M Tech.

Seminar Report

On

Energy Recovery from Municipal Solid Waste by Anaerobic

Digestion

Submitted by

Pankaj Kumar Garg

Roll Number - 10318011

Under the guidance of

Professor Anurag Garg

Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Mumbai-400 076

4 November 2010
 Approval Sheet

This seminar report entitled “Energy Recovery from Municipal Solid Waste by Anaerobic
Digestion” prepared by Pankaj Kumar Garg (10318011) is hereby approved for submission
at Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering (CESE), IIT Bombay

November 4, 2010 Professor Anurag Garg

CESE, IIT Bombay (Guide)

ii
 Abstract

Municipal solid waste quantities are increasing globally due to rapid urbanizat ion in
concurrence with industrialization and changing life style. For instance, in India the per
capita waste generation rate is increasing at a rate of 1-1.33% annually. In India, Municipal
solid waste management major disposal method is landfilling. MSW composition in India
contains a large fraction of organic content and high moisture content. These values seem to
be more suitable for biological processes. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one of the potential
method for treating MSW having such characteristics. The process takes place in the absence
of oxygen and after the reaction biogas and stabilized material (dige state) is produced. The
generated biogas can be used for energy recovery purposes.

The report focuses on the fundamentals of AD technology and utilization routes for the
biogas for energy recovery purpose. Three case studies from other parts of the world a re also
being presented. Potential and current status of AD in India is also mentioned in the report.
Major limitations of the process are also given.

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 Table of Contents

Approval Sheet .........................................................................................................................ii

Abstract....................................................................................................................................iii

Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... iv

List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... vi

List of figures ..........................................................................................................................vii

Chapter 1

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1

1.1. Background ................................................................................................................. 1

1.2. Impacts on the environment of improper MSW disposal ........................................... 1

1.3. Municipal solid waste in India and its potential.......................................................... 2

1.4. Objective of the report................................................................................................. 4

1.5. Organisation of the report ........................................................................................... 4

Chapter 2

Anae robic Digestion ................................................................................................................. 5

2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 5

2.2. Process in anaerobic digestion .................................................................................... 6

2.3. Anaerobic digestion system ........................................................................................ 7

2.4. Pre and post treatment of MSW ................................................................................ 11

2.5. Some recent developments in AD technology .......................................................... 11

2.6. Energy Recovery options from biogas ...................................................................... 13

2.7. Status of anaerobic digestion in India ....................................................................... 15

2.8. Opportunities and Challenges ................................................................................... 20

Chapter 3

Case Studies ............................................................................................................................ 22

3.1. Rayong waste to energy plant, Thailand ................................................................... 22

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 3.2. Valorga plant at Tilburg ............................................................................................ 28

3.3. BTA plant at Newmarket, Ontario (Canada) ............................................................ 30

Summary................................................................................................................................. 33

References ............................................................................................................................... 34

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 List of Tables

Table 2.1 Typical Composition of Biogas ............................................................................... 13

Table 2.2 Existing BARC biogas plants in India ..................................................................... 20

Table 3.1 Technical design and installed capacity................................................................... 23

Table 3.2 Quality of Humus..................................................................................................... 26

Table 3.3 Water quality............................................................................................................ 26

Table 3.4 Effect on greenhouse gas reduction after installation of plant................................. 27

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 List of figures

Fig. 1.1 General approach for the treatment of heterogeneous MSW ....................................... 3

Fig. 2.1 Process flow of degradation of organic material through anaerobic digestion ............ 5

Fig. 2.2 Material and energy flow............................................................................................ 14

Fig. 2.3 Schematic Diagram of TEAM digester with six acidification reactors and a UASB
unit ........................................................................................................................................... 16

Fig. 2.4 Schematic diagram of SSB process ............................................................................ 18

Fig. 2.5 Schematic description of the small ARTI compact biogas plant................................ 18

Fig. 2.6 Schematic description of the BARC biogas plant ...................................................... 19

Fig. 3.1 Various treatment process employed in Rayong waste to energy plant ..................... 25

Fig. 3.2 Tilburg Plant Mass Balance........................................................................................ 29

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 Chapter 1
Introduction

1.1. Background
Rapid urbanization in concurrence with industrialization and changing lifestyle has led to
increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) at an alarming rate and it has become a global
concern. MSW is any discarded material generated from houses, commercial places,
institutions etc. located in a city or town. It is a heterogeneous mixture of materials (Braber,
1995). This waste contains:

1) Digestible fraction: Biogenic organic matter which is readily degradable i.e. kitchen
wastes, grass cuttings

2) Combustible fraction: Slowly digestible and indigestible organic matter i.e. wood, paper,
cardboard, plastics and other synthetics

3) Inert fraction: Stones, sand, glass, metals, bones and other inorganic material

According to a recent report the total amount of MSW generated globally in 2006 was
estimated to be 2.02 billion tonnes representing a 7% annual increase since 2003 (UNEP,
2009). It will further increase to 37.3% from 2007 to 2011 showing 8% annual increase. It is
also common fact that 30-60% of all the urban solid waste in developing countries remains
uncollected and less than 50% of the population is served (World Bank, 2007). As much as
80% of the collection and transport equipment are either out of service or under repair. In
most of the developing countries, open dumping and burning is a common MSW disposal
method. Developing countries face uphill challenges for proper management of their waste
with most efforts being made to reduce the final volumes and to generate sufficient funds for
waste management (UNEP, 2009). Population explosion and other activities resulted into
increase in land use and use of valuable space for disposing the waste make the problem more
pronounced. There is urgent need for a feasible tec hnology to divert MSW quantities from
landfill sites.

1.2. Impacts on the environment of improper MSW disposal

Significant amount of environmental damage is caused due to unsafe disposal of MSW. The
major pollution problems are related to air, water and soil contamination.

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Toxic contaminants are released in the air due to incineration of MSW. These emissions
include carcinogenic, endocrine disrupting organic chemicals and heavy metals such as
arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium. Approximately 22% of the airborne dioxins
that enter the Great Lakes come from municipal waste incinerators (Jackson, 1999).

As the organic wastes in solid waste landfills decompose, methane (CH4 ) gas starts
generating. CH4 is a potent greenhouse gas, contributing to climate change. On a per kilo
tonne basis, CH4 is approximately twenty-one times more potent than carbon dioxide as a
greenhouse gas. Almost three quarters of this methane is released into the air, despite the
presence of methane capturing systems at landfills (Jackson, 1999).

Leachate produced due to percolation of rainwater and liquids already in the waste can be
released to either ground or surface waters. Toxic air contaminants released by incinerators
and landfills may eventually fall to the ground with rain drops make the surface water
polluted (Jackson, 1999). An environmentally acceptable waste management practice is
essential if damaging consequences are to be avoided.

