scholarly journals Operational Parameters of Biogas Plants: A Review and Evaluation Study

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Nsair ◽  
Senem Onen Cinar ◽  
Ayah Alassali ◽  
Hani Abu Qdais ◽  
Kerstin Kuchta

The biogas production technology has improved over the last years for the aim of reducing the costs of the process, increasing the biogas yields, and minimizing the greenhouse gas emissions. To obtain a stable and efficient biogas production, there are several design considerations and operational parameters to be taken into account. Besides, adapting the process to unanticipated conditions can be achieved by adequate monitoring of various operational parameters. This paper reviews the research that has been conducted over the last years. This review paper summarizes the developments in biogas design and operation, while highlighting the main factors that affect the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion process. The study’s outcomes revealed that the optimum operational values of the main parameters may vary from one biogas plant to another. Additionally, the negative conditions that should be avoided while operating a biogas plant were identified.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 5034
Author(s):  
Wojciech Czekała

One of the anaerobic digestion process products in an agricultural biogas plant is digestate (digested pulp). Large quantities of digestate generated in the process of biogas production all over the world require proper management. Fertilization is the main management of this substrate, so it is essential to look for new alternatives. The work aims to determine and discuss the possibilities of using digestate solid fraction (DSF) for pellets as biofuel production. Pellets from DSF alone and pellets with sawdust, grain straw additives were analyzed. The lower heating value (LHV) based on the dry matter for all analyzed pellets ranged from 19,164 kJ∙kg−1 to 19,879 kJ∙kg−1. The ash content was similar for all four samples and ranged from 3.62% to 5.23%. This value is relatively high, which is related to the degree of fermentation in the anaerobic digestion process. The results showed that the DSF substrate after the anaerobic digestion process still has energy potential. Analyzing those results, it seems that DSF can be a highly valuable substrate for solid biofuels production.


2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 889-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Kougias ◽  
K. Boe ◽  
S. O-Thong ◽  
L. A. Kristensen ◽  
I. Angelidaki

Anaerobic digestion foaming is a common operation problem in biogas plants with negative impacts on the biogas plants economy and environment. A survey of 16 Danish full-scale biogas plants on foaming problems revealed that most of them had experienced foaming in their processes up to three times per year. Foaming incidents often lasted from one day to three weeks, causing 20–50% biogas production loss. One foaming case at Lemvig biogas plant has been investigated and the results indicated that the combination of feedstock composition and mixing pattern of the reactor was the main cause of foaming in this case. Moreover, no difference in bacterial communities between the foaming and non-foaming reactors was observed, showing that filamentous bacteria were not the main reason for foaming in this case.


Author(s):  
Lubomír Hnilica ◽  
Jiří Fryč ◽  
Bořivoj Groda

This work compares the operating system of anaerobic fermentation of agricultural biogas plants with realization using biowaste. It deals with the operation system of anaerobic fermentation of agricultural biogas plants and implement an appropriate system to enable the use of biowaste. Based on the comparison of technological solutions and operational parameters of specific sites has been designed to allow the system biowaste were made a practical experiment to verify the assumption of increased biogas production. In experiments used substrates, which are industrially produced from the available bio-wastes, treated and then provide to operator of biogas plants. The work was carried out practical measurements to verify the production of biogas from different substrates. Utilize of nominal electric power using biowaste amounted up to 97.66%. Processing of such modified substrates in anaerobic digestion technology can greatly affect the amount of energy crops. Benefit of waste is governed primarily by such projects, where is the problem of ensuring sufficient energy crops. The proposed composition of raw materials also allows the implementation of the existing ope­ra­tion of anaerobic digestion. Operational data on real operations demonstrate the real possibility of further development of the area and secondly the use of biogas plants as well as in the preparation of suitably prepared substrates for the operators. The entire data set underwent a complete statistical analysis. Differences between variants were statistically significant.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Samet Cinar ◽  
Senem Onen Cinar ◽  
Nils Wieczorek ◽  
Ihsanullah Sohoo ◽  
Kerstin Kuchta

