DRANCO technology for

anaerobic digestion
of organic waste

Steven Verstichel, Murcia, 23 October 2015

TOPICS

OWS

Organic waste

Treatment options

Dry Anaerobic Digestion technology (DRANCO)

The future

2
COMPANY PROFILE

DRANCO technology – UG, 1983 (pilot in 1984)

Founded in 1988
Consolidated sales (2011-2013): 19 million €/yr
Export: 90%
70 employees

Head office: Gent, Belgium

Affiliates: OWS Inc., Dayton, Ohio, USA
DRANCO N.V.
BES GmbH, Germany
Partner: DJK International, Tokyo, Japan

3
COMPANY PROFILE

4
BIOGAS CONSULTING & SUPPORT

Expert in anaerobic digestion processes with 25+

years of experience

Covering all possible AD processes available

worldwide

Unique combination of both biological and

mechanical/technical knowledge

Independent advice and guidance at each level of

anaerobic digestion

5
BIOGAS CONSULTING & SUPPORT

Feasibility testing of AD processes

o Over the whole process chain: from
pretreatment over AD to post-treatment
o All necessary information to elaborate a full-
scale project

Continuous assistance for full-scale plants

o Start-up of AD plants
o Revamping of unstable AD plants
o Maintaining a stable AD process
o Increasing performance

6
ORGANIC WASTE
AND TREATMENT
OPTIONS

7
ORGANIC WASTE

Different sources
o Municipal waste (residual, mixed,
household organics, garden waste…)
o Waste water treatment (sludge)
o Agriculture (harvest residues, manure…)
o Food industry (left-overs, processing
waste, expired products…)
o Biofuel industry (stillage, glycerine,
soapstocks…)

How treat this waste?

8
LANDFILLING

Not sustainable
No recuperation of materials
No recuperation of nutrients
Sometimes recuperation of energy (landfill gas)
o Low efficiency (suboptimal conditions)
o Many leakages  CH4 emissions to air

 Discouraged in many countries (landfill ban / taxes)

9
INCINERATION

Not sustainable
Limited recuperation of materials (e.g. metals from MSW)
No recuperation of nutrients (ashes are landfilled / low plant availability of
ash nutrients
Recuperation of energy
o Low efficiency (high moisture content in most organic waste)

10
COMPOSTING

Sustainable
Stabilization of organic waste
Recuperation of materials (soil improver)
Recuperation of nutrients as compost
No recovery of energy

11
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Sustainable
Stabilization of organic waste
Recuperation of materials (soil improver)
Recuperation of nutrients as digestate or derived products (compost,
effluent, dewatered or dried cake…)
Recovery of energy (biogas)

12
ANAEROBIC
DIGESTION

13
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Organic matter

Microbial 35 °C - 55 °C
population X
BIOGAS CONSULTING & SUPPORT
O2

CH4 + CO2
+ humus + heat

BIOGAS = ENERGY

14
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Organic compounds

Proteins Carbohydrates Fats

1. Hydrolysis

Monomers/dimers acidogenic
bacteria
Amino acids Sugars Fatty acids pHopt = 5.2-7.0
pHinhibition < 4-5
2. Acidogenesis
inhibited by high [H2 ]
Propionate H2
Butyrate CO2
Succinate acetate
Alcohols
3. Acetogenesis acetogens
inhibited by high [H2 ]
H2
CO2
acetate
methanogens
4. Methanogenesis
pHopt = 6.8-8.2
CH4
CO2

15
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Several types
o Mesophilic – thermophilic
o Wet – dry digestion
o Single stage – multiple stage
o Monodigestion – co-digestion
o Batch – semi-continuous – continuous
o Hydraulic mixing – paddle mixers – propeller mixers – pneumatic
mixing – percolation – external mixing

16
DRANCO

17
DRANCO

18
DRANCO

Feeding tubes

Dosing screw

Gas storage

Feeding pump

Extraction pump
19
DRANCO

Advantages of the DRANCO-design

o No floating or sedimenation in the reactor
o Minimal heat requirements
o Intensive and reliable digestion
o Less intensive pretreatment (robust technology)
o High flexibility to input (TS content in reactor: 15-40%)
o No mixing equipment inside the digester
o Simple reactor design (conical outlet)
o Avoids or minimizes wastewater production
o Combination of plug flow (guaranteed residence time of 2 days) and
CSTR (intensive recirculation and external mixing)