1.3. Municipal solid waste in India and its potential

India is a heavily populated country in the world after china with population 1.15 billion (July
2010 est.) and total area of 3.28 million sq km (URL1). It is reported that per capita waste
generation ranges between 0.2 kg and 0.6 kg per day in the Indian cities (Asnani, 2006). The
per capita waste generation rates in India are lower than the low- income countries in other
parts of the world and much lower compared to developed countries. However, around 90
million tonne of waste is generated in 2008 (Sharholy et al., 2008).

The per capita generation rate is estimated to increase at a rate of 1–1.33% annually. The
MSW amount is expected to increase significantly as the country strives to attain an
industrialized nation status till 2020 (Sharholy et al., 2008). The Energy Resources Institute
(TERI) has estimated that waste generation will exceed 260 million tones per year by the year
2047—more than five times waste generated in 1995 (Zia et al., 2002). At present, more than
90% waste is disposed in landfills/open dumping grounds (Sharholy et al., 2008).

In India, the composition and hazardous nature significantly differs from MSW in the western
countries. The composition of MSW contains large organic fraction (40–60%), ash and fine
earth (30–40%) and small fraction of combustible fraction i.e. paper (3–6%) and plastic
(Sharholy et al., 2008). It is reported that the C/N ratio ranges between 20 and 30, and the

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calorific value ranges between 800 and 1000 kcal/kg (Rao et al., 2010 and Sharholy et al.,
2008). Energy consumption in the developed countries has been more or less stabilized
whereas in developing countries like India it is increasing at a high rate. There are various
technological options available for processing MSW like incineration, gasification, pyrolysis,
composting and anaerobic digestion. These options can also be used in combination to
maximize recycling and resource recovery. A typical approach for treating high moisturized
biodegradable fraction in MSW is shown in Fig. 1.1.

Municipal solid waste

Scavengers/waste
pickers
Manual/ partial mechanized segregation

High moisturized biodegradable fraction Inert/ other remains

Refused
Recyclables Composting Anaerobic digestion
derived fuels

Compost for Agriculture Energy Recovery

and/ Landfill cover soil

Landfill gas recovery

Landfill

Fig. 1.1 General approach for the treatment of heterogeneous MSW (Visvanathan et al.,
2005)

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In India, Central pollution control board (CPCB) has given Municipal solid wastes
(Management & Handling) Rules, 2000 which is applicable to every municipality responsible
for collection, segregation, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of MSW (CPCB,
2000). The rule consists of four schedules. Schedule I give implementation schedules and
deadlines for submission of proposal to set up waste processing and disposing facilities or
monitoring its performance. Schedule II is related to the management of municipal solid
waste. It gives compliance criteria from collection to disposal of MSW. Schedule III gives
specification for landfill sites as it give guidelines for site selection, facilities at site, and
specifications for land filling, desirable limits for water quality and acceptable level for air
quality. Schedule IV mentions standards for composting, treated leachates and incineration. It
sets standards for disposal of treated leachate, specification for compost quality and emission
standards for incineration.

In the view of composition in India, the government is looking forward to biomethanation

technology (BT) as a secondary source of energy by utilizing industrial, agricultural and
municipal wastes. In India, energy demand from various sectors has risen significantly and
the energy supply with other sources(including renewable and non-renewable energy source)
is not in the pace with the demand which resulted in a deficit of 11,436 MW which is
equivalent to 12.6% of peak demand in 2006 (Rao et al., 2010). The total installed capacity of
bio-energy generation from solid biomass and waste to energy was about 1227 MW till 2007
against a potential of 25,700 MW. The conversion of biomass into energy also results in
significant reduction in volume. The digested sludge can be used as fertilizer for the
agricultural field.

1.4. Objective of the report

The objective of the report is to compile recent information on the options for energy
recovery from the anaerobic digestion of MSW.
1.5. Organisation of the report
This report consists of four chapters. In the first chapter MSW generation and its impact are
mentioned. The second chapter provides information on the various processes involved in
AD and energy recovery potential of biogas (one of the outputs). In third chapter case studies
from different parts of the world are presented. The information present in previous chapters
summarized in chapter 4. Finally reference list is given in which all the references used to
make this report are listed.

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 Chapter 2
Anaerobic Digestion

2.1. Introduction
Anaerobic digestion also referred as biomethanation is a multi stage biological process in
which the organic matter decomposes by the action of microorganisms in the oxygen free
environment.

In anaerobic digestion (AD), the mechanism of degradation of organic matter occurs due to
bacterial metabolism. It is a fermentative process in which the organic matter gets
transformed into biogas. The major reactions of the anaerobic digestion are shown in the
Fig. 2.1. Unlike aerobic and anoxic digestion there is no electron transfer in the anaerobic
digestion (no oxidation and reduction). Substrate phosphorylation occurs in the process and
organic matter itself acts as an electron donor and acceptor.

Fig. 2.1 Process flow of degradation of organic material through anaerobic digestion (Li et
al., 2010)

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2.2. Process in anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion of organic fraction involves combined action of four types of anaerobic
microorganisms: hydrolytic, fermentative, acetogenic and methanogenic bacteria
(Veeken and Hamelers, 1999).Organic matter from MSW consist mainly protein,
carbohydrate and lipids. These complex molecules are very large for a cell to ingest and to
utilize for metabolism. Hence these macromolecules are broken into smaller fractions after
adding a water molecule by hydrolytic bacteria. In hydrolytic phase, hydrolytic bacteria
reduce complex particulate compounds to soluble monomeric or dimeric. Conversion
efficiency of the feedstock is determined by hydrolysis which serves as the rate limiting step.
Cellulose found in many municipal wastes, is an example of insoluble compounds that
undergoes enzymatic hydrolysis. Cellulolytic bacteria such as Cellulomonas, Clostridium,
Bacillus, Thermomonospora, Ruminococ-cus, Baceriodes, Erwinia, Acetovibrio,
Microbispora, and Streptomyces can produce cellulases that hydrolyze cellulolytic biomass
(Li et al., 2010).

Fermentative bacteria use the dissolved organic matter formed earlier and converts this into
volatile fatty acids, alcohols, lactic acid and mineral compounds. Most of the fermentative
bacteria are obligate anaerobes though a few are facultative too. The facultative bacteria plays
a very important role by consuming the oxygen present and making the environment
anaerobic.

The fatty acids formed by fermentative bacteria are degraded to acetate and propionate in
anaerobic β oxidation process. It is a cyclic process which releases one acetate unit per cycle
and hydrogen. The end products can be acetate (even number of carbon) or acetate and
propionate (odd number of carbon). In this process, proton is mainly electron acceptor and H2
is released. Since the reaction is thermodynamically endergonic so the partial pressure of H2
should be kept low in the system by making contact between acetogenic and methanogenic
bacteria for the reaction to move in forward direction.
H2 +CO2 CH4
If methanogenic bacteria are not active, then anaerobic β oxidation will not take place and
long chain fatty acids will go on accumulating and thereby pH of the system will reduces.
Methanogenic bacteria are active near neutral pH. In such case, the methanogenic bacteria
will not get conducive environment and hence the system can fail.

