Plug Flow Fermenter With Exchangeable Agitators for Online Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plug flow fermenters for biogas plants require disruptive and expensive operational interruptions for maintenance and repair of agitating devices, as the entire fermenter operation must be stopped to service or replace agitators.
Innovation Solution
A plug flow fermenter design with a reactor container featuring exchangeable agitating devices that can be removed and inserted without stopping the fermentation process, allowing individual maintenance without disrupting operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a central agitator with multiple agitator arms is used in a horizontal cylindrical fermenter, then the substrate can be effectively circulated and conveyed, but the entire fermenter operation must be stopped for maintenance and the fermenter must be emptied to service the agitator
Solution Approach 1:
The central agitator is divided into multiple independent agitator arms that can be individually removed. Each agitator arm is a separate component that can be serviced independently without affecting the other arms or requiring fermenter shutdown, thus resolving the contradiction between continuous operation and ease of repair.
Solution Approach 2:
The agitator arms are designed to be extractable from the fermenter without emptying it. The arms can be removed through the top opening of the horizontal cylindrical fermenter while the substrate remains inside, allowing maintenance personnel to service or replace individual arms without interrupting the overall fermentation process.
2Ease of repair
If regular maintenance work on the agitator is performed, then the agitator can be serviced, but the entire fermenter operation must be stopped and the fermenter emptied
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the agitator into multiple independent arms, maintenance can be performed on individual arms during scheduled intervals without stopping the entire fermenter. Other arms continue to provide agitation, maintaining substrate circulation and biogas production throughout the maintenance period.
Solution Approach 2:
Individual agitator arms can be extracted and serviced while the fermenter remains operational. This allows maintenance activities to be performed on removed arms in a controlled environment while the fermentation process continues uninterrupted in the remaining system.
3Productivity
If the fermenter is designed as a horizontal cylindrical fermenter with a central agitator, then plug flow can be achieved, but maintenance effort becomes considerable and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The complex central agitator structure is segmented into multiple independent arms that can be individually accessed and maintained. This reduces maintenance complexity by allowing technicians to work on one arm at a time rather than dealing with the entire agitator assembly, thereby reducing both time and cost requirements for maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The agitator arms are designed for easy extraction from the horizontal cylindrical fermenter through the top opening. This extraction capability simplifies maintenance procedures by allowing arms to be removed and serviced in a convenient location without requiring specialized equipment or complete fermenter shutdown, reducing overall maintenance complexity and cost.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient and economical operation of biogas plants by allowing maintenance on agitating devices without halting the process, improving maintenance efficiency and reducing operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of separate agitating devices is arranged spaced apart in the reactor interior when seen in the longitudinal extension direction and thus in the flow direction of the plug flow, by means of which the substrate can be locally circulated and/or by means of which the substrate can be conveyed in the flow direction of the plug flow
Implementation Method 2
In dry fermentation, substrates that do not compete with food production can be used to produce biogas
Implementation Method 3
the substrate to be fermented, preferably by dry fermentation, can be fermented as plug flow while producing biogas
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a plug flow fermenter (1) for a biogas plant, having a reactor container (2) designed as an elongated straight tube, in the reactor interior (9) of which a substrate to be fermented, preferably by dry fermentation, can be fermented as plug flow while producing biogas, wherein the reactor container (2) has at least one container inlet (10), via which the substrate to be fermented can be fed to the reactor interior (9), and at least one container outlet (12) spaced apart from the container inlet (10) in the flow direction (x) of the plug flow, via which the fermented substrate can be discharged from the reactor interior (9), and wherein a plurality of separately exchangeable agitating devices (19) is arranged spaced apart in the reactor interior (9) when seen in the longitudinal extension direction and thus in the flow direction of the plug flow.