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Res. J. Chem. Environ

Review Paper:

Biogas Generation through Anaerobic Digestion ProcessAn Overview

Deepanraj B. 1, Sivasubramanian V.2 and Jayaraj S.1
1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Kerala, INDIA
2. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Kerala, INDIA
*siva@nitc.ac.in

multiple benefits to the users and can protect the

environment. This system produces biogas, a combination of
methane and carbon dioxide with little amount of some other
gases through anaerobic digestion of organic materials. In
anaerobic digestion the organic matter is decomposed by the
intensive reaction of a large range of microorganisms in the
absence of oxygen 3. The process consists of a complex series
of reactions that convert a wide array of polymeric
substances such as carbohydrates, proteins and lipids having
carbon atoms at various oxidation and/or reduction states, to
one-carbon molecules in its most oxidized state (CO2) and its
most reduced state (CH4).

Abstract
Depleting petroleum resources, ever increasing
petroleum price and the rapid addition of greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere rekindle the researchers to
develop new techniques to obtain clean and sustainable
energy from the renewable sources. There are many
such resources existing in reality and ready to serve the
mankind on demand. Out of the many renewable
options, wind, solar and biomass energies are
considered as the major sources. This paper focuses on
biogas technology which is a very attractive way to
utilize biomass sources for fulfilling partial energy
requirements. Biogas system can provide multiple
benefits to the users and aid to protect the environment.
Biogas systems produce biogas through anaerobic
digestion of organic materials.

In 1630, Jan Baptista Van Helmont first tested the release of

flammable gases from decaying organic matter4. In 1776,
Count Alessandro Volta experimented and found that the
amount of inflammable gas produced had a direct correlation
with the amount of decaying organic matter4,5. In 1808, Sir
Humphrey Davy investigated that methane was available in
the gases produced during the anaerobic digestion of cattle
manure and collected 0.3 liter of methane from cattle
manure4. In 1875, Wouter Sluys, a Dutch farmer used
methane first for the purpose of illumination. In 1895,
England recovered biogas by applying the sewage treatment
and the same was used in street lamps4,6. The first biogas
plant in India was constructed during 1897 in Bombay7.

All biodegradable biomass materials are suitable for

feeding into biomass digesters. Common feedstock
includes agricultural wastes, crop residues, animal
wastes, forest residues etc. This paper presented an
overview of anaerobic digestion process including
various stages and microorganisms involved in the
biogas production, the parameters that affect biogas
production, types of digesters and the byproducts. It
also discusses the results of the experiments conducted
using various feedstock.

In the 1930s Boswell made the most important scientific

breakthroughs in the history of development of biogas
technologies by combining different types of organic waste
with manure as substrate. Also, he developed microbiology
to identify anaerobic bacteria and the environment to
promote effective methane production6, 8.

Keywords: Biogas, Anaerobic digestion, Bio-methanation,

Bioenergy.

Introduction

During World War II, due to the shortage of crude oil, biogas
was used as an alternate fuel to drive German trucks. After
the war, biogas technology was not popular because of cheap
crude oil availability4. After the crude oil crisis in 1970s,
research on biogas technology development picked up speed
and again started taking part in the supply of energy for our
daily usage.

The availability of conventional fuel resources, increase in

fuel cost and the increasing concern for environmental issues
have challenged researchers to develop new techniques to
obtain clean and sustainable energy through the utilization of
renewable energy sources.1,2 Biogas technology introduces a
very attractive way to utilize biomass sources for fulfilling
partial energy requirements. Biogas system can provide

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stage and the last stage is called as methane formation stage.

The chemical reactions and the bacteria involved in all the
four stages are given in table 1 and the process flow chart is
shown in fig. 1.

