Anaerobic Digestion

Simply

put,

Anaerobic

Digestion

(AD)

is

collection

of

processes

by

which microorganisms synthesize biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. AD

produces biogas, a methane-rich gas that can be used as a fuel, and digestate, a source
of nutrients that can be used as a fertiliser. Moreover, AD is being used to make the
most of our waste by turning it into a renewable energy source and not relying on fossil
fuels.

Figure 1: A typical Anaerobic Digestion Plant Schematic Diagram

The process of AD occurs in several steps and requires a community of microorganisms.

o

Hydrolysis large, complex polymers like carbohydrates, cellulose, proteins and

fats are broken down by hydrolytic enzymes into simple sugars, amino acids and
fatty acids.

Acidogenesis simple monomers are broken down into volatile fatty acids

Acetogenesis the products of acidogenesis are broken down into acetic acid,
releasing hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

Methanogenesis bacteria called methane formers produce methane either by

cleaving two acetic acid molecules to form carbon dioxide and methane, or by
reduction of carbon hydroxide with hydrogen.

The Biological Process

The digestion process begins with bacterial hydrolysis of the input materials in order to
break down insoluble organic polymers such as carbohydrates and make them available
for other bacteria. Acidogenic bacteria then convert the sugars and amino acids into
carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ammonia, and organic acids. Acetogenic bacteria then
convert these resulting organic acids into acetic acid, along with additional ammonia,
hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Finally, methanogens convert these products to methane
and carbon dioxide.
Digester Technologies
Many different anaerobic digester systems are commercially available. The following is
an overview based on organic waste stream type (manure, municipal wastewater
treatment, industrial wastewater treatment and municipal solid waste): Manure:
Anaerobic digestion systems for livestock manure operate to reduce methane emissions,
odors, pathogens and weed seeds and produce biogas. They fall into four general
categories:
o

Covered anaerobic lagoon digester: Sealed with flexible cover, with methane
recovered and piped to the combustion device. Some systems use a single cell
for combined digestion and storage.

Plug flow digester: Long, narrow concrete tank with a rigid or flexible cover. The
tank is built partially or fully below grade to limit the demand for supplemental

heat. Plug flow digesters are used at dairy operations that collect manure by
scraping.
o

Complete mix digester: Enclosed, heated tank with a mechanical, hydraulic, or gas
mixing system. Complete mix digesters work best when there is some dilution of
the excreted manure with water (e.g., milking center wastewater).

Dry Digestion: Upright, silo-style digesters made of concrete and steel with rigid
cover. Dry digesters operate at 20 to 42 percent total solids, which allows them to
combine high dry matter manure and crop residuals with very dilute liquid
manures or co-substrates.

How Biogas is Converted into Renewable Natural Gas

Captured biogas is transported via pipe from the digester, either directly to a gas use
device or to a gas treatment system (e.g. for moisture or hydrogen sulfide removal). If
the feedstocks contains high concentrations of sulfur and no steps are taken to prevent
formation of hydrogen sulfide in the digester, then hydrogen sulfide is removed from
the biogas to prevent corrosion of the combustion device or other downstream
equipment. Captured biogas can also be further upgraded by removing carbon dioxide,
nitrogen and oxygen in order to meet the high purity and BTU requirements for pipeline
injection or compressed biomethane vehicle fuel

HYDROLYSIS
In our project we chose to focus more on hydrolysis which is breaking down large
polymers like carbohydrates using hydrolytic enzymes to produce simple sugars such as
glucose. Hydrolysis is a rate-limiting step in the digestion of recalcitrant wastes such as
lignocellulosic matter (Colberg, 1988; Nielsen et al., 2004; Pavlostathis and GiraldoGomez, 1991), and thus, optimization of this step has the potential to radically increase
economic profitability of AD by lowering 15 required reactor volumes, decreasing
operating costs, and increasing methane generation. Therefore, to render these systems
more economically viable, additional research is needed to determine optimum
operating conditions for hydrolysis.
Hydrolysis reaction of the organic fraction of the MSW can be represented by the
following reaction:
C6H10O4 + 2H2O C6H12O6 + 2H2 (Ostrem&Themelis2004)
Hydrolysis of the lipids is catalyzed by enzymes called esterase and leads to saturated
and unsaturated long chain fatty acids and glycerol. Glycerol is easily assimilated and
metabolized by the bacteria while the long chain fatty acids undergo an intracellular
betaoxydation mediated by a variety of enzymes, resulting in short chain fatty acids (e.g.
acetic and propionic acid) and hydrogen. Anaerobic microorganisms capable to
decompose lipids usually found in MSW anaerobic digesters are Anaerovibrio lipotyca
and Syntrophomonas wolfei (Palmisano & Barlaz 1996). Also, various species of
Clostridium and Micrococcus are able to degrade lipids to Acetyl-coA as referenced in
Archives of Env. Protection.

