CDB 4014 PLANT DESIGN PROJECT I

SEMESTER JANUARY 2020

DESIGN OF BIOGAS PRODUCTION PLANT

FROM ANIMAL MANURE (PIG)

GROUP 26

YEN ZHEN HAO 23567

TING LEE LING 23630
KRIISHEN NAIR A/L GUNAPRAKAS 23653
MOHAMAD SHARIN BIN SHABIR 23528
NUR NADIA FATIN BINTI ASIMOHAMED 23706

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS
JANUARY 2020
 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL

CDB 4014 PLANT DESIGN PROJECT I

SEMESTER JANUARY 2020

DESIGN OF BIOGAS PRODUCTION PLANT

FROM ANIMAL MANURE (PIG)

GROUP 26

YEN ZHEN HAO 23567

TING LEE LING 23630
KRIISHEN NAIR A/L GUNAPRAKAS 23653
MOHAMAD SHARIN BIN SHABIR 23528
NUR NADIA FATIN BINTI ASIMOHAMED 23706

APPROVED BY:

DR RAIHAN RAMLI
DATE: 11/3/2020

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

 UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Firstly, Group 26 would like to extend our gratitude to the course coordinator, Dr Aqsha
for the detailed instructions given and workshops conducted to brief the students on basic
plant design knowledge.

Secondly, we would like to thank our helpful supervisor, Dr Raihan for making
time to coach and follow up with our plant design progress. She is an experienced
lecturer in plant design and she constantly provides us insights of process design, process
control, process safety to ensure the project could be carried out.

Last but not least, we would like to thank the internal and examiners for
evaluating our reports and design strategy. We look forward to meeting them to get their
feedbacks on our project.

This project could not be carried out successfully without any of the parties
mentioned above.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... vii
1.1 Background of Design Project ............................................................................................. vii
1.2 Problem statement .............................................................................................................. ix
1.3 Objectives ............................................................................................................................. ix
1.4 Scope of study ....................................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER 2...................................................................................................................................... xi
LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................... xi
2.1 Overview of Feed and Product properties ........................................................................... xi
2.1.1 Feed Properties ............................................................................................................. xi
Feed 1: Pig Manure ................................................................................................................ xi
2.1.2 Product Properties .......................................................................................................xvi
2.2 Price and Market Analysis ....................................................................................................xx
2.2.1 World Bio-Methane and Organic Fertilizer Demand ....................................................xx
2.2.2 Malaysia Bio-Methane and Organic Fertilizer Demand ............................................. xxiii
2.2.3 Feed and Product Pricing .......................................................................................... xxvii
2.3 Plant Location.................................................................................................................. xxviii
2.3.1 Selection Criteria ...................................................................................................... xxviii
2.3.2 Site Consideration ...................................................................................................... xxx
2.3.3 Site Selection ........................................................................................................... xxxvi
CHAPTER 3................................................................................................................................. xxxix
PRELIMINARY HAZARDS ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ xxxix
3.1 Previous Accidents on Similar Type of Plants ................................................................. xxxix
3.2 Identification of Material and Chemical Hazards in Process .............................................. xli
3.3.3 Plant Layout .............................................................................................................. xlviii
3.3.4 Transportation........................................................................................................... xlviii
3.3.5 Workplace Safety Training .......................................................................................... xlix
3.4 Local Safety ........................................................................................................................ xlix
3.4.1 Occupational Health and Safety Act Standards .......................................................... xlix
3.4.2 Factories and Machinery Act 1967 ................................................................................ li
3.4.2 Environmental Quality Act 1974 .................................................................................... li
3.4.3 Land Regulations ........................................................................................................... lii
3.4.4 Labour Regulations........................................................................................................ lii
 3.5 Environmental Impact Assessment ...................................................................................... lii
Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................... liv
Conceptual Design Analysis........................................................................................................... liv
4.1 Conceptual Design Procedure ............................................................................................. liv
4.2 Preliminary Rector Optimization......................................................................................... lvi
4.2.1 Process Operating Mode .............................................................................................. lvi
4.2.2 Selection of Ideal Reactor Type and Design ............................................................... lviii
4.3 Process Screening................................................................................................................. lx
4.4 Reactor Configuration .........................................................................................................lxv
4.5 Process Flowsheeting .........................................................................................................lxvi
4.6 Mass Balance (Manual calculations) ................................................................................... 75
4.6.1 Manual Mass Balance on Reactor 1 ............................................................................. 75
4.6.2 Manual Mass Balance on Reactor 2 ............................................................................. 80
4.6.3 Mass balance of biological desulphurization unit ........................................................ 83
4.6.4 Mass Balance for Biogas Upgrading Unit ..................................................................... 85
4.7 Simulation ........................................................................................................................... 86
4.8.1 Economic Potential 1 ................................................................................................... 87
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
For CDB 4014 Plant Design I, our group (G26) is assigned to work on the Plant Design
for Biogas Production from Animal Manure (Pig). As non-renewable energy sources
such as natural gas and oil which are the main energy sources are depleting, researches
have been conducted to explore alternative energy sources. Biogas is a promising option
as it is a clean and renewable form of energy that can be used as an alternative fuel.

The raw materials to generate biogas are highly abundant in Malaysia as we have
manures, food wastes etc. Pig manure is selected as the feed of the project due to its high
abundance and suitability. We are tasked to design at least two products (including
biogas) from pig manure.

The process we selected to produce biogas is anaerobic digestion which involves

4 reactions: hydrolysis (breaking down of proteins, carbohydrates and fats to amino acid,
fatty acids and sugar), acidogenesis (production of acetic acid, propionic acid),
acetogenesis (production of acetic acid) and methanogenesis (generate methane).

As the production of biogas leaves behind liquid and solid digestate, solid
digestate, due to its high nutritional contents are separated from the liquid streams to be
made into composts. Liquid digestate is recycled back into the reactors to be further
reacted to minimise wastes. Due to the high contents of CO2 in biogas, 60%, it is
upgraded by using water scrubbing to remove CO2. The CO2 is compressed into liquid
CO2 to be sold to prevent emission to the atmosphere. Besides, ammonia is extracted
and compressed as byproduct.

Chemical engineering skills that are incorporated in this project are process
design, process control, process safety, heat integration, environmental impact
assessment and economic evaluation. In process design, we select the processes that
produce highest selectivity and yield. Processes are compared in process screening.
Separators are selected to ensure good separation. In process safety, we incorporate the
safety design of plant such as flare and conduct HAZOP analysis. In heat integration, the
heat supplied to the plant is integrated to save cost. To minimise the environmental
impact, assessment is carried out by comparing the plant emissions against the regulatory
standards. Economic evaluation is carried out to ensure the plant can run profitably.
 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Design Project
Renewable energy is source of energy which produced from sources that do not consume
material sources that cannot be replenished over the time. On the other hand, non-
renewable sources such as fossil fuel run out of supply over the period of time.
Renewable energy got its spotlight as the awareness on environment and the
consequences every earthling may face. Biomass is one of the most common renewable
energy and organic material such as barks, maize and dung are used to generate energy
by utilizing biogas which is produced from organic materials. Biogas produced through
biomass produces can be used as vehicle fuel and co-generation of electricity and heat,
therefore reduces emission of greenhouse gases (Ye et.al, 2013). Biogas has various
usages and the common usages of biogas are tabulated as below.

Figure 1.1: Uses of biogas (Kishan)

Animal waste is 2016)
widely used in biogas production as it is able to produce
large amount of biogas. Content of carbon in animal waste determines the amount of
biogas produced, hence, producing biogas from animal waste with high carbon content is
an essential parameter to consider in biogas production.

Many researches have been done in biogas production from animal waste of
cows, chickens and pigs yet application in Malaysia and Philippines on biogas
production from pig manure is limited. Therefore, strategies on utmost utilization of pig
manure to produce biogas are necessary to reduce usage of non-renewable energy. Pig
manure is an excellent substrate for anaerobic digestion because pig manure is rich in
various nutrients required for development of anaerobic microorganisms (Regueiro,
2012).
 Table 1.2: Carbon and nitrogen content in common organic
wastes
However, pig manure has low biogas yield, approximately 20-30 m3/ton
compared to other common animal wastes (Angelidaki & Ellegaard, 2003). Therefore,
rice straw is used as co-digestion to improve the biogas production yield. Rice straw is
found in abundance around the world and usually burned or discarded, resulting in
emission of greenhouse gases and environmental pollution. Making use agriculture
residues which is known as non-beneficial product such as rice straw into anaerobic
digestion process reduces cause of pollution and increases the production of biogas. C/N
ratio of rice straw is about 60:1, which aids to produce more biogas during anaerobic
digestion.

Moreover, there are several parameters that have to be taken into consideration to
ensure highest possible yield of biogas production through anaerobic digestion. For
instance, temperature of digester plays an essential role as temperature off the optimal
range inhibits the microorganisms and results in inefficient production of biogas.
Optimum humidity and mixture of substrate and co-digestion is vital because improper
mixing ratio has adverse effect on the C/N ratio.
1.2 Problem statement
Numbers of pigs and farms are rising gradually to meet the demand of pork. In Perak,
Malaysia, there are 115 farms with an approximate quantity of 540,000 pigs which
produces about 50 tonnes of manure a day. Proper disposal method of pig manure is not
widely being implemented due to large amount of manure per day and high price of
proper manure disposal. Therefore, pig manure is disposed in an easier yet harmful way.
The most common way of disposal is by pumping manure directly into water streams as
rivers, lakes and lagoons which causes severe consequences. Disposed feces and waste
spreads to neighborhoods and pollutes water and air of surrounding with waste particles
(Nicole, 2017). Disposed wastes potentially carry pathogens, bacteria and heavy metals
that is toxic when ingested, resulting in some reported cases as mucosal irritation,
respiratory ailment, increased stress and high blood pressure (Thorne & Peter, 2017).
Besides that, pig waste disposal contributes to groundwater pollution and wastes ooze
through the groundwater and cause worse scenario of pollution in neighborhoods. Strong
foul smell, land and water pollution caused a reduce in quality of life in neighboring
area, in addition, crops and plants are affected by pathogens as polluted water is used for
irrigation and sourced through groundwater.

1.3 Objectives
The objectives of this project are:

i. To determine the optimal feasible biogas production route to achieve high purity
and desired yield of biogas.
ii. To design process flow diagram (PFD) and piping and instrumentation diagram
(P&ID) diagram based on the optimal feasible biogas production route.
iii. To evaluate the capacity of biogas production plant based on the economic
analysis of the plant in order to ensure its economic feasibility.
iv. To minimize energy consumption in the biogas production plant by conducting
heat integration.
v. To develop a safe biogas production plant to human and environment based on
detailed HAZOP analysis.
1.4 Scope of study
a) Conduct literature review survey on:
b) Identify optimal location for production plant construction in consideration of
legitimate and easier transportation justification.
c) Develop alternatives of several feasible routes for producing biogas from pig
manure followed by best selection of feasible routes to maximize yield.
d) Develop PFD and P&ID based on the selected feasible route of biogas
production.
e) Carry out material balance calculation for selected route and justify the
calculation by performing plant process simulation on Icon software.
f) Perform heat integration on HINT software to minimize usage of energy.
g) Perform process control and instrumentation strategy on the plant and determine
the equipment and systems which require controllers.
h) Develop plant layout and economic evaluation to rationalize the economic
feasibility of proposed production plant.
i) Implement HAZOP analysis on selected nodes of the plant.
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview of Feed and Product properties

2.1.1 Feed Properties
Feed 1: Pig Manure
In the current world, pig population demand is increasing as the amount of
consumer increases as well. Utilization and valorization of pig manure is a vital topic as
it is closely related to the regulations on ecological and safety concerns. Pig manure itself
is a bad substrate for the production of biogas due to its excessive nitrogen content
relative to organic carbon. It is an alkaline substrate, and methanogenesis can be
suppressed by adding high organic carbon substrates must be added. High organic carbon
substrate such as straw is the one of the best example of substrate that is widely used in
biogas plant.

Properties of Pig Manure

Pig manure contains all 13 of the basic plant nutrients that are essential to the
plants. The nutrients content includes nitrogen compounds and minerals in the form of
oxides of sodium, potassium and magnesium. Utilizing pig manure as fertilizers for
farming could provide most of the nutrients required for a crop. The required amount of
nutrients given relies on the nutrient content of the manure and the amount of manure
applied. Typically, the amount of pig manure applied per acre is based on the amount of
nitrogen needed for the plants. An example composition of pig manure is shown in Table
2. 1.
 Table 2.1: Composition of pig manure

Constituent Percentage content, %

TS (g / kg) 27.16

%VS 74.10

Ash (% of TS) 25.90

Carbon (% of TS) 39.29

Hydrogen (% of TS) 5.40

Oxygen (% of TS) 26.70

Nitrogen (% of TS) 2.32

Sulfur (% of TS) 0.39

C/N 17.0

Calorific Value (kJ / kg TS) 16300

The content of nutrient in pig manure differs depending to the animal’s age,
ration, moisture content and the storage of the pig manure. The volume of water used to
wash the manure from the building have a vital effect on the moisture content. Usually
the flush system adds more water to the manure rather than doing a pit-recharge system.
Dilution water is also mixed with the manure from waterers and building washdown.

Issue caused by pig manure

The usual issue caused by pig manure is mainly form the results from its
composition as the pig manure’s high nitrogen and phosphorus compound characteristics
which can pollute the soil and clean water leading to eutrophication of surface water
bodies. The manure also can lead to odorous air pollution from releasing ca.400 volatile
foul smelling organic and inorganic substances.
 Compounds such as ammonia, amine, methyl sulphides, hydrogen sulphide,
mercaptans and skatoles should be neutralized and be as far as possible as it is excessive
in concentration where it may reduce the population of reared pigs and also lead to
problems in respiratory system and skin infections to the farm workers. To help decrease
the foul smell, bismuth compounds such as bismuth subgallate (BiG Dermatol),
chlorophyllin copper complex (CCC) and powdered activated charcoal (PAC) is used.
These compounds are also mixed to the animal feed to act as an internal disinfectant and
they can also mixed with excreta.

The presence of antibiotics and few other pharmaceuticals in pig manure is also a
vital environmental hazard. This can be justified as a result from the growth of
pathogenic micro flora and microorganism that have antibiotic-resistant strains in soil,
surface and groundwater.

The negative effect of manure on the environment encourage to treat and process
it to a less hazardous or neutral materials, to be used as agents to cultivate the soil with
mineral matter, to contribute in the agriculture sector and also can be used as a potential
energy source. It also have contributed to the development of treatment and processing
technology of manure, in addition pressure from the environmentalist and official
authorities to deal with pig manure.

Feed 2: Rice Straw

Utilization of rice straw is dependent on its characteristics, which is categorized

into two major categories which are physical properties and chemical composition
(Hung, et al., 1970). The physical properties is relating to the rice straw’s bulk density,
heat capacity, and thermal conductivity. Density is the most significant and important
to the handling and storage of rice straw. The thermal properties which is the heating
value is the most relevant properties when biomass is converted to energy.
 For chemical composition, compounds such as lignin, cellulose, carbohydrates,
and the nutrient contents are closely related to the applications of rice straw as a
livestock feed and fertilizer for agricultural use. Characterizing rice straw is very
essential for life cycle analysis and efficiency calculations. The most well-known
methods used in the characterization of rice straw can be impute from the American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) And the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL)

Figure 2.1: Rice Straw

Physical Properties of Rice Straw

Based on the research on several studies, the bulk density of rice straw can rely
mainly on the different forms it may take. Loose rice straw that is collected directly
from the field, can have a range in density from 13 to 18 kg m−3 in dry matter (dm). For
chopped straw the length is in the range from 2 to 10 mm and may have a density in the
range from 50 to 120 kg m−3 which rely on the equipment used at the time.

The baled straw size, compression ratio and bulk density will differ relying on
the baler equipment used. A 70-cm in length an 50-cm in diameter of round rice straw
bale have a bulk density ranging from 60 to 90 kg m−3 dm where as the rice straw
briquettes with a 90-mm diameter and 7- to 15-mm thickness has a density of 350–
450 kg m−3 dm. For rice straw pellets with an 8-mm diameter and from 30 to 50 mm in
height have a density in the range of 600–700 kg m−3 dm.

When rice straw is compared to rice husks, rice husk have a density of between
86 and 114 kg m−3 when it is unprocessed where the loose rice straw has a lower
density than the rice husk . This shows that a higher volume per kilogram leads to
higher cost for shipping and handling. This also leads to more complications in the
processing, storage, transportation and burning stage.

The volume of the rice straw can be reduced by processing which needs
additional energy inputs. Several size reduction methods can be applied which can
increase density of the straw which is using pellet mills, roller presses, piston presses,
cubers, briquette presses, screw extruders, tabletizers and agglomerators.

When rice straw is utilized for bioenergy, its bulk density affect the combustion
process as the time required in the reactor is also affected. Moreover, a low bulk
density leads to poor mixing and nonuniform temperature distribution where is an
unfavourable operating condition, which decreases the energy efficiency.

The content of moisture in the rice straw is a vital consideration when

determining the ways to process it and the usage of the product. For example, moisture
content influences the heating value of the straw, which is vital if the by-product is
used as bioenergy. Furthermore, if the volume of rice is to decease, the content of
moisture before the compression should be between 12 and 17%. However, the
moisture content can reduce greatly because of the method and duration of the straw’s
storage.

Chemical Composition of Rice Straw

The chemical composition shows the rice straw’s nutritional quality, which is
vital for livestock feed, anaerobic digestion, and as a soil amendment. Research have
been carried out to improve the low nutritional value of the rice straw. From the research
that have been carried out, it is indicated that the typical components of plant biomass
are moisture cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, lipids, proteins, simple sugars, starches,
water, hydrocarbon, ash, and other compounds. The plant species, type of tissue, growth
stage, and growing conditions influences the concentrations of the compounds. Rice
straw which contains 38% cellulose, 25% hemicellulose, and 12% lignin considered a
lignocellulosic biomass. Compared to softwood which is used in other biomass plant,
rice straw have a low cellulose and lignin and higher in hemicellulose content.

