Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M21/00—Bioreactors or fermenters specially adapted for specific uses
  • C12M21/04—Bioreactors or fermenters specially adapted for specific uses for producing gas, e.g. biogas
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F25/00—Flow mixers; Mixers for falling materials, e.g. solid particles
  • B01F25/20—Jet mixers, i.e. mixers using high-speed fluid streams
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F25/00—Flow mixers; Mixers for falling materials, e.g. solid particles
  • B01F25/50—Circulation mixers, e.g. wherein at least part of the mixture is discharged from and reintroduced into a receptacle
  • B01F25/53—Circulation mixers, e.g. wherein at least part of the mixture is discharged from and reintroduced into a receptacle in which the mixture is discharged from and reintroduced into a receptacle through a recirculation tube, into which an additional component is introduced
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
  • B01F27/25—Mixers with both stirrer and drive unit submerged in the material being mixed
  • B01F27/251—Vertical beam constructions therefor
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
  • B01F27/80—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders with stirrers rotating about a substantially vertical axis
  • B01F27/91—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders with stirrers rotating about a substantially vertical axis with propellers
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M27/00—Means for mixing, agitating or circulating fluids in the vessel
  • C12M27/02—Stirrer or mobile mixing elements
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E50/00—Technologies for the production of fuel of non-fossil origin
  • Y02E50/30—Fuel from waste, e.g. synthetic alcohol or diesel

Definitions

• the object of the present invention is a biogas or biomethane production assembly, a plant for the production of biogas or biomethane comprising said assembly and a method for the production of biogas.
• Biogas is one of the most widely used alternative sources for the production of renewable energy. Biogas is the result of the degradation by numerous bacteria of various organic substances, in the absence of oxygen (a process called anaerobic digestion).
• CH4 methane
• C02 carbon dioxide
• Biogas has a high calorific value and may be converted into electricity and heat.
• the residue of the fermentation is digestate, a liquid material, completely odorless and with a high agronomic value, with features improved with respect to the starting material.
• Biogas is a non-fossil renewable energy source which ensures energy autonomy and the gradual reduction of the current state of air pollution and therefore of the greenhouse effect.
• Biomethane is a gas derived from biogas which has undergone a refining and purification process or upgrading, bringing the concentration of methane CH4 to exceed 98%.
• Biomethane may be used as a biofuel for motor vehicles; it may be introduced into the national distribution grid; transported and stored for subsequent energy production, even in places very far from the production site.
• the fermenter Inside a suitable container, the fermenter, various natural substances are conveyed, such as, for example, manure, slurry, poultry manure, dairy whey, vegetable waste, agricultural by-products.
• various natural substances such as, for example, manure, slurry, poultry manure, dairy whey, vegetable waste, agricultural by-products.
• Crops such as maize silage, wheat, sorghum, grain, in combination with slurry and manure, are excellent raw materials. Furthermore, waste from the agri-food industry may also be used.
• Biogas may be, in turn, converted into electricity, by virtue of a cogenerator, and sold to the national grid. A part is converted into further heat.
• the heat is used for heating some premises of the company, such as stables and offices (or even for an industrial process), as well as for the fermentation process itself.
• Digestate the quality of which is far superior to manure, is used as a natural fertilizer in farm crops.
• a solution of a container in particular a fermenter for a biogas plant, in which a mixer is arranged in the container which may be removed by means of an inspection opening provided in a container wall.
• this solution shows a mixer attached to a mixer rod supported by the container wall.
• the mixer connection is essentially configured as a vertical shaft. The mixer is mounted vertically on the shaft by moving with a slide; this facilitates the use of the mixing effect of the mixer at different levels in the container.
• Document US9828578 describes a fermenter for biogas plants, including a submerged motorized stirrer which may be vertically adjusted by means of a motor. During the operation of the biogas production plant, the fermenter is filled, up to one level, with the substrate to be fermented, with the stirrer blades completely immersed in the substrate. According to this known solution, a non-contact level indicator is provided, placed on the lid, by means of which the substrate level is detected and a corresponding level measurement signal is generated as an actual level signal.
