[Trisha]

Moving from running stable to running optimally is like the experience of going from an average fit person into an athlete. Digesters are biological systems. We (and digester microbes) train to become athletes by eating a diet that sustains the effort of pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone.

For digesters, pushing to optimal performance looks like:

· Looking for the highest caloric feedstocks (e.g. fats)

· Reducing the lowest value feedstocks (e.g. slow degraders, high lignin content, etc.)

· Like in weightlifting, maximizing the organic loading rate with progressive overload

· Addressing nutritional deficiencies, if any (e.g. trace metals, balancing the diet)

Optimal performance also depends on your anatomy, which in our case is the equipment:

· Clearing up “dead zones” in the digester tank* (e.g. floating layer of plastic, crusts, settled grit, etc.)

· Heating up feedstock storage tanks to ferment and break down the feedstocks prior to the digester

· Running the digester and feedstock tank at a consistent and optimal temperature

· Thorough digester and feedstock tank mixing

In Azura’s experience, the 10-20% improvements come from progressively increasing fat content, supplementing any nutritional deficiencies, and operating the feedstock storage tank like a fermentation tank.

*I’ve linked an article about dead zones since I believe people often underestimate its impact on what optimal performance looks like for their system. Or maybe have never heard of it before.

azuraassociates.com

Is Your Digester Smaller Than You Think? – AZURA

Is Your Digester Smaller Than You Think? – AZURA