Life Methamorphosis

Once the last programming and installation tasks were performed, the anaerobic reactor has been inoculated and has been remained stirred and at 35ºC temperature. In the days immediately after inoculation, methane and carbon dioxide have been detected in the dome of the digester, which confirms one of the first hypotheses of the project: the leachate still contains organic matter that can be digested through anaerobic processes. In other words, it can be confirmed that leachate -a by-product of municipal solid waste- still represents a potential source of biogas. The initial results are promising, since they seem to indicate that the energy content (i.e. methane content) of the obtained biogas is significantly higher than in the biogas obtained in the digestion of municipal waste. This difference is explained by the high moisture in the leachate, which allows to solubilize undesirable components in the biogas (such as CO2 and H2S).

In addition, the operation of the ultrafiltration membranes coupled to the digester and which compose the AnMBR (Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor) system has been started. Through these membranes, a clarified effluent is obtained, free of suspended matter. Although there is still a long way to go, the first tests seem to indicate that filterability is acceptable and that the ultrafiltration process is sustainable over time.