Analysis of MSW full-scale facilities based on anaerobic digestion and/or composting using respiration indices as performance indicators

- Six full-scale waste treatment plants were analysed in terms of their performance.
- Dynamic and cumulative respiration indices were used for the entire monitoring.
- Mechanical pretreatment, anaerobic digestion and composting were the main stages.
- Plants relying on anaerobic digestion plus composting achieved a high performance.
- Plants relying only on composting showed, on average, a poor performance.

The Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) forces European States to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 35% of 1995 levels. Mechanical-Biological Treatment (MBT) plants are the main alternative to waste incineration and landfilling. In this work, the waste treatment efficiency of six full-scale MBT facilities has been analysed using respiration indices (Dynamic Respiration Index and Cumulative Oxygen Consumption) to monitor plant performance. MBTs relying on anaerobic digestion plus composting achieved a high grade of stability on final compost (0.24 ± 0.09 mg O2 g−1 DM h−1 and 20 ± 9 mg O2 g−1 DM for dynamic respiration and cumulative consumption, respectively). On the contrary, MBTs relying only on composting showed a poor performance (1.3 ± 0.2 mg O2 g−1 DM h−1 and 104 ± 18 mg O2 g−1 DM for dynamic respiration and cumulative consumption, respectively). These results highlight the usefulness of respirometric balances to assess the performance of MBT full-scale plants.

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