WASTE TO ENERGY

BY ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF
VEGETABLE WASTE

WASTE TO ENERGY
Under the Guidance of:
Mr. S.K.Dubey
(Asst. Profresser, Environmental
Engineering)
Department of Environmental
Engineering
By:
Anand Kumar Pandey (1006497003)
Jayant Khera (1006497010)
Sandeep Yadav (1006497016)

Introduction
Energy generation from waste is a very good
and effective alternative.
Waste-to-energy technologies convert waste
matter into various forms of fuel that can be
used to supply energy.
Waste feed stocks can include municipal solid
waste (MSW); construction and demolition (C&D)
debris; agricultural waste, such as crop silage
and livestock manure; industrial waste from coal
mining, lumber mills, or other facilities; and
even the gases that are naturally produced.

Introduction
Waste-to-energy technologies can address
two sets of environmental issues at one
stroke - land use and pollution from
landfills, and the well-know environmental
perils of fossil fuels.
However, waste-to-energy systems can be
expensive and often limited in the types of
waste they can use efficiently; only some
can be applied economically today.

Introduction
Waste-to-energy technologies can address
two sets of environmental issues at one
stroke - land use and pollution from
landfills, and the well-know environmental
perils of fossil fuels.
However, waste-to-energy systems can be
expensive and often limited in the types of
waste they can use efficiently; only some
can be applied economically today.

Indian Context
India produces 150 million tonnes per
annum of vegetable and fruit.
30% of total production is waste i.e., 50
million tonnes per annum.
At Chandigarh 20 tonnes per day of fruits
and vegetable waste is generated.
Out of which 70% to 80% is organic waste.

Indian Context
Production of garbage waste in Tons/day
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
Tons

4000
3000
2000
1000
0

Major cities

Indian Context
Production
per capita
of garbage
production
wasteinintons
Tons/day
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8

waste generated per capita

0.6
0.4
0.2
0

major cities

Our Context
Vegetable and fruit waste are being
dumped and landfilled.
Only 50% decomposition is there.
Due to high moisture content they can be
very good substrate for bioenergy
recovery through anaerobic digestation.

Properties of Waste
S.No.

Parameters

Values

1.

pH

<7

2.

Total Solids(mg/L)

9933

3.

Volatile Solids(mg/L)

4880

4.

5590

5.

Total Dissolved
Solids(mg/L)
B.O.D.(mg/L)

6.

C.O.D.(mg/L)

3000

7.

Total Organic
Carbon(mg/L)

1120

1200

(source: E.Selina Kavitah and Kurian Joseph, Biometanation Of Vegetable Waste, 2007)

Anaerobic Digestion
The biological degradation by a complex
microbial ecosystem of organic and occasionally
inorganic substrates in the absence of oxygen.
Generally done by reactors, Batch Reactor
(wastes are fed in to the system and all the
degradation steps are allowed to follow
sequentially).
Single Stage Batch Reactor is prefered over Two
Stage Batch Reactor, because its easy and
simple to operate and involves low cost.

Why Anaerobic Digestion?

Vegetable and Fruit waste are high in organic
content.
The VSS of these type of waste is very high
(around 4880 mg/l).
This high amount of VSS results in high
calorific vale that can be used for energy
generation.
In aerobic treatment the calorific value of
waste reduces as it get oxidized.
Thus anaerobic process is preferred.

Challenges
Physical or Municipal
Handling of waste
Segregation of waste.

Scientific or Technical
Lower pH value
Decomposition of Cellulose and Lignin

Lower pH Value
Vegetable and fruit waste contains acid, thus
the waste has lower pH value.
In anaerobic digestation it can produce fatty
acids.
By giving proper pre treatment it can be
controlled.
Pre treatment should not be aerobic as once
the waste is treated aerobically it wont be
able to produce biogas.
Pre treatment is done by proper dosing of lime.

Cellulose and Lignin

Cellulose and Lignin are most abundent
polymers persent on earth.
Both of natural polymer made of alot of
small molecules.
Cellulose and lignin both can be
decomposed almost in same manner.
But since lignin is somehow harder and
less degradebale than cellulose.

