Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Energy Production and Compost Generation from a Segregated M unicipal Waste Stream Using Bi-phasic Anaerobic Digestion

H.W. Yu, Z. Samani, A. Hanson, G. Smith

New M exico State University Las Cruces NM , 88001 United States of America

ABSTRACT M unicipal solid wastes are major sources of air, water and soil contamination. There is a need for alternative waste management techniques to better utilize the waste and minimize its adverse environmental impact. A two-phase bio-fermentation system was used to evaluate the feasibility of producing methane from high carbon segregated waste from a major Citys municipal solid waste stream. The bi-phasic system consists of a solid phase and a methane phase. Leachate is re-circulated through the solid phase until a desired level of volatile fatty acid (VFA) is accumulated in the leachate. The leachate is transferred to the methane reactor where the VFA is converted to methane. The average methane concentration in the produced gas was in excess of 71 percent. The material remaining after the anaerobic stabilization was composted. The compost was sufficient quality for use in agricultural application, and thus the research represented a full beneficial reuse of the solid waste stream.

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 1 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

INTRODUCTION The solid-state bi-phasic anaerobic fermentation process is a patented technology (Ghosh, 1982a, 1983,1987) that has advanced through bench- and small, pilot-scale research over the last 20 years with support from the City and County of M ilwaukee, Wisconsin Gas Company, Rexnord, Inc., and Americology, Inc. (Ghosh, 1984, 1985a, 1985b, 1985c; Ghosh and Lall, 1988); and the Department of Energy (Sun and Ghosh, 1992). However, it is only recently that the design information needed for design of a large pilot (prototype) plant has become available through work supported by the New Energy & Industrial Organization (NEDO), M inistry of International Trade and Industry (M ITI), Government of Japan (Ghosh et al., 1997). This paper presents performance data for this system developed operated at ambient temperature with a feedstock of commercial/industrial waste simulating the waste stream available to the City of Albuquerque NM .

Conventional anaerobic fermentation of chemically heterogeneous feeds is conducted in a single-stage fermenter (called a "digester") to recover 50-60% of the feed organic carbon as methane, a renewable biofuel. Several interdependent biochemical pathways mediated by microbial groups of different physiology and genotypic characteristics are involved in the overall conversion of organic solids to volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and finally to methane. It is important to note that dilute feed recycle streams, with total solids (TS) concentrations of about 5-wt %, is used to balance the processes of acids production from solids (acidogenesis) and acid conversion to methane (methanogenesis). With concentrated soluble or high-solids feeds streams often used in other processes, VFAs

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 2 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

production proceeds at a much faster rate than the rate of conversion of VFAs to methane thereby causing acids accumulation, a pH drop, and the consequent inhibition of methanogenesis (Ghosh et al., 1975; Ghosh, 1987, Longworth et. al., 1999). The imbalance between the processes of acidogenesis and methanogenesis is averted by physically isolating the two major microbial phases in two separate fermenters (Pohland and Ghosh, 1971; Ghosh, S. and Klass, D. L., 1977; Ghosh, S., 1982; Ghosh, et al., 1987; Alexiou et aL, 1994a,1994b; Ghosh et al., 1994). As described below and shown in Figure 1, the two-phase process consists of an acid phase fermenter (solid phase reactor) operated in tandem with a methanation or biogasification fermenter (gas production phase). In the solid phase, water is applied from the top of the waste using a drip or sprinkler irrigation system. The leachate is collected at the bottom of the solid phase using an underdrain sump. The leachate is then re-circulated through the solid waste bed until a desired level of VFAs is achieved in the leachate. At this point the leachate is transferred to the methane production reactor where the VFAs are converted to methane in a very short time (2-3 days). The leachate is then returned to the solid phase for recirculation through the solid waste bed to replenish the VFAs concentration. The system works with a relatively small volume of water (about 25% by volume greater than the solid waste field capacity) which is constantly re-circulated between solid phase and methane phase.