Stages of anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion process is a well understood chemical
reaction which occurs in four different stages. They are
hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis9,
10
. The second and third stages are called as acid formation

Table 1
Chemical reaction and bacteria involved in the anaerobic digestion 16, 17
Stage

Type of conversion

Bacteria involved

Stage-I
Hydrolysis
(C6H10O5)n + nH2O = n(C6H12O6)

Proteins to soluble
peptides and amino acids

Clostridium, Proteus vulgaris,

Vibrio, Bacillus, Peptococcus,
Bacteriodes,

Carbohydrates to soluble
sugars

Clostridium, Acetovibrio
celluliticus, Staphylococcus,
Bacteriodes

Lipids to fatty acids or

alcohols

Clostridium, Micrococcus,
Staphylococcus

Amino acids to fatty

acids, acetate and NH3

Lactobacillus, Escherichia,
Bacillus, Staphylococcus,
Pseudomonas, Sarcina,
Desulfovibrio, Selenomonas,
Streptococcus,Veollonella,
Desulfobacter,
Desulforomonas.

Sugars to intermediary
fermentation products

Clostridium, Eubacterium
limosum, Streptococcus

Stage III
Acetogenesis
CH3CH2OH + H2O CH3COOH + 2H2
2CH3CH2OH + 2CO2 CH4 + 2CH3COOH
CH3CH2COOH + 2H2O CH3COOH + 3H2 + CO2
CH3CH2CH2COOH + 2H2O 2CH3COOH + 2H2
CH3CHOHCOOH + H2O CH3COOH + CO2 + 2H2

Higher fatty acids or

alcohols to hydrogen and
acetate

Clostridium, Syntrophomonas
wolfeii

Volatile fatty acids and

alcohols to acetate or
hydrogen

Syntrophomonas wolfei,
Syntrophomonas wolinii

Stage IV
Methanogenesis
CH3COOH CH4 + CO2
CO2 + 4 H2 CH4 + 2H2O

Acetate to methane and

carbondioxide

Methanosaeta,
Methanosarcina

Hydrogen and
carbondioxide to
methane

Methanobacterium
formicicum,
Methanobrevibacterium,
Methanoplanus,
Methanospirilum

Stage-II
Acidogenesis
C6H12O6 + 2H2O 2CH3COOH + 4H2+CO2
C6H12O6 + 2H2 2CH3CH2COOH + 2H2O
C6H12O6 CH3CH2CH2COOH + 2H2+ 2CO2
C6H12O6 2CH3CH2OH + 2CO2
C6H12O6 2CH3CHOHCOOH

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Fig. 1: Flow chart for stages of anaerobic digestion process 12

Hydrolysis: The first stage in the anaerobic digestion process
is hydrolysis. In this stage, the complex organic polymers are
converted into simple soluble molecules. During this stage,
the lipids (fats) are converted into fatty acids, carbohydrates
(polysaccharides) into simple sugars (monosaccharides) and
proteins into amino acids11. Hydrolysis stage is carried out by
different groups of facultative or obligate fermentative
bacteria through excreting extracellular enzymes13. Lipases
convert lipids to long-chain fatty acids, proteases converts
proteins to amino acids and the polysaccharides such as
cellulose, starch andpectin are hydrolyzed to monosaccharides by cellulases, amylases and pectinases 14.

other products are taken to third stage for further degradation

by acetogens.
Acetogenesis: Third stage of anaerobic digestion process is
acetogenesis. In this stage, the volatile fatty acids having
more than two carbon atoms (from acidogenesis stage) are
converted into acetic acids, hydrogen and carbon dioxide
with the help of acetogens 9.
Methanogenesis:In the last stage, the methanogenic bacteria
(methogens) produce methane by consuming acetic acid,
hydrogen and some carbon dioxide. Around 66% of methane
is formed from acetic acids by means of acetate
decarboxylation and remaining 34% of methane is formed
from carbon dioxide reduction 16.

