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WELTEC BIOPOWER's expertise has won their client Fernbrook Bio the 2012 UK AD & Biogas Associations (ADBA) industry award for "Best Biogas Project". Their anaerobic digestion facility which produces a 1.5 MW output impressed the judges with its efficient in operation and innovations within its design. From this fact and the reputation of ADBA, we can reasonably assume that it is the top example of the best in waste utilisation AD plant technology currently available.
The plant is siutated near Kettering, Northamptonshire and it is supplying about 3,000 households with power. To do that it processes approximately 30,000 tonnes per annum of biowaste and food waste and converting it into electricity. For this purpose, WELTEC had equipped the biogas plant for the operator to include food unpacking, separation and pasteurisation systems.
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"Fernbrook Bio" is very happy about the award. Following the award ceremony, Director Shaun Cherry commented: "We have been cooperating with WELTEC BIOPOWER for almost four years, and we are pleased with this partnership, which has now won due and deserved recognition in the form of the 'Best AD Project' award. WELTEC has truly deserved this award because it offers, not only top-edge premium plants, but also efficient service." ADBA's decision to award Fernbrook Bio with the title also included the operators' community work through visits to and from local schools and systematic publicity activities.
Another biogas plant of WELTEC BIOPOWER also made it onto the shortlist of nominations: the 1.3 MW "Lower Reule Bioenergy" installation in Gnossall, Staffordshire, which also processes food waste. This biogas plant's electricity is also supplied to approx 2,600 homes. The operator uses the heat generated from the plant to heat their farm buildings and to dry the digestate, which is spread out over agricultural areas as a fertiliser. Lower Reule Bioenergy was nominated in the "Best integration of AD into a farming business" and "Best AD Project" categories.
Ever thought about endeavoring to support anaerobic digestion including co-digestion of the organic fraction of MSW with sewage sludge? Most people just consider this briefly, then never do anything whatsoever regarding it Most people have no idea of just how to start, so they really never do. Thinking that it'd require too much time to understand the concept discourages some others. Others are too lazy to try, or don't have motivation!!
Now just hang on here a minute! Are those really valid reasons? Did the reasons for receive a fair hearing? Was there enough info on which to base a reasonable decision? The possible benefits don't appear to have been very well considered...
Maybe that needs to be reconsidered. Let's look at 5 top reasons to support anaerobic digestion including co-digestion of MSW with sewage sludge to see how things look from that perspective.
To start with, AD (including co-digestion) has great potential to minimise the impact on the carbon economy by replacing fossil fuel derived power and heat. You've got a valid point as you note that replacing fossil fuel derived power and heat is going to become scarcer and even more expensive. That's a very good point. Even so, take into account that, anaerobic digestion isn't exactly cheap, and to rely on government AD subsidies and incentives lasting as long as they say they will is quite a leap of faith. Moreover, consider that most governments don't last more than 4 to 5 years, when investment is returned on these AD plants over a much longer period.
Second, anaerobic digestion enables diversion of wastes from landfill. That is because all of the output from the anaerobic digester will in future be used in the process. One of several results of this is the fact that there will be virtually no waste from AD Plants that they will need to send to landfill.
Third, by co-digestion (if OFWAT's review gives it the go-ahead in AMP5) society would be avoiding the carbon cost of full treatment of wastes through sewage treatment processes by feeding directly to co-digestion. Moreover, biogas yields may rise by up to 50%, with little or no further investment. Co-digestion simply uses existing headroom in AD Plants that the Water Plcs's engineers have already made more efficient!
Fourth, production of digestate to act as a fertiliser will provide a big phosphate benefit, and this is good as phosphate reserves are finite and may run out sooner than oil.
5th, the locality of AD plants can lead to reduced transportation - optimising the use of embedded carbon in existing assets.
So just look at those points and examine them mentally. All five reasons are persuasive points as to the reasons you really should support anaerobic digestion including co-digestion of MSW with sewage sludge.
Just think it over for a moment. Those reasons were sufficient to convince a lot of people before you. Will they not also persuade you to support anaerobic digestion including co-digestion of msw with sewage sludge?
PROjEN's attendance at the recent ADBA exhibition and conference at Birmingham's NEC has been hailed a great success by PROjEN BioEnergy Manager Shane Pugh. As well as exhibiting their wide range of services supplied to the AD/Biogas and the Process industries, the Company also contributed a number of papers to the conference and chaired some of the technical sessions.
