Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof.

Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

Classwork 10 - ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Example 1: design of a mesophilic digestion process of mixed primary and biological sludge
Calculate:
– Digester volume,
– Biogas production,
– Biogas holding tank volume.
Solid concentration, density and mass and volume flow rates of sludge will be also calculated.
Usually, mesophilic digestion includes two digesters, the second being used as a sludge
storage/thickening unit. Every 4 – 6 years the first tank becomes the second and is used as storage
and the feed is sent to the other tank, where digestion reactions occur.

ASSUMPTIONS AND DESIGN PROCEDURE

1. Digester volume calculation
As a first approximation, the volume of the digester is calculated by assuming a design volumetric
loading rate in the range cv = 1.6 - 2 kgVS m-3 d-1 (higher values for primary sludge, lower values for
biological excess sludge) and checking that the retention time of solids is in the range 22 – 28 days
(lower values for primary sludge, higher values for excess biological sludge). Therefore, the volume
of the digester is:
Vdig = Xin,VS / cv
where Xin,VS is the daily mass flow rate of volatile solids fed to the digester.
In this reactor configuration, the retention time of solids in the digester (SRTdig) coincides with the
hydraulic retention time (HRTdig), as no thickening is performed and sludge is not recycled back
from the second stage. Therefore the sludge retention time is simply computed as:
SRTdig = HRTdig = Vdig / Qin = Vdig / Qout
where Qin = Qout is the volumetric flow rate of sludge through the digester. As part of the solids
have been converted into biogas, the concentration of solids exiting the digester will be lower
than that of the incoming sludge.

2. Biogas production
To calculate the biogas production the procedure is the following:
1) Calculate the elemental composition of mixed sludge: we assume that sludge to be digested is
a mixture of primary and biological excess sludge; on a dry mass basis the proportion can be
assumed 55% primary (elemental composition of VS: C3.65H7O2N0.196) and 45% biological
(C5H7O2N). The elemental composition of the mixed sludge is therefore:
C: 5 x 0.45 + 3.65 x 0.55 = 4.26; H: 7; O: 2; N: 1 x 0.45 + 0.196 x 0.55 = 0.56
Then, VS of mixed sludge is: C4.26H7O2N0.56
2) calculate the removal efficiency (r) of VS as:
r = fd · ηVS = (Xin,VS – Xdig,VS) / Xin,VS
where:
Xin,VS : volatile solid mass loading rate fed to the digester (kg SV/d),
Xdig,VS : volatile solid mass flow rate after digestion (kg SV/d),
fd : fraction of influent biodegradable VS; fd = 0.35 kg SVbiodegr/kg SV for biological excess
sludge; fd = 0.70 for primary sludge;
for mixed sludge fd = 0.35*0.45 + 0.70*0.55 = ~ 0.54 kg SVbiodegr/kg SV
ηVS : removal efficiency of the biodegradable volatile solids.
To calculate ηVS we assume that:
a) the digester is a completely mixed reactor
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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

b) the reaction is at steady state;

c) biodegradation follows a 1st-order kinetics, as it is assumed that the limiting step is hydrolysis
(acidogenesis) with a constant rate k = 0.20÷0.25 d–1 (lower values for excess biological sludge,
higher values for primary sludge). For mixed sludge it can be assumed: k = 0.22 d-1.
The mass balance in the completely mixed reactor is:

Q · xin,VS – Q · xdig,VS – k · Vdig· xdig,VS = 0 (1)

where xVS is the VS concentration; as SRTdig = HRT = V/Q eq (1) becomes

xin,VS = xdig,VS · (1 + k · SRTdig) (1a)

x in, VS - x dig, VS x · (1 + k · SRTdig) − x dig, VS 1

ηVS = = dig,VS =1− (2)
x in, VS x dig, VS · (1 + k · SRT dig) (1 + k · SRTdig)
3) the ratio COD/VS can be calculated from the stoichiometry of oxidation (neglecting sulphur, as
it does not influence significantly the COD/VS ratio):