Acidogenesis: In the second stage, the soluble compounds

produced through hydrolysis are converted into volatile fatty
acids (C1-C5), hydrogen, carbon dioxide, ethanol and some
organic nitrogen and sulfur compounds4. The acids produced
in this stage are acetic acid (CH3COOH), propionic acid
(CH3CH2COOH), butyric acid (CH3CH2CH2COOH) and
valeric acid (CH3CH2CH2CH2COOH)15. The acetic acid
formed in this stage is directly taken to last stage and the

Parameters affecting anaerobic digestion process

There are many factors that affect the performance of
anaerobic digestion. Some of the factors which are having
major influence in anaerobic digestion are elaborated below:

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Temperature: Temperature is the most important parameter
to be considered in anaerobic digestion. Different species of
methogens function optimally in three different temperature
ranges11 : 4560C thermophilic, 2045C mesophilic) and
below 20C psychrophilic. The rate of biogas production
increase with an increase in temperature. In biogas digestion
process, only mesophilic and thermophilic temperature
ranges are considered important because anaerobic digestion
reaction essentially stops below 10C11. The bacteria
available for digestion process are sensitive to temperature
fluctuation, so, it is necessary to maintain a constant
temperature. Thermophilic bacteria are more efficient in
terms of retention time, loading rate and gas yield, but they
need higher heat input and are also sensitive to temperature
fluctuations and environmental variables than mesophilic7, 11.
Influence of temperature on the rate of anaerobic digestion
process is shown in fig. 218.

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below the optimum range and can inhibit methanogens,

because they are very sensitive to acid conditions9,11.
Reduction in pH can be controlled by the addition of
chemicals such as sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate,
gaseous ammonia, ammonium hydroxide, lime, potassium
and sodium hydroxide 9. Sambo et al21 investigated the effect
of pH (4, 7 and 9) using cow dung as feed and reported that
pH 7 gives maximum biogas yield followed by 9 and then 4.
Sivakumar et al37 studied the biogas potential from spoiled
milk and effect of pH investigated by them is shown in fig. 3.

Fig 3: Effect of pH anaerobic digestion of spoiled milk37

Retention period: The time period for which the organic

material remains inside the digester for biogas generation is
known as retention period. The retention period will vary
depends on the type of feedstock and the temperature used 22.
Solids retention time (SRT) and hydraulic retention time
(HRT) are the two significant retention times in anaerobic
digestion process. SRT refers the time that bacteria (solids)
remain inside the digester. HRT is commonly used to denote
substrate retention time. It is the time spent by the input
slurry, inside the digester from the instant of its entry to its
exit 4, 17.

Fig. 2: Influence of temperature on the rate of anaerobic

digestion18
Solid to water content: Water and raw material should be
added together to generate slurry with required consistency.
Production of biogas is inefficient if the slurry is too dilute or
too thick. The optimum solid concentration may vary from 725% depending on the type of raw material used 17. Sewage
waste contains very low solid content and so optimum level
can be achieved by adding solid matters like crop residues,
weed plants etc. Budiyono et al19 experimented the effect of
total solid contents (2.6, 4.6, 6.2, 7.4, 9.2, 12.3 and 18.4%. of
TS) on biogas yield using cattle manure in a 400 ml batch
digester and found that 7.4 and 9.2% of total solids achieved
better performance on biogas yield than other total solid
percentages.

Organic loading rate: Organic loading rate (OLR) is an

important parameter which affects the biogas production in
anaerobic digestion, particularly when the digestion takes
place in continuous flow mode17. OLR is a measure of
biological conversion capacity of the anaerobic digestion
system 7. It can be expressed as the amount of raw material
(kg of volatile solids) fed to the digester per unit volume per
day 11, 4. Overloading easily affects the digestion process due
to accumulation of acids. The optimum loading rate is in
between 0.5 kg and 2 kg of total volatile solids per unit
volume of the digester per day which can be chosen based on
type of raw material, retention time and the process
temperature 4.

pH level: The optimum pH level of the anaerobic digester is

at 6.7 to7.5 20. The pH level will not be constant throughout
the process. The volatile fatty acids production rate is much
higher than the methane production rate, resulting in pH level

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C/N ratio: The relationship between the amount of carbon
and nitrogen present in the raw materials is represented by
the C/N ratio15. The carbon-nitrogen (C/N) ratio is one of the
important factors in the production of biogas. The elements
of carbon (in the carbohydrates) and nitrogen (in the form of
proteins, ammonia nitrates) are the major food for anaerobic
bacteria22. The consumption of carbon by bacteria is 30 times
faster than the nitrogen consumption. Therefore, for optimum
rate, the availability of carbon in the substrate should be 2030 times higher than nitrogen (i.e. C/N ratio between 20 and
30) 23-26.

