Anaerobic digestion of organic solid wastes. An overview of research achievements and perspectives

The technology of anaerobic digestion of organic solid wastes is, in many a spects, mature. Topics such as fundamentals (kinetics, modelling, etc.), pr ocess aspects (performance. two- and single-phase systems, wet and dry tech nologies), digestion enhancement (several pre-treatments), co-digestion wit h other substrates and its relation to composting technology are examined i n this review. Special attention is paid to the advantages of anaerobic dig estion in limiting the emission of greenhouse gases. An overview of industr ial achievements and future developments is given. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd. All rights reserved.