Small Scale AD For CCN Phase1 Report

Lettinga Associates Foundation
for environmental protection and resource conservation
Development of decentralised anaerobic digestion systems for application in the UK Phase 1 Final report
Client:
Community Composting Network (CCN)

Cath Kibbler (cath@communitycompost.org)
Date:
30 March 2009
Lettinga Associates Foundation PO Box 500 6700 AM Wageningen The Netherlands Tel: +31 317 482023 Fax: +31 317 482108 http://www.leaf-water.org
Project number: 08-486
Final report
I. Bisschops, H. Spanjers & E. Schuman
30-03-2009
Table of contents
Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 4 1. Introduction................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Goal of the project .................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Existing situation....................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 System criteria .......................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.1 Initial scope set by CCN Steering Group .......................................................................... 7 1.3.2 Refined criteria .................................................................................................................. 8 2. Existing legislation........................................................................................................................ 9 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Environmental Permitting / Waste Management Licensing...................................................... 9 2.2.1 Environmental Permitting Rules (Wales, England) ........................................................... 9 2.2.2 Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) ...................................................................... 10 2.3 Planning regulations ............................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Animal By-Product Regulation (ABP-regulation) .................................................................... 10 2.5 Sewage and sewage sludge regulations ................................................................................ 13 2.5.1 Sewage............................................................................................................................ 13 2.5.2 Sewage sludge ................................................................................................................ 13 2.6 Gas safety regulations ............................................................................................................ 14 2.6.1 Gas Safety....................................................................................................................... 14 2.6.2 Explosive Atmospheres................................................................................................... 14 3. Anaerobic digestion of (solid) waste .......................................................................................... 16 3.1 The anaerobic degradation processes ................................................................................... 16 3.2 Biogas ..................................................................................................................................... 17 3.3 Reactor conditions .................................................................................................................. 18 3.3.1 The right micro organisms............................................................................................... 18 3.3.2 Nutrients .......................................................................................................................... 18 3.3.3 Temperature .................................................................................................................... 19 3.3.4 pH .................................................................................................................................... 20 3.4 General aspects of digester technology ................................................................................. 21 3.4.1 Retention time ................................................................................................................. 21 3.4.2 Load................................................................................................................................. 22 3.4.3 Dry matter content and mixing ........................................................................................ 22 3.5 Digester configurations ........................................................................................................... 23 3.5.1 Fully mixed continuous systems...................................................................................... 23 3.5.2 Plug flow systems............................................................................................................ 24 3.5.3 Batch systems ................................................................................................................. 24 3.5.4 Accumulation systems..................................................................................................... 24 3.5.5 Dry digestion.................................................................................................................... 25 3.5.6 Practical considerations .................................................................................................. 25 3.6 Potential problems .................................................................................................................. 25 3.6.1 Acidification ..................................................................................................................... 25 3.6.2 Scum layer....................................................................................................................... 25 3.6.3 Foaming........................................................................................................................... 26 3.6.4 Sediment layer................................................................................................................. 26 4. Existing small scale digesters .................................................................................................... 27 4.1 Fixed dome (China-type) ........................................................................................................ 27 4.1.1 Basic principle ................................................................................................................. 27 4.1.2 Polyethylene dome .......................................................................................................... 29 4.2 Floating dome (India-type)...................................................................................................... 29 4.2.1 General concept .............................................................................................................. 29 4.2.2 ARTI Compact Biogas Plant............................................................................................ 30 4.2.3 Water jacket plant............................................................................................................ 31 4.3 Bag design (Taiwan)............................................................................................................... 31 CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 2
4.4 Prefabricated digesters........................................................................................................... 33 4.5 Pilot scale self-built digesters ................................................................................................. 34 4.5.1 Simple digester with floating drum gas storage .............................................................. 34 4.5.2 Inclined barrel digester .................................................................................................... 35 4.5.3 Biorealis digester ............................................................................................................. 35 4.5.4 Inner tube digester .......................................................................................................... 35 4.6 Research digesters................................................................................................................. 36 4.6.1 Wheelie bin digester ........................................................................................................ 36 4.6.2 University of Southampton and Greenfinch Ltd .............................................................. 37 4.7 Small digesters currently applied in practice in Western Europe ........................................... 37 4.7.1 Black water treatment...................................................................................................... 37 4.7.2 Portagester .................................................................................................................... 38 4.8 Auxiliary equipment ................................................................................................................ 38 4.8.1 Reducing input particle size ............................................................................................ 38 4.8.2 Hygienisation ................................................................................................................... 39 4.8.3 Heating of the digester .................................................................................................... 39 4.8.4 Pumps ............................................................................................................................. 41 4.8.5 Biogas treatment, storage and use ................................................................................. 41 4.8.6 Digestate storage and use .............................................................................................. 43 5. Characteristics and digestibility of possible substrates.............................................................. 44 5.1 Food waste ............................................................................................................................. 45 5.2 Green waste ........................................................................................................................... 45 5.3 Animal manure........................................................................................................................ 45 5.4 Domestic wastewater (sewage).............................................................................................. 46 5.5 Glycerine................................................................................................................................. 47 6. Treatment scenarios................................................................................................................... 48 6.1 Community Centre and Growing project ................................................................................ 48 6.2 All on-site ................................................................................................................................ 48 6.3 City farm and Urban Community centre ................................................................................. 49 6.4 Locally centralised processing of food waste ......................................................................... 50 7. Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 51 7.1 Legislation............................................................................................................................... 51 7.2 Substrate pre-treatment.......................................................................................................... 51 7.3 Digester configuration............................................................................................................. 51 7.4 Biogas production and use ..................................................................................................... 52 7.5 Treatment and use of digestate.............................................................................................. 52 8. Proposed small scale anaerobic digester system...................................................................... 53 8.1 Digester dimensions ............................................................................................................... 54 8.2 Plant layout ............................................................................................................................. 54 8.3 System components - Slurry .................................................................................................. 54 8.4 System components - Biogas................................................................................................. 55 8.5 Transport of material between components ........................................................................... 56 9. References ................................................................................................................................. 58
CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009
Summary
The overarching goal of the project as defined by the Community Composting Network (CCN) is to enable the CCN members to utilise anaerobic digestion as a technology in the decentralised treatment and utilisation of bio-wastes. The project is divided in two phases. The first phase considered the gathering of background information for the design and implementation of a small scale digester for application by CCN members. In this report the anaerobic digestion process and the possible digester configuration are discussed in general, and various existing decentralised anaerobic digestion systems and the necessary auxiliary equipment are described. Also the legislative aspects surrounding anaerobic digestion are included, as well as descriptions of the possible substrates. In phase 2, based on the existing information a small digester will be developed, that will be suitable for CCN members and will comply with the regulations. The following criteria were defined: the digester volume should be relatively small (1 m3), the digester should be robust, its effluent should be suitable for reuse and the digester should be easy to built (do-it-yourself construction). With regard to the substrates for digestion, the focus will be on kitchen waste, but also animal manure and green waste can be considered. Faeces and urine could be used as substrates as well, but not in diluted form. Sewage and sewage sludge are in principle not seen as suitable substrates, but are included in the discussion for completeness. Several regulations apply for digesters. First, the Environmental Permitting Rules or Waste Managing Licensing (Scotland) should be considered. When treating wastes these permits are required. In specific cases exemptions can be made. An important regulation when using kitchen waste or any other animal by-product containing substrates for a biogas plant is the Animal By-Product Regulation (ABPR). This regulation states that catering waste (including kitchen waste) should be additionally treated for the removal of pathogens: heating of material is required with a certain minimum temperature and time period. Next to this other regulations may be applicable, for example with regard to biogas storage and handling. The existing small scale digesters show large differences in configuration. Digesters of the fixed dome type made of bricks and concrete are the most common type applied in developing countries, but would not be suitable as such for application within CCN. Floating dome digesters made from existing plastic containers seem to provide a more feasible design, and also the so-called plastic bag digesters appear interesting. However, these digester types are made for use in (sub)tropical developing countries and some adaptation would be needed to make them suitable for a Western European context. Existing small digesters designed for colder climates are often automated hightech applications, relying on monitoring and control equipment of the digestion process. Also the other components of that kind of systems are usually automated. For the purposes of CCN some monitoring and control is necessary, for example for the pasteurisation step. The required level of automation, monitoring and control for the entire system is difficult to predict, as this largely depends on the experience gained during the first pilot test and the preferences of the CCN members. All of the information gathered on existing systems will be useful in developing a custom design for CCN. Several treatment scenarios are foreseen by CCN-members with regard to fractions and volumes of kitchen waste, animal manure, faeces and urine, garden waste and use of digestate and biogas. The digester may be used in a community centre and city farm, or for treatment of all organic waste streams of one rural household. Also the centralised processing of food waste is seen as an interesting option. All of these scenarios include processing of kitchen waste, and therefore the APBR has to be considered. In the scenarios different applications of biogas are foreseen, including heating of buildings and use as vehicle fuel. From a small scale digester of 1 m3 the amount of gas that can be obtained is limited. During the design stage in phase 2 it will become clear how much gas can be expected from a certain substrate mix, and the possibilities for gas use will become clearer. Sanitised digestate, likely generated in small amounts, could perhaps be used directly, or after a short storage in the open. Composting of digestate might be interesting as well. CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 4
This report and the Phase 2 report are both available for download from the CCN website at: http://www.communitycompost.org/index.php/projects/mad This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by contacting info@communitycompost.org or CCN, 67 Alexandra Road, Sheffield, S2 3EE, UK. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105, USA.
Wed love to hear from any organisations or individuals who have used this report, passed it on, or who have found it interesting/informative. Please get in contact with us by visiting http://www.communitycompost.org
1. Introduction
1.1 Goal of the project
The overarching goal of the project as defined by the Community Composting Network (CCN) is to enable the CCN members to utilise anaerobic digestion as a technology in the decentralised treatment and utilisation of bio-wastes. Currently members only process wastes using aerobic methods because of the lack of expertise and the lack of suitable low cost small scale anaerobic systems. The CCN identified three steps that need to be taken to achieve this goal: 1. To enlist help with researching a range of existing suitable available technologies that already have been developed (mostly in the developing world); to describe these digesters and their likely applicability to a UK legislative situation and CCN member use. 2. To come to a suitable digester system (based on the existing systems and available experience) that is simple and robust and can be built or assembled and operated by someone with general technical skills, with the end result of a demonstration system in the UK. For the chosen configuration a components guide and operational manual will be made. 3. Dissemination of results and learning. In case the first two stages were successful and the demonstration system proved to operate satisfactorily, the project will be followed up by a training programme and adoption of the system by CCN members and other local not for profit organisations involved in processing of local biowaste and utilisation in horticultural or agricultural production. LeAF was contracted to work on phase 1 and phase 2 and produce the following: a) Phase 1: A report identifying and describing suitable decentralized AD systems for CCN members in the UK within the scope specified by the Steering Group. b) Phase 2: Developing the concept of a suitable decentralized AD system for the scope specified by the CCN Steering Group, and writing of a commercial component guide and operational manual for this system. A Steering Group, comprising of CCN members, offered insight and feedback on the development of the project and these reports on a regular basis throughout phases 1 and 2. This report encompasses phase 1 and some preliminary work on phase 2. The latter is in the form of a discussion on the available technological and legislative information and the scope specified by the Steering Group.
1.2
Existing situation
The Community Composting Network is a UK national charity whose members are involved in the provision of local management of bio-waste to close the loop of nutrient cycling to the soil. The proximity principle and sustainable local production are the main reasons for this; waste management is often a means to this end rather than an end in itself. As well as the ecological/environmental values, members also have social concerns and seek to strengthen their local communities by providing employment, training placements, amenities and other services. The range of activities is wide and includes home composting support projects, training and education, horticultural projects and habitat conservation activities. A recent study by the Open University attempted a characterisation of the Sector based on a survey of English members and reported the following findings:
To-date the development of the sector has relied predominantly on composting garden waste. Around 80% of sites compost garden waste exclusively - mainly from households but also from local authorities parks and gardens and allotments and community gardens. Most sites (89%) use an open composting process (windrows, bays or boxes). Around 13% of sites accept garden and food waste (mostly meat excluded). In the past a small number of schemes composted some kitchen waste with garden waste but ceased this practice with the introduction of the Animal By-Products Regulations (ABPR). More recently a number of funded inner city and urban based schemes have introduced ABPR compliant kitchen waste collection and composting schemes. Food waste composting is likely to be a developing area for the sector and is expected to increase over the next few years Animal manure is frequently used in conjunction with green waste in rural projects and city farms, where it is readily available on site or locally. The current situation with regard to faeces and urine is not well understood as past surveys have not asked for this information. However its known that a number of members have or have had composting toilets at their projects. CCN is aware of only one anaerobic system being used by a Member which was a pilot plant. Usually the substrates are processed aerobically. Since its required that general food waste collected and processed has to be treated in accordance with APB regulation, then anaerobic digestion has become a more rational option.
1.3 1.3.1
System criteria Initial scope set by CCN Steering Group

