A method for producing biogas in an anaerobic digestion chamber from an un-treated organic substrate, wherein said un-treated organic substrate has a dry matter of content of in the range of 20 to 90% of total solids, wherein the method comprises the steps of, pre-treatment of the un-treated organic substrate, to form a slurry having a dry matter content of in the range of 8 to 19.9% of total solids, feeding said slurry to a digestion chamber; digesting said slurry in the digestion chamber to produce biogas and a digestate, wherein in said pre-treatment step a mixture of a dilution fluid and a liquid digestate from said digestion chamber is used to dilute the un-treated organic substrate.

A method for the treatment of organic waste, the method comprising alternating steps of anaerobic digestion and aerobic composting conducted in a single reactor vessel, wherein at or about the completion of the anaerobic digestion step at least a portion of any free draining fluid from the reactor vessel is directed for reuse in subsequent anaerobic digestion steps, and solids remaining in the reactor vessel from the anaerobic digestion step are subjected to a dewatering step from which a liquid is obtained that is ultimately also directed, at least in part, for reuse in subsequent anaerobic digestion steps. A method for the management of biology in a batch process, wherein the batch process is an anaerobic digestion process, is also described.

The present invention concerns a method for carrying out the combined operation of a bioethanol production unit and a biogas unit. The method comprises the following steps: a) mashing corn meal from a dry milling step with at least 0.1 t of dry matter in the form of whole stillage and at least 0.1 m.sup.3 of outflow from the biogas unit per tonne of corn meal, b) feeding the mash from a) to a cooking stage with mash temperatures below the gelatinization temperature of the starch inn the corn meal, followed by an ethanol-forming fermentation step and then feeding the fermented mash to a distillation step, c) feeding the whole stillage from b) to the mashing step in a) and to the biogas unit.

The present invention relates to a fluid composition comprising a solid fraction and a liquid organic fraction, wherein said solid fraction and said liquid fraction are present in a state of being intermixed, wherein said solid fraction comprises a lignin component, wherein said liquid fraction comprises an organic substance. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of such fluid compositions, to various uses thereof, and to a process for treatment of a lignocellulosic biomass.

A methane fermentation system which can efficiently generate methane gas is provided. The methane fermentation system decomposes an organic waste with an anaerobic microorganism to cause methane fermentation so as to generate the methane gas. The methane fermentation system includes a wet bead mill which finely pulverizes the organic waste. The methane fermentation system also includes a methane fermentation chamber in which the organic waste finely pulverized in the wet bead mill is decomposed with the anaerobic microorganism to cause the methane fermentation so as to generate the methane gas.

The invention described herein presents compositions and methods for a multistep biological and chemical process for the capture and conversion of carbon dioxide and/or other forms of inorganic carbon into organic chemicals including biofuels or other useful industrial, chemical, pharmaceutical, or biomass products. One or more process steps utilizes chemoautotrophic microorganisms to fix inorganic carbon into organic compounds through chemosynthesis. An additional feature described are process steps whereby electron donors used for the chemosynthetic fixation of carbon are generated by chemical or electrochemical means, or are produced from inorganic or waste sources. An additional feature described are process steps for the recovery of useful chemicals produced by the carbon dioxide capture and conversion process, both from chemosynthetic reaction steps, as well as from non-biological reaction steps.

A multi-stage anaerobic digester is designed to treat a high solids, stackable feedstock. The system may also receive a pumpable feedstock such as a slurry or sludge. In a first stage, the digestate circulates in one direction around a raceway such that the digestate may pass a feed inlet multiple times before leaving the first tank. An optional side stream loop withdraws fibrous material from near the top of the reaceway and return digestate with chopped fibers, preferably lower and further along the raceway. An outlet from the raceway located near, but upstream of the feed inlet discharges partially digested substrate to a second stage, which is operated as a stirred tank reactor. The two stages may be provided in a single tank with an internal wall separating a ring shaped outer portion from a cylindrical inner portion. The digester may be operated in a thermophilic temperature range.

A process and system for producing a synthetic hydrocarbon having a desired H/C ratio is disclosed. Organic material is biochemically digested in a two stage biodigester for separately producing a hydrogen containing biogas substantially free of methane in a first stage and a methane containing biogas in a second stage. The methane containing biogas is reformed in a first reformer to generate hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide gas, which are then combined in a mixer with the hydrogen containing biogas into a syngas in amounts to achieve in the syngas an overall H/C ratio substantially equal to the desired H/C ratio. The syngas is reacted with a catalyst in a second reformer, a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor, to produce the hydrocarbon. Using a two stage biodigester allows for the generation of separate hydrogen and methane streams, a more economical generation of the FT syngas and reduced fouling of the FT catalyst.

A facility for the recycling of biomaterial with a fermentation stage, whereby the fermentation stage has a fermentation chamber for the production of biogas through anaerobic fermentation of the biomaterial, and with a hygiene stage that is positioned downstream from the fermentation stage, whereby the hygiene stage has a hygienization chamber for the reception and the thermal hygienization of biomaterial discharged from the fermentation stage. A process for the recycling of biomaterial by zymosis is also provided, whereby biogas is produced in a fermentation stage through anaerobic fermentation of the biomaterial, whereby the biomaterial is, after flowing through the fermentation stage, conveyed to a hygiene stage in which the biomaterial thermal is hygienized, and whereby the biomaterial is, after flowing through the hygiene stage, made available as recyclable agricultural, hygienized fermentation residue.

A process for revitalization of the coal deposit for enhanced microbial gas production by exposing coal deposit to air oxidation. Water is removed from coal beds and stored. The coal is exposed to hydrogen peroxide for providing oxygen-rich organic molecules that are more readily biodegraded. Oxidation and drying out of coal produces additional cracks within the coal matrix to allow microbes greater access to the overall coal matrix. The coal is reinjected with emulsified oil and inorganic nutrients by transporting produced water from the storage sites to the reinjection wells. Produced water is mixed with oil and inorganic nutrients in a holding tank. The reinjection water containing nutrients and oil is then injected into the coal under pressure. The mixture presence of the oil speeds up cell division of bacteria and methanogens in the coal and create microbial biomass sufficient to accelerate biomethanogenesis of the coal.