How to interpret digester behaviour using graphs and data?
The pattern of the plot denotes the different behaviours of the system. The graph can give you valuable insights, as explained below. We are also working on automating some of these insights.
Good use and system performance
Based on the size of the digester, a user should feed and consume the gas appropriately. This will help them get the most out of the digester. Every digester has the capacity to hold slurry and gas and this decides the amount of feed and total gas it can generate and store. If a user feeds too little into the digester it will not create enough gas and it will not work at its full capacity. If a user feeds too much amount and the digester can’t hold that much gas it will vent into the environment.
Each Smart Biogas device has a Pressure Sensor that tells you about the amount of gas present in the digester. Thes pressure decreases when the gas is consumed and increases when gas is generated.
On the graph, you can see if there is continuous production when the gas produced reaches the maximum and if it is being used regularly. These patterns are easier to spot on some types of digesters over others, the example below is from a fixed dome digester which shows pronounced increases and decreases in pressure.
Gas can leak due to improper fitting of pipes, leaks at the gas valve, or leaks at the burner. Without a meter in place, gas leaks are usually not tracked or detected because of the relatively low flow. The Smart Biogas sensors can detect any low flow value and as you can see in the graph, any flow value between 20-100 lph or .02- .1 m3/hr can be a leak.
Venting
Once a digester’s gas chamber is full, additional gas produced by the digester is vented into the environment and wasted. A user may feed too much and not use the gas, or the digester may be too large and the feed is more than the amount of gas used.
With the Pressure sensor on the Smart Biogas device, venting can be detected. On the graph, the Pressure values are stable at maximum, such as that shown towards the right-hand side of the example below.
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