Anaerobic Digestion

MOP II - Chapter 30

Anaerobic Digestion
Stabilization in the absence of oxygen Pathogen reduction Reduction in mass Production of methane

Basic Theory
First stage: Extracellular enzymes Breakdown complex organics Organic fatty acids Alcohols Carbon dioxide Ammonia

Basic Theory
Second stage: Acid forming bacteria Convert products of stage 1 Acetic acid: CH3COOH Propionic: C2H5COOH Hydrogen, carbon dioxide Organic acids

Basic Theory
Second stage: May account for 10 15% of the overall volatile solids reduction.

Basic Theory
Third Stage: Two groups of methane forming bacteria Methanobacterium Convert CO2 and H2 to CH4 Reductive methane formation About 30% of methane formed

Basic Theory
Third Stage: Two groups of methane forming bacteria Methanosarcina Convert acetate to CH4 and bicarbonate Acetate decarboxylation About 70% of methane formed

Methane Formers

Methane forming bacteria control the anaerobic digestion process. Sensitive to environmental changes Reproduce slowly Easy to kill and hard to grow

Digester Staging
Single stage Multiple stage 2 stage most common

Primary Stage
Active digestion Heated and mixed Stabilization and gas production Supernatant normally not removed Loading rates based on primary digester

Secondary Stage
Storage Not heated or mixed Settling and supernatant removal Stand-by primary tank Source of seed sludge Source of alkalinity

Digester Covers
Fixed roof: In-flow = out-flow Primary stage

Digester Covers
Floating roof: Variable level Secondary stage

Digester Covers
Gas storage: Variable level Floats on gas

Egg-Shaped Digesters
Tall and narrow Steep-sloped bottom Cone-shaped Cone shape at top

Egg-Shaped Digesters

Egg-Shaped Digesters

Egg-Shaped Digesters
Advantages: Grit accumulation reduced Increased mixing efficiency Contained foam and scum accumulation

Egg-Shaped Digester?

Digester Feeding
Uniformity and consistency Sudden changes cause problems

Digester Feeding

Digester Feeding
Ideal: continuous, 24 hr a day Digester loading: Hydraulic: 15 20 days 3 Organic: 0.1 0.4 lbs VS/day/ft Concentration: > 3%

Sludge Withdrawal
Bottom of the tank Heavy, digested solids Removal once a day Just before sludge feeding Reduce short-circuiting

Sludge Withdrawal

Digested sludge concentration will be less than feed sludge concentration if supernatant is not removed.

Heating Systems

Digester heat requirements include two components: Heat required for raw sludge flow Heat required to maintain tank temperature

Heating Systems

The heat necessary to raise the incoming sludge temperature represents 60% of the total heat demand.

Heating Systems

Number of hours per day sludge is pumped to the digester: A 3 hour per day feed rate will overload a system designed for 24 hour per day feeding.

Heating Systems
Internal: External:

Heating Systems

Clean spiral heat exchangers: Pressure readings daily

Mixing Systems
Maintain uniformity of sludge Reduce scum accumulation Mixing efficiency: Solids profile

Mixing Systems
Gas recirculation: Sequentially discharged lances Floor-mounted diffusers Draft tubes Bubble guns

Bubble Gun?

Mixing Systems
Mechanical mixing: Propellers Draft tubes Recirculation

Gas Collection
65 70% methane 30 35% carbon dioxide Some impurities 12 18 ft3/lb VS reduced

Gas Collection

Safety: four elements for an explosion Gas Air Heat (spark) Mixture of gas and air 1 volume gas to 15 volumes air

Gas Collection
Moisture control Pressure control Flame and spark arresters Thermal valves Gas flow meters Waste gas burner

Temperature
Mesophilic temperature range 90 100F (32 - 38C) Thermophilic range 122 140F (50 - 60C) Temperature phased

Temperature

Tank temperature must not change more than 1F per day. Slows methane production

Chemical Effects
Alkalinity: 2,000 5,000 mg/L Calcium, magnesium bicarbonates Ammonium bicarbonate is produced

Chemical Effects
Volatile acids: 50 300 mg/L Intermediate digestion products

Chemical Effects
VA/Alk Ratio: Typical: 0.25 Increase above 0.3 0.4 indicate upset

Chemical Effects
pH: Typical: 6.8 7.2 Below 6: un-ionized volatile acids become toxic to methane formers. Above 8: un-ionized ammonia becomes toxic.

Chemical Effects
Toxicity: Organic compounds Heavy metals Ammonia Sulfide Oxygen Salts

Ammonia Toxicity
50 200 mg/L: beneficial 200 1,000 mg/L: no adverse effects 1,500 3,000 mg/L: inhibitory at pH 7.4- 7.6 > 3,000 mg/L: toxic

Digester Failure
Unbalanced microbiological growth Acid-formers out produce the methane-formers Over-production of acids

Process Failure Indicators

VA concentration increases Alkalinity drops VA/ALK ratio increases pH falls Gas production rate drops Percent CO2 increases

Failure Indicators

Causes of Process Failure

Hydraulic overload: Dilute feed sludge Excessive sludge production Grit and scum accumulation Alkalinity washout

Causes of Process Failure

Organic overload: Increase in sludge production Increase in sludge concentration Change in sludge characteristics Infrequent feeding Too rapid startup

Causes of Process Failure

Toxic overload: Heavy metals Detergents Chlorinated organics Oxygen Cations Sulfides

Digester Solutions
Adjust alkalinity Adjust feed schedule Pre-thicken feed sludge Industrial pretreatment Clean digester

pH Control Strategy
Stop or reduce sludge feed Maintain neutral pH Determine cause of unbalance Correct the cause of imbalance Provide pH control

pH Control Strategy
Blend in stored sludge Lime Soda ash Magnesium carbonate

Other Problems
Digester foaming Digester scaling

Struvite

Magnesium ammonium phosphate MgNH4PO4 Changes in pH Removal of CO2

Anaerobic Digestion