2.1.2 Product Properties

Product 1: Bio-Methane

From anaerobic digestion of organic matter such as dead animal & plant material,
manure, sewage and organic waste, biomethane is produced where it is a naturally
occurring gas. Chemically, biomethane is identical to natural gas where it is stored deep
in the ground produced also from dead animal & plant material. However, there are few
key differences between fossil fuel which is derived from methane and biomethane
although both are produced from organic matter.

Biomethane is classified as a green source of energy and natural gas is defined as

fossil fuel. Natural gas is form from millions of years old fossil remains of organic
matter that is deep in the ground. The production of fossil fuel derived methane rely on
its natural reserves which greatly differs among other countries and also a non-renewable
source. The production of biomethane on the other hand can be produced worldwide
from fresh organic matter thus, it is a renewable source of energy.

It also have several number of environmental benefits which make biomethane a

green energy source. Organic matter would release the gas to the atmosphere if it simply
left to decompose naturally instead of used in the production of biomethane. During
decomposition process, other gases that is produced such as nitrous oxide will contribute
more to the greenhouse effect.

Since biomethane is chemically identical to natural gas, they both can be used for
the similar application such as electricity generation, water heater, space heater, cooking
and also fuel for vehicles. Compared to natural gas, biomethane promotes a better
potential as an alternative energy source. The application for the production of
biomethane had only started in the recent years despite the fact that it is an alternative
source of energy. This as a result leads to the increase of natural gas price and electricity
price of other fossil fuels.

Chemical Composition of Biomethane

Biomethane is an upgraded biogas which is produced by bacteria from organic

substrates which undergoes anaerobic digestion (AD) in the absence of oxygen. The
chemical composition of the biomethane consist of 50%-75% methane (CH4), 25%-50%
carbon dioxide (CO2) with the remaining that are composed of water vapour (H2O),
traces of oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Raw biogas could be
free of water and hydrogen which is most frequently used for combined heat and power
production (CHP). Biomethane or biogas is also considered to be an advanced biofuel
due to the natural degradation of hemicelluloses and celluloses.

Product 2: Fertilizer

In a biogas plant, the methanogenic microbes in the anaerobic digester causes the
complex organic molecules are break down to several steps until biogas and biofertilizer
is produced as end product. There is a large difference between utilizing organic waste
directly to the soil and to use it after composted in a biogas plant.

When using raw organic waste, nutrients will exist in more complicated forms
which make it tough for microbes to process it and convert them in forms that can be
readily absorbed by plants or crops. However, when using composted organic fertilizer,
the nutrients will already be broken down in the simplest forms to be readily available to
be absorbed by plants without any further conversion.

The constitution of typical composted organic fertilizer comprises of moisture

content, organic carbon, potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the percentage of 40.21,
11.77, 0.33, 0.71 and 0.43 respectively with the C:N ratio of 17:1. The organic waste
without composting will have the C:N ratio in the range of 20:1.
Product 3: Anhydrous Ammonia

Anhydrous ammonia is a compressed liquid without the presence of water.

Anhydrous ammonia compound contains one-part nitrogen and three parts hydrogen.
The importance of this compound is used in everyday household cleaning and in
industrial cleaning industry. It is also known for its use in agriculture, manufacture and
the synthesis of certain molecules.

To help keep up food production for people all around the globe, about 90
percent of ammonia that is produced in biogas plant are used in fertilizer. In long term,
the production for food crops eventually decreases the soil nutrients for the next coming
crops. Hence, in the agriculture sector, most farmers depends fertilizers to sustain their
soil productivity in order to sustain healthy crops. This also assist to increase essential
nutrients level such as zinc, selenium and boron in food crops.

Product 4: Carbon Dioxide

Another odorless and colorless gas is emitted as a by-product of anaerobic

digestion from the biogas is carbon dioxide, CO2. Carbon dioxide’s solubility in water
varies depending on the pressure and temperature. The higher the temperature, the lower
the solubility of CO2. A human nose can detect a high nasal concentration when the CO2
at around 2000 to 5000 ppm which will lead to adverse effect to human health. Carbon
dioxide also can react with water to form carbonic acid. Sometimes, it is also used as an
additive to oxygen for medical use for respiration simulant and is used to neutralize
alkaline water. In its liquid and solid state, it also used for rapid freezing, chilling and as
refrigerant. To increase output when extracting oil in the oil and gas industry CO2 is also
used to be injected into oil reservoir that is called ‘Enhanced oil Recovery’.
 Table 2.2: Characteristic of chemical fertilizer compared with organic fertilizer

Characteristics Chemical Fertilizer Organic Fertilizer

Source Chemicals (Rock phosphate, Wet organic waste (Food waste,

pyrite) Vegetable waste or Animal
dung)

Composition Sulphur, Potassium, Phosphorus, Moisture content, organic

Nitrogen, Magnesium carbon, Potassium, Nitrogen,
Phosphorus

Effects on soil Gives instant result but reduces Its effect on restoring soil
fertility the soil fertility fertility is longer-lasting when
compared to chemical fertilizer

Manufacturing Complex manufacturing process Generated by simple and natural

process process

Cost Expensive As long as supply of wet organic

waste exists, bio fertilizer can
be generated even at home

Yield Give instance result by Sustainably increases the yield

increasing the yield but leads to by improving soil fertility.
soil infertility in the long run
2.2 Price and Market Analysis

2.2.1 World Bio-Methane and Organic Fertilizer Demand

Bio-Methane

The breakthroughs toward cleaner heat-and electricity-generating fuel led to the

acceptance of biofuels by various countries and thus the use of biogas for large scale
production. Strict government regulations to curb GHG emissions coupled with high
incentives to encourage the use of green energy have acted as primary drivers, which will
add to the revenue on the global biogas market..

In North America, the United States tends to hold the largest share leading to
favourable initiatives and lead fields of operation. Eventually, Europe and Asia-Pacific
ruled the market dominance. The popular market nations are Germany, Britain, Italy,
China and India. Many countries have set sufficient goals in recent years to provide
monetary benefits for the production of biogas from different feedstocks. Latin American
countries such as Mexico and Chile are expected to see major possibilities to fuel the
development of the biogas industry (Biogas Market Growth Forecast till 2026 - Fortune
Business Insights, 2020).

Revenue from the global biogas industry is expected to surpass USD 110 billion
by 2025, as stated by Global Market Insights, Inc. in its recent study. An optimal market
scenario has been generated by ongoing initiatives towards the utilization of industrial
municipal and energy crops combined with increasing penetration of biofuels throughout
the transport sector. The business environment will be propagated by increased efforts
towards the implementation of sustainable energy technology along with the
implementation of novel financial instruments, incentives and subsidy policies.
Furthermore, continuing the efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuel sources for
generating electricity will improve the outlook for the industry.

The biogas demand from sewage sludge is bound to increase due to rising
attention on the handling of residual sludge from sewage treatment plants along with
raising environmental problems linked to inadequate sludge disposal methods.
Furthermore, changing patterns toward creating extra revenue energy by manufacturing
or selling power on-site to the local grid will also improve technological acceptance over
the projected timeframe.

Because of the increasing demand for space heating applications, the global
market for biogas from commercial use will expand. A desirable business environment
has been generated by the high energy density and ample feedstock supply. Moreover,
the rising demand for effective waste treatment technologies will also improve the
environment in the industry.

The Anaerobic Digestion market was valued at over USD 45 billion in 2018 and
is expected to grow by more than 6% by 2025. Energy independence and enhanced soil
quality are few prominent features which favour the implementation of anaerobic
digestion cycle. Increasing emphasis on agricultural land conservation along with
stepping up efforts to boost the local economy has fuelled the production of biogas plants
(Biogas Market 2019: Global Industry Size, Demand, Growth Analysis, Share, Revenue
and Forecast 2026, 2020)

Organic Fertilizer

The global market for organic fertilizers is predicted to grow over the current
quarter at a CAGR of 6.9%. Additionally, the global market for organic fertilizers is
expected to hit USD 6.3 trillion by the end of 2024 from USD 3.1 trillion in 2016. It is
expected that growing awareness about the long-term benefits of organic farming and
increasing the acceptance of environmentally friendly goods would accelerate the
development of the global market for organic fertilizers.

In 2016, Europe gained the largest share of the global organic fertilizer industry
in the international network. This may be due to the growing desire of consumers willing
to pay for organic fertilizers. It is also expected that the existence of strict government
legislation restricting the use of chemical fertilizers would increase demand for organic
fertilizers in the European market.

Because of the high availability of raw materials, the Asia Pacific demand for
organic fertilizers is expected to be the rapidly growing market globally. Furthermore,
supportive government subsidy policies are expected to fuel the development of the
demand for organic fertilizers in Asia pacific.

Global organic fertilizers are divided into peat-based, manure-based and others
depending on product type. Manure-based organic fertilizers led the overall market for
organic fertilizers in 2016 and are set to continue leading over the coming quarters. Fast
supply of livestock manure is predicted to be the major factor behind the development of
the worldwide market for manure based organic fertilizers (Organic Fertilizers Market
Size : Global Industry Demand, Growth, share & Forecast 2024, 2020).

Many chemical compounds with high concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and

potassium (NPK) are produced in the process of breaking down the organic substrates
throughout anaerobic digestion. Digestate is an easy substance to treat and add and can
be utilized effectively as a mineral fertilizer alternative. The importance of digestate
fertilizer relies on the nutrients available in the feedstock. Such NPK values are
important when classifying the fertilizer, because it depends on the quality of the
fertilizer.

Carbon Dioxide

The global demand for carbon dioxide is estimated to be USD $9.3 billion by
2025. The CO2 industry is expected to grow a CAGR of 3.4% from 2019 to 2025. The
utilization of carbon dioxide that is increasing rapidly by the growing industries such as
medical, food and beverage, and oil and gas industry is most probably to increase and
strengthen the CO2 demand.

The main factor that for the market demand is forced by the vast growing use for
carbon dioxide for gas-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR). With the depleting oil
reserves together with the high reliance on imports of crude oil have been the driving
factor that led to the development of EOR technology.

The supply-demand gap is also growing as the demand for natural gas and crude
oil increases vastly. A number of initiatives and plans have been taken to overcome the
carbon emission to atmosphere as carbon dioxide also is a greenhouse gas which is
known to have big environmental impact. This also have resulted in the growing and
effective carbon prices around the world.

Anhydrous ammonia

The global ammonia market reached US$ 57.06 billion by the end of 2017,
expanding over the projected timeframe at a CAGR of 3.3 per cent. The global ammonia
market is set to be estimated at US$ 73.84 billion by the end of the measured period, i.e.
by the end of 2025. The key factor driving the market is the increasing demand in the
agriculture sector.

The world demand for ammonia has reached five areas: North America, Latin
America, Asia, APAC and MEA. In terms of market size, APAC is a major market for
ammonia with a sales share of 52.4 per cent in 2025. The market share of the APAC area
is reported to be relatively high and was measured at US$ 28.28 billion in 2016.

This increase can be related to an increment in ammonia usage for multiple uses,
especially for agroculture and explosives. Over the prediction era, the region is projected
to remain the leading sector. The demand is set to grow over the projected timeframe at a
CAGR of 3.6 per cent. Europe and North America will carry on from APAC (Ltd.,
2020).

2.2.2 Malaysia Bio-Methane and Organic Fertilizer Demand

Bio-Methane

About 10% of Malaysia's cropping site uses organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizers
are primarily used on fruit and vegetable crops because of the consumer's worry about
the health risks posed by the improper use of chemical fertilizer and pesticide.
 In addition, the use of organic fertilizers for fruit and vegetable production has
gained popularity due to the Government's encouragement on more sustainable and
improved natural resource management. The State supports policies that promote the
conservation and sustainable use of food waste and biomass.

The excess of organic waste offers tremendous possibilities for value-added

goods such as bio-fertilizer, organic fertilizer, soil conditioner and high-quality compost
development. The use of such organic products would increase the dependence on
chemical fertilizers. Over the past few years, too, the number of local suppliers of
organic fertilizers has risen.

Recently, organic fertilizers supplemented with chemical fertilizers were also

sold for use in the fields of plantation. Although chemical fertilizers will still play an
important role in Malaysia's overall crop system, the introduction of organic fertilizer can
reduce unnecessary use of the chemical fertilizer.

Additionally, the soil quality will also increase with the continuous use of organic
fertilizer. The Ministry of Agriculture is also actively encouraging organic farming
through its Standard Organic Malaysia (SOM) certification programs and striving to
expand the country's organic development areas.

Organic Fertilizer

Organic agriculture was conducted in Malaysia ages ago when farmers adopted
manure from agricultural by-products. Men also ate organic farm produce that was
harvested from the forests or grown naturally including wild mushrooms as well as
bamboo shoots. Industrial organic agriculture is fairly new in Malaysia and is still a tiny
industry.

The organic agriculture sector grew steeply as the number of farmers

participating rose from 900 in 2010 to over 1500 in 2012. 1700 hectares of farms are
listed as organic and vegetables and fruits grown in 2014.
 The number of farms that myOrganic has certified also grows from occasionally.
The development of the organic agriculture sector is driven by increased demand from
both domestic and international buyers. The desire of customers in natural products has
grown significantly because of an increased awareness of nutrition and food safety.

Chicken faeces are organic fertilizers commonly used in fruit and vegetable
crops. In comparison to chemical fertilizers, farmers normally consume 5 –10 tons of
chicken faeces.

From the usage of chicken faeces, fruit trees such as lcarambola (Averrhoa
carambola L.), ciku ( Achras zapota L.) papaya (Carica papaya L.)and mango (Mangifera
indica L.) have able to produce the same yield as the plants is grown on normal soil. This
has brought a promising future to Malaysia to achieve a sustainable agriculture (Ahmad,
F.,2001)

Carbon Dioxide

Malaysia's CO2 emissions were 250.3 million tonnes last year, up from 241.6
million tonnes in 2017, according to reports from BP. Energy (electricity consumption),
mobility (vehicles), and waste (municipal solid waste ending up in landfills) were the
major sources of pollution.

At the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change, also known as the
2015 Paris Climate Conference and Conference of Parties (COP) 21, held in Paris,
France, Malaysia undertook to reduce its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 45 percent
from 2005 level by 2030.

Thus, the government is investing a great deal and efforts, through the Malaysian
Green Technology Corporation (GreenTech Malaysia), in promoting a guidance
document called the Low Carbon Cities Framework (LCCF).

LCCF has been established to get cities responsible for up to 70% of greenhouse
gas emissions to discuss the issue and take practical action on it. In the setting,
GreenTech Malaysia is looking at five main elements. The first four are to minimize
CO2 emissions by buildings and open areas ' energy usage and water use, two-and four-
wheel private vehicle petrol and diesel, and urban solid waste ending up in landfill. The
fifth item is to increase carbon sequestration against green spaces being preserved and
added.

As in the previous year, 52 of Malaysia's 154 local authorities had been educated
and made aware of low carbon cities. Among these, 19 assessed the level among their
emissions and established a low carbon action plan. The other participants are, in
addition to the local authorities, Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
(UTM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and Royal Malaysian Navy.

GreenTech Malaysia is speeding up the development of low-carbon cities

through the Low Carbon Cities 2030 Challenge, introduced on July 23rd. With this
challenge, GreenTech Malaysia and MESTECC plan to create and designate 200 low-
carbon zones across the country by 2030, and have at least 1,000 low-carbon partners
(Malaysia continues efforts to reduce carbon footprint, 2020).

Anhydrous ammonia

Urea or ammonium-based fertilisers for agriculture used in Malaysia are mainly

imported and not locally produced. The reason behind is that the produced urea in
Malaysia receives high price from the international markets and therefore it is exported.
Plant in Bintulu, Sarawak operated from 1980 has the capacity to manufacture 600,000
tons of granular urea and 420,000 tons of prilled urea per year. Another producer in
Gurun, Kedah operated since 1999 has annual capacity of 650,000 tons of granular urea.
Australia, Thailand and other South East Asian countries made up of 65% of its products
to be exported. National Farmers’ Association takes up the remaining production as it is
the largest urea consumer in Malaysia (Abdul Rahman, 2004).

Malaysia's agricultural crops include rubber, banana, oil-, chocolate, coffee,

paddy, cane sugar, tea, and tobacco. Such crops consumed 5.9 million ha of the overall
planted region in 2001 (93.6 per cent). Figure shows the summary of urea usage in
industrial crops for year 1997, 2000 and 2002. Total usage for year 1997, 2000 and 2002
calculated are 288,800 tons, 323,100 tons and 330,000 tons respectively. From the
figures calculated, it can foresee the amount of urea usage has increase gradually with
the increase popularity of oil palm plantation. Therefore, demand of urea in plantation
will be increase in the foreseeable future.
 Figure 2.2: Summary of urea use in industrial crops (Abdul Rahman, 2004)

2.2.3 Feed and Product Pricing

The feed for our biogas plant includes pig manure which available next to the
plant, rice straw and water. Table 4 shows the detail for the feed pricing.

