Biogas from calcium-rich wastewater - high-performance gas mixing reactor

The ALMA BHU GMR is a fully mixed biogas plant for the anaerobic treatment of organic wastewater and substrates from industry, particularly from the food and beverage industry. It is designed for stable, continuous operation with fluctuating loads.

The reactor operates as a fully mixed vessel, ensuring homogeneous distribution of substrate, biomass, and temperature throughout the entire reactor volume. Mixing is achieved via a gas-based circulation system that does not require mechanical agitators in the fermenter.

A key feature is the external biomass recirculation, which ensures high biological activity in the reactor and significantly increases process stability.

Summary
The ALMA BHU GMR is a fully mixed biogas reactor with gas-based circulation and external biomass recirculation for stable anaerobic treatment of industrial wastewater.

A fully mixed reactor with a gas circulation system offers significant operational and technical advantages over mechanically stirred systems.

Advantages of gas-based mixing

• Uniform mixing without mechanical installations in the fermenter

• Reduced wear and tear and lower maintenance costs

• No dead zones or short-circuit currents

• High operational reliability even with high dry matter content

The biogas produced is used specifically for circulation, which minimizes the energy required for mixing and at the same time supports biological activity.

Advantages of thorough mixing

• Homogeneous substrate distribution

• Constant process conditions for microorganisms

• High methane yield and stable gas production

• Good control of load and concentration fluctuations

Summary
A fully mixed biogas reactor with gas recirculation ensures consistent process conditions, low maintenance, and high operational reliability without mechanical agitators in the fermenter.

External biomass recirculation is a key feature of the ALMA BHU GMR and contributes significantly to the process stability and performance of the biogas plant.

By returning part of the active biomass:

• A high concentration of methanogenic microorganisms remains in the system.

• biological degradation performance is increased

• higher organic room loads can be operated

• the system becomes less sensitive to load and volume fluctuations

Biomass recycling is a decisive factor for robust and stable continuous operation, especially in the case of industrial wastewater with varying compositions.

Summary
External biomass recycling increases the concentration of active microorganisms, improves process stability, and enables higher organic loads in the biogas reactor.

The ALMA BHU GMR is specially designed for industrial applications where highly organic wastewater or substrates are produced and energy in the form of biogas is to be recovered at the same time.

Typical applications

• Anaerobic wastewater treatment

• Pre-treatment prior to aerobic biological stages

• Reduction of COD and BOD loads

• Energy generation from organic wastewater

Industries with a particularly large number of references

• Food industry

• beverage industry

• Dairies

• Meat and fish processing

• Sugar, starch, and processing industries

The ALMA BHU GMR is widely used in these industries and has established itself as an economical and reliable solution.

summary The ALMA BHU GMR is particularly suitable for the food and beverage industry for the anaerobic treatment of organic wastewater with simultaneous biogas production.

The ALMA BHU GMR combines proven process engineering principles with an industrial-grade design.

Key advantages at a glance

• Fully mixed reactor for stable process conditions

• Gas circulation system without mechanical agitators in the fermenter

• External biomass recycling for high biological activity

• High operational reliability with fluctuating inflows

• Low maintenance and long service life

• Numerous references in the food industry

• Integration into existing wastewater treatment plants possible

These characteristics make the system suitable for both new installations and for retrofitting or expanding existing systems.

summary The ALMA BHU GMR impresses with its fully mixed operation, gas-based circulation, external biomass recirculation, and numerous references in the food industry.

The use of ALMA BHU GMR is particularly economical when:

• high organic COD loads are present

• Energy costs should be reduced or biogas should be used

• aerobic stages must be relieved

• Stable processes are required when inflows fluctuate.

The combination of COD reduction and energy generation reduces operating costs and significantly improves the overall economic efficiency of wastewater treatment.

Summary
The ALMA BHU GMR makes economic sense for organically highly polluted wastewater if COD is to be reduced and biogas is to be used for energy production at the same time.