The two-phase system has several advantages over the traditional single phase system (landfills). The total detention time in the two-phase system is considerably shorter than the detention time in the single phase system. The average duration of two phase system

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 3 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

is 6-12 months compared to single phase system which could last 30-50 years (Brummeler et al 1992, Chynoweth et al 1993, Ghosh, 1995, Longworth 1999). The gas conversion efficiency in two-phase system is also significantly higher than single phase system. The gas conversion rate for M SW in two-phase system is 0.66-0.85 m3 of methane per kg of volatile solids (VS) consumed. This is compared to 0.22-0.48 m3 of methane/kg of VS consumed for the single phase system (Bae et al 1998, Brummeler et al 1992, M atw-Alvarez et al, 1992, Owens and Chynoweth, 1993,Ghosh, 1995, Beccari et al, 1998, Pohland, 1975, Strydom et al, 1997). In addition, the methane concentration in the produced gas is higher in two-phase system than the single phase system. The methane concentration in two-phase system is 70-85 percent by volume compared to 4060 percent for single phase system (Bae et al, 1998, Brummeler et al 1992, Chynoweth et al 1993, Pohland, 1975, Beccari et al, 1993,Ghosh, 1995, Longworth, 1999, Strydom et al, 1997).

Phase I Fermentation involves hydrolysis (or liquefaction) of feed solids to monomeric species and conversion of these to VFAs, hydrogen, C02, and other minor by-products. Liquefaction-acidification reactions mediated by fermentative acidogens proceed at a fast rate, and are optimized at an acidic pH (Ghosh, et al., 1987; Speece, 1996). M inor products of liquefaction include alcohols, ketones, organic and inorganic sulfides, nitrogen, hydrogen, and other compounds. Phase 1I Fermentation involves the conversion of the end-products of Phase I fermentation by acetogenic bacteria to acetate, and hydrogen and C02 that are precursors of the biomethanation process. Acetate is split to methane and C02 in equimolar

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 4 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

quantities by acetoclastic methane bacteria, while hydrogen and C02 are converted to methane by syntrophic methanogens. The residue is rich in inorganic salts of ammonium and phosphorus, vitamins, and other nutrients. The acetogenic-methanogenic fermentation phase proceeds at about one-tenth the rate of acidogenesis, and is optimized at an alkaline pH and lower redox potential (Ghosh, et al., 1987; Speece 1996). In a bench scale study, more than 95 vol% of the two-phase system methane was generated by Phase II or the methane-phase fermenter (Ghosh, 1991).

Research on the development of the two phase fermentation was initiated by Professors Borchardt (1967) followed by the work of Professors Pohland and Ghosh (1971). The feasibility of engineering application of phased fermentation by kinetic control involving adjustment of hydraulic and organic loading rates was demonstrated in the 1970s (Ghosh and Pohland, 1974; Ghosh, et al., 1975). The two-phase fermentation process has been applied in commercial-scale for biogasification of municipal biosolids and high strength industrial effluents in the United States, Germany, M alaysia, India, Egypt, Italy, South Africa and other countries (Ghosh, et al., 1985; Beccari, 1998; Strydom, 1997). Several American communities including Louisville, KY, Baltimore, M D, and Blue Plains, Washington, D.C., and Seattle, WA are considering installation of two-phase systems to replace existing single-stage anaerobic digestion. Demonstrated advantages of phased fermentation are: doubling or tripling of methane production rate relative to conventional anaerobic digestion (AD), high pathogen kill rates (disinfection), biodegradation of hazardous substances, elimination of fermenter foaming, and increased process stability (Ghosh, 1987; Ghosh et al., 87; Ghosh and Buoy, 1993).

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 5 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Solid waste bi-phasic fermentation is an extension of the two-phase fermentation process. In this bi-phasic process, hydrolysis and acidogenesis of a solid bed are induced and thereafter accelerated by gradual enrichment and intermittent recirculation of a culture of fermentative organisms (Ghosh, 1985a, 1985b, 1985c).

The solid-state bi-phasic fermentation process is applicable to any high solids-content, biodegradable, organic feedstock. However, most of the research has been performed with real and simulated municipal solid waste (M SW). The feedstock used in this work was a simulated segregated organic solid waste stream from the City of Albuquerque NM . This waste stream is largely from the industrial and commercial sector. The City of Albuquerque NM is interested in attempting to implement this technology at a large pilot scale, with expansion to full-scale if the pilot scale is successful. Albuquerque has identified 83 tons/day of segregated high organic waste in their municipal waste stream. The waste stream characteristics are shown in Table 1 (Glass, 1999).

