Biogas da biomasse : metodo per la stima rapida del potenziale di biogas di biomasse eterogenee

Anaerobic digestion plants operators have often to choose which biomasses to use, depending on their digestibility and economical convenience. In such a context, rapid methods for assessing potential biogas productions are needed for helping operators in their choices. Anaerobic biogasification potential (ABP) tests are reliable, but their response times (60-100 days) result inadequate. As the availability of organic matrixes on the market use to vary day by day, rapid evaluations of the ABP are needed. In this work, linear regressions between ABP and chemical/biological parameters were studied for a series of 23heterogeneous organic matrixes, easily available on the market. The respirometric test OD20 (oxygen demand in 20 hours) showed the only significant regression (R2 = 0.733, P < 0.001). The OD20 can give a rapid assessment of the ABP of any organic matrix, with a percentage error of around 25-30%. This result can be considered satisfactory as a compromise between precision and rapidity of the assessment.