• a control device is provided, to which the level measurement signal is sent and which controls the vertical adjustment motor for the submerged motor stirrer, so that, when a lower level is detected, the stirrer is lowered and the stirrer blades continue to be completely immersed in the substrate.
• Document DE3345643 describes a device for treating liquids, preferably located in containers, in particular manure.
• a device which may act as a pumping device for recirculating manure, and in a short time, by disassembling the conduits, it is possible to mount blades to have a stirring device capable of mixing and crushing the different layers of manure being transformed into digestate.
• Said device is mounted for a different height adjustment thereof, by means of a raising and lowering device.
• Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic view of a biogas production plant
• Figure 2 shows an axonometric view of a detail from the outside of a tank of a fermenter at a stirrer support and movement device;
• Figure 3 shows an axonometric view of the detail of Figure 2 from inside the tank of a fermenter
• Figure 4 shows a diagrammatic sectional view of a detail of an assembly according to the present invention
• Figure 5 shows in a diagrammatic section the detail of the assembly of Figure 4 in which the stirrer or mixer is placed in the proximity of the bottom of the tank;
• Figure 6 shows in a diagrammatic section the detail of the assembly of Figure 4 in which the stirrer or mixer is placed in the proximity of the upper edge of the tank;
• Figures 7 to 9 show a top view of the detail of the assembly of Figure 4 in which the stirrer or mixer is placed in three different angular positions, orthogonal to the tank wall, oriented towards the left of the Figure and towards the right of the Figure.
• a biogas or biomethane production assembly 1 comprises at least one tank 2, such as for example a fermenter or storage tank for material 10 such as manure, slurry, poultry manure, dairy whey, vegetable waste, agricultural by-products inoculated with bacterial load so as to mainly produce biogas and digestate.
• tank 2 such as for example a fermenter or storage tank for material 10 such as manure, slurry, poultry manure, dairy whey, vegetable waste, agricultural by-products inoculated with bacterial load so as to mainly produce biogas and digestate.
• Said assembly 1 further comprises at least one stirrer or mixer 3; in which said stirrer or mixer 3 is mounted on a stirrer support and movement device 4.
• Said stirrer or mixer 3 is adapted to generate a flow of material contained in said tank 2 according to a prevailing stirrer flow direction X-X.
• said assembly 1 further comprises at least one spray gun 5 adapted to direct a jet of fluid according to a prevailing gun jet direction Y-Y.
• Said spray gun 5 is placed at the top of said stirrer support and movement device 4 and is adjustable in position so as to be able to direct the jet of fluid according to said prevailing gun jet direction Y-Y incident to said prevailing stirrer flow direction X-X.
• said spray gun 5 is placed at the top of said stirrer support and movement device 4 and is adjustable in position so as to be able to direct the jet of fluid according to said prevailing gun jet direction Y-Y in a direction substantially perpendicular to said prevailing stirrer flow direction X-X.
• said assembly comprises a hydrating liquid tank 6 adapted to contain a hydrating liquid 7.
• Said at least one spray gun 5 is fluidly connected with said hydrating liquid tank 6 by means of a hydrating fluid conduit 8 in which a hydrating fluid pump 9 is provided.
• the jet of said spray gun 5 is directed to hydrate the floating layers of said material 10 so as to favor the breaking action of a floating cap which tends to form on this material.
• said assembly comprises a recirculation circuit 11 adapted to take said material 10 from the bottom of the tank 2 and bring it to a different point of the tank 2; in which said recirculation circuit 11 comprises a recirculation pipe 12 in which a recirculation pump 13 is inserted.
• said at least one spray gun 5 is fluidly connected with said recirculation pipe 12.
• said recirculation pump 13 comprises a device adapted to reduce the size of the solid parts of said material 10 by means of a cutting or crushing action, so that the fluid material 10 or in chopped parts are pumped by the recirculation pump and introduced at least in part into said at least one spray gun 5 to create a high-speed jet which generates a vigorous mixing of the material 10.
• the recirculation pump 13 may be installed in recirculation of the tank 2 itself, avoiding the provision of a grinding device.
