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Digestion Reactor without Moving Components
The SBEng digester stands out due to its specific process dynamics: To ensure a plug flow characteristic in the digester the digestate moves horizontally around an internal partition wall. This wall effectively prevents short circuiting of the flow. In the vertical, the digestate is thoroughly mixed in a loop flow („airlift pump effect“) in the respectively actuated sectors of the digestion reactor, thereby ensuring efficient renewal of the digestate’s contact surface. This process characteristic is extremely effectively superposed by an effect that serves to enhance the performance with pulsed reactors: The ongoing process of the digestate rising and subsequently dropping again during the gas injection transfers a powerful mixing pulse, which leads to the early removal of the smallest gas bubbles from the digestate. The biochemical concentration gradient attained in this way encourages the direct resumption of the methanogenic metabolic process.
Highest anaerobic decomposition capacities
Many years of statistics pertaining to gas production rates reveal high to very high specific gas formation rates in plants with gas injection, due to the process described above. The intensive contact surface renewal during the gas injection, and the associated pronounced shear forces, result in optimum digestion and good accessibility of the substrate for the microbial degradation of the available organic matter.
Compact footprint
Vertical digestion reactors without movable internals have proven themselves in long-term operation, and stand out due to their modest footprints. To date, volumes of up to 4,500 m³ have been realised per single digester.
High availability
Experience with plants that have been in operation in Germany since the end of the 90s shows that it may only be necessary to remove deposits after around 10 years or more. For example, a reference plant constructed in Freiburg in 1999 has been in uninterrupted operation ever since then. Downtimes do not arise due to damage or wear of movable internals.
Maintenance-friendliness
An easily accessible service room beneath the digestion reactor allows direct access to the gas injection system. As such, pipes, control valves and gas injectors are easy to access for maintenance and inspection purpose.
Flexibility
Combinations of up to 6 digesters in a single line facilitate an economical annual throughput of 20,000 to 200,000 Mg in the digestion process.
Durability
The digestion reactors are constructed in a durable, robust pre-stressed monolithic concrete design in slipforming for single volumes from approx. 1,500 to 4,500 m³.