Shane commented "we knew that we could offer clients a different and more pragmatic approach to AD/Biogas solutions but I was amazed at both the speed and the number of people who have recognised how our approach can help them. Project Management is our day job and our 30 plus years of process plant design and build, coupled with our market leading AD and Biogas knowledge and our lack of ties to any particular technology has really touched a nerve with many. The act of completing the project on time,to budget, safely and utilising the best and most suitable technology available has been shown on many projects to be not as easy as many have claimed".
During the show the Company was able to discuss with clients all aspects of the design and build process including planning and permitting, detailed design,construction, commissioning and training aspects. As well as Project Managementand Design and Build services the company exhibited supplementary services such as DSEAR/ATEX support, Functional Safety, Laser Scanning/3D Visualisations and Hazop Chairing.
John Taylor, PROjEN's Chairman who attended both days of the exhibition, commented "Since 1978 we have been involved in thousands of projects and our reputation is second to none in both project delivery and health and safety. We were delighted to be at the show and found the number and quality of enquiries to be better than most other exhibitions we've experienced. The AD and Biogas industry has really raised its profile in the last couple of years and the number of installations is set to increase rapidly and justify those in ABDA, such as our Dr Les Gornall, who have worked so tirelessly over the years to establish AD as the 'no-brainer' solution to our energy and waste treatment needs".
Digestate is the solid leftover of the original matter which is not biodegraded by the anaerobic microorganism. the process of anaerobic digestion forms two products viz biogas and digestate. The quality of digestate is graded against chemical, physical and biological aspects.
Appearance and odour come under physical quality and in chemical aspects heavy metal and some inorganic contaminants are checked.
Hydrolysis begins the digestion process in which the input biodegradable material is broken down to form insoluble organic polymers which are then used by bacterias. Then these are converted to ammonia, hydrogen and carbon dioxide by acidogenic bacteria. On this the Acetogenic bacteria acts that is followed by the process of methanogenesis.
Types of Digestate
Digestate is formed both during the acidogenesis and methanogenesis process. But each by product has different characteristics.
Acidogenic digestate
It is fibrous and consists of lignin and cellulose. This digestate sometimes also contain remains of bacteria and minerals. Also if checked then there is high moisture retention properties in the acidogenic digestate.
Methanogenic digestate
It has very high nutrient content including nitrates and phosphates and it is also called liquor in sludge treatment.
Uses of Digestate
It acts as solid conditioner as it provides soil the organic content. It provides nutrients that are required for the growth of the plant. Acidogenic digestate give rise to composite plastics. Also with digestate plants with resistance towards few diseases have been developed. It stimulates the biological activity of the soil.
Spreading of digestate in ground as such is prohibited but it can be done with sludge spreader. Also for this waste management license is mandatory.
R Oberoi is a portal manager checking out web promotion, content updation and online portal marketing. Check out more about water treatment plants on www.thewatertreatmentplant.com
A typical gas system comprises the digester cover, pressure and vacuum relief devices, water trap, flame trap, pressure regulator, gas meter, check valve, pressure gauges, waste gas burner and a gas holder. Mixing of digesters by means of gas re-circulation requires a compressor.
The digester is covered to contain odours, maintain temperature, keeps air out and to collect the gas. Fixed covers are more usual than floating covers. During normal operation, there is a space for gas collection between the cover and the liquid surface of the digester contents. The cover of a digester has certain unique features that the operating staff must be aware of, for example, how the variation in pressure and the level inside the digester may affect the cover. The biggest danger associated with the operation of fixed cover digesters occurs when the pressure relief device mounted on top of the digester fails or the sludge overflow line blocks and the liquid level in the digester continues to rise. In such a situation, the excess gas pressure inside the digester can exceed the maximum design pressure and damage the cover or its mountings. Fixed covers can also be damaged by excess negative pressure (vacuum) or if the rate of waste sludge withdrawal exceeds the feed rate or the vacuum relief device fails.
The function of the pressure relief device is to allow pressure that exceeds a safe level to escape from the digester. The manufacturer's specifications should provide the following information to enable the operating staff to control the gas system safely. (a) The system's normal operating pressure (mm water gauge). (b) The pressure at which the pressure relief device should operate. (c) The rated gas flow capacity of the pipes.
A gas system generally comprises three pressure relief devices; one mounted on the cover of the digester, one on the gas holder and one situated at the end of the gas line before the gas burner. This device releases gas to the waste gas burner before the design gas pressure of the digester cover is reached.
