DipartimentodiIngegneriaCivileeAmbientale,

Anaerobic Digesters for biogasproduction

ElenaFicara
elena.ficara@polimi.it
2
ADplants
AD plants are complex and technological installations designed to ADplantsarecomplexandtechnologicalinstallationsdesignedto
maximizebiogasproduction.Theynormallyincludethefollowing
sections:
Substrate
collection/
P
Anaerobic
Post
treatments/
Biogas
collection/
storage
Pretreatments
Anaerobic
Digester
treatments/
disposal
Biogas
valorization
Substratereception/Storage:
AIM: to guarantee the continuous feeding of discontinuously AIM:toguaranteethecontinuousfeedingofdiscontinuously
produced/deliveredproducts
ISSUES:odours,licheate
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SSU S odou s, c eate
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ADplants
Pretreatments:
AIM:toremoveextraneousmaterials,tomakethesubstrate
moreeasilydegradable/transportable
ISSUES:energyrequest,odour,residueshandlinganddisposal
Digester:
AIM:ensureafavorableenvironmenttoanaerobic
microorganisms,
ISSUES:mixing,temperature,gascapture
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ADplants
Posttreatment:
AIM:tomakedigestate compatiblewithitsfinaldisposal(N
content,stabilization,watercontent)
ISSUES:odours,energyrequest,residueshandling
Biogasvalorization:
AIM:toconvertmethaneintousableenergy(heatorpower)
dependingonitsfinaldestination
ISSUES:safety,storage,efficiency
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ANAEROBICDIGESTER
ItisthecoreofanyADplant.
Itisthecontainerinwhichtheanaerobicdigestionprocess
takesplaceinacontrolledenvironment.
ItshouldbedesignedandoperatedtofavortheADprocess,by
guaranteeing:
Adequateandstabletemperature
Sufficientmixingtoenhancetheeffectivecontactbetween
bacteriaandsubstrates
i l id i bl i bi l Optimalresidencetimetosupportastablemicrobial
populationandtoachievetheexpecteddegradation
R li bl d ff ti bi t
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Reliableandeffectivebiogascapture
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Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
ThefollowingparametersarerelevantinthedesignofanyAD
OrganicLoadingRate(OLR) OrganicLoadingRate(OLR): OrganicLoadingRate(OLR) OrganicLoadingRate(OLR):
Itquantifiesthemassofsubstratethatentersthedigesterperunitoftimeand
perunitofdigestervolume:
d
kg
C
kg
OLR
VS
org
VS
(

(
(

| |
3 3
m V d m
g
OLR
digester digester
VS

=
(
(

C
org
=massfeedingrate
V
digester
=digestervolume
Iftoohigh:VFAaccumulate,pHdropsdown,methanogens suffer,the
degradationpathwaymaystopattheacidogenic step
Iftoolow:thedigesterisunderloaded,biogasproductionissuboptimal
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g , g p p
andcanbeincreased.
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Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
OrganicLoadingRate(OLR) OrganicLoadingRate(OLR):
Its optimal value depends on the type of substrate (its degradability) and on the Itsoptimalvaluedependsonthetypeofsubstrate(itsdegradability)andonthe
typeofreactors.OLRintervals:
f k / /d f i l l di from13kgVS/m3/dforagriculturaldigesters
toashighas50kgVS/m3/dforhighlyloadeddigestersfedoneasily
fermentablesubstrates
Thehighertheorganicloadingrate:
thehigherthespecificbiogasproduction(volumeofbiogasproducedper
volumeofanaerobicreactorperday)
h l h f b d d f f d k h Thelowertheamountofbiogasproducedperunitoffeedstock,i.e.the
lowertheratiobetweentheoperationalandtheoreticalBMP.
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Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
Hydraulicresidencetime(HRT):
Itquantifiestheaveragetimethatasolublemoleculefedintothereactor
remainsinsideit,thatisalsothetimeavailabletomicrorganisms todegradeit.
| |
| | m V
3
di t di t
| |
| |
(

