Precision determination for the dynamic respirometric index (DRI) method used for biological stability evaluation on municipal solid waste and derived products

Dynamic respiration index (DRI) is an effective respirometric method to measure the biological stability of municipal solid waste (MSW). It allows testing MSW biological stability under standardized conditions and is now used as a routine analytical method. However, the method needs to be studied for precision parameters to ensure the quality of results generated.This work reports on a DRI validation study, detecting repeatability (r) and reproducibility limits (R). To perform the study, 4–6 Italian laboratories took part in an interlaboratory test for the validation of the DRI method on four different municipal solid wastes from different mechanical–biological treatment full-scale plants. Precision values (r and R) of DRI, expressed as relative standard deviation, were in the range of 3.6% and 15.5%, and were acceptable when compared with previous data obtained in another respirometric test. On the other hand, no regressions were found between r and R, and DRI, and as a consequence prediction of precision values was not possible a priori for different DRI levels, unless the same typology of waste was considered.

Research highlights
► Precision values (r and R) of DRI were in the range of 3.6 % and 15.5 %.
► Precision values obtained for DRI were in line with those obtained for other biological methods.
► Good regressions were found for DRI versus r and R, for treated MSW.