Waste Management 31 (2011) 1737–1744

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Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Review

The anaerobic digestion of solid organic waste

Azeem Khalid a,⇑, Muhammad Arshad b, Muzammil Anjum a, Tariq Mahmood a, Lorna Dawson c
a
Department of Environmental Sciences, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi-46300, Pakistan
b
Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan
c
The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler Aberdeen AB15 8QH, Scotland, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The accumulation of solid organic waste is thought to be reaching critical levels in almost all regions of
Received 17 May 2010 the world. These organic wastes require to be managed in a sustainable way to avoid depletion of natural
Accepted 30 March 2011 resources, minimize risk to human health, reduce environmental burdens and maintain an overall bal-
Available online 6 May 2011
ance in the ecosystem. A number of methods are currently applied to the treatment and management
of solid organic waste. This review focuses on the process of anaerobic digestion which is considered
to be one of the most viable options for recycling the organic fraction of solid waste. This manuscript pro-
vides a broad overview of the digestibility and energy production (biogas) yield of a range of substrates
and the digester configurations that achieve these yields. The involvement of a diverse array of microor-
ganisms and effects of co-substrates and environmental factors on the efficiency of the process has
been comprehensively addressed. The recent literature indicates that anaerobic digestion could be an
appealing option for converting raw solid organic wastes into useful products such as biogas and other
energy-rich compounds, which may play a critical role in meeting the world’s ever-increasing energy
requirements in the future.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1737
2. Anaerobic digestion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1738
3. Anaerobic co-digestion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1738
4. Anaerobic bioreactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1739
5. Biogas yield from anaerobic digestion of solid organic waste. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1739
6. Role of microorganisms in anaerobic digestion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1741
7. Factors affecting anaerobic digestion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1741
7.1. Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1741
7.2. pH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1741
7.3. Moisture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1741
7.4. Substrate/carbon source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1742
7.5. Nitrogen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1742
7.6. C/N Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1742
8. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1742
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1742

1. Introduction and environmental awareness. The average solid waste generation

Solid organic waste removal has become an ecological problem,
brought to light as a result of an increase in public health concerns
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +92 51 9062221, 4420827; fax: +92 51 9290160.
E-mail addresses: azeemuaf@yahoo.com, azeem@uaar.edu.pk (A. Khalid).
rate in 23 developing countries is 0.77 kg/person/day (Troschinetz
and Mihelcic, 2009) and is increasing. At present, worldwide muni-
cipal solid waste generation is about two billion tons per year,
which is predicted to increase to 3 billion tons by 2025 (Charles
et al., 2009). The production of fruit and vegetable waste is also
very high and becoming a source of concern in municipal landfills
because of its high biodegradability (Bouallagui et al., 2005).

0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2011.03.021
1738 A. Khalid et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 1737–1744
Recently, the organic fraction of solid waste has been recog-
nized as a valuable resource that can be converted into useful
products via microbially mediated transformations (Yu and Huang,
2009; Lesteur et al., 2010). There are various methods available for
the treatment of organic waste but anaerobic digestion appears to
be a promising approach (Lee et al., 2009c). Anaerobic digestion in-
volves a series of metabolic reactions such as hydrolysis, acidogen-
sis and methanogensis (Themelis and Ulloa, 2007). Anaerobic
digestion of organic waste in landfills releases the gases methane
and carbon dioxide that escape into the atmosphere and pollute
the environment (Zhu et al., 2009). Under controlled conditions
the same process has the potential to provide useful products such
as biofuel and organic amendment (soil conditioner) and the treat-
ment system does not require an oxygen supply (Chanakya et al.,
2007; Guermoud et al., 2009). Further, methane and hydrogen as
potential fuels are considered comparatively cleaner than fossil
fuel. In addition, this has the benefit of not depending on fossil fuel
for energy consumption (Jingura and Matengaifa, 2009). Thus,
anaerobic digestion represents an opportunity to decrease envi-
ronmental pollution and at the same time, providing biogas and or-
ganic fertilizer or carrier material for biofertilizers.
