EGG-SHAPED D IGESTERS Are they all theyre

cracked up to be?
Doug Brinkman and Denton Voss

eveloped in Germany, egg-shaped digesters are reported to exhibit a number of advantages over conventional digesters, including minimum grit accumulation, reduced scum and foam formation, high mixing efficiency, low operating costs, and efficient land use. Now that a number of egg-shaped anaerobic digester facilities are operating in North America, researchers decided to survey operators to determine whether these digesters measure up to their claimed operating advantages. Researchers therefore prepared and distributed a survey questionnaire to 11 North American wastewater utilities that own and operate egg-shaped digesters: Appleton (Wis.) Wastewater Treatment Plant, Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant (Baltimore, Md.), Brawley (Calif.) Wastewater Treatment Plant Cumberland (Md.) Wastewater Treatment Plant, Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (Boston, Mass.), Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant (San Francisco, Calif.), Port Dalhousie (Ontario, Canada) Wastewater Treatment Plant, Port Dover (Ontario, Canada) Wastewater Treatment Plant, St. Charles (Ill.) Wastewater Treatment Plant, Terminal Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (Los Angeles, Calif.), and Theresa Street Wastewater Treatment Plant (Lincoln, Neb.). They requested information on size and configuration, mixing and heating systems, loading rates and performance, operating characteristics, and costs. They also obtained design information for the Los Angeles Hyperion wastewater treatment plant digesters, which were under construction when the survey was issued. The response rate was 100%. Survey data were compiled in a database and follow-up telephone calls were made, when appropriate, to complete the database as much as possible.

Cylinder or Egg?
For years, wastewater treatment plants have used anaerobic diges-

tion to stabilize biological solids because the process can cut solids volume in half and significantly reduce or eliminate pathogens and odors, creating biosolids that can be landapplied as a beneficial soil amendment. Digesters operated with a mean cell residence time, or sludge age, of at least 15 days at 35C (95F) typically will meet 40 CFR 503 requirements for Class B biosolids. The process also converts organic matter to usable methane gas. Conventional digesters. In North America, anaerobic digesters traditionally have been designed as concrete cylindrical tanks with flat or mildly sloping bottoms and fixed or floating steel or concrete covers. The tanks large surface area requires a large amount of well-distributed mixing energy to ensure the contents are mixed completely. Mixing systems used include confined and unconfined gas injection systems, gas bubble generators, pumped recirculation systems, and mechanical mixers. Solids typically are heated by hot water heat exchangers or steam injection systems. Advantages. The advantages of conventional digesters include a reactor shape that accommodates gas storage, reactor can be equipped with gasholder covers, a low profile (large radius to height ratio), the use of conventional construction techniques, and competitive construction costs. Disadvantages. The disadvantages of convetional digesters include inefficient mixing and dead spaces; poor mixing, which results in grit accumulation;

 large surface area results in scum and foam formation; and high operating costs. Because anaerobic bacteria which thrive under mesophilic conditions [35C (95F)] are sensitive to the slightest variation in environment, uniform conditions must be maintained to promote healthy biological growth and activity in the digester. Conventional digesters have difficulty maintaining such conditions because of their relatively flat profile and large surface area. They typically lack internal baffling, so mixing energy is concentrated near the mixer. Designers have attempted to improve digester mixing by installing multiple mixers and providing higher mixing energy per unit digester volume [mixing energies of 6.6 W/m3 (0.25 bhp/1000 ft3) or more are typical]. However, most designs have resulted in well-mixed conditions near the mixer but inadequate conditions outside the mixers area of influence. As a result of non-uniform mixing and long detention times, grit tends to settle and accumulate in the dead zones, reducing the digesters effective volume by as much as 25% and choking mixing units, recirculation pumps, and solids withdrawal piping. Non-uniform mixing also can lead to the formation of scum blankets up to several feet thick. Because of these problems, conventional digesters periodically must be removed from service for cleaning. Egg-shaped digesters. Egg-shaped digesters were developed in Germany to address many of the problems inherent in conventional digesters. Three German digester shape refinements have evolved: the German conventional digester, the true egg-shaped digester, and the spherecone digester all loosely referred to as eggshaped digesters (see Figure 1). Like its North American cousin, the main body of a German conventional digester is cylindrical but has a steeply-sloped bottom cone to concentrate grit for easier removal, a sharply tapered top section to concen-