The vacuum relief device functions in the opposite manner to the pressure relief device and allows air to enter the digester in the event of the waste sludge being withdrawn too rapidly. Air should not, under normal conditions, be allowed to enter the digester because a mixture of air and methane is potentially highly explosive.
Gas leaving the digester is almost saturated with water vapour. As the gas cools, the water vapour condenses causing problems. The problem is more severe when digesters are heated. To solve the problem it is essential to remove as much of the moisture as possible before the gas comes into contact with the gas system devices. For this reason, water traps should be located as close to the digester as possible. All piping should be sloped a minimum of 1% towards the water trap, which should be situated at a low point in the gas line.
Flame traps are emergency devices installed in gas lines to prevent flames travelling back up the gas line (flashback) and reaching the digester. The flame trap generally consists of a box filled with stone or a metal grid. If a flame develops in the gas line, the temperature of the flame is reduced below the ignition point as it passes through the trap and the flame is extinguished.
Pressure regulators are used when a lower pressure than the system operating pressure, is required for a specific device such as a boiler water heater or incinerator. Regulators maintain a constant gas pressure at the point of use
The rate of gas production is probably the most sensitive process control indicator at the disposal of the operating staff. Gas meters should be regularly serviced so as to give accurate and reliable gas readings. Every effort should be made to have the gas meter calibrated every six months.
Check valves (non-return valves) are installed in the gas line to allow gas flow in one direction only i.e. out of the digester.
Gas pressure gauges indicate the pressure in the gas system and assist in locating any blockages in the line. If a blockage occurs, a pressure reading downstream will register a lower pressure than that of a gauge upstream.
The pressure relief device at the waste gas burner safely flares excess gas to the atmosphere and thus reduces the potential for a dangerous accumulation of gas in the system.
Many anaerobic digestion waste treatment plants have a means of storing excess gas. This can be in the form of either a floating roof on the digester or a separate gasholder.
A mixture of biogas and air can be explosive. Methane gas in concentrations of between 5% and 15% in air by volume is explosive. Operating staff on waste treatment plants should ensure that no air is allowed to enter the digester or gasholder. All piping and equipment must be sealed properly to prevent gas from escaping to the outside. There must be no smoking and all electrical installations, including light switches, torches etc must be of the explosion-proof type, as the smallest spark could ignite escaped gases.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Waste Treatments [http://waste-treatments.com]
The farming community will invest to improve their farms and ultimately to improve yield and profit, but there has to be a very good reason for doing so, and when it comes to shelling out hard-earned revenue, or going for additional borrowing, agricultural businesses usually look for dead certain investment winners, or nothing at all.
Yet, many farms are now going into Anaerobic Digestion plant installation and operation, investing in a process which is fairly new, at least for farming applications, and which they would expect to be operating on their farms for at least the next twenty years once installed. On the face of it this is a highly risky investment, and a surprise.
Well actually, there is good reason for this and it has very little to do with improving their crops, although the fertilizer it produces will be very useful there, it is to avoid environmental problems caused by the success of industrial farming methods, and particularly for dairy farmers who over-winter large numbers of stock in barns.
Let's not get too "down to earth" and talk about the brass tacks too much here, so shall we say that the problem is one of waste management, and leave as much as possible to your imagination!
Yes, the run-off from these barns and the effect this can have on pollution of rivers, in dairy farming and beef cattle rearing areas, can be and often is, very serious. So much enteric bacteria (stomach organism) type pollution has been occurring in in some estuarial areas of the UK that the quality of the sea on bathing beaches has failed to meet European Union Green Flag standards after heavy rainstorms.
These farms really have to reduce the pollutants in their run-off, and Anaerobic Digestion of their farm waste using a Biogas Digester is proving to be the top solution, once the problem is recognised. They are having to spend to reduce pollution because not cutting back massively on the quantities of organic waste being washed off their farms will increasingly mean that they will be prosecuted for the water pollution caused. Thus, this is a necessary spend for them, just to keep their farms operating on the right side of the law.
However, a biogas digester also can be used to generate renewable energy and provide fuel to run farm vehicles. So, many are finding it a great way to diversify away from solely food crop income dependence. In fact we would suggest that nowadays every farmer should be aware of the benefits of Anaerobic Digestion for its multiple benefits and great sustainability credentials.