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The product of acetogenesis is converted into final product for methane generation. There are
many bacteria which can convert CO 2 and H2 to methane but only a limited number of
microorganisms can convert acetate to methane. 70% of the total methane is formed by
acetate and only 30% is formed by CO 2 and H2 .
The final step in AD is of two types: hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis and acetotrophic
methanogenesis. In acetotrophic methanogenesis, acetate breaks down into CH4 and
CO2 whereas in hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, H2 and CO 2 combines to form methane
and water molecule.
CH3 COOH CH4 + CO2
4H2 +CO 2 CH4 + 2H2O

2.3. Anaerobic digestion system

Different designs and configuration have been developed throughout the world to suit
different solid concentrations and microbial activity. The system used to treat MSW
anaerobically can be classified into following categories:
1) Continuos digestion system
a) Single stage digestion system
b) Multi stage digestion system
2) Batch digestion system
a) Single stage batch digestion system
b) Hybrid batch-UASB digestion system
c) Sequential batch digestion system

These categories can be classified further, based on the total solids (TS) content of the slurry
in the digester. The single stage and the multi stage system can be further categorized as
single stage low solids (SSLS), single stage high solids (SSHS), multi stage low solids
(MSLS) and multi stage high solids (MSHS).

2.3.1. Single stage digestion system

Single stage process have one reactor for both acidogenic and methanogenic phase. These can
be low solids (LS) or high solid (HS) depending on total solids (TS) content in a reactor. This
process can further be classified into two process viz. SSLS and SSHS.

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Single stage low solids (SSLS) digestion system

This process has been used worldwide for several decades because of its simplicity. The
concentration of solids is kept below 10% (MOUD, 2000) in this process. Continuously
stirred tank reactor (CSTR) is predominantly used to ensure that digestate is continuously and
completely mixed.

Generally a retention time of 14-28 days is provided depending on feedstock and operating
temperature. Some examples of this kind of process are: the Wassa process in Finland, the
EcoTec in Germany, and the SOLCON process at the Disney Resort Complex, Florida.

Major technical problems in this process which results in lower biogas yield are removal of
15-20% volatile solid (VS) in the pre-treatment, periodic removal of the floating scum from
the top layer and heavier fraction from the bottom layer and short-circuiting in the reactor.
Formation of heavy fraction layer at the bottom and floating scum at the top brings non-
homogeneity in the reacting mass and can also damage propellers.

For the solids content to be maintained below 15%, large volume of water is added. This
results in the requirement of large reactor volumes and higher investment costs. Large
amount of energy is also needed. Apart from this, more energy and equipment are required
for de-watering the effluent stream.

Single stage high solids (SSHS) digestion system

This process came into picture after several research studies (Verma, 2002) and it was
established that undiluted waste could give higher biogas yield. TS concentration in this
process is kept between 16-40%. Contrary to the complete mixing prevailing in SSLS, the
SSHS are plug- flow reactors hence require no mechanical device within the reactor. Some of
the examples of SSHS are the DRANCO, Kompogas, and Valorga proces ses. All three
processes consist of a single stage thermophilic reactor (mesophilic in some Valorga plants)
with retention time of 14-20 days.

In the DRANCO reactor, the feed is introduced from the top and digested matter is extracted
from the bottom. There is no mixing apart from that occurring due to downward plug- flow of
the waste. A part of the extracted matter is reintroduced with the new feed while the rest is
de-watered to produce the compost like product.

The Kompogas process works on similar concept, except the movement takes place in plug
flow mode in a horizontally disposed cylindrical reactor. Mixing is accomplished by the use
8
of an agitator. The process maintains the solids concentration of about 23 % TS. At TS
content lower than 23%, the heavy fraction such as sand and glass can sink and accumulate at
the bottom. Higher TS concentrations may impede the flow of materials.

In the Valorga process, the reactor is a vertical cylindrical reactor divided by a partial vertical
wall in the centre. The feed enters through an inlet near the bottom of the reactor and slowly
moves around the vertical plate until it is discharged through an outlet that is located
diametrically opposite to the inlet. Re-circulated biogas is injected through a network of
injectors at the bottom of the reactor and the rising bubble results in pneumatic mixing of the
slurry. The injectors require regular maintenance, since these are prone to clogging.

The high solids content in these systems requires different handling, mixing and pre-
treatment than those used in the low solids processes. The equipment needed to handle and
transport high solid slurries are more robust and expensive than that required for low solids
system. The high solids systems can handle impurities such as stones, glass or wood that
needs not to be removed as in SSLS.

SSHS processes exhibit higher organic loading rate (OLR), as compared to SSLS. The biogas
yield is usually high in SSHS as heavy fractions or the scum layer is not removed during the
digestion. HS process consumes one tenth of the fresh water used in LS process on per ton
MSW basis (Verma, 2002). Consequently, the volume of wastewater to be discharged is
several- fold less for HS reactors.

2.3.2. Multi-stage digestion system

The multistage AD process was introduced to improve the digestate by separating

methanogenesis stage from hydrolysis, acidogenesis and acetogeneis stages so that each
reaction could be operated close to optimum. Typically two reactors are used, the first for
hydrolysis/liquefaction-acetogenesis and the second for methanogenesis. This process can
further be classified as multi-stage low solids (MMLS) and multi-stage high-solids (MMHS).

Multi-Stage Low Solids (MLSS) digestion system

Some of the MSLS facilities are the Pacques process (Netherlands), the BTA process
(Germany, Canada) and the Biocomp process (Germany). Pacques process uses two reactors
in mesophilic temperature range. The source separated MSW is fed in the first reactor where
hydrolysis occurs. Solids concentration in this reactor is kept around 10% and mixing is done

9
by gas injection. The digestate from the first reactor is de-watered, and the liquid is fed to an
upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor in which methanogenesis occurs. The
fraction of the digestate from the hydrolysis reactor is re-circulated with the incoming feed to
the first reactor for inoculation. The remaining fraction is used for digestate production. In the
BTA process, the solid content is also maintained at 10% and the reactors are also operated at
mesophilic temperatures. It is very similar to the Pacques process except that the
methanogenic reactor is designed with attached growth (―fixed film reaction‖) to ensure
biomass retention. The effluent from the hydrolysis reactor is de-watered and the liquor is fed
to methanogenic reactor. This reactor receives only the liquid fraction from hydrolysis reactor
to avoid clogging of the attached growth media. Sometimes, the effluent from the
methanogenic reactor is pumped to the hydrolysis reactor to maintain the pH in the range of
6-7. MSLS process faces similar technical problem as stated for SSLS reactors, such as short-
circuiting, foaming, formation of layers of different densities, expensive pre-treatment. In
addition, the MSLS processes are technically more complex and thus require a higher capital
investment.

