There are now over 500 anaerobic digesters in the UK, treating 2 million wet tonnes of food waste and >3 million wet tonnes of sewage sludge.  Combined they have the capability to produce >5 terrawatthours of energy in the biogas and nutrient rich organic material, which is usually recycled to land.

All AD plants are governed by the same principles and biochemical reactions, but how much biogas is produced and the quality of the digestate is largely feedstock and operator dependent.

This 2 day course is an essential investment for anyone interested in making the most of their plant, for those considering a new build facility or plant upgrades to increase the value of the digestate.  It draws upon case studies, common operational problems and practical solutions to improve the overall economics of digestion and digestate now and in emerging markets.

Programme: Day 1, Wednesday 7th December:

Operating Anaerobic Digesters and Opportunities for Nutrient Recovery:

1. The different phases of AD and the key terms (Hydrolysis to methanogenesis; and the importance of volatile fatty acids, alkalinity, pH, temperature)
2. Key metrics for digester operation – Organic Loading Rate, Hydraulic Retention Time, Methane Yield and Volatile Solids Destruction.
3. Options for further processing and recovery of nutrients (including digestate recirculation and nitrogen and phosphorus removal)
4. Common operational problems and solutions

Day 2, Thursday 8th December: 

Digestate and Digester Optimisation:

1. Optimising digester performance for maximum biogas production, and understanding how this affects digestate dewaterability.
2. Potential markets for digestate
3. Agricultural use of digestate: waste vs. product, logistics (such as transport and spreading), complying with legislation, marketing to farmers. This will cover waste, non-waste (crop) and sludge digestates
4. Importance of quality – including physical, chemical and microbiological aspects
5. Valorising digestate (technologies and markets)
6. Using digestate in non-agricultural markets

Who should attend:

1. Digester plant operators from water and organic waste digestion sites looking to optimize their plant, maximize gate fees, throughput and revenue from biogas.
2. Plant managers seeking to minimize the costs of digestate recycling
3. Investment teams evaluating the long term financial model for a site and future options to dewater digestate economically and produce high value products.
4. Plant designers
5. Farm managers and agronomists seeking to unlock the value of digestate

You can attend just one or both days.