Space is limited here so we recommend that you visit the Anaerobic Digestion community web site. It is well worth a visit for EVERYONE involved in a farm business. Much invaluable additional reading about the Biogas Digester's process, is available on that site.
23 November 2010 - UK based environmental consultancy, SLR Consulting is to carry out work for Fife Council on a planning application for a proposed Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facility.
The facility, at Lochhead Landfill Site near Dunfermline, is projected to generate up to 1.4 MW of renewable electricity and a similar quantity of heat from the processing of around 43,000 tonnes of co-mingled food and green waste.
SLR says that following two or three years of feasibility studies, it has been commissioned to undertake site investigation works, planning, permitting and procurement support for development of the facility which is projected to be operational by 2013.
Chris Ewing, environmental sstainability manager for Fife Council Environmental Services said: "The scheme represents a real opportunity for us to realise the true value from our expanding programme for source segregation of food and green wastes.
"The site already produces around 1.5MW of electricity through the combustion of landfill gas. The proposed development would nearly double the output of the site in addition to allowing for the expansion of the existing district heating scheme which utilises the excess heat from the CHP units."
SLR principal and project manager for the development Duncan Thomas, who is based in SLR's Edinburgh Office, said: "It is great to be assisting this long standing client in delivery of this ground-breaking project.
"We have been providing technical consultancy support to Fife Council for over seven years and continue to provide support on landfill engineering and development, permitting, planning, landscape and site investigation works."
It is, therefore necessary to contain and treat these wastes so that the treated waste sludge is stable; the offensive odour is removed; the quantity of pathogenic bacteria is reduced; the mass and volume of sludge is reduced and the sludge can be readily dewatered and dried.
Anaerobic digestion is the most common method in use today for treating waste water sludges. Its attractiveness comes from it being a relatively stable process if properly controlled, with low operating costs and the production of a useful by-product, a combustible gas, which can be used as a source of energy.
The advantages of this process:
The organic content of the sludges is significantly reduced by conversion into gaseous end-products; the obnoxious odour of the sludge is removed and the final digested sludge has a characteristic 'tarry' odour; fats and greases are broken down by the process; there is a significant reduction in the quality of pathogenic bacteria; there is a marked chemical change after digestion. The liquid fraction (supernatant) contains increased levels of ammonia as a result of the breakdown of organic nitrogen (proteins). This makes the digested sludge liquor potentially suitable for agricultural use; the biogas that is formed is a mixture of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) that can be used for digester heating or to generate power.
The disadvantages of this process:
A relatively high initial capital cost is involved, which tends to limit the process to medium to large size waste water works. The slow rate of bacterial growth requires long periods of time for start-up and limits the flexibility of the process to adjust to changing feed loads, temperatures and other environmental conditions. The process is prone to upsets if not regularly monitored and if corrective action is not taken in time.
Anaerobic digestion is a multi-stage biological waste treatment process whereby bacteria, in the absence of oxygen, decompose organic matter to carbon dioxide, methane and water. In this way, the waste sludge is stabilised and the obnoxious odour is removed. The process can, however be described adequately and simply as occurring in two stages, involving two different types of bacteria. The first stage, the organic material present in the feed sludge is converted into organic acids (also called volatile fatty acids) by acid forming bacteria. In the second stage, these organic acids serve as the substrate (food) for the strictly anaerobic methane-producing bacteria, which converts the acids into methane and carbon dioxide. The end result of the process is a well-established sludge in which 40 to 60% of the volatile solids are destroyed. Finally, a combustible gas consisting of 60 to 75% methane and the remainder largely being carbon dioxide.
The digestion process is continuous. Fresh feed sludge must be added continuously or at frequent intervals. The gas formed during digestion is removed continuously. In high-rate digestion, stabilised sludge is displaced from the digester during feeding. In low-rate digestion, sludge 'supernatant' is normally removed as the feed sludge is added, stabilised sludge is removed at less frequent intervals.
It is essential that the organic acids formed in the first stage of the waste treatment process are converted to methane at the same rate at which they are formed. If not, they accumulate and ultimately lower the pH, leading to inhibition of the second stage of the digestion process and digester failure. Temperature must be maintained within certain ranges - heating increases the activity of the anaerobic bacteria reducing the required digestion time. A pH of 7,0 to 7,5 is recommended to encourage the methane-producing stage. A correctly operating digester will have sufficient buffer capacity (alkalinity) introduced from the breakdown of organic matter.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Waste Treatments [http://waste-treatments.com]
The government has pledged to encourage farmers to invest in anaerobic digestion projects, it has been revealed.