Multi -stage high solids (MSHS) digestion system

This process is somewhat similar to MSLS process as it consists of a liquefaction/hydrolysis

reactor followed by a methanogenic UASB reactor with attached growth. However hydrolysis
is carried out under high solids and microaerophilic conditions (where limited amount of
oxygen is supplied in anaerobic zone). The aeration in the first stage and the attached growth
reaction in the second stage are provided for complete digestion at retention time of only
seven days.

2.3.3. Batch Reactor

Batch reactors are loaded with feedstock, subjected to reaction, with no in or out flow during
the reaction. The digested material is then discharged and loaded with a new batch. There are
three types of batch systems: single stage batch system, sequential batch system and a hybrid
batch UASB reactor.
The single-stage batch system involves re-circulation of leachate from the top of the same
reactor. The sequential batch process comprises two or more reactors. The leachate from the
first reactor (containing a high level of organic acids) is re-circulated to the second reactor in
which methanogenesis occurs. The leachate from the methanogenic reactor, containing little
or no acid, is combined with pH buffering agents and re-circulated to the first reactor. This
10
guarantees inoculation between the two reactors. The third type of batch process is the hybrid
batch-UASB process, which is very similar to the multi-stage process with two reactors. The
first reactor is simple batch reactor and the second methanogenic reactor is an UASB reactor.
Batch processes offer the advantages of being technically simple, inexpensive and robust.

2.4. Pre and post treatment of MSW

Some kind of treatment methods may be required before and after AD process depending
upon the nature of waste. The methods are explained briefly below:
Pre-treatment
Before anaerobic digestion of organic fraction, it is necessary to pre-treat the waste order to
improve digestibility and to ensure end products quality. In this step, inert and non-
biodegradable materials can be removed. During pre-treatment feedstock can be upgraded for
maintaining C/N ratio and homogenization of waste for digestion. As a general rule, handling
in biogas plant is far easier for source separated MSW. Pre-treatment commonly involves two
steps: sorting and particle size reduction.

Post-Treatment
After anaerobic digestion process, the digested material may require further processing to
produce a refined product with optimum moisture content, particle size and physical structure
(MOUD, 2000). The wet MSW can be spread directly in the farmlands as slurry or it can be
separated in solid or liquid fractions. The solid fraction can be matured to produce compost
like material for about 2-4 weeks and the liquid fraction can be spread on farmland or treated
in wastewater plants. In case of dry MSW digestion process, the digested material is usually
dewatered and matured to compost. The liquid effluent can be used for mixing and
inoculation of the incoming MSW, but there will usually be effluent in excess that has to be
spread on farmland or purified in a wastewater plant to achieve the specified standard for
final disposal.

2.5. Some recent developments in AD technology

González et al. (2010) analysed the codigestion of source collected organic fraction of
municipal solid waste (SC-OFMSW) and fat, oil grease waste from sewage treatment plant
(STP-FOGW). It was reported that codigestion of above waste may enhance valorisation of
STP-FOGW and led to higher biogas yield throughout the anaerobic digestion process.
Mesophilic (37°C) codigestion of STP-FOGW with SC-OFMSW having 15% volatile solids
(VS) was carried out in a 5 L lab scale reactor which showed improvement both in terms of
11
biogas production (72% higher) and methane yield (46%) as compared to anaerobic treatment
of SC-OFMSW. VS and total solids (TS) reduction percentage were stable and was around
65% and 57%, respectively, methane content in biogas was found to be 63%. Anaerobic co
digestion of STP-FOGW and SC-OFMSW is an environmental friendly approach to manage
STP-FOGW and for getting better biogas yield.

Forster-Carneiro et al. (2008) analysed the influence of different type of organic fraction on
AD process under thermophilic conditions (55°C). Food waste (FW), organic fraction of
municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and shredded OFMSW (SH-OFMSW) were used as organic
fractions. All digesters were operated in dry conditions (20% total solids content) and were
inoculated with 30% (in volume) of mesophilic digested sludge. Experimental results showed
difference in the biodegradability and biogas production. After 90 days biodegradation of FW
showed smallest waste biodegradation with VS removal, 32.4% and methane yield of 0.18 L
CH4 /g VS. But SH-OFMSW showed higher waste biodegradation with VS removal 73.7%
and lesser methane yield of 0.05 L CH4 /g VS. Finally, OFMSW showed the highest VS
removal of 79.5% with a methane yield of 0.08 L CH4 /g VS. Hence, the nature of organic
substrate is an important factor affecting the biodegradation process and methane yield.

Erden and Filibeli (2010) assessed the effect of Fenton process on anaerobic sludge
bioprocessing. During experimentation the ratio of 0.067 g Fe (II) per gram H2 O2 , and 60 g
H2 O 2 /kg dried solids (DS) were applied to biological sludge before anaerobic sludge
digestion. In this study, single stage anaerobic digestion under thermophilic conditions was
compared with two-stage anaerobic digestion (mesophilic digestion prior to thermophilic
digestion). Results showed that the most effective sludge solubilization was observed in the
reactor operated at thermophilic conditions which was fed with fenton processed sludge.
Fenton pre-treatment increased the methane production rates for both single stage
thermophilic digestion and two-stage digestion. Two-stage digestion provides more methane
production compared to the single stage thermophilic digestion. In two stage process total
methane productions with fenton processed sludge was 1.3 times higher than total methane
production in control reactors at the 30th day of operation.

Park et al. (2005) has compared the effects of thermochemical and biological hydrolysis used
as pre-treatment processes for increasing the efficiency of anaerobic digestion of waste
activated sludge. Two different three stage digestion systems showed improved performance,
although thermochemical hydrolysis showed better results than biological hydrolysis in a
12
bench scale operation. After anaerobic digestion with the rmochemical pre-treatment, the total
chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) reduced by 88.9%, 77.5% of volatile solids were removed,
with biogas yield was 0.52 m3 /kg having methane content of 79.5%.

