On the performance of a centralised digestion facility receiving seasonal agroindustrial wastewaters

This work focuses on the anaerobic co-digestion as a method for creating se asonally generated, strong agroindustrial wastewaters. The co-treatment of such wastewaters secures the stable year-round operation of a treatment pla nt and is economically favorable (smaller capital costs) due to the use of a centrally located facility. Additionally, co-digestion has the benefit of the avoidance of nutrients (N, P) addition when a codigested wastewater co ntains nutrients in excess. Batch kinetic experiments codigesting piggery, olive-mill and dairy wastewaters have been carried our with piggery, olive- mill and dairy acclimated cultures. The microbial growth kinetics of each c ulture were calculated and used for comparison purposes. A unified mathemat ical model describing the co-digestion process has beep developed and is ca pable of predicting the short-term response of a digester subjected to seas onal feed changes. (C) 1999 IAWQ Published by Elsevier Science Ltd, All rig hts reserved.