Table 2.3: Detailed Price For Each Feed

Feed Price (RM)

Rice Straw 0.422 / kg

Water 1.03 / m3

The Product for our biogas plant includes Bio-Methane (Biogas), Carbon
Dioxide, Fertilizer and Anhydrous Ammonia. Table 5 shows the detail for the product
pricing.
 Table 2.4: Detailed Price for Each Product

Product Price (RM)

Biogas (Purity of 92 – 95 %) 34.66 / MMBtu (as of July 2019)

Carbon Dioxide (>99% purity) 0.656 / kg

Digestate (NPK: 12-12-17) 1.435 / kg

Digestate (NPK: 15-15-15) 1.968 / kg

Digestate (NPK: 20-20-20) 3.075 / kg

Digestate (NPK: 150-150-350) 5.74 / kg

Anhydrous Ammonia 2.11 / kg

2.3 Plant Location

2.3.1 Selection Criteria
a) Raw Material Availability :

The plant need to have the supply of raw material constantly for plant operation and
maintenance. Thus, the raw material availability must be ensure together with relevant
distance to reduce cost and storage site, and also pollution that will effect the
environment from transportation. For our plant, the main feed stock is pig manure.

b) Proximity to markets:

The exporting cost of the final products is important for the ovehead expenses. It will be
a big advantage to have the site location near to the demand offers for consumer
industries.

c) Availability of Energy:

Continuous electrical supply is vital as the operation of the equipments depends on it.
The possible plant site should have a local electrical power plant with minimal distance
to the plant.
d) Water Supply:

It is important to find out the source of water supply as a large quantity of water is
required for the biogas plant. Water is crucial as water is mix with the feedstock, pig
manure together with rice straw in the plant and used for entire process of the plant.

e) Disposal Facility for Waste Treament:

Waste treatment is vital as most of the processing plant deals with waste. A good
solution should be made for the disposal of waste to prevent pollution and contamination
to the environment. Effluents of the plants such as carbon dioxide cannot be simply
release to the atmosphere which will lead to pollution.

f) Climate:

The climate of the plant location have a important role in finding the total cost. In
Malaysia generally have tropical weather throughout the year with high humidity. The
room temperature is averaged at 25℃ where minimal amount of heat is required for the
anearobic digestion in mesophilic condition between 20 to 45℃.

g) Transport Facilities:

For transportation, the transport road network should be efficient to increase the market
to transport the products from our plant. Therefore, the plant should be right beside a
main road for good transportation grid.

h) Community Factors:

The acceptance of the locals and other industries to the negatice impact such as industrial
hazard and pollution is related to the socail aspects. To ensure the sustainability for the
future generation, their consent should be verified.
 i) Labor Supply:

The capacity for production if proportional to the amount of labor supply. However for
biogas industry, highly skilled and qualified labor in a small quantity to operate the plant.
The labor demand increase the economical factor in the area by creating job
opportunities and promotes the business acitivity.

j) Taxation and Legal Restriction:

For tax and legal restriction, legal framework need to be identified, evaluated and
analyzed such as environmental regulation and civil application that could influence the
project. It is strongly advised to choose the place with lower tax and legal restriction as it
differs with other states.

k) Flood and Fire Protection:

Although the biogas plant process is simple, one of the most dangerous hazard in a
biogas is fire and explosive atmosphere as combustible and high toxic gas like methane,
carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide are present in the plant. Hence, the plant site should
be closeby with the emergency response units and also the fire departments for
emergency purposes.

2.3.2 Site Consideration

Our biogas plant site potential is carried out for three towns in Batang Manjung
district, which south- western part of Perak which is at 2 possible site near Pantai Remis
and another one nearby Lumut.
Figure 2.3: Manjung District
 Figure 2.4: Location 1 (G.B. Farming Sdn. Bhd)

Figure 2.5: Location 2 (Tan A Pai Brothers Sdn. Bhd.)

 Figure 2.5: Location 3 (Dindings Farm Sdn. Bhd.)

Table 2.5 : Site Location Characteristics

Characteristics Location 1 Location 2 Location 3

Raw Material G.B. Farming Tan A Pai Brothers Dindings Farm

Availability

Market Johawaki Plantation Johawaki Plantation Hup Soon

Sdn Bhd Sdn Bhd Agricultural service
(14-15 km away) (17-18 km away) (13-14 km away)
Energy Availability Stesen Janakuasa Stesen Janakuasa Stesen Janakuasa
Sultan Azlan Shah Sultan Azlan Shah Sultan Azlan Shah
RM37.00/kW(TNB RM37.00/kW(TNB RM37.00/kW(TNB
Tariff E2) Tariff E2) Tariff E2)
Transport Facilities Nearby Ipoh-Lumut Nearby Ipoh-Lumut Nearby Ipoh-Lumut
Highway Highway Highway
Water Supply Lembaga Air Perak Lembaga Air Perak Lembaga Air Perak
Seri Manjung Seri Manjung Seri Manjung
Waste Disposal Runhill Water Runhill Water Runhill Water
Technologies Sdn Technologies Sdn Technologies Sdn
 Bhd Bhd Bhd

Labor Supply Population: 50 000 Population: 30 000 Population: 80 000

Taxation and Legal 17% tax for first 17% tax for first 17% tax for first
Restrictions RM500k and 24% tax RM500k and 24% tax RM500k and 24% tax
on subsequent income on subsequent income on subsequent income
Site Characteteristics Low elevation area Low elevation area Low elevation area

Table 2.6: Site Location Criteria Comparison

Factors Location 1 Location 2 Location 3

(G.B. Farming) (Tan A Pai Brothers) (Dindings Farm)
Raw Material The raw materials have higher the rating when they are nearer to the
Availability source
3 2 3
Proximity to Market The market have high rating as it is more convenient for marketing and
distribution
2 2 3
Availability of The energy availability will have higher rating as they have nearer and
Energy cheaper source
3 1 2
Water Supply The water supply will have high rating as they have cheaper source of
water
3 2 3
Disposal Facilities The waste teatment will have high rating as they are nearer to the
for waste treatment responsible local authority
2 2 2
Land Availabillity The land availability will have high rating as they bigger land
 availability
3 1 1
Transport Facilities The transport facility wil have higher rating as they have easier access
to main road
3 3 3
Politics and The politic and ecomonic stability will have higher rating as they have
Economic Stability more stable politics and ecomomic stability
3 3 3
Labor Supply The labor supply will have higher rating as they have more local labor
available
2 2 2
Taxation and Legal The taxation and legal restriction will have higher rating as they have
Restriction more stable taxation and legal restriction
2 2 2
Flood and Fire The flood and fire protection will have higher rating as they have better
Protection flood and fire protection
3 3 3
Total 29 23 27

Based on the rating on Table 2.6, the best possible biogas plant site is in location 1 which is
nearby G.B. Farming for the product of biomethane, organic fertilizer, carbon dioxide and
anhydrous ammonia. They have passed the rating of the site location criteria for raw material
availability, proximity to market, availability of energy, water supply, disposal facilities for
waste treatment, land availability, transport facilities, politics and economic stability, labor
supply, taxation and legal restriction and lastly flood and fire protection.
2.3.3 Site Selection
From the market survey that we have conducted, the plant location that we have selected
is in Perak, Malaysia where there are around 115 pig farms and 540 000 number of pigs. A total
estimation of 2453 𝑚3 of pig manure is being produce everyday from these farms in Perak.

Figure 2.6: G.B. Farming Sdn. Bhd. (Satellite)

 Figure 2.7: G.B. Farming Sdn. Bhd. (Map)

Address: G.B. Farming Sdn. Bhd. , Bt 13 Jln Segari Pantai Remis

The image above shows the location of one of the farms in Perak, G.B. Farming
Sdn. Bhd. The amount of feedstock for biogas production is tabulated in Table 1. From
the table below, the selected location houses around 4696 pigs with an estimated manure
production of approximately 50 tonnes per day.

Table 2.7: Data of plant feedstock in G.B. Farming Sdn. Bhd.

No. of pig Manure produce/pig (𝒎𝟑 ) Total pig manure (𝒎𝟑 )

4696 0.0045 21.13 ≈(50 tonnes)

Besides, the selected location is strategic as it is located nearby the 60 Jalan

Daamar Laut – Changkat Jering and the A12 Jalan Ayer Tawar – Pantai Remis highway
that connects to the Ipoh – Lumut highway. This eases the transportation activities
needed for the movement of products and feedstock to and fro the plant. Moreover, the
plant location is away from any residential area, which is tactical as pollutions related to
odor problems and waste management can be handled more considerately.

From our group discussion, we have decide to proceed with a land size of 125m
by 125m for our biogas plant which is 15,625 𝑚2 . Since the our inlet feedstock of pig
manure is about 21.13 𝑚3 , we choose to have a digester capacity of 100 𝑚3 which is
sufficient enough to contain our feedstock and other raw materials such as rice straw.
 CHAPTER 3

PRELIMINARY HAZARDS ANALYSIS

3.1 Previous Accidents on Similar Type of Plants

Biogas plants are sufficiently complex to design with their particular technology and a
detailed risk assessment for design purposes. Because of this latter feature, the number of
accidents that happens in biogas plants is something to be pondered about. Frequent
causes of accidents include leakage in the storage tank and/or in any parts of biogas
plant, accidental release of H2S, discharge of effluent and development of high pressure
inside the digester. Biogas plants often run improperly, are lacking in technological
detail and are inaccurately scaled up. Furthermore, these incidents are reoccurred over
time.

As the old adage goes "those who forgot the past are doomed to repeat it.” Learning from
past accidents can help to raise awareness in biogas industrial sector for the safety and
exploitation of the renewable source. This chapter aims to study the scenarios that cause
these accidents, the potential material and chemical hazards in the plant, possibilities to
reduce the consequences and selecting ideal local safety regulations for the plant.

3.1 Previous Accidents on Similar type of plant

1999- La Rochette, France

An explosion damaged a gasometer and the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) / flare
pipeline. The gasometer inlet was obstructed so low pressure would allow air to enter
from Teflon joints, creating a lethal mixture which was ignited by the flare's pilot flame.
The accidental hydrogen production in the digester has also been reported as a potential
cause of the accident.

2005- Rhadereistedt, Germany

A terrible accident happened which causes the offshoot of H2S during the process of
unloading organic waste. It killed 3 people and a lorry driver who was there to unload
waste. A dozen also have suffered poisoning .The usual unloading protocol on site was
not practiced because the unloading equipment failed. The pit was open as the hoist had
been defective( failure in electric motors) for closing the heavy metal doors. There were
some remains from earlier loads present in this pit. A large quantity of hydrogen sulphide
was released while the content was removed.

2006- Göttingen, Germany

Two digesters exploded, causing fermentation sludge and rainwater to spread over
surrounding fields to about seven million litres. A third 20 m high tank was at verge of
collapsing. The bodies of water and site are polluted with that mixture as it ran down
from the plateau which the plant was built on. Fortunately, the population of citizen
nearby was not harm due to the incident. The bursting force of the fermenters, however,
had done damage to the nearby building and fuel oil tank, a 1000L of leakage had
been reported. The authorities confirmed the amount of loss was about 10 million €.

Up to this date, it has not been possible to clearly pinpoint the cause of the loss–probably
due to the failure of the tank.

2009- Kerala, India

During the commissioning stage, a huge brick masonry and Reinforced Cement Concrete
(RCC) anaerobic digester exploded, killing four people and wounding three. The blast
occurred when a steal pipe outlet was being welded or heated by a welder. During the
week prior to the accident, the reactor was partly loaded with animal dung and other
waste processing due to trial operations. Gas was piled up and concentrated. The mixture
was naturally generated in the upper part of the reactor causing it to become explosive
.The blast was severely felt, and even heard thousands of kilometres away.

More than a 12 people were standing on and were doing their work near the roof of the
reactor when the roof structures collapsed as a result of the blast. Three employees
plunged into the dense slurry: one of them had been rescued with limited success, and
two died and were retrieved later. The blast threw away employees standing nearby,
including the welder, and two of them died on the spot.
Prior to the blast, investigation was carried out and it was found that the rule book was
breached on several counts.

3.2 Identification of Material and Chemical Hazards in Process

Material and chemical hazards arise primarily from chemical processes involving
reactors and raw materials for the process itself. In this part of this chapter, which
focuses on biogas processing, the raw material is pig manure. Air containing a proportion
of hydrogen and oxygen may also cause some potential risks due to the flammability
methane For example, when designing a biogas production plant, these hazards need to
be considered and make sure that hazards are lowered to safe levels by recognising
sources of hazards and taking all relevant steps to ensure that they are controlled.

Methane and carbon dioxide are primary chemicals that are contained in
biogas and have the potential to cause harm. The hazardous impact can vary.. Each part
of chemicals’ hazards in production of biogas will be discussed in this section.
 Table 3.1 :Summary of Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) of the chemicals

Feed

Pig Manure Present of pathogenic bacteria in wastes of animal origin.

Products
Chemical Flammability Toxicity Chemical Interactions Storage and Handling

Store in an area that is: cool, well-ventilated,

Hazardous at high temperature-controlled, out of direct sunlight
Methane High 4 1 Normally stable 0
concentration and away from heat and ignition sources, clear
of combustible and flammable materials

Store in an area that is: cool, dry, well-

Hazardous at high
Carbon Dioxide Low 0 3 Stable under normal conditions 0 ventilated, out of direct sunlight and away from
concentration
heat and ignition sources

Normally stable.Combustions
Highly hazardous if Store and use away from heat, sparks and
Hydrogen Sulfide High 4 4 produces toxic vapour Sulphur 0
inhaled ignition sources
Dioxide
Low, But
Store in an area that is: cool, dry, out of direct
explode when
Ammonia 1 Highly toxic if inhaled 3 Normally stable 0 sunlight and away from heat and ignition
exposed to high
sources
heat
Low, But
Highly explosive if mixed
explode when Store in area that is cool, out from away from
Hydrogen 0 with air and oxidixing 4 Normally stable 0
exposed to high hea, hot usrfaces and ignition sources
agents
heat
Hazardous at high Store at least 20 feet from combustible
Oxygen Low 0 3 Normally stable 0
concentration materials in dry and ventiletaed space.

Carbon Monoxide High 4 High 3 Normally stable 0 Store away from heat and other gnition sources
⠀ Pig manure contains various pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Salmonella, Enterobacter,
Clostridia, Listeria ecc), parasites (e.g. Ascaris, Trichostrangylidae, Coccidae), fungi,
viruses (Ritari et al. 2012, Sahlstrom 2003). Pathogen is microorganisms that cause
illness in humans, animals or crops. They may be present in pig manure used as feed in
biogas production. These pathogens are harmful to us even in small quantity. They are
responsible for outbreak incidents in Europe. In Ireland, the outbreak of verotoxigenic E.
coli (VTEC) is reported to be highest. This is due to high exposure with the contact with
farm animals in rural areas.

Moving on to methane, methane is produced when pig manure is anaerobically digested

in the absence of oxygen. In normal conditions methane is known for its colourless and
odourless gas. According to National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) ,Figure 3.1 ,
methane is highly flammable can explode at concentrations between 5% (lower
explosive limit) and 15% (upper explosive limit). If there is presence of fire, methane
reacts voluntarily to produce poisonous gases. In terms of toxicity, methane is non-toxic,
however it can reduce amount of oxygen in the necessary to support life. Methane can
affect you when inhaled if its concentration is higher than oxygen. It can cause
suffocation with symtoms of headache,diziness, nausea, loss of cordination and
consciousness.

Figure 3.1 : NFPA diagram for methane

Carbon dioxide is known for its colourless and odourless gas. In biogas production
process, carbon dioxide is accountable up to 40% of biogas content, second largest after
methane. According to NFPA rating, Figure 3.2, it has low flammability which means it
will not burn. However, it may explode if heated in compressed form. In health category,
however, it can cause significant risk. The main route of exposure for carbon dioxide is
through inhalation especially at high concentration. It can cause failure to respiratory
system which lead to depression at nervous system. High concentration of carbon
dioxide replaces oxygen in air. As less oxygen is to avail, it will result to difficulty in
breathing. It will then lead to nausea, convulsion coma and death. If an individual
manages to survive in this condition, he however will have lasting damage to the brain
and heart. Carbon dioxide is normally not irritating to skin if it is in contact unless it is in
liquified form.

Figure 3.2 shows the NFPA rating of carbon dioxide

Hydrogen Sulfide is a colourless gas with the odour of rotten eggs. Some common names
for the gas include sewer gas, stink damp, swamp gas and manure gas. There may be
some hydrogen sulfide present in biogas even though most of it have be desulphurized
using bacteria. According to NFPA, Figure 3.3, hydrogen sulfide is highly flammable. It
is easy to explode and can cause life -threatening situations if not carefully handled. It
can burn and produce other toxic vapours such as sulphur dioxide. Hydrogen sulfide is
deadly to health as well. The main routes of exposure are through inhalation and eye
contact. Inhalation of the gas can cause irritation to nose and throat, harm the nervous
system, unconsciousness and death. Direct contact with eyes can cause lasting eye
damage or blindness.
 Figure 3.3 shows NFPA rating of hydrogen sulfide

Ammonia is a colourless gas known for their strong and sharp odour. According to
NFPA, Figure 3.4, ammonia has a low flammability. However, if it is at high
concentration level, it may cause fire and blast hazard, especially in confined space.
When there is fire, it may react to produce poisonous gas. Ammonia is extremely
dangerous to health. The main routes of exposure of ammonia is through respiratory,
skin contact and eye contact. Through respiratory, ammonia inhalation can cause death.
Symptoms of exposure includes coughing, uneasiness in breathing, and chest pain.
Ammonia gas irritates the skin if in contact. It can also result scaring. The gas can also
irritate the eyes and may cause permanent blindness to one.

Figure 3.4 shows NFPA rating of ammonia

Hydrogen gas is colourless and odourless . OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29
CFR 1910.1200) has considered this material to be hazardous. According to NFPA
rating, Figure 3.5, hydrogen is considered to be highly flammable. It can form explosive
mixture if it is contact with air. It can dsplaces oxygen and cause respiratory problems
such as difficulty in breathing, nausea and possibly death.

Figure 3.5 shows NFPA rating of hydrogen

Oxygen is an odourless and colourless gas . According to NFPA rating, Figure 3.6,
oxygen has low risk in flammability. However, in terms of health, it has high risk.
Inhalation of excessive oxygen can one to experience dizziness and coughing.

Figure 3.6 shows NFPA rating of oxygen

Carbon monoxide is known to be colourless and odourless gas. According to NFPA,

Figure 3.7, carbon monoxide is categorised as highly flammable material. It may explode
if it is in contact with heat. As for health, it is known to be silent killer. Since carbon
monoxide is odourless, it can seep into your body through inhalation and react with the
red blood cells to form Carboxyhaemoglobin and decrease the production of blood to
carry oxygen. Hence, this will lead to trouble in breathing, collapse, convulsions, coma
and lastly, death.

Figure 3.7 shows NFPA rating of carbon monoxide

3.3 Discussion on the Possibility to Reduce Potential Consequences of an Accident
by Considering Inherent Safety Aspects
3.3.1 Reduction of Pathogens in Pig Manure

As explained above, Pathogen is microorganisms that cause illness in humans, animals

or crops. They may be present in pig manure used as feed in biogas production which
should be handled well because of threats it can cause. Pig manure contains various
pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Salmonella, Enterobacter, Clostridia, Listeria ecc), parasites
(e.g. Ascaris, Trichostrangylidae, Coccidae), fungi, viruses (Ritari et al. 2012, Sahlstrom
2003).