C4.26H7O2N0.56 + (4.26 + 7/4 – 3/4*0.56 - 1) O2 --> 4.26 CO2 + (7/2 – 3/2*0.56)H2O + 0.56 NH3
C4.26H7O2N0.56 + 4.59 O2 --> 4.26 CO2 + 2.66 H2O + 0.56 NH3
Hence: fCOD/VS = 4.59*16*2 / (4.26*12 + 7 + 16*2 + 0.56*14) = 146.88/97.96 = 1.5
As a homework, check that COD/VS ratio of biological excess sludge is 1.42 and that of primary
sludge is 1.59.
4) COD is converted into biogas and anaerobic biomass. As the synthesis of new organisms is
approximately 10% of the COD removed, or YAD = 0.1 gCODbiomass/gCODremoved, COD converted
into biogas will be:
CODgasified = (1 – YAD) CODremoved = 0,9 CODremoved
5) as 1 kg CODgasified is equal to 0,35 m3n methane, methane production PCH4 is calculated as:
PCH4 = 0.35 m3n/kgCOD · fCOD/VS · r · Xvs,in
6) the volumetric fractions of biogas (CO2, CH4 and H2S) are derived from the elemental
composition of sludge and the stoichiometry of anaerobic digestion (sulphur is considered here
as it is necessary to know its concentration for further biogas treatment:
CvHwOxNySz + aH2O --> bCH4 + cCO2 + yNH3 + zH2S where:
v = 4.26; w = 7; x = 2; y = 0.56; z = 0.03 a = v – ¼ w – ½ x + ¾ y + ½ z;
b = ½ v + 1/8 w – ¼ x – 3/8 y – ¼ z
c = ½ v - 1/8 w + ¼ x + 3/8 y + ¼ z
If we assume that all H2S is gaseous and that all N is soluble, we get:
f(CO2) = (4v-w+2x-5y+2z)/[8(v+z-y)]=(4*4.26-7+2*2-5*0.56+2*0.06)/[8*(4.26+0.03-0.56)]=
= 11.36 / 29.84 = 0.3853 = 38.07%
f(CH4) = (4v+w-2x-3y-2z)/[8(v+z-y)] = (4*4.26+7-2*2-3*0.56-2*0.06)/[8*(4.26+0.03-0.56)]=
= 18.24 / 29.84 = 0.6060 = 61.13%
f(H2S) = 1 – 0.3807 – 0.6113 = 0.0080 = 0,80%
Finally, it should be checked that the specific biogas production falls in the range: 0.75 –
1.00 mn3/kgVSremoved.

3. Volume of the biogas holding tank

If biogas has to be used (for heating, energy production, etc.) a gas holding tank has to be
provided. If no specific indications are made by the provider of the energy recovery facility, a
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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

general criterion is to provide a volume equal to a one-day production in plants producing up to

1500 m3n/d or equal to 2/3 of the daily biogas production for bigger plants.
As biogas is stored at pressure and temperature different from normal conditions (T = 0°C = 273K;
P = 1 atm = 102 kPa), the actual capacity of the holding tank (Vg) should be calculated with respect
to the actual conditions of the gas, according to the ideal-gas law:
p 0 Tg
Vg = V0 ⋅ ⋅
p g T0
where:
p0, T0: gas pressure and temperature in normal conditions (P = 102 kPa; T = 273 K),
V0 : biogas volume to be stored, referred to normal conditions;
Tg : temperature inside the gas holding tank; this is equal to the temperature in the digester if
the holding tank is a floating-bell type over the digester; it can be 5 to 8 °C lower if the
holding tank is built apart from the digester;
pg : gas pressure inside the holding tank; usually an overpressure of 200 to 400 mm water
column (i.e.: about 2 to 4 kPa) is kept in the tank; if a floating-bell is used, the weight of the
bell divided by the cross sectional surface area should provide a similar pressure.
In general, the overall height of the gas-holding tank should not exceed 15 m as this is usually
limited by architectural landscaping and urban planning regulations.

4. Digested sludge dry mass flow rate and solids concentration

The dry mass flow rate of digested solids (kgTS/d) can be calculated as:
Xdig,tot = Xdig,VS + Xdig,NVS = (1 – r) XVS,in + (1 – VS/TS) Xtot,in
The fraction of volatile solids in the digested sludge is:
X
v dig = dig, VS = (1 – r) XVS,in / [(1 – r) Xdig,VS + (1 – VS/TS) Xtot,in]
X dig, tot
The overall reduction efficiency of total solids (TS) on a dry basis is therefore:
rTS = (Xtot,in - Xdig) / Xtot,in
As anaerobic digestion does not include any settling time with discharge of supernatant, the liquid
flow rate is constant and the dry solid concentration of the digested sludge decreases from xin to:
xdig = Xdig / Qdig

