Anaerobic Digestion (LargeScale)

Compiled by:
Dorothee Spuhler (seecon international gmbh)

Executive Summary
Large-scale anaerobic biogas digesters are reactors used for the conversion of
the organic fraction of large volumes of slurries
and sludge into biogas byanaerobic digestion. Biogas is recovered and used either
directly for heating the reactors or transformed into combined power and heat and
fed into the grid. It can also be upgraded to natural gas quality. Typical substrates
are excess sludge from wastewater treatment plants or waste slurries from
agriculture (manure) or (diary) industry. Energy crops may also be added in order
to increase the gas yield. Large-scale anaerobic digesters have been mainly
developed in industrialised countries and many different designs and types are
available - most of them are rather high-tech and require expert
construction, operation and maintenance skills. Biogas is a green energyand has
the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emission. Due to increasing fuel prices and
climate change, biogas generation from wastes and energycorps at large-scale is
gaining interest also in developing countries.

In

Out

Blackwater, Faecal
Sludge, Brownwater,Faeces, Excreta, Organic Biogas, Compost/Biosolids
Solid Waste
Large-scale biogas reactors are designed for the conversion of the organic fraction of large volumes
of slurries and sludge into biogas. Typical substrates are excess sludge from large-scale wastewater
treatment plants, agricultural and food industry wastes (e.g. manure, from stock framing, sugar
refining, starch production, coffee processing, alcohol generation, slaughterhouses etc.) or
industrial wastes (e.g. from paper manufacturing, biotechnological industries, etc.) (WERNER et al.
1989).

Biogas production form agriculture and food industry waste slurry.Products are electricity, clean fuel, carbon
credits and liquid and solid fertiliser. Source: BIOPACT (n.y.)

Energy crops are sometimes also added in order to increase biogas yields. The produced biogas can
be recovered and generally transformed into heat in agas turbine or into combined heat and
power (CHP) incogeneration plants and fed into the public grid (MES et al. 2003; JENSSEN et al.
2004; WRAPAI 2009) (see alsoconversion of biogas to electricity at large scale). It can also be
upgraded to natural gas quality, compressed and used to power motor vehicles. Thesludge that
remains after digestion is rich in nutrientsand can be used as a soil amendment in agriculture,
generally after anaerobic composting as final treatment step.

The generation of combined heat and power as well as natural gas from agricultural products. Overall
scheme. Source: unknown

To date, such large-scalebiogas digesters have been mainly applied and developed in industrialised
countries resulting in plants with sophisticated equipment and operational techniques (e.g. wet
and dry digestion processes, heated and unheated reactors, batch and continuousreactors etc.).
They vary in design and complexity but have all in common to require expert planning, design and
staff foroperation and maintenance. Given increasing electricity and fuel prices, the dissemination
of large-scale biogas plants also gains in interest in less industrialised countries (BRUYN 2006).

Treatment Process and Design Principals

A typical egg-shaped biogas reactor in Germany (left) and an agricultural fixed-dome biogas reactor. Sources:
MIKLED (n.y.) and KLIMA SUCHT SCHUTZ (n.y.)

Vertical continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR, left) and horizontalplug-flow reactor (PFR, right) two
examples for large-scale agricultural biogas digesters in Europe. Source: BRUYN (2006)

As small-scale digesters (see also biogas digester small scale), large-scale anaerobicdigesters
treating slurries are generally designed according to the wet digestion process with 10 to 20 %
of total solids (TS) (see alsoanaerobic treatment of waste and wastewater). The volumes of
the reactors are ranging from several hundred to several thousand m3. Due to the size of plant, the
respective objectives and special requirements concerning operation and substrates,
the anaerobictreatment of waste materials and wastewater at large-scale requires a different set
of planning mechanisms, plant types and implementation factors (WERNER et al. 1989). The
designer must know that he cannot simply enlarge the plants for a small-scale plant to any degree
(SASSE 1988). When a low-tech solution is required, it is possible to construct several lowtech small and decentralised biogas plants instead of one single larger digester in order to
facilitate operation and maintenance (ICRC 2009).
The most common forms of large-scale digesters are batch reactors and continuous-flow, plug-flow
and continuously stirred tank reactor (PFR and CSTR). Fed-batch reactors (accumulation systems)
are sometimes also applied (MES et al. 2003). Completely mixed and batch systems are generally
built vertically, plug-flow reactors are generally horizontal reactors. Horizontalreactors are often
constructed similar to floating or expandable plastic dome plants (seebiogas digester small scale)
but much larger. Fixed dome are also used, but require large volumes of retention tanks
for sludge expansion.

Sustainable sanitation concept (energy recovery and nutrientrecycling) of the city of Braunschweig, Germany:
The wastewater treatment plants covers its energy needs with the production ofbiogas from
excess sludge combined with biogas recovered fromlandfills and green waste digestion. Agricultural plants,
digestingenergy crops (corn) produce biogas, which is transformed tocombined heat and power which is fed
into the grid of Braunschweig. Source: VEOLIA WATER (2010)

The anaerobic digestion is either carried out in themesophilic (20 to 35 C) or

the thermophilic range (50 to 60 C). Thermophilicprocesses produce morebiogas in shorter time.
However, mesophilicprocesses are often preferred as hightemperatures require higher
input energy to obtain operation temperatures and the production of ammonia, which is toxic for
theanaerobic microorganismproducing the biogas, is higher at highertemperatures (ISAT
& GTZ1999) (see also anaerobic treatment of waste and wastewater).
One way to optimise large-scale anaerobic digesters is to use multi-stage digestion, which allows to
more accurately control pH and temperature, the main process factors influencing the performance
of the digestion bacteria. In such systems, the four stages of anaerobic
digestion (hydrolysisand acidogenesis from acetogenesis and methanogenesis) are separated in
different consecutive compartments (MES et al. 2003). Consequently, the optimum conditions for
each type of bacteria must be maintained in a smaller volume (e.g.
high temperatures formethanogenesis), resulting in a simplified maintenance and in energy savings.