Pathogen problems often related to insufficient management of human and animal waste,
which can cause infection by direct contact or via infected daily-water source and the
environment. To get a pig manure with low number of pathogens, the source from where
the manure is taken need to be scrutinized. One of many ways to reduce pathogens is to
ensure that the pigs are vaccinated with required vaccines to reduce contamination of
pathogens in the manure.

Proper hygiene of the farm and equipment means keeping the farm in undesirable
condition for the production of pathogens. Pathogens that cause disease in pigs can live
in various type of environment condition. Cleaning, sanitizing and drying facilities of the
farm are a vital part of daily hygiene and a critical part of biosecurity program that can
eliminate the disease-causing pathogens.
Digester also plays a role in reducing the pathogens. A total of 114 samples of manure
and bio-slurry were collected from different livestock farms and biogas plants in
Bangladesh. The total viable count (TVC), E. coli, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus
spp. amounts were resolved by the spread plate method. Based on a study done in biogas
plants, at a temperature of 45oC, there were no amount of bacterial pathogens were
found using indicator. With the study being done, it can be assumed that microbial load
was decreased, and the reduction of bacterial pathogens relates to the duration and
temperature of digester. (Islam et al., 2019).

3.3.2 Safe Location

Based on Market Study done, the location of plant is located nearby the 60 Jalan Daamar
Laut – Changkat Jering and the A12 Jalan Ayer Tawar – Pantai Remis. The location
furthermore is away from any residential area, which is strategic as pollutions related to odour
problems and waste management can be handled more wisely.

3.3.3 Plant Layout

The plant layout aims at reducing the risk to employees, minimizing instability and providing
sufficient exposure to emergence. Additionally, appropriate access for repairs and maintenance is
crucial Because of circumstances such as separation of various risk, restriction of exposure and
containment of accidents plant layout is considered to be a major factor in process safety .First,
equipment placement, storage and the whole plant have to be considered. The distance between
one equipment and another will be dependent on the suggested average spacing of equipment

3.3.4 Transportation
A research done by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in United
States, reported that transportation and transporting material are in high-risk groups for
workplace injury fatality. The report by NIOSH indicates that transport plays an important role in
safeguarding workplace safety.

The mode of transportation that the plant acquiring is road transportation. The raw material ,
which is the pig manure is transported via truck via Ipoh – Lumut highway. This method can
ease transportation activities for the movement of raw material from farm to the plant and the
products from plant.
3.3.5 Workplace Safety Training
Education and training are important components for educating employees and supervisors about
risks at the workplace so that they can work more securely and be more efficient. Another task of
education and training is to give employees and manager a clearer picture of the safety itself.

Education and training offer employees with the knowledge and skills required to work safely
and avoid making hazards that could put themselves or others in danger.

Additional training is needed to make sure that employees are able to utilize all delegated safety
and health duties into their day-to-day tasks and activities, in particular on specific roles. For
instance, the cleaning of digester tanks. A lot of accidents happened due to carelessness during
the cleaning of tanks. Because of that , many people died while carrying out this task due to their
lack of awareness and training for this particular case.

3.4 Local Safety

3.4.1 Occupational Health and Safety Act Standards
A. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 2008A

Severe injuries may occur from any distance of fall. Workers will conduct maintenance work
from the ground where possible. Nevertheless, numerous elevated locations are common at most
biogas plant. For example, the equipment at the top of the reactor tanks is 3 to 7 meters from
the ground. As per the OSHA general industry standard, "when a worker is at a height of four
feet or more, the worker is at risk and need protection " (OSHA, 2008A). Fall protection such as
guardrails, safety gear (as mentioned in Section 2.2.4) and self-retracting lifelines, must be used
when the worker is above the 1.5meter (API, 2006). The sealed fixed ladder and guardrail
framework on storage tank shown in the Figure 3.8 below adheres to the OSHA fall protection
requirements.
 Figure3. 8 shows the sealed fixed ladder and guardrail on a tank

B. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 1998

Biogas elements, including carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen sulfide, pose the possibility
for asphyxiation and fire or explosion in confined spaces. It is important to keep in mind that
even in small quantity of manure or other organic material in a tank or confined space may
create a significant health risk. Employees working with digesters or handling organic waste
must be qualified in confined space entry to ensure a safe workplace.

Upon entering a confined space, the worker must check the atmosphere within the space, as
specified by OSHA General Industry Standard 1910.146 (1998)

The worker should test for the following:

1. Oxygen level: above 19.5 percent by volume air

2. Methane: below 5 percent by volume of air

3. Hydrogen sulfide level: below 20 parts per million (ppm)

If none of these are under the range, no one can enter the space until forced ventilation is done

C. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 2007B

Worker at digester tanks should be equipped with sufficient personal protective equipment
(PPE). Mangers, supervisors are accountable for engaging and training staff on the correct use of
the PPE (OSHA, 2007B). OSHA advises protective gloves, splash-proof goggles, hearing
protection and steel toe shoes for digester-related workers Safety glasses and hearing aids should
be provided and used on site for visitors to the plant.
3.4.2 Factories and Machinery Act 1967
In the 1967 Factory and Machinery Act, the contents refer to the arrangement between the
Equipment & Task and the Organization Structure. Which has been described for safety health
and welfare in Part II of the FMA.

Regulations relating to safety, where reference is made to the need for a factory to satisfy certain
requirements in order to be considered as a workplace to be organized, the management must
ensure that the workplace is safe and comfortable. Other than that, provisions against fire,
dangerous part of machinery, details of machinery, suties of employees, exposure to elements,
personal protective clothing and appliances were explained in this section.

In part III, the act states more on personnel competency in carrying out tasks. Different training
and certificate are needed for personnel to carry various task in site.

In part IV, the act talks about more of report and investigations on the dangerous occurrence or
hazards if they were to happen. Lastly in part V, the act states more he registration and
installation of machine in plant.

3.4.2 Environmental Quality Act 1974

This legislation is relevant in this plant which is related to prevention, pollution control and
environmental sustainability. This Act is intended to ensure that wastes are released into the
environment at acceptable conditions. Below are some of the enactments:

A. Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 2014

B. Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009

C. Environmental Quality (Licensing) Regulations 1977

D. Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations 2005

E. Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment)

Order 1987

F. Environmental Quality (Compounding of Offences) Rules 1978

G. Environmental Quality ( Appeal Board) Regulations 2003

3.4.3 Land Regulations
The plant will be required to run in compliance with The National Land Code 1965 and the Land
Acquisition Act 1960. Section 117 of the 1965 Act of the National Land Code makes clear
reference to land meant for industrial purposes.

3.4.4 Labour Regulations

In order to protect employees ' rights labour laws such as the Labour Act 1955, the Minimum
Retirement Age Act 2012, the Minimum Wages Order 2018, the Workmen Compensation Act
1952, the Immigration Act 1959/1963, Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act 1966,
Employment (Restriction) Act 1968, must be complied with.

3.5 Environmental Impact Assessment

In addition to the benefits arising from the recovery of pig manure as a source of energy,
as well as electricity energy production from compressing the biogas, it also has negative
impacts to environment. The environment impact assessment is done in all stages of plat,
from planning, building of plant, operation and lastly decommissioning (Karapidakis et
al., 2010).
Table 3.2: Environmental Impact Assessment
Stage Advantages Disadvantages Appropriate
Alternatives
Establishment of Plant Construction of
new access route Destruction of Selective clearing
for trees area
transportation
New population Isolation of area
area due to the Loss of habitat for being used for
development the animals development
- Employees inside
Emissions of side should wear
pollutants such as appropriate
dust protective clothing
Operation of Plant Employment Sound pollutant Employees inside
creation for due to running should wear
nearby residents machines appropriate PPE.
 Continual Air quality level Filtration measure
development in becomes bad before emissions
the area are released
Decommissioning Machines and Reusing the plant
equipment can site for chemically
be sold Empty plant inert industry
Plant land can be The inability of -
sold or leased the land to be
reused
 Chapter 4

Conceptual Design Analysis

In this chapter, different process flow alternatives are evaluated, and best option
is selected for the design. Next, initial detailed design information for the selected
process alternative is performed, which is followed by the preliminary evaluation of the
economic potential of the selected process. Finally, process flow diagram (PFD) and
stream data are generated for the process. Manual calculation and energy balance, as well
as iCON are performed to simulate the results obtained from the selected process. All the
calculation involved are based on a plant capacity of 50 metric tons per day of pig
manure, which is selected production rate in this study due to its availability.

4.1 Conceptual Design Procedure

The use of onion model concept (Kemp, 2007) helped to evaluate and select the best
process with the most economical sound outcome in terms of cost, safety and
environment as well as the operability. The onion model is represented symbolically by
layers of the onion shown at Figure 4.1. The concept involved in the Onion Model is the
development of design via a systematic layer by layer method. The Onion Model
highlighted the sequential and hierarchical nature of the process design.

Figure 4.1: Onion Model (Kemp, 2007)

The process design starts with the innermost layer of the Onion Model. From
Figure 4.1, the core layer of the onion is reactor which it indicates the significance of
reactor selection as the most important part of process design. Any process design of
chemical processes involving any reaction relied on the reactor systems. Questions are
raised and needed to be answered to make sure the best selection of reactor. The
questions included what type of reactor (e.g. CSTR, PFR), what are the operating
operations (e.g.: isothermal, adiabatic, constant outlet temperature), what is the
conversion and yield to be determined and any catalyst needed in the reactor system. As
such, the selection of type of reactors and mode of operation is setting up an important
foundation for the overall process. The selection of reactor is aimed to maximize the
conversion of feed and minimize the time consumed during reactions. According to
Kemp (2007)¸ the higher rate of reaction needed to be maintained by higher
concentration of feed for a single reaction.

After the selection of reactor, the separation process in separating main products
and by-products are examined. In this stage, recycling process are equally important as it
optimizes the raw material used, which is to recycle back the reactor effluent consisting
of unreacted feed materials to mix with unconverted raw materials to produce desired
yield of product. The type of separation involved are vapour separation system (e.g.
condensers, flash tanks, absorbers, adsorbers etc.), liquid separation system (e.g.
distillation, solvent extraction stripping, filtration etc.) and solid-liquid separation (e.g.
screw press, centrifugation, flocculator etc.).

The next layer of Onion Model is design of heat exchanger network for the
purpose of maximizing overall heat recovery requirement and further optimize the heat
and energy generated in the process. The process of heating and cooling loads is
determined after the process structure within the inner layers of the Onion Model are
decided and finalized. Utility targeting and network design are tools of process
integration. Additional hot and cold utilities are required when heat exchanger network
failed to satisfy the necessary heating and cooling duties. Option of placing heat pump
and heat engine is also explored in this outermost layer step (Sinnott et al., 2010).

Onion Model requires the utilization of information available at the respective

stage to ensure the decisions being made are the most ideal decision for the process. The
addition of equipment to the overall process design is only permitted if the decision can
be vindicated based on the information available thus developing and establishing an
irreducible structure comprising of essential features from technical and economic
standpoint. Thus, selection of suitable reactor type for targeted reaction path is initiated.
This step aids in assessing the reactor performance in designing the process. Chemical
reactions occur in the reactor which also referred to reaction vessel where it converts the
reactants into the desired products. Many factors must be considered in designing the
reactor especially the thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions.

4.2 Preliminary Rector Optimization

4.2.1 Process Operating Mode
Anaerobic digestion is a process which microorganism break down biodegradable
material with the absence of oxygen. The method used to produce biogas from biomass
(e.g.: manure, food wastes, crops, etc.). Biomass is fed into an anaerobic digestion
reactor where the bacteria broke down complex organic matters such as carbohydrates,
proteins and lipids through hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis
processes to produce methane gas, carbon dioxide and traces of other gases.

𝐶6 𝐻12 𝑂6 → 3𝐶𝑂2 + 3𝐶𝐻4

Equation 1: Overall formula for anaerobic digestion

Figure 2: Anaerobic digestion producing methane gas (Pantawong et al., 2015)

[1] Hydrolysis; [2] Acidogenesis; [3] Acetogenesis; [4] Methanogenesis

Mode of operation can be divided into two which are batch and continuous operation.
Comparisons can be drawn between these two modes of operations. Table 1 shows the
comparison between batch and continuous operations.

Table 1: Comparisons of Batch and Continuous Operations

Parameters Batch Operation Continuous Operation
Residence time Long Short
Product Collection One-time collection Repeated and non-stop
collection
Quantity Produced Small amount Large quantities
Product Quality Varies from batch by batch Standardized quality
Conversion High conversion by leaving High conversion by energy
reactants in reactor for an recovered and recycle of
extent of time materials with extensive of
integration of unit operations
Scale of Production Small Large
Size of Reactor Huge Small
Cost of Factory Low High
Equipment
Labour Cost High Low
Workforce Small workforce Can be fully automized
Shut Down time Often Rare

Batch process infers to a process whereby reactants are added at the beginning of
a process and products are removed at the end of the reaction. In the batch process, al
reagents are added at the start and no addition or withdrawal is made while the reaction
is taking place. This process is more suited for small scale production where there is a
range of different products to be produced.

Continuous process refers to the process whereby the reactants are added to the
reactor and products or by-products are withdrawn while the reaction is going on. This
process is best suited for large scale production and has lower production cost compared
to batch process.

In this project, the biogas produced from biomass (pig manure) is designed to
meet the capacity of 50 metric tons per day. The production of biomethane is to fulfil the
demand for biomethane in sales. In order to successfully in achieving it, the final product
must be highly purified to meet the standard and quality of product is maintained. Based
on the comparison shown in Table 1, continuous operation fits the reaction process of
anaerobic digestion process. The constant stirring of reactor tanks is required to reach the
expected reaction of anaerobic digestion based on the hydraulic retention time (HRT).
Moreover, the operation which the reactors must not be emptied as it needed for
continuous build-up of products and by-products from hydrolysis, acidogenesis,
acetogenesis and methanogenesis. With continuous process, less off-specification
products are produced with the steady-state operation because continuous operates
uniformly throughout the plant as long as the process is under proper control. The use of
continuous reaction is beneficial as it makes the process more environmentally friendly
along with the advantage of process economy and safety. In safety perspective,
continuous process is more suitable for extreme reactions.

4.2.2 Selection of Ideal Reactor Type and Design

The selection of reactor will be the quintessential part of the whole process where the
reactor is aimed to provide optimum conditions for anaerobic digestions to occur in order
to maximize biogas yield. These chemical reactions occur in vessels known as chemical
reactors which are constructed based on the chemical engineering aspects. A chemical
reactor used in the industries is a complex device designed to contain chemical reactions
in which the chemical reaction comes along with heat transfer, mass transfer, diffusion
and friction may occur together. It is vital to ensure the reaction proceeds with highest
efficiency towards the desired product, production with high yield and purity with the
least amount of investment on the operation. Concepts of the anaerobic digesters
surround around the usage of upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor (UASBR), completely
mixed reactor, anaerobic filter reactor and anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR).

Table 2: Justifications for commonly used reactors

Reactor Justification
UASBR Microorganisms are agglomerated to form a dense structure or
granule with excellent settling properties and strength under adverse
conditions. The granular sludge blanket remains in the bottom of the
bioreactor. The feed is introduced from the bottom and the motion
flow is upwards. The upflow velocity is important since it
influences the formation of granules. Biogas produced often trapped
in granules which make them lighter and buoyant with the potential
 to wash out. An effective three-phase separator on the top of the
bioreactor results in the retention of the granule and they return to
the bottom. This tested technology is reliable for variety of
wastewater. Sensitive to temperature and organic shock loading on
the start-up and performance. (Uçkun Kiran et al., 2016)
Completely Consists of a round insulated tank, above or below ground. Heating
Mixed is provided through coils with hot water inside the tank or an
Reactor external heat exchanger. Motor driven mixer, recirculation of the
mixed liquor or biogas is used as mechanism for mixing. Cover can
be fixed or floating. It is more suitable for industrial waste with high
solid concentrations. Modification can be made to enhance the
production of biogas. In the modification, the bioreactor is followed
by a settling tank to separate the sludge from the supernatant. The
sludge is then recycled to the bioreactor increasing the biomass
concentration. (Uçkun Kiran et al., 2016)
Anaerobic Wastewater is introduced from the bottom or top of the column
filter which is filled with inert materials such as rocks, cinder, plastic or
gravel. The filling material provided surface upon which
microorganisms are attached forming biofilm. Clogging is typical
problem. (Uçkun Kiran et al., 2016)
ABR Rectangular tank with baffles where the wastewater flows above or
below a series of baffles successively encountering the biomass
which is accumulated in the bottom of the reactor. This bioreactor is
simple with no moving parts or mixers. Efficient in low retention
time and stable under sudden changes in organic loading rate
(OLR). (Uçkun Kiran et al., 2016)

From Table 2, completely mixed reactor is the best choice among all. It is suitable for
slightly higher solid content digestate for instance in our project is pig manure and rice
straw where total solid (TS) can be up to 15% of the total digestate. Completely mixed
reactor can ensure the digestate to be fully homogenize through mixing. Moreover,
sludge from the reactor can be recycled to the bioreactor to increase the biomass
concentration. It equipped with heating elements where it is important for anaerobic
digestion to occur at mesophilic temperature around 40⁰C.

4.3 Process Screening

In anaerobic digestion, there are parameters that will affect the overall biogas quality and
yield in this report. These parameters are carefully investigated and evaluated to select
the most appropriate and qualified parameters in the design report. The parameters
include:

1) Carbon to nitrogen ratio

The methane content of biogas mixture is dictates by the biomass feed.

Particularly the oxidative state of carbon found in the feedstocks. The more
reduced the carbon is, the higher the content of biogas in the methane (Gujer and
Zehnder, 1983). The C/N ratio of the feedstock must be balanced for optimal
biomethane production. C/N ratio between 20 to 30 has been reported to be the
optimal range for anaerobic digestion (Gómez et al., 2006). However, C/N ratio
from a single substrate will affect the efficiency of anaerobic digestion. In this
report, the C/N ratio obtained data for pig manure is 17 which falls from outside
of the optimum C/N ratio as reported. Therefore, co-digestion of selected
feedstocks is implemented to adjust the C/N ratio and stabilize the biogas
production. In this study, rice straw is selected for its availability and C/N ratio is
adjusted to 23.4 which falls within the optimum range.