Table 1. Organic Fraction Separated from commercial/industrial waste stream; Albuquerque, NM =========== Tons/Year ============ Category Total Paper Food etc. Yard Tr. -------------- ------ -------------Large Retail 12,787 10,381 2,249 157 Educational 10,276 5,388 3,100 1,788 Govt. Office 2,531 2,282 228 21 -------------- ------ -------------Totals 25,594 18,051 5,577 1,966

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 6 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Results of current bench-scale research have shown that the end products of Phase I, solid bed fermentation of M SW include: VFAs up to a concentration of 18 g/l, and a gas mixture of hydrogen (up to 30 mol%), nitrogen (up to 30 mol%), C02 (up to 90 mol%), and methane (up to about 5 mol %) (Ghosh et al., 1997). The acidic products are conveyed to a separate upflow, packed-bed methane fermenter where the acids are converted to methane and carbon dioxide. M ethane fermenter effluent is recycled back to the solid-bed reactor to add alkalinity to the solid bed and to provide moisture for further leachate production. Since the respiration by-products from the acidifiers do not leave the first phase reactor, the methane concentration in the methane production reactor is 7585% instead of the 50-55 % normally observed in a single phase digester. This performance is very close to the theoretical maximum efficiency for a microbial system without gas scrubbing. The fermentation process is completed in months instead of the years required in a conventional landfill. Bench-scale bi-phasic fermentation of organic-rich M SW showed that about 60% of the organic solids (VS) were gasified. M ethane gas can be used to generate electrical power or liquid fuel, with off-the-shelf thermal or thermochemical conversion technologies.

The organic release characteristics for typical waste streams is a potential major issue. Understanding of the dynamics associated with conversion of the carbon source to VFAs impacts the size of the solid phase reactor (Phase I) which has a detention time of months as opposed to hours in the Phase II reactor. As shown previously, the majority of the waste stream available in the City of Albuquerque, and probably in most citys, is cellulose based materials. It appears that there are two choices with these materials.

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 7 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Accept the energy lose associated with not capturing the full methane production capacity of this material, and allow most of the energy potential to go into a post anaerobic treatment composting process. It is noted that this is acceptable, since the composting is a beneficial use of the carbon From work by Eleazer et al. (1997), it appears that most none cellulose wastes release the majority of consumable carbon in 60-90 days. The cellulose waste streams such as office paper appear to yield a fairly flat release of carbon over 500+ days(Eleazer, et al. 1997). The segregated waste stream from Albuquerque is 71% cellulose based waste (office paper). Figure 2 shows the COD production pattern for the simulated Albuquerque waste. Clearly there is a quick release of carbon in a 60-90 day window. The organics remaining after the 60-90 day period will act as food for the composting process and the composted material will be sold as a beneficial product.

The digested material, although more biologically stable, still represents a demand for landfill space. These solids go to beneficial use as compost, instead of taking up landfill space. The composting will keep the material out of the landfill, prevent the eventual generation of methane in the landfill, and provide a commercially saleable beneficial product. It is noted that composting the end product of the anaerobic digestion will further mitigate production of a green house gas. Combined digestion and composting or co-composting were reported successfully in the Europe and Canada ( Pera, et. al, 1991; Edelmann and Egeli 1993; Poggi-Varaldo and Oleszkiewicz 1992). The nutrient-rich process residue from the solid phase reactor is expected to satisfy 503 regulations of U. S. EPA in terms of pathogen density, heavy metal contents, and

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 8 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

concentration of hazardous substances. The residue has potential, therefore, to be utilized by urban communities for horticultural applications, and by farmers for agricultural use. M arkets for these products are well established in many communities.

Since the paper has high lignin which is hard to decompose by anaerobic process, while food waste, and grass are easily biodegradable through anaerobic digestion that can recover biogas, there is a good opportunity to optimize the process: first recovering biogas and breaking down the structure of the paper, then using composting process to decompose the paper and convert the remaining waste stream to a marketable soil amendment. Also during the composting process, the moisture adjustment can be achieved by adding leachate from the anaerobic digestion process. This leachate will be full of nutrients.