20
DRANCO

21
DRANCO
1. BRECHT I (Belgium) 1992 22,000 sh tpy biowaste

2. SALZBURG (Austria) 1993 22,000 sh tpy biowaste

3. BASSUM (Germany) 1997 116,000 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

4. AARBERG (Switzerland) 1998 12,000 sh tpy Biowaste

5. KAISERSLAUTERN (Germany) 1999 27,600 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

6. VILLENEUVE (Switzerland) 1999 11,000 sh tpy Biowaste

7. BRECHT II (Belgium) 2000 55,000 sh tpy Biowaste

8. ROME (Italy) 2003 44,000 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

9. LEONBERG (Germany) 2004 33,000 sh tpy Biowaste

10. PUSAN (South Korea) 2005 77,200 sh tpy Biowaste

11. HILLE (Germany) 2005 110,200 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW + sludge

12. MÜNSTER (Germany) 2005 88,200 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

13. TERRASSA (Spain) 2006 27,600 sh tpy Biowaste

14. VITORIA (Spain) 2007 132,300 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

15. HOTAKA (Japan) 2008 3,300 sh tpy Biowaste

16. ALICANTE (Spain) 2008 198,400 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

17. TENNEVILLE (Belgium) 2008 43,000 sh tpy Biowaste

18. SEOUL (South Korea) 2009 33,000 sh tpy Biowaste

19. KEMPTEN (Germany) 2009 19,500 sh tpy Biowaste

20. LESZNO (Poland) 2010 55,000 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

21. HENGELO (The Netherlands) 2011 55,000 sh tpy Biowaste

22. MIRANDELA (Portugal) 2012 60,600 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

23. WIJSTER (The Netherlands) 2012 62,800 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

24. WIJSTER (The Netherlands) 2013 44,000 sh tpy Biowaste

25. BOURG-EN-BRESSE (France) 2015 81,000 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW + Green waste

26. CHAGNY (France) 2015 89,300 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW + Green waste

27. NORTH YORKSHIRE (UK) 2017 44,000 sh tpy Organic fraction of MSW

28. NÜSTEDT (Germany) 2006 22,000 sh tpy Energy crops (1 Mwel)22

29. LANGENDORF (Germany) 2010 Wet post-digester

 REFERENCE
PLANT BRECHT
(Belgium)

23
BRECHT: DIGESTION OF BIOWASTE

24
BRECHT II: DIGESTION OF BIOWASTE

Capacity:
o 50,000 tpy
Digester volume: 3,150 m³
Start-up: 2000
Biogas production: 125 Nm³/t
o 100% gas engines
o Biogas to 3 gas engines of 700 kWel each
Digestate:
o Total solids-content: 30%
o Dewatering & two weeks post-composting

25
BRECHT: DIGESTION OF BIOWASTE

26
BRECHT II: DIGESTION OF BIOWASTE
1 BIOWASTE

PUSHING FLOOR
Biogas 5
FLARE

COMMINUTING
DRUM
>40 GAS STORAGE GAS ENGINES Electricity
SHREDDER ROTATING SIEVE DRANCO
DIGESTER

3.150 m³
Steam STEAM Exhaust
COMMINUTING GENERATOR gases
4
DRUM

ROTATING SIEVE
<40mm MIXING UNIT
Digestate
6 VIBRATING
MIXING
PRESSUNIT MIXING UNIT
MAGNET DOSING UNIT FEEDING PUMP SIEVE
3
Rejects
9
Polymer PRESS WATER AEROBIC
7 MIXING UNIT
Rejects solution TANK MATURATION

CENTRIFUGE
MIXING UNIT Compost

8 10

Effluent to wastewater
treatment plant

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ton/year 50.000 5.000 45.000 1.000 6.600 39.400 3.000 15.200 2,500 17,500
TS (%) 40,0 45,0 39,5 --- 90,5 30.7 1,8 2,5 40,0 52,0

