Manaf Farhan (1); (1) EMG International, LLC., Media, PA, U.S.A.
Sustainability
Poster
The brewing industry has made significant improvements over the past
20 years in water conservation. However, wastewater treatment and
disposal remain a major issue that negatively impacts profitability and
the environmental standing of breweries. As breweries have sought to
improve their wastewater management practices, many have turned to
digester systems, such as high-rate anaerobic digesters, for organics
removal and energy generation. One of the leading technologies in this
category is the anaerobic fluidized bed digester (AFBD) system with
electricity generation and waste heat recovery. This system offers
breweries an innovative and reliable wastewater treatment option that
can provide significant cost savings, revenue from renewable electricity
generation, and a reduction in environmental liability and carbon
footprint. Following system installation and start-up, measuring and
maintaining efficient long-term operation is critical to digester
success and for achieving target return on investment (ROI). This paper
discusses required system components, long-term performance data,
operating costs and realized savings for a high-rate digester treating
brewery wastewater. Digester system components discussed include
digester units, flow equalization, solids removal, chemical and nutrient
feed systems, instrumentation, biogas collection and conditioning,
combined heat and power (CHP) and flare units, programmable logic
controller (PLC) units, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
units, and required plant utilities. Long-term digester system
performance data presented include applied organic loading rates,
organic removal efficiency, volatile organic acid (VOA) concentrations,
biogas stream composition and generation rates, and pH and temperature
trends. Digester system operating costs discussed include caustic
consumption, wastewater heating, macro- and micro-nutrient addition,
parasitic electric load, solids disposal, and required labor. Realized
savings from the system include sewer surcharge savings, electricity
generation, waste heat recovery, and available funding for reducing
system capital expense cost. This paper is based on data and operational
experience from an anaerobic fluidized bed digester system treating a
craft brewery wastewater stream and producing electricity.
Manaf H. Farhan is the president and CEO of EMG International,
based in Media, PA. He holds a B.S. degree in civil engineering from the
University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in environmental
engineering from Columbia University, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in
systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a
licensed professional engineer. His doctoral research focused on design
and optimization of various anaerobic digester processes to maximize
process efficiency and biogas production. He has authored several
peer-reviewed articles on anaerobic digestion and has served as an
adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems
Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He has over 20 years of
experience providing a wide range of environmental engineering design
and consulting services to private industry and governmental clients.
His professional experience includes design and construction of digester
systems for wastewater treatment and biogas and electricity generation
for food and beverage facilities and for dairy farms; technical
evaluation, process modifications, and operational support for various
full-scale anaerobic digester installations; development and testing of
bench-scale and pilot-scale wastewater treatment systems; pollution
prevention and wastewater minimization audits; and biogas collection,
clean-up, and utilization.
