A rotating drum mesh filter bioreactor (RDMFBR) with a 100 mu m mesh coupled to an anaerobic filter was used for the anaerobic digestion of biodegradable municipal solid waste (BMW). Duplicate systems were operated for 72 days at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 7.5 gVS l(-1) d(-1). Early in the experiment most of the methane was produced in the 2nd stage. This Situation gradually reversed as methanogenesis became established in the 1st stage digester, which eventually produced 86-87% of the total system methane. The total methane production was 0.2 l g(-1) VS(added) with 60-62% volatile solids destruction. No fouling was experienced during the experiment at a transmembrane flux rate of 3.5 l m(-2) h(-1). The system proved to be robust and stably adjusted to a shock loading increase to 15 gVS l(-1) d(-1), although this reduced the overall methane production to 0.15 l g(-1) VS(added). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.