Feasibility of Co-Digestion of Sewage Sludge, Swine Waste, and Food Waste Leachate

Abstract

Feasibility of co-digestion was investigated by a series of anaerobic batch experiments using sewage sludge, swine waste, and food waste leachate as substrates. The organic solid wastes were collected from M city, where the daily productions of sewage sludge, swine waste, and food waste leachate were 178 ton/d, 150 ton/d, and 8 ton/d, respectively. Both swine waste and food waste leachate showed superior methane yields, methane productivities, and organic pollutant removal efficiencies compared to sewage sludge. Co-digestion of the total amounts of organic solid wastes would enhance methane production by 5.60 times . However, it also increase the amount of digestate by 1.88 times with 3.79 to 4.92 times higher pollutants (chemical oxygen demands total nitrogen, and total phosphorus) loading rates. Co-digestion of organic solid wastes is a valid strategy to enhance the performance of an anaerobic sludge digester and the energy independence of a wastewater treatment plant. Anyhow,the increment of digestate with higher pollutant loading would need a careful counterplan in the operation of the main stream of the treatment plant.