Pulse power enhancement of the anaerobic digester process
- Scientific Utilization, Inc., Huntsville, AL (United States)
A pilot study of the effects of Pulse Power Processing on an anaerobic digester system was completed at the Decatur Utilities Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, in Decatur Alabama, in September, 1995. This patented method generates several significant effects when all biosolids material is treated as it enters the anaerobic system. Intense, high peak-power plasma arcs are created, one at each end of the parabolic processing chamber, to produce an amplified synergy of alterations to the digester sludge flowing between them. The millisecond electric discharges generate localized temperatures as high as 30,000 K{degrees}, followed by a rapid cooling of the flowing liquid, which produces acoustic shock waves with pressures approaching 5,000 atmospheres. This destructive force: ruptures many of the cell walls of the bacteria and other single-cell organisms, releasing their vacuole fluids; breaks carbon bonds to form smaller organic compounds; and pulverizes large particle conglomerates, increasing the overall surface area of the solids. These beneficial results serve to boost the nutrient source for the anaerobes in the digester. In conjunction with LTV radiation, the formation of excited chemical radicals (including OH{sup -}), and the changes in ionic charge through alteration of the zeta potential, the bioreactor system is turbocharged to enhance the conversion of volatile biosolids to methane gas, which is the natural respiratory by-product of anaerobic digestion.
- OSTI ID:
- 478749
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960958-; TRN: 97:002640-0141
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Partnerships to develop and apply biomass technologies, Nashville, TN (United States), 15-19 Sep 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Bioenergy `96: Partnerships to develop and apply biomass technologies. Volume I and II; PB: 1171 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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