th
The system criteria were defined based on the scope agreed on by the Steering Group on the 17 November 2008. This scope was: The system should be suitable for Community Composting Network members as defined by: 3 - Capacity between 0.5 - 10m approx. - To process 5 to 100 tonnes of material per annum.
There is a strong preference for this system to be modular so that in either twin or parallel process streams can be created. Its perceived that this will ensure a more robust system overall (in the case of maintenance down-time or failure of microbes to thrive). Its envisaged that this arrangement will also allow continuous processing. Mobile systems can also be considered and are favoured by some SG members. The systems priority waste for processing is food waste but it should also preferably be capable of processing other waste materials safely and within UK regulations: (in order of priority) sewage or sewage sludge, animal manure, and dog & cat faeces. Its not anticipated that garden waste be processed unless adding it to the feedstock mixture increases the productivity, reliability and robustness of the system overall. These waste materials will either be collected in the immediate vicinity from the local community and delivered to the AD site, or else arise within the site where a system is located (nb: these are two very different scenarios under the UKs ABPR regulations). The system should produce a sanitised NPK effluent or digestate suitable for use in horticulture. The system should produce biogas safely and include the means to store and should include recommendations and options on how to use this. Consideration should also be given to using waste heat for example to heat water or to raise the temperature of an enclosed horticultural growing space. Digesters must meet British regulations: CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 7
In order of priority (which could be based on our current incomplete level of understanding): - Animal By-Products Regulations - for both on-site situations and where material is carried on and/or offsite. - Environmental Permitting Rules - these are currently under review, SEPA Waste Management Licensing for Scotland. - Gas handling & safety (currently CORGI)(and perhaps ATEX rules or regulations if applicable) - Sewage and Sewage Sludge Regulations - Planning Regulations (this is perceived as a potential problem)
1.3.2
Refined criteria
After discussing the different aspects related to the development of the small scale digester for CCN, on 15th December 2008 the previously defined scope (see previous section) was narrowed down by LeAF and CCN to facilitate the system selection. The digester volume was set at 1 m3, with a preference for modularity (using multiple digesters for larger applications), instead of a varying volume for larger waste streams. Robustness and ease of building are important design features. The effluent must be suitable for reuse, either as it is or separated in solid and liquid fraction. Preferably, the complete digester system should be a do-it-yourself construction that can be built of readily available materials without the need of professional help. At the start of the project, it was foreseen that different representative scenarios would have to be looked at, in order to determine the quantities of suitable inputs that would have to be treated. The digester volume would then be based on those quantities. However, as the Community Composters are used to having to work within constraints, the amount of waste collected can be made to fit the system. Keeping the emphasis on the system rather than on the scenarios meant that the variables could be reduced. This was the basis for deciding on a fixed volume, instead of having to design the system to fit the quantities. With regard to the substrates for digestion, the focus will be on kitchen waste. Animal manure is an interesting substrate as well, but might not be available in all situations. Sewage and sewage sludge will in principle not be considered for treatment in this small scale system. Garden waste can be included, but as not all garden waste is suitable for digestion and sorting would be required, composting might be the preferred treatment. During the revision by CCN of the interim report several practical criteria came forward with regard to the digester construction. As construction materials, steel and plastic drums are preferred over bricks and concrete. This is because in the UK it is simpler and cheaper to get a plastic tank than to build an (underground) brick tank. Labour costs for a brick or concrete construction would be very high. Above ground systems are preferred over underground systems, again because of costs, but also because of foreseen inconveniences with access for operation, maintenance and emptying. These issues are especially important for the test build, later for the fully developed system underground construction could maybe be considered.
2. Existing legislation
2.1 Introduction
This chapter gives a brief overview of the legislation on waste processing and reuse/disposal when using anaerobic digestion systems as a process unit. Several regulations apply or could apply in this case. Therefore, in Table 1 the regulations are given per sub-topic of using a small scale anaerobic digestion system. Five topics are listed in this table in relation to the application of anaerobic digestion systems. From the table it becomes clear e.g. that the for the use of kitchen waste as a substrate the Animal By Product Regulation is applicable. The regulations will be described in the following sections.
Table 1. Regulations with regard to the use of anaerobic systems divided into sub-topics.
Sub-topic
Regulation or agreement that can be relevant
Installation of the system (general) Planning Regulations Environmental Permitting Rules (England and Wales) or the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Use of kitchen waste as feed Use of sewage as feed Animal By-Product Regulation (ABP-regulation) Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations Code of Practice for Agricultural Use of Sewage Sludge Safe Sludge Matrix The Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations Regulations on Gas Safety
Gas handling
2.2
Environmental Permitting / Waste Management Licensing
The installation of a small biogas system can involve the requirement of a license or permit. For Wales and England this is regulated in the Environmental Permitting Rules and for Scotland in the Waste Management Licensing.
2.2.1
Environmental Permitting Rules (Wales, England)
The new Environmental Permitting Rules (EP Rules) have been introduced in April 2008 in England and Wales. An Environmental Permit (EP) is required for a waste operation or an installation. Some exemptions are also in the Environmental Permitting Rules. In the Environmental Permitting Guidance, Waste Framework Directive (Defra, 2008b) it is stated that households do not require permits for carrying out waste operations involving only household waste or managing of waste within their own property (as is understood from the guidance). Disposal of waste by householders is not allowed when it is likely that it causes harm to the environment or human health. Exemption can only be done when any applicable EU directive allows it (Defra, 2008c). Digestion residue is classified as waste and is subject to existing waste regulations (Environmental Agency, 2008). Currently a review is being made on the exemptions of Environmental Permit Rules, including anaerobic digestion. The proposed environmental permitting exemption is applicable when the total quantity of waste that is treated or stored does not exceed 50 tonnes at any one time; that the wastes can include catering, manure or green waste; that the gas is collected and burned; the total aggregate net rated thermal input of the appliances that the gas is burned in is less than 1.5 megawatts; that it results in a stable sanitised material that can be applied to land for agriculture, soil structure or nutrient benefits.
In case the anaerobic system is considered an exemption, no permit is required. Still, registration of the installation is needed.
2.2.2
Waste Management Licensing (Scotland)
The SEPA positions statement on licensing of anaerobic digestion plants states that a waste management license will be required when the anaerobic digestion process involves the recycling or disposal of animal waste, including catering waste, either separately or in conjunction with manure and silage effluents, and the capacity is less than 10 t/d. Also, using waste (e.g. green waste) mixed with slurry and silage effluent fed to the anaerobic system involves the requirement of a permit. The last situation applies when the waste arose on a farm or is brought to a farm (SEPA, 2008). Unless only manure, slurries and silage effluent are used, the output of the AD plants is considered waste. For the application of waste on the land, an exemption in the Waste Management Regulations is made stating that the digestate and liquor from AD systems using animal and vegetable waste are allowed to be used on agricultural land when there is a benefit for agriculture or ecological improvement (SEPA, 2008).
2.3
Planning regulations
An anaerobic digestion system should also fulfill the requirements of the planning regulations. The main responsibility of the planning management rests with the local planning authorities. Planning of an area or district is a local matter and specific for each district. Therefore, the requirement of a planning permit in case of building a biogas system has to be investigated specifically.
2.4
Animal By-Product Regulation (ABP-regulation)
The European Animal By-Product Regulation (ABP-regulation) is of interest when using animal byproducts or kitchen waste as a substrate for the anaerobic digestion. In the regulation of the European Commission on animal by-products (ABP) not intended for human consumption (in the text referred to as EC 1774/2002), restrictions on the use of food waste for production of biogas are made. The objective of the ABP-regulation is to make sure that all meat and other products of animal origin used for anaerobic digestion meets treatment standards. In this way sufficient pathogen removal is ensured, so that the treated material can be applied on the land (Defra, 2008a). The ABP-regulation will be discussed in more detail in this section. The following information about ABP-regulation is gathered from guidance on the treatment in approved composting or biogas plants of animal by-products and catering waste, Defra, 2008a, unless indicated differently. In the APB-regulation 3 categories of animal by-products are distinguished: 1. Category 1 animal by-products. Products with this label include animal by-products which are Specified Risk Material and catering waste from means of international transport. Also parts of animals infected with TSE for example, are in this category. Wastes of category 1 are not allowed to be used as substrates in biogas production under any circumstances. 2. Category 2 animal by-products This category consists of high risk animal by-products. They cannot be used as substrate in biogas plants except where they have first been rendered in an approved rendering plant to the EU pressurerendering standard (133C/3bar/20 minutes). Digestate of rendered mammalian products cannot be applied on agricultural land (but it can be used on non-agricultural land). Also manure and digestive tract content are category 2 products. However, these products can be used without processing as a raw material in an approved biogas plant (EC 1774/2002).
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3. Category 3 products Wastes in this category are catering waste and other low risk animal by-products and can be subdivided as follows: - Category 3 animal by-products (low risk animal products) - Category 3 catering waste Category 3 animal by-products are low risk products, for example parts of animals which fit human consumption. These products can be used as feed for anaerobic digestion but must be treated in accordance with the EU Regulation. For anaerobic digestion this means that the system must include o a pasteurization phase. The EU standard treatment is 70 C for at least 1 hour with a maximum feedstock particle size of 12 mm. Further, certain hygiene and plant management requirements are to be met according the EU regulation. Moreover, the biogas plant should be approved to a competent authority (EC 1774/2002). Category 3 catering waste can also be used as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion under certain regulations. Catering waste is defined as all waste food including used cooking oil origination in restaurants, catering facilities and kitchens, including central kitchens and household kitchens (EC 1774/2002). With regard to the treatment standards of catering waste (which are specified on a national level in the UK) an important group is distinguished: the meat-excluded catering waste. Meat-excluded catering waste means that measures were taken at source to ensure that meat was not included in the catering waste. The meat fraction of the catering waste must be separately collected at source and the meat and non-meat fraction must be never mixed. Treatment of category 3 catering waste For the category 3 catering waste national treatment standards are in force. These only apply when the catering waste is the only animal by-product being used (except for manure, digestive tract content, milk or colostrums). For a biogas system it means that the waste has to be treated at a minimum of 57C for 5 hours with a maximum particle size of 50 mm or at 70C for 1 hour. This is also shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Treatment possibilities of category 3 catering waste when using it for anaerobic digestion.
Minimum temperature
57C 70C
Minimum time at minimum temperature

5 hours 1 hour
Max particle size

50 mm 60 mm
This part of the treatment is a hygienisation step. Besides the treatment standards above, The biogas plants must either 1. treat only meat-excluded catering waste; or 2. following treatment, store the material for a minimum of 18 days. Storages may include anaerobic digestion. (Defra, 2008a) Premises should be permitted or licensed (or is exempt) by the relevant governmental agency of GB: Environment Agency (England and Wales) / SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Scotland). The regulation at national level for category 3 catering waste does not apply for domestic composting in case the catering waste will be applied only to land of the premise on which it is originating. In this case, the catering waste is generated, composted and used at the same premise. This regulation is established to enable households to compost their own kitchen waste. The ABPR Guidance document describes this exemption as follows (quote): CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 11
Regulation 16 of the Animal By-Products Regulations 2005 states that the composting requirements of the Regulations do not apply to the composting of category 3 catering waste on the premises on which it originates provided that (a) the decomposed material is only applied to land at those premises; (b) no ruminant animals or pigs are kept at the premises; and (c) if poultry is kept at the premises the material is composted in a secure container which prevents the poultry having access to it during decomposition. This means that there is an exemption only for situations where the catering waste is generated, composted and then used all on the same premises i.e. once brought onto a site in the form of food, the waste material does not then leave the site. It is not acceptable to collect waste from a number of premises and then compost it and use it on a single premises. Whether this exemption is also valid when applying on-site anaerobic digestion for processing kitchen waste, is not clearly specified in the ABPR guidance. CCN has specified that this is the case as long as the waste is created on site and the digestate is used on site. Waste not regulated by the ABP-regulation The use of green waste is not affected by the Animal by product regulation. Green waste refers to waste from a garden or park. Waste food from premises on which meat or products of animal origin are not handled is also not affected by the animal by product regulation. For example, a green grocer or vegetable market. This also means that waste from vegan kitchens (where per definition no products of animal origin are handled) are also not affected by the Animal By-product Regulation. Then however, it should be taken care of that indeed no products of animal origin are being used. When green waste is mixed with catering waste it must be considered as catering waste and treated accordingly. Therefore a mixture of grass cuttings and kitchen vegetable peelings would be considered catering waste and should be treated as category 3 catering waste. Additionally, in an anaerobic system where animal by-products are mixed with another feedstock such as green waste (but these feedstocks are separately collected), the animal by-products are subject to the treatment standards but the green waste is not. According to the EU treatment standard, a plant mixing different feedstocks would need to address this in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan to ensure that each substrate is treated in accordance with the regulations. HACCP The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approach identifies and evaluates the hazards of a system or process. The focus of HACCP is to control the hazards as close as possible to their source. The HACCP plan is used for approving and inspecting anaerobic systems. The following steps are identified in a HACCP approach (Defra, 2008a): - Conduct a hazard analysis - Determine the Critical Control Points - Establish critical limits - Establish a system to monitor control of each critical control point - Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular Critical Control Point is not under control - Document and record all procedures, corrective actions and verification results - Establish procedures for verification, audit and review to confirm that HACCP is working effectively. In the HACCP approach the anaerobic system must be validated. In the pre-validation phase evidence and data is provided to demonstrate that the system con comply with the requirements of the applicable regulations. During the site validation, the operator will need to submit a HACCP plan and has to demonstrate that the system can be operated on their particular site in a way which complies with the requirements of the regulations eg. samples of the product should be tested for Samonella.
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Requirements for approved biogas premises are given in EU regulations as well as national regulations. These regulations are mentioned Defra (2008a). It is stated e.g. that there should be some form of physical separation between the clean area for storing the digestion residues and the unclean area where waste (substrates) are received. The unclean area (reception area) should be easy to clean and disinfect. For very small facilities, bins or other covered, leak proof and lockable containers can be used as reception area. Premises should operate on a one-way flow basis, thus material should flow from the dirty end to the clean end. Treated material should not be contaminated by untreated materials. Access by livestock The national regulations make it an offence to bring any catering waste onto any premises where any farmed animal or any other ruminant, pig or poultry is kept unless it has been treated in an approved biogas or composting plant. No approvals will be issued for composting or biogas plants which are located on livestock premises or on other premises where ruminants, pigs or poultry are kept. CCN added that poultry can be kept on the same premises but only as long as they are not allowed in the feedstock or digestate. Digestion residue The digestion residues of an anaerobic digestion system fed with catering waste or compost consisting of catering waste, cannot be applied on pasture land. This is land that is intended to be used for grazing or cropping for feedingstuffs following the application of compost of digestion residues within two months (for pigs) and three weeks (for other farmed animals). So the land must not be grazed during these periods nor cropping for feeding. Cutting hay or silage production is permitted during these periods (Defra, 2008a). Conclusion If it is chosen for to use kitchen waste (originating from non-vegan kitchens), as substrate for anaerobic digestion systems, the ABP-regulations imply that additional treatment of the kitchen waste is required for pathogen removal and that certain treatment standards should be met. Further, the anaerobic system has to be approved. The digestion residue might be applied on the land, in accordance with the conditions above.
2.5
Sewage and sewage sludge regulations
In the area of sewage and sewage sludge several regulations are relevant.
2.5.1
Sewage
Treatment of sewage is regulated in the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations, which is different for England and Wales and Scotland.
2.5.2
Sewage sludge
Use of sewage sludge is a highly regulated process. The use of sewage sludge on agricultural land has to fit the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations and in the Code of Practice for Agricultural Use of Sewage Sludge. In 1998 an agreement was made between the stakeholders in the UK (Water UK and the British Retail Consortium) in respect to applying sewage sludge on agricultural land. Its outcomes are or will be incorporated in the legislation and are as follows (ADAS, 2001): 1) Untreated sewage sludge can not be applied on agricultural land.
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2) Conventionally treated sludge can be only applied on the grazed grassland if it is deep injected into the soil. No grazing or harvesting within 3 weeks of application is allowed. Conventionally treated sludge can also be applied to agricultural land which is used to grow vegetables provided that at least 12 months has elapsed between application of the sludge and harvest of the crop. When the crop is a salad, the harvest interval must be at least 30 months (since a salad may be eaten raw). Conventionally treated sludge has been subjected to treatment methods which destroy at least 99% of the pathogens. Defined treatment processes are among others anaerobic digestion. 3) Enhanced treated sludge can be applied on land where crops as fruit, salad, vegetables and horticulture take place. The harvest interval of 10 months should be applied. In case of animal feed crops no harvesting interval is set in the agreement. Enhanced treatment methods reduce the amount of pathogens with a 6 log and the sludge will be free from Salmonella (ADAS, 2001). More details about this subject are in the Safe Sludge Matrix (ADAS, 2001).
2.6 2.6.1
Gas safety regulations Gas Safety
The Gas Safety is regulated in the Gas Safety Regulations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of the UK warns in general for an unprofessional dealing with gasses. Anyone who works on gas appliances as part of their business must be registered. For owners of private property there is no duty to maintain or regularly check their gas appliances by a CORGI-registered installer but it is strongly advised by HSE. For safety reasons it is advised to never use a gas appliance if it is not working properly. (HSE, 2008) As mentioned in section 2.2 the proposed exemption of anaerobic digestion system for environmental permitting is only applicable when the biogas is burned and the total input of all the gas appliances is less than 1.5 megawatts (consultation draft, 20080725). In all cases it is noteworthy that biogas contains methane which is highly flammable. Care should always be taken when storing or using the biogas, especially when the gas is brought in contact with air. Fire risks and the occurrence of explosive atmospheres should be dealt with. Presence of harmful and/or smell-intensive gasses (e.g. hydrogen sulphide, nitrous oxide and ammonia) should be prevented e.g. with a biogas treatment device.
2.6.2
Explosive Atmospheres
Because methane is highly flammable, it can generate, in the presence of oxygen, explosive atmospheres. This can happen e.g. when biogas is leaking from its storage place to the air. An explosive atmosphere is a mixture of dangerous substances with air, under atmospheric conditions, in the form of gases, vapours, mist or dust in which, after ignition has occurred, combustion spreads to the entire unburned mixture (ATEX, 2008). In biogas plants, different explosive risks can be identified, depending on the exact configuration of the plant. Some spaces will have a constant, long-term or frequent dangerous potential risk of forming explosive atmosphere, for example the gasholder or the combustion chamber of a gas flare. The digester itself can also be seen like this, in case air is leaking into it. In other spaces occasionally an explosive atmosphere can occur, for example close to the gas flare (Deublein, 2008). ATEX is the name for a legal framework for controlling explosive atmospheres and the standards of equipment and protective systems used in them. Two EU directives, the directive 99/92/EC (ATEX 137) and Directive 94/9/EC (ATEX 95) are the basis of this framework. In Great Britain the CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 14
requirements of Directive 99/92/EC were put into effect through regulations in the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR). The directive 94/9/EC is in GB put into effect through the DTIs Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/192) (ATEX, 2008). DSEAR Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) has the aim to protect people from risks to their safety from fires, explosions and similar events in the workplace (including members of the public who may be put at risk by work activity) by putting duties on employers and the self-employed. Dangerous substances include the flammable gasses. From the website of DSEAR, it becomes clear that this regulation requires from employers to take measures to control possible risks or remove risks, prepare plans to deal with accidents, inform employees, avoid ignition sources. DSEAR applies whenever: - there is work being carried out by an employer (or self employed person); - a dangerous substance is present (or is liable to be present) at the workplace; - the dangerous substance could be a risk to the safety of people as a result of fires, explosions or similar energetic events (DSEAR, 2008). DSEAR applies to workplaces where dangerous substances are present, used, or produced. Workplaces are any premises or parts of premises used for work. It thus applies for domestic premises, if people are at work there (DSEAR, 2008). Where the risk cannot be eliminated, DSEAR requires control and mitigation measures. Measures that are listed on the website of DSEAR are (DSEAR, 2008): Control measures: - reduce the quantity of dangerous substances to a minimum; - avoid or minimise releases of dangerous substances; - control releases of dangerous substances at source; - prevent the formation of a dangerous atmosphere; - collect, contain and remove any releases to a safe place (for example, through ventilation); - avoid ignition sources; - avoid adverse conditions (for example, exceeding the limits of temperature or control settings) that could lead to danger; - keep incompatible substances apart. Mitigation measures: reducing the number of employees exposed to the risk; providing plant that is explosion resistant; providing explosion suppression or explosion relief equipment; taking measures to control or minimise the spread of fires or explosions; providing suitable personal protective equipment.
EPS regulations Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (EPS) Regulations apply to all equipment intended for use in explosive atmospheres, whether electrical or mechanical, and also to protective systems (ATEX, 2008). Products not covered by these EPS regulations are amongst others equipment intended for use in domestic and non-commercial environments where potentially explosive atmospheres may only rarely be created, solely as a result of the accidental leakage of fuel gas (DTI, 2002). Because the biogas plant involves spaces where explosive atmospheres can occur, electronic devices, and specific devices as the gasholder and the gas transport system likely have to comply with regulations (certified equipment). It should be considered when selecting the appropriate devices (Deublein, 2008). It is unclear whether there are differences with regard to the applicable regulations, for a domestic plant and a commercial plant.
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3. Anaerobic digestion of (solid) waste