The anaerobic treatment of solid organic waste is not as wide-
spread as the aerobic process, mainly due to the longer time re-
quired to achieve biostabilization (Fernandez et al., 2010). The
process is also sensitive to high levels of free ammonia resulting
from anaerobic degradation of the nitrogen rich protein compo-
nents (Fountoulakis et al., 2008). The specific activity of methano-
genic bacteria has been found to decrease with increasing
concentrations of ammonia (Chen et al., 2008).
Recent advancements in bioreactor designs have increased the
use of anaerobic digestion for the treatment of solid organic waste.
To date, a number of novel bioreactor designs have been developed
where anaerobic digestion can be performed at a much higher rate
than the conventional methods. Many factors, including the type
and concentration of substrate, temperature, moisture, pH, etc.,
may affect the performance of the anaerobic digestion process in
the bioreactor (Behera et al., 2010; Jeong et al., 2010). This manu-
script reviews the potential of anaerobic digestion for recycling so-
lid organic waste.
There are some components in wastes (metals and some recal-
citrant organic compounds, often toxic) that will not be broken
down and will therefore become concentrated in the residue.
Although this is an important consideration and must be consid-
ered when applying digestions, it is a huge topic and will not be re-
viewed here.
2. Anaerobic digestion
With the introduction of both commercial and pilot anaerobic
digestion plant designs during early 1990s, anaerobic digestion of
organic waste has received worldwide attention (Karagiannidis
and Perkoulidis, 2009). It is a process by which almost any organic
waste can be biologically transformed into another form, in the ab-
sence of oxygen. The diverse microbial populations degrade organ-
ic waste, which results in the production of biogas and other
energy-rich organic compounds as end products (Lastella et al.,
2002; Lata et al., 2002). A series of metabolic reactions such as
hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis are in-
volved in the process of anaerobic decomposition (Park et al., 2005;
Charles et al., 2009).
Anaerobic digestion is applicable for a wide range of material
including municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes, and plant
residues (Kalra and Panwar, 1986; Gallert et al., 1998; Chen
et al., 2008). Furthermore, this process has some advantages over
aerobic process due to a low energy requirement for operation
and a low biomass production (Wang et al., 1999; Steyer et al.,
2002; Angenent et al., 2004; Kim et al., 2006), and it is considered
a viable technology in the competent treatment of organic waste
and the simultaneous production of a renewable energy (De Baere,
2006; Jingura and Matengaifa, 2009).
The anaerobic digestion of organic waste is also an environmen-
tally useful technology. Ward et al. (2008) described the benefits of
this process to reduce environmental pollution in two main ways:
the sealed environment of the process prevents exit of methane
into the atmosphere, while burning of the methane will release
carbon–neutral carbon dioxide (no net effect on atmospheric car-
bon dioxide and other greenhouse gases).
On the other hand, the anaerobic process has some disadvan-
tages such as long retention times and low removal efficiencies
of organic compounds (Park et al., 2005). The chemical composi-
tion and structure of lignocellulosic materials hinders the rate of
biodegradation of solid organic waste. It has been documented that
hydrolysis of the complex organic matter to soluble compounds is
the rate-limiting step of anaerobic processes for wastes with a high
solid content (Chulhwan et al., 2005; Mumme et al., 2010). Conse-
quently, various physical, chemical and enzymatic pre-treatments
are required to increase substrate solubility and accelerate the bio-
degradation rate of solid organic waste (Torres and Llorens, 2008;
Charles et al., 2009).
3. Anaerobic co-digestion
Co-digestion is a waste treatment method in which different
wastes are mixed and treated together (Agdag and Sponza,
2007). It is also termed as ‘‘co-fermentation’’. Co-digestion is pref-
erably used for improving yields of anaerobic digestion of solid or-
ganic wastes due to its numeral benefits. For example, dilution of
toxic compounds, increased load of biodegradable organic matter,
improved balance of nutrients, synergistic effect of microorgan-
isms and better biogas yield are the potential benefits that are
achieved in a co-digestion process. Co-digestion of an organic
waste also provides nutrients in excess (Hartmann and Ahring,
2005), which accelerates biodegradation of solid organic waste
through biostimulation. Additionally, digestion rate and stabiliza-
tion are increased (Sosnowski et al., 2003; Lo et al., 2010). Jingura
and Matengaifa (2009) described the following multiple benefits of
co-digestion: the facilitation of a stable and reliable digestion per-
formance and production of a digested product of good quality, and
an increase in biogas yield.
