Effects of woody biochar on dry thermophilic anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste.

This study presents the results of semi-pilot scale anaerobic digestion tests conducted under dry thermophilic conditions with the addition of biochar (6% on fresh mass basis of inoculum), derived from an industrial gasification plant, for determining biogas and biomethane production from organic fraction of municipal solid waste. By using two types of inocula (from a full-scale dry anaerobic digestion plant and from lab-scale biomethanation tests), the obtained experimental results did not show significant increase in methane yield related to the presence of biochar (330.40 NL CH4 kgVS−1 using plant inoculum; 335.41 NL CH4 kgVS−1 using plant inoculum with biochar, 311.78 NL CH4 kgVS−1 using lab-inoculum and 366.43 NL CH4 kgVS−1 using lab-inoculum with biochar), but led to significant changes in the microbial community composition. These results are likely related with the specific biochar physical-chemical features and low adsorption potential.