RAMAKRISHNAN, V (Vivekananda Kendra - Nardep, Vivekanada PuramKanyakumari 2, Tamil Nadu, 62970, IN)
MUNEESWARAN, V (Vivekananda Kendra - Nardep, Vivekanada PuramKanyakumari 2, Tamil Nadu, 62970, IN)
VASUDEO, G (Vivekananda Kendra - Nardep, Vivekanada PuramKanyakumari 2, Tamil Nadu, 62970, IN)
RAMAKRISHNAN, V (Vivekananda Kendra - Nardep, Vivekanada PuramKanyakumari 2, Tamil Nadu, 62970, IN)
MUNEESWARAN, V (Vivekananda Kendra - Nardep, Vivekanada PuramKanyakumari 2, Tamil Nadu, 62970, IN)
| CLAIMS 1. A biogas producing apparatus comprising gas holder drum (5), a digester (9) and comprising at least one of the features selected from the group of : a. the said gas holder drum having scum breakers, b. the said gas holder having a central pipe (a guide pipe) (3) that facilitates movement of the gas holder along the supporting pipe (6), up and down as well as controlled rotational movement, c. an inlet pipe (2) that is integrated with the gas holder, d. an inlet pipe (2) that is integrated with the gas holder and attached to the central pipe, e. a built in structural design feature of the said gas holder that provides scum breakers(4) that break up the floating scum and stirs the fermenting input organic matter with the movement of the gas holder up and down, as well as controlled rotational movement, f. providing, draining of slurry through an arrangement of outlet pipe (8) such that the pipe originates inside the digester tank near the upper end, g. pipe (8) is provided at its bottom with an emergency slurry drain (11), h. providing an outlet water drain (10) which connects to the water jacket, i. providing a substrate drain (12) for emptying the contents of the digester whenever required, j. providing a water jacket (7) to prevent the organic waste in digester from getting exposed to open atmosphere, preventing leakage of gas to atmosphere and for thermally insulating the digester. 2. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the said scum breaker comprises rods (4) that are attached on one end to the guide pipe (3) and to the other end of the inner wall of the gas holder drum (5). 3. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 1 comprising a digester made from a material which is free from corrosion and provides longer life than mild steel. 4. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 1 comprising a digester made from Brick Masonry, Ferro- crete, Ferro-cement or R.C.C, while the gas holder of a fiber glass reinforced plastic (FRP), High Density Polyethylene (HDP) or any other non corrosive material. 5. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 2 wherein the said material free from corrosion comprises a synthetic material or a plastic. 6. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 3 wherein the said synthetic or plastic material FRP or HDP. 7. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 1 that can be assembled in a single piece without projecting parts that is convenient for packaging and transportation. 8. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 1 with a gas storage capacity of in 0.5 to 2 cubic meters. 9. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 1 that is portable. 10. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 8 as a kitchen model. 11. A biogas producing apparatus of claim 1 with input of kitchen waste and/or a wide spectrum of organic waste that is scaled up as per requirement. |
IMPROVED BIO-DEGRADABLE WASTE BASED BIO-METHANATION PLANT.
TECHNCIAL FIELD
The invention describes a novel improved model biomethanation plant for producing continuous high yield of biogas from a spectrum of varied input materials of organic origin.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Every day variety of organic wastes are generated such as kitchen waste, vegetable waste, municipal biodegradable waste, hotel waste, farmyard waste or any other type of organic waste. These wastes are mostly subject to anaerobic digestion which leads to production of methane. This methane, which if released directly to the atmosphere becomes green house gas, however, if properly channelized can be used as biogas, and in addition the digested slurry can be used as organic fertilizer.