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before taken into the digester. Particle size is one of the

important parameter which plays significant role in the
biogas production. Smaller particle size leads to increase the
substrate utilization because smaller particle size provides
increased microbial activity16, 41. Sharma et al42 investigated
the effect of particle size on agricultural and forest residues
with five particle sizes (0.088, 0.40, 1.0, 6.0 and 30.0 mm)
and reported that the maximum quantity of biogas was
produced from 0.088 and 0.40 mm particle size.
Ultrasonic pretreatment disintegrates the particles, creates
favorable conditions for biodegradation and enhance biogas
production40. Application of ultrasonic pretreatment increases
daily biogas production and significantly reduces volatile
solids during anaerobic digestion43. Braguglia et al44
investigated the waste activated sludge with ultrasonic
pretreatment and reported that the biogas production of
ultrasonic treated sludge was higher upto 30% than untreated
sludge.

If the C/N ratio is high, then rapid consumption of nitrogen

by methogens takes place and results in lower bio-gas
production. Lower C/N ratio leads to ammonia accumulation
and pH values exceeding 8.5 which is toxic to methogens27.
To maintain the optimum C/N ratio in the digester, substrates
of high C/N ratio can be co-digested with lower C/N ratio
substrates 23. The effect of C/N ratio of various feeds on
biogas production showed that C/N ratio of 26:1 gives
maximum biogas yield compared to others. The typical C/N
ratios for different organic materials available are shown in
table 2.

Thermal pretreatment includes conventional thermal

hydrolysis, microwave thermal treatment and steam
explosion. Biogas production can be increased when the
organic and inorganic compounds in the feedstock are
partially solubilized during thermal pretreatment43, 45. During
the thermal pretreatment, the organic and inorganic
compounds in the feedstock are partially solubilized before
hydrolysis which reduces digester volume and increases the
biogas production43. Bien et al46 investigated the sewage
sludge with thermal pretreatment (170-180C) and found that
the methane production increased by 25% compared to
untreated sludge. Chemical pretreatment technique includes
acid, alkaline, oxidation and ozonolysis pretreatment.
Application of these chemical pretreatments results in higher
solublization and biodegradation of cellulose, hemicelluloses
and lignin, which are the main components of biomass 40.
Moset et al47 evaluated the methane yield of pig slurry with
acid pretreatment (H2SO4) and found that 10% acid treated
pig slurry generates 20% higher methane yield than untreated
slurry.

Mixing/agitation: Mixing or agitation is required in the

digester to maintain homogeneity and process stability 29.
Mixing helps to combine the fresh incoming material with
microorganisms and prevents from thermal stratification and
scum formation in the digester. Mixing maintains uniformity
in substrate concentration, temperature and other
environmental factors. Also, it prevents solid deposition at
the bottom of the digester30. Mixing can be done either by
using mechanical stirrers or by recirculation of the digester
slurry using centrifugal pumps16. Some of the results for
operating parameters from available literature are presented
in table 3.
Pretreatments
In anaerobic digestion process, increase in biogas production
and higher calorific value of the gas can be achieved by
applying pretreatments to substrate26, 40. Pretreatment breaks
down the complex structure of organic compounds into
simpler molecules and makes them more susceptible to
microbial degradation26. Pretreatment could be done by
various techniques like mechanical, thermal, chemical,
biological pretreatment etc40.

Biological pretreatment is carried out by using biological

agent (microorganisms) with the substrates48. The
microorganisms commonly used in the biological
pretreatment are brown-rot fungi, white-rot fungi and soft-rot
fungi, which degrade lignin and hemicelluloses in the
substrate49. Brown-rot fungi mainly attack cellulose whereas
white and soft rot-fungi attack both cellulose and lignin49.
Some of the results for pretreatment from available literature
are presented in table 4.