It has been observed that co-digestion of mixtures stabilizes the
feed to the bioreactor, thereby improving the C/N ratio and
decreasing the concentration of nitrogen (Cuetos et al., 2008).
The use of a co-substrate with a low nitrogen and lipid content
waste increases the production of biogas due to complementary
characteristics of both types of waste, thus reducing problems
associated with the accumulation of intermediate volatile com-
pounds and high ammonia concentrations (Castillo et al., 2006).
Several studies have shown that mixtures of agricultural, muni-
cipal and industrial wastes can be digested successfully and effi-
ciently together (Table 1). A stimulatory effect on synthesis of
methane gas has been observed when industrial sludge was co-
digested with municipal solid waste (Agdag and Sponza, 2007).
The co-digestion of municipal solid waste with an industrial sludge
ratio of 1:2 yielded the highest amount methane gas, compared to
municipal solid waste alone. Similarly, in a two-phase anaerobic
digestion system, Fezzani and Cheikh (2010) recorded the highest
methane productivity when a mixture of olive mill wastewater and
olive mill solid waste was co-digested. The process has also been
useful in obtaining a valuable sludge which can eventually be used
as a soil amendment after minor treatments (Gomez et al., 2006).
 A. Khalid et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 1737–1744 1739

Table 1
Relative biogas production rates and methane yield from the co-digestion of solid organic waste.

Substrate Co-substrate Biogas production Methane yield Comments References

Cattle excreta Olive mill waste
Cattle manure Agricultural waste and
energy crops
Fruit and vegetable waste Abattoir wastewater
Municipal solid waste Fly ash
Municipal solid wastes Fat, oil and grease waste
from sewage treatment
plants
Pig manure Fish and bio-diesel waste
Potato waste Sugar beet waste
Primary sludge Fruit and vegetable waste
Sewage sludge Municipal solid waste
Slaughter house waste Municipal solid waste
*
VS: Volatile solids.
rate (l/d) (l/kg VS*)
1.10 179 The co-digestion system produced Goberna et al. (2010)
337% higher biogas than that of
excreta alone
2.70 620 Significant increase in biogas Cavinato et al. (2010)
production from the co-digestion was
observed
2.53 611 The addition of abattoir wastewater Bouallagui et al. (2009a)
to the feedstock increased biogas
yield up to 51.5%
6.50 222 Application of fly ash significantly Lo et al. (2010)
enhanced biogas production rates of
the municipal solid waste
13.6 350 Co-digestion resulted in an increase Martin-Gonzalez et al. (2010)
of 72% in biogas production and 46%
methane yield in comparison with
municipal solid waste
16.4 620 Highest biogas production rate was Alvarez et al. (2010)
obtained by a mixture of wastes
1.63 680 Co-digestion improved methane yield Parawira et al. (2004)
up to 62% compared to the digestion
of potato waste alone
4.40 600 Co-digestion produced more biogas Gomez et al. (2006)
as compared to primary sludge alone
3.00 532 Biogas production of the mixtures Sosnowski et al. (2003)
increased with increasing
proportions of the municipal solid
waste
8.60 500 Biogas yield of the co-digestion Cuetos et al. (2008)
systems doubled that of the slaughter
house waste digestion system

4. Anaerobic bioreactors
Anaerobic bioreactors have potential application for rapid
digestion of solid organic waste constituents to reduce the envi-
ronmental load as compared to conventional sanitary landfills
(Agdag and Sponza, 2007). Bioreactor design has been found to
exert a strong influence on the performance of a digester (William
and David, 1999). As described earlier (Table 2), a variety of new
bioreactor designs have been developed in recent years, which
facilitate a significantly higher rate of reaction for the treatment
of waste (Bouallagui et al., 2003; Mumme et al., 2010; Xing et al.,
2010). According to Ward and his co-workers, an anaerobic biore-
actor should be designed in a way that allows a continuously high
and sustainable organic load rate with a short hydraulic retention
time and has the ability to produce the maximum level of methane
(Ward et al., 2008).