2) Percentage of Total Solids

The degradable part of feed material in a unit volume of slurry is defined as solid
concentration (Krishania et al., 2013). Total solids (TS) concentration of the
wastes will dictate the pH, temperature and effectiveness of the microorganisms
in the decomposition process. When the solid content of digesting mixture is less
than 3 to 4% (little or no suspended solids), the digester will usually have a
single-phase liquid system. Normally 7-9% solid concentration is best suited for
floating dome reactors. The CSTR was simulated over a range of %TS
concentration of 4-10.

3) Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT)

 Most anaerobic systems are designed to retain the waster for a fixed number of
days. Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) is the number of days for the materials
stays in the tank. Hydraulic Retention Time is equal to the volume of the tank
divided by the daily flow, HRT = volume (V)/Flow (Q). HRT is essential as it
creates the quantity of time available for bacterial growth and subsequent
conversion of the organic material to gas. HRT vary with the type of feedstocks,
concentration of solids and temperature. Temperature of the reactor increases
causes the HRT of substrate to be reduced. Therefore, 20 days of HRT is chosen
to reduce the HRT from the initial HRT of 25 days. This speed up the production
and loading of feedstock.
4) Temperature
The optimized temperature range for thermophilic is 50-60 ⁰C whereas for
mesophilic is 32-35 ⁰C. slight deviation of temperature of the digester will affect
the biological activity of anaerobic bacteria which reducing the gas production
rate (Deublein and Steinhauser, 2011). Temperature also affect the amount of
HRT. Constant temperature is important to prevent negative effects and run off
on biogas production. Methanogenic microorganisms are mainly mesophilic and
very sensitive to changes of temperature. In thermophilic condition, growth rate
of microbes is higher, and process is more efficient which reduces the HRT.
However, the thermophilic rapid process contributes to imbalance and high risk
for ammonia inhibition. Increase of temperature also increases ammonia toxicity.
Therefore, slightly higher than mesophilic temperature around 40 ⁰C is
considered in this study as its processes are easier to control. With the slight
increase of temperature, it allows the HRT to be lesser than mesophilic condition.
5) Number of stages
Simplest anaerobic digestion system with one reactor is responsible for executing
all 4 stages of digestion step. It is called single stage digestion system. With the
development of science and biotech, researchers have discovered that each of the
digestion step has different optimal thriving conditions (Mao et al., 2015). Thus,
the concept of physical separation of the digestion steps is used to optimize each
of the reactions to achieve the best output of transformation. Two-stage system is
widely studied and implemented. Hydrolysis and acidogenesis reactions are very
different from methanogenesis. Thus, it is suggested to separate hydrolysis and
 acidogenesis from acetogenesis and methanogenesis. This allows the acetogenic
microorganisms to produce hydrogen for methanogens to grow in its optimal
environment without the invaded by other groups. Therefore, two-stages are more
robust compared to single stage system as it can perform well under unstable
waste stream. Most researches had point out that two-stage was better than single
stage system because of shorter HRT.

Figure 3: Arrangement of 2-stage digestion system

6) Co-digestion
Anaerobic digestion has great potential for energy recovery form and
stabilization of the waster biomass. However, AD with a single substrate in long-
term operations poses some downside with relation with the substrate
characteristic for example the imbalance of nutrients. Animal manures are
typically high in nitrogen concentrations which will inhibit the production of
biogas by methanogens. Co-digestion of feedstocks is an encouraging option to
optimize biogas production by overcome drawbacks of single substrate and to
improve the plant’s economic feasibility. Manure are usually paired with dry
 feedstock such as rice straw, rice husk, saw dust etc. These dry feedstocks able to
increase and adjust C/N ratio to stabilize biogas production without
compromising economic feasibility of the operation.

7) Mixing
Mixing is a physical operation which creates homogeneous in fluid and
eliminates any concentration and temperature gradients. The main aim of stirring
the digester contents is to provide a close-up contact between microorganisms
and substrate to enhance the bio-methanation process. Mixing will not always
take place continuously in the reactor because excessive mixing may lead to
reduction of biogas production. It is suggested that slow mixing allow the
digester to better absorb the disturbance of shock loading than high mixing of the
reactor contents (Gómez et al., 2006). Excessive mixing may disrupt the granules
structure; reduce the rate of oxidation of fatty acids which can lead to digester
instability. Study carried out by the University of Natural Resources and Applied
Life Sciences, Vienna revealed average mixing times of 3-4h per day. 10-20 rpm
is optimal for high solid contents. Overall daily power consumption can be
estimated by:

𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑘𝑊ℎ)

= 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑟𝑠 ∗ 3 − 4ℎ ∗ 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 (𝑘𝑊)

Anaerobic digestion is chosen over aerobic digestion and CO2 retention at auto
regenerated pressure because AD provides high methane production and requires lesser
cost to produce the same amount of biomethane.

Table 3: Components of Pig Manure and Rice Straw (Li et al., 2015)

Sample Pig Manure Rice Straw

TS (g/kg) 27.16 93.72
%VS 74.10 95.26
Ash (% of TS) 25.90 4.74
Carbon (% of TS) 39.29 38.19
Hydrogen (% of TS) 5.40 5.08
Oxygen (% of TS) 26.70 50.46
Nitrogen (% of TS) 2.32 0.80
Sulphur (% of TS) 0.39 0.72
C/N 17.0 47.5
Calorific Value (kJ/kg TS) 16300 15800

Table 4 shows the parameters used in anaerobic co-digestion process. All the parameters
were taken and approximated from academic journals and books.

Table 4: Parameters chosen for co-digestion

Types of parameters Parameters

C/N ratio 23.4
TS (g/kg) 213.224
%VS 79.6
Temperature (⁰C) 40 (Mesophilic)
Total Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) (d) 20
Multi-stage HRT (d) 3/17
Organic Loading Rate (OLR) (kg VS/m3.d 6-8
)
Ash (% TS) 16.1
Carbohydrates (% TS) 44.5
Proteins (% TS) 26.2
Fats (% TS) 13.2
Biogas yield (L/kg VS) 267.23
Co-digestion Pig Manure + Rice Straw

Calculation for C/N ratio (Li et al., 2015):

(𝑇𝑆1 𝑥 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛1) + (𝑇𝑆2 𝑥 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛2)

(𝑇𝑆1 𝑥 𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛1) + (𝑇𝑆2 𝑥 𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛2)
In order to achieve C/N ratio of 23.4. ratio of pig manure to rice straw is 4.4:1.

(27.16 𝑥 39.29 𝑥 4.4) + (93.72 𝑥 38.19)

= 23.4
(27.16 𝑥 2.32 𝑥 4.4) + (93.72 𝑥 0.8)

4.4 Reactor Configuration

All the reactions happen inside the anaerobic digesters, following Equation (1) with
absence of oxygen. In single stage system, pH inhibition often occurs in acetogenesis and
acidogenesis due to production of volatile fatty acids (VFA). In two-stage anaerobic
digesters, the effect of pH inhibitions is nullified by separating the
hydrolysis/acidogenesis on first reactor and acetogenesis/methanogenesis on second
reactor (Kinnunen et al., 2014). Two stage anaerobic digester system are selected.
Reactors are separated into two with different HRT, one having 3 days and another
having 17 days, total of 30 days HRT. Biogas production normally only start after 7 days
hence HRT of 3 days was chosen for the first reactor. Production of gas are considered
minimal. Miah et al. (2015) stated that peak gas generation occurred during earlier when
VS Concentration was high, hence, the higher the initial VS concentration, the higher the
rate of generation. Peak of biogas generation was observed at day 34. Hence, reactors are
separated into two with different HRT, one having 3 days and another having 17 days,
total of 20 days HRT. As chemical components of substrate were not specified,
calculations were done backward assuming the following TWELEVE (12) reactions in
Table 5 below.

Table 5: Reactions involved in anaerobic digestion

Number Reaction Anaerobic Phase

R1 C13H25O7N3S + 6 H2O → 6.5 CO2 + 6.5 CH4 + 3 H3N + Soluble protein
H2S hydrolysis
R2 C5H8O4 + H2O → 2.5 C2H4O2 Hemicellulose
hydrolysis
R3 C6H12O6 → 2 C2H6O+ 2 CO2 Glucose hydrolysis
R4 2 C2H6O + CO2 → 2 C2H4O2 + CH4 Ethanol hydrolysis
R5 C57H104O6 +3 H2O→C3H8O3+3 C18H34O2 Triolein hydrolysis
R6 C3H8O3 + 0.4071 H3N + 0.0291 CO2 + 0.0005 H2 → Glycerol acidogenic
0.04071 C5H7NO2 + 0.94185 C3H6O2 + 1.09308 H2O
R7 C6H12O6 + 0.1115 H3N → 0.1115 C5H7NO2 + Dextrose acidogenic
0.744 C2H4O2 + 0.5 C3H6O2 + 0.4409 C4H8O2 +
0.6909 CO2 + 1.0254 H2O
R8 C4H8O2 + 0.0653 H3N + 0.8038 H2O + 0.0006 H2 + Isobutyric acid
0.5543 CO2 → 0.0653 C5H7NO2 + 1.8909 C2H4O2 + acetogenic
0.446 CH4
R9 C3H6O2 + 0.06198 H3N + 0.314336 H2O → Propionic acid
0.06198 C5H7NO2 + 0.9345 C2H4O2+ 0.660412 CH4 + acetogenic
0.160688 CO2 + 0.00055 H2
R10 C18H34O2 + 15.2396 H2O + 0.2501 CO2 + 0.1701 H3N Oleic acid
→ 0.1701 C5H7NO2 + 8.6998 C2H4O2 + 14.4978 H2 acetogenic
R11 C2H4O2 + 0.022 H3N → 0.022 C5H7NO2 + 0.945 CH4 + Acetic acid
0.066 H2O + 0.945 CO2 methanogenic
R12 14.4976 H2 + 3.8334 CO2 + 0.0836 H3N → Hydrogen
0.0836 C5H7NO2 + 3.4154 CH4 + 7.4996 H2O methanogenic

As only 12 reactions are assumed out of 41 reactions given by ADM1 book, accuracy of
the mass balance might differ in a small margin. These are mainly caused by number of
reactions assumed in the reaction is insufficient hence more reactions should be included.
However, since NH3 is not the main product in this gas plant, its value is ignored, and
the theoretical value is taken into calculation for separation phase later. Other than NH3
values, all calculated values are close to theoretical values.

4.5 Process Flowsheeting

This section will provide a full description of the finalized Process Flow
Diagrams (PFD) before heat integration. The PFD is divided into three main parts
digestion, biogas upgrade and solid-liquid separation.

Pig manure, rice straws and water are supplied to the digestion process. Rice
straws are kept in a silo or silage vats built on site. Silage is transported via tractor-
trolley to be fed to the biogas site in feed section. Silage is filled into the solid material
reception at the service building and transported by the closed through screw conveyors.
Pig manure from the farm is converted from the stables into a lagoon and pumped from
the lagoon into the receiving tank. Agitators are used in the tank to ensure consistent and
homogeneous quality. Mixing tank is used to mix the rice straws, pig manure, water and
recirculated feed materials thoroughly and heated up to 60 ⁰C in a mixing tank for an
hour. Agitation time can be adjusted based on the need. Heating up the feedstocks is to
pasteurize the bacteria and prevent any biological hazards during the process. The
pumping process of feedstocks will stop when the computed or present quantity has been
transferred.

Heated feedstocks will then pump into the digester while cooling the temperature
to 40⁰C. 40 ⁰C is the optimal mesophilic temperature which enables the user to reduce
the hydraulic retention time (HRT) for higher production rate of biogas (Uçkun Kiran et
al., 2016). Digester is a CSTR where it stirs the mixture constantly to achieve fully
homogenous condition where there is no temperature and concentration gradient
throughout the digester. The configuration of the digesters is two digesters in series. The
first digester holds the reaction of hydrolysis and acidogenic whereas the second digester
holds acetogenic and methanogenic reactions. The reactors are designed to have 20 days
of HRT; 3 days in first digester and 17 days in second digester. Full insulation and
heating elements are installed to keep the temperature in the tank constant at 40 ⁰C of the
substrates as the microbe colonies are sensitive to the temperature change. Feeding is
time-controlled process. Volume of fermentation residue transported to the water
recovery unit and solid separation unit is based on the amount of substrate that have been
added. Water recovered is then used as the recycle water used for the digester. The solids
remained are then sold as biofertilizers. Through the production of biogas in the
anaerobic digester, gas chamber situated above the fluid which is sealed with gas barrier
film digester will divert the produced biogas to the next process which is bio-
desulphurization.

Desulphurization is a process where minor amount of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is

removed through a biological method where sulphur reducing bacteria (SRB) are used in
this process. At this stage, small amount of air (<0.8% vol) is allowed into the digester.
SRB will then consume H2S and break it down into water and elemental sulphur. The
sulphur is then separated and removed from the biogas stream.

2𝐻2 𝑆 + 𝑂2 → 2𝐻2 𝑂 + 2𝑆
 Investment needed for the removal of CO2 is at moderate level with relatively
low operating cost required. This technique is known as biological scrubbing
(Choudhury et al., 2019). The desulphurized biogas is feed into water scrubbing unit
through a series of compressor which bring the pressure up to 70 bar. Water scrubbing is
one of the most effective CO2 removal and CH4 recovery technique involving physical
adsorption. Besides that, water used for scrubbing will be regenerated per cycle which
subsequently led to lower raw material cost involved for this context. As a rule of thumb,
absorption efficiency will be higher when the tower temperature is relatively low.
Therefore, regenerated water is then cooled before it is fed to the absorption tower. For
the regenerator, the pressure is set at 500 kPa and temperature at 70 ⁰C to remove acid
gases from the bottom outlet water. Liquid outlet stream will then pass through a flask
tank and stripper to remove CO2 dissolved in the liquid. CH4 purity at vapor outlet
stream of absorber should not be lower than 95%. The biomethane produced will be
compressed and stored in cylindrical tank at pressure not exceeding 250 bar
(Budzianowski and Brodacka, 2016).

The waste gases such as ammonia and carbon dioxide are removed from the flash
tank and stripper. The waste gases are then processed and sell it for other industrial
usage. The main objective to process the waste gases is carbon dioxide and ammonia
have the flow rate of 416.9 kg/hr and 12.90 kg/hr which makes the emission to be 1682
ppm and 153.87 ppm respectively which is more than the allowable emission limit (CO2:
1000 ppm, NH3: 50 ppm) set by ASHRAE and OSHA standards. Therefore, carbon
dioxide and ammonia gas are separated with a column. Carbon dioxide is liquified to 60
bar and -72⁰C for storage and ammonia is liquified to 2 bar and -33.34⁰C.

Carbon dioxide emission:

𝑘𝑔 ℎ
416.9 𝑥 𝑥 1000𝑝𝑝𝑚 = 1682 𝑝𝑝𝑚
ℎ 247.833𝑚3

Ammonia emission:

𝑘𝑔 ℎ
12.9 𝑥 𝑥 1000𝑝𝑝𝑚 = 153.87 𝑝𝑝𝑚
ℎ 18.847𝑚3
Figure 4: Common acid gas sweetening layout (Polasek et al., 2006)

The digested effluent is transported out from the second digester is then
proceeded to the solid liquid separation process. It will pass through a mixing tank where
necessary chemicals are added to increase the coagulation properties. Mixed effluent is
then pumped to screw press with the help of pump. Screw press which is a cylindrical
screen machine that separates solid and liquid, where it is expected to reduce the TS
level to 3%. Separated solids will then be transported through a conveyer belt and
collected into a collection pit. The liquid digestate leftover from the screw press is
pumped to a flocculation tank where the total suspended solids are agglomerated and
coagulated. Separated solids are rich in organic nutrients and can be used as organic
fertilizer compost.

Water from screw press collection pit entering to the flocculation premixing tank
by providing mechanical agitation system and flocculating agents dozing system. The
flocculation agents aid the rapid sedimentation of solids. Sedimentations are collected at
the bottom by gravitational method. Clear supernatant liquid with TS less than 150ppm
is pumped to centrifuge unit.
Figure 5: Flocculation process (EnviTech, n.d.)

Water pumped from the flocculation tank with TS less than 150 ppm is pumped
into the centrifuge unit to remove the TS to less than 30 ppm. The process of centrifuge
is batch process. Bag is loaded into the centrifuge, then water is fed into the system up to
the brim indicated. Next, centrifuge is locked and the motor rotates to the basket to
remove all the liquid. The solids remained in the bag is then transported to the collection
pit for fertilizer compost. The separated liquid from centrifugation is then collected in
storage sump where it is pump to pressure sand filter. Pressure sand filter with various
media inside removes all the TS from 30 ppm to less than detectable range. Back
washing is required periodically to eliminate the accumulated solids on the media.
Filtered water is then cycled back into the feedstock mixer.

Biogas is a mixture of methane (60%), carbon dioxide(40%) that can be produced from
pig manures to function as fuel, cooking gas, electricity production (Hasan, Aqsha et al.
2018). 2 processes to produce biogas that are compared in this report are anaerobic
digestion, selective CO2 retention at autogenerated pressure and anaerobic codigestion.

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process where complex substances are broken

down in the absence of oxygen (Pramanik, Suja et al. 2019). It consists of hydrolysis,
acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis. The first reaction is hydrolysis where
monomers are hydrolysed from complex protein, carbohydrates and fats by exoenzymes
and bacterial cellulosome. In acidogenesis, acids, hydrogen, alcohol and carbon dioxide
are formed from the monomers by acid-producing bacteria such as Acholeplasma and
Actinomyce. In acetogenesis, acids are being digested into acetate, hydrogen and carbon
dioxide. In methanogenesis, they are converted into methane and carbon dioxide where
carbon dioxide is reduced by one third to form methane. It occurs at the pH of 6.7-7.5.
The C/N ratio should range from 16:1-25:1 for high methane production.(Hasan, Aqsha
et al. 2018)

The advantages of using anaerobic digestion to produce biogas are as follows.

Anaerobic digestion has a long industrial history where the first anaerobic plant was built
in 1939. Its industrial application is wide as it has 2100 operational anaerobic digestion
plant and Asia registers high number of anaerobic digestor. It generates high quality
renewable energy (Pramanik, Suja et al. 2019). Besides, anaerobic digestion reduces
odour of the waste by remove pathogens and provide better feedstock to be composted to
produce fertiliser. Most of the operating temperatures of anaerobic process is near to
Malaysia atmospheric temperature, making it a suitable place for anaerobic digestion
(Hasan, Aqsha et al. 2018). Anaerobic digestors produce effluents that can be used as
fertiliser thus close the loop of the production. There is minimal losses of nutrients
during storage, transport and biogas process. The reactions cause increase in the
availability of nutrients (EnviTech n.d.).

