and evaluated the modifications required to the structure and parameters of these models to fit experimental data that were obtained in simulation tests, where real samples of waste were subjected to several different reactivation strategies. Keyword: Methane production; Model; MSW organic fraction; Pre-treatment; Reactivation.