Anaerobic Digestion(AD) of Organic Fraction of

Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW)

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Presented by:
Goverdhan Shrestha
convert waste matter into various forms of fuel that can be used to supply energy
Waste-to-energy
Municipal solid waste has always been considered as a problem
The problem
Methane bubbles up through the sewage
created by decomposing waste at the
Zahle municipality landfill site
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The MSW contains
Organic fraction Inert Recyclable materials
Plastics
Paper
Tin can
Metal
Glass
Kitchen waste
Agro waste
Vegetable waste
Garden waste
Sand
Pebbles
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Why Anaerobic Digestion?
Environmental Benefits
Reduce GHG
Reduces disposed waste volume and weight to be landfilled
Reduces landfill leachate quantities
AD may be the attractive alternative in countries where higher organic fraction exist
Economic Benefits
Requires less land than aerobic composting or landfilling
Extends landfill life
Provides direct and indirect employment opportunities
Energy Benefits
Generate high quality renewable fuel
Biogas proven in numerous end-use applications
potential to immensely reduce the environmental impact of waste disposal while capturing
biogas energy
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Energy Potential of OFMSW
Material
Moisture (%
wt)
Biogas Yield
m
3
/kg of
material feed
Paper
Newspaper 10 0.061
Cardboard/Box
board 10 0.125
Telephone
Directories 10 0.061
Office paper 10 0.178
Mixed paper 10 0.112
Kitchen Waste
Food 70 0.113
Yard waste
Grass 60 0.034
Leaves 0.023
Brush 40 0.067
Other organic 0.101
Table: Biogas Yield from OFMSW Materials (RIS
International Ltd., 2005)
Component
Lignin Content
(LC) % of VS
Biodegradable
Fraction (BF)
Food wastes 0.4 0.82
Paper
Newsprint 21.9 0.22
Office paper 0.4 0.82
Cardboard 12.9 0.47
Yard Wastes 4.1 0.72
Table: Biodegradable Fraction of Selected Organic Waste Components
Based on Lignin Content (Tchobanoglous., 1993)
Lower biodegradable fraction, require the highest retention times
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Energy and Anaerobic Digestion
Composition
Methane 60%
Carbon dioxide 40%


0.62L Kerosene
5.56 (Kg) Firewood
1.458 (Kg) Charcoal
0.66 (L) Diesel
0.85(Kg) Coal
5.66 (kWh) Electricity
0.6 m
3
of Methane 22 MJ of heat value
1 t of Organic Waste
100 to 150 m
3
biogas
2200 to 3300 MJ of Energy
200 to 300 kWh electricity (at 35 %)
60 to 90 m
3
methane
Equivalent of 1 m
3
of Biogas
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Anaerobic Digestion
degradation of organic material by bacteria in the absence of oxygen
Figure: Degradation steps of anaerobic digestion process
(Evans, 2001)
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Key Process Management Parameters
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C:N ratio
If C: N ratio is too high, the waste substrate will be deficient in nitrogen, which is
needed for build-up of bacterial mass
If C: N ratio is too low, the degradation of the substrate leads to increases in ammonia
formation and this is toxic to the bacteria
optimum C: N ratio range: 25 to 30
Temperature
optimum temperature is considered to be 30C-35C for mesophilic condition
temperature range is between 50C-65C for thermophilic condition
Wet (low-solids) systems (moisture content greater than 80%)
Dry (high-solids) systems (moisture content less than 80%)
Continuous versus batch process
Single stage versus multi-stage digestion
Anaerobic Digestion Technologies
Dry Fermentation Systems :
input material that has moisture content
less than 80%
require no movement of organic matter or
addition of liquid
no pre-treatment of organic waste is
required
require less energy for processing
Wet Fermentation Systems:
input material that has moisture content
greater than 80%
requires the addition of liquid for the
process
require that organic waste input undergo
multiple treatment
steps often include: separation of non-
organic material, liquefaction, sand
separation and sanitization
require more energy for processing

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Batch process
substrate is fed into the digester and
then the digester is sealed for the entire
period
production of biogas is non-continuous
i.e gas production will peak at the middle
of the process
Continuous Process
substrate is added to and removed from the
digester continuously
biogas generation will occur at a fairly
constant rate
Single stage Digester
take place in single vessel
easy to operate
fewer technical failures
lower biogas yields
Multi- stage Digester
Take place in 2 diferent vessel
more technical complexity
more technical failures
Potentially higher gas yields
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Types of dry fermentation systems
Continuous Digestion
Plug flow digester
Kompogas
Strabag (Linde KCA)

Silo digester
ATF
Dranco

Discontinuous Digestion
Percolation digester (Box
digester)
Bekon
Bioferm / Eggersmann
Loock
Zorg

Types of wet fermentation systems
Continuous Digestion
BTA(Biotechnische Abfallverwertung GmbH & Co KG)
Wassa
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Plug flow systems
Plug flow systems usually show the
following characterization
Lying cylindrical or rectangular digesters
Initial mixing with digestate (inoculation)
Feedstock is usually stored in a hopper and
fed to the digester with an auger system
(screws)
The substrate is continuously pushed
forward by the fresh material
In comparison to discontinuous process the
biogas production and microbiology is more
stable
Figure: Plug flow system
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Silo Digester
Biogas
Feed
stock +
water
Digestate

