RU2532176C2 - Module bioreactor - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture.

SUBSTANCE: tubular bioreactor is located horizontally and is divided by partitions-segments not reaching the bottom of the container, into three sections: loading 1, working 3 and unloading 13. In the loading section 1 of the bioreactor from above and in the upper part of the unloading section 13 the technological hatches 4 are made. The working section 3 is made of one or several modules. In each module of the working section 3 the stirrer 7 and the heat exchanger 6 are mounted. In the upper part of each module there is a technological hatch 4 and intake devices in the form of fittings for connecting the head flow meter and intake of biogas. All sections of the bioreactor are insulated. In the working section 3 between the modules the adjustable shut-off valve is mounted, which enables to isolate the modules hermetically from each other. In the unloading section 13 the stirrer-mixer is mounted.

EFFECT: invention enables to create in the bioreactor safe and low energy intensity operation mode.

4 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The claimed technical solution relates to agriculture and is intended for the processing of liquid organic waste, mainly manure or litter, and obtain environmentally friendly organic fertilizers and combustible biogas.

A known reactor (see patent FR 2471124 (13) A1, 06/19/1981, 13 liters, Fig.1-2). The essence of this technical solution lies in the fact that the patented reactor contains a horizontally located steel tank that has loading and unloading hatches and is connected to a gas tank, in addition, the bioreactor tank is coated with thermal insulation to maintain a stable temperature in the bioreactor.

The disadvantage of this technical solution is that when loading, the masses that ferment and re-enter are mixed, as well as during unloading, the mixed mass is unloaded, which does not ensure complete fermentation of the fermented mass and reduces the efficiency of the bioreactor.

A barrel-shaped bioreactor is known (see (19) RU (11) 105624, (13) U1 (51) IPC С12М 1/00 (2006.01)), which is divided into horizontal sections, each of which has its own fermentation stage. The partitions located between the sections have windows that open-close as the fermentation stage is performed in this section.

The disadvantages of this device are the complexity of the design, as well as the non-repairability of this device - if the shutter that closes the section breaks down, it will be very difficult or impossible to repair the bioreactor.

Closest to the claimed modular bioreactor is a bioreactor, patented as a patent for a utility model of the Russian Federation No. 102617, С12М 1/00, dated 10.09.2010. The bioreactor is made tubular, located horizontally and divided from above by partition walls-segments into three sections: loading, working and unloading. Partition walls do not reach the bottom of the tank. In the loading section of the bioreactor, a loading hatch for loading biomass is located above. In the unloading section - an unloading hatch for unloading biomass. The bioreactor working section is made of one or several basic modules, while the loading and unloading sections are made in the form of separate modules and connected to the working section, a mixer and a heat exchanger are mounted in each basic module of the working section, while the modules of the working section are separated either by one or more insertion modules, either by means of one or more insertion modules in the form of knees, or by means of one or several conversion stream separator segments. At the same time, the modules of the working section have a connection through which biogas is pumped from the bioreactor to the gas tank by the compressor.

The disadvantage of this technical solution is:

- its insufficient study regarding the conclusion to the operating mode of fermentation of the bioreactor of large volumes of more than 200 m ^{3 of a} zigzag shape. In bioreactors of large volumes, at the time of the phased filling of the bioreactor with biomass, biomass fermentation takes place and the biogas flows from the filled part of the bioreactor to the inoperative part, while an explosive concentration of methane is created in it, which can enter the external environment through the discharge hatch.

- In the case of using conversion stream separator segments having a gap between the upper and lower parts of the segment and the bioreactor body, in bioreactors with more than one working modules, gas mixtures at different stages of fermentation mix with each other and enter the gas tank, which greatly complicates the use of biogas in cogeneration plants due to the high content of hydrogen sulfide in biogas in the first module at the initial stage of fermentation.

- Bioreactors of small (from 1 m ³ to 10 m ³ ) and medium (from 10 m ³ to 200 m ³ ) volumes do not have the possibility of a phased start-up, therefore more time and thermal energy are spent on heating the biomass in the initial stage of fermentation.

