Rapid mineralisation of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste

•Rapid mineralisation of OFMSW is an alternative for ecological processes.•Respirometry analysis allowed to determine rapid and slow phases of mineralisation.•Rapid mineralisation allows up to 432.9 mg of CO2 g−1 IDM after 50 h.•Highest CO2 rate constant found (5.28 d−1) is 3.5 times higher than that reported.•Highest CO2 formation rate (22 CO2 mg g−1 IDM h−1) is 73% higher than that reported.

The effect of pH, C/N ratio, addition of a microbial consortium (MC) and temperature upon mineralisation of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) was studied; mineralisation was measured through the CO2 production rate and total CO2 formation. Through this process up to 432.9 mg of CO2 g−1 initial dry matter (IDM) after 2 days of treatment was obtained. It was found that under a slightly acidic pH (5–6) and C/N of 30, the mineralisation process was accelerated. Moreover, temperature (27–50 °C) had no effect on the total CO2 produced. The highest CO2 production rate (5.28 d−1) was observed at 27 °C, C/N ratio of 30 and 8% of microbial consortium; it is at least 3.52 times higher than that reported (1.5 d−1). The highest release of reducing sugars was determined at 50 °C, possibly due to an increase in hydrolytic enzymes. Results suggest the potential use of rapid mineralisation of OFMSW for further friendly environmental processes.

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