The conventional biogas plant is a floating drum type biogas plant that essentially comprises of two barrels or tanks one of which is essentially made of Mild Steel, which has open mouth and is kept in the inverted position in the other tank. The said inverted . tank has an aperture fitted with a valve for delivery of the gas. The other tank which is called as digester tank is usually made of bricks and cement or RCC rings. The digester tank is provided with an inlet pipe to feed the organic matter and has an outlet pipe for discharging the digested slurry. The digester tank is initially fed with cattle dung, which is mixed with water in 1:1 proportion. Normally, anaerobic bacteria develop in the digester tank 'in about 20-30 days. To speed up this process, an anaerobic bacterial culture derived from a running biogas plant can be inoculated in the digester tank. The above described conventional model has various limitations. First of all, it is not a portable model. The absence of any stirring action during fermentation makes the unit less efficient. Further, the scum breaking also becomes difficult in this model.
The gas holder moves within the digester and during its up and down movements, some fermenting organic material from the digester invariably escapes and sticks to the outer wall of the gas holder. This leads to foul smell emanating from the same and is basically un-hygienic. In this model, some gas always leaks from the sides of the gas holder. The digester is also exposed to the air and this leads to loss of heat from the digester when ambient temperature drops down the optimum temperature for the anaerobic fermentation and this makes performance of the biogas plant less efficient and unpredictable.
As the model is fixed the maintenance becomes very difficult when problems arise. Each plant has to be constructed at site with trained mason and proper supervision.
All these constraints of the conventional biogas plant generally result in discontinuing use of the biogas plant despite its other advantages.
US patent no. 5,288,146 describes rocking and rolling digester of the biogas plant to ensure uniform stirring of the compositing material so as to obtain more gas yield, however, this is not a simple model..
The biogas plant disclosed in this invention has achieved removal of several defects noted in the prior art models discussed above by introducing simple features in the design of the biogas plant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
The invention comprises a biogas producing apparatus comprising gas holder drum (5), a digester (9) and comprising at least one of the features selected from the group of: (a) the said gas holder drum encircled by the said digester having scum breakers,
(b) the said gas holder having a central pipe (a guide pipe) (3) that facilitates movement of the gas holder along the supporting pipe (6), up and down as well as controlled rotational movement,
(c) an inlet pipe (2) that is integrated with the gas holder,
(d) an inlet pipe (2) that is integrated with the gas holder and attached to the central pipe,
(e) a built-in structural design feature of the said gas holder that provides scum breakers (4) that break up the floating scum and stirs the fermenting input organic matter with the movement of the gas holder up and down, as well as controlled rotational movement,
(f) providing draining of slurry, through an arrangement of outlet pipe (8) such that the pipe originates inside the digester tank near the upper end,
(g) pipe (8) is provided at its bottom with an emergency slurry drain (11), (h) providing a water jacket (7) to prevent the organic waste in digester from getting exposed to open atmosphere, preventing leakage of gas to atmosphere and for thermally insulating the digester.
(i) providing an outlet water drain (10) which connects to the water jacket,
(j) providing a substrate drain (12) for emptying the contents of the digester whenever required,
The said scum breaker may be any structural feature, which in illustrated embodiments comprise rods (4) that are attached on one end to the guide pipe (3) and to the other end to the inner wall of the gas holder drum (5). The biogas producing apparatus of claim 1 comprising a digester made from a material which is free from corrosion and provides longer life than mild steel, may be made from material that is free from corrosion comprises a synthetic material or a plastic, including without limitations, fiber glass reinforced plastic (FRP) or High Density Polyethylene (HDP).
The biogas producing apparatus of this invention can be assembled in a single piece without any projecting parts that is convenient for packaging and transportation, and in varying capacities including a gas storage capacity of in 0.5 to 2 cubic meter in a portable model or a kitchen model, and may be capable of digesting kitchen waste and/or a wide spectrum of organic wastes. The model illustrated here is not limited to a portable size but may be scaled up suitably as per requirement. In one embodiment of this invention, the biogas producing apparatus comprises a digester made from Brick Masonry, Ferro- crete, Ferro-cement or R.C.C, while the gas holder of a fiber glass reinforced plastic (FRP), High Density Polyethylene (HDP) or any other non corrosive material.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
In one aspect, the model of this invention is a portable model that can be used conveniently for generating biogas from wide spectrum of bio-degradable wastes.