3.1 The anaerobic degradation processes
Different biological degradation processes exist in nature, and many of them are used for the treatment of solid wastes and wastewaters. These processes can be divided into two groups: aerobic processes (using oxygen) and anaerobic processes (occurring in the absence of oxygen). Anaerobic digestion is often portrayed as simple, but in fact it is complex: it is not one process, but encompasses a group of different interlinked anaerobic processes. The following scheme (Figure 1) gives examples of the different biological degradation processes:
Aerobic (with O2)
Organic material: - dead plant material - dead animals - manure Natural environment - Forest soil Organic material: - kitchen waste - horticulture waste
Anaerobic (without O2)

Organic material Natural environment: - Under water - Inside intestines Organic material Artificial environment: - Digester
Artificial environment - compost heap
CO2 and heat humus
CH4 and CO2 bog, manure digestate
Figure 1. Examples of natural degradation processes and some applications (adapted from Wulf, 2005).
An important difference between the two types of processes is the formation of an energy carrier, methane, as the end product of anaerobic degradation, and the liberation of energy as heat in the aerobic processes. During anaerobic digestion, organic material is transformed into methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in several different process steps. Different micro organisms are active in the different steps, and the processes influence each other. The processes and the correlations between them are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Different process steps of anaerobic digestion
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The different steps shown in Figure 2 are: 1. 2. 3. 4. Hydrolysis: transformation of solid organic material in soluble organic material Acidogenesis (1st part of the acidification): formation of different shorter fatty acids and alcohols Acetogenesis (2nd part of the acidification): formation of acetic acid Methanogenesis (methane formation) a. from acetic acid b. from hydrogen and carbon dioxide c. from C1-compounds, such as methanol and formate
When a digester is fed with a complex mixture of substrates, which is the case when processing food waste, the degradation of the different components (ingredients) will start at different points in the scheme presented in Figure 2. Degradation of solids will start at step 1, whereas degradation of volatile fatty acids that are already present in the feed will start at step 3. The system can be brought off balance by disturbing the process flow, for example due to improper feeding or operational problems. To obtain a properly functioning anaerobic digestion it is important that the basic processes are wellbalanced. The different processes are in fact dependent on each other: they produce each others substrates and consume each others products. Anaerobic digestion proceeds well when the products of each step are transformed immediately in the next step. Furthermore, the combination of processes can not proceed faster than the slowest process involved, and when one of the processes is disturbed the overall digestion is negatively impacted. Generally, the hydrolysis is the slowest process, that is: the rate-limiting step.
3.2
Biogas
The end product of a well established anaerobic digestion process chain is biogas, a mixture of mainly methane (CH4, 50-70%) and carbon dioxide (CO2, 30-50%). Other gases such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) can also be present, usually in much lower amounts. Traces of hydrogen (H2), oxygen (O2) and nitrogen gas (N2) can also be found. However, when oxygen and nitrogen are present this can also indicate leakage. The composition and characteristics of biogas as compared to natural gas are shown in Table 3 and Table 4.
Table 3. Comparison of the composition and parameters for natural gas and biogas (Persson et al. 2006). Parameter Methane Carbon dioxide Nitrogen Oxygen Hydrogen sulphide Ammonia Lower heating value Lower heating value Density Higher Wobbe index Methane number Unit vol% vol% vol% vol% ppm ppm MJ/nm
3 3
North Sea Natural Gas 87 1.2 0.3 0 1-2 0 40 11 0.84 55 70
Biogas 53-70 30-47 0.2 0 0-10000 <100 23 6.5 1.2 27 >135
kWh/nm kg/nm
3
MJ/nm -
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Table 4. Comparison of characteristics of natural gas and biogas (Wellinger and Lindberg 2001). Parameter Max. ignition velocity Theoretical air requirement Max. CO2-conc. in stack gas Dew point * 60% CH4, 38% CO2, 2% Other
3
Unit m/s m air/ m gas vol% C

3
North Sea Natural Gas 0.39 9.53 11.9 59
Biogas * 0.25 5.71 17.8 60-160
Hydrogen sulphide can cause corrosion problems when burning the biogas, reducing the lifetime of gas engines and other equipment. It is usually removed if above 500 ppm. Removal of compounds from biogas is often called scrubbing. As well as hydrogen sulphide, water vapour and CO2 are also often removed to increase the gas quality. Biogas can be used for cooking, lighting, or electricity production. In developing countries cooking is the main purpose. For small scale applications in developing countries the gas is normally used 3 untreated (unscrubbed), and special biogas stoves and lamps exist. Typically, 1 m of unscrubbed (=raw) biogas will allow for 2 hours of cooking or 1.5 kWh electrical output. A quantity of 2.5 m3 unscrubbed biogas equals 1 kg of LP gas (AGAMA 2007).
3.3
Reactor conditions
As was shown in the previous sections, anaerobic digestion is a complex process, and the different process steps should be well-balanced. Micro organisms carry out for these processes, which means that a digester should count with a stable and well-functioning microbial biomass of the right characteristics: the processes are interlinked so for a stable overall process all the needed different micro organisms must be present, and in the right quantities. Several factors directly influence the functioning of micro organisms and make it possible that the desired processes take place:
3.3.1
The right micro organisms
The micro organisms responsible for hydrolysis and acidification (also called acidifiers) are completely different from the methane producing organisms (also called methanogens). Each group of micro organisms has their own requirements and properties. For example, many acidifiers can survive in the presence of oxygen, and even use it, whereas it is toxic already in very low concentrations for the methane producers. In a digester the conditions should be such that the requirements of all bacterial population groups are taken into account. This can be achieved by feeding it with the right mix of substrates and good operation and maintenance of the system.
3.3.2
Nutrients
Every living organism, including micro-organisms, needs a different mix of nutrients for cell maintenance and growth. The most important nutrients that should be present (in the right amounts) are: nitrogen, phosphorous, sulphur, calcium and magnesium, but also trace elements such as cobalt, nickel, manganese and iron. Certain chemical wastewaters, for example, contain just a few organic compounds and almost nothing else, and in those cases of serious nutrient deficiency addition of the missing nutrients is crucial for obtaining a well functioning digesting process. Sometimes it is only one of the crucial trace elements that is lacking, and often this is found out only after all other possible reasons for sub-optimal digestion have been eliminated. Chemicals addition is costly, and therefore it is not standard practice to always add the complete mix, just in case one of the compounds is present in sub-optimal
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amounts. Also, in too high amounts nutrients and trace elements can become toxic. Complex and varied substrates such as kitchen waste should normally contain all necessary nutrients and trace elements.
3.3.3
Temperature
Temperature is an important parameter for the anaerobic digestion process. Chemical reactions proceed faster with increasing temperature and slower with decreasing temperature. Each 10C temperature increase causes an increase in reaction rate of 2-3 times. The increase is limited because the properties of compounds change with increasing temperature, but large rate increases can be obtained before the processes are halted. This relation between temperature and reaction rate is also valid for biological processes, because they are in fact chemical processes that take place inside living organisms (or they are controlled by those organisms). But because the micro organisms themselves are also sensitive to temperature, the possibilities of increasing rates by increasing the temperature are limited, more than in the case of purely chemical reactions. Different groups of micro organisms have adapted to different temperature ranges to grow in, and each group has its own optimum temperature. Within the range of a group each reaction has its optimum temperature with maximum activity. Above or below the optimum temperature the reaction rate decreases. At temperatures just a few degrees above the optimum decay starts for most bacteria, although some are relatively tolerant. At lower temperatures normally the activity goes down but the organisms do not die. For anaerobic digestion bacteria are divided in three groups, each with their own temperature optimum: 0-20C: psychrophilic micro organisms 20-40C: mesophilic micro-organisms above 40C: thermophilic micro-organisms. Thermophilic digestion takes place at a maximum of 55-60C. However, bacteria exist that can grow at temperatures of 120C.
Figure 3 is a graphic representation of the temperature ranges. This graph is meant to give a general idea of the differences between the three main groups, without going into detail. For each microorganism the rates are different, which makes it impossible to include numbers on the y-axis.
Rate (growth speed)
Psychrophilic Mesophilic Thermophilic
20
40
60 Temperature (C)
Figure 3. General indication of temperature ranges for bacterial growth
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Within each temperature group we can see that the rate increases with increasing temperature, and when passing the maximum there is a rapid decline. As stated before, at lower temperatures microorganisms are merely less active, but at temperatures above their optimum they will die quite rapidly. In general, the maximum rates of psychrophilic organisms are lower than the maximum rates of mesophilic organisms, which are generally lower than for the thermophilic organisms. It can not be generalised for example how much higher the thermophilic rate is when compared to mesophilic conditions, the graph in Figure 3 should not be taken too literally. The mentioned groups of micro-organisms are very different. Therefore a digester can not be switched from one operating temperature range to the other without loss of activity. When a drastic temperature change is applied, other micro organisms will start growing to take over the process.
3.3.4
pH
The pH is a measure for the acidity. Its scale runs from 0 (very acidic), via 7 (neutral), to 14 (very basic). Figure 4 shows the pH scale with examples of common substances at different degrees of acidity. All organisms are more or less sensitive to pH changes and have a pH-optimum at which they function best.
Figure 4. pH scale with examples (Lower 2006)
In general three pH-ranges are distinguished for microbial activity: - <pH 5.5-6.0: acidophilic. Many acidifying bacteria belong to this group and can function in very acidic environments. - pH 5.5-6.0 to pH 8.0-8.5: neutrophilic. Most methanogens are active in these conditions. - pH 8.5: alkaliphilic. This type of bacteria is generally not much present in digesters. Micro-organisms influence the pH of their internal and external environment by the production and/or consumption of organic acids and buffering compounds. However, although they can control their intracellular pH up to a certain extent, they cannot regulate the external pH. Of the groups of micro organisms involved, the methane producers are most sensitive to the pH of their environment. They prefer a pH of 6.5 to 8, and at a pH below 6 the methane production is notably negatively affected. The bacteria that are responsible for hydrolysis have a broad pH range, and the acidifiers prefer a pH below 8. The latter group can continue producing acids until below pH 5. When the acidifiers produce more acid than the methanogens can take away, the pH will drop and the reactor balance is lost. In section 3.6.1 this phenomenon is discussed more in detail.
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3.4 3.4.1
General aspects of digester technology Retention time
In digester technology two types of retention times are distinguished: the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and the solids retention time (SRT, also called sludge retention time). The HRT is the period of time that a substrate is retained in the digester, whereas the SRT refers to the retention period of the active biomass (=micro-organisms). In fully mixed systems with no retention of the active biomass the HRT and the SRT are the same. Other types of systems are designed to retain the active biomass in the system for as long as possible, which makes the SRT is much longer than the HRT. The result of that strategy is an increase of the active biomass concentration in the reactor and thus an increase of the efficiency of the reactor volume. With a higher microbial activity the substrate can be converted in a shorter time, making it possible to lower the HRT. The allowable HRT is an important consideration, because it is the direct relation between the digester volume and the substrate amount that can be processed: the retention time determines the needed digester volume for a given substrate amount, and for a fixed digester volume it determines the amount that can be processed in a certain time. For example: to digest an amount of 1 m3 per day 3 of a substrate that needs 20 days retention time, a volume of 20 m is needed. For well-functioning digesters it is mostly the substrate characteristics that determine the retention time. As explained before, the different processes each have a certain rate, and as a result the different components of a complex substrate each need a different period of time to be fully degraded. The degradation of hemicellulose, fats and proteins can take up to several days, whereas simple sugars and volatile fatty acids are transformed in a few hours. Figure 5 shows the biogas production in time from a substrate when administered as a single feed. First the hydrolysis needs to start (phase 1), then the easily degradable compounds are formed, giving a fast biogas production increase (phase 2). When only difficult to degrade compounds are left, the gas production decreases (phase 3) and continuous at a low rate until all substrate is transformed (phase 4).
Figure 5. Biogas production from a single substrate feed (adapted from Gronauer et al. 2008)
Figure 6 gives an example of how the cumulative gas production increases at increasing retention time in an anaerobic digester, and how the biogas production rate changes in time. Based on the cumulative biogas production obtained from a substrate, a suitable retention time can be chosen.
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Figure 6. Cumulative biogas production and retention time (adapted from Gronauer et al. 2008)
The design of a digester is based on a certain substrate amount per day and a certain HRT for that particular substrate (or substrate mix). This means that when the input is suddenly changed significantly, the retention time should be changed accordingly. Normally a safety factor is used for the design, allowing for small changes in the feed composition to be accommodated. However, when after a substrate change the resulting retention time is too short the process balance will be disturbed, negatively affecting biogas production and effluent stability, or, in a worst case, leading to a complete loss of activity (see also sections 3.1 and 3.6.1). A too long retention time is usually not a problem for the process balance, but means that the digester volume is not used efficiently.
3.4.2
Load
The load is the amount of substrate provided per time per digester volume. An important consideration when choosing the retention time is the load that can be applied without loosing the balance between the different processes. The cumulative biogas production from a substrate is determined by laboratory testing or derived from available information, but it is very unlikely that the conditions in the digester will exactly match those tested in the laboratory or applied in other cases. For example: a laboratory test with an easily degradable substrate might indicate that a very short HRT is possible, but the amount of methane producing bacteria is then usually very high and normally optimal conditions were applied. In a digester with fewer methanogens the short retention time would lead to acidification of the digester content (see sections 3.3.4 and 3.6.1).
3.4.3
Dry matter content and mixing
The dry matter content is an important factor in choosing a certain digester type. Completely mixed digesters can work with a maximum dry matter content of 8-10%, whereas plug flow digesters can function with levels 15-20% (sometimes higher). Also other technical factors exist: pumping of substrate is normally possible up to 12% dry matter. The characteristics of the available substrate determine the choice for a digester type, and for existing digesters the dry matter content should be adapted to a suitable level. Mixing of the digester content is important because of several reasons: The fresh substrate is brought in contact with digested material, making/keeping the process going by enhancing the contact between the substrate and the micro organisms. The temperature in the digester is equalised Floating layers or sediment layers can be (partly) prevented or removed Biogas bubbles entrapped in the material are liberated
22
Installing a mixing mechanism is always an investment, and the mixing itself requires energy input. Very basic digester systems used in developing countries are normally not mixed, except for natural mixing provided by biogas bubbles flowing up, passing through the material. This makes the system technically very simple, but reduces the biogas production efficiency.
3.5
Digester configurations
When choosing a certain digester configuration some important basic aspects should be considered as a starting point. The scheme in Figure 7 shows the four most important aspects.
Moisture content of the substrate Wet or Temperature range Psychrophilic or Mesophilic or Thermophilic Dry
Number of process steps One step or Feeding Continuous or Discontinuous Multiple steps
Figure 7. Examples of important factors in choosing a digester design
Anaerobic digester technology is divided in two main categories: wet digestion and dry digestion. Wet digestion is applied for both wastewaters and slurries. Different technologies and reactor configurations exist for both categories. A main difference between the approach for wastewater and the approach for slurries is that wastewater digesters generally do not need mechanical mixing. Mixing is brought about by pumping and carefully choosing the influent inlet mechanism. Well-known systems are the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket reactor (UASB) and other upflow reactors. Pure wastewater treatment technologies are not further considered in this report.
3.5.1
Fully mixed continuous systems
A fully mixed continuous system is regularly fed with a certain amount of substrate (determined by the retention time) while the same amount of digestate is removed from the digester. As a result, the volume of digester liquid is kept constant. Small digesters might be fed once or twice daily, whereas larger systems are usually fed much more often, for example every hour. Figure 8 shows a CSTR.
Figure 8. Schematic representation of fully mixed digester system (Arogo Ogejo et al. 2007)
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Strictly speaking, the feeding is not continuous, and the hydraulic retention time is in fact an average retention time. The feed (flow and composition) should be optimised to make the biogas production as high and as constant as possible. The gas production from each feed (as shown in Figure 5) should overlap the gas production from the previous feed, obtaining an average continuous gas production that lies a bit below the maximum in that graph. In the case of fully mixed systems the SRT is by definition equal to the HRT, because the biomass and the substrate are always fully mixed. Usually these reactors need long retention times in the order of several weeks or even months, as the active biomass is part of the digestate that is removed from the reactor.
3.5.2
Plug flow systems
This reactor type is suitable for substrates with a higher solids concentration. These reactors generally are fairly large horizontal tubes or narrow channels, in which feeding is done by introducing material into the digester at one end and taking out material at the other end. Plug flow digesters are not always mixed, and when mixing is done it is only in the vertical direction. As a result the digester contains material in different stages of the digestion process, and the composition of the content is totally different at the beginning of the digester and at the end. Usually part of the effluent is mixed with the influent to provide active biomass and buffering capacity form the start of the process.
Figure 9. Scheme of plug flow digester system without effluent recycling (Arogo Ogejo et al. 2007).
Non-mixed plug flow digesters are technically simpler than fully mixed digesters. However, as the substrate is not mixed with a large amount of digested reactor content (like in the CSTR) it can be difficult to maintain a well balanced process for each feed, especially when digesting easily degradable substances. Additionally, in plug flow systems without vertical mixing the digester content separates by gravity, which means that the material is not only undergoing different digestion phases in the horizontal direction, but also vertically.
3.5.3
Batch systems
In a batch process the reactor is filled completely with fresh substrate, inoculated with digested material containing anaerobic biomass. No feeding or withdrawing of digested material takes place. The gas production from a batch digester is exactly like shown in Figure 5: it first increases and then decreases. This is why several batch digesters are operated next to each other, each in a different phase of the process. In this way the gas production of the entire plant is maintained more or less stable.
3.5.4
Accumulation systems
The name of this system indicates its mode of operation: material is accumulated in the digester. An amount of previously digested material is used as an inoculum. These reactors resemble batch digesters, but without filling them completely from the start. New material is added regularly, until the digester is completely filled. When the last feed is digested the reactor is emptied and the accumulation can start again. An example of a (mostly unplanned) accumulation digester is the manure storage cellar on a farm.
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3.5.5
Dry digestion
Dry digestion takes place at dry matter concentrations of more than 20% (maximum 50%). Most full scale dry digester systems are large batch systems that use percolate recycling. In those digesters a fixed amount of organic waste is brought into the system and liquid is constantly recycled through the mass. Without percolation the formed organic acids accumulate and zones of high acidity develop rapidly, halting the digestion process. Especially with easily degradable waste such as kitchen waste this is a problem. Mechanical mixing could be an alternative to percolation, material with high dry matter content is difficult to mix well. In general this technology seems too complicated for small scale application.
3.5.6
Practical considerations
When a digester type and basic configuration has been chosen the design process is not finished. The chosen configuration should be dimensioned and designed in more detail. The needed digester type and volume are mainly determined by the characteristics of the substrate (mainly hydrolysis rate, maximum biodegradability), assuming that the reactor conditions (e.g. temperature) can be chosen and set as desired. The technical choices made during the design phase are critical for the subsequent use of the digester, and therefore the design criteria should be well thought over. Important choices do not only have to be made for the substrate and the needed volume, but also for very practical issues like storage of feed and digestate, facilities for mixing of different substrates, ways of introducing the feed and removing the gas and digestate, mixing of the digester liquid, gas storage, monitoring and control, etc.
3.6 3.6.1
Potential problems Acidification
Acidification of the digester is one of the most common situations in which the anaerobic digestion process steps are out of balance. This is a result of the relation between acidification and methane formation. The methane producing organisms (methanogens) use acetic acid (formed in step 3, the acetogenesis, see Figure 2) to finally form methane. When there are not enough methanogens present to consume the acetate, acids will accumulate in the digester. It is not only the acetic acid that is not consumed, but also the acids formed in step 2 (the acidogenesis) that accumulate. These accumulated acids cause a pH drop in the digester, which negatively affects the methanogens, and can reach toxic levels. As a result, even less acid is transformed by methanogens. This is a vicious circle, which can be started by a sudden feed of an excessive amount of easily acidifiable substrate to the anaerobic digester. Correct process operation is the key to avoiding acidification problems.
3.6.2
Scum layer
Scum layers are formed by material floating on top of the liquid in the digester. When thick enough, this floating layer can cause blockages of effluent pipes and biogas outlets. Fat is the most common cause of scum layer formation, but also light materials such as straw can start to float. Different floating materials can cling together, causing a dense layer. Adequate mixing can prevent the formation of these layers, and mixing can also be used to destroy the scum layer when it forms. However, mixing does not bring guaranteed success. As long as the floating materials are moist, they can be incorporated again in the digester liquid, for example by adjusting the mixing equipment or by introducing a form of mixing if it was not installed yet. If scum layers are left for too long, they can dry out and form a crust that is difficult to remove.
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3.6.3
Foaming
Foaming is a common problem with many digesters. It occurs in many forms, and no general prevention or remediation rules exist. When a foam layer is stable and reaches high enough, it can block the gas outlets. Remedies that can be tried are mixing the top layer or spraying water on the surface. Changing the feed composition (if possible) can also reduce foaming.
3.6.4
Sediment layer
Sand, grit and other inert materials can form a sediment layer on the bottom of the digester. This layer can cause blockages and wear on moving parts, but in any case it reduces the effective reactor volume. Introducing this type of materials in the digester should be avoided. If a sediment layer is formed it should be removed before damage occurs or before the effective volume is reduced too much.
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4. Existing small scale digesters

