Wet anaerobic digestion of manure and agri-food residues and digestate production

This technology uses wet anaerobic co-digestion to process a wide range of organic materials, including agricultural residues, livestock manure, food industry by-products, municipal biowaste, green waste and industrial organic waste.

By combining different feedstocks, the system maximises biogas production, which is upgraded to biomethane for energy use, while also producing nutrient-rich digestate that can be applied as a natural fertiliser.

Turning organic waste into renewable energy and fertilisers – the process

The process is based on mesophilic wet anaerobic digestion using continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) and includes the following steps:

  1. Pre-treatment and feeding
    Organic materials are prepared before being fed into the digester to ensure a stable and efficient process.
  2. Wet anaerobic co-digestion
    Inside the reactor, microorganisms break down organic matter under controlled conditions (temperature, feedstock mix and retention time), producing biogas and digestate. Continuous mixing ensures uniform conditions and stable performance.
  3. Biogas upgrading and use
    The biogas is upgraded to biomethane, which can be injected into the natural gas grid or used locally to generate electricity and heat through combined heat and power (CHP) units.

    • Digestate management
      The remaining material (digestate) is stored, monitored and used as a fertiliser in agriculture.

 

This process produces both energy and fertiliser products:

  • Biomethane (from biogas) used for energy supply
  • Solid digestate, used as an organic soil amendment

While fertiliser products are recovered, the main focus of this technology is on energy production.

Type of Technology

Keywords

Country of origin