Short description of Figures Fig 1 shows the elevation of the improved bio-degradable waste based bio-Methanation plant
Fig 2 shows the plan
Fig 3 shows the side elevation with section A-A Description of part numbers given in the figure are as per Table 1. A person of ordinary skill in the art of biogas plants shall readily recognize that the dimensions of diameter and height given in the table are only illustrative of embodiment which is currently preferred model as a kitchen-waste biogas plant and shall differ from case to case, from purpose to purpose, from individual preferences and may be varied within reasonable limits to achieve the objectives of the invention and/or giving substantially same performance as the illustrated dimensions.
Table 1:
In one aspect, the biogas plant of this invention has the drum and the digester made of material that is free from corrosion and provides longer life than mild steel. The said material of digester includes synthetic or a plastic, further including, without limitation, fiber glass reinforced plastic (FRP) / High Density polyethylene (HDP).
However, the biogas plant of this invention may also be made in mild steel or a metal in full or in part.
In another aspect, the biogas plant of this invention has a guide pipe (3), which facilitates the smooth movement of the gas holder. The guide pipe moves along the supporting pipe (6) when the gas holder moves up and down. This results in increased efficiency of the plant.
In a further aspect, the biogas plant of this invention has an inlet pipe (2) that is integrated with the gas holder resulting in saving the space required for the biogas plant. This arrangement of inlet pipe enhances the smooth flow of the input material. This inlet pipe further helps in acting as a stirrer of the contents of the digester when the gas holder moves up and down.
In a further aspect, scum breakers (4) are provided which are connected on one end to the guide pipe and to the other end to the gas holder (5).
In a further aspect, the inlet pipe is interconnected to guide pipe at several points. In the illustrated model, the same is connected at three points. The scum breakers, the inlet pipe and the interconnections of inlet pipe and guide pipe provide a structural feature that helps in breaking the floating scum and homogenizing the fermenting substrate input thus paving the way for optimum gas production and contribute to very important improvement in the performance of the biogas plant. The arrangement of inlet pipe (2) economizes on the space because in this model there is no need to provide space at the sides of the biogas plant for connecting it with the inlet pipe to the digester. This feature, further makes the biogas plant as a one piece equipment helping in its easy packing and transportation.
In a further aspect of this invention, the biogas plant has been provided with an outlet water drain (10), emergency slurry drain (11) and substrate drain (12) that help in draining water for maintenance and draining slurry in case of emergency and easy substrate drainage for periodic maintenance.
It is also an aspect of the invention that the biogas plant is provided with an arrangement of outlet pipe which (8) starts at the inner end of the digester. This feature helps in avoiding short circuiting of input material and hence ensures thorough digestion of the material, resulting in optimum gas production. The fresh organic material fed in the digester through the inlet pipe gets intimately mixed with its contents, gets digested and it is only the digested material that finds outlet though the outlet pipe (8). In conventional model, the inlet pipe delivers the fresh material at the bottom of the digester and the outlet pipe also starts at the bottom of the digester and some part of fresh feed can always escape through the outlet pipe before it gets digested. In some prior art models a partition wall has been provided in the digester to avoid short circuiting. However this results in increasing the size of the digester. The model / design of this invention does not have this short-coming because of the above- stated arrangement.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a water jacket (7) is provided for the first time in a portable biogas generating apparatus that prevents the exposure of the organic dirt, making the plant more hygienic compared to the conventional model. The water jacket also helps in maintaining the temperature in the digester. This effect is achieved because the digester wall is not exposed to the ambient air directly. The effect can be further enhanced by selecting poor thermal conductor material for the outer wall of the water jacket. Optionally, oil can be added to cover the top surface of water which further prevents loss of heat. In cool climate, optionally, hot water can be placed or circulated in the water jacket. Further, if desired, the outer surface of the water jacket can be insulated. In addition the black color given to the gas holder and the digester provides for temperature maintenance for optimum gas production.
