Urban Organic Solid Waste Research Articles

A corrigendum for article: Characterization of urban organic solid waste compost from six districts of the Leoncio Prado province, Peru

Ríos-Velasquez, E.A.; Florida-Rofner, N.; Lama-Isminio, D.A. 2023. Caracterización de compost de residuos sólidos orgánicos urbanos de seis distritos de la provincia Leoncio Prado, Perú. Rev. U.D.C.A Act. & Div. Cient. 26(1):e2371. http://doi.org/10.31910/rudca.v26.n1.2023.2371. Cuando se publicó el artículo señalado arriba, el autor de correspondencia Nelino Florida Rofner incluyó a Demetrio Angelo Lama Isminio. Sin embargo, Demetrio Lama solicitó a la Revista U.D.C.A Actualidad & Divulgación Científica su retiro de la publicación por no participar activamente en el desarrollo del trabajo y no ser su campo de experticia. La solicitud fue atendida por la revista y consultada con Nelino Florida Rofner, quien estuvo de acuerdo con el retiro de Demetrio Angelo Lama Ismino de la publicación. El cuerpo editorial de la revista aclara que, con base en la evaluación de los pares y el proceso editorial, se considera que los datos presentados en el artículo no pierden validez con esta acción. Además del retiro de Demetrio Angelo Lama Isminio del documento, se cambió el apartado de contribución de los autores que inicialmente se publicó de la siguiente manera: Contribución autores: Emilio Anthony Ríos-Velásquez y Demetrio Angelo Lama-Isminio realizaron los trabajos de campo, obtención y análisis formal de los datos para la escritura del borrador del manuscrito. Nelino Florida Rofner contribuyó con la asesoría de la investigación, la contextualización, la metodología, revisión y redacción del manuscrito. Todos los autores participaron en la redacción, revisión, edición del manuscrito y aprueban la versión final. Nelino Florida Rofner y el cuerpo editorial de la Revista U.D.C.A Actualidad & Divulgación Científica piden disculpas por este error.

Compost promotes biocrust and plant growth in greenhouse cocultures for dryland restoration

Biocrusts and plants are the main ground cover and provide multiple ecosystem functions in arid and semiarid areas. As land degradation worsens and waste management is ever more pressing, the use of composted waste appears as a sustainable restoration practice to enhance vegetation reestablishment, but its effects on biocrusts still remain largely understudied. Moreover, developing appropriate methods for the co‐introduction of plants and biocrusts can be an emerging approach to reconstruct the biocrust/plant interaction and their associated functions. We evaluated the effect of different compost types on biocrust and plant cocultivations. We performed a greenhouse mesocosm experiment using urban organic solid waste and sewage sludge composts to grow a moss‐dominated biocrust and seedlings of two pioneer shrubs (Senecio filaginoides and Acaena splendens) in the Patagonian steppe. Both compost types successfully enhanced biocrust cover and chlorophyll a development, with cultured biocrusts being compositionally similar to the natural inoculum. Only the addition of composted sewage sludge enhanced seedling growth, and biocrusts had significant but opposite effects (positive/negative) on the two plant species we used for experimentation. This difference in the biocrust/plant interaction outcome was likely mediated by the significant influence of biocrusts on the relative availability of ammonium and nitrate and possible plant species‐specific preferences for different inorganic nitrogen forms. We conclude that the application of sewage sludge compost effectively improves the success of biocrust and plant cocultures, but species‐specific differences in the performance of seedlings growing in biocrusted soils impose limits on attempts to promote biocrust and plant joint restoration.

Effects of adding micro- and nano-sized biomass fly ash on two-stage biohythane production from the urban organic solid waste

In this work, the effect of ash particle size on the sequential production of bioH2 and bioCH4 for biohythane recovery from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was investigated for the first time using micro- and nano-sized biomass fly ash (FA). In the first hydrogenogenic stage, the highest bioH2 yield of 215 mL/g VSadded was noticed in the reactor added with micro-sized FA. On the contrary, in the second methanogenic stage, the maximum bioCH4 yield of 676 mL/g VSadded was witnessed in the reactor fed with acidogenic effluent containing nano-sized FA. In the integrated two-stage process, the addition of FA with nano-sized particles showed superiority over micro-sized FA supplementation and led to an increase of about 582 and 595% in organic matter conversion and energy yield, respectively, compared to the control test, as well as achieving biohythane with an optimal hydrogen content of 15% v/v.

