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C2U4 AnaerobicTreatmentProcesses AB
C2U4 AnaerobicTreatmentProcesses AB
In a separate file:
Part C – Examples and case studies
This unit deals with which part of the sanitation
system?
Crop grown with ecosan products as fertiliser (closing the loop)
Constructed wetlands,
(see Course 2)
flushing
Course 2 Unit 4
(Source: www.wikipedia.org)
Substrates (input materials) on which anaerobic
treatment processes are used in ecosan context
High-strength greywater (as a pre-treatment step), rule of
thumb: BOD > 400 mg/L
Blackwater with or without urine (blackwater: faeces, urine,
small amount of water – e.g. from vacuum toilets) – as a pre-
treatment step
Human excreta together with animal excreta and greywater,
followed by reuse in agriculture
Further drying
of solid residue
(at 105ºC), then
weighing of the
dried mass
Source: www.wikipedia.org
Some facts about methane
Methane: CH4
Methane is the major component of “natural gas”*, about 97% by
volume
At room temperature and standard pressure, methane is a colorless,
odorless gas (the smell characteristic of natural gas is an artificial
safety measure caused by the addition of an odorant)
Methane has a boiling point of −162°C at a pressure of one
atmosphere
As a gas it is flammable** only over a narrow range of concentrations
(5–15%) in air
Methane has a calorific value of 10 kWh/Nm3 or 35,900 kJ/Nm3
Hence, biogas with 65% methane has a calorific value 6.5 kWh/m3
(23,300 kJ/m3)
Digestate (energy-
Organic matter Anaerobic poor; can be used as
(energy-rich) digester fertiliser; includes
(biological anaerobic biomass)
Example: reactor)
Liquid flowrate: 10 m3/d Liquid flowrate: 10 m3/d
Mass flowrate: 1 ton VS/d Mass flowrate: 0.3 ton
VS/d
Waste (water)
Digester residue
Source: www.wikipedia.org
Course 2 Unit 4
Biogas composition
The methane fraction produced in the biogas varies with
the input material; as a rule of thumb:
carbohydrates: approx. 50 vol.-% methane
fats: approx. 70 vol.-% methane
proteins: approx. 84 vol.-% methane
Compound Vol %
Methane 50-75
Carbon dioxide 25-50
Nitrogen <7
Oxygen <2
Hydrogen sulfide <1
Ammonia <1
Biogas uses
1. Biogas can be burnt and used for
cooking or lighting
2. Biogas can also be converted to
electricity and heat (part of the heat is
often used to heat the digester)
“Combined heat and power plants”
(CHP), or co-generation plants
V = Q · tdesign
With:
Q: flowrate (m3/d), e.g. 0.5 m3/d
tdesign: design residence time, e.g. 30 days
Then required volume is: 15 m3
Examples (see also Part B):
– Anaerobic baffled reactor: HRT = 2-3 days
– Sewage sludge digestion: HRT = 15 – 20 days
Degradability of organic materials
Examples:
Easy to degrade Sugar
Faeces
Grass
Not so much
Leaves
biogas and long
residence times
needed
* Examples for aerobic wastewater treatment: activated sludge plants, trickling filter plants
(see Course 2 Unit 1 Part D)
Disadvantages of anaerobic wastewater
treatment (of greywater) compared to aerobic
treatment
Effluent from anaerobic treatment has higher COD concentration than
from aerobic treatment
- If better effluent quality is required then a second (aerobic) treatment
step may be required
Does not remove nutrients (this is a disadvantage if effluent is discharged
to receiving water body)
Start-up of the process may take long time (slow growth of methanogens)
Anaerobic microorganisms are sensitive to some toxic compounds
Can cause odour problems if not operated properly
Only limited pathogen removal
Course 2 Unit 4
Course 2 Unit 4
Household biogas plant (fixed dome) in Maseru, Lesotho (at the end of construction)
Two principal types of construction to deal with
gas development
* Also called household biogas digesters or decentralised biogas plants (i.e. not
just limited to households)
1- Septic Tanks
Very common on-site sanitation
system for excreta and
greywater
Relatively common also in some
high-income countries: Australia,
USA
In most cases, biogas is not
collected (amount is small unless
animal manure is digested as
well; in that case it is no longer
called a septic tank) Maseru, Lesotho, Dec 2006
(septic* tanks are always
underground)
* Septic is a word used for sewage that has gone anaerobic, but it is not really
a scientific term
Septic tank process principles
Ground level Ground level
groundwater?
Ground level Ground level
Effluent to
Wastewater soil infiltration
from house (normal)
Soil
Soil
Soil
(unsaturated
Soil
zone)
Groundwater (aquifer)
The effluent from septic tanks is commonly infiltrated into the ground (on purpose).
But faecal sludge is NOT meant to leak out from the septic tank (but often does if
not designed properly).