It is also an aspect of this invention that there are no permanent projecting parts. The model is easily portable. This enables safe and easy transport. This invention provides a biogas producing apparatus comprising gas holder drum (5), a digester (9) and comprising at least one of the features selected from the group of: a. the said gas holder drum encircled by the said digester having scum breakers b. the said gas holder having a central pipe (a guide pipe) (3) that facilitates movement of the gas holder along the supporting pipe (6), c. a built in structural design feature of the gas holder that provide scum breaker
(4) that breaks up the floating scum and stirs the fermenting input organic matter with the movement of the gas holder up and down, d. allowing draining of digested slurry through an arrangement of outlet pipe (8) such that the pipe originates inside the digester tank near the upper end, e. pipe (8) is provided at its bottom with an emergency slurry drain (11), f. using outlet water drain (10) which connects to the water jacket, g. using a substrate drain (12) for emptying the contents of the digester whenever required, h. using a water jacket (7) to prevent the organic waste in digester from getting exposed to open atmosphere, preventing leakage of gas to atmosphere and for thermally insulating the digester.
This invention provides a process / method of biomethantion in a biogas producing apparatus comprising a drum and a digester and comprising at least one of the features selected from the group of:
a. the said gas holder drum encircled by the said digester, having scum breakers b. the said gas holder having a central pipe (a guide pipe) (3) that facilitates movement of the gas holder along the supporting pipe (6), up and down as well as controlled rotational movement, c. a built in structural design feature of the gas holder that provide scum breaker (4) that break up the floating scum and stir the fermenting input organic matter with the movement of the gas holder up and down, d. allowing draining of slurry through an arrangement of outlet pipe (8) such that the pipe originates inside the digester tank near the upper end,
e. pipe (8) is provided at its bottom with an emergency slurry drain (11), f. using outlet water drain (10) which connects to the water jacket, g. using a substrate drain (12) for emptying the contents of the digester whenever required, h. using a water jacket (7) to prevent the organic waste in digester from getting exposed to open atmosphere, preventing leakage of gas to atmosphere and for thermally insulating the digester. In one aspect of the invention, the said structural design features of the floating drum that provide the inlet pipe (2) along with scum breakers(4) which break up the floating scum and stir the fermenting organic matter with the up and down movement as well as a controlled rotational movement of the gas holder.
In another aspect of the invention, the said material of digester which is free from corrosion provides longer life than mild steel comprises synthetic or a plastic; further including, without limitation, fiber glass reinforced plastic (FRP) / High Density polyethylene (HDP).
Small size, easy portability and enhanced cleanliness of the biogas plants and their thermal insulation provided by water jacket (7) of this inventions makes them very much suitable as a kitchen model or a restaurant model for disposal of kitchen wastes , and a wide spectrum of organic waste.
The said biogas plant made in size of 0.5 to 2 cubic meter is also covered in this invention, though scaled up models are also possible on the basic design of this invention. The input materials can be comprised of whole spectrum of bio-degradable wastes including but not limited to kitchen waste, vegetable waste, starchy materials, agro-bio waste, organic wastes available in the urban environments etc.
In one embodiment of this invention, the biogas producing apparatus comprises a digester made from Brick Masonry, Ferro- crete, Ferro-cement or R.C.C, while the gas holder of a fiber glass reinforced plastic (FRP), High Density Polyethylene (HDP) or any other non corrosive material.
The above described model is only illustrative to achieve good yield of the gas for most of the time in a year and without deteriorating the environment. Many variations and modifications will be easily apparent to a person ordinarily skilled in the art and all such variations are deemed to be covered in above disclosure.