Supercharge Biogas Production
Boost Digester Biogas Production and Methane Content for Higher Methane Capture
Accelerate, Increase, and Stabilize Digestion Process at Any Facility
iBioBooster Systems™ (iBB Systems™) apply bioacceleration and bioaugmentation to increase a digester system’s methane capture At industrial-scale digesters in Italy and China, iBB Systems have raised production of biogas and percentage methane content, increasing digester methane capture in the range of 10% to 25+%
The iBB System
A process comprising biotechnologies, hardware, and software
Developed specifically to realize the full energetic potential of organic wastes by prioritizing increase of a digester’s production of biogas and methane content as much as possible
v
Typically is housed in a container-sized unit (fermenter tanks can be located outside container) sited near an existing digester, operating off-line of the digester but connected to it.
Uses only microbes already present in the host digester system and standard nutrients.
Complements other measures that enhance host digester efficiency.
Can be applied at digester systems of any design processing any organic feedstock or combinations.
BB functionalities can be integrated in the design of new digester systems.
Graphic Video illustrating Positioning, Scale, and Main Components of iBB System at a Two-Tank Digester System
(fermenters positioned outside container)
What an iBB System Does
Combines bioacceleration and bioaugmentation to increase a digester system’s biological resiliency and methane capture
Accelerates Microbial Multiplication
Rapidly multiplies and sustains microbial populations already present in a digester’s microbiome central to the methanogenic process and its stabilization
Enhances Microbial Resilience
Improves the stability and resilience of a digester feedstock’s native methane-producing microbial populations
Boosts Methane Capture
Accelerates and increases a digester’s production of biogas with higher methane content
“Although academic knowledge about the microbiome, the engine driving the AD process, has been accumulating, the use of this knowledge for the innovation of anaerobic digestion technologies is still scarce.”
How iBB Systems Work
iBB Systems use bioacceleration and bioaugmentation approaches to improve digester performance.
Sample Withdrawal
Samples (1-3 cubic meters each) of a digester’s organic material are regularly withdrawn and sent to the iBB unit for analysis and methanogen enrichment.
Accelerated Microbial Growth
Under optimized conditions — using only indigenous microbes present in the sample, and common nutrients and chemicals — an iBB System accelerates reproduction of methane-producing microbes, increasing populations in the sample as much as 100 thousand times or more in a few days.
Bioaugmentation
Each enriched sample is returned to the digester system, bioaugmenting the digester system’s microbiome with boosted populations of its own native microbes.
Ongoing Cycle
The cycle repeats, building and sustaining the digester’s methanogenic microbiome and biogas production with higher methane content.
Phased Digester Systems
Multiple separate coordinated iBB Units can continually manage different microbial populations optimized for each phase or for combined phases of biogas production.
Interior views of an iBB System in a container unit
Improve Anaerobic Digester Performance with iBB Systems
iBB Systems offer digester owners, operators, investors, and developers multiple possible economic, environmental, and system management benefits
Increased Revenue from Same Digester and Feedstock
- More complete digestion of organics
- Increased biogas production with higher methane content, increasing methane capture
- Increased revenues from biogas, electricity, and biomethane sales
- Increased revenues from LCFS, REC and methane emission reduction credits
Enhanced Digester Stability and Reliability
- Improved digester stability and reliability
- Increased resistance to shocks and system imbalances
- Faster recovery from system upset or failure
- Improved host digester monitoring and process control
Additional Benefits
- Reduced reliance on offsite sources for onsite energy demands
- Increased throughput capacity for existing digesters and reduced size requirements for new digesters allowed by accelerated digestion
- Easier environmental management of digestate and wastewater
- Reduced costs for external-source biota and enzymes
Improved Digester Control, Automation, and Testing
- System automation and remote monitoring capabilities
- Easy pre-testing of proposed digester system changes
- Greater transparency of biological process performance
Proven iBB System Success in the Field
Real-World Performance Enhancements at Anaerobic Digester Sites
BB Systems designed by Chief Scientist Luciano Pesce have been deployed at large-scale anaerobic digester facilities in Italy and China, achieving significant increases in methane capture. Host system performance improvements typically range from 8% to 40% increased biogas production with higher percentage methane content, resulting in significant increases in methane capture per unit of feedstock.
Increases over baseline methane capture have exceeded 25%
IT Iraci Borgia Farm
Perugia, Italy
- → 1 MW biogas-to-power plant
- → Digester System: Twin CSTRs (Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactors) plus post-digester reactor
- → Feedstock: Dairy by-products & winery/ag waste
- → See footnote 1, below
>30%
Methane Capture per unit of feedstock
CN Hubei Jian Feng Pig Farm
Huangshi, China
- → Evaluating 1.4 MW biogas potential
- → Digester System: Single Horizontal Plug-Flow Digester
- → Feedstock: Swine manure & slaughterhouse waste
>40%
Methane Capture Over Baseline
CN Cassava-to-Alcohol Distillery
Jiangsu Province, China
- → Single 5,000m³ tank digester
- → Digester System: Inter-circulation (IC) digester
- → Feedstock: Distillery wastewater
- → See footnote 2, below
>25%
Methane Capture Over Average of 19 Identical Digesters at Facility
IT Biogas-to-Power Plants
Ravenna & Campiano, Italy
- → 1 MW biogas-to-power plants
- → Digester System: Primary CSTR Digester + Post-Digester
- → Feedstock: Corn silage, beets, & other ag waste
>25%
Methane Capture Over Baseline
1 – Independent performance verification conducted at the Center for Biomass Research, University of Perugia.
2 – Independent verification: Technical paper available (Abstract link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479721024464?via%3Dihub)
Primary Benefits
ENHANCING ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF ORGANIC WASTES TO PROVIDE:
INCREASED BIOGAS PRODUCTION
INCREASED METHANE CONTENT IN BIOGAS