Several types of bioreactors are currently in use but the three
major groups of bioreactors commonly in use include batch reac-
tors, a one stage continuously fed system and a two stage or mul-
ti-stage continuously fed system. Batch reactors are the simplest,
filled with the feedstock and left for a period that can be consid-
ered to be the hydraulic retention time, after which they are emp-
tied. Anaerobic batch reactors are useful because they can perform
quick digestion with simple and inexpensive equipment, and also
are helpful in assessing the rate of digestion easily (Parawira
et al., 2004; Weiland, 2006). On the other hand, batch reactors have
some limitations such as high fluctuations in gas production as
well as gas quality, biogas losses during emptying the bioreactors
and restricted bioreactor heights (Linke et al., 2006). The second
type of bioreactors is known as ‘one-stage continuously fed sys-
tems’, where all the biochemical reactions take place in one biore-
actor. The third type of bioreactors are ‘two-stage’ or ‘multi-stage
continuously fed systems’, in which various biochemical processes
such as hydrolysis, acidification, acetogenesis and methanogenesis
take place separately (Ward et al., 2008). The two-stage system is
considered a promising process to treat organic wastes with high
efficiency in term of degradation yield and biogas production
(Fezzani and Cheikh, 2010). According to Demirer and Chen
(2005), a two stage system allows the selection and enrichment
of different bacteria in each phase. The complex organic materials
are degraded by acidogenic bacteria to volatile fatty acids and alco-
hols, which are then easily metabolized into methane and carbon
dioxide by methanogens or archaea. Further, this type of system
increases the stability of the process by controlling the acidificat-
ion phase through optimization of the hydraulic retention time
to prevent overloading and the build-up of toxic material. The bio-
mass concentration and other conditions can also be optimized
independently for each stage (Demirer and Chen, 2005). All the
above three types of bioreactors, along with a variety of methaniz-
ers such as continuously stirred tank bioreactor, tubular bioreactor,
anaerobic sequencing batch bioreactor, up flow anaerobic sludge
blanket and anaerobic filters are applied for the treatment of
different types of waste (Bouallagui et al., 2005).
Biodigesters are also classified as ‘‘wet’’ or ‘‘dry’’ solid waste
digesters. According to Ward et al. (2008), wet bioreactors have to-
tal solids of 16% or less, while dry bioreactors contain 22–40% total
solids, with the intermediate rating termed ‘semi dry’, while
according to Karagiannidis and Perkoulidis (2009), dry systems
contain 30–40% dry matter where as wet systems contain 10–
25% dry matter. Another type of bioreactor based on operating
temperatures (i.e., thermophilic or mesophilic) are also available
(Kuo and Cheng, 2007; Karagiannidis and Perkoulidis, 2009).
5. Biogas yield from anaerobic digestion of solid organic waste
The process of biogas generation from solid organic waste is of-
ten carried out by several different anaerobic bacteria (Jingura and
1740 A. Khalid et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 1737–1744

Table 2
Different types of bioreactors used for anaerobic digestion.