 Lignin can be decomposed by using gram

negative bacteria aerobically.
Since generation of biogas is cannt be
done after treating the waste aerobically,
thus this method cannt be used.
By pretreating waste with acids such as
HCl and H2SO4, lignin can be decomposed.
But this method will make the waste slurry
highly acidic andthe waste is already
having the lower pH value.
Cellulose and lignin cannt be segregated.
Conversion of cellulose into cellulose
ethanol as biofuel is under investigation.

Method Used
Granding and Slurry Formtion
Feed to bioreactor i.e. UASB reactor, as it
is Single Step Fed-Batch Reactor.
Biogas obtained as Bi product.
Waste waste to be recycled for sluury
formation after being treated at ETP.

SINGLE LINE DIGRAM OF

PROCESS
BioGas
Generated

Organic
Fraction Of
MSW

Grin
der

Mixing
Tank
For
Slurry
Formati
on

170KLD
waste
water

ETP

Fed-Batch
Reactor
(UASB)

150 kld
water for
recirculatio
n

Sludge
and
other
residue

Formation of Slurry
Waste collected is fed to the digestor but
before feeding it must be in form that it is
needed by reactor.
For this waste is mixed with the water abd
slurry is formed.
For 20 tonnes of waste per day water required
will be 150,000 L.
As previous study shows, 200g substrate
need 1.5L of water.
Thus the slurry formed will be 170 KLD.

Design of Bioreactor
Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
is used as mentioned previously.
Design of reactor depends upon the
influent loading.
As slurry formed is 170KLD, so reactor will
be designed for this loading.
For ease it can be designed at 175KLD.

 As lignin is a problem, then for removing it

the basic principle of physics is used.
There are some lignin which have more
density than water and some have lesser.
Thus some will float and some will sink
according to their relative density.
If the case is of full floating, then the lignin
will be collected with the effluent.
If the case is of full sink then all lignin will
be setteled down.
As study shows, 5% of total vegetable and
fruit waste is lignin then it will be around 1
ton per day.

 If an additonal space at the bottom of

reactor is provided for the setteled lignin
then they can be collected from that and
seprated out.
The settled lignin will be collected after a
fixed interval of time i.e.5 days for that 10
cum additional volume is required.
The effulent obtained will be treated in
Effluent Treatment Plant.
The traeted effluent is again used for
slurry formation.
The ETP will consist of grit settler, any
aerobic aeration process and settling tank.

Method
UASB is designed at SRT of around 30 to
50 days in India.
SRT is provided so that sludge can
stabilized sludge for disposal on open sand
beds.
Desired volume of UASB is calculated by
calculating following:
HRT (Hydraullic Retention Time).
Organic Loading.

Once the volume of reactor is fixed then

upflow velocity can be determined.

Generation Of Biogas
By providing retention time of 30days and
hydraullic retention time of 40hr, the biogas will
be produced.
The production of biogas depends upon the
amount of volatile component present in waste.
Since Volatile solids present in waste is 4880mg/l.
Thus amount of gas produced will be 0.9L/g VS
fed.
After calculation this will come out to be 746.3m3.

 Calculation for generation of biogas.

Total VSS in Waste = 4880mg/L
= 4.88 g/L
According to study L/g of biogas produced
is 0.9L/g
= (4.88*.9) l of biogas
produced per gram
= 4.39L of biogas
Total feed is 170kld
Thus biogas from total feed = (170*4.39)
m3
=746.3 m3

Result & Conclusion

For 20 tonnes/day of vegetale waste, the
amount of waste water gengerated is
170KLD.
The UASB reactor is desigend to treat that
waste water is of 280 cum volume.
Amount of biogas generated is 746.3 m3.
In order to attain ZLD (Zero Liquid
Discharge) effluent water from UASB is
treated in ETP and then recycled.

Result & Conclusion

ETP consists of a grit settler, extended
aeration or any of the aerobic method for
waste water treatment and settling tank.
The generated gas can be used directly as
fuel or can be sold in compressed for and
can also be utilized for electricity
generation.
The project will be suitable for both urban
as well as rural areas.