DEVELOPMENT OF AN EFFICIENT AND ROBUST MBT PROCESS SUITABLE FOR NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES - FIRST RESULTS OF A PILOT PLANT OPERATED IN THAILAND

A mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) process, suitable for municipal solid waste (MSW) and for the boundary conditions of newly industrialized countries, was developed and tested in Thailand. The process had to be simple, robust and economic. It focuses on the production of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and biogas. The so-called BIOBUNK pilot plant consists of a shredder as mechanical stage and an aerobic mixed and irrigated reactor as biological stage. It was operated with a daily capacity of 2-2.5 Mg. An average retention time of less then 1.4 days was achieved. Biological self-drying tests of the solid output reached a dry matter content of up to 86 %. The process produced around 400 kg RDF per Mg of input. The lower calorific value ranged from 14-16 MJ/kg with a chlorine concentration below 0.5 %. The produced waste water had a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 30,000 mg/L with a sufficient content of nutrients. The biogas potential is estimated up to 40-50 Nm³ per Mg of input.