Advanced thermophilic digestion of biomass blends

Conference · Sat May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:6721673

Ghosh, S

The development of an advanced thermophilic biomass-digestion process that could be operated at much higher loading and slurry throughput rates than those of conventional high-rate digestion was reported. The biomass blend (mixture of hyacinth, Bermuda grass, refuse, and sludge) effected superior digester performance than the pure biomass feeds. For the pure feeds, mesophilic (35/sup 0/C) digestion was better than thermophilic (55/sup 0/C) digestion; the reverse was true for the biomass-waste blend substrate. The blend feed had higher biodegradability, and was selected as the substrate for an advanced digestion process. The advanced thermophilic process consisted of alkaline pretreatment of the undiluted blend feed at 55/sup 0/C, recycling of spent alkali to treat the fresh feed, neutralization of the treated feed with digester gas to a high pH (9 to 10), and digestion in a complete-mix digester. Methane yield and gas production rate from the advanced process were significantly higher than those from conventional digestion despite the fact that loading and hydraulic throughput rates for the former process were considerably higher than those of the latter. Reactor volume for the advanced process could be less than 20% and net energy production more than double those for conventional mesophilic high-rate digestion.

• Research Organization: Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, IL (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6721673
• Report Number(s): CONF-820580-3; ON: DE83900122
• Resource Relation: Conference: 4. symposium on biotechnology in energy production and conservation, Gatlinburg, TN, USA, 11 May 1982; Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
BIOMASS
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
DATA ANALYSIS
GRASS
MESOPHILIC CONDITIONS
METHANE
SEWAGE SLUDGE
SLURRIES
THERMOPHILIC CONDITIONS
WATER HYACINTHS
YIELDS
ALKANES
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BIOCONVERSION
DIGESTION
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
HYDROCARBONS
MANAGEMENT
MIXTURES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
PROCESSING
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SEWAGE
SLUDGES
SUSPENSIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
140504* - Solar Energy Conversion- Biomass Production & Conversion- (-1989)
090122 - Hydrocarbon Fuels- Preparation from Wastes or Biomass- (1976-1989)