Carbon monoxide formation during aerobic biostabilization of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste: the influence of technical parameters in a full-scale treatment system

Stegenta-Dąbrowska, Sylwia, Randerson, Peter F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2744-3122, Christofides, Sarah R. and Bialowiec, Andrzej 2020. Carbon monoxide formation during aerobic biostabilization of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste: the influence of technical parameters in a full-scale treatment system. Energies 13 (21) , 5624. 10.3390/en13215624

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

The present study sought to investigate the formation of carbon monoxide (CO) during aerobic biostabilization (AB) of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in forced aerated piles. Understanding the factors influencing CO formation may be important not only for safety, but also for environmental and technical reasons. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of the technical parameters of the piles on the concentration of CO in the process gas during AB of the OFMSW in a full-scale waste treatment system: rate of waste aeration (from 3365 to 12,744 m3∙Mg−1), waste mass loads in the pile (from 391 to 702 Mg), thermal conditions, application of sidewalls as an element of pile bioreactor construction, concentration of O2 and CO2 in the waste piles and the duration of the process from 6 to 9 weeks. The temperature and concentration of O2, CO2, CO, CH4 were measured in each pile at weekly intervals. All six reactors provide stable thermal and aerobic conditions, but the presence of CO was observed, ranging from a few to over 2000 ppm, which demonstrated that ensuring optimum conditions for the process is not sufficient for CO to be eliminated. A moderate, non-linear rise in CO concentration was observed along with a rise in the temperature inside the reactors. Concentrations of CO were not highly correlated with those of O2 or CO2. An increase in waste mass loads increased the CO concentration in waste piles, while application of sidewalls decreased CO concentration. Increasing aeration rate had an influence on CO production, and the highest CO concentrations were noted under air flow rate 5.3 m3·Mg−1·h−1.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Additional Information:	This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher:	MDPI
ISSN:	1996-1073
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	28 October 2020
Date of Acceptance:	24 October 2020
Last Modified:	02 May 2023 17:12
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/136008

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item