Energy Convers. Mgmt Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 73-75, 1989 0196-8904/89 $3.00 + 0.

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Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved Copyright 1989 Maxwell Pergamon Macmillan plc
USE OF SOLAR ~ HEAT TO UP GRADE BIOGAS
PLANT P ERFORMANCE
S. SUBRAMANYAM
Civil Engineering Department, Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science, Warangal-506 015, India
(Received 4 June 1987; received for publication 15 February 1989)
Abstract--The performance of a biogas plant is temperature dependent. At higher temperatures specific
gas yield rises almost linearly with temperature and throughput time is reduced. In winter, gas yield drops
due to a fall in temperature of the slurry. In winter, if slurry could be heated to 50C, more efficient
operation in the thermophilic range would be possible.
The source for heating the slurry has to satisfy many constraints: year-round supply at low temperatures
and should have no fuel costs. A salt gradient solar pond satisfies these criteria. The heat transfer system
should avoid hot spots above 55C but ensure effective performance. A temperature above 55C will
destroy methanogenic bacteria. A vapour condensation heat transfer system based on acetone (b.p. 55C)
consisting of a sealed system in which two containers, one each in a biogas digester and solar pond,
connected by a sloping pipe is suggested.
Biogas plant Salt gradient Solar pond Vapour condensation heat transfer Thermophilic bacteria
I NTRODUC TI ON
The per f or mance o f bi ogas is al most pr opor t i onal t o t he sl urry t emper at ur e whi ch, in nor mal
condi t i ons, woul d ver y closely equal t he gr ound t emper at ur e. The pl ot o f gas yield vs mi ni mum
ai r t emper at ur e has al most a l i near r el at i onshi p f or t he t emper at ur es encount er ed in Indi a [1].
Ther ef or e, t he gas yield will be significantly l ower in wi nt er mont hs, especially so in t he col der
pl aces o f No r t h Indi a. In ot her wor ds, t he r eact i on slows down, t he r eact or wor ks at l ower speed,
as it were, dur i ng wi nt er. If t he sl urry can be heat ed, t he rat e o f r eact i on woul d go up, or in ot her
wor ds, t he r eact or wor ks at a hi gher speed.
The cycle t i me or r et ent i on t i me o f t he sl urry in t he pr ocessor is usual l y mai nt ai ned as a const ant ,
fi ght t hr ough t he year. Ther ef or e, one coul d also express t he effect o f r eact i on rat es as follows.
If t emper at ur es are low, t he sl urry is not compl et el y pr ocessed and is eject ed befor e i t ' s pot ent i al
out put is real i zed. Above a cer t ai n t emper at ur e, t he compl et e processi ng t i me is less t han t he
r et ent i on time, and t her ef or e t he capaci t y o f t he pr ocessor is not fully utilized.
If t he sl urry t emper at ur e coul d be rai sed t o val ues near 50C, t her mophi l i c bact er i a shoul d t ake
over, and bot h r eact i on r at e and t ot al gas out put woul d show desi rabl e increases. Thus, t her e is
a need t o raise t he sl urry t emper at ur e, bot h in wi nt er and summer . In wi nt er, t he pur pos e is t o
raise t he t emper at ur e t o ensur e hi gher per f or mance in t he mesophi l i c range. In summer , t he
t emper at ur e i ncrease is t o lift t he r eact i ons t o t he t her mophi l i c range.
SOURCES OF HEAT
The sour ce o f heat f or heat i ng t he sl urry has t o sat i sfy several cri t eri a. The ener gy must be freel y
avai l abl e, as bi ogas pr oduced by t he di gest er has a small commer ci al wor t h (in t er ms o f r epl acement
cost). It shoul d pr efer abl y be in t he f or m o f heat so t hat conver si on pr obl ems ar e not present .
Pr obl ems o f hot spot s are t o be avoi ded t o pr event dest r uct i on o f t he bact er i a by hi gh t emper at ur e.
Significant quant i t i es o f heat are t o be t r ansf er r ed t o t he sl urry at fai rl y l ow t emper at ur es, o f t he
or der o f 50C.
