Cleaning Digester Gas for Use as a Renewable Resource

Hari Santha, Dan Buhrmaster, Alan Ringhausen, Lee Siekerka

Objectives

The use of digester gas for fuel or electricity is a sustainable long-term option for many facilities.

However, the decision to pursue such an option is often driven by the overall economics of gas

treatment and utilization. The paper will review two recent projects where digester gas cleaning

upgrades were undertaken to improve the efficiency and life of the gas utilization equipment.

Significance

Digester gas is composed primarily of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), but can also

contain impurities such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and organic silicon compounds known as

siloxanes. The gas is also saturated with moisture at the operating temperature of the digesters.

If left untreated, the moisture and contaminants will increase the maintenance requirements for

the gas utilization equipment and reduce their useful life.

H2S is present in most digester gas samples at typical concentrations ranging from 1,000 to 3,000

parts per million by volume (ppmv). Siloxanes are organic compounds of silicon that have only

recently come to be found as a contaminant in digester gas. It is believed the presence of these

compounds in digester gas is related to their increased use in personal care products, such as

shampoos, deodorants, detergents, and antiperspirants. Siloxanes are volatile and are released

into the gas phase during the anaerobic digestion process. Combustion of digester gas in

utilization equipment results in oxidation of siloxanes to silicon dioxide (SiO2). SiO2 is an

abrasive solid, similar to fine sand that can accumulate on moving parts or heat exchange

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surfaces, causing accelerated wear, contamination of lubrication oil and loss of heat transfer

efficiency. The typical total siloxane concentration range observed at wastewater treatment

facilities range from 25 to 100 milligrams per cubic meter of digester gas.

Gas Cleaning Improvements at Two Facilities

Ina Road Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) currently generates approximately 331,000

standard cubic feet per day (scfd) of digester gas. The digester gas is compressed and cooled

using a gas chiller to remove excess moisture. The cooled biogas goes through a desiccant dryer

and a refrigerant dryer in series prior to being used for electricity generation using engine

generators. Lack of digester gas cleaning has resulted in increased engine operations and

maintenance costs, and lower exhaust gas quality. The County is undertaking a digester gas

replacement project to improve the efficiency and life of the power generation equipment and

alleviate the maintenance concerns associated with using untreated digester gas.

The City of Las Vegas Water Pollution Control Facility generates approximately 1,037,000 scfd

of digester gas. The digester gas is used as fuel in boilers to generate hot water for process and

building heating and in two engine-driven centrifugal blowers that provide process aeration.

Heat is recovered from the engine jacket water and is supplied to the plant heating loop for

process and building heating. As generated from the digesters, the gas contains low

concentrations of H2S, but high concentrations of siloxanes. The catalytic converters installed on

the engine exhaust for emissions control have a very short service life with the contaminated gas,

requiring replacement every 2 to 4 weeks. The City initiated a digester gas cleaning

improvements project to determine the gas cleaning requirements to alleviate the maintenance

concerns associated with using untreated digester gas in the boilers and the engines.

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Methodology

Gas analyses were conducted at both facilities to determine the concentrations of contaminants in

digester gas. A comprehensive gas analysis is required for proper design and operation of a

digester gas cleaning system. Gas analysis also serves as a benchmark for comparison to future

gas analyses to detect changes in the gas constituents and modify treatment schemes if necessary.

The gas cleaning systems are typically designed to be flexible in their ability to accommodate

varying concentrations of contaminants.

The capacity requirements and costs of the gas treatment system depended on several variables,

including the quantity of gas treated, the initial concentration of contaminants, and the quality

requirements for the gas utilization equipment. The gas quality requirements for the various

digester gas utilization equipment are listed in Table 1. Figure 1 shows a decision matrix for

determining the gas cleaning requirements for different gas utilization scenarios.

The digester gas treatment technology options for lowering H2S levels, reducing condensation,

and removing siloxanes are listed in Table 2. A gas cleaning train, including H2S, moisture, and

siloxanes removal is shown in Figure 2.

Summary

The paper will discuss digester gas utilization options, gas cleaning requirements for various

utilization equipment, available gas cleaning technologies and highlight some of the

implementation issues at the two project locations.

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 Table 1. Recommended Digester Gas Quality Requirements

Observed Micro
Contaminant Engines Fuel Cells Boilers
Conc. Range Turbines

Moisture, % RH Saturated 40 40 40 40

1,000 to
H2S, ppmv < 25B < 25B <1 < 25B
3,000A

Siloxanes,
25 to 100 < 4C <1 <1 < 12.5
mg/m3

A
Without ferric addition. Typical range of 300 to 1,000 ppmv with ferric addition
B
Requirement for siloxane removal system
C
For engines without catalytic converters. Limit of < 2 mg/m3 (detection limit) for
engines with catalysts

Table 2. Digester Gas Cleaning Technology Options

H2S Moisture Siloxanes

1. Iron Sponge Scrubbers 1. Conventional Chillers 1. Granular Media

2. Granular Media 2. Refrigerant Dryers Scrubbers (with or
Scrubbers without regenerable
3. Desiccant Dryers
3. Liquid Chemical media)

Scrubbers 2. Temperature Swing

Adsorption System
4. Combination of Ferric
addition and Scrubbers

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 Figure 1. Digester Gas Cleaning Decision Chart

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 Figure 2. Digester Gas Cleaning System

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