M ATERIALS AND M ETHODS

The solid phase reactor consisted of a metal container with capacity of 8 m3. The reactor was sealed with 40 mil (1mm) polyethylene. The container was fitted with an influent port, an effluent port, and a sprinkler irrigation system for leachate recirculation. The ratio of the feed stock was 70:20:10 for the paper, food waste and grass, which was simulated by Albuquerque segregated waste stream. The load consisting of 193 lbs.(87.6 kg) of paper, 70 lbs.(31.8 kg) of food waste and 45 lbs.(20.4 kg) of grass was placed in the container. The paper was shred 0.25 in x 11 in( 0.64 cm x 28 cm) office paper. The food waste was from the university cafeteria and the grass was from the university lawns.

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 9 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

The volume of water added to the solid phase container was sufficient to provide a volume of water to recirculate in the solid phase container. This resulted in a total volume of 100 gallons(380 liters) of water. Water consumption during re-circulation due to absorption and evaporation, required the periodic addition of water to maintain the recirculation volume.

The methane phase reactors consisted of two 12 feet tall (3.66 m), 12 inch (30.5 cm) ID PVC pipes which were fitted with influent and effluent ports. The columns were filled with inert commercial packing media to facilitate the bacteria attachment and growth. The packing had a total porosity of 90 percent resulting in net liquid volume of 50 gallons(190 liters) per column. The columns were designed to operate as upflow anaerobic filters (UAF).

To start the experiment, water was re-circulated through the solid phase until the pH of the solid phase leachate was reduced to a value of 5.4, which was within the range of the optimum environment (pH of 4.0-6.5, (Speece, 1996)) for the acidogenic bacteria. Leachate was transferred to the UAF once per day. The leachate transfer was increased incrementally to determine the maximum organic loading rate for each UAF. The maximum loading rate was determined to be 2.7 kg of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) per cubic meter of UAF per day. In order to evaluate the effect of temperature on the gasification efficiency, one of UAF was heated using heat tape. This resulted in a column average temperature of approximately 15 0F higher than the ambient average temperature. The second UAF was

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 10 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

operated at ambient temperature. Liquid samples were collected from the influent and effluent of the solid phase and UAF and were analyzed for COD, pH.

The composting process was carried out in two 32 gallons(121-liters) reactors. The composting was forced air with the air introduced at the bottom of the reactor and diffused through a perforated Plexiglas plate. The Average air rate controlled by an inline flow meter was 2 liter/min. The feed stock of the composting process filled 80 % of the reactor volume. The composting process lasted 90 days. In addition, gas samples were collected from both phases and were analyzed for CH4. The starting and ending moisture and C/N ratio were analyzed. The initial moisture was 62 % by weight and the initial C/N ratio was 100 : 1.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS The experiment was performed from Oct. 7, 1999 to Jan. 28, 2000. The operation stopped once the COD and VFA production approached low steady values. Figure 2, shows the influent and effluent COD for both UAFs. The COD reached a peak value of 28,000 mg/l during the first month of operation, and declined to a value of 5,000 mg/l after 112 days of operation. The area under the influent COD curve represents 67% of the total volatile solids originally present in the reactor. The remaining 33% of the VS was a pulp and lignin like residual. The decision to continue the operation until all the VS is converted, would depend on economic and operational constraints. Figure 2 also shows the effluent COD from UAFs. The average COD produced by the heated UAF was 13 % lower than that of ambient UAF.

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 11 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Figure 3 shows the cumulative gas production from the UAFs. The comparison shows that the heated UAF produced 30 percent more gas than the ambient UAF. The higher gas production in the heated UAF was due to the higher temperature which resulted in higher COD conversion. As expected, the results show that heating and insulation are major factors in biogasification of VFAs.

Figure 4 shows the gas constituents produced by UAFs. The average methane concentration for both UAFs was 72 and 76 percent, with a peak value of 79 percent. There was no significant difference in methane concentration between heated and ambient UAF. The remaining components were carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulfide. The methane yields for heated and unheated UAF were 0.33 and 0.3 m3 of methane per kg of COD removed respectively. The COD removal rates for heated and ambient UAF were 72 and 66 percent respectively.

