Design of monitoring and control device for biogas production in a pilot scale anaerobic digester

Abstract Monitoring and control in the biogas production process play important role to optimize the processes occurred inside the digester and help to achieve a stable and safe process. Anaerobic digestion is a complex process involving several groups of microorganisms that are sensitive to many operating factors. Therefore, it is important to monitor and detect the process imbalances at an early stage, thus action can be taken in time to prevent the failure. The purpose of this study is to design an appropriate biodigester to produce biogas from culinary food waste and a smart-based design device which can help in monitoring and controlling the process to enhance the biogas yields and control the process of purifying biogas into biomethane. The research method in this study consists of several stages including designing the reactors and instrumentation, fabrication and installation, testing and calibration of the sensors. Performance of biodigester plants was evaluated based on data gained from the sensors. The efficiency of digesters equipped with control and monitoring instruments is better than ordinary manual digesters. Smart-based digesters can increase the rate of gas production more measurably and be recorded systematically and in real time. It can be concluded that a smart biogester equipped with a microcontroller and monitoring with Web Application can save the time and improve biogas production and safety.