However, there are several drawbacks like high capital cost, long retention time,
control of pH, temperature, alkalinity and feed rate(Pramanik, Suja et al. 2019),
imbalance of nutrition due to mono-substrate feed and lack of diversified
microorganisms (Hagos, Zong et al. 2017).

The second process is anaerobic co-digestion. In anaerobic co-digestion, two or

more organic compounds are treated simultaneously under anaerobic conditions
(Pramanik, Suja et al. 2019). The most common mixture of substrate is made up of
manure and agricultural products such as pig manure and rice straw (Hagos, Zong et al.
2017). In anaerobic co-digestion of pig manure, the substrate is rich in proteins which
after breaking down become amino acids that contains amine group. Microbial
degradation of proteins results in the release of ammonium ions which inhibit the
development of methanogenesis bacteria, leading to process instability and failure. This
can be overcome by adding rice straw which has a higher C/N ratio to optimise the ratio
for higher methane production (Hagos, Zong et al. 2017).
 The advantages are lower buffer capacity, higher C/N ratio, higher biogas yield
(Pramanik, Suja et al. 2019), improvement in process stabilization, accomplishment of
required moisture contents in digester feed, increase in load of biodegradable organic
matter dilution of inhibitory substances, nutrient balance and higher methane production
(Hagos, Zong et al. 2017).

The shortcomings are higher transportation cost and difficulty involved in the
estimation of C/N ratio (Hagos, Zong et al. 2017).

The third process is selective CO2 retention at autogenerated pressure. In this

process, microorganisms produce biogas which consists of 10% of CO2 and 90% of
CH4. CO2 is retained in solution at pressure of 20 bar to obtain high methane
composition of biogas. Pressure higher than 20 bar should be avoided as it will cause
dissolution of CH4 gas.

Anaerobic digestion happening at higher pressure than atmospheric pressure

produces a better quality of biogas. The biogas produced can be sold at higher price as it
is purer.

However, the production cost is higher as high pressure is needed. (Lindeboom,

Weijma et al. 2012)
Comparisons Anaerobic digestion Anaerobic co-digestion CO2 retention at
autogenerated pressure
History of Usage History can be traced to 1939 first Mixing of substrates are carried out Only one research is done on this
anaerobic digestion plant in USA not long after the usage of anaerobic (Lindeboom, Weijma et al.
(Pramanik, Suja et al. 2019) digestion in industry (Hagos, Zong 2012)
et al. 2017)
Application in Industry 2100 operational anaerobic Applied in industry Not applied in industry
digestion plants in US (Pramanik,
Suja et al. 2019)
Ability to Close the Loop Close the loop by using digestor Close the loop by using digestor Does not form effluent that can
effluents as fertiliser (EnviTech effluents as fertiliser (EnviTech be used as fertiliser
n.d.) n.d.)
Loss of Nutrients High loss of nutrients due to High loss of nutrients due to Minimal losses of nutrients
dissolution dissolution (EnviTech n.d.)
Cost Lower cost as it can function at Higher transport cost to transport Requires high cost to generate
atmospheric conditions more materials (Hagos, Zong et al. pressure of 20 bar (Lindeboom,
2017) Weijma et al. 2012)
Methane Production Low methane production High methane production High methane production
compared to the other methods
C/N Ratio Low C/N ratio (Hagos, Zong et al. Good C/N ratio(Hagos, Zong et al. Low C/N ratio
2017) 2017)
4.6 Mass Balance (Manual calculations)
Based on the production mentioned in Chapter 2 Literature Review, the amount of pig
manure produced from the stable is 50 metric tons per day. The capacity of the plant is
calculated as follows:
𝑘𝑔 𝑑
𝑃𝑖𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 50000 ∗
𝑑 24ℎ
𝑘𝑔
= 2083.33
ℎ
In order to achieve 23.4 of C/N ratio for the feedstocks, the ratio for rice straw to pig
manure is 1 to 4.4.
2083.33 𝑘𝑔
𝑅𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑤 = ( )( )
4.4 ℎ
𝑘𝑔
= 473.48
ℎ
Water is added to the mixture with the mass flow rate of 7000 kg/h.
Assumptions:
1) Methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide are assumed in gas
phase.
2) Solubility of each gases are not taken in consideration
3) 100% conversion for manual mass balance
4) Conversion of reactor in simulation is set to be 95%

4.6.1 Manual Mass Balance on Reactor 1

Biogas from R1
T= 40 ⁰C
P= 101.325 kPa

Inlet (Pig manure, rice Digestate to R2

straw & water) Reactor 1 T= 40 ⁰C
T= 40 ⁰C P= 101.325 kPa
P= 101.325 kPa

Figure 6: Block diagram of reactor 1

Digester 1 housed the hydrolysis and acidogenesis reactions from the anaerobic
digestion stages. Tables below shows the mass balances of reactor 1 for hydrolysis and
acidogenesis.
Remark: Component present in yellow column indicated its identity as reactant,
component present in green column indicated its identity as product. This applied for all
the mass balance table included in CHAPTER 4 for the purpose of differentiating
reactants and products.

Table 6: Protein breakdown in hydrolysis

C13H25O7N3S + 6 H2O → 6.5 CO2 + 6.5 CH4 + 3 H3N + H2S
Protein
C13H25O7N3
R1 S H2O CO2 CH4 H3N H2S
Molecular 18.0152
Weight 367.4185 8 44.01 16.04 17.031 34.1
Coefficient 1 6 6.5 6.5 3 1
Mole/day 0.57 3.42 3.71 3.71 1.71 0.57
kg/day 209.87 61.74 163.40 59.55 29.18 19.48
total kg/day 271.62 271.62

Table 7: Hemicellulose breakdown in hydrolysis

C5H8O4 + H2O → 2.5 C2H4O2

Hemicellulose
R2 C5H8O4 H2O C2H4O2
Molecular Weight 132.12 18.01528 60.052
Coefficient 1 1 2.5
Mole/day 0.89 0.89 2.24
kg/day 118.82 16.20 135.01
total kg/day 135.02 135.02

Table 8: Glucose breakdown in hydrolysis

C6H12O6 → 2 C2H6O+ 2 CO2

Glucose
R3 C6H12O6 C2H6O CO2
Molecular Weight 180.156 46.07 44.01
Coefficient 1 2 2
Mole/day 0.659546383 1.319092767 1.319092767
kg/day 118.82 60.77 58.05
total kg/day 118.82 118.82
 Table 9: Ethanol breakdown in hydrolysis
2 C2H6O + CO2 → 2 C2H4O2 + CH4

Ethanol
R4 C2H6O CO2 C2H4O2 CH4
Molecular Weight 46.07 44.01 60.052 16.04
Coefficient 2 1 2 1
Mole/day 1.319092767 0.659546383 1.319092767 0.659546383
kg/day 60.77 29.02 79.21 10.58
total kg/day 89.80 89.79

Table 10: Triolein breakdown in hydrolysis

C57H104O6 +3 H2O→C3H8O3+3 C18H34O2

Triolein
R5 C57H104O6 H2O C3H8O3 C18H34O2
Molecular Weight 885.4321 18.01528 92.094 282.461
Coefficient 1 3 1 3
Mole/day 0.119419153 0.358257459 0.119419153 0.358257459
kg/day 105.74 6.45 11.00 101.19
total kg/day 112.19 112.19

Table 11: Glycerol breakdown in acidogenesis

C3H8O3 + 0.4071 H3N + 0.0291 CO2 + 0.0005 H2 → 0.04071 C5H7NO2 + 0.94185
C3H6O2 + 1.09308 H2O
Glycerol
R6 C3H8O3 H3N CO2 H2 C5H7NO2 C3H6O2 H2O
Molecular
Weight 92.094 17.031 44.01 2.02 113.1146 74.08 18.01528
Coefficient 1 0.4071 0.0291 0.0005 0.04071 0.94185 1.09308
Mole/day 0.12 0.04 0.003 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.13
kg/day 10.99 0.82 0.15 0.00 0.54 8.33 2.35
total kg/day 11.98 11.23

Table 12: Dextrose breakdown in acidogenesis

C6H12O6 + 0.1115 H3N → 0.1115 C5H7NO2 + 0.744 C2H4O2 + 0.5 C3H6O2 + 0.4409
C4H8O2 + 0.6909 CO2 + 1.0254 H2O

Dextrose
C6H12 C5H7N C2H4O C3H6O C4H8O
R7 O6 H3N O2 2 2 2 H2O CO2
Molecula 180.156 17.03 113.1146 60.052 74.08 88.11 18.015 44.01
r Weight 1 28
Coefficie 0.111 0.690
nt 1 5 0.1115 0.744 0.5 0.4409 1.0254 9
Mole/day 0.66 0.073 0.073 0.49 0.33 0.29 0.67 0.46
kg/day 118.8 1.25 8.31 29.46 24.42 25.62 12.18 20.05
total
kg/day 120.07 120.08

Table 13: Overall mass balance for R1

Component Inlet (kg/h) Outlet (kg/h)

Protein, C13H25O7N3S 209.87 0.00
Water, H2O 84.40 14.54
Carbon dioxide, CO2 29.18 241.51
Methane, CH4 0.00 70.13
Ammonia, H3N 2.08 29.18
Hydrogen sulphide, H2S 0.00 19.48
Hemicellulose, C5H8O4 118.82 0.00
Acetic acid, C2H4O2 0.00 243.70
Glucose, C6H12O6 237.64 0.00
Ethanol, C2H6O 60.77 60.77
Triolein, C57H104O6 105.74 0.00
Glycerol, C3H8O3 11.00 11.00
Oleic acid, C18H34O2 0.00 101.19
Ethyl cyanoacetate, C5H7NO2 0.00 8.87
Propanoic acid, C3H6O2 0 32.76
Isobutyric acid, C4H8O2 0 25.62
Total 859.50 858.76
 Table 14: Comparison on iCON and Manual Material Balance for R1

Inlet (kg/h) Outlet (kg/h)

R-1 iCON Manual Difference (%) iCON Manual Difference (%)
Protein* 209.87 209.87 0.00 10.49 0.00 0.00
TRIOLEIN 105.74 105.74 0.00 5.29 0.00 0.00
Glucose* 118.82 118.82 0.00 5.94 0.00 0.00
ETHANOL 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.89 0.00 0.00
Hemicellulose* 118.82 118.82 0.00 5.94 0.00 0.00
GLYCEROL 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.45 0.00 0.00
DEXTROSE 118.82 118.82 0.00 5.94 0.00 0.00
ISOBUTYRIC ACID 0.00 0.00 0.00 24.34 25.62 5.27
PROPIONIC ACID 0.00 0.00 0.00 23.21 32.76 41.17
OLEIC ACID 0.00 0.00 0.00 96.14 101.19 5.26
ACETIC ACID 0.00 0.00 0.00 227.75 243.70 7.00
HYDROGEN 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
CARBON DIOXIDE 0.00 0.00 0.00 203.23 212.14 4.38
AMMONIA 0.00 0.00 0.00 26.53 29.18 9.97
WATER 9955.77 9955.77 0.00 9887.17 9941.23 0.55
METHANE 0.00 0.00 0.00 66.13 70.14 6.06
ETHYL CYANOACETATE 0.00 0.00 0.00 7.90 8.87 12.22
INERT* 128.97 128.97 0.00 128.97 128.97 0.00
HYDROGEN SULFIDE 0.00 0.00 0.00 18.49 19.48 5.33
OXYGEN 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
NITROGEN 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
SULFUR DIOXIDE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
SULFUR 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
MONOETHANOLAMINE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
TOTAL 10756.81 10756.81 0.00 10756.81 10813.29 0.53
4.6.2 Manual Mass Balance on Reactor 2

Biogas from R2
T= 40 ⁰C
P= 101.325 kPa

Inlet from R1 Digestate to

T= 40 ⁰C Reactor 1 separation
P= 101.325 kPa T= 40 ⁰C
P= 101.325 kPa

Digester 2 housed acetogenesis and methanogenesis reactions from the anaerobic

digestion stages. Tables below shows the mass balances of reactor 2 for acetogenesis and
methanogenesis.
Table 15: Isobutyric breakdown in acetogenic process

Isobutyric
Acid
R8 C4H8O2 H3N H2O H2 CO2 C5H7NO2 C2H4O2 CH4
Molecular
Weight 88.11 17.031 18.01528 2.02 44.01 113.1146 60.052 16.04
Coefficient 1 0.0653 0.8038 0.0006 0.5543 0.0653 1.8909 0.446
Mole/day 0.29 0.02 0.23 0.00 0.16 0.02 0.55 0.13
kg/day 25.62 0.32 4.21 0.00 7.09 2.15 33.02 2.08
total kg/day 37.25 37.25

Table 16: Propanoic acid breakdown in acetogenic process

Propanoic
Acid
R9 C3H6O2 H3N H2O C5H7NO2 C2H4O2 CH4 CO2 H2
Molecular
Weight 74.08 17.031 18.01528 113.1146 60.052 16.04 44.01 2.02
Coefficient 1 0.06198 0.314336 0.06198 0.9345 0.660412 0.160688 0.00055
Mole/day 0.44 0.03 0.14 0.03 0.41 0.29 0.07 0.00
kg/day 32.76 0.47 2.50 3.10 24.82 4.68 3.13 0.00
total
kg/day 35.73 35.73

Table 17:Oleic acid breakdown in acetogenic process

Oleic Acid
R10 C18H34O2 H2O CO2 H3N C5H7NO2 C2H4O2 H2
Molecular 282.461 18.01528 44.01 17.031 113.1146 60.052 2.02
 Weight
Coefficient 1 15.2396 0.2501 0.1701 0.1701 8.6988 14.4978
Mole/day 0.36 5.46 0.09 0.06 0.06 3.12 5.19
kg/day 101.19 98.36 3.94 1.04 6.89 187.15 10.49
total kg/day 204.53 204.53

Table 18: Acetic acid breakdown in methanogenic process

Methanogenic
Acetic Acid
R11 C2H4O2 H3N C5H7NO2 CH4 H2O CO2
Molecular
Weight 60.052 17.031 113.1146 16.04 18.01528 44.01
Coefficient 1 0.022 0.022 0.945 0.066 0.945
Mole/day 8.14 0.18 0.18 7.69 0.54 7.69
kg/day 488.69 3.05 20.25 123.35 9.68 338.44
total kg/day 491.73 491.72

Table 19: Hydrogen breakdown in methanogenic process

Hydrogen
R12 H2 CO2 H3N C5H7NO2 CH4 H2O
Molecular 2.02 44.01 17.031 113.1146 16.04 18.01528
Weight
Coefficient 14.4976 3.8334 0.0836 0.0836 3.4154 7.4996
Mole/day 5.19 1.37 0.03 0.03 1.22 2.69
kg/day 10.49 60.44 0.51 3.39 19.63 48.40
total kg/day 71.44 71.42

Table 20: Overall mass balance for R2

Component Inlet (kg/h) Outlet (kg/h)

Isobutyric acid, C4H8O2 25.62 0
Ammonia, H3N 5.39 0
Water, H2O 105.07 58.08
Carbon dioxide, CO2 71.48 341.57
Ethyl cyanoacetate,
C5H7NO2 0 35.78
Methane, CH4 0 149.74
Propanoic acid, C3H6O2 32.76 0.00
Oleic acid, C18H34O2 101.19 0
Acetic acid, C2H4O2 488.69 244.99
Total 830.20 830.1572165
 Table 21: Comparisons of R2 between iCON and manual calculations
Inlet (kg/h) Outlet (kg/h)
R-2 iCON Manual Difference (%) iCON Manual Difference (%)
Protein* 10.40 0.00 0.00 10.40 0.00 0.00
TRIOLEIN 5.29 0.00 0.00 5.29 0.00 0.00
Glucose* 5.94 0.00 0.00 5.94 0.00 0.00
ETHANOL 2.82 0.00 0.00 2.82 0.00 0.00
Hemicellulose* 5.94 0.00 0.00 5.94 0.00 0.00
GLYCEROL 10.45 0.00 0.00 0.52 0.00 0.00
DEXTROSE 5.94 0.00 0.00 5.94 0.00 0.00
ISOBUTYRIC ACID 24.28 25.62 5.52 24.28 0.00 0.00
PROPIONIC ACID 23.16 32.76 41.44 8.68 0.00 0.00
OLEIC ACID 96.14 101.19 5.26 33.46 0.00 0.00
ACETIC ACID 227.45 243.70 7.14 18.00 0.00 0.00
HYDROGEN 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.32 0.00 0.00
CARBON DIOXIDE 0.34 0.00 0.00 201.17 341.57 69.79
AMMONIA 18.52 29.18 57.56 14.39 0.00 0.00
WATER 9873.57 9885.91 0.12 9848.35 9838.92 0.10
METHANE 0.01 0.00 0.00 101.05 149.74 48.19
ETHYL CYANOACETATE 7.90 8.87 12.22 30.92 35.78 15.73
INERT* 128.97 128.97 0.00 128.97 128.97 0.00
HYDROGEN SULFIDE 0.20 0.00 0.00 0.20 0.00 0.00
OXYGEN 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
NITROGEN 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
SULFUR DIOXIDE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
SULFUR 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
MONOETHANOLAMINE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
TOTAL 10447.32 10456.21 0.09 10446.63 10494.98 0.46
4.6.3 Mass balance of biological desulphurization unit
Table 22 shows the composition of raw biogas obtained from manual mass balance
performed on anaerobic digester. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) are to be removed before the
raw biogas fed to the subsequent stage for purification of biomethane. Due to the
selection of amine scrubbing technique used, one of the criteria is to remove H2S prior to
that (Ramos et al., 2013). Biological desulphurization unit utilized air flow from
atmosphere to oxidize H2S forming sulphur component. shows the mass balance
performed on this unit. Assumption is made to input 5kg/hr of air, the reaction
conversion is 1. However, the difference percentage of ammonia, NH3 is relatively big
due to the solubility of ammonia, NH3 in water present in digester did not obey the
curve, thus, the result calculated are different both methods.