5. Flow rate of dewatered sludge (dry weight basis, wet weight basis and by volume)
Dewatering is carried out with centrifuges; 98% of the dry solids are recovered in the dewatered
sludge, while 2% is recycled back in the supernatant. The final dry content in the dewatered sludge
is 33% by weight. The resulting sludge dry weight to be disposed of is therefore
Xdisp,ds = 0.98 Xdig.
The sludge flow rate on a wet weight basis (in tws/d) will be: Xdisp,ws = Xdisp,ds / 0.33 (tws/d).
As density of VS is 1.05 t/m3, and that of inert solids (NVS) is 2,5 t/m3 the density of the dry sludge
(γds) is:
γds = (1.05 · VS/TSdig + 2.5 · NVS/TSdig).
Density of wet sludge is: γws = γds · 0.33 + 1 · 0.67.
Volumetric flow rate of dewatered sludge to be disposed of is: Qdisp = Xdisp,ws / γws.

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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

RESULTS
• Design data (derived from a WWTP serving about 130 000 PE):
Mixed (primary + biological excess sludge) production Xin = 10888.4 kgTS/d
Volatile solid fraction in fresh sludge (from measurement): VS/TS = 71.2%
Sludge volumetric flow rate: Qin = 216 m3/d
Solid concentration in the wet sludge: xin = 10888.4 / 216 = ~ 50 kgTS/m3 = ~ 5%

• Digester volume (T = 34°C)

cV = 1.5 kg VS/(m3 d)
Vdig = (10888.4 * 0.712) / 1.5 = 5168 m3
SRTdig = 5168 / 216 ~ 24 d

• Biogas production
Assumptions:
k = 0.22 d–1, fd = 0.54 kg VSbio/kgVS, COD/VS = 1.5 gCOD/gVS; YAD = 0.1 gCODbiom/gCODrem.
Calculations:
rVS = 0.54 * [1 – 1/(1+ 0.22 * 24)] = 0.454
CODbiogas = (1 – 0.1) * 0.454 * 1.5 * (10888.4 * 0.712) = 0.9 * 5279.48 = 4751.5 kgCOD/d
As the CH4/COD ratio is 0,35 mn3CH4/kgCODremoved
PCH4 = 0,35 mn3CH4/kgCODremoved * 4751.5 kgCOD/d = 1’663.03 mn3/d
f(CO2) = (4v-w+2x-5y+2z)/[8(v+z-y)]=(4*4.26-7+2*2-5*0.56+2*0.06)/[8*(4.26+0.03-0.56)]=
= 11.36 / 29.84 = 0.3807 = 38.07%
f(CH4) = (4v+w-2x-3y-2z)/[8(v+z-y)] = (4*4.26+7-2*2-3*0.56-2*0.06)/[8*(4.26+0.03-0.56)]=
= 18.24 / 29.84 = 0.6113 = 61.13%
f(H2S) = 1 – 0.3807 – 0.6113 = 0.0080 = 0,80%
Hence: Qgas = 1'663.03 / 0.6113 = 2720.5 m3n/d
Check: the specific gas production per unit mass (kg) of VS removed (gasified) is:
G0 = 2720.5 / [0.454 * (10888.4 * 0.712)] = 0.77 m3n/kgVSremoved, included in the range 0.75 - 1.
• Gas holding tank volume
1 mn3 a p0 = 1 atm; T0 = 273 K
pg = 1 + (300 / 10*103) = 1.03 atm; Tg = 273 + 25 = 298 K
V0 = 2/3 * 2720.5 = 1813.7 mn3
Vg = 1813.7 * 298 / 273 * 1 / 1.03 = 1922.1 m3 --> ~ 2000 m3 (diameter 13 m, height = 15 m)
• Digested sludge dry mass flow-rate and solids concentration
Xdig = (1 – 0.454) · 0.712 · 10888.4 + (1 – 0.712) · 10888.4 = 7368.7 kgSS/d
vdig = (1 – 0.454) · 0.712 · 10888.4 / 7368.7 = 0.574 = 57.4% (VS/TSdig)
rTS = (Xisp - Xdig) / Xisp = (10888.4 – 7368.7) / 10888.4 = 32.3%
xdig = 7368.7 kgTS/d / 216 m3/d = 34.1 kgTS/m3 = 3.41% w/w
• Flow rate of dewatered sludge (dry weight basis, wet weight basis and by volume)
Xdisp,ds = 0.98 Xdig = 7368.7 * 0.98 = ~ 7221 kgSS/d
Xdisp,ws = Xdisp,ds / 0.33 = 7221 / 0.33 = 21881.8 kg/d = 21.9 t/d
γds = 1.05 * 0.574 + 2.5 * (1 – 0.574) = 1.66 t/m3.
γws = 1.66 * 0.33 + 1 * 0.67 = 1.21 t/m3
Qdisp = Xdisp,ws / γws = 21.9 / 1.21 = 18.1 m3/d.

