PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Wastewater from the food and drink sector typically contains high concentrations of biodegradable organic matter. These pollutants are challenging to filter out of sewage systems and can contaminate natural water bodies. Many industrial processes to treat industrial effluents carrying organic matter are optimised for large factories, where economies of scale make vast technology investments affordable. In contrast, the food and drink sector is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises who do not discharge enough wastewater for existing anaerobic digestion reactors to prove economically viable. Cheaper reactors could help food and drink companies use water resources in a safer and more efficient manner, as set out in the EU Water Framework Directive, and save natural resources, as described in the Industrial Emissions Directive.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE Multi-AD 4 AgroSMEs project aimed to design and industrialise an anaerobic digestion reactor capable of economically treating wastewater discharged by small companies operating in Europe’s food and drink sector. Project partners scaled-up a patented prototype to capacities of 25-500 cubic metres (considerably smaller than existing anaerobic reactors whose size averages 2 500 cubic metres). An automated control system optimised the digestion process, breaking down the organic matter contained in effluents regardless of variations in its composition over time. In view of tailoring models to sub-sectors of the food and drink industry, project partners developed software for dimensioning future reactors. The project notably demonstrated its anaerobic reactor in a Spanish winery and helped transfer the technology to vegetable processing plants in Navarra, Spain.
These tasks contributed to ensuring the safe and efficient use of water resources in line with the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), to having a resource-efficient industrial sector in the whole EU (Industrial Emissions Directive (IED, 2010/75/EU), and ultimately to fostering the use of renewable energy in industry (Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC).
RESULTS
The project has achieved the main project´s objective: to design and industrialise an anaerobic digestion reactor capable of economically treating wastewater discharged by SMEs operating F&B sector.
Other specific objectives were also achieved:
- Requirements definition was completed, followed by detailed system description and experimental data collection. CFD model definition, validation and analysis for scaling up to industrial scale was carried out. Final proposal for the 100 m3 was digester done.
- To design and develop an advanced control system that will optimise MultiAD’s operation by adjusting the controllable outputs’ variables. The project carried out the design and installation of the functional SCADA system for industrial Multi-AD industrial unit.
- The 100m3 Multi-AD demonstration was designed and implemented. The unit was validated in a real industrial environment and the expected performance values were achieved.
- A design tool has been developed that can be used to pre-design and optimise new Muti-AD devices.
- The beneficiaries have performed a business strategy, which also includes regulatory and knowledge protection tasks (IPR).