This chapter presents an overview of existing small scale digesters as encountered in literature and on the internet, as a basis for idea generation for the development of a robust digester that is easy to build and operate, and will work in Western Europe. This list of digesters is not exhaustive, as the number of variations in design, technology and configuration is endless. Because of this large variation it is not useful to go into much depth for each digester, or to try to adapt them for use in the UK. The digesters are categorised based on their main distinctive characteristic, and the country in which they are found most frequently. The country name does not imply that the system is only used in that particular country. Digesters used in (tropical) developing countries would need to be equipped with heating system in order to obtain efficient biogas production for the situation in UK. However, the different digester configurations used worldwide can provide useful ideas for the development of a suitable new digester concept for CCN. In 2005 there were more than 25 million small scale biogas plants in operation worldwide, and the installation rate from that time was over 1 million plants per year (AGAMA 2007). This indicates that small scale anaerobic digestion for biogas production is in principle an interesting technique. In Western Europe biogas production is done mainly in large digesters because of economy of scale, and the direct link governments make between biogas and electricity production. Subsidies are given for produced electricity, and a certain scale is needed to make electricity generation feasible.
4.1 4.1.1
Fixed dome (China-type) Basic principle
Digesters of the fixed dome type have been built since 1936 in China and it is the most common type applied in developing countries. The digester is usually built of bricks, stone and/or poured concrete (Marchaim 1992). Many variations to the fixed dome digester have been developed. Different variations of the so-called Chinese type (Figure 10 and Figure 11) make use of a removable manhole cover in the top of the dome. In India the two most common fixed dome digester models are the Janata and the Deenbandhu design (Figure 12), both without a manhole in the top. These digesters are usually between 5 m3 and 10 m3.
Figure 10. Chinese type fixed dome digester with vertical walls (Fraenkel 1986).
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
mixing tank with inlet pipe, digester, compensating and removal tank, gas holder, gas pipe, weighted entry hatch with gas tight seal, difference in level = gas pressure in cm water column, supernatant scum layer, accumulation of thick sludge, accumulation of grit and stones, zero line filling height without gas pressure.
Figure 11. Chinese type fixed dome digester almost completely dome shaped (Nijaguna 2002).
Figure 12. Two types of Indian fixed dome digesters: Janata (left) and Deenbandhu (right) (Mital, 1997)
The gas tight chamber is formed by a hemispherical top sealed by layers of mortar. Feeding is done semi-continuously (e.g. once a day) through the inlet pipe, displacing the same volume of effluent. Biogas is stored under the dome, leading to quite high gas pressures (between 1 and 1.5 m of water), which is why the top and bottom are hemispherical. Leakage of gas was a main problem in older dome digesters and can still be an issue in newer ones. In 1992 there were about 5 million family3 sized fixed dome digesters operating in China, with volumes of 6, 8 and 10 m (Marchaim 1992). The costs for a Deenbandhu plant as given by the Indian government are shown in Table 5.
Table 5. Costs for Deenbandhu digesters in India. Data probably from 2005, not specified. (MNRE 2005). Plant capacity (m3) North-eastern region 1 2 3 4 8800 14400 16800 21600 Cost per plant in India (Rs)* Hilly areas 7150 11700 13650 17550 Rest of the country 5500 9000 10500 13500
* Exchange rate mid 2005: 1 = 73 Rs / 1000 Rs = 13.8
The design and construction of these digesters is well-known and a lot of experience is available, also freely accessible through the internet. Construction material is chosen on site to keep costs low. In China the design of these digesters is standardised based on several design aspects (Marchaim 1992): gas pressure, average rate of gas production, gas storage, digester size, geometric forms, loads and forces. At ambient pressure the water level is 95% of the total volume, and the gas
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pressure should be equal to, or below, 120 cm of water. The diameter to height ratio is usually 2:1. Both cow and pig manure are common substrates, and for both materials an HRT of 35 - 40 days is adopted, applying a solids concentration of less than 10%.
4.1.2
Polyethylene dome
Leaking of gas through the dome is the main problem with standard fixed dome biogas plants, especially in areas where skilled labour and good quality materials are scarce. Polyethylene domes 3 are available for the 2 m Deenbandhu type digester, making installation easy and avoiding gas leakage. The construction time can be reduced from 3 weeks for a conventional plant to only 6 days with a PE dome. It is also suitable for repairing existing digesters.
Figure 13. Digester wall construction and finished biogas plant with PE dome (Krishna 2007).
4.2 4.2.1
Floating dome (India-type) General concept
The Indian floating dome digester was designed in 1950 by Patel, and promoted by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) of Bombay in the 1960s. Since then this digester type has been improved and the technology has been disseminated by the KVIC, and the particular type promoted by them is known as the KVIC type digester. Other designs exist, for example the Pragati model. The most distinguishing characteristic of floating drum digesters is the floating gas holder, which moves up and down with the production and usage of the biogas (Marchaim 1992). A schematic picture of the KVIC type and Pragati type digesters is shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14. KVIC promoted floating drum type digester (left, Fraenkel 1986) and Pragati model (right, Mital 1997)
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The digester walls are usually made of brick or reinforced concrete, and the gas holder of fibreglass reinforced plastic. Steel was used in the past, but because of corrosion problems FRP is now more frequently used, even if its costs are higher than for a steel drum. The weight of the gas holder determines the gas pressure inside the digester (Marchaim 1992). This feature can be used to increase the gas pressure when needed, by placing extra weight on the holder. As a feed mostly cattle dung is used, sometimes mixed with nightsoil (in community applications), agricultural residues and other substrates such as water hyacinth. If needed, the influent is diluted to a dry matter content of around 10%. The retention times adopted for the digester vary with the temperature, as shown in Table 6:
Table 6. Retention times adopted in India for floating dome digester
Region Southern India Central and plains area Northern India hilly areas
Ambient temperature (C) 20 - 40 minimum 5 minimum 0
Retention time (d) 30 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 80
As with the fixed dome digester, feeding is done semi-continuously through an inlet pipe, displacing the effluent. A vertical baffle can be installed when the height:diameter ratio is high and might allow for short-circuiting of the influent and effluent flow. Obtained gas yields roughly range between 0.2 and 0.6 volume of gas per volume of digester in the cold and warm areas respectively (Marchaim 1992). Especially in India but also elsewhere in the world this digester type is undergoing continuous experimental improvements, for example in the geometric configuration but also with respect to mixing, insulation and heating (Marchaim 1992).
4.2.2
ARTI Compact Biogas Plant
ARTI, the Appropriate Rural Technology Institute, is an NGO based in Maharashtra, India. The ARTI compact biogas plant is a floating dome digester made from two cut-down high-density polythene 3 3 (HDPE) water tanks, typically of 1 m and 0.75 m , with the larger tank being the digester body and the smaller one the gas holder (see Figure 15). This digester was developed for producing biogas from food waste, and to be sufficiently compact to be used in an urban environment. It has won the 2006 Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy in the Food Security category (Mller 2007).
Figure 15. ARTI biogas plant. Schematic representation and finished plant (ARTI 2009).
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The substrate (all kinds of food waste, mixed with water or digester liquid) is fed through an inlet pipe and displaces a similar amount of effluent via an overflow. Biogas can be led directly to the kitchen, and the gas pressure can be increased by placing weights on the floating dome. Installation of the digester is easy and takes only a few hours when ordering the plant as a kit, with a space requirement of about 2 m2 by 2.5 m (ARTI 2009). The digester specifications are given in Table 7. The costs, including a biogas stove, are around $200. ARTI also provides a manual for a complete do-it-yourself building and installation of the plant.
Table 7. Specifications for ARTI compact biogas plant (ARTI 2009) Specifications for ARTI compact biogas plant Amount of required feedstock Nature of required feedstock Amount and nature of slurry to be disposed of Reaction time for full utilization of feedstock Standard size for household Capital investment per unit including stove Running expenses per meal 1-1.5 kg + 15 litre water Any starchy material 15 lit, watery 48-72 hours 1000-1500 litres INR 10,000 0 to INR 5
4.2.3
Water jacket plant
As the floating drum is submerged in the digester content, it becomes dirty and it can even get stuck in cases of severe scum layer formation. An improved design is the water jacket biogas plant, with a floating drum that is not in contact with the digester liquid but rests in a water jacket around the top of the plant (see Figure 16). The water jacket involves an extra cost but the hygiene of this design is superior to the standard floating drum plant.
1. Mixing pit, 2. Digester, 3. Gasholder, 4. Slurry store, 5. Gas pipe, 11. Fill pipe, 31. Guide frame.
Figure 16. Water jacket floating drum plant (Werner et al. 1989).
4.3
Bag design (Taiwan)
The bag design originated in the 1960s in Taiwan, as an answer to problems with other digester types. Nowadays it is also used extensively in other areas, for example in Central America (Figure 17). The design is very simple, as the digester is basically a tube made of a flexible material, placed in a trench in the ground (slightly deeper than the digester radius) (Marchaim 1992).
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Figure 17. Taiwanese bag digester (Nijaguna 2002)
Used materials are a membrane called Red Mud Plastic (RMP), but also PVC is widely used. As a result, these digesters are very lightweight and easy to install (Marchaim 1992). Furthermore, the bagtype digesters can be successfully installed in areas with a higher groundwater level, where application of brick or concrete digesters is very difficult (An 1996). In Taiwan the digester was mainly developed for swine manure, and also in China, Korea and Fiji this is the most common substrate. Typical retention times for swine waste are 60 days at 15C-20C and 20 days at 30C-35C. The thin construction material allows for easy heating of the digester content, for example by the sun, and in practice the temperature has been found to be 2-7C higher than in fixed dome digesters. In Korea the following specific gas yields were found: 0.1 in winter (8C) and 0.7 in summer (volumes of gas per volume of digester per day). In China these digesters are used as batch digesters, filled with manure and straw and operated for half a year (Marchaim 1992). The costs for this digester are very low in comparison to other digester types, and the digesters can either be prefabricated and transported or built on site. At present, the costs for a tubular polyethylene bag digester with PVC piping and plastic hosing are varying from $34 in Vietnam to $150 in Costa Rica. Digester sizes vary in length for from 10 to 20 m, with a 5 m circumference. The wastewater to biogas ratio is approximately 1:3 (Lansing et al. 2008). In Vietnam (around Ho Chi Minh City) the average digester length was 10.2 m with an estimated digester volume of 5 m3 (An 1996). The characteristics of these Vietnamese digesters are given in Table 8.
Table 8. Design characteristics of 194 bag type digesters installed around Ho Chi Minh City (An 1996)
Mean Length (m) Digester liquid volume (m3) Distance to kitchen (m) Material cost (US$) Time to first gas production (days) 10.2 5.1 23 25.4 17
Range 4 - 30 2 - 15 8 - 71 14 - 82 1 - 60
The material is in principle very durable, but both weather conditions and mechanical failure can be a problem (Marchaim 1992). A survey in Vietnam revealed that most technical failures occur because of exposure to the sun and damage by falling objects, animals or people. Total exposure to the sun led to breaking of the material in two years. Most users could fix their digesters without external help (An 1996). Some photographs of Vietnamese plastic tube biodigesters are given in Figure 18.
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Figure 18. Installation and operation of PVC bag digesters in Vietnam (Lam et al. 2006)
4.4
Prefabricated digesters
Sintex Industries Limited in India, a manufacturer of different kinds of plastic products, sells fully prefabricated biogas plants made of HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene) based material. Two models are advertised on their website are a Deenbandhu type and a floating dome type. For the 3 3 3 Deenbandhu type different volumes are available: 0.5 m , 1 m and 2 m for processing of manure from 1, 2 or 4 animals, respectively. The floating dome type measures 0.75 m3 and can be provided with a food crusher (Sintex 2009). The company was contacted by e-mail to obtain more information about their digesters, but no information was received before the report was finished. On internet at least one price indication was 3 found, a 1 m digester of the Deenbandhu type costs $425,- (Kahn, 2008). No further information could be found about the prefabricated floating dome type digester.
Figure 19. Prefabricated plastic Deenbandhu digester and floating dome digester (Sintex 2009).
The Indian based company Vivam Agrotech sells the prefabricated plant as a Small Biogas Plant, in 4 sizes; for 10, 20, 30 or 40 kg of food waste per day. No dimensions are given for these digesters, but in the photographs on their website it can be seen that they are made by Sintex. It is likely that 3 3 they are the same volumes as mentioned before (0.5 m - 2 m ).
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Figure 20. Prefabricated plastic digester distributed by Vivam Agrotech (Vivam Agrotech 2009).
4.5 4.5.1
Pilot scale self-built digesters Simple digester with floating drum gas storage
Using three plastic containers, two large ones and a slightly smaller one, a simple digester can be built. One of the big containers serves as the digester, the other two form the gas storage (Figure 21).
Figure 21. Simple floating gas storage digester (Forst 2001)
The digester is fed through a wide pipe that is also used to remove digested liquid before feeding. Removing the liquid can be done with a tin can on a stick. This wide pipe is cut away for a large part because otherwise the new feed would not mix with the digester content. (Forst 2001) An even simpler design for this digester type is provided by Fry (1973), as shown in Figure 22. It is called a sump digester. This design makes use of two containers, one fitting inside the other one, the smaller one (the gas holder) equipped with a gas outlet valve. Feeding is done by removing the gas holder completely, taking out material, and replacing it with fresh feed.
Figure 22. Simple floating drum digester (Fry 1973).
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The starter brew used in Frys design is pre-digested dung. Gas can be used directly or led to a storage facility. The full report is available on internet and contains indications on construction, operation and biogas storage.
4.5.2
Inclined barrel digester
This design by ECHO (USA) appears fairly easy to build. It is an example of yet another variation on the general idea of biogas plants. It makes use of three 200-litre drums that are welded together to form a long tube (see Figure 23). At the bottom a valve is installed in order to drain expended slurry, at the top a curved pipe and valve are installed to feed the digester. Biogas is collected from the very top. Manure is used as a substrate, with a feeding rate of 2% of the volume per day. This gives a retention time of around 50 days (Forst 2002).
Figure 23. Inclined welded drum digester (Forst 2002)
4.5.3
Biorealis digester
On their website, Biorealis Systems provides calculations and a construction manual for a home built slurry digester (Biorealis, 2009). The information given by Biorealis includes digester operation and a discussion forum. Detailed drawings are available on the website, the pictures in Figure 24 given a first impression.
Figure 24. Home built digester (Biorealis 2009)
4.5.4
Inner tube digester
A digester can be made out of large inner tubes (truck or tractor size) and other easily available materials, as shown by Fry (1973). The information is given in the same document as the sump digester design. The main digester chamber is formed out of a large inner tube, as well as the gas storage. Feed is introduced and effluent is removed via a plastic insert, and also the biogas is released through that part. Figure 25 and Figure 26 show a schematic overview of the complete installation and the main digester tube in detail.
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Figure 25. Inner tube digester (Fry 1973). 1. Main digester chamber, 2. plastic cylinder, 3. Inlet, gas and effluent pipes, 4. inlet feeding bucket, 5. effluent outlet, 6. gas and scum outlet, 7. scum collector, 8. gas yield indicator, 9. pressure releaser, 10. inner tube storage, 11. burner.
Figure 26. Inner tube digester (Fry 1973). Plastic insert in detail and fitted in inner tube.
Detailed descriptions of construction and operation are given in the report. Daily feeding with a slurry made of manure and water (or urine) is proposed. The feed will displace digested material, as can be seen in the detail of the plastic insert there is no direct connection between inlet and outlet. The material is forced to move through the entire tube.
4.6 4.6.1
Research digesters Wheelie bin digester
For his PhD project at Flinders University, South Australia, Ben Dearman built a set of wheelie bin digesters for the anaerobic batch digestion of food waste. These have a volume of 120 litres and they are equipped with a leachate recirculation facility to allow for the exchange of leachate between digesters during the process. Good results were obtained with this system (Dearman 2006, Dearman 2008).
Figure 27. Wheelie bin digesters, shown with and without insulation (Dearman 2004).
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4.6.2
University of Southampton and Greenfinch Ltd
Within a research project, the University of Southampton and Greenfinch Ltd built two digesters for researching the anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste from a village and a catering establishment. The systems consisted of a shredder, a purpose-built 1500-litre anaerobic digester and a digestate collection tank. Part of the digestate was recycled to the input. One of the two digesters operated under mesophilic conditions (37C), the other at thermophilic conditions (56C). The systems were equipped with pumps, an internal heating system, a gas mixing system and temperature sensors at various heights (Anonymous 2004).
Figure 28. Anaerobic digesters for kitchen waste digestion research (Anonymous 2004).
The digestion of kitchen waste was successful at both temperatures, but the thermophilic digester proved less stable. Although very high VFA concentrations were found, no serious pH problems occurred. Although it is not mentioned in the report, the applied recycling of the digestate to the influent was probably the key to avoiding acidification. Biogas production was 160 litres of biogas per kg of kitchen waste on average, with optimal results of 270 litre per kg. Pathogen levels in the digestate were too high for land application, but heating to 70C for 1 hour was sufficient for elimination (Anonymous 2004).
4.7
Small digesters currently applied in practice in Western Europe
Most of the digesters applied in practice in Western Europe are fairly large industrial wastewater treatment plants, or manure (co)digestion plants. Even the so-called farm scale digesters usually have a volume of several hundred m3. Small digesters as envisaged in the scope (0.5-10 m3) are only found as pilot projects or for research purposes, as the cost-effectiveness of biogas production increases with increasing scale.
4.7.1
Black water treatment
In Europe examples of decentralised sanitation systems can be found, where the toilet water is not discharged into a sewer but treated on-site in a digester, sometimes together with kitchen waste.
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Examples of places where the latter concept is applied are Sneek, The Netherlands, and LbeckFlintenbreite, Germany. The biogas plant in Sneek in The Netherlands is a demonstration project, involving the treatment of black water and kitchen waste from 32 households in two 7 m3 mesophilic digesters. Collection of the substrates (black water and kitchen waste) is done by means of a vacuum system, the feed is automatically hygienised and the effluent of the digesters undergoes advanced treatment for nutrient removal. The biogas is collected in gas bags, cleaned, and used for heating of the digesters by means of a central heating boiler. Extra natural gas is needed for keeping the temperature. In this demonstration case the digesters are not insulated, to make sure all biogas is used for this purpose. Also in the German example of Lbeck-Flintenbreite vacuum toilets, hygienisation equipment and a high-tech digestion unit are used, in that case for the treatment of black water and kitchen waste of 117 households.
4.7.2
Portagester
The Portagester is a batch-wise operated thermophilic anaerobic digestion system for organic waste treatment, made by the UK company Bioplex. Because of the high operating temperature the system complies with the ABPR. However, no biogas is produced, as the process stops after hydrolysis and acidification. A second digester is needed to complete the anaerobic degradation (see the process steps explained before in Figure 2). The output of the Portagester is separated in a solid and liquid fraction, and the user can then choose how (and where) to proceed with treatment. The solid fraction can best be composted, and the liquid fraction is full of easily degradable compounds generated during hydrolysis and acidification, that can be converted into biogas in a second digester. The Portagester can thus be considered the first phase of a two-phase biogas plant. It is suggested on the Bioplex website that the liquid effluent can be used as a liquid fertiliser. However, then no energy is recovered in the form of biogas, and application of the liquid would most likely cause odour problems because of the high concentrations of volatile fatty acids. Separating the anaerobic digestion process in two phases (and therefore in two separate digesters) is a known strategy to overcome certain operational problems, for example excessive acidification that can occur when a single-phase system is overloaded. The Portagester seems a good solution with respect to ABPR compliance, but a two-phase system is technically more complicated than a single digester, and more expensive.
4.8
Auxiliary equipment
For most of the digesters described in the previous paragraphs some information is available on the auxiliary equipment. For the digesters used in developing countries the descriptions are fairly general, for example that the inputs are first shredded and mixed with manure, or that the biogas is used directly as it is produced (for cooking and/or lighting) through a biogas stove or biogas lamp. In the case of research digesters or other more sophisticated systems it is clear that more use is made of automated mechanical appliances. However, brand names or detailed specifications are mostly lacking. On the internet one can find descriptions of much of the needed auxiliary equipment, but it is not within the scope of this report to perform a market study or to go much into technical detail. In this section some general information will be given on auxiliary equipment, both for low-tech and more high-tech options. The choice for the level of automation will depend largely on the volumes of waste and biogas that will be treated, and is most likely a matter of cost-effectiveness.
4.8.1
Reducing input particle size
Chopping or shredding of courser substrates is usually necessary in order to achieve a good working digester process. Also, if hygienisation is required, a maximum particle size should be observed. The used technique depends entirely on the substrate characteristics and the preferences of the operator. CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 38
Full scale large high tech systems use shredder pumps and other heavy equipment, but they process much larger quantities. For the small scale system envisaged by CCN the choice for the way particle size will be reduced will depend on amount of waste to be processed and the costs involved with mechanical equipment. For very small amounts and when costs should be reduced as much as possible size reduction by hand could be an option, using a knife to cut up large pieces, or maybe a potato chipper. Especially when kitchen waste is treated that is collected by the users of the digester this might be feasible, as the amounts are small and not much of the generated waste would have to be reduced in size. For larger volumes reducing the particle size manually would cease to be a practical solution, and chopping/shredding equipment would be needed. Up to a certain volume kitchen appliances could be used, and above those volumes garden equipment or industrial machines could be considered. It will depend of the personal preferences of the people working with the digester which devices will be preferred and from what volume onward.
4.8.2
Hygienisation
For large scale digesters that have to hygienise their input (or output) various rather high-tech devices exist for that purpose. Typically heated tanks are used, but also pumps exist that chop and heat at the same time. For small scale anaerobic digestion systems no special equipment could be found in literature. Hygienisation equipment is available for many applications in the food industry, in different forms and sizes. Heating the shredded waste in a pan or jar for 1 hour at 70C would be no problem. The advantage of buying a pasteuriser is that such a device will be easier to accept for the ABPR regulation than a home-made solution. However, the associated costs might be too high for very small waste volumes. In pasteurisers that can run on gas maybe the biogas could be used. For a low-cost application a biogas burner could be bought/built and the waste could be heated in a large closed pot. For keeping the temperature at 70C some type of thermostat should be used. Boiling the material could be an alternative, as in a way that has its own temperature control. Keeping the material boiling (i.e. at 100C) on a low fire for 1 hour makes sure that the minimum temperature of 70C is met without any equipment for temperature control. Other hygienisation methods do exist, but are not acceptable for the ABPR. Examples are (UV) radiation or the application of ultrasound. Ultrasound and gamma-radiation are too high-tech, but solar radiation (heat + UV) might be interesting, even in Europe. In (sub)tropical countries with plenty of sun hours, substrates could be exposed to the sun in transparent containers, obtaining a double effect of both UV radiation and solar heating. Even in colder climates the sun is used for heating water, for example by means of solar thermal collectors placed on roofs. Solar heating might be able to reach the required temperatures.
4.8.3
Heating of the digester
It is often stated in digester documentation that digesters can not be operated in colder climates, unless they are heated. This is not entirely true. Digesters can be operated at low temperatures, but because the processes are slower, the amount of material that can be digested in a certain period of time is lower than at higher temperatures (see also section 3.3.3). Most freely available information sources deal with digesters in the developing world. It is assumed that the digester should be small enough to be affordable in that context, and that the biogas production should be large enough to allow a whole family to cook. This is logical when realising that in developing countries in the tropics, biogas utilisation is a very important part of digester implementation, if not the key aspect. When looking at the application of small scale digestion in the UK, probably a non-heated digester could work satisfactorily in summer without extra heating, if low efficiency is not a problem. In winter,
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applying some form of heating would be advisable, but reaching tropical temperatures is not necessary. If efficient biogas production (and thus short retention times) is the main goal of implementing anaerobic digestion, heating should be applied in order to achieve this. If the primary goal is the production of a stabilised organic fertiliser, a non-heated digester could perform well, but then the amount of material that can be processed is more limited. The decision to heat or not is almost always an economical one, as heating consumes energy and requires extra equipment. Several technologies can be used for heating digesters. It is important to keep in mind that when a digester is heated, this should be done with a relatively constant temperature. As was shown in section 3.3.3, different groups of micro-organisms each have their own temperature optimum. Temperatures below the optimum cause the digestion processes to run much slower, whereas exceeding the optimum temperature can kill the organisms. The population of micro-organisms in a digester will adapt to the prevailing temperature, and this is why a constant temperature is best. It is difficult to indicate what the maximum variation is that can be tolerated, because many different organisms are involved. Additionally, in practice in colder climates digesters operate at a controlled temperature and drastic temperature changes are normally avoided. As a result not much information is available, other than the general indications already given. Some of the options will be discussed briefly in this section. Insulation The process itself produces some heat, although this is much less than in aerobic composting. Good insulation will retain this small amount of heat and it will also prevent the digester from cooling down too much when the outside temperature drops. Good insulation is also a key aspect of artificially heated digesters. For safety, avoid highly flammable insulation materials, and do not use porous materials in which gas might be trapped. The digester might be constructed with a double wall, or wrapped in insulation material. Outside heating Digesters can be heated from the outside, for example by means of a warm water jacket or fixed tubing with hot water coiled around the digester. Direct electrical heating of the digester is also an option. Good insulation is very important, as these methods are energy intensive. The produced biogas could be used for heating the digester in this way, by connecting a gas powered water heating system. However, as the digester should be continuously heated, the biogas production should be sufficient to allow for this. If the biogas produced is not sufficient for reaching the optimal digester temperature it is better to distribute the gas evenly in the day and increase the temperature by what is possible. A few degrees increase can already make a difference in digester efficiency. Solar water boilers might also be an interesting option. Inside heating Coils with warm water or electrical heating elements can be placed inside the digester. This is probably more efficient than the outside heating, but technical problems are more difficult to solve. Heating can be placed in the middle of the digester liquid, or alongside the walls and floor. The latter would loose efficiency very soon because of solids settling on the bottom. Heaters placed in the liquid might be damaged by a mixing system, but would be most efficient with regard to heat transfer. Through the walls much heat can be lost, but placing the heating system alongside the walls seems the most robust inside heating solution. Placing the digester in a greenhouse This seems like a practical low-cost option. However, this poses the risk of large temperature changes throughout the year, and also within a single day. Depending on the severity of these temperature changes the efficiency of the micro-organisms could be negatively affected. They could even be less efficient than at a relatively constant, somewhat lower temperature. Maybe a good ventilation system could keep the temperature changes acceptable, but this would require close manual monitoring or an automated system.
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Compost piles The heat generation during composting might be used to heat a digester, but the practical execution seems difficult. The temperature in a compost heap changes with the process, so keeping a constant temperature would require careful monitoring and planning of the composting process. Maybe a water heating system could be designed that makes use of composting heat. Solar heating In tropical countries it is sufficient to place a black-coloured digester in an open spot without shade, to make use of direct solar heating. This will not work in colder climates, as the number of sun hours and the suns strength are much lower. As discussed in previous paragraphs, solar collectors might be used to heat water for an external heating system. Light bulbs Fry (1973) mentions the use of an insulated box and some 100 watt light bulbs in series for heating of the inner tube digester described in section 4.5.4. A thermostat can be placed in the circuit to control the temperature. This way of indirect heating might indeed work for that particular digester design: walls are thin and not insulated, the volume is relatively small, and the diameter is small too. For digesters with a larger volume and a different shape this method would probably require too much energy input. Heating the feed When the digester is equipped with an adequate mixing system and good insulation, the substrate that was hygienised at 70C could be fed directly to the digester without cooling down completely. The hot feed should be immediately incorporated in the digester liquid to distribute the heat, and the insulation would then keep the warmth inside. However, it is not sure that this would give a significant temperature increase, and the increase would not be constant heating.
4.8.4
Pumps
Most low cost and/or low tech systems make no use of pumps. This is probably because they are expensive, and involve costs and time for operation and maintenance. Digesters are for example equipped with pumps when they have to be fed so often that using manpower is not an option, or when gravity is not sufficient for moving liquid flows. Another reason for using pumps is to avoid contact with the material. In the case of the CCN digester this might be important for assuring the hygienised status of the shredded and pasteurised material (avoiding recontamination). Probably the best decision for the CCN digester is to design with as few pumps as possible. Later more pumps may be added to the system when required.
4.8.5
Biogas treatment, storage and use
Depending on the final use of the biogas it should be treated and stored. Different technologies exist for biogas storage and use, depending on the produced volume. The most direct use of biogas is for direct heating, for example for cooking or heating of the digester. Biogas from household digesters in developing countries is mostly used directly in a biogas burner or stove. In that case no separate storage is needed, as the biogas stays in the digester and is never allowed to accumulate in larger volumes. However, the digester must be designed to allow for some variable gas storage volume. In more industrialised applications the gas is often used to heat the digester, for electricity production, injection in the natural gas grid and as vehicle fuel. A gas storage facility should always be included in the system, preferably capable of storing the biogas production of one day. Most biogas holders in use collect the gas at a low pressure (ie up to 50 mbar, i.e. 50 cm water column). Collecting the gas at higher pressure is possible, but this is more expensive and requires more attention to safety aspects because of the explosion risk (Deublein and Steinhauser, 2008). Small scale low tech ways of storing are the use of a floating drum (see Figure
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21) or gas tight bags. Inner tubes can also be used as gas storage (Figure 25). Common in large digesters is storing the gas in the digester itself, by means of a flexible gas tight roof. The gas can also be stored in separate gas-tight vessels. When sufficient biogas is produced it can be used to generate electricity, for example with a CHP engine. This technique is often applied for larger installations, because of the relationship between cost and scale. Many digesters are designed with a certain power output in mind, dimensioning the digester to produce sufficient gas for a certain number of CHP units of a given capacity. Compression of the gas, for example as vehicle fuel, seems only feasible for large quantities as the gas should be cleaned and the compression consumes energy. That makes compression of smaller amounts of gas for off-site use relatively expensive. The gas quality needs to be upgraded before use, depending on the purpose different compounds should be removed to different levels. The following table gives a rough indication if and to what extent hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide and water should be removed from biogas before use.
Table 9. Rough indication of the need to remove H2S, CO2 and H2O from biogas before use (Wellinger and Lindberg 2001). Application Gas heater (boiler) Kitchen stove Stationary engine (CHP) Vehicle fuel Natural gas grid H2S < 1000 ppm yes < 1000 ppm yes yes CO2 no no no recommended yes H2O no no no condensation yes yes
Hydrogen sulphide is a toxic and malodorous gas that causes corrosion problems when present in biogas. The corrosive nature of biogas is caused by the combination of hydrogen sulphide and water vapour in the gas, forming strong acid. Removal is necessary at least to some extent for all applications. Gas lines (including valves and other components) should be made from suitable materials. Welded high grade steel pipes are recommended, preferably lined on the inside with an epoxy coating and protected on the outside with a bitumen layer. Good quality PE or PVC can be used, but it is important to check the materials suitability. Commercial PVC pipes can easily break and not all plastics are equally corrosion resistant (Deublein and Steinhauser, 2008). Many techniques exist for biogas upgrading and they are extensively described in literature, but most information is available on the processing of large volumes with rather complex treatments. A relatively simple H2S removal technique is leading the gas through a pipe filled with steel wool or another ferric material. The steel wool will start to corrode at the ingoing side, but not at the exit of the pipe. When the corrosion starts to occur also at the other end the material should be replaced. Activated carbon is a suitable method for removing water, H2S and other impurities to levels suitable for use of the biogas in a gas motor or water boiler. For use as vehicle fuel further purification is needed. Probably for CCN the activated carbon method would be most suitable, as it removes H2S and water to acceptable levels. Although according to the information in the table it is not strictly necessary to remove water from the gas for use in a water heater, it is recommended to have maximum 60% relative humidity to prevent corrosion due to water condensation in the pipelines (Deublein and Steinhauser, 2008). Upgrading and compression of biogas for use as vehicle fuel is technically possible for any volume of biogas, but economy of scale is an important issue. Removal of CO2 from the gas in order to increase the CH4 percentage is not necessary but certainly recommended. Home fuelling systems for natural gas are available on the market, for example by Gasfill Ltd in the UK (the Gasfill 2000) or FuelMaker in Canada (the Phill). These systems are connected to the domestic gas supply and are designed for 3 handling a flow of 1.5 - 2 m /h. Prices of 3000-5000 are mentioned on the internet. It seems
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possible to use such fuelling systems with biogas. However, because they are designed to work with natural gas this should first be discussed with the manufacturer.
4.8.6
Digestate storage and use
Unless a very long retention time is used, a fraction of non-digested material will always be present in the digestate. The digestion processes will be slower than in the digester, but they will continue to take place and biogas will continue to be formed. This should be taken into account when storing the digestate, both for safety reasons and environmental reasons (unwanted methane and carbon dioxide emissions to the air). When the undigested fraction is quite large, the amount of biogas can still be interesting for collection. In that case storage can best be done in a gas-tight container with a gas collection facility. In fact that would then be a post-digester. Stable digestate that does not produce much gas anymore could be stored out in the open until use. Composting of the digestate before application of the land can be an interesting processing route. The digestate can be mixed with other organic materials for composting, which gives different benefits. The composting process will be stimulated by the readily available nitrogen present in the digestate, and the resulting compost is expected to be richer in nutrients and trace elements. Maybe most importantly, if the composting reaches sufficiently high temperatures, the combined product could be considered hygienised. As mentioned in Table 2 in section 2.4 heating the material for 5 hours at 57C is considered a proper hygienisation strategy, and it should be possible to achieve this temperature in a well functioning composting process. However, it is not sure if composting of digestate is indeed acceptable as a heating technique according to the current legislation. It should then be proven that the temperature of the entire composted mass reached the required temperature for the entire period. This could be difficult to prove.
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5. Characteristics and digestibility of possible substrates