Bioreactor type Type of substrate Organic loading Comments References

Anaerobic sequencing batch
bioreactor
Continuously stirred tank
reactors
Full-scale anaerobic
digester
Integrative biological
reactor
Laboratory-scale semi
continuous reactors
New starch based
flocculant-anaerobic
fluidized bed bioreactor
Rotating drum mesh filter
bioreactor
Self mixing anaerobic
digesters
Submerged anaerobic
membrane bioreactor
Two-phase anaerobic semi-
continuous digester
Two stage anaerobic
hydrogen and methane
production reactor
Up flow anaerobic solid-
state bioreactor
Fruit and vegetable
waste and abattoir
wastewater
Municipal solid waste
Industrial food waste
Kitchen waste
Municipal solid waste
and press water from
municipal composting
plant
Primary treated
sewage effluent with or
without refractory
organic pollutants
Municipal solid waste
Poultry litter
Sewage sludge, food
waste and livestock
wastewater
Olive mill wastewater
and olive mill solid
waste
Organic waste
Mixture of maize silage
and straw
rate (kg/m3/d)
2.6 A decrease in biogas production was Bouallagui et al. (2009b)
observed due to high amount of free
ammonia at high organic loading rate
(OLR)
15 The reactor showed superior process Angelidaki et al. (2006)
performance as the OLR progressively
increased up to 15 kg/m3/d
17 Methane yield of 360 l/kg feed waste with Ike et al. (2010)
40 days retention time was observed
8.0 Integrative biological reactor showed the Guo et al. (2011)
best performance and biogas production
rate was higher than the single reactor
20 The reactor performance for biogas Nayono et al. (2010)
production was higher up to 20 OLR but
further increase in OLR did not affect the
biogas production
43 The efficiency and microbial activity at Xing et al. (2010)
high OLR was higher than conventional
anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactor
15 The reactor proved to be stable and Walker et al. (2009)
helpful in mixing the waste at high OLR,
which is usually not possible in
mechanically stirred digesters
16 Self mixing at high OLR and high Rao et al. (2011)
biomethanization of the poultry litter was
observed
1.8 The reactor showed unstable performance Jeong et al. (2010)
during the initial stage, but performed
superior after acclimation formation
14 The best performance in terms of methane Fezzani and Cheikh (2010)
productivity, soluble COD and phenol
removal efficiencies and effluent quality
was observed
3.0 Compared to a single-stage methanogenic Luo et al. (2011)
reactor, 11% higher energy was achieved
17 The UASS reactor showed the highest Mumme et al. (2010)
methanogenic performance for the
digestion of solid biomass

Matengaifa, 2009). Several reports indicate that anaerobic diges- in simulated landfill bioreactors (lysimeters) for a period of 90 days
tion of the organic fraction of solid waste yields promising with four different inoculum–substrate ratios (ISRs). The maxi-
amounts of biogas (Table 3). Biogas is generally composed of 48– mum methane yield was achieved in the lysimeter at ISR of 1:1.
65% methane, 36–41% carbon dioxide, up to 17% nitrogen, <1% oxy- Based on the results obtained from this study, the authors
gen, 32–169 ppm hydrogen sulphide and traces of other gases
(Ward et al., 2008). Unlike fossil fuel, biogas does not contribute
much to the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion or acid rain (Nath Table 3
and Das, 2004). This is one of the main reasons that anaerobic Biogas yield recorded from anaerobic digestion of the solid organic waste.
digestion may play a very crucial role in meeting energy challenges
Substrate Methane yield References
of the future generation. (l/kg VS*)
The biogas yield is affected by many factors including type and
Municipal solid waste 360 Vogt et al. (2002)
composition of substrate, microbial composition, temperature, Fruit and vegetable wastes 420 Bouallagui et al. (2005)
moisture and bioreactor design, etc. Hernandez-Berriel et al. Municipal solid waste 530 Forster-Carneiro et al. (2007)
(2008) studied the methane production from biodegradation of Fruit and vegetable waste, 850 Forster-Carneiro et al.
municipal solid waste. They found that the process reached the on- and abattoir wastewater (2007)
Swine manure 337 Ahn et al. (2009)
set of the methanogenic phase at day 63 and the methane produc- Municipal solid waste 200 Walker et al. (2009)
tion rate was greater at a moisture level of 70%. However, a Food waste leachate 294 Behera et al. (2010)
decrease in biogas production was observed in the case of fruit Rice straw 350 Lei et al. (2010)
and vegetable waste due to rapid acidification of these wastes, Maize silage and straw 312 Mumme et al. (2010)
Jatropha oil seed cake 422 Chandra et al. (2011)
resulting in a lowering of the pH in the bioreactor. Moreover, pro-
Palm oil mill waste 610 Fang et al. (2011)
duction of larger volatile fatty acids from such waste under anaer- Household waste 350 Ferrer et al. (2011)
obic conditions inhibits the activity of methanogenic bacteria. The Lignin-rich organic waste 200 Jayasinghe et al. (2011)
addition of co-substrates such as abattoir waste water and acti- Swine manure and winery 348 Riano et al. (2011)
vated sludge to fruit and vegetable waste can enhance biogas pro- wastewater
Food waste 396 Zhang et al. (2011)
duction up to 52% (Bouallagui et al., 2009a). Behera et al. (2010)
*
examined methane production from food waste leachate (FWL) VS: Volatile solids.
