Boiler operating method with gases produced from bioreactor

Abstract: A method for operating a boiler (4) to heat a bioreactor (1) with gases produced from the bioreactor (1), while supplying excess hot water to the outside of a system. In the method, the boiler (4) is operated to turn on and off depending upon the temperature of a hot water tank (5) when a level of a gas holder (3) is higher than an intermediate level H₁. Hot water is unconditionally supplied to the outside of the system when the level of the gas holder (3) is higher than a high level H₂, and hot water is supplied to the outside when the temperature of the hot water tank (5) is higher than an intermediate temperature L₁ and the level of the gas holder (3) is between the high level H₂ and the intermediate level H₁. The supply of the hot water is stopped when the level of the gas holder (3) is less than the intermediate level H₁.

Description: This invention relates to a method of operating a boiler with gases produced from a bioreactor for anaerobic treatment. In general, combustible digestion gases are produced from a bioreactor for anaerobic treatment owing to decomposition of organic substances. The calorific value of the gases with a bioreactor having a capacity of 50 m³ reaches as much as 3,600,000 Kcal per day which corresponds to that of approximately 400 liters of heavy oil. On the other hand, this kind of bioreactor usually requires to be heated so that the bioreactor is heated by hot water obtained when the boiler is operated by the produced gases above described. With such a system, a calorific value of the produced gases under designed loaded conditions is generally more than that required for heating the bioreactor so that the system is constructed to supply the excess heat as hot water to the outside of the system. If an actual load is less than the designed load, the calorific value of the produced gases often becomes insufficient. With the system of the prior art, however, the system would continue supplying the hot water to the outside so that a large amount of heat must be supplied to the bioreactor from an external heat source by steam or the like. This is disadvantageous from the view of effective use of the entire heat. It is a primary object of the invention to provide a method of operating a boiler with gases produced from a bioreactor, which ameliorates the disadvantages of the prior art and enables a system to be operated without supplying heat from an external heat source as far as possible even if a change in treated amount of drainage of the bioreactor takes place and further which is able to effectively supply excess heat, if any, as hot water to outside of the system. The present invention provides a method of operating a a system comprising a bioreactor (1) for anaerobic treatment, a gas holder (3), a boiler (4) and a hot water tank (5) as set out in claim 1. The invention will be more fully understood by referring to the following detailed specification and claims taken in connection with the appended drawing. Fig. 1 is a drawing illustrating a control system for explaining one embodiment of the method according to the invention. Fig. 1 illustrates a system for carrying out the method according to the invention, which comprises a bioreactor 1 for anaerobic treatment, a purifier 2, a gas holder 3 for reserving desulfurized produced gases, a boiler 4 for heating the bioreactor 1, a hot water tank 5 for storing hot water obtained from the boiler 4 and a heat exchanger 6. Fig. 1 further illustrates a first pump 7 provided between the hot water tank 5 and the boiler 4, a second pump 8 provided on an outlet side of the hot water tank 5, a first valve 9 provided between an outlet of the hot water tank 5 and the heat exchanger 6 and a second valve 10 for supplying the hot water in the hot water tank 5 to the outside of the system. The first valve 9 is adapted to open to feed the hot water into the heat exchanger 6 when heating the bioreactor 1. The gas holder 3 is provided with a level gauge 11 which emits level signals for five levels, for example, a superhigh level HH, a high level H₂, an intermediate level H₁, a low level L₁ and a superlow level L₂. Moreover, the hot water tank 5 is provided with a thermometer 12 adapted to emit temperature signals for five levels, for example, a superhigh temperature HH, a high temperature H, an intermediate temperature L₁, a low temperature L₂ and a superlow temperature LL. With such a system, the superhigh level HH, the superlow level L₂ and superhigh temperature HH are alarm levels. The operating conditions of the system will now be explained. First, the boiler 4 is turned on and off depending upon the temperature in the hot water tank 5 when the level of the gas holder 3 is higher than the intermediate level H1. That is to say, the boiler 4 is