- The lack of thermal insulation of the sections of the bioreactor leads to increased energy consumption for the initial heating of the bioreactor and own needs.

The technical result of the claimed technical solution is to create a safe and low-energy mode of operation in the bioreactor, provided by correcting and maintaining the physicochemical parameters of the medium in different sections of the bioreactor and their parts, the biomass of which is at different stages of fermentation.

The result is achieved due to the fact that the horizontal tubular bioreactor is divided into three sections: loading, working and unloading partitions-segments that do not reach the bottom of the tank, where in the loading section of the bioreactor there is a technological loading hatch for loading biomass on top, in the upper part of the unloading section located technological hatch. The working section of the bioreactor consists of one or more modules. A mixer and a heat exchanger are mounted in each module of the working section. In the upper part of each module there is a technological hatch and select devices in the form of fittings for connecting a head and biogas selection. The working section is divided into modules either by means of one or several insert modules, or by one or several insert modules in the form of knees, or by means of one or several conversion separator segments, an adjustable shutter-segment is installed in the insert module in the form of knees.

The difference of the claimed bioreactor from the prototype is that:

- in the working section, between the modules, an adjustable stop valve is mounted, which allows hermetically to cut off the modules from each other. Adjustable shutoff valves installed between the modules of the working section, has a screw drive connected to the steering wheel or electric drive. Due to this, the biomass from the loading section enters the working section, sequentially gradually filling tubular heat-insulated modules and their parts. At the same time, the biomass remains in the module for such a long time until the desired concentration of methanobacteria is reached and the release of biogas begins. This allows you to bring the bioreactor to the operating mode in stages and thereby significantly save energy on the initial heating. At the same time, the explosion safety of the bioreactor is increased - methane does not get into the inoperative modules, but through the corresponding fitting it enters the gas tank;

- a mixer-mixer is mounted in the unloading section, which allows homogenizing the fertilizer received at the output of the bioreactor;

- all sections of the bioreactor are thermally insulated in order to reduce heat loss in the bioreactor.

Adjustable stop valves have a screw drive connected to the steering wheel or electric drive.

In the upper part of the discharge section there is a pipe for unloading biomass.

In the lower part of the unloading section there is a pipe for unloading biomass at the time of the maintenance work.

Description of the invention

The bioreactor is made of thermally insulated tubular or with a taper (with an expansion in the direction of unloading by 0.5-2%) of sections located horizontally. The bioreactor may have an elongated and zigzag shape. The length of the bioreactor depends on the time of fermentation, and the diameter of the pipe depends on the performance of the bioreactor.

The bioreactor should be made of a material resistant to the medium filling it, for example, metal or plastic.

In the manufacture of bioreactors from plastic, sections and modules are interconnected by means of a flange bolt connection or by means of sleeve gland connections, and in the manufacture of metal, they can be interconnected both by means of flange bolted connections and directly by welding.

The internal space of the bioreactor is divided by segments into three sections - loading, working and unloading, segments overlap the entire space from above and do not reach the bottom of the tank. In the upper part of the loading section of the bioreactor is a technological hatch for loading biomass. The loading section is separated from the working section by a partition-segment that does not reach the bottom of the bioreactor.

The working section can be performed: from one thermally insulated tubular module or several thermally insulated tubular modules, separated by shutoff valves connected to the helm or electric drive, which allows the bioreactor to be launched in stages, significantly reducing energy consumption for the initial heating of biomass in the bioreactor, and structures that separate them, which can be made in the form of:

- insert modules, in which the geared motor is located, which in turn drives the horizontal mixer,

- insert modules in the form of elbows, inside of each of which stop valves are installed,

- Conversion stream separator segments.

At the same time, the insert modules and shutoff valves in the operating mode provide unhindered flow of biomass between the tubular modules and are simultaneously a separator of temperature conversion flows between the modules, which allows each module to maintain the optimal temperature of anaerobic fermentation.

In the upper part of each module of the working section there is a technological hatch and selective devices in the form of fittings, one for biogas selection, another for connecting a pressure gauge, and also two viewing windows. Each module of the working section has a unified flange bolted connection on both sides. Biogas from the base tubular modules is pumped into the gas tank by a compressor through selected devices.

