Anaerobic Digestion: turning organic waste into a resource

Charles Banks

ENERGY from WASTE Sherkin Island Marine Station 25th Annual Environmental Conference
Thursday 7th and Friday 8th May 2009

What is anaerobic digestion?

FUEL
Upgrading

HEAT ELECTRICITY FIBRE LIQUOR

Spark or compression Generator ignition engine Separator

Biogas

Digester

Gasometer

Heat exchanger Heat exchanger

SLUDGE IN

Gas mixer

Biogas to: engine, heat exchanger and mixer

BIODEGRADABLE ORGANIC MATERIAL (CARBOHYDRATES, FATS, PROTEINS) HYDROLYSIS SIMPLE SOLUBLE ORGANICS

ACID FERMENTATION

ACETIC ACID

PROPIONIC ACID BUTYRIC ACID LONG CHAIN VFA H2 + CO2

ACETOGENESIS

ACETIC ACID

METHANOGENESIS

ACETOCLASTIC METHANOGENIC BACTERIA

HYDROGEN-USING METHANOGENIC BACTERIA

CH4 + CO2

Some anaerobic digesters

Are all anaerobic digesters the same?

Wet Dry

Mesophilic

Thermophilic

One stage

Multi-stage

Instant recognition!
Wet digester Dry digester

thermophilic

mesophilic

Dry digester

Wastes that can be digested

Mixed household waste after pre-processing (BMW) Source-segregated organic fraction of household waste Kitchen waste Garden waste Market and supermarket wastes Waste from certain urban-based industries eg. food processors and packagers

Dry anaerobic digestion for residual waste

Residual waste treatment

Residual waste pre-treatment

The digester must be part of an integrated package

BMW

Digester

Recovery or disposal

Digester residue treatment

DRANCO

Dranco flow diagram - mixed waste

Kompogas

walking floor

Plug flow digester

Solid/liquid separation

liquor recirculation

Kompogas mass balance for 1000 kg BMW

BMW Shredder Magnetic separator
>80mm

Screen
40 -80mm

Biogas 60-80 kg Digester

Metals 10 kg

Drying
H2O 100-130kg

compost Compaction Disposal 300kg

CO2 80-100 kg

Thermal treatment 400kg

Wet anaerobic digestion for residual waste

CITEC
Tipping pit Magnetic separator Hammer mill

Flare

Biogas storage

Gas Engine CHP

Electricity Compost

Premix. densiometric separator Drum screen

DIGESTER

Aerobic maturation

Centrifuge Air classifier

Pelletisation plant

Press

RDF

Wet single phase complete mix digester

Mass balance for 1000 kg of waste

Household waste (MSW)

Refuse derived fuel 420 kg

Biodegradable waste fraction (BMW) 400 kg

Washing

Paper / plastic 150 kg

Process water

Metals 30kg

Sand 39kg

BMW 261 kg
Digestion

Coarse inerts 100kg

Biogas (per T of BMW) 142 m3 Biogas (per T of MSW) 37m3

Process water 161 kg

Digestate 100 kg

Based on a 230,000 tonne/year plant at Vargon, NL

Summary
These are all Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) processes in which the biological part is anaerobic Designed to operate with residual or only partially kerbside segregated waste Process is operated at a high organic loading rate In the UK the compost from this sort of plant can not be applied to agricultural land for growing food crops It can be used for land reclamation, landfill cover, as a means of stabilising waste destined for landfill, or for further energy recovery through incineration

BMW digestate characteristics

BMW
TN (g kg-1 TS) TK (g kg-1 TS) TP (g kg-1 TS) Cd (mg kg-1 TS) Cr (mg kg-1 TS) Cu (mg kg-1 TS) Hg (mg kg-1 TS) Ni (mg kg-1 TS) Pb (mg kg-1 TS) Zn (mg kg-1 TS) 14 2.2 4.3 1.5 260 110 0.18 100 160 260

PAS110 Digestate Digestate proposed liquor fibre limit

49 18 4.7 2.5 140 290 120 270 850 16 3.9 3.4 1.4 64 150 60 170 440 1.5 100 200 1.0 50 200 400

Source segregated waste treatment

Green waste Market waste Kitchen waste Food processing waste Digester

Pre-treatment and post treatment are minimised

Final product

Benefits of Source Segregation

Removes wet and putrescible waste from the rest of the dry waste Reduces vermin and smell problems Recycling of dry wastes easier Biofertiliser is free of contaminants and can be applied to agricultural land Anticipates the EU Biowaste Directive Keeps the process simple

South Shropshire foodwaste digestion demonstration plant

Concept based on collection of domestic catering waste

Separated in the household in separate lined bin Uncooked and cooked food Vegetables and meat Bones NO garden waste Moisture content > 75% 200 kg per household-year