Junior DEFRA minister Lord Henley said he was in talks with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to help improve Feed-in Tariff rates which are rewarded to those who set up renewable energy programmes.
Speaking at the Northern Farming Conference today (October 15th), he said: "We want to do what we can. That obviously will in due course with DECC mean looking at feed-in tariffs and a whole range of other things.
"We have given a commitment that we will encourage anaerobic digestion."
Lord Henley also claimed the technology can offer farmers a wide range of benefits other than energy production.
In addition to reducing the amount of waste which is sent to the landfill, the bi-product of the anaerobic digestion process can be used as a fertiliser for crops.
Typical Guttridge equipment used in the anaerobic digestion industry includes; elevators – bucket elevators – valves
James Smith
According to the EPA, the Unites States generate over 30 million tons (27.2 million tonnes) of food waste every year, and recycles less than 3%.
As anaerobic bacteria digest our trash, they release carbon dioxide and methane gas, both of which seep out of the soil and into the air. As a result, landfills are one of the largest producers of methane, which has been proven to be a leading cause of global warming.
It takes an average of 30 years for organic waste to break down into stable compounds in your average landfill, in comparison, a well run composter will complete the job in as little as three weeks.
Brian Dick, CEO of Quest Recycling Services LLC and Matt Hedrick, EVP of Quest Recycling Services LLC were keynote speakers at Biocycle Tenth Annual Renewable Energy From Organics Recycling Conference in Des Moines, IA this month.
Dick and Hedrick encouraged conference participants to jump on the waste to energy revolution and build additional outlets to process organics into high value end products such as energy and compost.
"The time is right" said Dick. "There are less than 200 operating anaerobic digesters in the United States currently and only a select few of those have the ability to process food waste. In contrast, Europe has thousands that have been successful for many years producing green power from food waste. The time to invest in this technology is now."
"We are excited to be in the fore front of this exciting emerging business that can reduce the amount of food waste in our landfills and provide a much need green power source", said Matt Hedrick.
A $6.75 million project to install an anaerobic digester at a 50 MMgy ethanol plant in Milton, Wis., will begin in a few weeks. United Ethanol LLC will complete the project with the help of $2.25 million in state energy program funds.
It's a way to extract a little more value out of our inputs, the corn, and make the plant greener and more energy efficient, said Alan Jentz, United Cooperative and United Ethanol vice president of grain operations and risk management.
On Oct. 21, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced $2.95 million in funding for three southern Wisconsin companies, including United Ethanol. The money comes from Wisconsin?s economic development tax credits and energy program, which is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The other two projects were $250,000 in tax credits for Standard Process Inc., a whole food supplements company, and $450,000 in energy program funds for Idle Free Systems Inc., which sells battery-powered, idle-elimination systems for over-the-road trucks.
In total, more than $55 million in state energy funds from the recovery act are being used in Wisconsin to help manufacturers with energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. According to the governor's office, Wisconsin is the only state using 100 percent of these funds for these types of projects. In August, Ace Ethanol LLC received $595,000 in funding from the same program for heat exchange equipment.
United Ethanol's anaerobic digester will utilize a portion of the plant's thin stillage to create methane, which will help reduce natural gas use at the plant by up to 25 percent. The project will have an estimated four-year payback, Jentz said.
The project has multiple benefits, including reducing the plant's carbon footprint. The anaerobic digester is also expected to reduce the number of fermentation solids that have to be recycled, reduce fermentation inhibitors, reduce evaporator bottlenecks and eliminate syrup load-out, Jentz said.
Technology provider Eisenmann Corp. will install the digester. The project should take about a year to complete. We hope to get that under way here in the next few weeks, so hopefully it will be online by this time next year,? he said.
Anaerobic digestion isn?t the only technology upgrade project United Ethanol has on its plate. David Cramer, president and CEO, mentioned three projects in the company's August newsletter. The company is working to tie in the CO2 scrubber stack and process vent gas scrubber stack into the regenerative thermal oxidizer for odor control.
In addition, it has a license agreement with GreenShift Corp. to use its corn oil extraction technology. United Ethanol has also contracted with Arisdyne Systems Inc. to install controlled flow cavitation, a patented process to reduce particle size, disrupt cell structures and disperse agglomerates for increased ethanol yield.