2.6. Energy Recovery options from biogas

Biogas generated by digesting organic fraction of MSW (OFMSW) can be utilized for
combined heat and power (CHP) production or for transport fuel production as CH4 enriched
biogas (Murphy, 2004). Typical composition of biogas is shown in Table 2.1. The potential
biochemical methane production yield from MSW and water can be as 0.2 m3 / kg of VS
added (Elango et al., 2007). The energy content of typical biogas is between 6.0-6.5 KW/m3
which is equivalent to 0.6 to 0.65 L oil/m3 biogas. The ignition temperature is 650-750 °C
with critical pressure of 75-89 bars. Normal density is 1.2 kg/ m3 (Rao et al., 2010). Fig. 2.2
shows various outputs from a biogas generation plant and options for their utilization

Table 2.1 Typical Composition of Biogas (Igoni et al., 2008)

Constituent Composition

Methane(CH4 ) 55-75%

Carbon dioxide(CO 2 ) 30-45%

Hydrogen Sulphide(H2 S) 1-2%

Nitrogen(N 2 ) 0-1%

Hydrogen(H2 ) 0-1%

Carbon monoxide(CO) Traces

Oxygen (O 2 ) Traces

There are several ways by which biogas can generate electricity and heat

Combined heat and power generation

Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of two or more forms of energy from a single
fuel source. Combined heat and power (CHP) systems use both the power producing ability
of a fuel and the inevitable waste heat. Some CHP systems aim to produce heat at first place
13
 Fig. 2.2 Material and energy flow (Pöschl et al., 2010)

1414
rather than electrical power (bottoming cycle). Other CHP systems produce primarily
electrical power and the waste heat is only used to heat process water (topping cycle). A
biogas engine will generate electricity and heat in which the electricity can be fed into the
electricity grid, while the heat may be consumed via district heating networks with typical
transmission losses. Part of the generated heat can be used in the AD process control, and for
sterilization of feedstock.

Fuel Cell Technology

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that generates electricity by chemical reaction. Heat and
electricity is produced when hydrogen (supplied to fuel cell) reacts with oxygen (from air). A
fuel reformer attached to the fuel cell can create hydrogen from biogas by an electrochemical
process. Utilization of biogas for high temperature fuel cell can enhance electricity generation
with reduction in green house gases and hazardous. This technology can achieve electricity
efficiency of 50-60% at high temperature of 450 °C (Trogish et al., 2005).

Apart from this, stirling engine, organic rankine cycle (ORC) and microturbine are other
methods that can be used for producing electricity and heat from biogas. Energy demand for
heating the digesters typically ranges between 20% and 25% of total heat component from
CHP generation. Hence some amount of total heat generated can be used for plant processes
and rest can be used for external use.

2.7. Status of anaerobic digestion in India

Anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is commonly and
successfully used in industrial countries. In some developing countries, such as China, India
and Nepal this process is exclusively used in rural areas mainly for the treatment o f animal
feces (Müller, 2007).

Rao et al. (2010) reported that, in India, the compostable matter in the MSW is ranging from
30.84% in very big cities (population > 5 million) to 56.57% in big cities (population 2.0 to
5.0 million). On average, the compostable matter percentage is 42.2% which is considered as
a good amount for anaerobic digestion. C/N ratio varies from 21.13 to 30.94 whereas the
calorific values are varying from 800.70 to 1009.89 Kcal/kg. Studies had been carried on
anaerobic digestion of MSW and it was found that biogas could be generated at a rate of
95m3 /t of solid waste. The biogas potential from MSW is estimated as 9.23 Mm3 /day in India.

15
In the recent decade, as a result of Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES)
programs, there has been much interest in generating power through biomethanation of
MSW. Various institutions and NGO‘s have been involved in the development of
technologies. The development was more focused on low-tech digesters applicable for local
conditions in India (Müller, 2007).There are various low tech anaerobic digesters developed
and implemented in India on pilot scale level. Some of these are mentioned below:

TERI enhanced acidification and methanation (TEAM) digester (Mülle r, 2007)

The Energy and Resource institute (TERI), New Delhi has developed a high-rate digester for
biomethanation of fibrous and semi-solid organic wastes. TERI enhanced acidification and
methanation (TEAM) process is primarily a two-phase process. The first phase, regarded as
the acidification phase, consists of extracting leachate (COD ≈ 15,000-20,000 mg/L) from the
solid waste present in acidification reactor. In the second phase, known as the methanation
phase, biogas is generated by treating the leachate in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket
(UASB) reactor. The phase separation provides suitable environment to the microorganisms
in acidification and methanation stages, thus the efficiency of digestion is enhanced. The
schematic diagram of TEAM digester is shown in Fig. 2.3.
Before the process gets started, the organic solid waste is shredded into small pieces and fed
into acidification reactor for 6 days. The waste bed is kept submerged in water.

Fig. 2.3 Schematic Diagram of TEAM digester with six acidification reactors and a UASB
unit (Müller, 2007)
16
Organic acids formed as a result of biodegradation leads to formation of leachate. This
leachate is periodically recirculated through the bed at a predetermined fixed rate to maintain
uniform concentration of microorganisms and nutrients in the bed and to wash off organic
acids formed as a result of further bed degradation. Once COD of the leachate is increased, it
is collected in the leachate collection tank.

Biogas is formed in the methanation phase and is collected. The residue inside the
acidification reactor is dried under the sun and used as manure.

TEAM biogas plant has been installed in TERI campus and at other corporate units like
NTPC India (for household waste management) and Sona Koyo Steering Ltd., Haryana (for
canteen waste management).

Solid-state stratified bed (SSB) reactor (Müller, 2007)

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies has developed a digestion reactor based on solid
stratified bed (SSB) process. In this reactor, an attempt is made to obviate the need for pre-
processing of MSW biomass components for small scale anaerobic digestion process. The
SSB process is divided into two steps based on the key principle that digested biomass itself
can be used as an immobilized bio- film reactor.

Acidogenesis and methanogenesis zones are formed in one container instead of two separate
containers. A small quantity of liquid is recycled daily (manually) to keep the freshly fed
upper layers in acidogenetic stages and transferring VFA produced to methanogens colonized
old biomass in the lower layers.

A bioreactor based on this process is installed and commissioned in February 2005 at

Transport House, Karnataka state road transport corporation (KSRTC) for managing canteen
waste. The plant is designed to handle to 25 kg of canteen waste along with the leaf litter. A
floating dome gasholder is provided at the top for the collection of the biogas.

The feedstock is fed into the plant without crushing or any other pre-processing. Methane
producing bacteria (methanogens) are trapped on partially digested leafy biomass. About 1.5
cubic meters of biogas is produced every day. On the basis of dry matter fed to the
bioreactors, every kilo fed produces between 50 and 80 litres of biogas. At present, the gas is
being used to keep the cooked food warm. Fig. 2.4 shows the schematic diagram of SSB
reactor.

17
 Fig. 2.4 Schematic diagram of SSB process (Müller, 2007)

Compact Biogas plant (Müller, 2007)

Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI), Maharashtra has developed a compact

biogas plant to be used by urban households. Currently about 2500 plants are in use – both in
urban and rural areas in Maharashtra. The standard plant uses two tanks made from high-
density polythene, with volumes of typically 0.75 m3 and 1 m3 . The smaller tank is the gas
holder and is inverted over the larger one which holds the decomposing biomass. An inlet is
provided for adding feedstock, and an overflow for removing the digested residue.