Urban Organic Waste as a Source of Bioenergy for Electricity Generation in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is essential as it impacts health, the environment, and aesthetic society if it is not managed correctly. Hence improving the quality and standard of living. There is an urgent requirement to neutralize the waste and the best possible solution for organic waste. It can be used to generate biofuels and utilized to generate electricity. The production of energy from waste depends on organic waste, so the energy potential of Bhopal city has been categorized into different sectors such as Urban Organic Solid Waste (UOSW), Pulp & Paper, Cattle, and Poultry, in which UOSW is 42% and, the Urban Organic Liquid Waste (UOLW) 25%, Cattle 23%, Poultry 2% and Pulp & Paper 8%. The UOSW has been analysed, and it has been categorized in Slaug (1%), Organic Solid waste (33%), Poultry (3%), and Cattle (63%), and the UOLW in Slaug (1%), UOLW (98.9%), and paper and pulp (0.10%). Total waste generated in Bhopal per day is 1123 TPD of which, 54.3% is organic waste that we can use to generate biofuel, i.e., 609 TPD, which can generate 165MW energy per day.

Design and implementation of an efficient model for the transformation and use of organic solid urban waste

Introduction: This article is the development of the "Design and implementation of an efficient model for the transformation and use of organic solid waste", in the “El Conjunto Residencial de Ontario in Bogotá. (Colombia)”. 
 Problem: The accumulation of solid urban waste by the residential community shows an environmental problem that results in health problems, bad odors, the attraction of rodents and a poor physical appearance in the common areas of this complex, caused by the lack of use of this organic waste.
 Objective: formulate an efficient model for the transformation and use of organic solid waste in the “Conjunto Residencial Tejar de Ontario”.
 Methodology: Characterization by the method of quartering and use of organic waste through the design of a micro composting plant.
 Results: Physical properties such as color, odor and texture are recognized as well as chemical parameters such as C / N, pH and humidity, with these tools we obtain a good quality and fertile compost.
 Conclusion: The transformation of urban organic solid waste is an effective way of mitigating the environmental impact caused by not using it and simultaneously preventing this waste from reaching landfills.
 Originality: This transformation and use design was carried out for the first time in the “Conjunto Residencial Tejar de Ontario”, it also contains management strategies that allow optimizing the composting operation.
 Limitations: Find tools that are easily understood by the community to strengthen knowledge of recycling, source separation and composting.

Characterization of composted organic solid fertilizer and fermented liquid fertilizer produced from the urban organic solid waste in Paipa, Boyacá, Colombia

Purpose Urban organic solid waste (UOSW) has great potential to be transformed into solid and liquid organic fertilizers, thus avoiding its accumulation in landfills and reducing the environmental impact caused by the generation of gases and leachates. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study the management of the UOSW in the municipality of Paipa as raw material for obtaining solid organic fertilizer through composting and a liquid fertilizer through fermentation. Method The UOSW of Paipa was combined with inorganic salts such as carbonates, phosphates, sulfates and source of carbohydrates to enrich its bacterial load and chemical composition. The content of essential nutrients that contribute to good soil-plant synergy, heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms in the primary and final material were determined. Results The experiment showed a high COO load, between 24-35%, and similar values in organic N content in the primary materials. Heavy metals were found below the minimum allowed by the CTS 5167 of 2011 for the organic solid residue, and no pathogenic microorganisms were found. Composting and fermentation processes improved the physical-chemical properties of the materials; however, the liquid mineral organic fertilizer did not comply with the established parameters, while the solid one was in compliance with the requirements. Conclusion After a period of 4 months, the study showed that solid UOSW from the municipality of Paipa can be used as a potential source for producing organic fertilizers by adding nutrients in mineral forms, complying with the nutrient requirements for plants and soil feeding organisms.

