Skip to main content

Studies on the Chemical Stabilisation of Digestate from Mechanically Recovered Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste

Waste and Biomass Valorization volume 6, pages 711–721 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

This study aims to explore an innovative approach consisting of the Fenton’s process to stabilise organic wastes as an alternative to the traditional aerobic decomposition (composting). Digestate from the anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes was taken from a mechanical–biological treatment plant and was thoroughly characterised regarding physical, chemical and biological properties. This sludge contained around 7.8 g Fe kg TS−1, which can be beneficial to the chemical oxidation. However, the use of zero-valent iron nanoparticles or iron(II) salt revealed treatment can be improved by adding extra iron into the system. The response surface methodology determined that the best peroxidation conditions were 35.6 g H2O2 kg TS−1 and 33.1 g Fe2+ kg TS−1, while maintaining constant pH 3, L/S 5 and room temperature. The chemical treatment enhanced the stability, reducing the oxygen uptake rate from 4.63 to 2.57 g O2 kg VS−1 h−1. Moreover, the germination index increased from 37 to 99.9 %, which means the treatment yielded a non-phytotoxic product. The outcomes of the present study are promising and open a new pathway for the Fenton peroxidation in semi-solid processes since this fast method can be very competitive when compared with the slow composting technology.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

References

  1. COM: 398: Towards a Circular Economy: A Zero Waste Programme for Europe (2014)

  2. Eurostat Data Bases: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/waste/data/main_tables. Accessed 25 July 2014

  3. DEFRA Report, Mechanical Biological Treatment of Municipal Solid Waste, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK (2007)

  4. Tambone, F., Scaglia, B., D’Imporzano, G., Schievano, A., Orzi, V., Salati, S., Adani, F.: Assessing amendment and fertilizing properties of digestates from anaerobic digestion through a comparative study with digested sludge and compost. Chemosphere 81, 577–583 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Teglia, C., Tremier, A., Martel, J.L.: Characterization of solid digestates: part 2, assessment of the quality and suitability for composting of six digested products. Waste Biomass Valor. 2(2), 113–126 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhang, Y., Banks, C.J., Heaven, S.: Anaerobic digestion of two biodegradable municipal waste streams. J. Environ. Manag. 104, 166–174 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Massaccesi, L., Sordi, A., Micale, C., Cucina, M., Zadra, C., Di Maria, F., Gigliotti, G.: Chemical characterisation of percolate and digestate during the hybrid solid anaerobic digestion batch process. Process Biochem. 48, 1361–1367 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. VALORGAS Project Report: D6.2: Evaluation of the quality, biosecurity and agronomic usefulness of digestates from different digester trials (2013)

  9. Haug, R.T.: The Practical Handbook of Compost Engineering. CRC-Press, USA (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Soares, M.A., Quina, M.J., Quinta-Ferreira, R.: Co-composting of eggshell waste in self-heating reactors: monitoring and end product quality. Bioresour. Technol. 148, 293–301 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Meyer-Kohlstock, D., Hädrich, G., Bidlingmaier, W., Kraft, E.: The value of composting in Germany—economy, ecology, and legislation. Waste Manag 33, 536–539 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Neyens, E., Baeyens, J.: A review of classic Fenton’s peroxidation as an advanced oxidation technique. J. Hazard. Mater. 98, 33–50 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bautista, P., Mohedano, A., Casas, J., Zazo, J., Rodriguez, J.: An overview of the application of Fenton oxidation to industrial wastewaters treatment. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 83, 1323–1338 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Buyukkamaci, N.: Biological sludge conditioning by Fenton’s reagent. Process Biochem. 39, 1503–1506 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Liu, H., Yang, J., Shi, Y., Li, Y., He, S., Yang, C., Yao, H.: Conditioning of sewage sludge by Fenton’s reagent combined with skeleton builders. Chemosphere 88, 235–239 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hu, L.-F., Long, Y.-Y., Feng, H.-J., Yao, J., Fang, C.-R., Shen, D.-S.: A new hazardous solid waste detoxication method: semi-solid Fenton process (SSFP). Water Air Soil Pollut. 212, 3–12 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Hu, L.-F., Feng, H.-J., Long, Y.-Y., Zheng, Y.-G., Fang, C.-R., Shen, D.-S.: Effect of liquid-to-solid ratio on semi-solid Fenton process in hazardous solid waste detoxication. Waste Manag 31, 124–130 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Beneduci, A., Costa, I., Chidichimo, G.: Use of iron(II) salts and complexes for the production of soil amendments from organic solid wastes. Int. J. Chem. Eng. (2012). doi:10.1155/2012/701728