turned off when the temperature of the hot water tank 5 becomes the high temperature H, while the boiler 4 is turned on when the temperature of the hot water tank 5 lowers to the low temperature L₂. When the boiler 4 is on, the first pump 7 is naturally also on, thereby maintaining the temperature in the hot water tank 5 within a suitable temperature range. Moreover, the boiler 4 is inoperative when the level of the gas holder 3 is lower than the low level L₁. When the temperature in the bioreactor 1 lowers owing to the inoperative boiler 4 and the temperature of the hot water tank 5 lowers to be lower than the superlow temperature LL, heat supply from an external heat source is unavoidably necessary. In this embodiment, an automatic control system is incorporated in the system so that a steam valve 13 is opened when the temperature of the hot water tank is the temperature LL, and the steam valve 13 is closed when the temperature of the hot water tank attends the temperature H. The second valve 10 for supplying hot water to the outside of the system is turned on and off depending upon the level of the gas holder 3 and the temperature of the hot water tank 5 in the following manner. First, when the level of the gas holder 3 is higher than the high level H₂, the second valve 10 is unconditionally turned on to supply the hot water to the outside of the system. Upon supplying the hot water to the outside of the system, the water level of the hot water tank lowers. When the level of the hot water tank lowers, cold water (at ordinary room temperature) is supplied into the hot water tank so that the temperature of the hot water tank will lower. When the temperature of the hot water tank lowers to the temperature L₂, the boiler is turned on and the second valve 10 is closed, with the result that the level of the gas holder is lowered, and supply of hot water to the outside of the system more than required is prevented. When the level of the gas holder 3 is between the high level H₂ and the intermediate level H₁, the second valve 10 is opened to supply the hot water to the outside of the system but only insofar as the temperature in the hot water tank 5 is higher than the intermediate temperature L₁. Moreover, when the level of the gas holder is lower than the intermediate level H₁, the supply of the hot water to the outside of the system is stopped irrespective of the temperature of the hot water tank 5. The actual operation of the system will be explained. (1) A case where the calorific value of the boiler is greater than the quantity of heat required for heating a bioreactor In this case, when the level of the gas holder 3 is raised or lowered between the high level H₂ and the intermediate level H1 and the second valve 10 is opened and closed so that the hot water is supplied to the outside of the system every time when the second valve 10 is opened. In more detail, when the level of the gas holder 3 reaches the high level H₂, the second valve 10 is unconditionally opened to supply the hot water to outside of the system. As a result, the hot water tank 5 is replenished with water so that the temperature of the hot water tank 5 lowers. When the temperature of the hot water tank 5 lowers to the low temperature L₂, the supply of the water to the hot water tank 5 is stopped and the boiler 4 is turned on so that the level of the gas holder 3 begin to lower progressively from the higher level H₂. However, when the level of the gas holder 3 is between the high level H₂ and the intermediate level H₁, the temperature of the hot water tank again rises. When the temperature of the hot water tank reaches a temperature higher than the intermediate temperature L1, the second valve 10 is opened to supply hot water to the outside of the system. The hot water is intermittently supplied to the outside from the hot water tank 5 whose temperature rises and lowers between the intermediate temperature L₁ and the low temperature L₂ in this manner. If the temperature of the hot water tank 5 becomes the high temperature H, the boiler 4 switches off. At this moment, the level of the gas holder rises to the high level H₂ so that the hot water is supplied to the outside of the system from the hot water tank 5. As a result, the boiler 4 is turned on. The level of the gas holder 3 continues to lower until the boiler 4 switches off. When the level of the gas holder 3 is less than the intermediate level H₁, the supply of the hot water to the outside of the system is stopped irrespective of the temperature of the hot water tank 5. If the temperature in the bioreactor 1 lowers, the first valve 9 is opened to feed the hot water from the hot water tank 5 into the heat exchanger 6. However, as the calorific value of the heat from the boiler 4 is more than the quantity of heat required for heating the bioreactor, the level of