27
REFERENCE PLANT
HENGELO
(The Netherlands)

28
HENGELO: DIGESTION OF BIOWASTE

29
HENGELO: DIGESTION OF BIOWASTE

Capacity:
o 50,000 tpy
• 40,000 tpy biowaste
• 5,000 tpy overdue products
• 5,000 tpy liquid products

Digester volume: 3,450 m³

Start-up: 2011
Digestate is mixed with fraction 60-160 mm
 dewatering is avoided
Biogas production
o 100% gas engines (2 x 1.2 MW)
o Heat is used in district heating network

30
HENGELO: DIGESTION OF BIOWASTE

Existing aerobic
composting: 1,5 ha

Anaerobic
digestion: 0,17 ha

31
HENGELO: DIGESTION OF BIOWASTE

32
PARTIAL STREAM DIGESTION

Partial stream digestion concept (applied in Hengelo and other

DRANCO plants)
MSW

Metals Dry
RDF sorting
20 - 70 %

Anaerobic
CO2 Aerobic
digestion
Water composting

Water Drying, Curing

Biogas

Compost, incineration or landfill

33
FULL STREAM DIGESTION CONCEPT

Full stream digestion applied in many other AD facilities:

MSW

Metals
Dry sorting
RDF

Biogas Anaerobic digestion

Effluent Digestate dewatering

Water
CO2 Aerobic composting / drying

Compost, incineration or landfill

34
 PARTIAL VERSUS FULL STREAM DIGESTION

Advantages of partial stream

o Avoids costly dewatering step: investment - operation
o Avoids treatment of excess wastewater/effluent
o Economics

Disadvantages of partial stream

o Less energy recovery
o Longer aerobic treatment required

35
DRANCO FARM

36
DRANCO FARM

BIOGAS
USE
INTENSIVE
FERMENTATION DRANCO-
FARM
DIGESTER

ACTIVE
DIGESTATE DIGESTATE
INACTIVE
DIGESTATE
PUMP STORAGE
ENERGY MIXER
CROPS
PUMP

37
DRANCO FARM

Comparison of 3 energy crop digesters in Germany (after Braun et al.,

2009)
Installation 1 Installation 2 DRANCO-FARM Nüstedt
500 kWel 1 MWel*
Energy crops t/year 9 500 11 000 10 500 21 000
Manure t/year - 7 300 830 1 700
Total input t/year 9 500 18 300 11 330 22 700
Installed electrical power kWe 500 1000 500 1000
Reactor volume m³ 3000 3850 1200 1200
Temperature °C 49.5 39 55 55
Retention time days - 77 29 20
Loading rate kg VS/m³/d - 4.4 9.7 16-17
Biogas productivity Nm³/m³R/d 1.72 2.86 6.0 10.4
TS-content reactor % < 10 < 10 15-16 15-16

The data for 1 Mwe are not part of the study but were collected by OWS

38
DRANCO FARM

39
SORDISEP

40
SORDISEP

Making full-stream digestion of MSW competitive with

Mechanical-Biological Treatment by:
o Recovery of clean products
o Increasing recycle rate of material
o Minimisation of treatment or landfill costs of end fractions
o Production of compost according to standards

AN INNOVATIVE POST-TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY AFTER

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

41
SORDISEP
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE
100%

RDF (28%)
DRY SORTING METALS (5%)
REFUSE (3%)
64%

DIGESTION BIOGAS (12%)

52%
SAND (4%)
WET SEPARATION INERTS (8%)
LIGHT FRACTION (10%)

30% ORGANIC
FRACTION

AEROBIC EVAPORATION (5%)

STABILIZATION DRY MATTER LOSS (1%)

COMPOST (24%)

42
SORDISEP

43
SORDISEP

44
 FUTURE
EVOLUTIONS

45
FUTURE EVOLUTIONS

Integration with production of biomaterials/biotechnologies

o More efficient use of available biomass
o Combination of high-value materials and energy recovery
• 1st step: pretreatment of organic waste
• 2nd step: extraction of valuable bioproducts
• 3rd step: anaerobic digestion of remaining (spent) biomass
to produce energy and recover plant nutrients

46
FUTURE EVOLUTIONS

bioproducts

pretreatment biorefinery

organic waste

anaerobic
digestion

spent biomass compost

47
THANK YOU

OWS nv
Dok Noord 5
9000 Gent
BELGIUM
sv@ows.be

48