Citation:
A. Godley, J. Frederickson, K. Lewin, R. Smith, N. Blakey, Characterisation of untreated and treated biodegradable wastes, Sardinia 2007, Proceedings of the Eleventh International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy. 1-5 October 2007. Paper 347.
Abstract:
As part of a Defra sponsored project (WRT220), approximately 40 biodegradable
wastes were characterised according to biodegradability (DR4 and BM100), total PTE content,
C:N ratio and biochemical composition. Two leaching tests were employed; upflow percolation
test and a one step LS10 test; eluates were analysed for TOC, pH, electrical conductivity, PTEs
and a range of cations and anions. This paper contains a limited set of data for a selection of
untreated and treated waste types representing four waste treatment processes (composting,
MBT, MHT, anaerobic digestion). The DR4 and BM100 tests were found to be appropriate for a
wide range of waste types but where possible they should be used in conjunction with other
related tests. Longer-term MBT composting processes appeared to produce compost material
with reduced ammonium concentrations and extractability of some PTEs. Carbon content
(carbon analyzer - LECO) could be estimated as C = LOI/1.9 which is a routine operation. N
LECO values were approximately 12% greater than the equivalent N Kjeldahl values.