Anaerobic Digestion or Co-Digestion for Sustainable Solid Waste Treatment/Management

The need for anaerobic digestion (AD) or co-digestion for managing solid waste is increasing in different countries. This chapter describes the principles of AD and co-digestion and how AD evolves into co-digestion. Then, it discusses the types of anaerobic digesters or co-digesters and the major parameters affecting their performance, providing details of the feedstocks required for AD or co-digestion. Next, the chapter talks about substrate pretreatment technologies for AD and co-digestion. It also discusses the design of AD and co-digestion processes; the principles of mass, electron, and energy balance; and evaluation of biogas production. The chapter then presents case studies on anaerobic co-digestion and explains the advantages and disadvantages of anaerobic technology. Finally, the chapter presents the future research required for improving AD processes.