Dicom Process of Biological Solid waste treatment: a novel hybrid process of composting an anerobic digestion

Investigate and quantify the feasibility of a hybrid technology of thermophilic aerobic and anaerobic processes for the treatment of solid organic waste.

Traditional biological treatment of solid organic waste can be achieved by anaerobic processes (anaerobic digestion) leading to methane gas as renewable fuel or by aerobic composting leading to a stable end product useful for gardening etc. Each of the processes has shortcomings: anaerobic digestion is relatively slow and composting requires energy input for aeration. A suitable hybrid technology such as the DICOM process patented by Organic Resources Technologies Ltd could benefit from the advantages of both processes (stability of end product, energy recovery) while minimising the shortcomings (energy expenditure for mixing, unstable malodorous end product).