Mechanical pretreatments such as milling and ultrasonic

pretreatments are used in anaerobic digestion process.
Milling is used to reduce the particle size of the feedstock

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Table 2
Typical C/N ratios of different materials 4, 11
S.N.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Material
Cow, buffalo, sheep, pig and horse
manure
Poultry manure
Night soil
Fish scarps
Slaughter house waste
Sawdust
Grass clipping and hay
Bagasse, Wheat and rice straw
Corn stalks
Kitchen vegetable scraps

N (%)
1.4-3.8

C/N ratio
15-40

6.3
6
6.5
7-14
0.1-0.25
2-4
0.3-0.5
0.8
3.3

5.2
6-10
5.1
2-4
200-511
10-20
120-150
60
16

Table 3
Effect of different operating parameters
Parameter
experimented
Temperature

Feedstock

Parameter range

Result

Food waste

Temperature range from 30 to

55C
Three different temperature of 20,
35 and 45C

Solid to water
content
Solid to water
content

Sea weed
(Laminaria
Digitata)
Water
hyacinth
Jatropha seed
cake

Solid to water
content

Water
hyacinth

Highest gas production and COD

removal rate was achieved at
50C 40
Maximum biogas and methane
yield produced at 35C followed
by 45 and 20C 41
Maximum biogas yield obtained
at 25g/l 42
Maximum biogas yield obtained
at 20%TS followed by 15,25 and
10% TS 34
7% of total solids produced the
best performance 44

pH

Cow dung

pH

Bioethanol
waste
Spoiled milk

Temperature

pH
C/N ratio

Waste water
and bagasse

C/N ratio

Beef cattle
feces and
water hyacinth

Six different solid concentrations

from 5g/l to 30g/l
Four different solid concentrations
of 10, 15, 20 and 25% of total
solids were investigated
Substrates with five different solid
concentrations 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11%
of total solids were experimented
Three different pH 4, 7, 9 were
investigated
Three different pH 6, 7, 8 were
investigated
Seven different pH (5, 5.5, 6, 6.5,
7, 7.5, 8)
Seven different C/N ratios (6.62,
9.27, 13.19, 19.56, 24.53, 31.76
and 64.58) were investigated.
Three different C/N ratios (20, 25
and 30)

85

Better biogas yield was at pH 7,

followed by 9 and 4 21
Better biogas yield was at pH 7,
followed by 8 and 6 45
pH 7 produced better yield than
other pH 46
C/N ratio of 25.53 gave better
yield than others 47
Highest CH4 content was
provided by C/N ratio of 30 39

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Table 4
Effect of different pretreatment techniques in biogas production
Pretreatment type

Feedstock used

Ultrasonic (31kHz for 64 sec)

Sewage sludge

Results obtained

Palm oil mill

effluent

Volatile solid removal rate increases from 45.8%

to 50.3% 50
16% increase in methane production than
untreated effluent 51

Thermal (microwave, 175C)

Waste activated
sludge

24.25% increase in biogas production than

untreated sludge 52

Chemical (Alkali treated)

Plant residues
and cattle dung

31-42% higher digestion efficiency than

untreated samples 53

Chemical (Acid treated)

Waste activated
sludge

Increase of biogas production by 21% 54

Biological (white-rot fungi)

olive mill
wastewaters

COD removal was increased from 34 to 65 % 55

Ultrasonic

(20 kHz)

digestion, cattle dung is used as one of the solid waste

feedstock. For the year 2010, the estimated cattle and buffalo
populations are 224 and 97 million respectively74. It has been
calculated that from a livestock population of about 458
million, 354 million tons of dung is available per year4.
China, Korea, Taiwan and Philippines mostly use pig manure
as feedstock11. Mostly used animal wastes worldwide are
cow dung, pig waste, poultry manure, horse dung, camel
dung, elephant dung, fishery waste slaughter house wastes,
etc. Out of these some of them like poultry wastes are rich in
organic nitrogen and relatively lower carbon source75. This
leads to the process slow and unsuccessful. This problem can
be overcome by co-digestion of different feedstock having
low and high nitrogen values76. Quantities of fresh dung
available from different animals and their biogas yield are
presented in table 7.

