The anaerobic biostabilization process can be employed for the treatment of a large variety of substrates, among which the organic solid waste can be cited. In this work, the anaerobic biostabilization process was employed to treat the putrescible organic solid waste of urban and rural origin. The urban origin waste basically consisted of fruits peelings, vegetables and foliage, whereas the rural solid waste was only the bovine rumen. The proportions of rumen used were 5, 10 and 15% (weight basis). The work was carried out on an experimental scale, basically consisting of four anaerobic batch reactors, each with a capacity of 20 L. The efficiency of the process was determined by evaluation of the following parameters: total volatile solids (TVS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total Kjedhal nitrogen (TKN). It may be pointed out that this treatment process biostabilizes the putrescible organic waste, making it available for application in the soils as well as producing of methane, which can be used as a source of alternative energy for domestic and industrial purposes. The analysis of the data shows that the performance of the biostabilization process is a function of the percentage of rumen used.
organic waste; anaerobic; batch reactor