Table 1. compost characteristics Before Composting VS 64 60 M oisture 66 58 C:N 110 90 After Composting VS 40 38 M oisture 51 45 C:N 53 50 Volatile Solids Reduction 38 % 37 %

Figure 5 shows the temperature profile of the compost. This figure demonstrates a number of important things. The period of maximum temperature generation lasted for only 90 days, and generated temperatures between 35 and 40 C. A temperature of 60 C is required to destroy weed seeds and pathogens. At day 20 nitrogen was added to both

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 12 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

compost reactors. There was no increase in temperature, which indicates that the low temperature was not due to a nitrogen limitation. Between days 63 and 78 the cover blew off from compost reactor #2, which resulted in severe drying of that reactor. This caused a dramatic temperature drop. When water was added to the reactor, the temperature returned quickly to 30 C. The fact that compost reactor #1 and #2 were at the same steady state temperature before and after the drying event, indicated that the system was not moisture limited. These two factors indicate that the low temperature during the composting was probably due to a lack of available carbon. Improvements in the composting step of this process will probably require the addition of an available carbon source, such as cow manure.

CONCLUSION This work shows that paper, food waste and grass can be gasified in a relatively short time (112 days) in comparison to a normal landfill setting. The results also showed that the duration of the operation can be further reduced by heating and/or insulating the system. The effluent gas had an average methane concentration of 74 percent. The methane gas production rate was approximately (0.03 m3 of methane per kg of waste). In a field scale operation, this production value would be a function of length of time the feedstock was left in the reactor, which in turn is determined by economic and operational constraints. After anaerobic digestion, the easily decomposable materials were converted to biogas, while paper changed to pulp like stuff. The remaining paper only took 60 days to decompose to a soil like substance during composting.

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 13 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to acknowledge financial assistance from the Waste Education Research Consortium (WERC)/DOE, and the New Energy Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan. We would also like to thank the City of Albuquerque NM for assisting with sample analysis.

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 14 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

REFERENCE: Alexiou, I.F., Anderson, G.K. and Ghosh, S., "The use of acidogenic reactors as pretreatment for agro-industrial wastewaters and sludges," Proc.. Anaerobic Processes for Bioenergy and Environment: The Nordic Energy Programme, Intl. Conf.', Kollekolle, Denmark, Jan. (1994a). Alexiou, I.F., Anderson, G. K. and Ghosh, S., "Pre-acidification Used as Pre-treatment for Agroindustrial Wastewaters and Sludges, " Proc., Treatment of Organic Wastes and Sludges, "Aqua-Enviro " European Conf., Wakefield, UK, April (1994b). Bae, J. H.; Cho, K. W.; Lee, S. J.; Bum, B. S.; and Yoon, B. H. Effects Of Leachate Recycle And Anaerobic Digestion Sludge Recycle On The M ethane Production From Solid Wastes Wat. Sci. Tech. 1998, 38(2), 159-168 Beccari, M .; M afone, M . and Torrisi, L Two-reactor System With Partial Phase Separation For Anaerobic Treatment Of Olive Oil M ill Effluents, Wat. Sci. Tech. 1998, 38 (4-5), 53-60 Borchardt, J.A.,"Anaerobic Phase Separation by Dialysis Technique," Proc.. Third Intl. Conf. On Wat. Pollut. Res., 1, 309 (1967). Brummeler, E. T.; Aarnink, M . M . J.; and Koster, I. W. Dry Anaerobic Digestion Of Solid Organic Waste In A Biocel Reactor At Pilot-Plant Scale, Wat. Sci. Tech. 1992, 25(7), 301-310 Chynoweth, D. P.; Barkdoll, A.W.; Nordstedt, R.A.; Owens, J. M . and Sifontes, J. Sequential Batch Anaerobic Composting of M unicipal Solid Waste(M SW) And Yard Waste, Wat. Sci. Tech.1993, 27(2), 77-86 Edelmann, W. and Engeli, G. Combined Digestion And Composting Of Organic Industrial And M unicipal Wastes In Switzerland, Wat. Sci. Tech., 1993, 27 (2), 169-182. Eleazer, W. E.; Odle, III, W. S.; Wang, Y. and Barlaz, M . A. Biodegradability of M unicipal Solid Waste Components In Laboratory-Scale Landfills, Environ. Sci. Technol. 1997, 31, 911-917 Ghosh, S. and Pohland, F.G., "Kinetics of Substrate Assimilation and Product Formation in Anaerobic Digestion,", Jour. Wat. Poll. Control Fed., 46, 4, 748-75 9, April (1974). Ghosh, S., Conrad, J.R. and Klass, D.L., "Anaerobic Acidogenesis of Sewage Sludge", Journ. Wat. Pollut. Control Fed., 47, 1, 30-45 (1975).

