Toward the scale-up of agro-food feed mixture for biogas production

Olive oil and dairy production are among the most important and widespread agro-food activities in southern Italy and particularly in the Puglia region. According to a territorial survey of the Puglia region, the related wastes, olive pomace (OP), olive mill wastewater (OMWW) and whey milk are very abundant (741,000 tons/year) and represent potential sources of contamination for the land and aquifers; however, these wastes also represent an interesting feedstock for biogas production through anaerobic digestion. OP,OMWWand wheymilk are high in organic content (100 g/l, 65 g/l and 60 g/l, respectively), are acidic (with pH values between 3.5 and 5.5), and have high total solid percentage concentrations (30% (w/w),