THE HYDROLYTIC STEP IN A DRY DIGESTION SYSTEM

A two-phase anaerobic digestion system is one of the most suitable treatments to dispose of large quantities of dry wastes as, for instance, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste or the bedding straw. In this paper, the hydrolytic step is examined, in a series of 0. 3 liter working-volume laboratory reactors. The effects of inoculum, hydraulic retention time (HRT) and temperature are studied. The results show that HRT is one of the most significant parameters in these systems. A Volatile Fatty Acids inhibition model for the hydrolytic step is also proposed, and values of the fitted kinetic constants are given.