Energy Potential of Biogas from Sewage Sludge after Thermal Hydrolysis and Digestion

Mukawa, J., Pająk, T., Rzepecki, T., Banaś, M.

Energies 2022, 15, 5255

Abstract

This paper presents the energy potential of biogas obtained from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge (SS) preceded by thermal hydrolysis (THP) using Cambi THP® technology.
The presented data are for the Tarnów (Poland) wastewater treatment plant for the year 2020. A detailed energy balance of biogas and its use in the cogeneration process and in the production of heat in the water boiler and the steam boiler is presented. The article contains data on the amount of processed SS and the content of dry matter and dry organic matter at different stages of the technological process. The annual plant operation resulted in the production of 3,276,497 Nm3 of biogas as a result of processing 8684 tonnes of dry solids (tDS) of municipal SS from the Tarnów wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and regional WWTPs. The energy potential of the produced biogas was 75,347.06 GJ. The average calorific value of biogas was 23,021 kJ/Nm3. The obtained biogas production allowed us to cover the thermal energy demand of the THP 100%. The annual average specific biogas conversion rate during the study period was 0.761 Nm3/kg of dry organic matter reduced and the average organic matter content reduction in the sludge was 64.60%.

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