Feedstock
All biodegradable biomass materials are well suitable for
anaerobic digestion. Feedstock may be solid, slurries and
both dilute and concentrated liquids56. Common feedstock
includes agricultural wastes and crop residues, animal wastes,
aquatic waste, forest residues and municipal solid wastes 4, 57.
The detailed list of feedstock under each category is given in
table 5.
Agricultural wastes and crop residues: Many agricultural
crops and processes yield residues that can be used as a
feedstock for biogas generation. Among the world countries,
India stands second in producing rice, wheat, cotton, tea,
cashew nuts and some other crops58. In India, no crop has
been grown specifically for anaerobic digestion to produce
biogas. But, there is abundant biomass source available in the
form of agricultural waste and crop residue which can be
used as feedstock for anaerobic digestion59, 60. Crop Stubbles,
straw, spoiled fodder, sugar cane trash and bagasse, weeds,
tobacco waste, rice and coffee husks, fruit and vegetable
processing wastes, oil cakes, etc are some of the types of
agricultural wastes and crop residues used in anaerobic
digestion 4, 22. Table 6 shows the biogas yield potential from
different agricultural wastes and crop residues.

Aquatic plants: Aquatic plants such as water hyacinth,

various species micro and macro algae, sea weeds etc. are the
best sources for the biogas production. Because they have
easily hydrolysable sugars and low lignin content, they do
not compete with land resources used in arable food crop
cultivation 79, 80. Water hyacinth and micro algae are mostly
used as feed material because of its higher gas yield11. It is
calculated that the efficiency of biomass production per
hectare of microalgae is about 530 times that of crop
plants81, 82. The relatively high lipid, protein and starch
contents and the absence of lignin makes microalgae as an
efficient feed material for methane production81. Biogas yield
from different aquatic plants is given in Table 8.

Animal wastes: Animals produce a substantial amount of

wastes, as animal breeding activity has been highly
developed 72. The worlds cattle population is estimated as
1300 million in which India stands first rank with the
population of 281.7 million73. In rural India for anaerobic

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moisture content of the substrate (Wet and dry) process

temperature (mesophilic and thermophilic) etc. Some of these
categories are explained as follows:

Classification of anaerobic digestion system

Anaerobic digester systems can be classified into several
types based on feeding mode (Batch and continuous system),

Table 5
Feedstock for anaerobic digestion 4, 22
Category
Agricultural wastes
and crop residues
Animal wastes
Aquatic plants
Forest residues

Types of waste
Crop Stubbles, straw, spoiled fodder, sugar cane trash and
bagasse, weeds, tobacco waste, rice and coffee husks, fruit and
vegetable processing wastes, oil cakes, etc.
Cattle dung, goat and sheep manure, pig manure, elephant
dune, fishery waste, slaughter house wastes.
Algae, sea weeds, water hyacinth, etc.
Dead trees, plants, twigs, barks, roots, leaves, etc.

Table 6
Biogas yield from Agricultural and crop residues
Agricultural and crop residues
Residues
Sugar beat leaves
Tops of sugar beets

Vegetable and fruit wastes

Methane yield
(m3 per kg of
volatile solids)
0.2161
0.32-0.34

62

Cauliflower leaves

Methane yield
(m3 per kg of
volatile solids)
0.190 71

Radish shoots

0.304 71

Wastes

Maize (whole crop

silage)

0.3961

Carrot (leaves)

0.241 71

Maize straw

0.3414,63

Carrot (petiole)

0.309 71

Sunflower (whole crop

silage)

0.361

Cabbage leaves

0.309 71

Sunflower oil cake

0.22764

Onion outer peel

0.400 65,71

Corn cob mix

0.35-0.3665

Potato peel

0.267 71

Wheat grain

0.37-0.465

Lemon pressings

0.473 71

Wheat straw

0.314,66

Banana peel

0.24-0.32 65,71

Oat husk

0.24267

Mango peel

0.37-0.52 65,71,

Oat straw

0.3262

Pine apple peel

0.357 71

Rice husk

0.1314

Pomegranate peel

0.312 71

Rice straw

0.3-0.3868,69

Grape pressings

0.28 65,71

Coffee husk

0.2014

Coriander leaves

0.325 71

Grass cuttings

0.362

Coriander stem

0.309 71

Barley Stalks

0.2314,70

--

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Table 7
Fresh dung availability from different animals and their biogas yield 4,77,78

