HyMeth: Increased Methane and Hydrogen Production and Process Stability by Sensoric Regulation

Status

ongoing

Summary

Aim of the project HyMeth is to develop the basis for a demonstration project of two-stage, sensory controlled and regulated plant.

Considering the state of the art of biogas plants in this project new process engineering is introduced. The concept of the HyMeth is based on the spacial separation of the four steps of anaerobic digestion, including the first three steps in the so called hydrolysis tank. The production of the methane of the free fatty acids is taken out in the second, the methane step. Another improvement is the controlling and the regulation of the process by a central pumping station by a sensory system.

Aim of the deposited project is the increasing of the process stability by spacial separation of the hydrolyzing and the methane producing microorganisms. So the fermentation is taken out by the optimized pH-value for the several organisms. An important aspect is the increased quality of the biogas by building divided gas pipes for the two steps, because the main part of CO₂ an H₂S is produced in the first step which gets separated from the methane. So the costs for cleaning for the usage of the biogas (producing electricity by gas engine of fuel cell, injecting the biogas in the natural gas grid) decrease.

Further more in this project the amount of produced hydrogen is measured and so it is estimated if, after the needed abscission and cleaning, it is possible to use the hydrogen in an economic and energetic useful way (producing electricity by a fuel cell or store it).

Moreover in the project the economic aspects of the HyMeth system are compared with the traditional system. The decreased costs for stirring and lower costs for construction by building smaller but more powerful plants are regarded.

In continuous fermentations of renewable substrates and biological waste important informations for the construction of the demonstration plant are gained. The upper limits of organic load of the single reactors are found out, the controlling and the regulation is optimized, on the basis of the fermentation parameters the construction of the stirring is done for three sizes of reactors which means three engine power classes of the biogas plant in construction and the expected biogas amount and its quality is measured.

By means of the conclusions of the continuous fermentation a simulation of the whole process is taken out. This is for the acquisition of the mass flows of substrates before, in and after the plant. So it is possible to understand a little bit more of the complex system of biogas plants and to up scale the laboratory reactor to a demonstration plant.

So the management of input and output substrates of the demonstration plant is calculated and shown.

Project management

Nikolaus Weran
Profactor GmbH

Project or cooperation partner

• Endress + Hauser GmbH
  Lehnergasse 4
  1230 Wien
  Wolfgang Adelsmayer
  Tel.: +43 (1) 88056-120
  Fax: +43 (1) 88056-335
  E-Mail: wolfgang.adelsmayer@at.endress.com
• Industrieconsult Wenger-Oehn OEG
  Attergauerstrasse 74
  4880 St. Georgen im Attergau
  Hermann Wenger-Oehn
  Tel.: +43 (664) 8698843
  Fax: +43 (7667) 2193815
  E-Mail: hermann.wenger@industrie-consult.at
• Ing. Gerhard Agrinz GmbH
  Emmerich-Assmann-Gasse 6
  8430 Leibnitz
  Gerhard Agrinz
  Tel.: +43 (3452) 73997-0
  Fax: +43 (3452) 73997-9
  E-Mail: g_agrinz@agrinz.at

Nikolaus Weran
Profactor GmbH
Im Stadtgut A2
4407 Steyr-Gleink
E-Mail: nikolaus.weran@profactor.at
Internet: www.profactor.at