Fig. 2.5 Schematic description of the small ARTI compact biogas plant (Müller, 2007)

18
The digestate is mixed with the feedstock and recycled into the plant. A pipe takes the biogas
to the kitchen, where it is used with a biogas stove. The gas holder gradually rises as gas is
produced and sinks down again as the gas is used for cooking. Gas pressure can be increased
by increasing weight on gas holder.

Bhabha atomic research centre (BARC) biogas plant (Müller, 2007)

BARC has developed a biogas plant which is based on a floating dome design. It has two
stage continuous wet systems. The waste is hydrolyzed in the first stage and the biogas is
produced in second stage. The reactor is constructed underground to reduce building cost and
reactor contents flow under gravity by volume displacement.

The biogas plant runs on kitchen waste that is pre-treated (mixed with hot water, heated by
solar heating and pulped) and discontinuously fed to the thermophilic aerobic pre-digester.
The effluent from the pre-digester is fed to the methane reactor where biogas is produced.
The effluent from the methane reactor is collected in open pits that are provided with sand
filters. Once the pit is filled up, the manure is taken out and spread under shade for drying.
The excess water filters out in an underground tank and is reused in the syste m. The
schematic diagram of the plant is shown in Fig. 2.6.Some of the existing biogas plant is given
in Table 2.2

Fig. 2.6 Schematic description of the BARC biogas plant (Müller, 2007)
19
Table 2.2 Existing BARC biogas plants in India (Müller, 2007)
Location Capacity Date of Commissioning Utility of Gas
BARC, Mumbai 1 tpd 2001 Kitchen
Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 5 tpd 2002 Kitchen
BARC Hosptial site 5 tpd 2003 Kitchen
Govandi, Mumbai 5 tpd 2003 Electricity
Deonar,Mumbai 5 tpd 2005 Boiler
INS Kunjali 1 tpd 2004 Kitchen

The situation in India reveals that most of the biogas reactors are not working, although
internationally in technical literature Indian climatic condition are considered to be
favourable. But there are several other issues besides climate like in the last few years many
projects failed only due to their tremendous size. There was a plant based on the advanced
BIMA technology (Lucknow) having a capacity of 300 MT per day that stopped within 6
month of commissioning (Müller, 2007). Likewise a plant in Chennai has been closed as
well. Another problem while implementing biogas plants is the mindset of the people
expecting energy generation from so-called ―low cost systems‖. They underestimate the
robustness of biogas plants required for sustaining operation over 5 to 10 years.

2.8. Opportunities and Challenges

Energy Benifits

1) Net production of energy

2) Reduced CO 2 emissions

3) Potential to treat the ―wet‖ fraction of MSW which is not suitable for incineration.

Environmental benefits:

1) Environmental benign waste treatment.

2) Odour reduction.

3) Lower land requirement compared to aerobic composting.

20
4) Volume reduction of waste

Disadvantages

1) Treats only organic fraction of MSW.

2) Information on economic and practical issues is not widely disseminated.

3) Waste water may need to be treated before disposal.

4) Post treatment and post treatment of feedstock is required

21
 Chapter 3
Case Studies

3.1. Rayong waste to energy plant, Thailand

The Rayong waste to energy plant is situated in Thailand. The MSW treatment plant was
started in year 1999. It is owned and operated by Rayong Municipality, Thailand. It is the
first anaerobic digestion facility for MSW and cogeneration plant in Thailand and is planned
to serve for 20 years. The plant operation provides front-end treatment (FET) process,
anaerobic and back-end treatment to the receiving waste. Various unit operations in the plant
are shown in Fig.3.1.

This plant uses MSW, food- vegetable and fruit waste (FVFW) and night soil waste (NSW) as
waste materials. The plant is designed for a capacity of 25,500 ton/year. The heat and
electricity produced from the biogas is used for plant operation and surplus electricity is sold
to Provincial electricity authority (PEA). The organic materials are transformed to biogas at
the rate of 80 m3 /ton with (methane content about 60%) under 25-31°C ambient conditions.
The overall efficiency of this cogeneration power plant is higher than 89%.

Before anaerobic biological process, the feedstock is pre-treated. The purpose of pre-
treatment is to mix different feedstock, to add water or to remove undesirable materials and to
homogenize slurry for efficient digestion.

The collected MSW is weighed and unloaded on FET process facility of the plant which
comprises receiving platform and waste separation facility equipped with both manual and
mechanical lines of operations.

In the beginning, the hazardous and oversized waste is sorted out and rejected to landfill or
diverted for other treatment. The remaining fraction is subjected to mechanical screening
process where it passes through a bag opener and drum screen to separate organic waste
smaller than 60 mm in size. The magnetic separator removes all ferrous metals and the
residual fraction moves to fragmentizer in order to achieve reduction in size of organic waste.
The slurry thereafter is fed to suspension tank for segregating all heavy fractions or any non
organic fraction, so called ‗bottom rejected‘ and to dilute solid content of the slurry before

22
finally flows to an anaerobic digester. It was suggested that the optimal solid content should
be between 15-20% for optimal yield.

Table 3.1 Technical design and installed capacity (DEE, 2006)

Process Unit Capacity

Source separated organic waste t/d 20

Waste type
Mechanical sorted organic fraction t/d 50

Organic waste Total Solid % 30

Volatile Solid % 70

Bag Opener t/h 7

Drum Screening t/h 7

Magnetic Separator t/h 3.50

Shredder t/h 8.50

Pre-Treatment t/h 7.50

Fragmentizer
t/h 16
1. Volume
2. Low-riddle t/h <=10
3. Solid Content(TS)
t/h 15

Wet separation tank 30m3 / batch Batch/d 4

Organic waste throughput t org/d 60

Digester volume m3 2100

Anaerobic Digestion Single stage medium solid % 15

Temperature (Mesophilic) °C 30-36

Organic loading rate Kg 6

23
 VS/m3 .d

Solid retention time day 18-20

Optimal pH values pH 6.70-7.40

N
Volume of dry biogas 2.85
m3 /m3 .d

N m3 /t
Biogas Yield 100
org

Belt Press m3/ h 16

Post Treatment
Pasteurized rotary drum t/h 7.50

kWh/t
Electricity 230
Product org

Compost like material t/t org 0.26

AD of the pre-treated waste is carried out in high organic loading anaerobic digestion
(HLAD) system. The single stage wet-continuous and completely mixed process is performed
in a anaerobic bioreactor (volume ≈ 2100 m3 ) under mesophilic conditions. The waste solid
content is adjusted to about 15% prior to feeding into the bioreactor. For optimal product
yield, the minimum retention time of 18-20 days is provided in the bioreactor. The mixing of
feed substrate inside the reactor is done by agitation to enhance the activity of anaerobic
digestion under the controlled conditions. The transformation of volatile solid to biogas can
be at least 100 m3 /ton of organic waste.

