Training

Digester operation and making the most of biosolids: SEWAGE SLUDGE (Course full)

23 March 2021, VIRTUAL

Sorry, this training in now full. Now also being held on 11 May

This training will be delivered virtually and will include the slides presented, please see below for more details

Times:   9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Fee:       £295 plus VAT for 1 person, extra attendees £195 plus VAT each

Course Overview

Over 80% of sewage sludge produced in the UK is treated by anaerobic digestion and advanced anaerobic digestion.  The biogas produced is a renewable energy source and can be used to generate electricity and heat or converted into biomethane for grid injection, whilst the biosolids produced are generally dewatered and applied to land.

Operators and managers are faced with the challenges of increasing energy production whilst minimising the costs associated with digestate disposal/recycling.  There are many factors that influence the financial balance.  With the advent of 2020 and a competitive bioresources market delivering upon innovation and efficiency, now more than ever it is vital to understand revenue and cost drivers at the site and business levels.

This course is aimed at operators, optimisers, process scientists and managers in the wastewater/sewage sludge sector.

Course Aim

Each one tonne of dry solids produced from wastewater contains 4-7 MWh of energy, the quantity recovered is a function of the digestion process, asset condition and quality of feedstock.  The digestate produced is both a cost to handle and an opportunity to recover nutrients and produce a compliant product.

This course is designed to help attendees understand and act upon the factors that influence biogas production, sludge dewaterability, biosolids compliance, cost and revenue generation.

Learning is delivered through a combination of lectures, case studies and worked examples.

Course Programme

• The different phases of AD & key terms
• Advanced anaerobic digestion – thermal and biological hydrolysis
• Metrics for digester operation including VFA: alkalinity, hydraulic retention time, organic loading rate and rate of volatile solids destruction
• Commissioning digesters and takeover testing
• Common operational problems & solutions including foaming and inhibition
• Dewatering digestate, chemical dosing techniques and technologies
• Liquor Treatment – understanding the nitrogen cycle, technologies in the marketplace and optimisation
• The Biosolids Assurance Scheme

(A 1-day course, tailored to your requirements, is a popular choice by water companies or contractors to have delivered on their sites to operational staff.  Contact matthew.smyth@aquaenviro.co.uk if you’d like to discuss this option)

Trainer Profiles

Matthew Smyth  BSc, MRes, MBA, MCIWEM CSci CWEM

Technical Director, Aqua Enviro

Matt has been in wastewater and sludge for twenty years and works with water companies, industry and waste producers to develop and implement solutions.  He has delivered this course (and variants) for ten years to over 300 staff from the Environment Agency, multiple water company staff and in this format, which is open to all.

In the late 1990’s he began his career working on pilot and full-scale Sequencing Batch Reactors, developing, then commissioning carbonaceous and nitrification control strategies, that have been widely adopted in plants in the UK and Ireland.  He has subsequently worked closely with many anaerobic and advanced anaerobic digestion facilities treating wastewater and food waste materials, dewatering the digestate and handling the liquors produced.  He presents and publishes regularly at industry recognized conferences including Aqua Enviro’s European Biosolids & Organics and European Wastewater Management Conferences.  He is a member of the CIWEM Wastewater Management Panel and has delivered over 2000 training days on these topics (1 training day is when 1 person attends 1 course for 1 day).

VIRTUAL TRAINING ARRANGEMENTS: 

This training will be delivered virtually via MS teams.  Matt Smyth (the trainer) has successfully delivered lots of training this way.

To ensure that you get the best out of this experience, our aim is to make the training as engaging and enjoyable as possible.  As in face to face training there will be regular structured discussions (camera on) and you will be able to post questions throughout using the chat function.

Matt also has an electronic whiteboard which he’ll use throughout to bring points to life and answer questions.

There will be regular breaks to keep it fresh.  We will also provide a link to the presentation after the event.

Please note that cancellations are accepted up to 30 days prior to the training event and there is no refund for non-attendance.