Life cycle assessment for hydrothermal carbonization of urban organic solid waste in comparison with gasification process: A case study of Southern Chile

AbstractMost developing countries lack sufficient legal and management infrastructure to dispose of urban solid waste (USW). The continuous increase of USW generation requires evaluating different treatments for developing countries based on the life cycle assessment methodology to compare the environmental impact by reducing greenhouse gases and leachate. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and gasification processes are presented as potential solutions for USW treatment due to their efficiency in producing energy for local requirements. This study aimed to compare both technologies for Temuco and Padre Las Casas cities in Southern Chile that show severe air pollution and USW management problems. The results indicated that gasification had a better environmental performance than HTC when the conversion of 1 ton of organic fraction USW was analyzed. However, since HTC achieved higher energy efficiency, it had a lower environmental impact than gasification, considering the production of 1 MWh. For a definitive choice of the technology to be used, it is necessary to compare other variables, including economic and social aspects, to provide a holistic perspective.

Horizontal flow reactor optimization for biogas recovery during high solid organics fermentation: Rheological characteristic analyses

Continuous improvements in human living standards, water supply quality, and poor solid waste collection systems in China has led to increased production of municipal sewage sludge and organic solid waste (MOSW), which incurs a potential risk for human health and the environment. Solid anaerobic fermentation, which has exhibited advantageous energy recovery and biosolid stabilization, has been considered for urban organic solid waste treatment. The primary objective of this study was to optimize horizontal flow reactor operations for the efficient fermentation of high solid organics and subsequent biogas production via rheological characteristic analyses. The effects of operational parameters, such as paddle type, paddle diameter, pitch diameter ratio, stirring efficiency, torque, and power consumption, on the reactor performance were simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The solid content greatly influenced the rheological characteristics of the MOSW; increasing the solid content (5 %–30 %) of the MOSW led to a significant decline in the rheological index (0.532 to 0.224). The optimized parameters simulated by CFD included a screw-type stirring paddle with a pitch of 0.6 D, pitch of the screw with the value of 0.75 D, stirring shaft (set vertically and eccentrically downward) with the value of 0.15 D, and stirring speed less than 10 rpm. Moreover, the higher the consistency coefficient, the lower the rheological index and required power consumption. The reactor energy consumption analysis indicated that the average energy consumption can reach 48.20 kJ/m3 with an efficient operation.

Long-term operation of the pilot scale two-stage anaerobic digestion of municipal biowaste in Ho Chi Minh City

A pilot-scale two-stage anaerobic digestion system, which includes a feed tank (0.4 m3), a hydrolysis reactor (1.2 m3) followed by a methane fermenter (4.0 m3) was set up and run at the municipal solid waste landfill located in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. The feed that was separated from urban organic solid waste was collected at households and restaurants in District 1, HCMC. This study aimed to investigate the resource recovery performance of the pilot two-stage anaerobic digestion system, in terms of carbon recovery via biogas production and nutrient recovery from digestate. The average organic loading rate (OLR) of the system was step increased from 1.6 kg volatile solids (VS)·m−3·d−1, 2.5 kg VS·m−3·d−1 and 3.8 kg VS·m−3·d−1 during 400 days of operation. During the long-term operation at three OLRs, pH values and alkalinity were stable at both hydrolysis and methanogenesis stages without any addition of alkalinity for the methanogenesis phase. High buildup of propanoic acid and total volatile fatty acid concentrations in the fermenter did not drop pH values and inhibit the methanogenic process at high OLRs (2.5–3.8 kg VS m−3·d−1). The obtained total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) removal performance was 83–87% at the OLRs ranging from 2.5 kg VS·m−3·d−1 and 3.8 kg VS·m−3·d−1, respectively. The highest biogas yield of 263 ± 64 L·kg−1 tCOD removed obtained at OLR of 2.5 kg VS·m−3·d−1. It is expected that a full scale 2S-AD plant with capacity of 5200 tons day−1 of biowaste collected currently from municipal solid waste in HCMC may create daily electricity of 552 MWh, thermal energy of 630 MWh, and recovery of 16.1 tons of NH4+-N, 11.4 tons of organic-N, and 2.1 tons of TP as both organic liquid and solid fertilizers.