Digested Slurry is removed from the reactor and fed to buffer storage tank where it is mixed
with a polymer to enhance dewatering efficiency of dewatering machine (belt press). The
output from belt press still contains about 50% of water and hence it is further dried in a
thermal dryer to reduce water content to about 35% to produce good quality humus.
Meanwhile, the pathogens are also killed during thermal drying.

24
 Front end Treatment (FET)
process
Receiving floor Bag opener Drum screen Hand sorting

Magnetic separator
Rejects to landfill
and recycled
materials
Feed Hopper Organic fractions

Fragmentizer

Anae robic digestion process Feed Preparation tank Biogas

Utilization unit

Bioreactor/digester Gas holder

Gas engine
Buffer storage tank
Electricity

Back end treatment Dewatering machine

Thermal dryer Soil Conditioner

Fig. 3.1 Various treatment process employed in Rayong waste to energy plant (Vishwanathan
et al., 2005)

The thermal dryer utilizes the exhausted gas (120-140 °C) from biogas engine or heat from
gas burner to kill all the pathogens. After drying the hygienized humus is bagged and sold
out. The typical characteristics. of humus is tabulated in Table 3.2

25
 Table 3.2 Quality of Humus (DEE, 2006)
Parameter Unit Standard Value Monitored Value

Moisture content % by weight ≤ 35 35

pH - 5.5-8.5 6.46

C/N ratio - ≤20 16

Conductivity dS/m ≤6 2.40

Nitrogen, N % by weight ≥1.0 2.01

Phosphorus % by weight ≥0.5 5.06

Potassium, K % by weight ≥0.5 0.46

Lead, Pb mg/kg ≤500 175.05

Copper, Cu mg/kg ≤500 0.54

Cadmium, Cd mg/kg ≤5 -

Chromium, Cr mg/kg ≤300 0.23

The filtrate from dewatering process is reused in the plant. The rejected water from
dewatering is led into the process water tank where it is treated in activated sludge system.
Various parameter of treated water are shown in the Table 3.3.
Table 3.3 Water quality (DEE, 2006)

Parameter Unit Standard Value Monitored Value

BOD (Biochemical oxygen demand) mg/L 20 6.70

COD (Chemical oxygen demand) mg/L 120 61.4

TDS (Total dissolved solids) mg/L 3000 572

26
Utilization of Biogas

The biogas yield at full designed load is around 2.2 Mm3 /year with 60% methane content,
around 35% carbon dioxide. Biogas produced by the digester is sent to CHP units to produce
electricity and heat recovery. It can produce around 5,062 MWh/year electricity and 3,172
MWh/year heat with 38.7 and 22.7 % efficiencies respectively.

Biogas engines manufactured in Austria are used for a CHP unit of the plant. The engine
serves three purposes:

1) Generation of 625 kWh electricity for the AD plant and sell the remaining to PEA grid

2) Production of hot water for heating of the digester

3) Sterilization of the digestate by exhaust gas

The cooling water of gas engine is utilized in maintaining temperature of digester and about
28% of heat loss from the exhausted gas is compensated by killing pathogens present in the
digestate. The total efficiency of energy utilization is about 89% when electricity generation
and digestate sterilization are combined.

Odour control measures

Odour potentially occurs from several tanks in the system. Hence, the plant (especially the
receiving building) is equipped with ventilation system and the air is treated by ozone before
discharge to atmosphere. To prevent spreading of odour from incoming waste, the negative
pressure is provided inside the building.

Environmental impacts:

The environmental performance of this plant indicates that 2010 tons/year of methane is
recovered and used for electricity generation hence the pressure on fossil fuels is reduced. It
also results in significant reduction of other greenhouse gas emissions as shown in Table 3.4

Table 3.4 Effect on greenhouse gas reduction after installation of plant (DEE, 2006)

Parameter Unit Before operation After ope ration

Carbon dioxide(CO 2 ) tones/year 4540 96.80

Methane (CH4 ) tones/year 2010 Neglected

27
 Nitrogen dioxide(N 2 O) tones/year Neglected 9.51

Total Carbon dioxide equivalent tones/year 46750 2856

3.2. Valorga plant at Tilburg

The Valorga full scale plant in Tilburg (the Netherlands) was designed to process 52,000 tons
source separated organic fraction of MSW per year that is collected once a week. It is in
operation since year 1994 and primarily treats ‗Vegetable -Garden –Fruit‘ (VGF) fraction of
MSW. The feed consists of 75% kitchen and garden waste whereas the rest is paper and
cardboard. The plants treats around 80 % of VGF generated per year in Tilburg. The annual
biogas production from the plant is 3.1 MNm3 (80-85 Nm3 /ton of input for digestion). The
specific methane yield varies from 220 - 250 Nm3 /ton total volatile solids (TVS). During
slack winter period, the waste contains proportionally more food waste that is more readily
biodegradable (within the considered degradation times) than lignocellulosic garden waste
and results in higher methane production The typical mass balance of Tilburg plant is shown
in Fig. 3.2.

The collected waste is subjected to pre-treatment before anaerobic digestion. During pre-
treatment, the waste is screened to remove the bigger particles and finally crushed to reduce
particle size below 80 mm. The pre-treated waste is then subjected to AD process and is
intensively mixed with part of the excess process water and heated by steam injection. The
water added to the waste is calculated to keep TS content of the mixture at around 30%. This
mixture is pumped into the reactors with piston pump. The Valorga digestion process is
carried out in a plug flow reactor in single step. The digestion is carried in two digesters each
having a volume 3,300 m3 under mesophilic temperature condition at 38° C. The two
digesters are operating with the same loading rate. The reactors are vertical cylinders with a
lateral plug- flow type path of the fermenting matter. They contain a vertical median inner
wall on approximately 2/3 of their diameter. The height of the vertical reactor allows to
simply extracting the digested matter by gravity. Mixing is done by pneumatic system.

The digested material produced after anaerob ic digestion process extracted from the digesters
is dewatered using screw presses. The liquid sludge from the presses is then sent to a hydro -
cyclone, and a flocculation –filtration unit to remove suspended solids. The filtered effluent is
discharged to the nearby wastewater treatment plant. The solid fraction from the presses and

28
 Kitchen and
Garden Waste
52 000 tons

Sorting Unit Refuse

2000 tons

Steam Biogas
Methanisation
4100 tons
1200 tons
3.1MNm3

Sand
4600 tons
Steam, Water Solid Separation
6700 tons Excess water
11500 tons
Final Compost
25 700 tons
Fig.3.2 Tilburg Plant Mass Balance (URL 2)

band filter are properly mixed and subjected to aerobic conditions for four weeks in a closed
hall to ensure complete stabilization.