=
d
m
Q
m V
d HRT
3
digester to fed
IN
digester digester
Q
IN
=influentvolumetricflowrate

Toolow:biodegradationisincompleteanddegradablesubstrate
remainsinthedigestate
Too high: the digester is underloaded biogas production is suboptimal Toohigh:thedigesterisunderloaded,biogasproductionissuboptimal
andcanbeincreased.
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Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
Hydraulicresidencetime(HRT):
Its optimal value depends on the type of substrate (its degradability) and on the Itsoptimalvaluedependsonthetypeofsubstrate(itsdegradability)andonthe
typeofreactors.HRTintervals:
f d f i l l di from6090dforagriculturaldigesters
toaslowasfewhoursforhighlyloadeddigestersfedoneasily
fermentablesubstrates
ThehighertheHRT:
thelowerthespecificbiogasproduction
th hi h th ti b t th ti l d th ti l BMP thehighertheratiobetweentheoperationalandtheoreticalBMP.
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Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
HRTvs OLR:
These two parameters are not independent they are inversely proportional Thesetwoparametersarenotindependent,theyareinverselyproportional
accordingtothefollowingrelationship:
(
| | d
m
kg
Conc
d
kg
OLR
3
digester
VS
IN
3
VS
(
(

=
(
(
(

Conc
IN
= volatile solid concentration in the influent to the digester
| | d HRT d m
3
digester
(
(

Conc
IN
volatilesolidconcentrationintheinfluenttothedigester
Indigesterdesign,onlyoneofthesetwoparametermatters.Thedigester
l i b d volumeisbased:
onthedesiredOLR,forhighlyconcentratedinfluentflows,
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onthedesiredHRT,fordilutedinfluentflows
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Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
OLR
HRTvs OLR:
OLR
Acceptable values Acceptable values
HRT
highlyconcentratedinfluentflows:theminimumacceptableHRTcorrespondsto
unacceptablyhighOLR thedesigncriteriaistheOLR
Dilutedinfluentflows:themaximumacceptableOLRcorrespondsto
unacceptablylowHRT thedesigncriteriaistheHRT
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p y g
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Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
Sludgeresidencetime(HRT):
Itquantifiestheaveragetimethataparticulatemolecule/particlesfedintothe
reactorspendsinsideit,thatisalsothetimeavailabletomicrorganisms to
remaininthereactor.
| |
| |
| |
(