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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

Example 2: compute operational parameters of an existing biogas digester

An anaerobic digester is fed on a mixture of waste activated sludge (primary and secondary waste
sludge) from a wastewater treatment plant and the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes
(OFMSW). Reactor volume, operational temperature and relevant characteristics of the inlet and
outlet flows are known.
Calculate:
– organic loading rate,
– hydraulic retention time,
– specific biogas production rate,
– ratio between actual and ultimate BMP,
– efficiency of VS degradation.
– COD mass balance.

Data:
• Inlet flow rates (Qi; wet material):
o Primary sludge: 57 t d-1
o Secondary sludge: 125 t d-1
o OFMSW: 90 t d-1

• Substrate characteristics:
ultimate BMP
Humidity m3CH4@0°C,1 atm/kgVS
%VS/TS % water content COD/VS (m3CH4@0°C,1 atm /kgCOD)
Primary sludge 65 96 1.55 0.352 (0.227)
Secondary sludge 75 98 1.42 0.150 (0.105)
OFMSW 85 80 1.50 0.367 (0.245)

Outlet flows:
o Digestate flow rate: 250 m3 d-1
o Digestate VS content: 3.26 % (may be affected by a big error!)
o COD/VS of digestate = 1.4
o Biogas flow rate = 9343 m3@35°C,1 atm d-1
o CH4 in biogas = 62% --- actual CH4 production = 5792.66 m3@35°C,1 atm d-1 * 273/(273+35) =
5134.4 m3@0°C,1 atm/d
• Digester data:
o Total anaerobic digester volume = 7400 m3 (2 tanks in parallel, equal volume of 3700 m3 )
o Operational temperature= 35°C

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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

Calculations
1) Compute the total inlet VS, COD and ultimate BMP
Ultimate biogas production is the sum of biogas produced by each substrate.
For each substrate (i),
FVS,i (kgVS/d)= Qi ⋅ ( TSi%)/100 ⋅ (VS%/TS)i/100 x 1000, where
- FVS,i = VS flow rate
- Qi = flow rate (t d-1),
- TSi %= 100-Ui%
The overall VS flow rate is then:
FVS = FVS,primary sludge + FVS,secondary sludge +FVS,OFMSW
COD flow rate (FCOD,i ) is computed as FCOD,i (kgCOD/d) = Qi ⋅ ( VSi%)/100 ⋅ (COD/VS)i x 1000
where:
- Qi = flow rate (t d-1),
- VSi % = TSi % ⋅ ( VSi/TSi %)/100)
- (COD/VS)i is COD of each substrate VS
The overall COD flow rate is then:
FCOD = FCOD,primary sludge + FCOD,secondary sludge +FCOD,OFMSW
The ultimate biogas production (Q’CH4 i) is computed as:
Q’CH4,i (m3@0°C,1 atm/d)= Qi ⋅ ( VSi%)/100 x (BMP)i
where:
- BMPi = ultimate BMP of each substrate
- Qi = total flow rate,
- VSi% = VS content
The overall ultimate methane flow rate is then:
Q’CH4 (m3@0°C,1 atm d-1)= Q’CH4,primary sludge + Q’CH4,secondary sludge + Q’CH4,OFMSW
2) Compute the actual biogas and methane flow rate at normal conditions (0°C, 1 atm)
The actual methane flow rate (QCH4@0°C,1 atm) is computed from the measured methane flow
rate (QCH4 at the operational temperature Top) and by normalizing it to the reference
temperature of 0°C (273K):
QCH4@0°C,1 atm = QCH4 x 273/(273+Top)
3) Compute AD operational parameters
The organic loading rate (OLR) is easily computed from the mass flow rate of VS fed to the
anaerobic digester (FVS ) and the overall digester volume (V):
OLR (kgVS/m3/d) = FVS /V
The hydraulic residence time (HRT) is computed from the flow rate (Q, m3/d) flowing out of the
digester.
Therefore, the HRT is, by definition: HRT = V/Q’
To calculate the specific biogas production rate (SBPR), the biogas flow rate (Qbiogas) at normal
conditions is needed, that is simply computed from the methane flow rate and the fraction of
methane in biogas (pCH4, m3CH4/m3biogas):
Qbiogas (m3biogas@0°C,1 atm)= QCH4@0°C,1 atm / pCH4
And therefore, by definition: SBPR = Qbiogas/V

