In this study, the behaviour of a sanitary landfill was reproduced in a pil
ot plant under controlled conditions. The experiment was carried out in an
opaque PVC reactor at 36 +/- 1 degrees C with recirculation of the leachate
s. The municipal solid waste (MSW) employed came from the regional landfill
site of Asturias and the study was carried out in three stages. Firstly, 4
8.5 kg of MSW were introduced into the pilot plant (first cell) and several
phases of the waste degradation were monitored; the methanogenic phase bei
ng reached after 264 days. In the second stage, 66 kg of new MSW was added
on top of the degraded waste of the first stage (second cell). In the third
stage, 59 kg of new MSW were added on top of the waste digested in the two
previous steps (third cell). The waste was digested faster in the second a
nd third steps and the methanogenic phase was reached earlier (second step:
55% CH4 on day 20; third step: 50% CH4 on day 30). (C) 1999 Elsevier Scien
ce Ltd. All rights reserved.