Comparison of common Biogas Technologies:

Wet Digestion, Plug-Flow Systems and Dry Digestion compared.

Anaerobic Digestion is the process in which bacteria biodegrade organic materials – such as solid animal manure, biowaste and food waste – in the absence of oxygen (o2). Anaerobic Digestion for biogas production is done in gas-sealed units called digesters, which are designed and built in different forms and sizes depending on the types of feedstock and loading amount. These digester tanks contain complex bacterial cultures that break down (digest) the waste to produce biogas and digestate, which is the end product of the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) process.

Most of the biogas plants worldwide are built based on liquid-type anaerobic digestion (AD), wherein biomass (usually animal dung) and water are mixed in equal amounts to form a slurry in which the content of total solids TS (dry matter DM) is about 10-15%. While this model is suitable for small-scale biogas plants, it becomes a challenge in large commercial plants where it necessitates the use of large quantities of fresh water every day, often in water-scare areas.

Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion (SSAD), Dry Fermentation, as opposed to the liquid digestion described above, reduces the need to dilute the biomass before using it for digestion. SSAD can handle dry, stackable biomass with a high percentage of solids, TS/DM 20-55%. A SSAD plant consists of gas-tight chambers called fermenter boxes working in batch-mode that are periodically loaded and unloaded with solid biomass. Liquid digestate or percolate produced during digestion is recirculated and sprinkled on the dry biomass to ensure process continuity and stability.

The Solid-State Fermentation / Dry Digestion distinguishes itself by the usability of a wide range of organic input substrates, including very dry or long-fibred ones that can be digested. Contaminants or impurities within the material will not affect the process of anaerobic digestion or the plant operation. Even energy rich liquid substrates can be integrated in the process without any problems. The uncomplicated close to nature technology ensures a quick and stable degradation process.

The operation of a SSAD plant is almost fully automated. Only the control, maintenance and repair work, besides charging and discharging of the fermenter boxes, has to be done manually. The solids are further composted to produce high-grade compost that is sterile if the digestion was thermophilic.