The final organic residue is considered as compost like material. It amounts to 25700
tons/year and is reported to be of high quality for agricultural use.
In order to prevent any odour emission, the air from the product treatment units and the
composting hall is purified using biofilter.

Utilization of Biogas

Biogas generated in the digester is refined in an upgrading plant and then supplied to the
municipal network. The biogas originally produced from the digester contains 56% CH4 and
has a calorific value of about 20 MJ/ m3 that is increased to 31.7 MJ/ m3 after refining
process. Gas refining process consists of compressing, cooling, scrubbing, and drying
operations. The refined methane gas is fed to the municipal grid. The Center for Analysis and
Dissemination of Demonstrated Energy Technologies (CADDET) reported that the natural
gas yield was about 50 m3 / ton. The net yield of natural gas, i.e. after providing for heating
and electrical energy for the plant, was 1,360,000 m3 of methane per year, i.e., about 44 m3 of
methane per ton of the processed organic material.
29
Environmental and financial benefits

The environmental performance of the Tilburg plant indicates that 1.36 million m3 of
methane per year is recovered and used for electricity generation. This corresponds to 728
tons of carbon in the form of methane (CH4 ). Considering that one ton of C as methane is
equivalent to 21 tons of C as carbon dioxide, Tilburg operation avoids landfill emissions of
about 15,000 tons of carbon equivalent. The main sources of revenue to this plant are the
―tipping‖ fees paid by the municipalities for waste treatment and the sale of natural gas.

Laclos et al., (1997) suggested that Valorga plant has demonstrated the potential of anaerobic
digestion for the treatment of organic solid waste. Despite the annual variation in waste
quantity and quality, the biological process in the reactor remains well balanced. A key factor
for reliability of the Valorga process is the absence of any mechanical device inside the
reactors, which avoids abrasion and maintenance problems which are of great importance at
full scale. Tilburg facility highlights the technical and economic feasibility of using energy
from waste in the form of biogas to generate electricity.

3.3. BTA plant at Newmarket, Ontario (Canada)

Biotechnische Abfallverwertung GmbH & Co. KG (BTA) was developed in Germany and
applied its plant (via several licensing companies) throughout Western Europe and in select
locations in Canada and Japan. The system is one of the oldest and most successful in terms
of the number of existing operational digesters. Although small units are single-stage, the
majority of the BTA digesters are large (>100,000 MT/yr) (CPEA, 2008) multi- stage and wet
units. A plant located in New Market, Ontario and Canada was started in July 2000 based on
BTA system. It has a capacity to treat 150,000 metric tons of organic waste per year.

The facility receives the mixed waste brought in by collection vehicles that is unloaded on the
tipping floor. Then, the waste is conveyed to a pre-sort station, where oversized,
contaminants as well as recyclables are removed. After the pre-sort station, the material
continues through a trommel screen that separates fine materials (mostly organic), medium
sized materials (mostly containers) and large objects such as newspaper, cardboard, film,
plastic and textiles. The front end of the screen is equipped with a series of knives to open
plastic bags. A manual sorting station segregates plastics (PET and HDPE), glass and textiles.
Also, magnetic and eddy current separators are used to extract ferrous metals and aluminium
cans. The marketable materials are sent for recycling and the non-recyclables are landfilled,

30
while the organic-rich materials is conveyed for wet treatment phase to a 32 m3 capacity
hydropulper which consists of agitator, hydraulic rake and sieve. The feedstock is mixed
with water and processed over a 16 hour period and fractionalization of waste is carried out.
The hydropulper separates the feedstock into three fractions viz. homogenous pulp fraction,
light fraction residual and heavy fraction residual. Hydrocyclone removes the sand and grit
left in the organic suspension after hydropulping. All non-digestible elements captured in the
front end pulping and grit removal steps are typically landfilled.

After the separation of the inert contaminants, the de-gritted pulp is pumped continuously
into the pulp buffer tank for constant hydraulic loading in the digester.

Fig. 3.3 Primary phases and related steps found in typical BTA process facility (URL 3)

The contaminant free heated pulp is fed into the digesters from the pulp buffer tank. The
digester contents are continuously mixed using compressed biogas that is delivered inside the
digester. The retention time of 15 days is provided inside the anaerobic digester.

The digestate is de-watered in a screw press and the filtrate is re-circulated to the hydro
pulping process. The dewatered solids are typically finished into a soil amendment product
using a simple, four week aerobic composting methodology. Bulking materials are added to
31
allow greater porosity and oxygenation during the aerobic finishing step. The 60,000 tons of
compost produced annually are bagged and distributed to retail horticultural outlets.

When the compost material does not meet the prescribed standards, it is used for quarry
restoration and other land rehabilitation projects. Excess liquids are either treated on-site or
discharged to the local sanitary sewer. Air from the building and at source from all the
processing vessels is collected and treated in a bio filter prior to the release to atmosphere.

Utilization of Biogas

The produced biogas is used to provide electrical and thermal energy to run the facility. An
820 kW co-generation generator is installed at Newmarket to utilize the gas. About 5,000
MWh of electricity is produced annually of which the plant uses 2 MWh and the rest is sold
to the local grid for supplying electricity to 3000 homes.

32
 Chapter 4

Summary

In this report an overview of energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) using
anaerobic digestion (AD) is presented. At present open dumping is prevailing in most of the
MSW disposal method in developing countries

AD process is one of the MSW treatment options that can help in the diversion of MSW from
landfills. AD is a multi stage biological process in which the organic matter decomposes by
the action of microorganisms in absence of oxygen. All anaerobic system produces biogas
(55-75% of methane and rest carbon dioxide with traces of other gases). From the
composition of MSW in India, this can be suggested that this process can be a feasible option
due to high moisture and organic content.

Various AD systems like single stage, multi stage and batch systems are available. Single
stage is less expensive and simpler than multi stage but has lower biogas yield. In multi stage
system the methanogenic process is separated from other process and each process can be run
close to optimum to increase biogas yield and ensure digestate quality.

In India, several designs of various anaerobic digesters have been developed that include
solid state stratified bed (SSB) digester, TERI enhanced acidification and methanation
(TEAM) digester and compact biogas plant.
To enhance the effectiveness of AD process, MSW needs to be pre-treated by various
mechanical operations. Also, the improvement in outputs (i.e. biogas and digestate) can be
brought by using post-treatment technique
Biogas is a valuable fuel which can be utilized to recover energy. The gas can be used in
combined heat and power unit to generate heat and electricity and it can be fed to local
electricity grid. This gas can also be used as a substitute of natural gas, in fuel cell technology
and compressed gas vehicle fuel (after gas purification).
The three case studies presented in the report show the potential and effectiveness of the
process. However, there are still some problems like quality of digestate, wastewater
treatment and slow rate of digestion that needs to be addressed.

33
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