Autoclaving MSW Could Quadruple Biogas Production from Anaerobic Digestion
By Ben Messenger, Waste Management World.
Dorset, UK based autoclave manufacturer, Aerothermal Group, has published research which is claimed to prove that pre-treating black bag municipal waste in an autoclave before sending it to anaerobic digestion could increase methane generation by over 300% and substantially reduce the amount of material requiring disposal.
The research was carried out by the firm’s senior research manager, Dr. Zhengjian Wang, and its technical director and principle engineer, Dr. Nigel Baily at a test facility in Poole, in the South West of England.
Aerothermal explained that as part of the research, experiments were conducted in triplicate on two waste streams. The first waste stream consisted of a sample of MSW feedstock with large items removed.