• said at least one spray gun 5 is rotatably supported by said stirrer support and movement device 4 so as to follow the movement of said stirrer or mixer 3.
• said at least one spray gun 5 is connected to a synchronization device 14 which synchronizes the movement of said at least one stirrer or mixer 3 with the movement of said at least one spray gun 5.
• said stirrer support and movement device 4 allows a rotation movement of said at least one stirrer 3 around a vertical axis Z-Z and/or a translation movement of said at least one stirrer 3 along a vertical axis Z-Z.
• Said at least one spray gun 5 is connected to a synchronization device 14 which allows a rotation movement of said at least one spray gun 5 around a vertical axis Z-Z in synchronism with said at least one stirrer 3.
• said stirrer or mixer 3 is operatively connected to at least one stirrer motor 15.
• Said stirrer motor 15 is operatively connected to a control device 16.
• Said hydrating fluid pump 9 or said recirculation pump 13 is operatively connected to a pump motor 17.
• Said pump motor 17 is operatively connected to said control device 16, so as to drive said pump motor 17 when said stirrer motor 15 is operated.
• said stirrer support and movement device 4 is operatively connected to at least one support device motor 18.
• Said support device motor 18 is operatively connected to a control device 16.
• said spray gun 5 is operatively connected to at least one gun motor 19.
• Said gun motor 19 is operatively connected to said control device 16 so as to control said gun motor 19 according to the position of said stirrer or mixer 3 to direct the jet of fluid according to said prevailing gun jet direction Y-Y incident to said prevailing stirrer flow direction X-X.
• said control device 16 is a feedback control device; in which said feedback control is operatively connected to a device for detecting the angular position of the stirrer or mixer 3 around an axis Z-Z.
• said control device 16 is a feedback control device; in which said feedback control is operatively connected to a device for detecting the translation of the stirrer or mixer 3 along an axis Z-Z.
• said control device 16 is a feedback control device; in which said feedback control is operatively connected to a device for detecting the activation of the stirrer or mixer 3.
• said control device 16 is a feedback control device; in which said feedback control is operatively connected to a device for detecting the activation of the hydrating fluid pump 9.
• said control device 16 is a feedback control device; in which said feedback control is operatively connected to a device for detecting the activation of the recirculation pump 13.
• said stirrer support and movement device 4 comprises a support device motor 18 adapted to raise and lower said at least one stirrer or mixer 3 along a quadrangular section guide 20 by means of a winch 21 which moves a cable 22 connected at one end to a carriage 23 sliding along said quadrangular section guide 20 to which said at least one stirrer or mixer 3 is fixed.
• a pulley system is used, installed on a mechanical jack with trapezoidal rod, which in the accompanying Figures is always indicated with reference 21. Therefore, below, where "winch” is indicated, a "mechanical jack with which transmission pulleys cooperate” is also meant.
• said jack cooperates with a load cell capable of detecting whether overthrust or overpull is occurring on the jack, (for example, due to the stirrer or mixer with difficulty in descending or the mixer with difficulty in ascending).
• said quadrangular section guide 20 is supported by said tank 2 rotatably around the vertical arranged axis or vertical axis Z-Z thereof.
• Said quadrangular section guide 20 is operatively connected to an angular position reducer 24 which moves the angular position of the quadrangular section guide 20 around the vertical axis Z-Z thereof.
• said angular position reducer 24 is controlled by means of a crank 25, for example, for manual operation by a user.
• a support plate 25 is connected to the top of the quadrangular section guide 20 by means of an angular lifting mechanism 27.
• Said support plate 25 supports said spray gun 5.
• said spray gun 5 is hung on or supported by hooks
• said angular lifting mechanism 27 is controlled by means of a crank 25, for example, for manual operation by a user.
• said tank 2 comprises an operator support walkway 29 located in the proximity of said crank 25.
• said tank 2 comprises a tank wall 30; in said tank wall 30 there is a conduit seat 31 for the passage of said hydrating fluid conduit 8 and/or recirculation conduit 12.
• a coupling 32 to which one end of a flexible tube 33 is connected on a side inside the tank 2 connected to the opposite end to said spray gun 5.