=
d
kg
day per wasted Mass
kg digester in solids of Mass
d SRT
VS
VS
f f f
(

d
Eachtimesolidsarewithdrawnfromdigester,afractionofthebacterial
populationisremovedthusimplyingthatthecellgrowthratemustatleast
compensateforthecellremovalratetoensuresteadystateandavoid
processfailure(bacteriawashout)
Whenseveralmicrorganisms shouldcohexist,theSRTisfixedonthebasisof
the slowest growing ones (=methanogens)
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theslowestgrowingones(=methanogens).
Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
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Digestersmayincludeasolid/liquidseparationunit (settlingtanks,filters,
membrane,supportsforthedevelopmentofamicrobialbiofilm)thatselectively
retainsparticulatematter(microorganismsincluded)inthesystem.
Inthosesystemstheretentiontimeofthesolublecomponents (andunretained
matter)isdifferentfromthatofparticulatecomponents(=retainedmatter):
Particulate (or sludge) residence time (SRT) > HRT
No retention:
HRT =SRT
Biological
reactor
influent
Q, S
IN
, X
IN
effluent
Q, S
out
, X
out
HRT = SRT
reactor
Solid/liquid
separation
retention particulate
matter:
SRT >HRT
Biological
reactor
influent
Q, S
IN
, X
IN
effluent
Q
s
, S
out
,
p
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SRT > HRT
Particulate removal Q
x
, S
out
, X
out
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Anaerobicdigester:designparameters
Sludgeresidencetime(SRT):
For low rate agricultural digesters no solid/liquid separation is applied SRT = Forlowrateagriculturaldigesters,nosolid/liquidseparationisapplied SRT=
HRTanddefinedaccordingtotherateofhydrolysis(thelimitingstep) SRTis
always sufficient long to retain methanogens alwayssufficientlongtoretainmethanogens
Forhighratedigestersundermesofilic conditions HRT<SRTandSRTshould
bedefinedaccordingtothefollowingobservations:
SRT<5dareinsufficientforastabledigestion:VFAaccumulatebecauseofthe
washout of methanogenic bacteria, washoutofmethanogenic bacteria,
SRT=58d,unstableoperationalinterval,
SRT>810days:lowVFAconcentrations.
Ingeneral:thehighertheamountofmicrorganismsretained,thehighertheOLR
thatcanbeapplied thesmallerthedigester
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Processefficiency
Efficiencyparameters
RatiobetweentheactualBMPandtheBMPofthefeedunderoptimalbatch RatiobetweentheactualBMPandtheBMPofthefeedunderoptimalbatch
conditions conditions
Itdependsonlyontheefficiencyofthedigester,i.e. itquantifiestheefficacy
ofthereactortopromotethedegradationoftheorganicmatterinthefeed.
It can be verified only occasionally because BMP evaluation is time Itcanbeverifiedonlyoccasionally,becauseBMPevaluationistime
consuming
Volatilesuspendedsolidsdegradationefficiency Volatilesuspendedsolidsdegradationefficiency
Itisacommonlyusedparameter,easytoestimateandtomonitorintime
It d d b th th i h t d d bilit f th f d d th ffi Itdependsonboththeinherentdegradabilityofthefeedandtheefficacy
ofthedigesteritself
100
VS VS

OUT IN

=
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100
VS

IN
SV
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Process monitoring
Usefulparameterstobeassessedandmonitoredtocheckfor
properoperation: p p p
Specificbiogasproductionrate(SGP)
(
(
(

