Assessment of the effectiveness of an industrial unit of mechanical–biological treatment of municipal solid waste

An assessment of the French municipal solid waste (MSW) mechanical–biological treatment (MBT) unit of Mende was performed in terms of mass reduction, biogas emissions reduction and biostability of the biologically treated waste. The MBT unit consists of mechanical sorting operations, an aerobic rotating bioreactor, forced-aeration process in open-air tunnels (stabilization), ripening platforms and a sanitary landfill site for waste disposal in separated cells. On the overall plant, results showed a dry matter reduction of 18.9% and an oxidative organic matter reduction of 39.0%. A 46.2% biogas production decrease could also be observed. Concerning the biotreatment steps, high reductions were observed: 88.1% decrease of biogas potential and 57.7% decrease of oxidative organic matter content. Nevertheless, the usually considered stabilization indices (biogas potential, respirometric index) remained higher than recommended by the German or Austrian regulation for landfilling. Mass balance performed on each step of the treatment line showed that several stages needed improvement (especially mechanical sorting operations) as several waste fractions containing potentially biodegradable matter were landfilled with very few or no biological treatment.