NED UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY,

KARACHI
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT ENGINEERING

LANDFILL LEACHATE TREATMENT

BY ANAEROBIC DIGESTER

RASHID ALI (ROLL# EN01-2019-20)

SUBJECT: INDUSTRAIL WASTE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL

SUBJECT CODE: EN-513
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Principle of Anaerobic digestion

Design of Fixed dome Anaerobic digester

Types of Anaerobic digester

Anaerobic digestion Process

Applications and Use of Biogas

References

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 PRINCIPLE OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is a biochemical process during
which organic matter is decomposed in absence of oxygen
(Lopes et al. 2004).

Biogas
Biodegradable
Organic Waste

1. Animal Dung and Urine

2. Agricultural residues
3. Landfill leachate Digestate
4. Organic wastes from food and agro
industries
5. Organic fraction of municipal waste
6. Sewage sludge
7. Dedicated energy crops (e.g.
maize, sorghum, clover).

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 PRINCIPLE OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is a biochemical process during
which organic matter is decomposed in absence of oxygen.

Mixture of Methane (CH4),

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) &
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S),
Biogas
Biodegradable
Ammonia (NH3) and some other
Organic Waste
gases.

1. Animal Dung and Urine

2. Agricultural residues
Digestate
Nutrient rich Organic Fertilizer
3. Landfill leachate
4. Organic wastes from food and in the form of liquid and solid.
agro industries
5. Organic fraction of municipal
waste
6. Sewage sludge
7. Dedicated energy crops (e.g.
4
maize, sorghum, clover).
 ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATION AND ANAEROBIC PROCESS COMBINED
TREATMENT SYSTEM

• Landfill leachate treatment through electrochemical

oxidation and anaerobic process combined treatment
system.
• The concentration of organic acid is from 28% to 90%
based on biodegradability aspect after EC.
Observation that hydraulic retention time of 16 hours
and organic loading rate of 8 kg COD/m3 day.
• The removal efficiency of COD is 90%.

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 CHARACTERISTIC OF FEED STOCK IN ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PROCESS

Substrate Methane Yield(L/Kg VS)

Palm Oil Mill Waste 610
Municipal Solid Waste 360-530
Fruit And Vegetable Wastes 420
Food Waste 396
Rice Straw 350
Household Waste 350
Food Waste Leachate 294
Lignin Rich Organic Waste 200

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 1- Mixing tank with inlet
DESIGN OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTER pipe and sand trap.
2-Digester
3-Compensation and
removal tank
4-Gas Holder
6 5-Gas pipe
5 3
1 6-Entry hatch, with
4 gastight seal
2 9 7-accumulation of thick
8
sludge
8-outlet pipe
9-reference level
7

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 Methane (CH4 )
DESIGN OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTER

Carbon Dioxide(CO2)

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)

Ammonia (NH3)

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 IMPORTANT DESIGN PARAMETER: RESIDENCE TIME
 The residence time in a digester is also called hydraulic residence
time (HRT), or retention time (t)
 It is the length of time that the liquid stays in the reactor
 Once you know the design residence time for your process, you
can calculate the required volume of the digester

V = Q · tdesign

With:
Q: flowrate (m3/d), e.g., 0.5 m3/d
tdesign: design residence time, e.g., 30 days
Then required volume is: 15 m3

• Anaerobic baffled reactor: HRT = 2-3 days

• Sewage Sludge Digestion: HRT= 15-20 days
9 https://www.fao.org/3/v9922e/V9922E07.htm
 OTHER PARAMETERS

Organic Loading Rate (OLR)

The amount of volatile solids that can be fed into digester per day
• Mass of volatile solids (VS) per volume of reactor and time
• Unit: (kg VS/m^3 day)
pH
• Ideal range 6.5-7.5 pH
• Risk of acidification with too high OLR
Temperature
• Not much activity <15 ˚c
Ideal range
• 30-40 ˚c mesophilic
• 45-60 ˚c thermophilic

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 ANAEROBIC DIGESTION (AD) MICROBIOLOGY FUNDAMENTALS

 Under anaerobic conditions, organic substances are not aerated

(oxidised), but are fermented (break down)
 It is quite a “slow” process (low growth rate of methanogens)
compared to aerobic processes  relatively long sludge
retention times are required
 Like all biological processes, it is temperature dependent
(higher conversion rates at higher temperatures)
  digesters are typically heated / insulated or below ground
 The process occurs as a four-step process (see next slide)

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 COMPLEX SUBSTRATES
1

Hydrolysis
The Anaerobic Digestion Process
Carbohydrates Fats Proteins

Sugars Fatty Acids Amino Acids

Acidogenesis
2
SIMPLE SUBSTRATES

Volatile Acids and

Acetogenesis
Alcohols 3

CO2 + H2 Acetate

Methanogenesis
4

Formate Methanol
CH4
+
BIOGAS
CO2
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 BIOGAS COMPOSITION

Compound Vol %

Methane 50-75

Carbon dioxide 25-50

Nitrogen < 10

Oxygen 0

Hydrogen sulfide <3

Ammonia <1

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 APPLICATIONS OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTER
• Anaerobic digester can be used as lighting and cooking in developing
countries. (rural area)
• Public toilets institutions such universities, prisons, school and other.
• Wastewater Treatment in sludge treatment.
• Digestates ( Natural Fertilizers) can be replace Artificial fertilizers.
• Generating Electricity from Biogas.
• Anaerobic digestion with biogas production also occurs in landfills,
septic tanks, cows’ dung, natural or constructed wetlands and all
these sites produce methane gas!

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 BIOGAS USES

1. Biogas can be burnt and used for

cooking or lighting
2. Biogas can also be converted to
electricity and heat (part of the heat
is often used to heat the digester)
 “Combined heat and power plants”
(CHP), or co-generation plants

15 Bottom photo reference: Mantopi Lebofa (from NGO TED) lighting the biogas flame ( Lesotho, Dec 2006)
 CYCLE FOR CONVERSION OF ORGANIC WASTE
INTO ENERGY BY AD

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 REMOVAL OF DIFFERENT COMPOUNDS BY ANAEROBIC
DIGESTION (AD)
COMPOUND REMOVAL

Organic matter High level of removal (but not good enough for
direct discharge to surface waters; would need
aerobic post-treatment)
Nitrogen and No removal
phosphorus
Pathogens Not much removal unless operated at thermophilic*
temperatures and very long retention times
Heavy metals No removal

* Thermophilic (~55° C) anaerobic digestion will achieve

more pathogen removal than mesophilic (~ 35° C) anaerobic digestion

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 Referencing
• www.epa.gov/agstar
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213343713000109
• Arthur Wellinger et. ( 2005)
• Mantopi Lebofa (from NGO TED) lighting the biogas flame ( Lesotho, Dec 2006)
• www.eco-business.com/news/nepal-wins-hearts-and-minds-biogas-boom
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm9SRK22ccg
• https://anaerobic-digestion.com/biogas-and-anaerobic-digestion/biogas-composition/
• www.fao.org/3/v9922e/V9922E07.htm
• Coy Lin (2012). Anaerobic digestion of landfill leachate.
• Salma A. Iqbal, Shahinur Rahaman, Mizanur Rahman, Abu Yousuf. (2013). Anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste to
produce biogas. Procedia Engineering, 90, 657-662
• Luostarinen, B. S., Normak, A., Edström, M., Luostarinen, S., Normak, A., & Edström, M. (2011). Overview of Biogas
Technology Baltic MANURE WP6 Energy potentials. December.

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