 A. Khalid et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 1737–1744
concluded that the bioreactors with efficient leachate collection
and gas recovery facilities could be effective to treat non-hazard-
ous liquid organic wastes for energy recovery. Likewise, Lee and
his co-workers (2009b) suggested that anaerobic digestion of
FWL in bioreactor landfills or anaerobic digesters (with a preferred
control of alkalinity and salinity) could be a sustainable solution to
convert biomass to biogas and achieve high biodegradability
potential.
6. Role of microorganisms in anaerobic digestion
The anaerobic digestion process can be catalyzed by a variety of
microorganisms that convert complex macromolecules into low
molecular weight compounds. An inoculum source is crucial for
the optimization of the waste/inoculum ratio (Lopes et al., 2004;
Forster-Carneiro et al., 2007). Sludge is commonly used as inocu-
lum for the treatment of waste (Forster-Carneiro et al., 2007; Dong
et al., 2009); although naturally selected strains or artificially
mixed strains of microorganisms are also employed. In addition,
cell aggregates in the form of flocs, biofilms, granules, and mats,
with dimensions that typically range from 0.1 to 100 mm may also
be used in the treatment system (Jeong et al., 2010).
A wide variety of microbial communities have been reported to
be involved in the anaerobic decomposition process. Fricke et al.
(2007) reported that organic material is most likely decomposed
by heterotrophic microorganisms. Lee et al. (2009a) reported that
Clostridium species are most common among the degraders under
anaerobic condition. However, it is very unusual for a biological
treatment to rely solely on a single microbial strain and generally
a microbial consortium is responsible for the anaerobic digestion
process (Fantozzi and Buratti, 2009). According to Ike et al.
(2010), a group of microorganisms such as actinomyces, Thermo-
monospora, Ralstonia and Shewanella are involved in the degrada-
tion of food waste into volatile fatty acids, but Methanosarcina
and Methanobrevibacter/Methanobacterium mainly contribute in
methane production. Similarly, Charles et al. (2009) reported the
presence of Methanosarcina thermophila, Methanoculleus thermo-
philus, and Methanobacterium formicicum during anaerobic diges-
tion. Using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and DNA
sequencing techniques, Trzcinski et al. (2010) found hydrogeno-
trophic species (mainly, Methanobrevibacter sp., M. formicicum
and Methanosarcina sp.) active in methane synthesis. An increase
in methane content was also observed with the increase in the
number of hydrogenotrophic species (Trzcinski et al., 2010). How-
ever, high concentration of organic acid like acetic acid
(>5000 mg L 1) and butyric acid (>3000 mg L 1) in the biodigester
has been found to inhibit the growth of microorganisms and con-
sequently the production of energy rich compounds (Kim et al.,
2008).
7. Factors affecting anaerobic digestion
The anaerobic digestion of organic material is a complex pro-
cess, involving a number of different degradation steps. The micro-
organisms that participate in the process may be specific for each
degradation step and thus could have different environmental
requirements.
7.1. Temperature
Many researchers have reported significant effects of tempera-
ture on the microbial community, process kinetics and stability
and methane yield (Dela-Rubia et al., 2002; Bouallagui et al.,
2009b; Riau et al., 2010). Lower temperatures during the process
are known to decrease microbial growth, substrate utilization
1741
rates, and biogas production (Kim et al., 2006; Trzcinski and
Stuckey, 2010). Moreover, lower temperatures may also result in
an exhaustion of cell energy, a leakage of intracellular substances
or complete lysis (Kashyap et al., 2003). In contrast, high tempera-
tures lower biogas yield due to the production of volatile gases
such as ammonia which suppresses methanogenic activities
(Fezzani and Cheikh, 2010).