Table 22: Composition of raw biogas

Inlet Flowrate Raw Biogas

Component
(kg/hr) Composition (%)
Methane, CH4 167.17 26.46

Carbon dioxide, CO2 403.79 63.91

Ammonia, H3N 12.85 2.03

Hydrogen sulphide, H2S 18.49 2.93
Water, H2O 29.51 4.67
Total 631.81 100.00

Following equation is the reaction involved.

2𝐻2 𝑆 + 𝑂2 → 2𝐻2 𝑂 + 2𝑆

Table 23: Reactions for biological desulphurization unit

H2S O2 S H2O
Molecular 34.1 31.998 32.07 18.02
Weight
Coefficient 1 0.5 1 1
Mole/day 0.570967742 0.285483871 0.570968 0.570968
 kg/day 19.47 9.134912903 18.31094 10.28884
total kg/day 28.605 28.600

Table 24: Overall Mass Balance for Biological Desulphurization Unit

Component Inlet Flowrate (kg/hr) Outlet Flowrate (kg/hr)

Vapor (%) Vapor (%) Liquid (%)
Water, H2O 29.51 4.60 15.43 2.56 22.87 59.17
Methane, CH4 167.17 26.08 167.17 27.76 0.00 0.00
Carbon 403.79 63.00 403.75 67.04 0.04 0.10
dioxide, CO2
Ammonia, 12.85 2.01 12.76 2.12 0.09 0.23
H3N
Hydrogen 18.49 2.89 1.85 0.31 0.00 0.00
sulphide, H2S
Oxygen, O2 9.14 1.43 1.33 0.22 0.00 0.00
Sulphur, S 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 15.66 40.50
Total 640.95 100.00 602.29 100.00 38.66 100.00
4.6.4 Mass Balance for Biogas Upgrading Unit
Referring to process flow diagram of biomethane purification unit in Figure 7, note that
water used are to be regenerated after each use using distillation column as the
regenerator. The absorber separates CO2 from biogas using pressurized water using
difference in solubility of CH4 and CO2. However, manual mass balance for biomethane
purification unit, recycling of the stream is not included.

Table 25: Mass balance for absorber

Component Inlet Flowrate (kg/hr) Outlet Flowrate (kg/hr)

Biogas Water Biomethane CO2 Rich
Water Vapor 4.78 0 0.06 0
Methane, CH4 167.16 0 158.91 8.25
Carbon dioxide, 403.71 0 1.23 402.47
CO2
Ammonia, H3N 11.47 0 0.02 24.71
Make-up water 0 9000 0 8987.95
Total 9587.12 9583.6
Different (%) 0.04
4.7 Simulation
iCON v10.0 is the software used for simulating the designated process flow for
production of biomethane from pig manure under steady-state and incorporated the
calculation of results with pre-set operating conditions. shows the overall process flow
simulated in iCON V10.

Figure 7: Overall simulated PFD for biogas production plant from pig manure

4.8 Economic Evaluation

Economical value of biomass-derived products such as biogas, biofuel and bioethanol

are slowly showing an increasing value due to the constantly-increase demand of energy
supply and initiative from the industry and individual to opt for renewable energy
sources instead of the conventional energy sources such as natural gas, petroleum, coal,
etc. Specifically for biogas production, it has been successfully utilized by Germany
starting from 2000 for reducing reliability on conventional energy sources to generate
electricity. Towards the end of 2015, the electricity consumption was 31.6% and 7%
from biomass and biogas respectively (Grangeiro et al., 2019).
For the subsequent sections, the economic potential of biomethane derived from biogas
and biofertilizer production plant are presented. The targeted operating hours is 24 hours
for 350 days, production downtime is schedule for maintenance purpose.

4.8.1 Economic Potential 1

Economic Potential = Product Value - Raw Material Cost
EP1 (RM)
= (Selling Price)(Production Rate)–
(Purchasing Price)(Raw Materials Needed)
Consumption of pig manure:

𝑘𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑘𝑔
2083.33 ℎ𝑟 × 350 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 × 24 = 17.5 × 106 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
𝑑𝑎𝑦

Consumption on water:

Assuming start-up is needed once every year after maintenance work is

carried out.

𝑘𝑔
Start-up usage: 7000 ℎ𝑟

Water scrubbing replenishment:

𝑘𝑔 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠
9000 × 24
𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

𝑘𝑔 1𝑦𝑟
= 216000 ( )
𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 12 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠

𝑘𝑔
= 18000
𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ

Remark: Water are to be regenerated, assumption is made to replenish water 24 times per
year with 2 times per month, due to the development of this plant design are yet to be
reaching equipment design stage.

However, pig manure is generated from in-house pig stables that is supposed to be
treated and disposed. Hence, no raw material cost is accounted for pig manure.

Material cost for water:

 𝑘𝑔 𝑚3
18000 × 0.001 = 18 𝑚3
𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑘𝑔

Using water tariffs stated by Lembaga Air Perak (LAP) specifically for industrial usage:

Table 26: Water tariffs by LAP (PERAK, 2019).

Usage (m3) Rate (RM/m3)

0-10 1.2
11-20 1.4
Greater than 20 1.61

Total Material Cost for Water:

1.2 1.4
((10𝑚3 × 𝑅𝑀 ) + (8𝑚 3
× 𝑅𝑀 ) 𝑥11 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠)
𝑚3 𝑚3
1.2 1.4
+ ((10𝑚3 × 𝑅𝑀 ) + (10𝑚 3
× 𝑅𝑀 )
𝑚3 𝑚3
1.61
+ (5𝑚3 × 𝑅𝑀 ))
𝑚3

= 𝑅𝑀 289.25 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

Rice straw is used as a feedstock for co-digestion in order to increase the C/N ratio for
higher biogas production. Price for rice straw is RM 0.42/kg.

Total production for rice straw per year:

𝑘𝑔 24ℎ𝑟 350 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠

(473.48 )( )( ) = 3,977,232 𝑘𝑔/𝑦𝑟
ℎ𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 1 𝑦𝑟

𝑘𝑔 𝑅𝑀0.422
(3,977,232 )( ) = 𝑅𝑀1,678,391.90/𝑦𝑟
ℎ𝑟 𝑘𝑔

Table 27: Summary on the Material Cost.

Raw Consumption Cost

Material (kg/year) (RM/year)
Pig manure 17.5 x 106 0
Water 216 x103 289.25
 Rice straw 3.98 x 106 1.68 x 106

Total Material Cost= RM 1,678,681.15per year.

Estimated Production of Biomethane (CNG):

𝑚3 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑚3
2.05 × 24 × 350 = 17220
ℎ𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

Estimated Production of Liquid Bio-fertilizer:

𝑘𝑔 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑘𝑔
144.63 ℎ𝑟 × 24 × 350 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 = 1,214,892 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
𝑑𝑎𝑦

Revenue for biomethane (CNG):

𝑅𝑀
17220 𝑚3 × 62.81 𝑚3 = 𝑅𝑀 1,081.588.20 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

As price of biofertilizer is solely determined by its nitrogen-phosphorus and potassium

(NPK) value the information of pig manure digestate, it is estimated phosphorus to be
2.6 %TS (20.82 kg/hr) and potassium to be 1 %TS (8 kg/hr). Phosphorus and potassium
are lumpsum as inert where it does not affect or react along the process. Conservative
price is applied for the biofertilizer.

Revenue for Bio-fertilizer:

𝑘𝑔 𝑅𝑀
1,214,892 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 × 1.435 𝑘𝑔 = 𝑅𝑀 1,743,370 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

Excess amount of carbon dioxide with flowrate of 402.48 kg/hr is not allowed to release
to the atmosphere due to regulations < 400 ppm.

𝑘𝑔 1000𝑔 1000𝑚𝑔 ℎ
𝑝𝑝𝑚 = 402.48 𝑥 𝑥 𝑥
ℎ𝑟 𝑘𝑔 𝑔 0.492𝑚3

𝑚𝑔
= 818.05 𝑥 106
𝑚3

= 818048 𝑝𝑝𝑚

Therefore, carbon dioxide is compressed and cooled as liquified carbon dioxide and sell
as sales gas. Production is calculated as below:
 𝑘𝑔 ℎ𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠
402.48 𝑥 24 𝑥 350
ℎ𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑦𝑟

𝑘𝑔
= 3,380,832
𝑦𝑟

Revenue from liquified carbon dioxide:

𝑘𝑔 𝑅𝑀0.656
3,380,832 𝑥 = 𝑅𝑀2,217,825.79/𝑦𝑟
𝑦𝑟 𝑘𝑔

Ammonia are produced in gases phase as well. Liquid ammonia can be a fertilizer for
plantation to increase the nitrogen content.

Production of ammonia:

𝑘𝑔 ℎ𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠
12.90 𝑥 24 𝑥 350 = 108,360 𝑘𝑔/𝑦𝑟
ℎ𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑦𝑟

Revenue from selling ammonia:

𝑘𝑔 𝑅𝑀2.11
108,360 𝑥 = 𝑅𝑀 228,639.60/𝑦𝑟
𝑦𝑟 𝑘𝑔

Table 28: Summary on the Material Cost.

Product Production Rate Price

Biomethane 12247.2 m3 / year RM 1081588.20/ year
Bio-fertilizer 80.3 x 105 kg/ year RM 1743370 / year
Carbon dioxide 3,380,832 kg/ year RM 2217825.79 / year
Ammonia 108,360 kg/ year RM 228639.60 / year

Total Revenue from Product:

1081588.20 1743370 2217825.79 228639.60

𝑅𝑀 + 𝑅𝑀 + 𝑅𝑀 + 𝑅𝑀
𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
= 𝑅𝑀 5,271,423.59 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

Economic Potential 1= RM 3,592,742.44 per year

4.8.2 Economic Potential 2 (EP2)

The following formula is to calculate the economic potential 2 (EP 2):

 Economic Potential 2 (EP 2) = Revenue – Cost of Raw Material (after
mass balance developed) – Utility

4.3.2.1 Utility Cost

The tariff rates for high voltage industries during peak and off-peak hour period provided
by Tenaga Nasional Berhad as shown in Table 29.

Table 29: Tariff rates for high voltage industries

Tariff E3: High voltage peak/off-peak industrial tariff

Tariff Category Rates

For all kWh during peak period 33.70 sen/kWh
For all kWh during off-peak period 20.20 sen/kWh

On peak period is starting from 8am and ends at 5pm with the total of 8 hours whereas
for off-peak period is starting from 6pm and ends at 8am with the total of 16 hours.
Table 30 shows the summary of plant utilities energy consumption before and after heat
integration.

Table 30: Summary of plant utilities energy consumption before and after heat
integration

Percentage
Utility Before HI (kW) After HI (kW)
Reduction (%)
Hot 865.91 406.63 53.04
Cold 1455.668 996.386 31.55
Total 2321.58 1403.014 39.57

Utilities cost before heat integration

During peak period (8am – 5pm):

 8 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠
2321.58𝑘𝑊 𝑥 𝑥 350 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠/𝑦𝑟 𝑥 𝑅𝑀0.337/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑑𝑎𝑦
= 𝑅𝑀 2,190,642.89/𝑦𝑟

During off-peak period (6pm – 8am):

16 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠
2321.58𝑘𝑊 𝑥 𝑥 350 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠/𝑦𝑟 𝑥 𝑅𝑀0.202/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑑𝑎𝑦
= 𝑅𝑀 2,626,171.30/𝑦𝑟

Total utilities cost per year = RM 4,816,814.19/yr

Utilities cost after heat integration

During peak period (8am – 5pm):

8 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠
1403.014𝑘𝑊 𝑥 𝑥 350 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠/𝑦𝑟 𝑥 𝑅𝑀0.337/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑑𝑎𝑦
= 𝑅𝑀1,323,884.01/𝑦𝑟

During off-peak period (6pm – 8am):

16 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠
1403.014𝑘𝑊 𝑥 𝑥 350 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠/𝑦𝑟 𝑥 𝑅𝑀0.202/𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑑𝑎𝑦
= 𝑅𝑀 1,587,089.44/𝑦𝑟

Total utilities cost per year = RM 2,910,973.48/yr

Economic Potential 1= RM 3,592,742.44/yr

EP 2 (before heat integration) =

𝑅𝑀 𝑅𝑀 1,224,071.75
(3,592,742.44 − 4,816,814.19) =−
𝑦𝑟 𝑦𝑟

EP 2 (after heat integration) =

𝑅𝑀 𝑅𝑀 681,768.96
(3,592,742.44 − 2,910,973.48) =
𝑦𝑟 𝑦𝑟

Table 31: Summary of economic analysis for POME biogas production plant

Economic Analysis
 EP 1 (RM/year) 3,592,742.44
EP 2 (before heat integration) -1,224,071.75
(RM/year)
EP 2 (after heat integration) (RM/year) 681,768.96

From the economic analysis achieved through the calculation of economic potentials 1
and 2 respectively, it can be justified that the founding and operation of biogas
production plant in Malaysia which uses pig manure and rice straw as feedstock is
economically reasonable and viable.
 CHAPTER 5: HEAT INTEGRATION

Utilizing heaters and coolers are necessary in every industry to supply necessary heat to
keep up the operational condition and desired production yield. On the contrary, usage of
heaters generates excess heat and released as non-beneficial heat which causes increase
in operating cost. Minimizing release of excess heat is essential to lead an economical
plant, thus, perform heat integration studies is necessary to improve efficiency of energy
utilization. Purpose of conducting heat integration is to design a feasible merged
interaction within process units to utilize excess heats through streams by using heat
exchangers. In this heat integration approach, we will discuss about heat exchanger
network (HEN) design to optimize the plant layout to ensure the best feasible and
efficient process units. Furthermore, cost of hot and cold utilities is reduced by
performing application of pinch analysis heat integration method, whereby, excessive
heat energy from process is recycled for cooling and heating other streams, resulting in
lesser usage of utilities and maximize energy consumption.

1. Data extraction of hot and cold streams

Determine the streams which needs to be heated up and cooled down in the
process.

Table 5.1: Summary of data streams extracted from ICON and mCp calculation.
Supply Target Heat mCp
∆T
Streams Type Temperature Temperature Load (kW/K)
(K)
(Ts) (Tt) (kW)

H1 HOT 333 313.0 20.0 -253.41 13.1705

- 0.29986
H2 HOT 764.9 373.0 391.9
117.516
- 10.7810
H3 HOT 387.4 319.1 68.3
736.347
- 9.8236
H4 HOT 321.4 293.0 28.4
278.991

H5 HOT 303.0 239.7 63.3 -5.43 0.08578

H6 HOT 303.0 201.0 102.0 -53.97 0.52912

 C1 COLD 303.0 333.0 30.0 385.068 12.8356

C2 COLD 295.7 343 47.3 480.838 10.1657

2. Determine the minimum allowed temperature difference, ∆Tmin

Minimum allowed temperature difference affects minimum requirement of
heating and cooling requirement, allocation of utilities and feasible HEN designs.
Generally, as minimum temperature difference decreases the number of feasible
HEN design increases, thus, affects the total annualized costs.

Table5.2: Values of optimum ΔTmin for different industries

Production of biogas from pig manure is considered as refinery and chemical process,
thus, based on the table above the optimum ∆Tmin has to be in a range of 10 – 300C.
∆Tmin of processes has been set to 300C.
3. Develop heat cascade
Heat cascade is performed to identify the pinch temperature, minimum hot utility
and minimum cold utility.

Q,Hmin

Q,Cmin
Figure 5.1: Heat cascade
 4. Hot and cold composite and grand composite curve

i. Composite curve
Composite curve determines the amount of load the heat exchanger and
integrate. Besides that, Q,Hmin and Q,Cmin of the overall processes can
be determined from the composite curve.

Q,Hmin

Heat recovery

Q,Cmin

Figure 5.2: Composite curve

From the composite curve above, it is observed that the overlapping region of hot and
cold stream is heat recovery which is to be 750kW.
 ii. Grand composite curve

Q,Hmin

Tpinch

Q,Cmin

Figure 5.3: Grand composite curve

From the grand composite curve, the pinch temperature is 318 K.

 5. Heat exchanger network (HEN) diagram

• Stream data is inserted in HINT software to determine feasible integration

of streams.
• Streams are connected according to the rules below:

-Above pinch: mCp,C ≥ mCp,H

- Below pinch: m,Cp,H ≥ mCp,C

Figure 5.4: Heat exchanger network (HEN) diagram

All streams are satisfied by integrating and using hot and cold utilities.

Hot Utility, Q,Hmin: 406.628 kW

Cold Utility, Q,Cmin: 996.386 kW

 6. Analysis of utility before and after heat integration

Percentage
Utility Before HI (kW) After HI (kW)
Reduction (%)
Hot 865.91 406.63 53.04
Cold 1455.668 996.386 31.55
Total 2321.58 1403.014 39.57
Table 5.3: Utility before and after heat integration

From the table above, it is observable that a significant amount of heat load has been
reduced comparing before and after heat integration. Through heat integration
consumption of utilities has been reduced and heat recovery is maximized.
 CHAPTER 6

Process Control

Introduction

According to (Georgieva, 2011), process control is defined as a system of controlling

final control element to regulate the process variable. It is important for the surveillance of
complex technical processes and automated operation. It ensures the stability of the value of
the process variables by measuring and controlling them. It enables the process variables to
be altered in accordance to an optimising function.

Importance of Process Control & Instrumentation

Based on an article written by Acicontrols (2017), there are 4 importance of process

control & instrumentation.

Firstly, it ensures consistency. It uses appropriate process control instrumentation to

remodel and rework internal operations of a plant to reduce variability and ensure smooth
running. Secondly, it reduces labour cost. It allows most of the operations to be automated
than being manually controlled by labour. The general performance increases as automation
reduces mistakes. Thirdly, it improves quality of product. Proper control maintains the ratio
of feed, regulate temperature and quality of output. It ensures the quality to be standardised.
Fourthly, it improves safety. The usage of pressure relief valves regulate steam supply to
prevent overpressure. Pressure switches prevent pressure build up. Temperature controllers
prevent overheating.

Types of Control Strategy

According to Seborg, Edgar, Mellichamp & Doyle (2011), the most widely used
control strategies are feedforward and feedback control.

