Experimental setup and realization of testing enzymes in full-scale plants

EU funded Project

Ian BurgessRimini Fiere (Italy), 07.11.2018

EU funded Project

• complexity of full-scale plants

• many influencing factors

• sensitivity of plant operator

• insufficient technical equipment

• different effects of enzyme activity

Problems with testingenzymes in full-scale plants

EU funded Project

• sensitization of operators

• simple application of testing products

• installation of additional sensors for optimal data collection

• installation of automated data loggers

• determination of possible effects of the enzymes

Possibilities for scientificdata collection

EU funded Project

• two testing plants with an installed electriccapacity of 500 kWh

1) site with one plant without a comparison

2) site with more plants to have a comparison between the plants

Experimental setup for DEMETER

EU funded Project

Site 1

• renewable resources plant

• fed with maize silage (58 %), whole plantsilage (36 %) and corn cob mix (6 %)

Experimental setup for DEMETER

EU funded Project

Site 2

• renewable resources plant

• fed with maize silage (approx. 27 t per day)

• Slurrying of maize silage with recirculate and condensate to reach a total dm of ≈30,5 %

Experimental setup for DEMETER

EU funded Project

• Measurement of enzyme effects

– Technical parameters (power consumption, biogas production)

– laboratory analysis (mass balances, changesin fiber structure)

Experimental setup for DEMETER

EU funded Project

• 1 month without enzymes

• 6 months with enzymes

• 1 month without enzymes

Experimental setup for DEMETER

EU funded Project

Results full-scale plant

• Biogas Plant UK, ~ 1 MW

• 1 digester 5000 m³, HRT = 47 days,

OLR = 4,5 kg vs*m-3

• Dosage: 0,78 g C1 enzyme*t vs-1

EU funded Project

Results full-scale plant

8500

9000

9500

10000

10500

11000

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7

bio

gas

pro

du

ctio

nin

m³

per

day

Ø increase of biogas production by 8 %

EU funded Project

Results full-scale plant

0,00

1,00

2,00

3,00

4,00

5,00

6,00

7,00

Mixer 1 Mixer 2 Mixer 3 Mixer 4 Mixer 5 Mixer 6

kWweekly average of power consumption of mixers

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7

Ø decrease in power consumption by 30 %

EU funded Project

Results full-scale plant

• Overall optimisation of plant efficiency

• product is payed and in addition moremoney for the customer

• comparable results to other plants

EU funded Project

Viscosity testing full-scale plant

• Most observed effects on viscosityreduction

• external viscosity measurement→fewest plants have sufficient technicalequipment

EU funded Project

Viscosity testing full-scale plant

EU funded Project

• Biogas Plant, Northern Germany, 250 kW

• 1 digester 1500 m³, HRT = 66 days,

OLR = 4.76 kg vs*m-3

Results ViscosityMeasurements

EU funded Project

Results ViscosityMeasurements

Ø: -16,8 % reduction of torque

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

50 rpm 100 rpm 150 rpm 200 rpm

torq

ue

in N

cm

speed in rpm

Day 0 (before enzyme addition) Day 14 (after enzyme addition)

EU funded Project

Results ViscosityMeasurements

• Biogas Plant, Northern Germany, 500 kW

• 1 digester 2800 m³, HRT = 169 days,

OLR = 2,5 kg vs*m-3

• Day 1-5: 471 g C1 enzyme*t vs-1

• Day > 5: 94 g C1 enzyme*t vs-1

EU funded Project

Results ViscosityMeasurements

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

50 rpm 100 rpm 150 rpm 200 rpm

torq

ue

in N

cm

speed in rpm

Day 0 (before enzyme addition) Day 40 (after enzyme addition)

Ø: - 9,1 % reduction of torque

EU funded Project

Demonstrating more efficient enzyme production to increase biogas yields

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program

under Grant Agreement N. 720714

Acknowledgements