The r equi r ement s st at ed above l ook i nt r act abl e, but a surpri si ngl y simple sol ut i on is possi bl e i f
one t hi nks l at eral l y. An ideal heat sour ce coul d be a salt pond heat st or age uni t , whi ch has been
st udi ed a gr eat deal as an excel l ent buffer st or age uni t f or sol ar heat . Initially, t he salt pond was
concei ved as a st eady sour ce o f heat f or dri vi ng a heat engine. The l ow t he r modyna mi c efficiency
73
74 SUBRAMANYAM: UPGRADING BIOGAS PLANT PERFORMANCE
i __
v
: , : , , , i , - on<
" 1 " " biog~
' ; ' ', 1 i '
I I 1
i I i I i t ~ - i ~
I I I I
I i i I I
G .L G .L
S o L o r p o n d - - - -
Aceto n e
-"condenser
d i g e s t e r 3
e t o n e bo i l er
~ C inlet
o n den ser , ~
L . . .
. o , < . , _ - \
" ~ S t u r r y o u t L : ~ t a r p o n d - -
Fig. 1. Sol ar pond assi st ed bi ogas pl ant .
resulting from the low maximum temperature of 110C has prevented salt ponds from being widely
used. Therefore, the present status of salt pond units is that of a solution awaiting a problem.
Heating of the biogas slurry is a problem which requires a low temperature non-conventional
energy heat source. Therefore, the problem and solution are tailor made for each other and
complement each other ideally. The solar pond can supply energy at a steady rate of 25--40 W/ m 2.
Therefore, as soon as the heating requirements are known a suitable size of solar pond can be
determined.
HEAT TRANS F ER F ROM S AL T P OND TO D I G ES TER
The method of heat transfer from the salt pond to the slurry would require some consideration.
A traditional convecting fluid type heating coil would not be desirable. Such a heating coil could
generate a contact temperature of about 100C which would prove harmful to the bacterial culture
in the digester.
To avoid the problem of hot spots, a vapour heat transfer unit is suggested. Since the contact
temperature is not to be > 55C even in the worst case, a fluid boiling at a temperature close to
55C is suggested. Acetone is one such fluid. It boils at 55C and has a reasonably large latent heat;
it is chemically stable at the temperature of 110C reached in the system and is reasonably safe
and non-explosive.
The heat transfer unit consists of a boiler placed in the bot t om of the salt pond and a condenser
placed in the middle of the biogas digester. They are connected by a tube which gently slopes down
from the condenser into the boiler. The operation is self evident. The acetone in the boiler is heated
above its boiling point, and the vapours are driven to the condenser. In the condenser, the vapours
come in contact with the cooler surface and condense. In the process, the latent heat of
SUBRAMANYAM: UPGRADING BIOGAS PLANT PERFORMANCE 75
condensation is transferred to the slurry through the condenser wall. The condensed acetone flows
back to the boiler by gravity. The cycle is continuous, and heat is transferred at a steady rate.
The following points may be kept in mind while designing the heat transfer system. The unit
is designed as a sealed system. After charging the boiler with acetone, the system must be sealed
totally to prevent escape of acetone. A charge of about 2-3 1. of acetone may be sufficient for most
units. The sealed system should be capable of withstanding the vapour pressure of acetone at 150C.
Cylindrical shapes are most suited for both the boiler and condenser. The boiler could be a
horizontal cylinder, and the condenser could be a vertical cylinder.
CONCLUSIONS
Researchers have been searching for a suitable method of heating biogas plants, as well as to
find an application for heat stored in solar salt gradient ponds. It is now suggested that the two
devices are complementary to each other and could profitably be integrated.
The integration is not only advantageous in cold climates but also in hot climatic areas. The
purpose of integration in hot climatic areas is to operate biogas plants with thermophilic bacteria.
The evaporation condensation mode of heat transfer appears to be more efficient and suitable in
this case. The choice of fluid for heat transfer could forestall a considerable number of problems
and the need for regulatory devices that would otherwise arise.
The suggested choice of acetone as a heat transfer fluid ideally fits into the requirements of this
case. The boiling point is close to the threshold of the thermophilic range of digestion. It avoids
problems of corrosion, toxicity and fire hazards. It is also cheap and readily available.
It is earnestly hoped that some organization or research group would test this idea in practice.
REF ERENCE
1. T. D. Biswas, Invent. Intell. 12 (January/February 1977).