trate scum for resubmergence or removal, and a vertical orientation that makes mixing more efficient. However, the connection between the cylinder and the steep cone can become fairly massive, particularly on larger vessels. The sharp transition also provides a place for grit to accumulate. Such problems led to the development of the true egg shape, which retained the benefits of its predecessor and eliminated the structural joint. The spherecone shape was a further attempt to retain the beneficial properties of the egg shape while reducing the overall height in locations where height was a sensitive issue.

Size and Configuration

The digesters surveyed ranged from 568 to 11 355 m3 (15000 to 3 million gal) and, except for Hyperions digesters, all were true egg shape. A spherecone design was selected for the Hyperion digesters to minimize height for aesthetic reasons. Two installations Baltimore, Md., with 11 355 m3 (3 million gal) vessels and Terminal Island, Calif., with 5300m3 (1.4 million-gal) vessels were constructed of prestressed concrete; all others were fabricated of welded steel. Small- to medium-sized welded steel digesters seemed to be more cost-competitive than those made of prestressed concrete, but prestressed concrete seemed to be cost-competitive in larger-volume digesters. With one exception, all digesters were insulated and covered with a protective coating or cladding. Types of insulation included fiberglass batt, spray-on urethane and rigid insulation.

Mixing and Heating Systems

Figure 1. German Digester Shapes

Conventional German digester

Egg-shaped digester

Respondents said they incorporated a variety of primary mixing systems, including gas ring (unconfined gas lances), pumped recirculation, mechanical draft tube, and jet pump draft tube mixers. Most respondents also operated a pumped recirculation system for secondary mixing and as part of a heat exchanger loop. The amount of mixing typically ranged from 7 to 14 volume turnovers per day. One respondent, Baltimore, Md., uses a mechanical draft tube system for primary mixing and a gas ring system for standby. Installed primary mixing energies for larger vessels typically ranged from 3.2 to 4.0 W/m3 (0.12 to 0.15 hp/1000 ft3). Installed mixing energy per unit volume was higher for gas ring mixing systems, but these systems generally are not operated continuously. Two respondents incorporated jet pump mixing to accomplish primary mixing and solids recirculation through the heat exchanger in one efficient operation. Spherecone digester In comparison, conventional digesters typically are designed with mixing energies in

the range of 5.3 to 10.6 W/m3 (0.20 to 0.40 hp/1000 ft3). Survey results show that mixing energies for egg-shaped digesters are typically only about 40% to 60% of those applied to conventional digesters. All surveyed digesters were heated and operated in the mesophilic temperature range [35C to 37C (95F to 98F)]. Several installations use direct steam injection for solids heating; all others use conventional heat exchangers.

stable digester performance and said they were very satisfied with the egg-shaped digesters overall operating aspects. Several respondents indicated that they operated both egg-shaped and conventional digesters and all agreed that the cleaning requirements for conventional digesters were more demanding. One respondent said egg-shaped digesters were easier to operate.

Loading Rates and Performance

Volatile solids loading rates for the surveyed installations ranged from 0.65 to 2.84 kg/m3/d (40 to 175 lb/d/1000 ft3). Some units were designed for future loading rates and currently are not operated at maximum design capacity. The loading rates seem to be similar to those typically applied to conventional digesters. Solids age ranged from 14 to 45 days, with a typical value of about 20 days. Volatile solids reduction ranged from 40% to 65%. Although not reported by all respondents, gas production ranged from 0.7 to 1.0 m3/kg (11 to 17 ft3/lb) of volatile solids removed. Pathogen density was measured by one respondent, Appleton, Wis., with a measured value of 7760 colony forming units (CFU) per gram of total solids after dewatering. This value falls well within the allowable limit of 2 million CFU/g total solids for Class B biosolids under 40 CFR 503. Based on these loading rates and performance values, egg-shaped digester performance seemed to be comparable to that of conventional digesters in terms of volatile solids reduction and gas production.