For the anaerobic digester several waste streams may be used. The following substrates are considered: 1. food waste 2. garden waste 3. animal manure 4. domestic wastewater 5. glycerine (from the production of bio-diesel from used cooking oil) In this respect, the use of domestic wastewater and glycerine are not considered a major feedstock for the small scale anaerobic system, but they will be shortly addressed. In Table 10 several substrates are summarized according to their dry matter content (DM), organic matter content (OM), carbon/nitrogen ratio, potential biogas production and the possible problems and unwanted compounds that could be present, after Steffen (1998).
Table 10: Characteristics of different substrates for anaerobic systems (Steffen, 1998).
Substrate Pig slurry DM (%) 3-8 4) OM (%) 70-80 C:N ratio 3-10 Biogas 3) (m3/kg OM) 0.25-0.50 Retention time (d) 20-40 Possible problems Floating layer; presence of straw, sand or wood chips Floating layer; presence of hairs, sand, straw, wood and NH4+. Inhibition by NH4+; presence of sand Presence of soil Unwanted material Presence of sand; floating layer; not well digesting Unwanted material Presence of soil and wooden parts Possible pH-drop Possible pH-drop Presence of plastic;
4)
Cattle (cow) slurry
5-12 4)
75-85
6-20 1)
0.20-0.30
20-30
Poultry manure Leaves Wood chips Straw Wood waste Garden waste Grass Fruit waste Food waste
1)
10-30 4) 80 80 70 60-70 60-70 20-25 15-20 10
70-80 90 95 90 99.6 90 90 75 80
2)
3-10 30-80 511 90 723 100-150 12-25 35 n.a.
0.35-0.60 0.10-0.30 2) n.a. 0.35-0.45 5) n.a. 0.20-0.50 0.55 0.25-0.50 0.50-0.60

