This paper reviews the current knowledge on high-rate anaerobic sewage treatment at ambient operating temperatures while presenting the benefits and drawbacks. Since domestic sewage is reported as the main point-source pollutant on a global scale, its treatment deserves ample research. In most of the cities and towns of some developing countries, wastewater produced in households is still discharged into the nearest water body without subjected any treatment. Therefore, simple, affordable, and effective sewage treatment systems are required. Anaerobic digestion of wastewater is reported as a sustainable alternative as recovery of energy is provided while nutrients are preserved for reuse. Anaerobic sewage treatment is certainly not limited to regions of hot climates but it also offers treatment potential in sub-tropical and even in moderate climatic regions due to their favorable temperature conditions. Since many sewage-like dilute wastewaters are discharged at low ambient temperatures especially under moderate climate conditions (15 to 20°C), heating the wastewater to maintain mesophilic conditions (35°C) for anaerobic treatment necessitates high energy and certainly high operating costs. Thus, the development of anaerobic treatment systems operated at ambient temperatures without doubt will have a great ecological and economic impact. High-rate anaerobic treatment systems, especially upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors, have been occupying a noticeable position for sewage treatment in several tropical countries where artificial heating can be eliminated. However, in spite of their undeniable advantages, there are certain drawbacks of anaerobic sewage treatment at low operating temperatures which should be clarified. Among them, the main concern for anaerobic treatment application is its producing effluents that barely comply with the standarts for reuse in agriculture or discharge to the environment. Therefore, the effluents from anaerobic reactors usually necessitate a post-treatment step as a mean to protect the receiving water bodies. However, anaerobic sewage treatment when combined with a proper post-treatment, provides a sustainable, appropriate, and affordable method especially for developing countries.

Energy recovery potential of a mesophilic co‐digester treating OFMSW and primary sludge at an integrated biomethanization plant was investigated based on feasibility study results. Since landfilling is still the main solid waste disposal method in Turkey, land scarcity will become one of the most important obstacles. Restrictions for biodegradable waste disposal to sanitary landfills in EU Landfill Directive and uncontrolled long‐term contamination with gas emissions and leachate necessitate alternative management strategies due to rapid increase in MSW production. Moreover, since energy contribution from renewable resources will be required more in the future with increasing oil prices and dwindling supplies of conventional energy sources, the significance of biogas as a renewable fuel has been increased in the last decade. Results indicated that almost 93% of annual total cost can be recovered if 100% renewable energy subsidy is implemented. Besides, considering the potential revenue when replacing transport fuels, about 26 heavy good vehicles or 549 cars may be powered per year by the biogas produced from the proposed biomethanization plant (PE = 100,000; X_PS = 61 g TS/PE·day; X_SS-OFMSW = 50 g TS/PE·day).

High salinity is one of the most well known inhibitors and salt concentrations above 1% are reported as highly saline. Salt may be found in the main collectors of municipal sewer systems which carry the risk of seawater infiltration and where domestic wastewaters are treated with landfill leachates such cases in Istanbul. Discharging of leachates into sewerage would also result in additional ammonium loads in Municipal Treatment Plants (MTPs). In this study, synthetic wastewater was fed to a lab-scale Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) reactor operated at a constant hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1 day. The salt concentration was increased artificially whereas the ammonium concentration was fixed at 1000 mg/l throughout the study. Results indicated no significant inhibition up to 2% salinity + 1000 mg/l NH₄ and TOC removals could reach up to 88%. Besides, effective total biogas productions having methane content of 84% could be achieved. It is obvious that anaerobic microorganisms (especially methanogens) could well adapt to high salinity ratios. No inhibition at high ammonium concentration might have been attributed to the fact that the pH in the system was not high enough for the formation of free ammonia. Investigation of the combined effect of high salinity and ammonium was carried on by increasing the salinity to 3% in the study. Results indicated that TOC removals decreased to around 56% and 3% salinity caused a sharp decrease both in organic material removal and total biogas production. Thus the critical salinity level was determined as 3% for the methanogens in the mesophilic anaerobic digesters.

In anaerobic treatment, it is obligatory to know the effect of potentially inhibitory compounds due to the fact that methane formation may retard severely and may proceed slower than organic acid production. One of the most important inhibitory substances in anaerobic treatment is high salinity. In many cases, the main collectors of a municipal sewer system should have been built in the coastal zone and below the ground water level due to the available topography of wastewater catchments area, which is carrying the risk of seawater infiltration. Besides, one of the most convenient methods for leachate control is to treat landfill leachates with domestic wastewaters in the central municipal wastewater treatment plants such as in Istanbul. Thus, the nitrogen load of the treatment plants increase significantly. In this study, the effects of high salinity and ammonium nitrogen levels on mesophilic anaerobic tretament processes were investigated. In the first part of the study, high salinity effect on anaerobic treatment was investigated by feeding synthetic wastewater containing high salinity between 0.15%–1.5% ratios. In the second part of the study, the simultaneous effect of high salinity and ammonia (1.5% salinity+1,000 mg NH₃/l) was examined by a lab-scale Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed Reactor (UASBR). Results indicated no significant inhibition in both cases and effective COD removals (89%) and total biogas productions having methane content of 84% could be achieved.