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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

The efficiency of the anaerobic digestion is the ratio between the actual and theoretical
methane production and can be estimated as the ratio between expected and actual
methane flow rate:
Digestion efficiency = η = QCH4/Q’CH4
To calculate the VS degradation efficiency, the VS flow rate exiting the digester with digestate
(FVS,dig) is needed, that is computed from the flow rate of digestate (Qdig, m3/d) and the
percentage of VS in the digestate (VS%dig):
FVS,dig (kgVS/d) = Qdig x VS%dig / 100
The percentage efficiency is finally computed as the rate of VS removed and the rate of VS fed:
r = (FVS - FVS,dig)/ FVS x 100
4) Compute COD mass balance
COD represents the amount of electrons that a substrate can transfer to a final electron
acceptor and is quantified as the mass of oxygen that is needed to transfer that amount of
electrons and it is conservative. Therefore, with reference to the anaerobic digester as the
control volume, at steady state, the flow rate of COD entering the digester (FCOD) should equate
the amount of COD leaving the digester with the biogas (FCOD,biogas) and the COD associated to
the digestate (FCOD,digestate):
FCOD, in = FCOD,biogas + FCOD,digestate
The FCOD,biogas is associated to the flow rate of methane since CO2 cannot be further oxidized by
oxygen. The specific COD of methane can be calculated from the balanced oxidation reaction
of methane with oxygen:
1 CH4 + 2O2  2 H2O + 1CO2
Which suggests that 1 kmoleCH4 = 22,4 m3 CH4@0°C,1 atm = 64 kg COD, which also means that 1 kg
COD = 0.35 m3CH4.
The COD flow rate leaving the digester with biogas is therefore computed as:
FCOD,biogas (kgCOD/d)= QCH4@0°C,1 atm /0.35
Finally the flow rate of COD leaving the digester with the digestate is computed from the flow
rate of VS leaving the digester with the digestate and the specific COD content of these volatile
solids (COD/VSdig): FCOD,dig = FVS,dig x COD/VSdig
Now that all terms are computed, and the COD mass balance can be easily checked.

Results:
FVS = FVS,primary sludge + FVS,secondary sludge +FVS,OFMSW = 1482 + 1875 + 15300 = 18657 kgVS d-1
FCOD = FCOD,primary sludge + FCOD,secondary sludge +FCOD,OFMSW =
= 2297 + 2663 + 22950 = 27910 kgCOD d-1
Q’CH4 = Q’CH4,primary sludge + Q’CH4,secondary sludge +Q’CH4,OFMSW = 522 + 282 + 5615 = 6418 m3@0°C,1 atm d-1
QCH4@0°C,1 atm = 5134 m3 d-1
OLR = 18657/7400 = 2.52 kgVS m-3 d-1
HRT = 7400/250 = 29.6 d
Qbiogas = 9343 * 273/(273+35) = 8281 m3biogas@0°C,1 atm d-1
SBPR = Qbiogas/V = 8281 / 7400 = 1.12 m3 m-3 d-1
Digestion efficiency η = 5134/6418 = 0.8
FCOD,biogas = COD removed = 5134 m3 d-1 / (0.35 m3/kgCOD) = 14668.57 kg/d
COD remaining in the digestate = 27910 kgCOD d-1 - 14668.57 kg/d = 13241.43 kg/d
FVS,dig = 13241.43 kgCOD/d / (1.4 kgCOD/kgVS) = 9458 kgVS d-1
r = (18657 – 9458) / 18657 = 49,3 %

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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