3)
>30 8-20 n.a. 10-50 5) 8-30 10 8-20 10-20
depending on the addition of straw. Depending on de drying rate; 5) on dilution depending on particle size. na = not available.
depending on retention time;
depending
Table 10 is composed by Steffen (1998) using results from several studies. These studies especially involve controlled lab experiments. In field applications, the environment will not be as controlled as in the lab experiments. A retention time of 10-20 days for food waste, as given in table 10 for instance, is rather short for robust practical applications that will not be intensively monitored. It is better to use in general a longer retention time for robust low-tech systems. The following chapters discuss the different substrates with regard to their suitability for small scale anaerobic systems.
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5.1
Food waste
Food waste (also referred to as kitchen waste) is highly biodegradable material and therefore in principle suitable for anaerobic digestion. Food waste is includes food leftovers and rests from the preparation of meals. The volume of food waste produced in the Netherlands is 200 g of kitchen waste per person per day. According to the information available about the production of kitchen waste in GB, the situation in GB is significantly different. In GB the amount of kitchen waste is assumed by CCN to be 0.7 L/p/d (or 700 g/p/d). Research in the field of anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste, showed that the amount of kitchen waste in GB was about 3 kg/household/week (Anonymous, 2004). Since food waste is easily biodegradable, collected kitchen waste is expected to rapidly acidify during storage, and therefore its pH might be as low as 4.5. This acidification will never be complete, and therefore after introducing the material into the digester the process will continue. The acidification phase can take place fast. A drawback of this is that a too high acidification rate possibly leads to a pH drop in the digester. This affects the production of methane adversely (section 3.6.1) and should therefore be prevented. Therefore the digester content should be buffered well during the digestion or the kitchen waste should be digested with other substrates. Table 11 presents the composition of kitchen waste.
Table 11. Average composition of Dutch kitchen waste (g/person/day).
Parameter
Nitrogen Phosphorous Potassium Chemical oxygen demand
symbol / abbreviation
N P K COD
Kitchen waste
1.7 0.21 0.22 62.2
Because kitchen waste can contain animal-by products such as for example meat, milk and cheese (products of animal origin) certain regulations have to be considered and applied. See section 2.4 about the animal by-production regulation for the implications of this regulation on digesting kitchen waste.
5.2
Green waste
The use of green waste for anaerobic digestion has not the priority since green waste is suitable for composting. Nevertheless, certain components of garden waste can be used in an anaerobic system. Plants, fresh leaves for example are very well anaerobic biodegradable and can therefore be used to generate biogas. Possibly, the waste has to be cut in smaller pieces before adding it to the system. Less suitable for anaerobic digestion is the use of wood such as chips, branches and trunks, because these parts are difficult to digest. Also long grass shoots are not preferred. They will float on the liquid layer of the digester. Temperature in an anaerobic system will not be high enough to inactivate the seeds of for example weed. This could be a problem when using digested sludge on the soil as fertilizer.
5.3
Animal manure
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Animal manure is used a lot as substrate in anaerobic systems. Animal manure includes for example cow, pig and poultry manure. Animal manure has a high buffer capacity. A high buffer capacity leads to a stable pH during the process. This waste stream is therefore suitable to be used together with for example food waste. When the manure contains straw, then the straw has to be cut in smaller pieces before using it in the digester. The digestion of animal manure yields a product with more stable organic matter and a nitrogen rich content. The amount of pathogenic bacteria could be reduced during the digestion process, although certainly not completely.
5.4
Domestic wastewater (sewage)
Wastewater from toilets may be used as substrate in a digester. However, most applied sewage and toilet systems in households are not favourable when using domestic wastewater in small scale anaerobic systems. The conventional toilet systems use a lot of flushing water and the toilet wastewater is further on mixed with other less polluted domestic wastewater streams. This dilutes the faeces and urine. Therefore the efficiency of biogas production in these systems is low and the required volume of the digester is high. There are several toilet systems that use less flushing water. These systems produce a more concentrated wastewater that is not mixed with other domestic wastewater streams. Concentrated wastewater consisting of urine and faeces together is called black water. Some systems divert urine from the faeces, resulting in yellow and brown water. The amounts of waste generated when collecting toilet water are presented in Table 12. From this table it becomes clear that with the use of low flush toilets, about 2-8 L of wastewater is produced per day.
Table 12. Summary of volumes of urine and feaces using different collecting systems. Sub waste stream Diverting method Urine Faeces Toilet flush water Amount of toilet flushes Total volume Urine Only faeces (brown water) Urine diverting toilet 140 5 Black water Vacuum toilet 1.25 140 1 6 5 7.25
Unit
L/p/d g/p/d L/flush times/d L/p/d
Urine diverting toilet 1.25 0.2 5 small, 1 big 2.25*
* for toilets with an efficiency of 60%: 1,35 Litre.
Considering the composition of black water (urine and faeces), anaerobic digestion is suitable since the components are biodegradable. Therefore biogas production is possible. However, micropollutants (e.g. pharmaceuticals) and pathogens can be present in the black water. They are poorly removed in the digestion system. Table 13 presents the composition of urine and faeces. This table shows that urine has a high concentration of nutrients (especially nitrogen and phosphorus).
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Table 13. Average composition of urine, faeces (g/person/day). Parameter Nitrogen Phosphorous Potassium Biochemical oxygen demand Chemical oxygen demand Sodium Chloride Calcium Magnesium Sulphur symbol / abbreviation N P K BOD COD Na Cl Ca Mg S Urine 12 1 3 5.5 11 4 7 0.20 0.20 1 Only faeces (brown water) 1.75 0.5 0.9 23.75 50.1 0.12 0.02 0.53 0.18 -
In addition, before using the sewage for digestion purposes, legislation about sewage and sewage sludge should be considered (section 2.5).
5.5
Glycerine
Glycerine (from biodiesel production from used cooking oil) is not considered a priority substrate. It can be used, with care, to generate biogas. Possible problems can arise when too much glycerine is used because this can cause acidification of the system.
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6. Treatment scenarios
In this chapter different scenarios are presented that were provided by CCN members. These give examples of the situations in which the small biogas plant could be applied in practice, and of the available substrates in each of those cases.
6.1
Community Centre and Growing project
In this scenario kitchen waste and garden waste would be collected on site in a community centre and fed to the digester. Possibly faeces and urine could be collected and used as a substrate as well. Food waste and garden waste are generated in equal proportions: 5 tpa each. The digestate would be used on site for growing. No livestock is included in this scenario. The scenario is presented more in detail in Table 14.
Table 14. Characteristics of scenario 1 (Tyneside Cyrenians Ltd - Yassen Roussev, y.roussev@tcuk.org) Origin Substrates Kitchen waste Garden waste Faeces and urine Products Biogas Digestate All on site All on site Collected in dry toilet Destination Amount 50% of feedstock, 5 tpa food waste 50% of feedstock, 5 tpa garden waste Perhaps, 45 residents buildings,
Heating and lighting of Polytunnels, polytunnel/greenhouse transport. Onsite for growing
On site, the above feedstock currently composted and used.
6.2
All on-site
In this scenario only one household and a limited number of livestock are considered. All produced organic waste would be fed to the digester: kitchen waste, animal manure, garden waste and faeces and urine. Additionally, glycerine from biodiesel production is available for digestion. The digestate would be used on site. The scenario is presented more in detail in Table 15.
Table 15. Characteristics of scenario 2 (Community Composting Network Member and Biodiesel Engineer, Guy Blanch, gb@cell8.co.uk) Origin Substrates Kitchen waste Animal Manure Garden waste Faeces and urine Glycerine On site, residential kitchen 3 Pigs, 10 Chickens Grass clippings, annual average Collected in dry toilet, 3 people Biodiesel production on site, 8kg/wk Destination Amount, fresh weight 0.16 tpa Swine 5.5tpa / Poultry 0.3tpa 0.6 tpa 1.5 tpa 0.3 tpa
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Products
Biogas Digestate
Heating and lighting Onsite for growing
All produced from above All produced from above
For this scenario it is assumed that the pigs are kept at another site. According to regulations they can not be kept at the same site as the food waste processing operation.
6.3
City farm and Urban Community centre
In contrast to the Community Centre scenario in section 6.1, in this Urban Community Centre scenario hardly any garden waste is produced. Kitchen waste would be produced in much larger amounts. If faeces and urine are to be digested as well, the collection would be done by means of a vacuum system. A small amount of digestate could be used on-site but most would have to be sent off-site. The scenario is presented more in detail in Table 16 and Table 17.
Table 16. Characteristics of scenario 3 Urban community Centre (London Community Recycling Network, Edouard Guidon, edouard@lcrn.org.uk). Origin Substrates Kitchen waste Garden waste Faeces and urine Products Biogas Digestate Nearby offsite housing and restaurants Onsite and from nearby housing Collected in vacuum toilet Destination Heating of buildings and hot water Composted or exported to local gardens Amount 350kg/ week, vast majority of feedstock Very small amount Possibly 9000 kWh of heat used per 6 months Small amount on-site
The city farm scenario is mainly about animal manure, with only small fractions of kitchen waste and garden waste, and possibly faces and urine. All digestate could be used on site.
Table 17. Characteristics of scenario 3 City farm (London Community Recycling Network, Edouard Guidon, edouard@lcrn.org.uk). Origin Substrates Kitchen waste Nearby offsite housing and restaurants, onsite cafe Onsite yard waste and crop waste Destination Amount Small fraction
Garden waste Animal Manure Faeces and urine Products Biogas Digestate
Small fraction Large fraction Possibly Always demand for heat Assuming 1ha site, ~300kg N/year
Heating and lighting of polytunnel/greenhouse Onsite for growing
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If the animals are kept on site, either the food waste should be excluded from the digester feed, or the digester should be placed at another site.
6.4
Locally centralised processing of food waste
Two scenarios were proposed for the centralised processing of food waste. The amount of food waste is much larger in a centralised system than in any of the previous scenarios. The first of the two options allows for processing of garden waste as well, but the amounts are expected to fluctuate with the seasons. No animal manure, faeces or urine would be involved in this scenario. For the use of digestate several options are possible. The scenario is presented more in detail in Table 18.
Table 18. Characteristics of scenario 4 (Wyecycle, Carolyn Chandler, carolynchandler@hotmail.co.uk). Origin Substrates Food waste Collected from the surrounding community Collected from the surrounding community Destination Amount 2.5 tonnes/week (estimated)
Garden waste
Season dependent*
Products
Biogas Digestate
Natural gas appliances Composted, used on site, or exported
Plenty of demand but concern for regulations No problem, assuming regulatory fulfilment
* amount not known
In this second scenario only food waste would be processed, possibly on a large scale of 5000 tonnes per year. The scenario is presented more in detail in Table 19.
Table 19. Characteristics of scenario 5 (Cwm Harry, Richard Northridge, richard@cwmharrylandtrust.org.uk). Origin Substrates Products Food waste Biogas Digestate Collected from the surrounding community Destination different options possible different options possible Amount 5000tpa max. not known not known
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7. Discussion
7.1 Legislation
For a digester treating waste, in general, a permit would be required. In Wales and England it is likely that the small scale digester treating domestic waste on site will be exempt as a currently proposed environmental permitting exemption becomes applicable. The SEPA states that for anaerobic digestion in Scotland a permit is required when using catering waste and waste mixed with slurry and silage. SEPA therefore does not exempt small scale anaerobic digesters for having a permit. The most important aspect of the regulations in the GB involves the use of kitchen waste for anaerobic digesters. When this is used as a substrate, the Animal By-Products Regulation (ABPR) implies that a hygienisation step must be included. The treatment standards for this process are strict (see Table 2 in section 2.4). Moreover, the digester must be approved and certain hygienic procedure should be applied. For composting on site, specific exemptions are made, making it easier to compost kitchen waste on site. However, it is unclear if for digesters this exemption will also be made. Moreover, according to Defra (2008a) no approval will be given for a biogas plant on a premise where livestock is kept. The application of digestate on the land is not a problem, most likely. Digestate and liquor from digesters using animal and vegetable waste are allowed to be used on agricultural land when there is a benefit for agriculture or ecological improvement (SEPA, 2008). The methane gas that is produced can cause the formation of explosive atmospheres when it comes into contact with air. For this, legislation is set-up especially for working places, preventing unsafe situations. It is envisaged that the treatment scenarios as given in chapter 6, have to deal with some challenges with respect to the legislation. All scenarios use kitchen (food) waste. Therefore, the ABPR will apply in all scenarios. In the cases where kitchen waste is only a small fraction of total substrate, it might be considered to exclude this waste stream. In the scenarios presented in 6.2 and 6.3 animal manure is included. This suggests the presence of animals at the same premise as the digester. If this is the case, an approval might be more difficult to obtain. To conclude, the legislation for biogas plants is rather scattered. This is because for biogas plants the legislation of several areas may be relevant e.g. the treatment of waste, application of fertilizers on the land and handling of gas.
7.2
Substrate pre-treatment
Hygienisation can be done before or after digestion. The hygenisation step can be done afterwards if it is chosen for to compost the digestate (for example together with green waste). It is likely that a sufficient temperature can be achieved during the composting.Hygenisation before digestion can be done too. If other substrates besides kitchen waste are used, this sequence has the advantage that the amount of waste to be heated is less and thus the amount of energy required is not as much as when all wastes has to be hygenised.
7.3
Digester configuration
The criteria specified in section 1.3 are the base for choosing/designing the small scale digester system in phase 2. The digester should be easy to build, operate and maintained, and fulfil the requirements set by legislation. As discussed in the sections before, understanding the legislation CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 51
surrounding anaerobic digestion and to what extent it would fully apply to small scale on-site systems is a difficult task. In any case, the digester should be designed as such that all possible issues with regard to safety and hygiene are covered. Some of the systems presented in chapter 4 seem suitable as a basis for design, for example the ARTI floating dome digester made of plastic containers. That design could be adapted to use in a colder climate. The plastic bag digester is also attractive, because of its simple design. Both digesters would need heating and insulation in order to make them suitable for low temperature environments. One issue that should be addressed as well is the hygienic aspect. Not only because of the ABPR, but also because the mentioned digesters (ARTI floating dome and bag digester) are not designed to be clean. In the context in which they are used in developing countries, the main purpose is generating fuel and a stabilised fertiliser at low costs. Local hygiene is also improved, by gathering all wastes in the digester and stabilising it, but such systems would not meet the standards of cleanliness for application in Western Europe. Much can be improved in that respect. For example, the floating dome digesters have their gas storage floating inside the digester liquid, which means that the outside of the gas storage is always covered in digestate. And with the plastic bag digester design as used in developing countries, introducing substrate and removing digester contents seems to be a bit unpractical, which might lead to unwanted contact with substrates and digestate. The system should be efficient as well, producing biogas and a stable digestate. Because of the scale 3 agreed upon during the establishment of the criteria, a volume of 1 m , the amount of food waste that can be processed will be limited, so the availability of feedstock will not be an issue. As the digester will have to be built and operated without too much technology (such as monitoring equipment), it is important to make a robust system that will work almost completely by itself. As a result, the loading of the digester should be always on the safe side to avoid overfeeding the digesting process, which can lead to acidification problems.
7.4
Biogas production and use
Because the substrates will probably have to be hygienised by heating, it would make most sense to use the produced biogas for that application, as well as for heating of the digester system. From a small scale digester of 1 m3 the amount of gas that can be obtained is limited. When looking at the scenarios brought forward by several CCN members (chapter 6), apparently electricity generation and use as vehicle fuel are expected to be possible applications of the biogas. During the design stage in phase 2 it will become clear how much gas can be expected from a certain substrate mix. However, it is unlikely that electricity production or storage of compressed gas would be feasible on this scale, at 3 least economically, but maybe also technically. Perhaps after gaining experience with the 1 m digester, in a follow-up project a larger system could be designed that can meet such energy requirements.
7.5
Treatment and use of digestate
If treatment of the digestate is needed will depend on the chosen hygienisation strategy (before or after digestion) and on the performance of the process. Digestate from a hygienised substrate that is well stabilised could perhaps be used directly, or after a short storage in the open. When the process is running suboptimal, longer storage in some kind of gas-tight post-digestion vessel could be an option. Composting of digestate might be interesting as well, especially when this would bring advantages with respect to legislative or land application issues. Separation of digestate in a thick fraction and a liquid fraction is another possibility that might offer 3 advantages for application on the field. But also here the aspect of scale is important. As on the 1 m scale the generated amounts of digestate would be rather small, treatment (of any sort could) be too much effort compared to the possible benefits. CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 52
8. Proposed small scale anaerobic digester system