Animal

Fresh dung
(kg/animal/day)

Volatile matter
(%)

Cow
Buffalo
Camel
Horse
Elephant
Pig
Sheep/Goat
Poultry

10
15
20
15
40
1.2
2.0
0.10

71.3
81-84
81.1
43.4
91
54.3
63.3

Biogas yield
(liter per kg of
volatile solids)
72
79
119
111
272
149
113-135
191

Methane composition
in biogas (%)
50
50
53
55
44
56
54
56

Table 8
Biogas yield from different aquatic plants 83- 85

Species
Water hyacinth
Arthrospira platensis
Chlorella kessleri
Euglena gracilis
Dunaliella salina
Scenedesmus obliquus
(Green algae)
Scenedesmus obliquus
(Green algae)
Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Mesophilic
Mesophilic
Mesophilic
Mesophilic
Mesophilic

Volatile Solids
(% on dry
basis)
74
-

Biogas yield
(liter per kg of
volatile solids)
398
481
335
485
505

Methane
composition in
biogas (%)
77
61
65
67
64

Mesophilic

71.8

181.81

74.3

Thermophilic

71.8

241.28

77.1

Mesophilic
Thermophilic

82.7
82.7

421
400

75.1
78.6

Temperature
condition

Wet and dry systems: The process can be termed as wet or

dry based on the total solid concentration of the feed
substrate. Dry digestion system processes the substrates with
solid concentration between 20-40%. Wet system processes
the substrates with solid concentration less than 15% 10, 16.
Dry system processes thick substrates and slurry and hence
needs more energy input to process and move. In wet
systems, the substrates can be transported easily through
standard pumps with less energy input. Also, in wet systems
the circulation of material is easy and the contact between the
bacteria and their food are more resulting in the increased the
gas production rate 16.

Batch and continuous systems: In the batch process, the

substrate is fed into the digester only once (with or without
inocula) and sealed completely for the entire retention time.
After the retention period, the digested substrate is emptied
from the digester and the new substrate is filled to start the
process again 86. In this type, the production of gas is noncontinuous 20. At the beginning and end of the process, the
gas production is low and at the middle of the process, the
gas production is high. So, in order to get constant gas supply
from batch systems, many batch type digesters can be
operated in parallel 20. In continuous process, the digester is
fed continuously with the substrate and the equal amount of
digested substrate is removed, resulting in constant and
continuous production of biogas. This type of system uses
mechanical agitator or biogas recirculation to mix the
digester contents continuously 75.

Thermophilic and Mesophilic systems: The temperature of

the mesophilic systems digester is maintained at less than
45C whereas in thermophilic system, the temperature of the

88

Research Journal of Chemistry and Environment_________________________________________

digester is maintained in between 45C to 60C16. Mesophilic
systems are more tolerant to changes in environmental
conditions than thermophilic systems and so they are more
stable. In thermophilic system, the higher process
temperature enhances the reaction faster and decreases the
substrate retention time compared to mesophilic system 87.
To achieve higher temperature in case of thermophilic
systems, it requires more energy input.

Vol.18(5) May (2014)

Res. J. Chem. Environ

Janata Model, Deenbandhu Model, CAMARTEC model. The

cost of fixed dome plants is less compared to floating dome
plants.

Single stage and multistage systems: In a single stage

system, all the stages of the anaerobic digestion takes place in
a single, sealed reactor 88. The major problem in the single
stage system is during the acid formation stage, the
acidogenic bacteria reduce the pH of the digester which
affects the methane formation due to difference in the growth
of acidogenic and methanogenic bacterial communities 10. In
two stage or multi stage systems, separate digester vessels are
employed for both acid and methane formation to bring
maximum control over microorganisms during acid and
methane formation10,88. In the first digester vessel,
hydrolysis, acidogenesis and acetogenesis take place and the
product of first vessel is taken to the second vessel for
methane formation. The temperature of the second digester
vessel can be maintained either mesophilic or thermophilic
based on the need. For dry batch systems or wet continuous
systems, single stage systems are preferred, whereas in twostage system, continuous and wet processes are preferred 88.