In the biogas plants, organic material is converted to biogas under anaerobic conditions through physical and biochemical processes. From supply of the raw material to the arrival of the products to customers, there are serial processes which should be sufficiently monitored for optimizing the efficiency of the whole process. In particular, the anaerobic digestion process, which consists of sequential complex biological reactions, requires improved monitoring to prevent inhibition. Conventional implemented methods at the biogas plants are not adequate for monitoring the operational parameters and finding the correlation between them. As Artificial Intelligence has been integrated in different areas of life, the integration of it into the biogas production process will be inevitable for the future of the biogas plant operation. This review paper first examines the need for monitoring at the biogas plants with giving details about the process and process monitoring as well. In the following sections, the current situation of implementations of Artificial Intelligence in the biogas plant operation and in the similar industries will be represented. Moreover, considering that all the information gathered from literature and operational needs, an implementation model will be presented.


2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 1088-1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Gaida ◽  
C. Wolf ◽  
C. Meyer ◽  
A. Stuhlsatz ◽  
J. Lippel ◽  
...  

The optimization of full-scale biogas plant operation is of great importance to make biomass a competitive source of renewable energy. The implementation of innovative control and optimization algorithms, such as Nonlinear Model Predictive Control, requires an online estimation of operating states of biogas plants. This state estimation allows for optimal control and operating decisions according to the actual state of a plant. In this paper such a state estimator is developed using a calibrated simulation model of a full-scale biogas plant, which is based on the Anaerobic Digestion Model No.1. The use of advanced pattern recognition methods shows that model states can be predicted from basic online measurements such as biogas production, CH4 and CO2 content in the biogas, pH value and substrate feed volume of known substrates. The machine learning methods used are trained and evaluated using synthetic data created with the biogas plant model simulating over a wide range of possible plant operating regions. Results show that the operating state vector of the modelled anaerobic digestion process can be predicted with an overall accuracy of about 90%. This facilitates the application of state-based optimization and control algorithms on full-scale biogas plants and therefore fosters the production of eco-friendly energy from biomass.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiplu Sarker ◽  
Jacob J. Lamb ◽  
Dag R. Hjelme ◽  
Kristian M. Lien

Many operating parameters, individually or together, may influence the performance of anaerobic digestion towards biogas or digestate yield and quality maximization. The most preferred method of optimizing an anaerobic digestion plant often relies on how carefully the crucial parameters, such as pH, temperature, organic loading rate, hydraulic retention time, and pressure, are chosen. There is a large amount of literature available on optimization of anaerobic digestion; however, given the continued development and implementation of innovative technologies, together with the introduction of increasingly complex systems, it is necessary to update present knowledge on process parameters and their role on operational ranges and flexibilities in real-life anaerobic digestion system. Accordingly, the present review discusses the importance of the selection of operational parameters in existing technologies and their impact on biogas yield. Notably, the four broad areas of feedstock utilization (substrate, inoculum, codigestion and pretreatment), process condition (pH, temperature, pressure, and reactor design), reactor control (HRT and OLR) and inhibition (Ammonia and VFAs) are covered in this review. In addition, particular emphasis is placed on the most recent innovations that have been or may be implemented in current or future biogas plants.


Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Liberti ◽  
Valentina Pistolesi ◽  
Mawaheb Mouftahi ◽  
Nejib Hidouri ◽  
Pietro Bartocci ◽  
...  

