Abstract
Anaerobic co-digestion (ACD) is prominent as a technology that offers a sustainable alternative energy source in biogas while contributing to sustainable waste management. However, several issues linked to process stability and performance remain, including slow anaerobe acclimation and growth. This study aimed to optimise the anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and municipal landfill leachate by establishing the optimal operating conditions for ACD with biochar addition. Response surface methodology (RSM) Box-Benken design (BBD) was utilised to investigate the impact of critical process parameters: temperature, co-substrate loading rate, and Biochar loading rate on biogas yield. The response model underwent analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis to determine the relevant elements that were accurately incorporated into the models. The model was determined to have a confidence level of 95 %. The adep accuracy, which quantifies the ratio of the signal to the noise, met the acceptable criterion of being more than 4. The ratio for Biogas Yield achieved was 15.9195. The optimum operating conditions were observed to be co-substrate loading of 1:20 (leachate; total reactor volume), BC loading of (6.7 g/L), and a temperature of 54.99 °C, achieving desirability of 94.10 %. A mean biogas yield of 60.45 mL/gVSadded was achieved under the optimum conditions.