Fig. 4: Floating drum digester

Types of anaerobic digesters/reactors

Floating drum type digester: A floating-drum type digester
consists of a cylindrical or dome-shaped digester, a metallic
floating drum or gas-holder, inlet tank, outlet tank, inlet pipe,
outlet pipe and partition wall 89. The gas in the gas holder is
kept at constant pressure by moving the gas holder up and
down with the help of central guide pipe during accumulation
and discharge of gas 4. Some of the floating drum type biogas
plants are KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission)
Model, Pragathi Model, Ganesh Model etc. The schematic of
floating drum KVIC model plant is shown in fig 4. These
type of plants have many advantages like maintenance of
biogas at constant pressure, integrated arrangement for scum
breaking, volume of gas can be observed by sensing the drum
position, etc.

Fig 5: Fixed dome digester

Products of anaerobic digestion

Biogas: The principle product of anaerobic digestion is
biogas which contains methane (55-65%) and carbon dioxide
(30-40%) as major composition with traces of water vapour,
hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen 65. The biogas can be directly
used for cooking and in combined heat and power (CHP)
units. The biogas can be upgraded by removing carbon
dioxide and hydrogen sulfide using scrubbers and the
upgraded biogas (methane) can be used in automobiles and
fuel cells 65.

Fixed dome digester: Chinese developed the fixed dome

type plants first 4. A fixed-dome plant is made up of a closed,
dome-shaped digester with an immovable fixed gas-holder as
shown in fig 5. The gas produced is stored in the space
between the slurry and the roof of the plant90. Here, the
pressure of the gas inside the plant is not constant. Some of
the fixed dome type plants are Chinese fixed-dome plant,

Digestate: In anaerobic digestion process, digestate is the byproduct. The digestate can be fibrous, liquor, or a sludgebased combination of the both, which is an extra material that
cannot be used by the microbes9. In multi-stage digestion
systems, different forms of digestate come from different

89

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Vol.18(5) May (2014)

Res. J. Chem. Environ

9. Khanal S. K., Anaerobic biotechnology for bioenergy production

principles and applications, Wiley-Blackwell, Singapore (2008)

digester tanks. But in single-stage digestion systems, the two

fractions will be combined and the separation can be done by
further processing.

10. Gerardi M. H., The microbiology of anaerobic digesters, John

Wiley and Sons Inc., USA (2003)

After checking the contaminants the digestate can be used as

fertilizer and soil improving material. Essential plant
nutrients like nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous are
largely available in the digestate which makes it suitable for
soil amendment7. Digestate in the form of liquor can be used
again in digestion process or it can be used in irrigation.

11. Nijaguna B. T., Biogas Technology, New Age International

(P) Limited Publishers, New Delhi (2012)
12. Girard M., Palacios J. H., Belzile M., Godbout S and Pelletier
F., Biodegradation in Animal Manure Management, Biodegradation
- Engineering and Technology, Dr. Rolando Chamy (Ed.), (2013)

Conclusion
13. Jingquan L., Optimization of anaerobic digestion of sewage
sludge using thermophilic anaerobic pre-treatment, Ph. D. Thesis
submitted to Technical University of Denmark (2002)

The literature covering the biogas technology and anaerobic

digestion was reviewed and presented in this paper to
understand the fundamentals and over view clearly. This
review also covered and discussed the stages of anaerobic
digestion, feedstock, types of digesters and products of
anaerobic digestion. The parameters that affect the biogas
production and the parameters considered for the design of
anaerobic digester are presented in this paper.

14. Chanakya H.N. and Malayil S., Anaerobic digestion for

bioenergy from agro- residues and other solid wastes- An overview
of science, technology and sustainability, J Indian Inst Sci., 92, 111143 (2012)
15. Shefali V., Anaerobic digestion of biodegradable organics in
municipal solid wastes, M.Sc. Thesis submitted to School of
Engineering & Applied Science, Columbia University (2002)

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