Louisiana Sewage Digesters New Braunfels Texas
Anaerobic Sewage Digesters Basics
Aerobic digestion, or anaerobic digesters, is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. It is widely used to treat wastewater sludges and organic waste because it provides volume and mass reduction of the input material. As part of an integrated waste management system, it reduces the emission of landfill gas into the atmosphere. This digestion is widely used as a renewable energy source because the process produces a methane and carbon dioxide rich biogas suitable for energy production helping replace fossil fuels. Also, the nutrient-rich digestate can be used as fertilizer.
The digestion process begins with bacterial hydrolysis of the input materials in order to break down insoluble organic polymers such as carbohydrates and make them available for other bacteria. Acidogenic bacteria then convert the sugars and amino acids into carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ammonia, and organic acids. Acetogenic bacteria then convert these resulting organic acids into acetic acid, along with additional ammonia, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Methanogens, finally are able to convert these products to methane and carbon dioxide.
Previously,the technical expertise required to maintain anaerobic digesters coupled with high capital costs and low process efficiencies had limited the level of its industrial application as a waste treatment technology. Anaerobic digestion facilities have, however, been recognized by the United Nations Development Programme as one of the most useful decentralized sources of energy supply, as they are less capital intensive than large power plants.
History
Scientific interest in the gasses produced by the natural decomposition of organic matter, was first reported in the seventeenth century by Robert Boyle and Stephen Hale, who noted that flammable gas was released by disturbing the sediment of streams and lakes. In 1808, Sir Humphry Davy determined that methane was present in the gasses produced by cattle manure. The first anaerobic digester was built by a leper colony in Bombay, India in 1859. In 1895 the technology was developed in Exeter, England, where a septic tank was used to generate gas for street lighting. Also in England, in 1904, the first dual purpose tank for both sedimentation and sludge treatment was installed in Hampton. In 1907, in Germany, a patent was issued for the Imhoff tank, an early form of digester.
Through scientific research aerobic digestion, anaerobic digeters, gained academic recognition in the 1930s. This research led to the discovery of the bacteria, the microorganisms that facilitate the process. Further research was carried out to investigate the conditions under which methanogenic bacteria were able to grow and reproduce. This work was developed during World War II where in both Germany and France there was an increase in the application of these systems for the treatment of manure.
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