The effect of storage and mechanical pretreatment on the biological stability of municipal solid wastes

Modern mechanical-biological waste treatment plants for the stabilization of both the source-separated organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) and the mixed stream of municipal solid wastes (MSW) include a mechanical pretreatment step to separate recyclable materials such as plastics, gla...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ponsa Salas, Sergio|||0000-0001-5212-3860, Gea Leiva, Teresa|||0000-0003-2523-4797, Sánchez, Antoni|||0000-0003-4254-8528
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:163717
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/163717
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2009.10.020
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mechanical-biological treatment plant
Mechanical pretreatment
Municipal solid wastes
Organic fraction of municipal solid wastes
Respiration index
Stabilization
Descripción
Sumario:Modern mechanical-biological waste treatment plants for the stabilization of both the source-separated organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) and the mixed stream of municipal solid wastes (MSW) include a mechanical pretreatment step to separate recyclable materials such as plastics, glass or metals, before biological treatment of the resulting organic material. In this work, the role of storage and mechanical pretreatment steps in the stabilization of organic matter has been studied by means of respiration techniques. Results have shown that a progressive stabilization of organic matter occurs during the pretreatment of the source-separated OFMSW, which is approximately 30% measured by the dynamic respiration index. In the case of mixed MSW, the stabilization occurring during the reception and storage of MSW is compensated by the effect of concentration of organic matter that the pretreatment step provokes on this material. Both results are crucial for the operation of the succeeding biological process. Finally, respiration indices have been shown to be suitable for the monitoring of the pretreatment steps in mechanical-biological waste treatment plants, with a strong positive correlation between the dynamic respiration index and the cumulative respiration index across all samples tested.