Cellulose enzymatic availability in Municipal solid waste

We recently developed a new and rapid method to evaluate the biological reactivity of cellulose in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). This test is based on the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose in MSW and can be related to the digestibility of this polymer in MSW. In this work, we showed that the enzymatic cellulose degradation test (ECD) correlated well with a Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) assay so that the ECD test can be reliably applied to estimate cellulose bioavailability in various waste samples. These tests have also been used to evaluate the influence of some important parameters that could affect the extent and the rate of cellulose degradation in waste. It appeared that cellulose enzymatic hydrolysis is related to the moisture content but no clear relationship could be established with the cellulose content. Moreover, it is shown that acetic acid produced by the anaerobic degradation of organic matter, and responsible for high COD in young leachates, may slow down or inhibit the enzymatic hydrolysis step and the methanogenesis.