Turbo-dryer Stabilization for Sanitized Organic Waste Residue
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current anaerobic digestion processes for organic waste or biomass often result in incomplete stabilization of solid residues, leading to residual moisture, undesired chemical substances, and microbial contamination, which limits their use as agricultural fertilizers and affects biogas production efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A process involving thermal pre-treatment in a turbo-cooker at temperatures above 80°C and subsequent stabilization in a turbo-dryer at temperatures above 180°C, reducing microbial loads and volatile compounds, and achieving a sanitized solid fraction with low moisture content, suitable for use as fertilizer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional anaerobic digestion is performed under mesophilic or thermophilic conditions, then biogas production is achieved, but the solid residue remains contaminated with microorganisms and has excessive moisture content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary thermal pre-treatment at temperatures between 80-95°C for 10-60 minutes before anaerobic digestion. This pre-action partially stabilizes the organic matter and reduces microbial loads in the feedstock, which subsequently enhances biogas production efficiency and reduces the microbial content and moisture in the final solid residue, eliminating the need for post-digestion stabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temperature parameter throughout the process: pre-treatment at 80-95°C, thermophilic digestion at 50-60°C, and final drying at 105-120°C. These parameter changes transform the organic matter progressively, achieving both high biogas yield and complete sanitization with moisture content below 10% in the final product.
2Device complexity
If anaerobic digestion is performed with insufficient pre-treatment, then the process is simpler, but organic matter degradation is incomplete and biogas production is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a relatively simple thermal pre-treatment step (heating to 80-95°C for 10-60 minutes) before anaerobic digestion. This preliminary action partially degrades the organic matter and activates the microorganisms, making the subsequent anaerobic digestion more efficient and increasing biogas production without requiring complex mechanical or chemical pre-treatment systems.
3Duration of action of moving object
If the solid fraction is not sufficiently stabilized, then the process is shorter, but the material contains residual moisture and undesired chemical substances that limit agricultural use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a final drying step at temperatures of 105-120°C for 30-120 minutes after anaerobic digestion. This parameter change (temperature and time) completely stabilizes the solid residue, reducing moisture content to below 10% and eliminating microbial contamination, making the material suitable for agricultural use without requiring extended stabilization periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical stabilization methods (such as aerobic digestion or composting that require weeks or months) with a thermal drying process. This substitution achieves complete stabilization and sanitization in a much shorter time frame while producing a high-quality agricultural fertilizer.
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
The process significantly reduces microbial loads and volatile organic compounds, enhancing biogas production yield and producing a stable, non-putrescible solid residue suitable for agricultural use with reduced moisture content.
Implementation Method 1
thermal pre-treatment in a turbo-cooker at temperatures above 80°C
Implementation Method 2
subsequent stabilization in a turbo-dryer at temperatures above 180°C, reducing microbial loads and volatile compounds
Implementation Method 3
stabilization in a turbo-dryer at temperatures above 180°C
Implementation Method 4
anaerobic digestion is a biological process through which, in the absence of oxygen, organic substance is transformed into biogas, mainly consisting of methane and carbon dioxide
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A process for treating organic waste or biomass comprising steps of: a) thermal pre-treatment of such organic waste or biomass, thus obtaining a pretreated organic material;b) anaerobic digestion of the pretreated organic material, with production of biogas and of a sludgy residue; c) separation of the sludgy residue into a liquid fraction and a solid fraction; d) stabilization of the solid fraction,where in step d) can be performed by steps of: i) providing a turbo-dryer (T'), with a heated inner wall (102), inside which there is rotatably supported a coaxial bladed rotor (107), ii) feeding a continuous flow of the solid fraction into the turbo-dryer; iii) centrifuging the continuous flow against the inner wall (102) of the turbo-dryer (T'), heated to a temperature of at least 180°C, towards the discharge opening (106); iv) discharging from the discharge opening a continuous flow of sanitized solid fraction and a continuous flow of water vapor.