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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
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
Failure Indicators
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
Anaerobic Digestion