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Evaluation of Biogas Production from the Co-Digestion of Municipal Food Waste and Wastewater Sludge at Refugee Camps Using an Automated Methane Potential Test System

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammad Al-Addous

    (School of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, Energy Engineering Department, German Jordanian University, P.O.Box 35247, Amman 11180, Jordan)

  • Motasem N. Saidan

    (Chemical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan;)

  • Mathhar Bdour

    (School of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, Energy Engineering Department, German Jordanian University, P.O.Box 35247, Amman 11180, Jordan)

  • Mohammad Alnaief

    (School of Applied Medical Sciences, Pharmaceutical and Chemical Engineering Department, German Jordanian University, P.O.Box 35247, Amman 11180, Jordan)

Abstract

The potential benefits of the application of a circular economy—converting biomass at Za’atari Syrian refugee camps into energy—was investigated in this study. Representative organic waste and sludge samples were collected from the camp, mixed in different ratios, and analyzed in triplicate for potential biogas yield. Numerous calorific tests were also carried out. The tangential benefit of the co-digestion that was noticed was that it lowered the value of the total solid content in the mixture to the recommended values for wet digestion without the need for freshwater. To test the potential methane production, the automated methane potential test system (AMPTS) and the graduated tubes in the temperature-controlled climate room GB21 were utilized. Also, calorific values were determined for the organic waste and sludge on both a dry and a wet basis. The maximum biogas production from 100% organic waste and 100% sludge using AMPTS was 153 m 3 ton −1 and 5.6 m 3 ton −1 , respectively. Methane yield reached its maximum at a Vs sub/Vs inoculum range of 0.25–0.3. In contrast, the methane yield decreased when the Vs sub/Vs inoculum exceeded 0.46. The optimum ratio of mixing of municipal food waste to sludge must be carefully selected to satisfy the demands of an energy production pilot plant and avoid the environmental issues associated with the sludge amount at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). A possible ratio to start with is 60–80% organic waste, which can produce 21–65 m 3 · biogas ton −1 fresh matter (FM). The co-digestion of organic waste and sludge can generate 38 Nm 3 /day of methane, which, in theory, can generate about 4 MW in remote refugee camps.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Al-Addous & Motasem N. Saidan & Mathhar Bdour & Mohammad Alnaief, 2018. "Evaluation of Biogas Production from the Co-Digestion of Municipal Food Waste and Wastewater Sludge at Refugee Camps Using an Automated Methane Potential Test System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2018:i:1:p:32-:d:192691
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chowdhury, Hemal & Chowdhury, Tamal & Miskat, Monirul Islam & Hossain, Nazia & Chowdhury, Piyal & Sait, Sadiq M., 2021. "Potential of biogas and bioelectricity production from Rohingya camp in Bangladesh: A case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    2. Abdullah Nsair & Senem Onen Cinar & Ayah Alassali & Hani Abu Qdais & Kerstin Kuchta, 2020. "Operational Parameters of Biogas Plants: A Review and Evaluation Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-27, July.
    3. Alberto Benato & Alarico Macor, 2019. "Italian Biogas Plants: Trend, Subsidies, Cost, Biogas Composition and Engine Emissions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-31, March.
    4. Juhee Shin & Si-Kyung Cho & Joonyeob Lee & Kwanghyun Hwang & Jae Woo Chung & Hae-Nam Jang & Seung Gu Shin, 2019. "Performance and Microbial Community Dynamics in Anaerobic Digestion of Waste Activated Sludge: Impact of Immigration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, February.

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