Rapid growth of the anaerobic digestion sector has been highlighted by the adoption of the technology by a Suffolk brewery.
Adnams Brewery has introduced anaerobic digestors to its Southwold plant to turn waste from the site and surrounding companies into biogas for the national grid.
Climate change minister Greg Barker expressed his delight at the move as it follows the announcement that Thames Water and British Gas will turn sewage into biogas.
He said: "This has been an excellent week for progress in renewable energy. As well as the waste from making beer, Adnams Bio Energy is taking in food waste from local businesses large and small."
Adnams claimed that the waste by-products generated from brewing 600 pints of beer could generate enough gas for one home a day.
In addition to producing power for the local community, the gas will also be used to power the Southwold brewery and run its fleet of vehicles.
Typical uses in the anaerobic digestion industry includes; elevators – bucket elevators – valves
James Smith
Specialist Engineering Project Management company PROjEN PLC, based in Preston Brook, Cheshire has formed an Alliance with Doctor Les Gornall who is widely regarded as the UK?s leading expert in Anaerobic Digestion and Waste Water Treatment.
Online PR News – 11-October-2010 – Specialist Engineering Project Management company PROjEN PLC, based in Preston Brook, Cheshire has formed an Alliance with Doctor Les Gornall who is widely regarded as the UK?s leading expert in Anaerobic Digestion and Waste Water Treatment. This partnership gives even greater weight to PROjEN?s service offering and demonstrates the company?s commitment in becoming the UK?s leading supplier in all aspects of waste management, including de-packaging, anaerobic digestion, CHP and conversion of waste heat to electricity.
Dr Gornall has over 30 years experience of building, operating, designing and commissioning anaerobic digesters and waste water treatment plants. He has become an internationally recognised environmental consultant who has extensive experience in waste and biogas issues across the world. He has written many papers for technical magazines and is often quoted by his pseudonym ?Dr Sludge?.
PROjEN have expanded their service offering into a number of niche areas such as helping companies to reduce their energy costs and meet legislative compliance issues including DSEAR, IPPC and post Buncefield Requirements. These new services have been driven by clients and in recent times many in the waste industry have been pushing for a combination of both the theoretical and practical aspects of waste management. PROjEN?s Managing Director, Martin Seabrook comments:
?PROjEN?s strength is that when we offer a service we ensure we can add value to the client. We recognise that no one individual or company has all the answers and by working with like minded associates we can each focus on our own strengths. Through Les? extensive knowledge of the waste market and our own award winning history in project and construction management we feel we are able to offer our clients a much stronger package than our competitors?.
In addition to working with Dr Gornall PROjEN have also renewed their distributor agreement with FreePower - this product generates electricity from waste heat and will become a major talking point this year in both waste and industrial applications. PROjEN have also formed an alliance with Axion Consulting ? process experts in the field of waste and recycling.
A high-speed, high-temperature HT200S laboratory digester from HACH LANGE has helped one of Europe’s largest recycled packaging companies to cut analysis times by 75%.
This process has also enabled Smurfit Kappa SSK to optimise the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion to generate quality biogas, which helps to recycle the effluent waste produced on site.
By deploying the advanced HT200S, along with a DR2800 VIS Spectrophotometer at its biogas plant, the analysis of nutrient levels ensure that the site’s anaerobic reactor is running effectively, reducing analysis times by 75% as a result.
Prior to analysis in a DR2800, samples are digested in the HT200S, with digestion times for Nitrogen, Phosphate and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), which previously took two hours, now taking just 15 minutes.
Ciaran Conroy, from Smurfit Kappa SSK, explained that the HT200S has radically altered nutrient analysis at the plant. He said: “The HT200S allows us to be more reactive to alterations in the process, as a result of the speed with which we are now able to take measurements. The speed of digestion is complimented by the fact that the HT200S cools the samples so that they can be transferred to the spectrophotometer immediately.”
“The easy identification of COD and Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) in the biogas reactor is just one example of this, enabling us to react in a matter of minutes, resulting in less time spent on maintaining the biogas reactor.”
The HT200S can also digest samples prior to analysis for Chromium, Tin, Silver and Total Organic Carbon (TOC).
The portable HT200S can provide numerous benefits for virtually every industry where COD, nitrogen, phosphate or metals analysis has to take place, saving significant maintenance time and costs in the process.
For a brochure, please contact sarah.blayds@hach-lange.co.uk
