Online course on Anaerobic Digestion Diagnostics and Prevention of Process Disruption

Who should participate: AD plant operators, developers, consultants, researchers, engineers and anybody engaged in getting the maximum profit from a biogas plant.

Required professional level: the participant should have at least some basic knowledge of chemistry and anaerobic digestion technology.

Lecturer: Prof. eng. Mario A. Rosato, author of “Managing Biogas Plants – A Practical Guide” (CRC Press, 2017).

Programme

Critical review of the current methods for managing biogas plants and outline of the rational method

• Scope and general vision of this course
• The most common methods for biogas plant management, and why to avoid them:
  1. BMP from tables
  2. BMP from theoretical formulas (Buswell, Baserga, pFOM)
  3. BMP as a function of the BOD test
  4. Titration (a.k.a. FOS/TAC, a.k.a. VFA/TA)
  5. Electrical conductivity
  6. Control of the digester with pH or ORP electrodes
  7. Chemical analysis of the trace elements and (or) inhibitors
• Introduction to the rational method for biogas plant management
  1. Measuring the VS (or COD) of the feedstock
  2. Measuring the BMP of the feedstock (a brief comparison between the norms VDI 4630:2006, UNI 11703:2018 and IWA Draft 2016)
  3. Measuring the specific biological activity of the inoculum (SMA test and the need for its normalisation, hydrolytic, proteolytic and lipolytic activity, comparing additives and pretreatments)
  4. Measuring the digestion efficiency
  5. Measuring and energy optimisation of the digester’s stirring

How to optimise the digestion process and prevent its disruption

• Frequent causes of process disruption and how to avoid them. Some study cases.
• Laboratory techniques in anaerobic digestion 
  1. Basics of metrology and error propagation: How to measure accurately, even with coarse instruments
  2. Difference between accuracy and precision
  3. Practical application of the error analysis
  4. Measurement devices for the gas flow and volume from fermentation processes
  5. volumetric methods
  6. barometric methods
  7. Batch and continuous volumetric methods: when to employ one or the other
  8. Critical review of the literature