An agitator is mounted in each tubular module of the working section, and the agitator can be constructed in several versions:

horizontal - driven by a gear motor,

vertical - with fastening on the upper technological hatch,

submersible - while the mixer is immersed with the engine in the biomass.

A heat exchanger is mounted in each tubular module of the working section to maintain the optimum fermentation temperature.

A geared motor for driving a horizontal mixer is mounted in an insert module located between the tubular modules of the working section.

In the case of installing a vertical mixer or an immersion mixer, the insert module with a gear motor is not mounted, but instead a conversion separator segment or shutoff valves are installed, which serve as a separator of conversion temperature flows between the base tubular modules. The conversion flow separator segment has a gap between the top and bottom of the bioreactor body, and in the case of separation of gas flows between modules, only between the bottom of the bioreactor body.

Large volume bioreactors have a zigzag shape, while between the base modules of the working section, insert modules are installed in the form of elbows, in which an adjustable stop valve is mounted, connected to its helm or electric drive. The shutoff valves can hermetically block the communication between the modules of the working section, which allows the bioreactor to be launched in stages, significantly reducing the energy consumption for the initial heating of the biomass in the bioreactor.

There is a technological hatch in the upper part of the unloading section, a mixer-mixer is mounted in the unloading section for mixing biomass at the time of unloading, a nozzle for biomass unloading, which does not have shutoff valves, is mounted in the upper end part of the unloading section. In the lower part of the unloading section, a technological branch pipe is installed, equipped with shutoff valves, through which the bioreactor is emptied at the time of the maintenance work. All sections of the bioreactor are coated with heat-insulating material to reduce heat loss during heating and fermentation.

The length of the bioreactor depends on the time of fermentation, and the diameter of the pipe depends on the performance of the bioreactor.

The bioreactor is equipped with pH sensors, sensors that measure the redox potential of eH, temperature and humidity sensors that are connected to the control microprocessor controller. The controller allows you to control and manage the physicochemical composition of biomass in the bioreactor.

Figure 1 shows a modular bioreactor with a horizontal mixer, figure 2 shows a modular bioreactor with a vertical mixer, figure 3 shows a modular bioreactor with shutoff valves between the modules, figure 4 shows a large volume modular bioreactor with a zigzag shape, with shutoff valves between the modules - top view, where:

1 - boot section;

2 - loading hatch;

3 - working section, the first basic tubular module;

4 - technological hatch;

5 - temperature sensor;

6 - tubular heat exchanger;

7 - horizontal mixer;

8 - gear motor;

9 - insert module, providing unimpeded flow of biomass between the base tubular modules;

10 - fitting for gas extraction;

11 - working section of the second base tubular module;

12 - mixer;

13 - unloading section;

14 - pipe for unloading biomass;

15 - pipe for unloading biomass at the time of the routine inspection;

16 - partition-segment;

17 - insert module in the form of a knee, inside of which an adjustable stop valve is installed;

18 - adjustable shutoff valves;

19 - vertical mixer;

20 - segment separator conversion streams.

Modular bioreactor works as follows.

The first section of the bioreactor is loading 1, it is equipped in the upper part with a loading hatch through which biomass is loaded.

The second section is the working one, consisting of tubular modules.

In the tubular modules of the working section 3, 11, fermentation and the formation of biogas occur. Biogas is pumped by the compressor to the gas tank through the nozzle 10. In the modules of the working section, temperature, pH, eH and pressure sensors are installed (in Fig. 1, only the temperature sensor 5). The biomass in the second section is periodically, four times a day, mixed with a horizontal mixer 7. Instead of a horizontal mixer, a vertical mixer 19 or an immersion mixer (not shown in FIG. 2) can be mounted on the technological hatch of the module of the working section. In this case, a conversion separator segment separator 20 is mounted between the modules of the working section 20. In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, shutoff valves 18 are mounted between the modules of the working section 3, 11, which allows the modules of the working section to be cut off from each other at the initial moment of loading the bioreactor with biomass, thereby phased launch of the bioreactor into operation.

