Title:
Detection of Volatile Compounds Released from Dry Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste by PTR-ToF-MS
Author(s):
Papurello, D., Soukoulis, C., Forlin, L., Biasioli, F., Silvestri, S., Santarelli, M.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
Dry anaerobic digestion of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) was performed in a pilot plant. The biogas produced could be a feasible fuel for SOFC's stack generators to produce electric energy and heat. Due to the high fuel purity requirements, an accurate characterization of the volatile organic compounds mixture contained in the biogas is mandatory and performed on-line over the entire digestion process. One of the most promising approaches for high sensitivity on-line detection of volatile compounds is Direct Injection Mass Spectrometry (DIMS) and in particular a technique known as Proton Transfer Reaction – Time of Flight – Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS). PTR-ToF-MS spectra acquired in a split second without any preliminary gas sample treatment allows, on one hand, to have quantitative indication on the nature and concentration of many volatile compounds of interest and, on the other hand, to identify several phases of the digestion. The starting step during which the oxygen content is consumed and the subsequent anaerobic phase, with the methane production are well defined. Thanks to the rapid characterization several interesting volatile organic compounds during the 30 days of process were detected. Some microbiological mechanisms can be hypothesized as related with the observed time behavior of the compounds of interest, for example the trend of sulfur compounds are bonded to each other.
Keywords:
anaerobic digestion, biogas, PTR-ToF-MS, organic fraction of municipal solid waste, mercaptans
Topic:
R&D on Biomass Conversion Technologies for Heating, Electricity and Chemicals
Subtopic:
Anaerobic digestion for biogas production
Event:
20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
2DV.3.1
Pages:
1389 - 1393
ISBN:
978-88-89407-54-7
Paper DOI:
10.5071/20thEUBCE2012-2DV.3.1
Price:
FREE