In feedback control strategy, the controlled variable is measured to know the degree
of adjustment need to the manipulated variable. The disturbance variable is not measured.
The correction takes place regardless of the type of disturbance. It reduces the sensitivity of
the measured variable to disturbances. The shortcoming is the correction is made after
deviation happens.

Figure 6.8: Closed Loop. Adapted from "Instrumentation and Process Control: Process
Control"
In feedforward control, the controlled variable is not measured. The disturbance
variable is measured. The advantage is the correction is made before the process is impacted.
The shortcomings are high accuracy of disturbance measurement is needed, unmeasured
disturbance cannot be corrected and process model is needed.

As there are too many disturbances that can happen in a plant to be taken into
account, feedback control is chosen as primary control strategy.

Implementation of Control Strategy

The steps involved in strategy design is as follows:

1. Determine the control objective.

2. Determine process variables and developing model.

3. Select control configuration.

4. Select controller type.

5. Selecting the appropriate instrumentation and preparing the P & ID.

Control Strategy Implemented at Equipment

R-101

Temperature

Temperature is controlled at set point to ensure optimum conditions for the reactions. The
temperature that is running in the reactor is measured by a temperature controller and
transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point, the signal will be sent to decrease the
control valve opening that controls the heating medium supplied to the heat exchanger used
to heat up the reactor inlet stream to decrease the temperature to set point.

Level

Level is controlled at set point to ensure the reactor is not flooded or the contents is sufficient
for the reactions to happen. The level of the reactor is controlled by the level controller and
transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point, the signal will be sent to decrease the
control valve opening that controls the feed flow rate to the reactor to decrease the level to set
point.

pH is controlled at set point to ensure the reactions can occur at optimum temperature. Itis
measured by the quality controller and transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point,
the signal will be sent to open the inlet acid stream to decrease it. If the value is lower than
the set point, the signal will be sent to open the inlet alkali stream to decrease it.
Control Control Manipulated Measured Variable Control Strategy Control Reasoning
Objective Variable Variable
To maintain Temperature Hot water supply to Temperature of Feedback control using When the temperature of the
reactor of the stream E-102 that heats up reactor Temperature Recording reactor is higher than the
temperature the inlet stream to the Controller Alarm (TRCA) to desired value, the
reactor control the control valve Temperature Recording
opening of hot water Controller Alarm (TRCA)
supplied to E-102 to heat up transmits signal to the
the inlet stream to the control valve of hot water
reactor. supplied to E-102 to reduce
the opening so that less
heating medium is supplied
to the heat exchanger and
vice versa.
To maintain Level of the Flow rate of inlet Level of the reactor Feedback control using When the level of the reactor
reactor level reactor stream to the reactor Level Recording Controller is higher than the desired
Alarm (LRCA) to control the value, the Level Recording
control valve opening of Controller Alarm (LRCA)
inlet stream to the reactor. transmits signal to the
control valve at inlet stream
of the reactor to decrease the
 flow rate entering the reactor
and vice versa.
To maintain pH of the Amount of acid or pH of the reactor Feedback control using When the pH of the reactor
pH of the reactor alkali being added to Quality Indicating Controller is higher than the desired
reactor the reactor (QIC) to control the control value, the Quality Indicating
valve opening of inlet stream Controller (QIC) transmits
to the reactor. signal to the control valve at
inlet acid stream of the
reactor to decrease the pH.
When the pH of the reactor
is lower than the desired
value, the Quality Indicating
Controller (QIC) transmits
signal to the control valve at
inlet alkai stream of the
reactor to increase the pH.
R-102

Temperature

Temperature is controlled at set point to ensure optimum conditions for the reactions. The
temperature that is running in the reactor is measured by a temperature controller and
transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point, the signal will be sent to decrease the
control valve opening that controls the heating medium supplied to the heat exchanger used
to heat up the reactor inlet stream to decrease the temperature to set point.

Level

Level is controlled at set point to ensure the reactor is not flooded or the contents is sufficient
for the reactions to happen. The level of the reactor is measured by the level controller and
transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point, the signal will be sent to decrease the
control valve opening that controls the feed flow rate to the reactor to decrease the level to set
point.

pH

pH is controlled at set point to ensure the reactions can occur at optimum temperature. Itis
measured by the quality controller and transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point,
the signal will be sent to open the inlet acid stream to decrease it. If the value is lower than
the set point, the signal will be sent to open the inlet alkali stream to decrease it.
Control Control Manipulated Measured Variable Control Strategy Control Reasoning
Objective Variable Variable
To maintain Temperature Hot water supply to Temperature of Feedback control using When the temperature of the
reactor of the stream E-103 that heats up reactor Temperature Recording reactor is higher than the
temperature the inlet stream to the Controller Alarm (TRCA) to desired value, the
reactor control the control valve Temperature Recording
opening of hot water Controller Alarm (TRCA)
supplied to E-103 to heat up transmits signal to the
the inlet stream to the control valve of hot water
reactor. supplied to E-103 to reduce
the opening so that less
heating medium is supplied
to the heat exchanger and
vice versa.
To maintain Level of the Flow rate of inlet Level of the reactor Feedback control using When the level of the reactor
reactor level reactor stream to the reactor Level Recording Controller is higher than the desired
Alarm (LRCA) to control the value, the Level Recording
control valve opening of Controller Alarm (LRCA)
inlet stream to the reactor. transmits signal to the
control valve at inlet stream
of the reactor to decrease the
 flow rate entering the reactor
and vice versa.
To maintain pH of the Amount of acid or pH of the reactor Feedback control using When the pH of the reactor
pH of the reactor alkali being added to Quality Indicating Controller is higher than the desired
reactor the reactor (QIC) to control the control value, the Quality Indicating
valve opening of inlet stream Controller (QIC) transmits
to the reactor. signal to the control valve at
inlet acid stream of the
reactor to decrease the pH.
When the pH of the reactor
is lower than the desired
value, the Quality Indicating
Controller (QIC) transmits
signal to the control valve at
inlet alkai stream of the
reactor to increase the pH.
R-103

Oxygen Composition

Oxygen composition is controlled at a set point to ensure optimum condition for the reactor. The oxygen composition in the reactor is measured
and transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point, the signal will be transmitted to the reduce the control valve opening at the oxygen inlet
stream to reduce it to set point.

Control Control Manipulated Measured Variable Control Strategy Control Reasoning

Objective Variable Variable
To maintain Oxygen The oxygen supply Oxygen composition Feedback control using When the oxygen
the oxygen Composition to the reactor in the reactor Quality Recording composition in the reactor is
composition in the reactor Controller Alarm (QRCA) to too high, the Quality
in the reactor control the oxygen Recording Controller Alarm
composition in the reactor. (QRCA) transmits signal to
the control valve at the
oxygen intake stream to
decrease the oxygen flow
rate entering the reactor and
vice versa.

C-102

Pressure
Pressure is controlled at set point to ensure the column has no pressure build up which leads to safety issue or under pressured. The pressure of
the column is measured by the level controller and transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point, the signal will be sent to decrease the
control valve opening that controls the feed flow rate to the reactor to decrease the pressure to set point.

Temperature

Temperature is controlled at set point to ensure optimum conditions for the stripping. The temperature of the column is measured by a
temperature controller and transmitted. If the value is higher than the set point, the signal will be sent to decrease the control valve opening that
controls the heating medium supplied to the heat exchanger used to heat up the inlet stream to decrease the temperature to set point.

Control Control Manipulated Measured Variable Control Strategy Control Reasoning

Objective Variable Variable
To maintain Pressure of Flow rate entering Pressure of the Feedback control using When the pressure of the
pressure of the column the column column Pressure Recording column is higher than the
the column Controller Alarm (PRCA) to desired value, the Pressure
control the control valve of Recording Controller Alarm
the flow rate entering the (PRCA) transmits signal to
column. the control valve at the inlet
stream of the column to
reduce the flow rate entering
 the column.
To maintain Temperature Hot water supply to Temperature of Feedback control using When the temperature of the
temperature of the column E-107 that heats up column Temperature Recording column is higher than the
of the the inlet stream to the Controller Alarm (TRCA) to desired value, the
column column control the control valve Temperature Recording
opening of hot water Controller Alarm (TRCA)
supplied to E-107 to heat up transmits signal to the
the inlet stream to the control valve of hot water
column. supplied to E-107 to reduce
the opening so that less
heating medium is supplied
to the heat exchanger and
vice versa.
 CHAPTER 7

HAZOP

According to Petronas Technical Standards HAZOP Study (2014), HAZOP is

defined as a structured tool to identify hazards in design or operation phase using
deviation analysis. It has the following objectives:
a) To determine potential hazards and operability problems which arise from deviations
from normal operating conditions
b) To evaluate whether existing safeguards are sufficient to address the safety concerns

c) To determine additional safeguards to minimise risk

d) To recommend actions to mitigate deviations

Methodology of HAZOP is as follows:

a) System is divided into nodes.

b) Node and design intent are defined.

c) Parameter and deviation are selected.

d) Possible causes are determined.

e) Possible consequences are determined.

f) Safeguards are determined.

g) Recommendations are proposed.

To systematically analyse the hazards, guide words are predetermined for each
parameter.
Figure 9: List of Guide Words for the Parameters. Adapted from Petronas Technical
Standards.

The guide words carry different meanings but can be categorised as follows:
Figure 10: Guide Words with Explanations & Examples
Node 1 : R-101
Purpose of the equipment : Hydrolysis and acidogenesis reactions

Parameter Guide Deviation Causes Consequences Protection/ Safeguards Recommendations

Word
Flow NO No flow • Failure of valve • No feed into • Make • Regulate flow
at R-101 inlet reactor, no availability of rate
• Blockage of reaction bypass • Open bypass
valve at R-101 • Upset process • Install high • Schedule
inlet • No production pressure alarm maintenance
• Failure of P- • Install low
102 flow alarm
LESS Less flow • Leak in • Insufficient • Make • Regulate flow
pipeline flow into availability of rate
• Blockage of reactor, less bypass • Open bypass
valve at R-101 reaction • Install low • Schedule
inlet • Upset process flow alarm maintenance
• Insufficient • Less
feed from M- production
101
 • Failure of P-
102
MORE More flow • Malfunction of • Spray or spill • Installation of • Regulate flow
control valve at • Flooding of high flow rate
R-101 inlet reactor alarm • Schedule
• Defective level • Incomplete maintenance
controller at R- reaction
101 • Process upset
Pressure LESS Low • Leak in • Less flow of • Installation of • Monitor
pressure pipeline feed into the low pressure pressure
• Malfunction of reactor, less alarm • Schedule
control valve reaction maintenance
• Incomplete
reaction
MORE High • Blockage of • Reactor rupture • Installation of • Monitor
pressure pipeline • Explosion high pressure pressure
• Thermal • Incomplete alarm • Schedule
overpressure reaction maintenance
• Malfunction of
control valve
Temperature LESS Low • Insufficient hot • Process upset • Low • Regulate
temperature water supply to • Less temperature temperature
E-102 which production alarm • Schedule
heats up R-101 • Incomplete maintenance
feed reaction • Monitor
• Malfunction of temperature
temperature
controller
• Malfunction of
control valve at
hot water
supply to E-102
MORE High • Hot waster • Process upset Low temperature • Regulate
temperature supply to E-102 • Less alarm temperature
has higher production • Schedule
temperature Incomplete reaction maintenance
than set point • Monitor
• Malfunction of temperature
temperature
controller
 • Malfunction of
control valve at
hot water
supply to E-102
• Feed is
supplied at
higher
temperature
even without
heating

Node 2 : R102
Purpose of the equipment : Acetogenesis and methanogenesis reaction

Parameter Guide Deviation Causes Consequences Protection/ Safeguards Recommendations

Word
Flow NO No flow • Failure of valve • No feed into • Make • Regulate flow
at R-102 inlet reactor, no availability of rate
• Blockage of reaction bypass • Open bypass
valve at R-102 • Upset process • Install high • Schedule
 inlet • No production pressure alarm maintenance
• Failure of P- • Install low
103 flow alarm
LESS Less flow • Leak in • Insufficient • Make • Regulate flow
pipeline flow into availability of rate
• Blockage of reactor, less bypass • Open bypass
valve at R-102 reaction • Install low • Schedule
inlet • Upset process flow alarm maintenance
• Insufficient • Less
feed from R- production
101
• Failure of P-
103
MORE More flow • Malfunction of • Spray or spill • Installation of • Regulate flow
control valve at • Flooding of high flow rate
R-102 inlet reactor alarm • Schedule
• Defective level • Incomplete maintenance
controller at R- reaction
102 • Process upset
Pressure LESS Low • Leak in • Less flow of • Installation of • Monitor
 pressure pipeline feed into the low pressure pressure
• Malfunction of reactor, less alarm • Schedule
control valve reaction maintenance
• Incomplete
reaction
MORE High • Blockage of • Reactor rupture • Installation of • Monitor
pressure pipeline • Explosion high pressure pressure
• Thermal • Incomplete alarm • Schedule
overpressure reaction maintenance
• Malfunction of
control valve
Temperature LESS Low • Insufficient hot • Process upset • Low • Regulate
temperature water supply to • Less temperature temperature
E-103 which production alarm • Schedule
heats up R-102 • Incomplete maintenance
feed reaction • Monitor
• Malfunction of temperature
temperature
controller
• Malfunction of
 control valve at
hot water
supply to E-103
MORE High • Hot waster • Process upset High temperature • Regulate
temperature supply to E-103 • Less alarm temperature
has higher production • Schedule
temperature Incomplete reaction maintenance
than set point • Monitor
• Malfunction of temperature
temperature
controller
• Malfunction of
control valve at
hot water
supply to E-103
• Feed is
supplied at
higher
temperature
even without
 heating

Node 3 : C102
Purpose of the equipment : To strip CO2 from water

Parameter Guide Deviation Causes Consequences Protection/ Safeguards Recommendations

Word
Flow NO No flow • Failure of valve • No steam to • Make • Regulate flow
at steam supply strip CO2 from availability of rate
stream water bypass • Open bypass
• Failure of • Water cannot • Install high • Schedule
steam flow be regenerated pressure alarm maintenance
controller • Install low
• Blockage of flow alarm
valve
• Leak in
pipeline
LESS Less flow • Leak in • Insufficient • Make • Regulate flow
pipeline steam for availability of rate
 • Blockage of stripping, less bypass • Open bypass
valve at steam CO2 removal • Install low • Schedule
supply stream • Upset process flow alarm maintenance
• Failure of
steam flow
controller
MORE More flow • Malfunction of • Ineffective • Installation of • Regulate flow
control valve at stripping high flow rate
steam supply • Column is alarm • Schedule
stream heated up maintenance
• Defective flow • Equipment
controller at suffers from
steam supply thermal
steam degradation
Temperature LESS Low • Insufficient • Insufficient • Low • Regulate
temperature steam supply stripping temperature temperature
• Malfunction of • Low CO2 alarm • Schedule
temperature removal maintenance
controller • Monitor
• Malfunction of temperature
 control valve at
steam supply
MORE High • Steam supplied • Column is • High • Regulate
temperature has higher heated up temperature temperature
temperature • Equipment alarm • Schedule
than set point suffers from maintenance
• Malfunction of thermal • Monitor
temperature degradation temperature
controller
• Malfunction of
control valve at
steam supply
7.2 Plant Layout

The plant layout in figure 7.2 shows the process area and the non-process area.
The dotted lines shows the walkway in the plant leading to the exits. The two main gates
for in and out the plant is towards the management office and another gate nearby the
loading and unloading for better accessibility. There is also a café available for the
workers at the plant as the plant location is further away from city and time consuming to
get there for their lunch break. Then, a big parking space is available to accommodate the
workers’ vehicle which is also located right next to the assembly point which is vital
incase any emergency. The storage tank for the pig manure is placed nearby the loading
and unloading bay for easier accessibility for the feedstock. The storage tank for pig
manure, biomethane, fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia and carbon dioxide are located at the
processing area together with digester 1, digester 2, water scrubber and liquid-solid
separation due to the noise pollution. This is to avoid the noise pollution to reach the
management office area. The control room is placed further from the processing area to
avoid and minimize any unfortunate accident from occurring. Nearby the control room,
the HSE department and management office is place close to each other to enable
efficient communication among them. There are also fire extinguishers place on every
part of the processing area for safety purposes. Lastly, there is also a mosque for Muslim
workers to perform their prayers and medical unit for any medical injuries that are
located beside the assembly point.
Figure 7.2: Plant Layout
 CHAPTER 8

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMEDATION

This report encapsulates the feasibility study using pig manure as feedstock for the
biogas production plant. In the preliminary stages, detailed work was carried out to
evaluate the global supply and demand of biogas and anhydrous ammonia, finding the
best plant site and decide the chemical process technology involved in the chemical
processes. Next, selection of the best process routes is achieved by process screening and
the conceptual design was built in accordance with software simulation through Aspen
Plus V8.0 to convey the planned plant's performance.

The mass balance and economic evaluation was then carried out to determine the
feasibility of the plant being built. In addition, heat integration was carried out in order to
maximize the plant's energy usage and followed by process control and instrumentation,
whereby the controls and valves are installed within the plant in order to keep a process
safe and effective under the required operating conditions. Additionally, HAZOP
research was performed to assess the hazard in the process and to determine the
appropriate method for the hazard occurrence.

The simulation proven that the designed plant, is able toa achieve a 27.76% of purified
biogas. Based on the study made for project, the most strategic plant will be at Setiawan,
Perak, Malaysia. According to Economic Potential , the plant is able to produce 17220
m3/year of biomethane a year and 1,214,892 kg/year of liquid biofertilizer for the plant.
The plant is expected to achieve a total revenue of RM 5,271,423.59 per year.
Therefore, the project findings have proved that the production plant for biogas via pig
manure is feasible, hence all objectives are achieved.

The machines and equipment that was proposed in this project are easy to get them in the
industry market. However , for industrial and broader scale applications for the usage of
digester, it is recommended that a magnetic stirrer be used for optimal mixing at the base
of the digester.

It is also recommended to perform a flame test. A flame test is a method to determine the
methane content in biogas. With the test being done, one can actually study or examine
how feed stock affect the methane content. From there study can be made to optimize the
feedstock. The plant would be able to operate to produce quality biogas.