  19. Gea, T., Barrena, R., Artola, A., Sánchez, A.: Monitoring the biological activity of the composting process: oxygen uptake rate (OUR), respirometric index (RI), and respiratory quotient (RQ). Biotechnol. Bioeng. 88(4), 520–527 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Adani, F., Ubbiali, C., Generini, P.: The determination of biological stability of composts using the Dynamic Respiration Index: the results of experience after two years. Waste Manag 26, 41–48 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Wichuk, K.M., McCartney, D.: Compost stability and maturity evaluation—a literature review. Can. J. Civ. Eng. 37, 1505–1523 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Barrena, R., Gea, T., Ponsá, S., Ruggieri, L., Artola, A., Font, A., Sánchez, A.: Categorizing raw organic material biodegradability via respiration activity measurement: a review. Compost Sci. Util. 19, 105–113 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Martins, R.C., Lopes, D.V., Quina, M.J., Quinta-Ferreira, R.: Treatment improvement of urban landfill leachates by Fenton-like process using ZVI. Chem. Eng. J. 192, 219–225 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Crane, R.A., Scott, T.B.: Nanoscale zero-valent iron: future prospects for an emerging water treatment technology. J. Hazard. Mater. 211–212, 112–125 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Yan, W., Lien, H.-L., Koel, B.E., Zhang, W.-X.: Iron nanoparticles for environmental clean-up: recent developments and future outlook. Environ. Sci. Processes Impacts 15, 63–77 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Gomes, H.I., Fan, G., Mateus, E.P., Dias-Ferreira, C., Ribeiro, A.B.: Assessment of combined electro-nano remediation of molinate contaminated soil. Sci. Total Environ. 493, 178–184 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Gomes, H.I., Dias-Ferreira, C., Ottosen, L.M., Ribeiro, L.M.: Electrodialytic remediation of PCB contaminated soil with iron nanoparticles and two different surfactants. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 433, 189–195 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Wang, C.-B., Zhang, W.-X.: Synthesizing nanoscale iron particles for rapid and complete dechlorination of TCE and PCBs. Environ. Sci. Technol. 31, 2154–2156 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. American Public Health Association: Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. American Public Health Association, Washington (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Test Methods for the Examination of Composting and Compost (TMECC). The Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (2001)

  31. Trautmann, N.M., Krasny, M.E.: Composting in the classroom: scientific inquiry for high school students. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Montgomery, D.C.: Design and Analysis of Experiments, 4th edn. Wiley, New York (1997)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  33. Zhu, N.M., Qiang-Li, Guo, X.J., Hui-Zhang, Yu-Deng.: Sequential extraction of anaerobic digestate sludge for the determination of partitioning of heavy metals. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 102, 18–24 (2014)

  34. Zucconi, F., Peram, A., Forte, M., De Bertolidi, M.: Evaluating toxicity of immature compost. BioCycle 22, 54–56 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Solid Waste Management, vol. 1. United Nations Environment Programme (2005)

  36. Erden, G., Filibeli, A.: Effects of Fenton pre-treatment on waste activated sludge properties. Clean-Soil Air Water 39, 626–632 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Droussi, Z., D’orazio, V., Provenzano, M.R., Hafidi, M., Ouatmane, A.: Study of the biodegradation and transformation of olive-mill residues during composting using FTIR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. J. Hazard. Mater. 164, 1281–1285 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Grube, M., Lin, G., Lee, H., Kokorevicha, S.: Evaluation of sewage sludge-based compost by FT-IR spectroscopy. Geoderma 130, 324–333 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Provenzano, M., Iannuzzi, G., Fabbri, C., Senesi, N.: Qualitative characterization and differentiation of digestates from different biowastes using FTIR and fluorescence spectroscopies. J. Environ. Protect. 2, 83–89 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE—Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors (OPCF), and by Portuguese National funds through the FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the Project PTDC/AGR AAM/101643/2008 NanoDC. R.C. Martins gratefully acknowledges the FCT for the financial support under the Post-Doc Grant (SFRH/BPD/72200/2010). C. Dias-Ferreira gratefully acknowledges the FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia for financial support (SFRH/BPD/100717/2014). The authors acknowledge the valuable analytical contribution of Prof. Luís Miguel Castro.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIEPQPF - Research Centre on Chemical Processes Engineering and Forest Products, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Rua Sílvio Lima, 3030-790, Coimbra, Portugal

    M. J. Quina, D. V. Lopes, L. G. Cruz, J. Andrade, R. C. Martins, L. M. Gando-Ferreira & R. M. Quinta-Ferreira

  2. CERNAS - Research Centre for Natural Resources, Environment and Society, Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Bencanta, 3040-316, Coimbra, Portugal

    C. Dias-Ferreira

  3. Materials and Ceramic Engineering Department, CICECO, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    C. Dias-Ferreira

Authors
  1. M. J. Quina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. V. Lopes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. L. G. Cruz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. Andrade
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. R. C. Martins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. L. M. Gando-Ferreira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. C. Dias-Ferreira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. R. M. Quinta-Ferreira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. J. Quina.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Quina, M.J., Lopes, D.V., Cruz, L.G. et al. Studies on the Chemical Stabilisation of Digestate from Mechanically Recovered Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste. Waste Biomass Valor 6, 711–721 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-015-9405-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-015-9405-0

Keywords

  • Digestate
  • Chemical stabilisation
  • Fenton
  • Iron nanoparticles
  • Anaerobic digestion