Generally, anaerobic digestion is carried out at mesophilic tem-
peratures (El-Mashad et al., 2003). The operation in the mesophilic
range is more stable and requires a smaller energy expense
(Fernandez et al., 2008; Ward et al., 2008). Castillo et al. (2006)
found that the best operational temperature was 35 °C with an
18 day digestion period while a little fluctuation in temperature
from 35 °C to 30 °C caused a reduction in the rate of biogas produc-
tion (Chae et al., 2008). Overall, a temperature range between 35–
37 °C is considered suitable for the production of methane and a
change from mesophilic to thermophilic temperatures can cause
a sharp decrease in biogas production until the necessary popula-
tions have increased in number. Briski et al. (2007) reported that
for biodegradation, the temperature must be below 65 °C because
above 65 °C denaturation of enzymes occurs. However, thermo-
philic conditions have certain advantages, such as a faster degrada-
tion rate of organic waste, higher biomass and gas production, less
effluent viscosity and higher pathogen destruction (Zhu et al.,
2009). Ward et al. (2008) has shown optimal growth temperatures
for some methanogenic bacteria: 37–45 °C for mesophilic Methan-
obacterium, 37–40 °C for Methanobrevibacter, 35–40 °C for Metha-
nolobus, Methanococcus, Methanoculleus, Methanospirillum and
Methanolobus, 30–40 °C for Methanoplanus and Methanocorpuscu-
lum and 50–55 °C for thermophilic Methanohalobium and
Methanosarcina.
7.2. pH
A range of pH values suitable for anaerobic digestion has been
reported by various researchers, but the optimal pH for methano-
genesis has been found to be around 7.0 (Huber et al., 1982; Yang
and Okos, 1987). Agdag and Sponza (2007) reported a very narrow
range of suitable pH (7.0–7.2) in the industrial sludge added biore-
actors during the last 50 days of the anaerobic incubation. Simi-
larly, Ward et al. (2008) found that a pH range of 6.8–7.2 was
ideal for anaerobic digestion. Lee et al. (2009b) reported that met-
hanogenisis in an anaerobic digester occurs efficiently at pH 6.5–
8.2, while hydrolysis and acidogenesis occurs at pH 5.5 and 6.5,
respectively (Kim et al., 2003). From the batch experiments, it
was shown that the appropriate pH range for thermophilic acido-
gens was 6–7 (Park et al., 2008). Dong et al. (2009) suggested that
the hydrogen production will be at a maximum if the initial pH of a
biosystem is maintained at 9. However, similar results can also be
achieved at pH 5–6 (Kapdan and Kargi, 2006). Liu et al. (2008)
showed that the most favorable range of pH to attain maximal bio-
gas yield in anaerobic digestion is 6.5–7.5.
7.3. Moisture
High moisture contents usually facilitate the anaerobic diges-
tion; however, it is difficult to maintain the same availability of
water throughout the digestion cycle (Hernandez-Berriel et al.,
2008). Initially water added at a high rate is dropped to a certain
lower level as the process of anaerobic digestion proceeds. High
water contents are likely to affect the process performance by dis-
solving readily degradable organic matter. It has been reported
that the highest methane production rates occur at 60–80% of
humidity (Bouallagui et al., 2003). Hernandez-Berriel et al. (2008)
studied methanogenesis processes during anaerobic digestion at
different moisture levels i.e., 70% and 80%. They found that the
1742 A. Khalid et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 1737–1744
onset of the methanogenic phase took place around day 70 in both
cases, at 70% and 80% moisture. However, bioreactors under the
70% moisture regime produced a stronger leachate and conse-
quently a higher methane production rate. At the end of the exper-
iment, 83 ml methane per gram dry matter were produced at the
70% moisture level, while 71 ml methane per gram dry matter
were produced with the 80% moisture. Nonetheless, bioreactors
from both moisture regimes showed similar ratios (0.68) of bio-
chemical oxygen demand (BOD) to chemical oxygen demand
(COD).
7.4. Substrate/carbon source
The rate of anaerobic digestion is strongly affected by the type,
availability and complexity of the substrate (Ghaniyari-Benis et al.,
2009; Zhao et al., 2010). Different types of carbon source support
different groups of microbes. Before starting a digestion process,
the substrate must be characterized for carbohydrate, lipid, protein
and fiber contents (Lesteur et al., 2010). In addition, the substrate
should also be characterized for the quantity of methane that can
potentially be produced under anaerobic conditions. Carbohy-
drates are considered the most important organic component of
municipal solid waste for biogas production (Dong et al., 2009).