Operating Problems
Respondents also reported a number of operating problems, but the consensus among those who operated both egg-shaped and conventional digesters was that the egg-shaped digester was superior. Most of the problems described below can be addressed through proper design, materials selection, and operating flexibility. Plugged draw-off pipes. Several respondents reported problems with plugging of the digested solids drawoff (overflow) pipe. Typically, this is a vertical pipe equipped with a telescoping valve that extends from the bottom to the top of the digester. Under normal operations, solids are withdrawn from the vessel through this pipe by displacement as raw solids are fed into the digester. Heavier solids and stringy materials tend to settle to the bottom, where they are drawn into this pipe. The pipes effectiveness depends on its size, the rate and duration that solids are fed to the digester, and the resultant velocity within the pipe. If scour velocity cannot be reached and maintained long enough to clear grit during a single feeding, plugging can occur. In Germany, several digester facilities have reported this problem and installed shutoff valves and piping connections so they can backflush these lines. At Hyperion, the drawoff pipe was replaced with a pumped drawoff that will provide a positive means of removing any heavier material that may accumulate in the bottom cone. Fouled gas injectors. One respondent reported fouling of gas lances used for digester mixing. Designers of Baltimore, Md.s facility avoided this problem by installing bayonet-type valves that rod the gas ports when closed. This solution should be considered by anyone planning to install an egg-shaped digester with a gas-ring mixing system. Freezing. One northern respondent reported freezing problems with the overflow pipe and pressurevacuum relief valves. Also, the Brawley, Calif., digestion facility, with uninsulated vessels, had difficulty maintaining the steady-state temperature crucial to maintaining healthy anaerobic bacteria. Heat loss through the steel vessel exceeds the sys-

Operating Successes
Some of the most interesting information collected in the survey related to the operating characteristics of egg-shaped digesters. None of the respondents reported significant problems with scum or grit accumulation in the egg-shaped digesters. Three respondents San Francisco, Boston, and Los Angeles reported that they found very small amounts of grit when they cleaned the egg-shaped digesters. After 5 years of operation, San Francisco found less than 0.76 m3 (1 yd3) of grit accumulation. The reports were consistent with experiences in Germany, where egg-shaped digesters have been operated for many years without cleaning, and were in sharp contrast to the conventional digesters at the Hyperion plant, which experience up to 25% volume loss due to grit accumulation within the scheduled 3-year cleaning cycle. In general, respondents also reported very

