Ricerc@Sapienza

The integrated-multistage process proposed herein is a practical example of a biorefinery platform in which the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is used as valued source for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and biogas production. Technical and economical feasibilities of this approach have been demonstrated at pilot-scale, providing a possible upgrade to traditional biowaste management practices, presently based on anaerobic digestion (AD).

The problem of waste disposal has recently focused on practices for waste recycling and bio-resources valorization. Organic waste produced in urban context together with biological sludge produced in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs)can be used as renewable feedstock for the production of building blocks of different products, from biopolymers to methyl esters.

A combined acidic fermentation and anaerobic digestion (AD) treatment has been developed on pilot scale for urban bio-waste conversion into volatile fatty acid (VFA) and biogas. The specific waste mixture was composed by the pre-treated organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and waste activated sludge (WAS), both produced inside the Treviso (northeast Italy) municipality. The effect of temperature (37 °C and 55 °C) was investigated in both steps.