Digestate Treatment in the Biogas Industry

In recent years, and especially in the coming years, the biogas industry will play an increasingly important role in the energy market. In this context, digestate treatment, which is necessary for the anaerobic digestion process, is gaining more attention due to the market's significant potential. Anaerobic digestion has the potential to accelerate the shift from a linear to a circular economy.

There are two key reasons why digestate treatment is essential:

Volume reduction – It improves manageability and reduces transportation costs.
Nutrient recovery – Nutrients are recovered in concentrated form (fertilizer (solid/liquid), cleaned water, ultrafiltrated concentrate to the digester for fermentation reuse).

How can BOLLFILTER help to handle digestate?

BOLLFILTER provides customized filtration solutions for digestate treatment processes, which occur along the conversion process of biomass into biogas (anaerobic digestion). Our FineFilterUnit solution, based on its advanced ultrafiltration ceramic membrane technology, efficiently separates liquids and solids, enabling the recovery of water and nutrients. This enhances circularity and contributes to a more sustainable green economy.

The BOLLBrane ceramic membranes withstand high temperatures and chemicals ensuring extended lifespan. Low OPEX due to low maintenance and infrequent replacement. Ceramic membranes can be recycled reducing environmental impact and provide efficient filtration over varied pore sizes.

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The digestate valoation process with BOLLFILTER

The process water based on fermentation process contains high loads of suspended as well as dissolved ingredients which need to be treated. Therefore, three process steps have been designed to realize customer requirements of cleaned water and biomass.

Step 1: Nutrient Recovery

First, the BOLLFILTER system removes solid nutrients from the digestate. These solids can then be sold as valuable fertilizer or used in agriculture.

Step 2: Fine Filtration with the FineFilterUnit

The BOLLFILTER FineFilterUnit uses advanced ceramic ultrafiltration membranes (SiC Ceramic Ultrafiltration) to further treat wastewater, producing an ultrafiltered concentrate to digester for fermentation reuse.

Step 3: Reverse Osmosis for Water Treatment

In the final step, the remaining wastewater can undergo reverse osmosis, yielding liquid nutrients, which can be used as a liquid fertilizer. The clean water that remains at the end of the process can either be reused or safely discharged into the environment.

Advantages of the usage of BOLLFILTER FineFilterUnit in the biogas industry

Advantages for our customers:

Cost savings: End products such as reusable water and nutrient-rich fertilizers contribute to cost reductions.
Efficient biogas production: Agricultural businesses can efficiently generate biogas from their own biomass waste, such as fermentation residues.
Low maintenance: Thanks to continuous membrane surface cleaning through crossflow operations, maintenance needs are minimal.
No sludge treatment required: With low sludge generation (solid content of only 10%), there is no need for complex sludge treatment processes.
Automated and safe operation: The entire process is automated, with no need to open filter housings – a key safety feature for operators.
Chemical-free filtration process: Our systems operate without chemicals, reducing environmental impact and lowering operating costs.
System Solution Provider: BOLLFILTER supplies a fully integrated digestate treatment system where all individual treatment steps are perfectly harmonized, leading to a stable and continuous process.

Sustainability Benefits:

The EU has set ambitious goals: by 2030, biomethane production wants to reach 35 billion cubic meters per year; with an increasing tendency for the following years (Biomethane – European Commission). Filtration solutions like those from BOLLFILTER help increase the efficiency of biogas production and contribute to meeting the EU's climate targets.

Increased circularity: Reduced waste and more efficient resource use improve sustainability and support the circular economy.
Biogas as renewable energy: Our solutions support the production of biogas, a clean and renewable energy source.
Contributing to decarbonization: Filtration solutions help reduce CO2 emissions and achieve climate goals (NatureEnergy, Biogas Power On…).

Would you like to contact us?

Michael Hormes Head of Fine Filtration Unit

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