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 15 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Ghosh, S. and Klass, D.L., "Two-Phase Anaerobic Digestion", U.S. Patent 4,022,665, M ay 10 (1977). Ghosh, S., "Two-Phase Anaerobic Digester System," U.S. Patent 4,318,993, M arch 9 (1982). Ghosh, S., "Gas Production by Accelerated In-Situ Bioleaching of Landfills, " US. Patent 4,323,367, April 6 (1982a). Ghosh, S., Henry, M .P. and Sajj ad, A., "Novel Two-Phase Anaerobic Gasification with Solid-Bed Acid Digestion in Tandem with Fixed-Film M ethane Fermentation, " Proc. International Gas Research Conference, London, England, June 13-16, 1983, Gas Research Inst., Chicago, IL (1983). Ghosh, S., "Gas Production by Accelerated Bioleaching of Organic M aterials, " U.S. Patent 4,396,402, Aug. 2 (1983). Ghosh, S., "Solid-Phase M ethane Fermentation of Solid Wastes, " Proc.. Natl. Waste Processing Conf' Engineering: The Solution, 683-689, ASM E, New York (1984). Ghosh, S., "Leach-Bed Two-Phase Digestion-The Landfill Gas Concept," Symp. Papers, Energy from Biomass and Wastes IX, D. L. Klass, Ed., Lake Buena Vista, FL., Inst. Gas Technol, Chicago, IL., 7430762, Jan. 29-Feb. 1 (1985a). Ghosh, S., "Solid-Phase Digestion of Low-M oisture Feeds," S. Ghosh, In Biotechnol. & Bioeng. Symp. No 14, 365-382, C. D. Scott, Ed. Johm Wiley & Sons, New York (1985b). Ghosh, S., "Solid-Phase M ethane Fermentation of Solid Wastes, " Jour. Energy Resources Technol., Trans. ASM E, 107, 402-405, Sept. (1985c). Ghosh, S., Ombregt, J. P. and Pypin, P., "M ethane Production from Industrial Wastes by Two-Phase Anaerobic Digestion, Wat. Res., 29, 1083-1088 (1985). Ghosh, S., "Improved Sludge Gasification by Two-Phase Digestion ", Journal of Environ. Eng., Amer. Soc. of Civil Engineers, 113, 6, 1265-1284 (1987). Ghosh, S., Henry, M . P. and Sajj ad, A., Stabilization of Sewage Sludge by Two-Phase Anaerobic Digestion", EPA 60012-871040, June '87, No. PB 87-1973981AS, Natl. Tech. Info. Service, Springfield, VA (1987). Ghosh, S., Chynoweth, and D. P., Tarman, P. B., "Two Phase Anerobic Digestion", U.S. Patent 4,696,746, September 29 (1987). Ghosh, S. and Lall, U., "Kinetics of Anaerobic Digestion of Solid Substrates", in Anaerobic Digestion 1988, E. R. Hall and P. N. Hobson, Editors, Advances in Wat. Poll. Control, Int. Assoc. on Wat. Poll. Res, And Control, 365-376, Pergamon Press (1988).

