Pilot scale testing and predicting the performance of thermal digestion based rapid organic waste stabilizer plant
摘要
Development of on-site decentralised system for processing of solid organic waste (SOW) can significantly reduce burden on recycling facilities and landfills. This study evaluated the performance of a novel thermal digestion based pilot scale rapid organic waste stabilizer (ROWS) for onsite processing of organic wastes generated within urban agglomeration. The study reported the performance of 3 trial runs of ROWS for food waste (FW), vegetable market waste (VMW) and yard waste (YW) respectively. The average batch time required for optimum volume reduction deferred significantly and was found to be 275 ± 08, 330 ± 09, and 100 ± 03 min respectively. The optimum volume reduction was also varied significantly i.e., 79.3 ± 1.3%, 85.8 ± 1.5%, and 63.17 ± 1.1% respectively. The multi linear regression (MLR) model was found highly effective in predicting the performance of the ROWS system. The end product obtained from the trial runs have shown higher potential to be recycled as organic fertilizer or refuse derived fuel. The cost benefit analysis revealed that pilot scale operation of ROWS is economically profitable (benefit cost ratio − 1.15). The proposed system offers a promising solution for onsite management of waste in densely populated metropolitan cities.