Septic tank design and advantages and
disadvantages
Design:
Sedimentation tank Disadvantages:
Settled sludge partially Low treatment efficiency (COD
stabilised by anaerobic removal approx. 50%; almost
digestion no nitrogen removal)
Almost no removal of O&M often neglected
dissolved and suspended (desludging) or unknown!
matter
1-3 compartments Relies on water for toilet
flushing
→ look for national design Effluent quality is difficult to
standards! monitor
Requires periodical removal of
Advantages: faecal sludge (every 3 - 10
Simple technology for on-site years, depending on tank size)
treatment Faecal sludge management is
Little space required often not carried out properly
(underground) (often just dumped in
Institutional acceptance is environment)
high
This slide and the next four slides were provided by Dr. Doulaye Koné
from SANDEC/Eawag, Switzerland
Course 2 Unit 4
Septic tank design schematic
(2 compartments)
Aim is to achieve some mixing and contact of influent with sludge layer
which contains the anaerobic digestion micro-organisms
Toilet
wastewater,
greywater Wastewater
effluent
(partially
treated)
Wastewater
(solids settling)
Faecal sludge
Course 2 Unit 4
Faecal sludge
Advantages:
Higher treatment efficiency than septic tanks, hardly any blockages
High removal efficiencies, also for suspended and dissolved solids
Disadvantages:
Construction and maintenance more complicated than for
conventional septic tank
Anarobic baffled reactors during construction
3 – Household* biogas plants
Household biogas plants produce a continuous flow of digested
material (liquid sludge), which is used as fertiliser (despite not being
free of pathogens)
Desludging (removal of sludge) is only necessary if there is a build-
up of inert material (e.g. sand; lack of mixing)
- Expectation is to “never” have to desludge them (> 15 years)
These plants do not aim for solids settling but rather good mixing
- Therefore, they have their reactor outlet at the bottom (rather
than at the top like a septic tank)
4 - Anaerobic ponds
Also called lagoons (in the US) or waste stabilisation ponds
Low-rate anaerobic process (e.g. 1 – 2 kgCOD/m3/d)
Solids settling and anaerobic decomposition
Depth: 5-10 m
Could be covered for odour control and gas collection (but most of
them are not covered)
Usually several ponds in series (last pond: aerobic maturation pond
with algae; pathogen kill by sunlight)
Influent
(faecal
Effluent
sludge,
greywater or
conventional Sludge layer
ww.) (increasing over time)
In the sludge
bed biogas
bubbles are
produced that
rise through the
Effluent sludge bed and
mix it.
There is good
contact between
the dense sludge
bed and the
Influent upflowing
substrate
UASB reactor components – slide 2 of 3
Biogas
The biogas
Effluent bubbles are
directed into a
separator
Influent
UASB reactor components – slide 3 of 3
Biogas
In the settler
compartment
there is no
turbulence since
the bubbles have
been removed.
Ideal conditions Solids settle onto
for settling. the settler and
periodically slide
back into the
Effluent sludge bed.
Influent
Concluding remarks regarding anaerobic
digestion
Great potential: provides biogas for cooking, lighting and
heating; and provides (liquid) fertiliser
-Is increasing in importance in the light of climate change
(need for alternative energy sources)
Most interesting for:
-Combination with animal waste
-Institutions with lots of people, e.g. prisons, public toilets,
schools, universities
Anaerobic digestion as part of a sanitation system can help to
close the loop of nutrients otherwise wasted to the
environment, and ensure recycling of valuable wastes in a
sustainable manner
Remaining issues:
- Quality of digestate not well documented
- Pathogen removal in mesophilic AD is quite low but
digestate is widely used in agriculture anyway use
multiple-barrier approach (see Course 3)
Course 2 Unit 4
References
Butare, A and Kimaro, A (2002) Anaerobic technology for toilet
wastes management: the case study of the Cyangugu pilot project,
World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education,
Vol.1, No.1.
http://www.eng.monash.edu.au/uicee/worldtransactions/WorldTrans
AbstractsVol1No1/Microsoft%20Word%20-%2032_Butare.pdf
*
Heeb, J., Jenssen, P., Gnanakan, K. & K. Conradin (2007): ecosan
curriculum 2.0. In cooperation with: Norwegian University of Life
Sciences, ACTS Bangalore, Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation, German Agency for Technical Cooperation and the
International Ecological Engineering Society. Partially available
from www.seecon.ch and
http://www2.gtz.de/dokumente/oe44/ecosan/cb/en-m23-ecosan-hu
man-dignity-lecture-2006.ppt
Tchobanoglous, G., Burton, F.L., Stensel, H.D. (2003) Wastewater
Engineering, Treatment and Reuse, Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., McGraw-
Hill, 4th edition. This is a good book on conventional wastewater
treatment
Zhang Wudi et al. (2001): Comprehensive utilization of human and
animal wastes. Proceedings of the First International Conference
* on
Also under Extra
Ecological Materials
Sanitation on the I-LE
in Nanning 2001,EcoSanRes, China