Biogen-Greenfinch
Food waste addition Macerating pump Feed preparation Feed buffer tank Gas Collector CHP

Energy products

Mesophilic digester

Pasteurisation

digestate recycle
Liquor product Separator Fibre product Digestate storage

Mass balance for 1000 kg of food waste

DOMESTIC CATERING WASTE (23%TS) 230 kg TS, 770 kg H2O BIOGAS 60 kg CH4, 110 kg CO2 170 kg Total (140m3 biogas) HEAT 440 kWhr Gross 220 kWhr Net
CHP UNIT

ELECTRICITY 275 kWhr Gross 250 kWhr Net

DIGESTER 75% destruction of organic material

BIOFERTILISER (7.8% TS) 60 kg TS, 770 kg H2O 830 kg Total

Food waste digestate characteristics

Food Digestate waste liquor TN (g kg-1 TS) TK (g kg-1 TS) TP (g kg-1 TS) Cd (mg kg-1 TS) Cr (mg kg-1 TS) Cu (mg kg-1 TS) Hg (mg kg-1 TS) Ni (mg kg-1 TS) Pb (mg kg-1 TS) Zn (mg kg-1 TS) 34 5.4 14 BDL 30 7 BDL 15 BDL 50 115 47 12 BDL 50 40 40 BDL 160 Digestate fibre 55 18 11 BDL 10 20 10 BDL 130 1.5 100 200 1.0 50 200 400 PAS110 upper limit

BDL: below the detection limit. Cd-1mg kg-1 TS, Hg-0.01mg kg-1 TS, Pb-10mg kg-1 TS

Kompogas mixed food & garden waste

Dry single-phase plug flow digestion

Bekon

Source segregated (biowaste) and residual waste digesters

Mixed Continuous Wet Single phase Batch

Mesophilic Mesophilic

CITEC, Kruger Farmatic, Greenfinch, Others OPL Landfill Farm 'bags' Storage tanks and lagoons Dranco, Linde BRV Kompogas None Valorga Valorga None Biocel, Bekon Farm leach bed Landfill bioreactor None BTA

Plug flow

Mesophilic Unmixed Psychrophilic Thermophilic Mesophilic Mixed Thermophilic Mesophilic Thermophilic Batch Percolating Mesophilic Thermophilic

Plug flow Continuous Single phase

Dry

Inter-phase solids separation Wet Two phase Continuous No inter-phase solids separation

Mesophilic Thermophilic

None Linde KCA None Biopercolate Portageste Biothane - AN None ROMopur?

Mesophilic Inter-phase solids separation Dry Two phase Batch and Continuous No inter-phase solids separation Thermophilic Mesophilic Thermophilic Mesophilic

One and two phase digesters

Wet and dry digesters

Thermophilic and mesophilic digesters

Summary of digester types and their performance

Process technology supplier or operator Process Load (Kg TS/m3/ day Process configuration and operating temperature Biogas m3/Tonne waste (wet) Retention time (Days)

Citec Dranco

5.0 11.4

Wet complete mix mesophilic Dry vertical plug flow thermophilic Wet complete mix mesophilic Dry horizontal plug flow thermophilic

100-150 100-200 140 (pilot)

20 25 25

Biogen 4.0 Greenfinch Kompogas 10.8

150 23 (average)

Important factors in decision making

Choice of feedstock = quality of product Energy balance Fertiliser value and markets for digestate Odour generation and gas cleaning Downstream processing, storage, and maturation of digestate Compliance with ABPR Proximity principal

Optimisation through codigestion

375 kWh surplus heat 750 kWh potential energy 250 kWh electricity Volumetric gas production = 0.83 m3 m-3 50 kWh parasitic heat
50 tonnes /day ODM 8% Volume 1500 m3 30 day HRT Load 2.7 kg ODM m-3 d1

Biogas = 1250 = 750m3 CH4

m3

biogas potential 25 m3 / tonne

850 kWh surplus heat 1710 kWh potential energy 570 kWh electricity Volumetric gas production = 1.9 m3 m-3 50 kWh parasitic heat

Biogas = 2850 m3 = 1710 m3 CH4

50 tonnes /day food waste 10 tonnes / day ODM 28% biogas potential 160 m3 / tonne Volume 1500 m3 25 day HRT Load 4.5 kg ODM m-3 d1

ODM 8%

biogas potential 25 m3 / tonne

Single feedstock and co-digestion digesters

Summary points for different approaches

MBT Product quality Maximum landfill diversion Maximum bioresource use Maximum volumetric gas productivity Improved material recovery Improved nutrient balance Rural development Source segregation Co-digestion

Thank you
cjb@soton.ac.uk