tems boiler capacity in the winter, and summertime ment less susceptible to wear by abrasive matetemperatures in excess of 46C (115F) push rials. digester temperatures above the preferred 37C Foaming. Several respondents reported foam(98F) threshold. ing problems. One respondent experienced foamTo avoid such problems, utilities should coning when the gas mixing system was operated sider using insulation and supplemental heating. continuously and solved the problem by operBecause heat loss through a steel vessel can be ating the mixing system intermittently. Another ten times (or more) greater than through a conhad foaming problems when the digester was crete one, insulation is particularly important if operated at a high solids age. A third reported steel is the material of choice. Insulation requires foaming when ferric chloride was added to a some means of protection, such as metal wastewater treatment process upstream. cladding. The use of concrete may preclude the Extensive foaming previously was docuneed for insulation. mented at the Terminal Island Wastewater Heat exchanger plugging. One respondent Treatment Plant. In this case, foaming was reported heat exchanger plugging when solids believed to result from Nocardia-type filamentous were withdrawn from the lower portion of the organisms in the activated sludge process. vessel into the heat exchanger loop. To solve this Operators lowered the operating liquid level to problem, designers should use alternative drawallow foam buildup in the digester, and the scum off points for the heat exchanger piping loop breaker mixer and removal gate became unusor provide more rigorous mixing of the bottom able. To reduce foaming, they began operating cone to prevent solids stratification. Typically, the gas mixing system intermittently and using a gas or liquid injection nozzle is provided near pumped recirculation continuously. the tip of the bottom cone to allow periodic Foaming seems to be more prevalent in units resuspension of settled solids. equipped with gas mixing systems but can occur Corrosion. One respondent reported corroin any system because of the limited volume in the sion problems resulting from gas release near the top cone. Designers should consider alternative scum chute at the top of the vessel, which caused mixing systems and provide operating flexibility the scum gates electric actuator to deteriorate to help operators deal with potential foaming rapidly. The problem was solved by replacing the problems. Digesters also should be equipped with automatic actuator with a manual operator. foam suppressant spray systems and foam sepaIn Germany, scum removal gates commonly rators on digester gas drawoff lines. are open to the atmosphere, but such gates can lead to a dangerously combustible mixture of oxygen and methane, resulting in unsafe working conditions. Figure 2. Comparision of Egg-shaped and Conventional Digester Costs Also, some places, such as 10 California, do not allow methane release for air quality reasons. Therefore, designers should use 8 an internal scum chute or a reversible draft tube mixer to reintroduce scum into the mixed 6 contents for digestion. Equipment wear. Ironically, grit removal at one facility has 4 been so efficient that the respondent reported accelerated wear of 2 the solids recirculation pump and dewatering centrifuge components. Solids recirculation pump 0 wear can be minimized through 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000 200 400 600 Digester volume (1000 gal) proper placement of suction lines ESD capital $ ESD operating $ ESD total $ and maintenance of a separate Conv capital $ Conv operating $ Conv total $ Adj conv total @ 25% volume drawoff line for removing solids Present worth costs including digesters and support facilities ESD = egg-shaped digester. Costs trended to July 1997 Conv = conventional digester. (and grit). Designers also should consider using dewatering equipUnit cost ($/gal)

Costs
Construction cost was requested as part of the survey, and operating costs were estimated based on installed mixing energy. Present-worth annual costs were determined using a 3% interest rate over a 30-year period. Construction and presentworth annual costs then were expressed on a unit cost ($/gal) basis. Similar construction costs were collected for several conventional digester installations. Operating costs for conventional units were estimated based on mixing and annual cleaning costs. Present-worth unit costs for egg-shaped digesters and conventional digesters then were compared. Cost comparisons between egg-shaped and conventional digesters are not easy because of regional differences, site requirements, and the difficulty of obtaining complete and precise construction and operating costs. Researchers made every attempt to use construction cost information associated only with the digesters, based on engineers estimates or actual bids, but none of the projects reviewed were completely standalone systems so, at best, the costs provide only an order-of-magnitude comparison. Given such limitations, researchers determined that egg-shaped digesters cost about 30% to 60% more to construct than conventional digesters but cost about 40% to 50% less per year to operate. When they took into account the 25% reduction in effective capacity that conventional disgesters can experience as a result of solids accumulation, researchers found that the two systems had similar total present-worth costs (see Figure 2).

Good Eggs
Survey results show that North American eggshaped digesters perform as well as, or better than, conventional digesters in volatile solids reduction and gas production. They also greatly reduce grit and scum accumulation. Some operating difficulties do occur but can be overcome through proper materials selection and design. Wastewater utilities planning to add anaerobic digestion capacity seriously should consider eggshaped digesters because of their superior operating advantages. Doug Brinkman is a senior project manager in the Gaithersburg, Md., office, and Denton Voss is a senior project manager in the Los Angeles, Calif., office of Black & Veatch (Kansas City, Mo.).