Abstract

MANON-SALAS, María del Consuelo; HERNANDEZ-BERRIEL, María del Consuelo  and  MARQUEZ-BENAVIDES, Liliana. Using multivariate analysis to model the settlement of MSW in bioreactors with leachate recirculation. Rev. Int. Contam. Ambient [online]. 2012, vol.28, suppl.1, pp.53-60. ISSN 0188-4999.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the accelerated anaerobic degradation and the settlement of municipal solid waste (MSW) in laboratory-scale bioreactors (LAB), by generating models using multivariate analysis. The settlement of MSW depends on several factors, multivariate analysis therefore provides the ability to evaluate a number of alternatives and select those that have statistical significance. Data for this study was obtained from an experimental design with 21 LAB. Each LAB was loaded with a volume of 412.24 cm³ MSW from the landfill site in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Three groups of seven LAB were operated using leachate recirculation rates of 40, 60 and 80 % volume (%V). One LAB was dismantled from each group at day 15, 45, 75, 105, 135, 165 and 201 of experimentation. Refuse was then analyzed for settlement (%), pH and volatile solids removal (SVR); methane in biogas was also monitored. It was found that CH₄ had collinearity problems related to SVR. The obtained model showed a strong association between RSV and settlement, the linear model with the highest precision was selected.

Keywords : waste compaction; accelerated biodegradation; models.