Transformer: A Procedure to Estimate Proximate Analysis

Determine carbohydrate, protein, lipid and inert contents as well as other inputs to the IWA-ADM1

In waste materials, proximate analysis measuring the total
concentration of carbohydrate, protein, and lipid contents from solid wastes is challenging, as a result of the heterogeneous and solid nature of wastes. This is a new procedure that was developed to estimate such complex chemical composition of the waste using conventional practical measurements, such as chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon. The procedure is based on mass balance of macronutrient elements
(carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus [CHNOP]) (i.e., elemental continuity), in addition to the balance of COD and charge intensity that are applied in mathematical modeling of biological processes. Knowing the composition of such a complex substrate is crucial to study solid waste anaerobic degradation. The procedure was formulated to generate the
detailed input required for the International Water Association (London, United Kingdom) Anaerobic Digestion Model number 1 (IWA-ADM1). The complex particulate composition estimated by the procedure was validated with several types of food wastes and animal manures in Water Environ. Res., 81, 407 (2009).