the gas holder 3 starts to rise surely on stopping the supply of the hot water to the outside o f the system. Thereafter, the system is operated in the similar manner. (2) A case where the calorific value of the boiler is less than the quantity of heat required for heating a bioreactor In action, the level of the gas holder 3 changes between the intermediate level H1 and the low level L₁ and the supply of the hot water to the outside of the system is not effected. In other words, the hot water is fed from the hot water tank 5 into the heat exchanger 6 in order to heat the bioreactor 1. When the temperature of the hot water tank 5 lowers to the low temperature L₂, the boiler switches on. After a while, when the temperature of the hot water tank 5 becomes the high temperature H, the boiler 4 is turned off. The level of the gas holder 3 progressively lowers to the low level L₁ in this manner until the operation of the boiler becomes impossible. Therefore, it is necessary to heat the bioreactor by supplying steam or the like from an external heat source. As above explained, according to the invention even if the calorific value of the boiler is more than the quantity of heat required for heating the bioreactor so that excessive hot water can be supplied to the outside of the system, the level of the gas holder is maintained higher than the intermediate level H₁ to insure that the quantity of heat for heating the bioreactor is reserved. Therefore, the invention prevents such additional energy consumption due to fuel supply from an external heat source to the boiler as a result of the supply of the hot water to the outside of the system being continued irrespective of the level of the gas holder as in the prior art. According to the invention, moreover, in the case that the calorific value of the boiler is less than the quantity of heat required for heating the bioreactor, the supply of the hot water to the outside of the system is not carried out so that 100% of the quantity of heat produced from the bioreactor can be utilized for heating the bioreactor. As can be seen from the above explanation, according to the invention the supply of the hot water to the exterior is performed only when the quantity of heat becomes excessive, irrespective of the amount of produced gases. Therefore, the system can be operated without supplying heat from an external heat source as far as possible even if the treated amount of drainage of the bioreactor changes. Therefore, the invention greatly contributes to the improvement of industries as a method of operating a boiler with gases produced from a bioreactor, which ameliorates the problems of the prior art. While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details can be made therein.

Claims: A method of operating a system comprising a bioreactor (1) for anaerobic treatment, a gas holder (3), a boiler (4) and a hot water tank (5) for heating the bioreactor (1) with gases produced from the bioreactor (1), while supplying excess hot water to outside the system, wherein the temperature of the hot water tank (5) is divided into five steps, a superhigh temperature HH, a high temperature H, an intermediate temperature L₁, a low temperature L₂ and a superlow temperature LL, and the boiler (4) is operated to turn on and off depending upon temperature of the hot water tank (5) when the filling level of the gas holder (3) is higher than an intermediate level H₁ so that the boiler (4) is turned on when the temperature of the hot water tank (5) reduces to the low temperature L₂ and the boiler (4) is turned off when the temperature of the hot water tank (5) rises to the high temperature H, and hot water is unconditionally supplied to outside the system when the filling level of the gas holder (3) is higher than a high level H₂, and hot water is supplied to outside the system when temperature of the hot water tank (5) is higher than said intermediate temperature L₁ and the filling level of the gas holder (3) is between the high level H₂ and the intermediate level H₁, and the supply of the hot water to outside the system is stopped when the filling level of the gas holder (3) is less than the intermediate level H₁ and cold water is supplied into the hot water tank (5) to lower the temperature of the hot water tank (5) when the filling level of the hot water tank (5) is reduced. A method according to claim 1 wherein the system comprises further a heat exchanger (6) for maintaining the temperature of the bioreactor (1) within a temperature range by heat exchanging the hot water of the hot water tank (5) with cold water in the bioreactor (1).

Inventors: MATSUOKA KEIJI, NIWA ISAO, OKAMOTO YUZO, MATSUOKA, KEIJI, NIWA, ISAO, OKAMOTO, YUZO
Applicants: NGK INSULATORS LTD, NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: C12M1
IPC codes: F24H1, C12M1, C02F3