Proceedings

Insights from operating a three-staged thermophilic anaerobic digestion facility at the Shafdan wastewater treatment plant serving greater Tel Aviv, Israel are presented. The overall performance of the digestion process is discussed along with the individual components. Operational features of the sludge screening, continuous feeding, heating with recovered heat, pumped mixing with nozzles, foam management, digestion performance, biogas management, digested biosolids dewatering, sidestream management, and biosolids management are all discussed. The Shafdan digestion and cogeneration facility is an example of a large, successful, multi-stage thermophilic anaerobic digestion and internal-combustion engine-driven cogeneration system. Insights from the operation of the
Shafdan digestion and cogeneration facility are beneficial to those designing new or retrofitting existing anaerobic digesters, particularly if thermophilic operating conditions are being considered.

Keywords: Biosolids, anaerobic digestion, thermophilic, struvite