The third section - unloading 13, has a small volume. It accumulates fermented biomass and is unloaded. In the upper part of the third section, a mixer-mixer 12 or an immersion mixer (not shown in Fig. 1) is mounted on the technological hatch for mixing biomass at the time of unloading; a nozzle 14 is mounted in the upper end part of the unloading section for unloading fermented biomass.

A pipe 15 is mounted in the lower end part of the discharge section through which internal cleaning is performed when the bioreactor stops.

In the loading section 1 through the loading hatch 2 is loaded biomass. Humidity and acidity sensors (not shown) determine the characteristics of the loaded raw materials, and if necessary, by a signal from the microcontroller, an increase in humidity is made by adding water or a change in acidity by adding acid or alkali. It is possible to add bacteria to the biomass that accelerate the decomposition of organic biomass substances.

The body of the bioreactor, divided by partitions-segments 16, can be considered as communicating vessels having bypass openings in the form of a space under the partitions. The biomass newly arrived from the loading section 1 is pressed under the baffle-segment 16 into the first base tube module 3 of the working section, in which preliminary fermentation takes place in the mesophilic mode, and from there through the lower lumen of the insert module 9, which is also a separator of the conversion temperature flows, then - into the second module 11 of the working section, where the process of thermophilic fermentation takes place.

Biogas accumulates in the upper part of the modules of the working section 3, 11, occupying the free space between the inner surface of the housing and the surface of the biomass, and is pumped by the compressor to the gas tank at the signal of the pressure sensor.

Next, the biomass is pressed under a divided partition-segment 16 into the discharge section 13, it accumulates there to the level of the discharge pipe 14 and enters into the receiver of the fermented biomass (not shown) by self-flow.

During preventive maintenance, the biomass is drained from the bioreactor through the treatment pipe 15, which is equipped with shutoff valves. The modular design of the bioreactor allows you to install a heat exchanger and a mixing device in each module, which allows, by expanding the modules, to produce large volume bioreactors, as well as to create optimal physicochemical conditions for biomass fermentation in the modules and to put the bioreactor into operation in stages. Technological parameters in the modules of the working section are supported automatically - according to the commands issued by the microprocessor controller.

Execution example.

The biogas plant of FIG. 5 with a bioreactor with a working volume of 30 m ³ . The bioreactor is made in the form of a pipe. The length of the reactor is 14 m, the diameter of the pipe is 2 m. The body of the bioreactor is divided into three sections by partition walls, not reaching the bottom by about 300 mm. The working section consists of two basic tubular modules, an insert module with a gear motor is mounted between the modules, which rotates the horizontal mixer. An insertion module with a gear motor prevents the conversion of biomass between the modules. The output time of the bioreactor to the operating mode should be at least 12 days. Biogas, which is formed inside the working section of the bioreactor, is pumped by the compressor to the gas tank according to the pressure sensor.

The bioreactor can process waste from 30 heads of cattle.

Claims (4)

1. The bioreactor is made tubular, located horizontally and divided by partitions-segments, not reaching the bottom of the tank, into three sections: loading, working and unloading, in the loading section of the bioreactor there is a technological loading hatch for loading biomass on top, in the upper part of the unloading section technological hatch, the working section consists of one or several modules, in each module of the working section a mixer and a heat exchanger are mounted, in the upper part of each module there is a technologist hatch and selective devices in the form of fittings for connecting a pressure gauge and biogas extraction, while the working section is divided into modules either by one or more insert modules, or by one or more insert modules in the form of knees, or by one or more segments - conversion stream separators,
characterized in that all sections of the bioreactor are thermally insulated, an adjustable stop valve is mounted between the modules in the working section, which allows hermetically to cut off the modules from each other, and a mixer-mixer is mounted in the discharge section. 2. The bioreactor according to claim 1, characterized in that the adjustable shut-off valve has a screw drive connected to the helm or electric drive. 3. The bioreactor according to claim 1, characterized in that in the upper part of the discharge section there is a pipe for unloading biomass. 4. The bioreactor according to claim 1, characterized in that in the lower part of the discharge section there is a pipe for unloading biomass at the time of the maintenance work.

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