However, starch could act as an effective low cost substrate for bio-
gas production compared to sucrose and glucose (Su et al., 2009). It
was reported that the initial concentration and total solid content
of the substrate in the bioreactor can significantly affect the perfor-
mance of the process and the amount of methane produced during
the process (Fernandez et al., 2008).
7.5. Nitrogen
Nitrogen is essential for protein synthesis and primarily required
as a nutrient by the microorganisms in anaerobic digestion
(Kayhanian and Rich, 1995). Nitrogenous compounds in the organic
waste are usually proteins which are converted to ammonium by
anaerobic digestion (Sawayama et al., 2004). In the form of ammo-
nium, nitrogen contributes to the stabilization of the pH value in
the bioreactor where the process is taking place. Microorganisms
assimilate ammonium for the production of new cell mass. A nutri-
ent ratio of the elements C:N:P:S at 600:15:5:3 is considered suffi-
cient for methanization (Fricke et al., 2007). Ammonia in high
concentration may lead to the inhibition of the biological process
and it inhibits methanogenesis at concentrations exceeding approx-
imately 100 mM (Fricke et al., 2007). Sterling et al. (2001) found that
the amount of ammonia in the digester may also affect the produc-
tion of hydrogen and removal of volatile solids. Total biogas produc-
tion was unaffected by small increases in ammonia nitrogen while
higher increases reduced the biogas production by 50% of the origi-
nal rate. In the fluidized-bed anaerobic digester, the methane forma-
tion decreased at ammonium concentrations of greater than
6000 mg NH4–N/l. It was reported that methanogenic activity is de-
creased by 10% at ammonium concentrations of 1670–3720 mg
NH4–N/l, while by 50% at 4090–5550 mg NH4–N/l, and completely
zero at 5880–6000 mg NH4–N/l (Sawayama et al., 2004).
7.6. C/N Ratio
The C/N ratio in the organic material plays a crucial role in
anaerobic digestion. The unbalanced nutrients are regarded as an
important factor limiting anaerobic digestion of organic wastes.
For the improvement of nutrition and C/N ratios, co-digestion of or-
ganic mixtures is employed (Cuetos et al., 2008). Co-digestion of
fish waste, abattoir wastewater and waste activated sludge with
fruit and vegetable waste facilitates balancing of the C/N ratio.
Their greatest advantage lies in the buffering of the organic loading
rate, and anaerobic ammonia production from organic nitrogen,
which reduce the limitations of fruit and vegetable waste diges-
tion. The C/N ratio of 20–30 may provide sufficient nitrogen for
the process (Weiland, 2006), and Bouallagui et al. (2009a) sug-
gested that a C/N ratio between 22 and 25 seemed to be best for
anaerobic digestion of fruit and vegetable waste, whereas,
Guermoud et al. (2009) and Lee et al. (2009b) reported that the
optimal C/N ratio for anaerobic degradation of organic waste was
20–35.
8. Conclusions
The preceding review clearly indicates that anaerobic digestion
is one of the most effective biological processes to treat a wide
variety of solid organic waste products and sludge. The prime
advantages of this technology include (i) organic wastes with a
low nutrient content can be degraded by co-digesting with differ-
ent substrates in the anaerobic bioreactors, and (ii) the process
simultaneously leads to low cost production of biogas, which could
be vital for meeting future energy-needs. However, different fac-
tors such as substrate and co-substrate composition and quality,
environmental factors (temperature, pH, organic loading rate),
and microbial dynamics contribute to the efficiency of the anaero-
bic digestion process, and must be optimized to achieve maximum
benefit from this technology in terms of both energy production
and organic waste management. The use of advanced molecular
techniques can further help in enhancing the efficiency of this sys-
tem by identifying the microbial community structure and func-
tion, and their ecological relationships in the bioreactor. This
technology has tremendous application in the future for sustain-
ability of both environment and agriculture, with the production
of energy as an extra benefit.
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