Integrated ozonation and anaerobic digestion for the recovery of organic solid waste

This work focuses on the ozonation of the digestate originating from the anaerobic treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. The experimental activity was carried out to verifiy the effects of the application of ozone, a powerful oxidant, on the anaerobic biodegradability of the digestate as well as on the presence of organic contaminants. Such pollutants could, indeed, enter the anaerobic treatment along with waste and end up in the digestate due to their recalcitrance to biological degradation processes. Experimental results pointed out the effectiveness of the proposed approach, suggesting that the integrated ozonation and anaerobic digestion process could become a proper strategy to ensure the sustainable recovery of organic solid waste.