Anaerobic digestion of a cellulosic fraction of domestic refuse by a two‐phase rumen‐derived process

Anaerobic digestion of solid organic wastes into biogas is of current interest in terms of waste volume reduction and recovery of renewable energy. ’ However, a large-scale application of this process to industrial and municipal solid wastes has been hindered by the low rates of substrate conversion and biogas production. In a recent series of papers we demonstrated that the use of rumen microorganisms in an “artificial rumen” digester resulted in an enhanced conversion efficiency of cellulosic substrates.2 One of the waste materials tested was a cellulosic fraction of domestic refuse, usually referred to as “refuse-derived fuel” (RDF) . 3 The conditions for optimal degradation of RDF have been established previously by means of short-term experiments.’ However, for a successful application of the rumen-derived anaerobic digestion (RUDAD) process it is necessary to demonstrate its stability over prolonged periods of operation. Especially with RDF as a substrate, long-term experiments may provide important information on the stability of the RUDAD process because of the presence of possibly hazardous compounds in domestic refuse.