Why Anaerobic Digestion?

One must understand that there is no such thing as a perfect renewable energy. Every
renewable energy has its pros and cons. Below are the advantages and compromises of
AD.
Advantages:

Renewable fuel.

Widely available and naturally found.

Low cost inputs.

Abundant supply.

Low carbon (cleaner than fossil fuel).

Helps in Waste Management.

Can be domestically produced for energy independence.

Compromises:

Energy intensive to produce. In some cases with little or no net gain.

Can lead to deforestation (Land for the plant)

Heavy feedstocks require energy to transport

Some methane and carbon dioxide during production.

Some fuels are seasonal

Not totally clean when burned.

AD should play a significant role in time to come as the advantages of it are truly
remarkable. The most attractive and efficient options are those that utilize existing waste
materials as inputs, which is, after all, the way nature operates. There are a number of
these options that utilize forestry, agricultural, and even industrial waste (e.g. paper) as
well, as trash found in landfills and recycled nutrients from waste water treatment
facilities. Not only are these more efficient input sources, but in many cases using them
will also help to address waste disposal issue. It could be argued, though, that in the
future, many of these same materials might be needed for compost, particularly as the
production of phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertilizer.
http://www.triplepundit.com/special/energy-options-pros-and-cons/biomass-energypros-cons/

Is it a sustainable technology?

Anaerobic digestion provides an economical sustainable energy source. It will not be

useful if the source of the manure isnt big enough. The installation of an anaerobic
digestion system involves a large capital venture, which is the biggest issue, but will save
money on energy costs in the future. For example, Upper Blackstone wont build
anaerobic digesters because they dont have enough space. They would have to tear
down some building, which is an additional expense and the capital cost for everything
would be too expensive. These are the key requirements in order to gain a profit.
Cow droppings, food waste and wastewater effluent provide a dependable and
inexpensive feed stock for anaerobic digestion. In the past, complications have risen on
management and disposal of these waste products, which can be a potential public
health hazard. The use of anaerobic digestion not only reduces landfill waste and
provides a safe means of storage and handling, but the process also removes many
pathogens, allowing these materials to be recycled as fertilizers or for other purposes.
Even though all waste is not created equal, materials such as cow and pig manure, which
produce relatively small amounts of biogas compared to fats or greases, are still
economical feedstock. One benefit to cow and pig manure digestion is the mass
quantities in which they are produced. According to the USDA in 2002, there were nearly
100 million cows in the United States and a single cow can produce over one hundred
pounds of manure a day; that is potentially 500,000 tons of dung a day. Anaerobic
digestion also offers a means to dispose of waste, while creating wealth.

Anaerobic digestion systems can be cost prohibitive. The systems are also living systems
that require proper looking after and operations. Even with the given negations,
anaerobic digestion is economical to society with maintenance it met. Anaerobic
digestion is sustainable, economical and practical if the design, and maintenance is
optimal. Anaerobic digestion offers solutions to environmental problems, energy
problems and excess waste problems. With growing attentiveness of the environment,
energy security, and technology, it would be advantageous for government to offer
grants and incentives to companies and organizations that would construct digesters.

Catalyst
In anaerobic digestion, hydrolysis is the essential first step. Hydrolysis is a chemical
reaction in which the breakdown of water occurs to form H+ cations and OHanions. It is often used to break down larger polymers, often in the presence of an
acidic catalyst. Biomass is normally included of very large organic polymers, which
are otherwise useless. Through hydrolysis, these large polymers, namely proteins,
fats and carbohydrates, are catalyzed down into smaller molecules such as amino
acids, fatty acids, and simple sugars. While some of the products of hydrolysis,
including hydrogen and acetate, may be used by methanogens later in the anaerobic
digestion process, the majority of the molecules, which are still relatively large, must
be further broken down in the process of acidogenesis so that they may be used to
create methane.
In a recent study conducted by the International Journal of scientific Engineering and
Technology, it was found that biogas yield improved over addition of catalyst as rate
of growth of bacteria was enhanced and ultimately conversion of complex wastes to
biogas increased. The study also shows that yield per day of biogas by anaerobic
digestion increased due to catalysis with respect to non catalytic process. The
catalyst used in the study was tungsten at 27 degree Celcius.