d
m
SGP
biogas
3
3
Percentageofmethaneinbiogas
VS d d ti ffi i
(
(

d m
digester
3
VSdegradationefficiency
Alkalinity/VFAratio
pH
VFAcomposition p
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REACTORS
d f l
Technological solutions
Broadrangeofalternatives
Simplesystems:
Low investment costs Lowinvestmentcosts
Widelyapplied,wideexperience
Lowrate:Lowspecificbiogasproduction,highvolumes,high
footprint
Suitableforlowtomediuminstallations(<0.5MW)
Advancedsystems:
Higherinvestmentcosts g
Highrate:highspecificbiogasproduction,lowfootprint
Suitableforbigplants(>1MW)
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REACTORS
Digestersclassification
Solidscontentinthereactor:
Wet systems: in reactor TS concentration < 1015%;
Dry systems : in reactor TS concentration >20 25%; Drysystems:inreactorTSconcentration>2025%;
Feedingpattern:
Continuous
Batch
Semicontinuous
Fluiddynamics:
Completelymixedreactors
Plug flow Plugflow
Mixed
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REACTORS
Digestersclassification
Numberofstages:
Si l t Singlestage
Multistage,typicallytwostage(optimizingthedifferentbioreactions
separatelyindifferentstagesorreactorsmayleadtoalargeroverall
reactionrateandbiogasyield)
Temperature:
M hili Mesophilic
Termophilic
Substrate complexity: Substratecomplexity:
Singlesubstrate
Codigestionofvarioussubstrates(eg:maize+animalmanure+
organicfractionofmunicipalsolidwastes,industrialwaste)
Biomassretention:
With
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With
without
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DIGESTERS
Examples: Examples:
Agriculturaldigesters Agriculturaldigesters
Treating:
Animalwastes(piggery/poultrymanure),
Agriculturalresidues(e.g.wheatstraw,
maize/sorgum/,stalks)
Energycrops
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Agriculturaldigesters
Simplesolutionsthattakeadvantageofinfarmalreadyexistinglargestorage
tanks:
Gasstorage Lowefficiency solid/liquid separation
To biogas
use
Floting gascollection system
lagoon
Solid fraction
Collection/pumping
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Agriculturaldigesters
Horizontaldigestersandgas
holdingtank
1.Stainlessstilltank
2.Insulation
3.Feedinginlet
4.Digestate outlet
5 Heavy particles outlet 5.Heavyparticlesoutlet
6.HorizontalMixer
7.Mixingengine
8 Heating system 8.Heatingsystem
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Agricultural digesters
5
3
2
1
4
1Feeding
2 Digester 2 Digester
3Pumping station
4 Biogas CHP
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4BiogasCHP
5Digestate holding tank
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Agriculturaldigesters:membranecovering
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Agriculturaldigesters:mixingsystems
Gas recirculation
(some l/m3/min),
Mechanical mixing
(some W/m3)
Hydraulic recirculation
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Agricultural digesters
http://www.biogasnord.de http://www.biogas nord.de
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Agricultural digesters
Lowloadingsystems
Typicalconfigurationsincludeoneormoreheatedandmixedfermenters
followedbyoneormoreunheatedpostdigesters
Simpleandlowcostheatingmadeofplastictubingrunningaroundthe
innerpartofthefermenter wall
M b hi h t l h ldi t Membranecoverwhichactsalsoasgasholdingsystem
TopwoodennetservesasmembranefloorandassupportforH2S
oxidising bacteria(limitedamountofairispumpedintotheheadspace)
Mechanicalmixingsystemswithhorizontalorverticalaxis.
Workingundermesophilic conditions(upto4042Ctofavorthe
hydrolytic step that is usually the limiting one) hydrolyticstep,thatisusuallythelimitingone)
OLR=12.5kgCOD/m3/d,
HRTaround6090d
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Codigestion
Linkoping, Sweden
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SCHEMIDIIMPIANTO
Examples: Examples:
HighlyconcentratedIndustrialwastes HighlyconcentratedIndustrialwastes
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Highloaddigesters
Suspendedbiomasswithgravitysettler
Particulatematter(microrganisms+organic matter)isrecycledtothedigester
SRT>HRT biomassconcentrationcanbeincreasedandsocantheOLR
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Highloaddigesters
Attachedbiomasssystems
OLR 5 10 k COD/ 3/d HRT d 1 d OLR=510kgCOD/m3/d,HRTaround1d
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Highload digesters
Attachedbiomasssystems
Fi d b d bi filt Fixedbedanaerobicfilters
Supportsareplasticmaterialswithhighsurfacetovolumeratio(around
100m
2
m
3
)withhighvoidindextoavoidclogging
Bothupordownstreamsetuparepossible
Limitedvelocity(<0,5m/h)
Suspendedbiomasscanalsodevelop( hybridsystems)
Backwashingisneededtolimitthebiofilm thickness
Slow startup (biofilm growth by slow growing bacteria) Slowstartup(biofilm growthbyslowgrowingbacteria)
Arelesssensitivetoloadvariations
Suitabletodealwithseasonalstreams
OLR=510kgCOD/m3/d)
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Highload digesters
Expanded/fluidizedbedsystems
Thesesystemslimitcloggingproblems
thataretypicalofanaerobicfilters
Granularsupportsareapplied,suchas:
Silica sand = 0 2 0 5 mm Silicasand=0,20,5mm,
Granularactivatedcarbon(=0,60,8
mm)
E d d l ( 0 4 0 5 ) Expandedclay(=0,40,5mm)
Theliquidfluxisrecycledtofixtheup
flowvelocitythatkeepsthegranularbed
expanded/fluidised
Parameter Expanded bed Fluidized bed p
Upflow velocity (m h
1
)
Silica sand
expanded clay
23

