Experimental Investigation on Expanded Granular Sludge Bed Reactor to Maximize the Methane Gas Production in the Biogas

Experimental Investigation on Expanded Granular Sludge Bed Reactor to Maximize the Methane Gas share in The Biogas Production

Haider Al-Rubaye, Joseph D. Smith, Ph.D.

Chemical & Biochemical Engineering Department, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA

Abstract

The increase in the global temperature, the greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and the instability in the fossil fuel prices played an important role in making the world more aware  of the renewable energy developments, By most definitions alternative energy(have low carbon emissions, a distinction which separates it from renewable energy which may or may not have significant environmental impact.

The Anaerobic Digestion Process, is one of the most contributed renewable energy sources as it generates biogas that could be used for heating and powering purposes, it could be used also in all equipment designed for the natural gas with minimal adjustment to account for the lower BTU content of the methane gas, upgrading the biogas sometimes is preferred in order to increase the composition of the methane gas in it. In general, the biogas consists of methane gas about 50-70% and carbon dioxide 30-50%.

There are many ways to upgrade the biogas and increase the methane share in it. One of the methods is a biochemical process, which basically introduce the hydrogen gas into the process in order to react with the carbon dioxide. In this way, methane increases about 20-30% while the carbon dioxide would decrease about 10-25%.

The experiments would be conducted in an expanded granular sludge bed reactor which  treats the industrial and municipal waste water to generate biogas, sensitivity analysis will be performed to maximize the composition of the methane in the biogas. Moreover, the effect of the hydraulic retention time and the substrate concentrations will also be investigated.