A syntrophic enrichment for enhanced digestion (SEED) system is presented, in which a retrofit addition to existing anaerobic digestion infrastructure provides improved digestion process rate and biogas quality. The system provides optimal niche environments for accelerating fermentative, syntrophic and methanogenic metabolisms to increase digestion system loading rates and enhance main digester microbiome. Prescribed media formulations, reactor integrations, and operational methods using various fixed and loose media enhance global digestion system performance. The retrofitted system enables existing plants to transition from an outdated solids-management model to one of valorized biomethane production.

A bioreactor for growing micro-organisms, has a reaction chamber containing a reaction mixture with a reaction medium and micro-organisms. A draft tube is arranged inside the reaction chamber, which has a gas inlet, an inlet for the reaction mixture at its first end, and an outlet for the reaction mixture at its second end. The bioreactor includes means for generating flow of the reaction mixture within the reaction chamber and a first blade structure arranged inside the reaction chamber, surrounding the draft tube. The first blade structure has blades arranged at, at least one of an angle α.sub.1 with respect to a direction defined by the height of the reaction chamber, or an angle α.sub.2 with respect to a direction defined by the height of the reaction chamber. The bioreactor also includes an inlet for reaction medium and an outlet for withdrawing medium with grown micro-organisms.

The invention relates to a digester for a liquid medium, comprising a container, a dividing wall between two spaces, and a device for injecting gas into the lower part of one of the spaces. The gas creates an upflow of the mixture of liquid medium and injected gas in said space, and a downflow in the other space. The dividing wall is equipped with at least one device for establishing a fluid communication between the spaces, so that the fluid communication configuration is automatically varied between a first open configuration in which fluid can flow freely from one space to the other, and a second closed configuration in which the flow of fluid is blocked fully or partially by the aforementioned device.

A fermenter can have at least one hollow fluid conduit disposed at least partially within a vessel. An external circumference of the hollow fluid conduit and an interior circumference of the vessel can define a downward flow path through which a multi-phase mixture including a liquid media and compressed gas substrate bubbles flows. An interior circumference of the hollow fluid conduit can defined an upward flow path which is in fluid communication with the downward flow path. The multi-phase liquid can flow through the upward flow path and exit the fermenter. Cooling may be provided in the hollow fluid conduit or the vessel. One or more backpressor generators can be used to maintain a backpressure on the fermenter. One or more fluid movers can be used to variously create an induced and/or forced flow in the downward and upward flow paths.

An anaerobic reactor (1) for treating waste water includes a reaction vessel (2) and a three phase separator (4) above the reaction vessel and arranged to receive effluent from the reaction vessel. The three phase separator includes an outer wall (10, 14) connected at its bottom to the top of the reaction vessel and a liquid outlet (42), a lid (16) closing the top of the outer wall. The lid has a gas outlet (17) above the level of the liquid outlet. The three phase separator also includes a funnel (18) arranged above the reaction vessel, a guide wall (30) spaced from and arranged radially outward of the funnel so to surround an upper aperture of the funnel and a baffle wall (36) spaced from and arranged between the guide wall and the liquid outlet.

The present invention relates to a reaction device with air-lift type internal circulation which includes: a vertical cylindrical volume (1), more than one draft tube vertical element (2) positioned within the cylindrical volume (1) in such a manner as to form an gap with the walls of said volume, more than one gas distributor (3), each of which is positioned on the bottom of said device; wherein: each vertical internal element (2) has an internal diameter which increases along the vertical axis of said element, and the ratio between the total height of the reaction device and the internal diameter of the reaction device is less than 1.

The present invention relates to a method and a device for fermentation based on a microbial asexual reproduction. The method comprises the steps of adding plural silica sands, a medium and a microorganism into a tank; and stirring for separating a cluster of the microorganism by a shear force generated from the plural silica sands and returning the microorganism to a logarithmic growth phase without undergoing a spore phase to increase a fermentation rate of the microorganism. The device comprises a tank, a speed control motor disposed outside the tank, a stirring component connected to the speed control motor, a refluxing mechanism for high pressure air and water connected to the tank, a heating unit disposed in the tank and a pumping motor connected to the tank.

The present invention relates to a process for production of fermentation products, including bioethanol by non-pressurised pre-treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of waste fractions containing mono- and/or polysaccharides, having a relatively high dry matter content. The process in its entirety, i.e. from non-pressurised pre-treatment over enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation to sorting of fermentable and non-fermentable solids can be processed at a relatively high dry matter content in a single vessel or similar device using free fall mixing for the mechanical processing of the waste fraction.

A fermenter can have at least one hollow fluid conduit disposed at least partially within a vessel. An external circumference of the hollow fluid conduit and an interior circumference of the vessel can define a downward flow path through which a multi-phase mixture including a liquid media and compressed gas substrate bubbles flows. An interior circumference of the hollow fluid conduit can defined an upward flow path which is in fluid communication with the downward flow path. The multi-phase liquid can flow through the upward flow path and exit the fermenter. Cooling may be provided in the hollow fluid conduit or the vessel. One or more backpressor generators can be used to maintain a backpressure on the fermenter. One or more fluid movers can be used to variously create an induced and/or forced flow in the downward and upward flow paths.

The present invention relates to a process for production of fermentation products, including bioethanol by non-pressurized pre-treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of waste fractions containing mono- and/or polysaccharides, having a relatively high dry matter content. The process in its entirety, i.e. from non-pressurized pre-treatment over enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation to sorting of fermentable and non-fermentable solids can be processed at a relatively high dry matter content in a single vessel or similar device using free fall mixing for the mechanical processing of the waste fraction.