The pre-incubation of digestate and recycling of microbes inside a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) are effective ways to optimize the anaerobic digestion process and improve the performance of biogas and methane production, also in existing biogas plants. In this study, a digestate incubation system using a nutrient mix to boost the activity of microbes was coupled to a CSTR to boost biogas and methane production. This system has been tested both on a lab scale and on an industrial scale. On a pilot scale, the system achieved an increase of +16.47 v% in biogas production with respect to the conventional anaerobic digestion process, and an increase of +2 v% in methane content (from 65.94 v% to 67.84 v%). On an industrial scale, the use of this incubation reactor with a capacity of 1 m3 has led to an increase in methane yield of 12 v%. This system allows to maintain the syntrophic relationship between acid-producing bacteria and methanogens and contemporary push the development of methanogens. Moreover, it is an economic system to be integrated into an existing biogas plant given the small volume and the simplicity of the incubation reactor.


2016 ◽  
Vol 832 ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
Ján Gaduš ◽  
Tomáš Giertl ◽  
Viera Kažimírová

In the paper experiments and theory of biogas production using industrial waste from paper production as a co-substrate are described. The main aim of the experiments was to evaluate the sensitivity and applicability of the biochemical conversion using the anaerobic digestion of the mixed biomass in the pilot fermentor (5 m3), where the mesophillic temperature was maintained. It was in parallel operation with a large scale fermentor (100 m3). The research was carried out at the biogas plant in Kolíňany, which is a demonstration facility of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. The experiments proved that the waste arising from the paper production can be used in case of its appropriate dosing as an input substrate for biogas production, and thus it can improve the economic balance of the biogas plant.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karol Postawa ◽  
Jerzy Szczygieł ◽  
Marek Kułażyński

Abstract Background Increasing the efficiency of the biogas production process is possible by modifying the technological installations of the biogas plant. In this study, specific solutions based on a mathematical model that lead to favorable results were proposed. Three configurations were considered: classical anaerobic digestion (AD) and its two modifications, two-phase AD (TPAD) and autogenerative high-pressure digestion (AHPD). The model has been validated based on measurements from a biogas plant located in Poland. Afterward, the TPAD and AHPD concepts were numerically tested for the same volume and feeding conditions. Results The TPAD system increased the overall biogas production from 9.06 to 9.59%, depending on the feedstock composition, while the content of methane was slightly lower in the whole production chain. On the other hand, the AHPD provided the best purity of the produced fuel, in which a methane content value of 82.13% was reached. At the same time, the overpressure leads to a decrease of around 7.5% in the volumetric production efficiency. The study indicated that the dilution of maize silage with pig manure, instead of water, can have significant benefits in the selected configurations. The content of pig slurry strengthens the impact of the selected process modifications—in the first case, by increasing the production efficiency, and in the second, by improving the methane content in the biogas. Conclusions The proposed mathematical model of the AD process proved to be a valuable tool for the description and design of biogas plant. The analysis shows that the overall impact of the presented process modifications is mutually opposite. The feedstock composition has a moderate and unsteady impact on the production profile, in the tested modifications. The dilution with pig manure, instead of water, leads to a slightly better efficiency in the classical configuration. For the TPAD process, the trend is very similar, but the AHPD biogas plant indicates a reverse tendency. Overall, the recommendation from this article is to use the AHPD concept if the composition of the biogas is the most important. In the case in which the performance is the most important factor, it is favorable to use the TPAD configuration.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2424
Author(s):  
Jan Martin Zepter ◽  
Jan Engelhardt ◽  
Tatiana Gabderakhmanova ◽  
Mattia Marinelli

Biogas plants may support the transformation towards renewable-based and integrated energy systems by providing dispatchable co-generation as well as opportunities for biogas upgrading or power-to-X conversion. In this paper, a simulation model that comprises the main dynamics of the internal processes of a biogas plant is developed. Based on first-order kinetics of the anaerobic digestion process, the biogas production of an input feeding schedule of raw material can be estimated. The output of the plant in terms of electrical and thermal energy is validated against empirical data from a 3-MW biogas plant on the Danish island of Bornholm. The results show that the model provides an accurate representation of the processes within a biogas plant. The paper further provides insights on the functioning of the biogas plant on Bornholm as well as discusses upgrading potentials of biogas to biomethane at the plant from an energy perspective.


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