Proyecto Therm 2: Thermal Hydrolysis & Thermophilic Digestion

Javier Peña (EMASESA) explains the Therm2 (Thermal Hydrolysis & Thermophilic Digestion) R&D project being carried out by a consortium formed by companies (EMASESA, FACSA and teCH4+) and universities (University of Valladolid and University of Seville).

The combination of mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of organic waste and WWTP sludge together with Thermal Hydrolysis is a recent but already consolidated innovation: EMASESA already operates continuously a Thermal Hydrolysis at the Copero WWTP and is commissioning a second facility at the Ranilla WWTP, both with teCH4+ technology, which has allowed a biogas production increase and a dryer, hygienized biosolid apt for direct agricultural application.

Therm 2 Project innovation

The Therm 2 project goes a step further, evolving this process towards the experimental development of a technology that integrates mesophilic anaerobic digestion with a thermal hydrolysis process and thermophilic anaerobic digestion, to substantially improve the energy efficiency, as well as to obtain a hygienized final product that meets the legislative requirements for land use.

The project includes activities ranging from lab-scale research and scenario-testing (combinations of substrates with WWTP sludge and process configurations) to the development of a pilot system to optimize the design (process configuration and design) as well as the most appropriate operating procedure, including analysis and advanced rheology tests (simulation and CFD analysis).