Management of Urban Organic Solid Waste Applied in Romanian Metropolitan City

This paper explains the interest in urban organic solid wastes, the relevance of these wastes to municipal solid waste management, the main ways in which organics are reused, and the problem that arise from the wish to ensure safe and effec�tive reuse as part of sustainable development in cities in Romania. Wastes are substances resulting from biological or technological processes that can no longer be used as such, some of which are reusable. Dangerous substances are any substance or product which, when used in apparently non-hazardous quantities, concentrations or conditions, presents a significant risk to humans, the environment or material goods (eg explosives, oxidizing, flammable, toxic, harmful, corrosive, irritant, mutagenic. Urban administrations nowadays are seeking ways to divert organic wastes from municipal solid waste streams for a variety of reasons, as noted below. Recommenda�tions are made for separation at source so that safe composting can be carried out. Private companies are being encouraged to undertake composting, often via forms of public-private partnerships. More attention is being paid to the role of non-govern�mental organizations in promoting citizen awareness of organic waste issues, and co-operation with separation at source. This paper draws attention to the many informal ways that organic wastes are currently reused, which are rarely taken into account in official plans for managing organic wastes.

Reversing the nutrient drain through urban insect farming—opportunities and challenges

Cities consume the majority of proteins produced globally but have unsustainable, linear food systems from production to consumption to disposal, resulting in significant nutrient losses. The industrial rearing of insects is a promising strategy for converting otherwise lost nutrients back into protein-rich animal feed and fertilizer, particularly to supplement local food production. The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, has been identified as a candidate for industrial rearing. BSF has a superior feed conversion ratio and cycle-time compared to other edible insects and can convert and recover nutrients from a vast variety of organic materials to protein, oil and chitin making it an attractive solution for the management of urban organic solid waste. With an increasing awareness of the environmental urgency and interest in the economic potential of the technology, this review discusses the technological factors confounding the upscaling of insect farming in urban and peri-urban contexts using BSF as a case study. These include the challenges of feed homogenisation and pre-treatment, of integrating insect life-cycle factors (e.g. mating) with bioprocess engineering concepts (which complicates automation), of meeting the nutritional requirements of the larvae at different stages of growth in order to maximize bioconversion and product quality, and of elucidating the impact of microbiome on complex behaviours and bioconversion. A multidisciplinary effort is therefore required to lead urban insect farming to full development to ultimately contribute to future food security.

Microbial dynamics in anaerobic digestion reactors for treating organic urban residues during the start-up process.

This study describes the selection of relevant bacteria and archaea in anaerobic digesters inoculated with anaerobic granular sludge from a brewery wastewater treatment plant. Generally, these sludge granules are used to inoculate reactors digesting organic urban wastes. Though, it is still not clearly understood how micro-organisms respond to substrate variations during the reactor start-up process. After feeding two reactors with organic urban residues, it was found that a broader potential for cellulose degradation was developed including Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Spirochaetes. These results clarify the bacterial processes behind new reactors establishment for treating organic wastes in urban areas.

Cátions trocáveis, capacidade de troca de cátions e saturação por bases em solos brasileiros adubados com composto de lixo urbano

O uso agrícola do composto de lixo, como fertilizante orgânico, além de melhorar as propriedades do solo, representa uma alternativa importante para gestão de resíduos sólidos domiciliares. Foram estudados os efeitos da aplicação do composto de lixo, proveniente da cidade de São Paulo (Usina de compostagem São Matheus), na dose de 30 g dm-3 (60 t ha-1), na presença e ausência de calcário dolomítico e adubos minerais, sobre os teores de cátions trocáveis (K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ e Na+); a capacidade de troca de cátions (CTC) e a saturação por bases (V%) de 21 solos ácidos e 5 solos alcalinos. Nos solos alcalinos o calcário foi substituído por gesso. O experimento foi conduzido em condições de casa de vegetação em delineamento em blocos ao acaso, com parcelas em faixas e três repetições. Nos solos ácidos, a aplicação do composto de lixo promoveu aumentos nos teores trocáveis de potássio, cálcio, magnésio e sódio, em média, de 195%, 200%, 86% e 1200%, e elevação da CTC em 42%, refletindo na V%, com aumento médio de 39%. Nos solos alcalinos, esses efeitos foram menos pronunciados, refletindo porém, em média, em aumentos da CTC em 8,4% e da V% em 2%. Os maiores efeitos sobre as propriedades químicas avaliadas foram conseqüências das aplicações do composto + adubo + calcário, nos solos ácidos, e do composto + adubo + gesso, nos solos alcalinos. A aplicação agrícola do composto de lixo urbano é viável, porém seus efeitos sobres as propriedades químicas do solo devem ser monitorados.