Example 3: Anaerobic digestion of cheese whey

A cheese factory is producing 150 t/d of cheese whey that is sold at a price of 13 €/t.
Calculate whether the option of producing renewable electrical energy by anaerobic digestion may
be economically interesting.
Calculate the volume of a UASB reactor for the conversion of whey into biogas.
Data:
• Whey characteristics
o Composition:
 proteins 13.5 g/100 gTS (Note: 6.38 kg proteins contain 1 kgN)
 carbohydrates 75.2 g/100 gTS
 lipids 0.813 g/100 gTS
o Solid content: 6.7 gTS/100g (= 67 g/kg = 67 kg/t)
o Specific weight : 1 t/m3
o Ultimate BMP: 0.35 m3@0°C,1 atm/kgCOD
• UASB operational parameters for whey treatment:
o typical OLR values: from 1 to 29 kgCOD/m3/d
o acceptable HRT: from 2 to 12 d
o expected digester efficiency = 0.97
o typical volume of each UASB unit = 80 m3
• CHP performance: Electrical efficiency = 40 %
• Other data:
o Lower heating value (LHV) of methane = 9.96 kWh/m3@0°C,1 atm
o Revenue of renewable energy production for new small installations (Italian
subsidized contribution after July 6th 2012) less than 600 kW = 236 €/MWh
PLUS
1) 30 €/MWh if 60% of the nitrogen is recovered (e.g.: by ammonia stripping and
further acid condensation into ammonium sulphate)
2) 20 €/MWh if 30% of the nitrogen is recovered
3) 15 €/MWh if 15% of the nitrogen is recovered
Cost of Nitrogen recovery via stripping = 7 €/kgN; revenue of selling the recovered
ammonium salts = negligible.

o Capital cost for AD + CHP equipment = 5.000 €/kWel (less than 600 kW);
o To convert the capital cost into an actual yearly rate use the following formula:
yearly rate = [(1+r)n*r]/[(1+r)n-1]
o Consider an interest rate r = 5% and a life span n = 15 years.
Consider O&M costs = 15% of daily capital costs
(don’t forget to divide the yearly rate by 365 to get the daily rate)

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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

Calculations
1) COD load and flow rate of whey
The COD content of whey can be estimated from its composition by assuming a typical COD
content of its main components, i.e.:
• Proteins: 1.42 gCOD/gTS
• Lipids: 2.5 gCOD/gTS
• Carbohydrates (as lactose): 1.12 gCOD/gTS
Therefore, the average COD content per mass of solids in whey is:

The COD load (CCOD) is then computed by multiplying the daily whey production (CTS) in
terms of TS (CTS) by its average COD content:
CCOD [kgCOD/d] = CTS x (COD/TS)whey = Ctq x %TS/100 x (COD/TS)whey
The whey flow rate (Qwhey) is estimated from the daily mass production (Ctq) by considering
the specific weight (ρ):
Qwhey [m3/d] = CTq [kg/d] / (ρ)whey
2) Expected biogas production from whey digestion
By knowing the ultimate BMP (BMP∞) e the actual efficiency of the UASB reactor (η), the
expected methane production (QCH4) can be easily computed:
QCH4 [m3@0°C,1 atm/d] = CCOD x BMP∞ x η

3) Expected energy production

The expected energy production (Pel) can be computed from the expected methane
production by taking into account the lower heating value (LHV) of methane and the
fraction of this energy that can be converted into electricity (ηel):
Eel [kWhel/d] = QCH4 x LHVCH4 x ηel
Corresponding to an electric power of : Pel [kWel] = Pel [kWhel/d]/ (24 h/d)

4) Revenue from renewable energy

The revenue from the selling of the energy produced by the CHP (Iel) can be computed by
knowing the value of the incentive (pel):
Iel [€/y] = Pel x 365 [d/y] x pel [€/kWhel]
which depends on the fraction of nitrogen recovered.
These figures can be now compared with the present revenue from whey selling (Iselling)
calculated from the average market value of whey (pwhey) and the amount of whey
available:
Iselling [€/y] = Ctq x pwhey x 365 d
By comparing the different revenues one can assess whether whey valorisation via
anaerobic digestion may be an economically viable option; if energy revenue is higher than
revenue of selling, then capital costs for the equipment should also be taken into account
for a thorough economic evaluation.

5) Number of UASB reactors needed

First the total volume of the UASB reactor is computed from the COD load and by fixing an
appropriate OLR. The reactor volume (VTot) is:
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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology – prof. Roberto Canziani Academic year 2018-19

VTot = CCOD /OLR

As whey is easily biodegradable, and if we stay conservative, we can select an intermediate
OLR = 15 kgCOD/m3/d.
As HRT = VTot/Qwhey
We should also check whether the result is within the optimal range (2 to 12 days).
The total volume needed is then provided by the parallel operation of smaller UASB. By
assuming that each UASB units provides a volume V of 80 m3, the number of units (NUASB) is
easily obtained:
NUASB = VTot / 80.

Results: see slides

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