Mixer
Inocul
ation
loop
treats various waste streams such as bio waste,
mixed waste, industrial organics, paper waste,
market waste, rural waste, manure, sewage
sludge
feed is introduced continuously through the top
of the reactor at a rate of approximately 100
m
3
/hour and digested material is removed from
the bottom continuously
filtrate obtained from de-watering is re-circulated
and used to adjust the solids concentration of
incoming waste
there is no internal mixing apart from the
downward flow of the waste due to gravity
Figure: Silo type digester
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Batch Systems
Figure: One-stage high-solids-stackable AD system flow
diagram
Airtight shell
Door
Percolation system
Gas tapping
Core parts of a dry fermentation plants
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Preconditioning of the feedstock material
fresh wastes are inoculated with substrate that that were just removed
filled with the front end loaders
Loading the digester
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continuously recirculation of percolation liquid
different stages of degradation (i.e, hydrolysis, acid and methane formation)
take place in the same box digester
No constant gas production
to ensure a more steady supply of biogas, a number of batch digesters with substrates at
different stages of anaerobic digestion are operated in parallel
Gas production in discontinuous systems
Process time
Gas Production
=
>

BUT constant gas demand
Stop of percolation
Collection of leachate
Before opening the digester it has to vented /prevention of
explosion danger
The vented air has to treated in a bio filter to degrade methane
(very powerful green house gas)
Unloading of digestate with a loader
Unloading the digester
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MSW Mass Flow Example
Anaerobic
Digester
1 t of Organic waste
90 to 150 m
3
biogas 900 kg Digestate
Composting
Aerobic
300 Kg Water
600 Kg Solid
Fine
Screening
200 Kg Residue
400 Kg compost
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Utilization of biogas
Biogas
Direct
combustion
heat
CHP
Heat &
electricity
Upgrading to
Bio methane
grid injection vehicle fuel
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Maximum processing capacity:
40,000 tons per year in the first phase;
60,000 tons per year in the second phase

Gross electricity (MWh / year): 8000-12000
Auto electrical consumption (MWh / year): 4000-6000

Energy usage: Electrical energy is fed into the public grid
Heat is use for heating digester
The Valorsul plant in Almadora-Lisbon
food waste from separate collection and residues from restaurants /markets
(organic waste)
http://www.valorsul.pt/pt/o-sistema/valorizacao-organica/etvo.aspx
fermentation takes place in a thermophillic temperature of 55
0
C
Retention time: 21 days
Installation Cost: 26.5 M
Specific biogas production 149 m
3
/t
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Anaerobic
digester
31000 t/a
Organic
waste
Pre-
treatment
Separation
4708675m
3
biogas
6030 t/a Reject
51000 t/a
Solid Phase
Liquid Phase
40000 t/a
854 t/a
Post
treatment
47500 t/a
Post
treatment
Mass Flow for Valorsul AD Plant 2010
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Brecht (IGEAN) Bio waste Treatment Plant
Feedstock: 35000 45000 t/a
15 - 20% kitchen waste, 70% garden waste and 10
- 15% and unrecyclable paper

Brecht (digestion plant 2) (OWS
Dranco Promotional Information)
Fermentation took place in thermophilic condition
Retention time was around 20 days
Installation Cost: 12 M
Specific biogas production: 115 m
3
/t
Energy yield: Electrical energy approx: 10000 MWh/a
(200kWh/t)
Energy consumption: 30-40% of energy production i.e around
3000-4000 MWh/a
Energy usage: Electrical energy is fed into the public grid
Heat supply to reactor influent, and to heat all of the building
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Processes: Dranco (Continuous Dry Fermentation)
Kompogas anaerobic digester at Oetwil Am See
Oetwil Am See (Kompogas) Biowastes Treatment Plant
Feedstock: 10000 t/a
municipal grass cuttings, mixed plant residues, leaves
and food waste
Fermentation took place in thermophilic condition at 55
0
C
Retention time was around 14 days
Installation Cost: 4 M
Specific biogas production: 108 m
3
/t
Energy yield: Electrical energy approx: 1500 MWh/a
Energy consumption: 10-20% of energy production i.e around
150-300 MWh/a
Energy usage: Electrical energy is fed into the grid
Heat supply to reactor influent, and to heat all of the building
Processes: Kompogas (Continuous Dry Fermentation)
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Bassum dry fermentation plant and composting plant
Raw materials :organic waste
fermentation process takes around 28 days and
takes place in a mesophillic temperature range of
37 to 39
0
C
http://www.awg-bassum.de/data/files/553/TVA_Folder_AWG_09_1.pdf
Feedstock: Approx. 18,000 t/a
Power generated in CHP plant: 625 KW electrical energy, 680 KW thermal energy

Energy yield: Electrical energy approx: 3,700 MWh/a
Thermal energy approx: 4,000 MWh/a
Energy consumption: 8-10% of energy production i.e around 400 MWh/a (acc. Beckon )
Heat usage approx: 2,800 MWh/a

Energy usage: Electrical energy is fed into the public grid
Heat supply to Bassum hospital (3.2 km) by district heating pipe
Process: Dry fermentation in a batch operation
using 6 BEKON fermenters
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Digester type

Wet Dry Continuous

Dry Discontinuous

Digester water
content

>80%

Between
60 and 80%

<60%

Feedstock

Liquid

semi liquid

Solid
Energy Consumption 40-50% of energy
production
20-30% of energy
production

10-15 %of energy
production

Digestate
treatment

Dewatering
is required

Dewatering may
be required

Dewatering
not required

Investment High Average Low
Leachate
production

High Low Low

AD does not solve all problems, some wastes (residuals) still need other treatment
(e.g. incineration or landfill), but AD helps to maximize resource recovery
THANK YOU
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