The proposed digester system is shown in Figure 29.
Figure 29. Proposed digester system. (Simplified process flow diagram, not to scale, dashed connecting lines: slurry/liquid flow can be operated manually)
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8.1
Digester dimensions
3
A digester volume of 1 m is selected, and the substrate is assumed to be solely kitchen waste. When operating at a conservative retention time (40 days), the digester would process around 25 kg waste/d and produce about 3 m3 biogas/d. In order to be able to produce enough biogas that can be used not only for heating of the digester but also for other purposes, a larger digester that serves a larger number of users would be needed.
8.2
Plant layout
In order to comply with the ABPR, the plant area should be divided into a clean area and an unclean area. It is stated in the regulations that preferably there should be some form of physical separation between these two areas. The reception area should preferably be a separate building, but for very small plants leak proof and lockable containers can be used instead. The unclean area (reception area) should be easy to clean and disinfect. Placement of all system components should be well thought about. For transport of material it is most convenient to have all equipment close together, but at the same time the separation between clean and unclean areas should be respected. Available space and the movement of people and materials are important factors in deciding the layout, also because of safety issues.
8.3
System components - Slurry
Component 1 - Feed storage The feed storage should be a closed lockable container. The preferred material is high density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene (PE). For example Dutch manufacturers Polem B.V. and Plastipro make suitable boxes/tanks. A size of around 1 m3 should be sufficient. Component 2 - Shredder The shredder should be able to handle a mixture of soft material (e.g. leftovers of prepared foods), tougher material from food preparation (e.g. broccoli stems) and hard materials such as bones. It should achieve a maximum particle size of 60 mm when the pasteurisation is done at 70C (see Table 2). Kitchen waste shredders of the type that can be fitted in a sink might be a good option in this small scale application. A particular shredder of this type (recommended by Landustrie) is the InSinkErator model 75. For larger amounts industrial waste shredders could be used, suitable shredders would then have to be identified. Shredders that were not designed to handle this kind of heterogeneous wastes (e.g. garden shredders) might work, but they would probably suffer from blockages. Likely, addition of liquid is required when shredding kitchen waste. Liquid from the digestate can be used for this purpose. Component 3 - Pasteuriser For health reasons the pasteuriser should be placed before the digester. When for some reason the digester content is spilled or the digester overflows, the material can be handled and the place can be cleaned up without health risks. A pasteuriser should be able to maintain a temperature of at least 70C for at least one hour. The device should be equipped with a temperature control and monitoring device, to keep a stable temperature of 70C and to demonstrate that the temperature and time requirement was met. It is important to keep in mind that the input is unclean and the output is clean. No contact is allowed between the input and the output of this equipment. According to Landustrie Alfa Laval provides a batch pasteuriser suitable for this purpose. Component 4 - Digester The digester itself is basically a gas-tight tank with several openings: feed input, digestate output, biogas outlet, gas pressure safety valve, mixer opening, sampling ports (optional), drain outlet, sensor
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ports (optional). Various materials can be used, with high grade stainless steel being the preferred material for smaller digesters. Also glass fibre reinforced plastic is suitable. At a certain point concrete structures become more attractive. Very small digesters such as the one for CCN can be made of durable plastic such as high density polyethylene. The way of connecting the pipes and installing the mixer or other devices is dictated by chosen materials and other practical aspects. Also the size is important. All connections should be gas tight, which makes welding the preferred method of attaching parts to the digester body. When building a digester from scratch the inlet and outlet points can be placed according to what is most convenient for the process and operation. Modifying an existing tank is possible, but the material should be known (and its suitability should be checked), and there can be conflicts with what one had in mind for the design, for example the presence of existing outlets in unwanted positions. New outlets can be made, but a larger number of openings is associated with an increased risk of leakage. Landustrie suggests double-walled HPDE/PE tanks from Polem B.V. Component 5 Mixer Ideally the digester content is mixed regularly. Discontinuous mixing has shown to be better for the process than continuous mixing. Different mixing techniques exist, of which the propeller mixer is the type that is most used in slurry digesters. Larger digesters install the mixers completely inside the vessel, including the motor. Mixers used by Landustrie are from manufacturers ABS and Flygt, these are submersible stainless steel two blade mixers. For low tech options it is possible to install a simple mixer (a thick rod with blades attached) through the digester wall. This should be done in such a way that it does not cause leakage. To achieve this it can be mounted in a shaft welded to the wall, with the shaft reaching below the liquid level. No slurry will come out through the shaft if the gas pressure in the digester is kept low, and the biogas loss will be minimal. This simple mixer could be motorised, or moved by hand. Component 6 Digestate storage The digestate needs to be stored until use, and the storage needs to be made sufficiently big to hold that amount. The stability of the digestate depends on the performance of the digestion process. A well functioning digestion process that is optimised for biogas production (as in production of biogas per volume of input) will produce a digestate that still forms some biogas. Digesters that receive more feed than they can optimally handle produce unstable digestate. Only a digester that is underloaded (from an optimisation point of view) would produce digestate that forms no residual biogas. As a result, in most cases the digestate storage can be seen as a post-digestion step and therefore it is best to design it that way. For reasons of odour and greenhouse gas emissions the residual biogas should not be allowed to escape to the atmosphere, so the storage needs to be gas-tight. The gas can then be collected, treated and used together with the other biogas. Component 6 Sampling For optimal monitoring several sampling ports should be installed (at different heights). If it is decided that it is not necessary to have more than one sampling port, the quality of the digestate itself can be analysed. In that case samples can be taken from the pipe leading to the digestate storage. When the operation of the digester is monitored and controlled by regular sampling, an automatic sampling system can be used. For example the AVM-Efcon used by Landustrie.
8.4
System components - Biogas
Component 1 Foam trap A foam trap should be installed to avoid clogging of the biogas pipes with foam. Normally the digester content should not be foaming, but it is a common problem. Certain substrates or operating strategies can provoke foaming. Blockage of the biogas pipes causes the pressure in the digester to increase, and this can lead to overflowing of digester liquid but also to damage to the digester (pressure finding a way out) and to dangerous situations.
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Component 2 Three-way valve When a gas tight digester needs to be filled or emptied via pipes, a three-way valve is needed to allow for a connection to the atmosphere, either to let air out (when filling) or to let air in (when emptying). In this way the pressure inside the system is kept at ambient levels and possible damage to the digester is avoided. Component 3 Pressure safety valve Pressure safety valves are needed in strategic places to avoid build up of pressure in the system. The safety valves should be chosen according to the maximum pressure the system components can handle without damage and without causing dangerous situations. Rupture disks could be a good alternative to safety valves, as they are cheaper, but they are also less precise (their exact rupture pressure can not be tested without destroying them). Additionally, when a disk breaks, biogas will continue to leak out the system until someone replaces it. Landustrie uses safety valves made of brass, with a size of 0.5-2 inches (withstanding 0.5-10 bar pressure), supplied by Econosto N.V. Component 4 Biogas cleaning Before usage the biogas quality should be improved, as discussed in section 4.8.5. Landustrie uses a Norit activated charcoal biogas scrubber. Component 5 Biogas holder The biogas holder should be gas-tight and resist the environmental conditions it will be subjected to. When the gas holder is kept outdoors it should be weather-proof and be protected against intentional and unintentional damage. Examples of this are exposure to changing temperatures and sunlight (UV radiation), but also animals or falling rocks might damage the gas holder. Of course also human action can cause damage. Both floating storage devices and single/double walled membrane biogas holders are used by Landustrie, supplied by Westech Engineering Inc, Vergas Ltd and Kirk Environmental Ltd. The choice for a certain biogas holder type can depend also on local legislation. Component 6 Heater For heating the digester using the biogas a domestic water heater can be used. Landustrie suggests the AVC N-1 (boiler) and the Elco Klckner EK 01 B G/F-T (furnace) supplied by Elco-Rendamax. Extra biogas storage If needed, excess biogas can be stored, for example in a custom built biogas storage by Dutch company Wiefferink.
8.5
Transport of material between components
General comment on electrical pumps Pumping of material is convenient because manual labour and direct contact with the material is avoided. Thin slurries (<12% dry matter) can be pumped easily by many types of pumps, but thick slurries require devices like screw conveyers or special pumps capable of handling that kind of material. Pumps are indispensable when transport of material is done continuously, but for discontinuous transport a balance has to be made between the convenience of pumping and the involved cost and time investment. Pumps can be expensive (depending on the type), they need regular maintenance, moving parts have to be replaced, and despite careful operation and maintenance failure may occur. These aspects need to be kept in mind when deciding on the use of pumps. Suitable pumps are for example the Verderflex peristaltic hose pump Dura 15, the Bedu M Series worm gear pump and the Alldos KM 250 series piston diaphragm pumps. General comment on piping, valves and fittings All pipes, valves and fittings should be made from suitable materials; PVC and stainless steel are used by Landustrie, they obtain them from Dutch companies Milder B.V. and Econosto N.V. For this scale the sizes would be between 15 and 50 mm.
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Transport 1 Feed storage to shredder The transport of the raw material to the shredder can probably best be done by hand. No pump or other mechanical would be required and while feeding the shredder there is still a chance to spot unwanted objects and remove them. Of course hygiene should be observed when manually handling the waste. Transport 2 Shredder to pasteuriser When the shredder is directly feeding into the pasteuriser no transport is required. Assuming that the shredder is some distance away from the pasteuriser, the shredded material has to be transported. It can be fed to the pasteuriser by hand, by mechanical movement (pump, screw conveyor) or under gravity, depending on the texture and dry matter content of the shredded material. Gravity flow could work with thin slurries, but care should be taken to prevent clogging of the pipe. Extra liquid should be passed through the pipe afterwards to flush out solids that remained there, and this might dilute the feed too much. The digester can cope with diluted material, but perform suboptimally (the gas production per volume added would be low). Mechanical transport (brought about manually or electrically) of the shredded material would be preferred from a health and safety point of view, because in that way contact with the (unpasteurised) material is avoided as much as possible. However, based on the associated costs, manual transport could be convenient. Transport 3 Pasteuriser to digester This material transport takes place in the clean zone, so recontamination of the material should be avoided. At this stage the slurry should be liquid enough to be pumped without problems, and pumping could be the easiest way of avoiding contact with unclean material. Gravity flow can be an option as well, but care has to be taken to avoid clogging. Perhaps the pasteuriser could be placed very close to the digester, with a direct short connection pipe between them. Manual transport can be considered, but operators will have to be conscious about possible recontamination. This requires a good protocol for avoiding conatct between clean and unclean areas. Transport 4 Digester to digestate storage The digester is designed to hold a certain amount of slurry. When feeding with a certain amount of new substrate, the same amount should be removed from the digester. The easiest way to achieve this is to allow an overflow of digestate; when introducing the feed, the digester content is displaced. Short-circuiting of the flow should be avoided. The position of the input and output pipes is important, and placement of baffles in the digester can help. Mixer should always be operated during feeding of the digester. Transport 5 Digestate storage to shredder For shredding most likely extra liquid is needed, and for process stability it is important to recycle part of the digestate. These two requirements can be combined when using liquid from the digestate in the shredder. In the ABPR it is stated that the flow through the plant should essentially be one-way only, but it is also stated that if clean material is introduced in the unclean area it should be re-processed. As this is the intention, recycling of digestate liquid poses no problems for ABPR compliance. Manual transport is possible at this small scale, but pumping of the liquid seems the easiest way. By installing one or more check valves backflow from the shredder to the clean area can be prevented. Transport 6 Biogas from digester to biogas holder Biogas will be formed in the digestate storage, and this gas should preferably be collected together with the main biogas collected from the digester. The digestate storage should therefore be equipped with a gas tight cover and a connection to the biogas holder should be made. The material can be PE or HDPE.
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9. References
ADAS, 2001, The Safe Sludge Matrix, Guidelines for the Application of Sewage Sludge to Agricultural Land, April 2001, 3rd edition. AGAMA (2007) Integrated biogas solutions. Version 2.0 An B.X. (1996) The Role of Low-cost Plastic Tube Biodigesters in Integrated Farming Systems in Vietnam. Second FAO Electronic Conference on Tropical Feeds - Livestock Feed Resources within Integrated Farming Systems. Anonymous (2004) Biodigestion of kitchen waste: A comparative evaluation of mesophilic and thermophilic biodigestion for the stabilisation and sanitisation of kitchen waste. Report from University of Southampton and Greenfinch Ltd., Southshropshire, UK. Arogo Ogejo J., Wen Z., Ignosh J., Bendfeldt E., Collins Jr. E.R. (2007) Biomethane Technology. Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, publication number 442-881. ARTI (2009) Appropriate Rural Technology Institute Website, http://www.arti-india.org, last visited on January 06, 2009. ATEX (2008) website of HSE about ATEX framework, URL: http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/atex.htm, last visited on 28-1-2009. Consultation draft 20080725, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, ENGLAND AND WALES, The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2009, UK. Dearman (2004) Pictures of wheelie bin digesters for PhD research at Flinders University, Australia. http://www.adelaide.edu.au/biogas/anaerobic_digestion/Digesters.pdf Dearman B., Marschner P., Bentham R.H. (2006) Methane production and microbial community structure in single-stage batch and sequential batch systems anaerobically co-digesting food waste and biosolids. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 69(5). pp. 589-596 Dearman B., Bentham R.H. (2007) Anaerobic digestion of food waste: Comparing leachate exchange rates in sequential batch systems digesting food waste and biosolids. Waste Management 27(12), pp. 1792-1799 Defra (2008a), Guidance on the treatment in approved composting or biogas plants of animal byproducts and catering waste, version 8, sept 2008, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK. Defra (2008b) Environmental Permitting, Environmental Permitting Guidance, The Waste Framework Directive, For the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK. Defra (2008c), Environmental Permitting, Environmental Permitting Core Guidance, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK. Deublein D., Steinhauser A. (2008) Biogas from Waste and Renewable Resources: An Introduction. Wiley-VCH. DSEAR (2008), website of HSE about DSEAR, URL: http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/dsear/background.htm, last visited on 28-1-2009. CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009 58
DTI (2002) Equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, Guidance notes on the UK regulations, second edition, February 2002. EC 1774/2002 (2002), REGULATION (EC) No 1774/2002 of THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 October 2002, laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption, EU. Environmental Agency (2008), website of Enviromental Agency in UK, URL: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/sectors/32601.aspx last visited on 29-1-2009. Forst C. (2001) Biogas digester: floating drum. ECHO appropriate technology note. Forst C. (2002) Technologies demonstrated at ECHO: horizontal biogas digester. An ECHO concept paper Fraenkel P.L. (1986) Water lifting. FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 43 Fry L.J. (1973) Methane digesters for fuel gas and fertilizer - with complete instructions for two working models. Eighth printing. Internet version: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/MethaneDigesters/MDToC.html Gronauer A., Albrecht E., Aschmann V., et al. (2008) Biogashandbuch Bayern, Bayerischen Landesamt fr Umweltschutz (LfU). HSE (2008) Health and Safety Executive, website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/gas_law.htm, visited on 23-12-2008. Kahn J. (2008) Waste not, want not. Fortune Magazine, CNNMoney.com, Feb. 27, 2008. Kalia A.K., Kanwar S.S. (1996) Performance Evaluation of Janata and Deenbandhu Biogas Plants. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects 18(3) pp. 283-289. Krishna C.V. (2007) A Polyethylene Dome for Biogas Plants. Boiling Point 54: Climate change and household energy, pp. 35-36 Lam V., Watanabe T., Phan T.T., Khai L.T.L. (2006) Low-cost plastic biogas digester in integrated farming systems in Vietnam. Biomass Asia Forum, Tokyo, Japan. Lower S. (2006) pH scale showing common substances. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH. Marchaim U. (1992) Biogas processes for sustainable development. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin No 95. Mital K.M. (1997) Biogas systems Policies, progress and prospects. New Age International (P) Ltd. New Delhi, India. MNRE (2005) Booklets on Renewable Energy No.1 Biogas published by Ministry of Nonconventional Energy Sources, Government of India. Mller C. (2007) Anaerobic Digestion of Biodegradable Solid Waste in Low- and Middle-Income Countries - Overview over existing technologies and relevant case studies. Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries (Sandec). EAWAG Switzerland. Nijaguna B.T. (2002) Biogas technology. New Age International (P) Ltd. New Delhi, India.
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PerssonM., Jnsson O., Wellinger A. (2006) Biogas Upgrading to Vehicle Fuel Standards and Grid Injection. IEA Bioenergy - Task 37: Energy from Biogas and Landfill Gas SEPA (2008) SEPA position statement on licensing of anaerobic digestion plants, website: http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/guidance_and_position_statemen.aspx, last visited on 23-12-2008. Sintex Industries Limited (2009) Prefabricated Deenbandhu digester. http://www.sintex-plastics.com, last visited on January 23, 2009. Slater R., Frederickson J. (2009) Unlocking the Potential of Community Composting, Defra Waste and Resources R&D Programme WR0211 (WRT400). Open University. Yet to be published. Vivam Agrotech (2009) Prefabricated small biogas plant for digestion of http://vivamgroup.tripod.com/small_biogas.htm, last visited on January 23, 2009. food waste.
Wellinger A., Lindberg A. (2001) Biogas upgrading and utilisation, IEA Bioenergy - Task 24: Energy from biological conversion of organic waste. Werner U., Sthr U., Hees N. (1989) Biogas plants in animal husbandry. Deutsches Zentrum fr Entwicklungstechnologien, Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) Wulf S. (2005) Anaerobic digestion and biogas production, 1st Bonner Summer School on Sustainable Agriculture.
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Small Scale AD For CCN Phase1 Report

