Rethinking an old technology – new digester design reduces CAPEX and OPEX

摘要

Anaerobic digestion of biological wastes to generate biogas and reduce disposal costs isbecoming more popular. Despite the advantages of the process, there is still a considerablecapital cost (CAPEX) and operational cost (OPEX) commitment that deters many frominvesting in anaerobic digestion. A new digester design template has been developed wherethe digester utilizes a flat roof and integrates four solutions that are designed to increaseeffectiveness and reduce OPEX. The flat roof design provides a means for a significantreduction in CAPEX costs while incorporating high quality materials, ensuring a longoperational lifetime. The four solutions – the Gas Top, recirculation mixing and grit removal,the Gas Lock and the heat exchangers – all take advantage of the flat top design, whiledecreasing maintenance and down time for the digesters. The flat roof design templatepresented here allows the operator to concentrate on the benefits anaerobic digestion canprovide and not dealing with problems traditionally associated with it.