Example of Application: Anaerobic Digestion of Excess Sludge from LagerScale Wastewater Treatment Plants
Sewage or municipal wastewater can be treated by anaerobic digestion, but due to the liquid
nature of such wastes, the process requires high-rate anaerobic digestion reactors (e.g. upflow
anaerobic sludge blanket reactors).
However, when sewage is treated in a conventional large-scale wastewater treatment plant (e.g. in
an activated sludge system, see factsheet activated sludge), the anaerobic treatment of the
excess sludge is often integrated into the overall process (TBW 2001). In activated
sludge systems, sludge means the total solid material that results from sedimentation and bacterial
activity and growth during the aerobic wastewater treatment. During the process, much of
the sludge is recirculated (see picture below), while the excess sludge is treated together with
the sludge from primary sedimentation in an anaerobic digester.

Overall scheme of a high-tech activated sludge wastewater treatment plant combined with sludge digestion
and biogasproduction. Source: WIKIPEDIA (2010)

Typical excess sludgedigesters work often inmesophilic, sometimesthermophilic conditions.

Thesludge retention time is about one month (TBW 2001). To generate
appropriate reactortemperatures, a heating system is required.
Thebiogas plants energyrequirements for heating and other uses can partly, sometimes fully, be
covered by utilising the produced gas (transformation in a CHP). Excess heat and power is fed in the
local heat and power grid. The excess gas can also be compressed and sold as natural gas (e.g. for
vehicles).
The remaining sludge is post-treated most often by aerobic composting. In Central Europe, where
the digestion of excess sludge from wastewater treatment plant is common (TBW 2001), the use of
the remaining sludge in agriculture is often restricted due to the risk of over-fertilisation
(eutrophication) and the high content of heavy metals and other pollutants which can be
introduced into the soil and water by applying the sludge on the fields. Therefore, the remaining
slurry is generally dewatered and disposed of in landfills or incinerators. To recover
the nutrients contained in the remaining sludge (mainly P and N but also some other trace
minerals) high-tech solutions (e.g. ASH DEC) are being developed and more and more frequently
used (see also advanced nutrient recovery). Though this process serves the purpose of recycling, it
is highly energy and cost intensive and requires high-tech solutions.

At a Glance

Working Principle

Capacity/Adequacy

High-strength slurries from wastewater

treatment plants, agriculture or industry
are fed in an airtight reactor where
the organicfraction is transformed
into biogas byanaerobic
digestion. Biogas is transformed into heat
and power and used as
greenenergy source. The
remaining sludge is rich in nutrients and
could be used in agriculture.
Large-scale anaerobic digesters are
complex in design, planning and

operation and are therefore only adapted

at a large scale, involving the
collaboration of various experts.

Performance

High volume reduction of wastes;

Relatively
high pathogen removal; Nutrients remain
in the sludge; SRT of some weeks

Costs

High capital costs, high operation costs.

Self-help Compatibility

High-tech expert design is required.

O&M

Operation and maintenance requires a

strict organisation and the continuous
involvement of experts.

Reliability

Resistant to shock loading. Reliable if

operated and maintained well.

Main strength

High volume reduction of municipal,

agricultural and industrial wastes;
Generation of green energy; Potential
forgreenhouse gas reduction.

Main weakness

Expert design is required; high-tech and

cost intensive.

Applicability
Large-scale anaerobic digesters are designed for the treatment of large-volumes of highstrength waste slurries form agriculture and industry (e.g. manure, slaughterhouses, paper
manufacturing) or to treat the excess sludge from large-scale wastewater treatment plants
(activated sludge systems). The different plants vary strongly in design and complexities, but all
require expert planning, design and staff for operation and maintenance.
They are either fed-batch, batch, or continuous reactors, which are run within
the mesophilicrange. The operation temperature is normally achieved by heating.
Generated biogas often gives enough power and heat to run the plant. Excess power (and heat) is
fed into the public grid if possible.
In Europe, energy crops (e.g. maize and grass) are sometimes fed into the reactors to
enhancebiogas yields. However, the cultivation of energy-rich plants specifically for the production
of bio-fuels is often not sustainable, due to the high inputs (water, nutrients, land); furthermore,
their production competes with the production of food crops.

Advantages

Combined treatment of different organic waste and wastewaters

High reduction of the volume of waste
Generation of a renewable energy (biogas)
Potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction (collection of methane; green energy
production)
Remaining sludge could be used as fertiliser

Low space requirements

Disadvantages

Experts are required for the design, construction, operation and maintenance
High technical and organisational complexity (complexity normally rises with scale)
Reuse of produced energy (e.g. transformation into, fire/light, heat and power) needs to be
established
High sensitivity of methanogenic bacteria to a large number of chemical compounds
Requires seeding (start-up can be long due to the low growth yield of anaerobic bacteria)

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