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Lettinga Associates Foundation

for environmental protection and resource conservation

Community Composting Network (CCN)

Project number: 08-486

I. Bisschops, H. Spanjers & E. Schuman

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

System criteria Initial scope set by CCN Steering Group

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Regulation or agreement that can be relevant

Environmental Permitting / Waste Management Licensing

Environmental Permitting Rules (Wales, England)

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Waste Management Licensing (Scotland)

Animal By-Product Regulation (ABP-regulation)

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Minimum time at minimum temperature

Max particle size

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Sewage and sewage sludge regulations

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Gas safety regulations Gas Safety

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

3. Anaerobic digestion of (solid) waste

Anaerobic (without O2)

Artificial environment - compost heap

CO2 and heat humus

CH4 and CO2 bog, manure digestate

Figure 2. Different process steps of anaerobic digestion

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

North Sea Natural Gas 87 1.2 0.3 0 1-2 0 40 11 0.84 55 70

Biogas 53-70 30-47 0.2 0 0-10000 <100 23 6.5 1.2 27 >135

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Unit m/s m air/ m gas vol% C

North Sea Natural Gas 0.39 9.53 11.9 59

Biogas * 0.25 5.71 17.8 60-160

The right micro organisms

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Rate (growth speed)

Psychrophilic Mesophilic Thermophilic

Figure 3. General indication of temperature ranges for bacterial growth

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Figure 4. pH scale with examples (Lower 2006)

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

General aspects of digester technology Retention time

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Dry matter content and mixing

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Figure 7. Examples of important factors in choosing a digester design

Fully mixed continuous systems

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Plug flow systems

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

Potential problems Acidification

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

4. Existing small scale digesters

Fixed dome (China-type) Basic principle

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009

* Exchange rate mid 2005: 1 = 73 Rs / 1000 Rs = 13.8

CCN Micro AD Phase 1 Report March 2009