2024
510
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expanded clay
OLR (kgCOD m
3
d
1
) 1015
5 10
1530
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Highload digesters
Granularbiomasssystems
(UASB:Upflow AnaerobicSludgeBlanket )
Upflowsystemswhichiskeptexpandedbybiogas
production production
Thebottomzoneispackedwithgranules
Inthemiddlealessdensezoneisformed(blanket)
wheregasbubblesaredetachedfromgranules
surface,granulestendtosettle;
A triphase separation system cover the blanket Atri phaseseparationsystemcovertheblanket
wheregasiscollected,theliquidmovesuptothe
weir,granulesareseparatedandsettleback
towards the bottom bed towardsthebottombed.
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Highload digesters
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Highload digesters
UASBsystems
Theupflowvelocityisthekeyparametertofavorgranulesformation.It
varieswithin0.5and3m/h(increaseswithCODconcentrationand
degradability) microorganismsthatcanaggregatearefavored
Granulesareformedwithaveragediameter13mmandexcellent
settleabilityy
Veryhighbiomassconcentrationscanbeachieved(50100gSS/L)
Granulesareonionlikecomplexstructures:
intheouterlayers:hydrolyticandacidogenic microrganisms
Intheinnerlayers:acetogens andmethanogens
The start up is slow but can be shortened when pre formed granules are Thestartupisslowbutcanbeshortenedwhenpreformedgranulesare
inoculated
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Highload digesters
UASB:designcriteria
Typicallyappliedtohighlyconcentratedstreams(510gCOD/L)
OLR =1220 kgCOD/m3/d referred to the bed volume (with pre OLR=1220kgCOD/m3/dreferredtothebedvolume(withpre
acidifier)
HRT=612h
Bedheight(bed)=310m
Blanketaccountsfor1020%ofthebedvolumeandistobeadded
to the bed volume tothebedvolume
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Highload digesters
Otheralternatives
Upflow fixedbedanaerobicreactor
Including:
Atypicalgranulesbedinthe
bottompart
A filter bed on the top that also Afilterbedonthetopthatalso
favorgranulesseparation
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Highload digesters
Otheralternatives
Expandedgranularsludgebedreactor
Higherupflowvelocitiesareachieved
h k l l thankstoarecyclingline
Highervelocity(>8m/h)causesthe
granulesbedtoexpand g p
Bettercontactbetweensubstrateand
granules
D l Densergranules
Higher load can be achieved Higherloadcanbeachieved
(OLRupto50kgCOD/m3/d)
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Highload digesters
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Highload digesters
Comparisonamongtreatmentcapacities
Conventionalmixedreactor(CSTR) =1
Mixedreactorwithsettlingandrecycle =5
UASB or anaerobic filters =25 UASBoranaerobicfilters =25
EGSBRorIC =75
Typicalapplicationsofhighloadedsystems
Agrofoodindustry(starch,sugar,potato,yeast,pectin,citricacid,
cannery,dairy,fruit,vegetables,confectionary)
Beverage (beer, soft drinks, wine, fruit juice, coffe) Beverage(beer,softdrinks,wine,fruitjuice,coffe)
Alcoholdistilleries(Sugarcane,grape,grain,friut)
Pulpandpaper
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Miscellaneous(chemical,wastes,landfills,pharmaciutical)
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Digestion of OFMSW
Typicalplantlayout
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Digestion of OFMSW
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A. Dranco; B. Kompogass; C. Valorga
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Digestion of OFMSW
Design parameters Interval Design parameters Interval
Influent, (%TS) 25-40
OLR (kgVS/m3/d) 8-12
HRT (d) 25-30
Yields
Biogas yields (m3/t waste) 90-150 Biogas yields, (m3/t waste) 90 150
Specific biogas yield (m3/kgVS) 0.2-0.3
GPR, (m3/m3/d) 2-3
%CH4 50-60
VS reduction yield (%) 50-70
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