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 16 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Ghosh, S., "Pilot- Scale Demonstration of Two-Phase Anaerobic Fermentation of Activated Sludge," in Water Science & Technology -Advances in Water Pollution Control, Vol. 23, Part 3, 1179-88, P. Grau and International Association of Water Pollution Research and Control Program Committee, Editors, Pergamon Press, Oxford, England (1991). Ghosh, S. and Buoy, K., "The Acimet Process: An Innovative Approach to Biogasification of M unicipal Sludge," Conf Proc.. First Biomass Conference of the Americas (sponsored by the USDA, USDOE, USEP and Energy, M ines and Resources, Canada), Burlington, VT, Aug. 30-Sept. 2 (1993). Ghosh, S., "Commercialization of an Innovative Anaerobic Digestion Process ", Proc.. Ann. Symp. International Session Assoc. of Environ. & Sanit. Eng.. Res., Kyoto, Japan, 8, No. 3, 5-10 (1994). Ghosh, S., Fukushi, K., Liu, T., Kalra, S., M arigar, C., Hansen, C., DeBirk, L., Bupp, S., Sargent, S., Christensen, J., and M illar, J., "Pilot Plant for Biomethanation of Dairy Industry Wastes," proc.. Bioenergy 94: Using Biofuels for a Better Environment, Sixth National Bioenergy Conference, Reno, NV., Oct. 2-6., The Wester Regional Biomass Energy Program, C/O WAPA, Golden, CO (1994). Ghosh, S. Role Of Anaerobic Digestion In Alleviating Environmental Problems In The United States, J. of Hydrau, Coast. And Environ. Eng., 1995,521(8), 239-248 Ghosh, S., Vietez, E. R., Liu, T. and Kato, Y., "Biogasification of Solid Wastes by Two Phase Fermentation," Proc.., Third Biomass Conf of the Americas, M ontreal, Canada, Aug. 23-29 (1997). Glass, Steve, Personal Communication, November, 1999 Longworth, G Master Thesis New Mexico State University, 1999 M atw-Alvarez, J.; Liabres, P.; Cecchi, F.; and Pavan, P. Anaerobic Digestion Of The Barcelona Central Food M arket Organic Wastes: Experimental Study, Bioresurce Technology, 1992, 39, 39-48 Owens, J. M . and Chynoweth, D. P. Biochemical M ethane Potential Of M unicipal Solid Waste (M SW) Components, Wat. Sci. Tech., 1993, 27 (2), 1-14 Pera, A.; Vallini, G.; Frassinetti, S. and Cecchi, F. Co-composting For M anaging Effluent From Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion Of M unicipal Solid Waste, Environmental Technology, 1991, 12, 1137-1145

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 17 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Poggi-Varaldo, H. and Oleszkiewicz, J. A. Anaerobic Co-composting Of M unicipal Solid Waste and Waste Sludge At High Total Solids Levels, Environmental Technology, 1991, 13, 409-421 Pohland, F. G. and Ghosh, S. Developments In Anaerobic Treatment Process, Biotechnol. and Bioeng. Symp., 1971, 2, 85-106 Pohland, F.G. Accelerated solid Waste Stabilization And Leachate Treatment By Leachate Recycle Through Sanitary Landfills, Progress in Water Technology 1975, 7, 753-765 Speece, R. E. Anaerobic Biotechnology for Industrial Wastewaters Archae Press 1996, p. 94 Strydom, J. P.; Britz, T. J. and M ostert, J. F. Two-phase Anaerobic Digestion Of Three Different Dairy Effluents Using A Hybrid Bioreactor, Water SA 1997, 23 (2), 151-156 Sun, M . L. and Ghosh, S., "Anaerobic Biodegradation of Benzene under Acidogenic Fermentation Condition," Proc.. Seventh Annual Conf on Hazardous Waste Research, Ed. L. E. Erickson, Boulder, Co June 1-2, 1992, Kansas State University, M anhattan, Kansas.

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 18 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

Gas Feed Return Gas

Anaerobic Filter (Methane Formers)

Solid Phase Recirculation

Gas Phase Recirculation

Solid Bed (Acid Formers)

Pump

Feed

Pump

Solid Phase

Methane Phase

Figure 1. Schematic of two-phase anaerobic digestion system

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 19 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

30000

25000

20000 COD (mg/L)

15000

10000

5000

0 7-Oct 27-Oct 16-Nov 6-Dec Date Column I Column II Solid phase 26-Dec 15-Jan 4-Feb

Figure 2. Upflow Anaerobic Filter (UAF) influent and effluent COD in mg/L

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 20 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 27-Oct

Gas production (liters)

6-Nov

16-Nov

26-Nov

6-Dec

16-Dec

26-Dec

5-Jan

15-Jan

25-Jan

4-Feb

Date C I gas accumulation C II gas accumulation

Figure 3. Gas accumulation from the upflow anaerobic filters (UAF)

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 21 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

90 80 Methane Content (% 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 16-Nov 21-Nov 26-Nov 1-Dec Date C I methane Content C II methane content 6-Dec 11-Dec 16-Dec

Figure 4. Upflow anaerobic filters (UAF) gas content.

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 22 of 23

Innovative Uses of Biosolids

45 Temperature (degrees C 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Days of Compos ting Reator I Reactor II Na dded water added

Figure 5. Composting Temperatures After Bi-phasic Treatment

Copyright 2001 Water Environment Federation. All Rights Reserved.

page 23 of 23