• Said hydrating fluid conduit 8 and/or recirculation conduit 12 is externally connected to said coupling 32.
• a biogas or biomethane production assembly 1 comprises at least one tank 2, such as for example a fermenter or storage tank, which receives material 10 such as manure, slurry, poultry manure, dairy whey, vegetable waste, agricultural by-products inoculated with bacterial load for the prevailing formation of said biogas and digestate.
• Said tank comprises a tank bottom 37.
• Said assembly 1 further comprises at least one stirrer or mixer 3.
• Said assembly 1 further comprises at least one stirrer support and movement device 4 for moving said stirrer or mixer 3 at least along a substantially vertical direction defining a vertical axis Z-Z.
• Said assembly 1 further comprises at least one lifting winch or winch 21 .
• Said assembly 1 further comprises a position sensor 34 which detects at least one indication of minimum and maximum height 35, 36 of the position with respect to said tank bottom 37 of the stirrer or mixer 3.
• said position sensor is an encoder.
• said position sensor 34 is at least a fixed or movable graduated scale 38 bearing at least an indication of minimum and maximum height 35, 36 of the position with respect to said tank bottom 37 of the stirrer or mixer 3.
• said stirrer support and movement device 4 comprises a support device motor 18 adapted to raise and lower said at least one stirrer or mixer 3 along a guide 20 by means of a winch 21 which moves a cable 22 connected at one end to a carriage 23 sliding along said guide 20 to which said at least one stirrer or mixer 3 is fixed.
• Said position sensor 34 is associated with said cable 22 or said winch 21 or with said support device motor 18.
• a rod 39 is connected by one of the ends thereof to said cable 22 and said rod 39 supports or constitutes said graduated scale 38.
• said rod 39 is a stem of a jack.
• said tank 2 comprises a tank wall 30.
• a support bracket 47 protrudes from said tank wall 30.
• Said support bracket 47 supports said support device motor 18.
• Said support bracket 47 comprises a through seat for the rod 48 in which said rod 39 is received.
• Said support bracket 47 comprises an indicator or constitutes an indicator for said rod 39.
• said stirrer or mixer 3 is operatively connected to a control device 16.
• Said stirrer support and movement device 4 comprises a support device motor 18 adapted to raise and lower said at least one stirrer or mixer 3.
• Said support device motor 18 is operatively connected to said control device 16 so as to actuate said support device motor 18 only when the stirrer is turned off.
• the present invention further relates to a biogas or biomethane production plant 40, comprising at least one assembly 1 according to any one of the embodiments described above.
• said plant 40 comprises at least one biogas collection device 41 operatively connected to said tank 2 for the collection of biogas produced by said tank 2.
• Said plant 40 further comprises at least one biogas treatment device 42 operatively connected to said at least one biogas collection device 41 for the treatment of biogas and/or the concentration of methane CH4.
• Said plant 40 further comprises at least one cogeneration device 43 operatively connected to said at least one biogas treatment device 42 for generating electricity and as a hot fluid by-product 44.
• Said plant 40 further comprises at least one heating conduit 45 which conveys said hot fluid 44.
• Said plant 40 further comprises at least one heating device 46 operatively connected to said tank 2 for heating said tank 2 and accelerating the biogas production process.
• the present invention also relates to a method for the production of biogas, comprising the steps of: providing at least one assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8; stirring the material 10 according to at least one prevailing stirring flow direction X-X; sprinkling the material 10 from above the free surface thereof according to at least one prevailing jet direction Y-Y incident to said prevailing stirring flow direction X-X.
• the present invention also relates to a method for the production of biogas, comprising the steps of: providing at least one assembly according to any one of the embodiments previously described; raising or lowering said stirrer or mixer 3 along a vertical axis Z-Z; detecting at least one indication of minimum and maximum height 35, 36 of the position with respect to the tank bottom 37 of the stirrer or mixer 3.

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Citations (3)

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• 2019
  • 2019-12-18 IT IT102019000024487A patent/IT201900024487A1/it unknown
• 2020
  • 2020-12-16 WO PCT/IB2020/062047 patent/WO2021124161A1/en active Application Filing

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