Effect of Thermal Pretreatment on Anaerobic Digestion Performance of Recycled Paper Sludge

The anaerobic digestion (AD) experiment for recycled pulp and paper sludge (RPPS) was carried out by a CSTR digester “Continious Stirred Tank Reactor” under mesophilic conditions (37 °C) at laboratory scale. The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of AD technology of effluents from the RPPS, and applying a thermal pretreatment to the substrate studied in order to improve methane production and biodegradability, as well as monitoring and control process for the two experiments at laboratory scale. It can be seen that thermal pre-treatment has contributed to a significant improvement in methane potential and biodegradability rate. Indeed, these two parameters have increased from 105 to 116 NmL CH4 /g SVadded and from 75 to 81% respectively. The pH average is about 7.83. In these mesophilic conditions, the results got show that AD is a good solution for the treatment of this type of industrial waste.