title: Evaluation of the anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and tomato waste at mesophilic temperature.
abstract: Sewage sludge is a hazardous waste, which must be managed adequately. Mesophilic anaerobic digestion is a widely employed treatment for sewage sludge involving several disadvantages such as low methane yield, poor biodegradability, and nutrient imbalance. Tomato waste was proposed as an easily biodegradable co-substrate to increase the viability of the process in a centralized system. The mixture proportion of sewage sludge and tomato waste evaluated was 95:5 (wet weight), respectively. The stability was maintained within correct parameters in an organic loading rate from 0.4 to 2.2 kg total volatile solids (VS)/m(3) day. Moreover, the methane yield coefficient was 159 l/kg VS (0 °C, 1 atm), and the studied mixture showed a high anaerobic biodegradability of 95 % (in VS). Although the ammonia concentration increased until 1,864 ± 23 mg/l, no inhibition phenomenon was determined in the stability variables, methane yield, or kinetics parameters studied.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology and Quality, Faculty of Sciences, University Ibn Tofail (Morocco), BP 133, Kenitra, Morocco.
authors.forename: Siham
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Belhadj
authors.forename: Yassine
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Joute
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El Bari
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Siles
authors.forename: Arturo F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Chica
authors.forename: M Angeles
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martín
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D007700:Kinetics; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000737:chemistry*; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*; D013696:Temperature; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D008697:Methane