Guide to Home Brewing: Considerations for Design and Operation of Primary Solids Fermenters

Adoption of innovative technologies such as primary solids fermentation can face an uphill battle unless reliable designs can be developed and that inherent reliability conveyed to the owners/operators. The elements of a successful fermenter design, including the process requirements that the supplemental carbon will fulfill, the SRT controls, the solids separation step and downstream impacts on processes such as digestion must be evaluated for typical facilities in the US. Pooling of information such as this is necessary to assess the impacts of the decision to proceed with primary solids fermentation, unveiling its true life cycle costs, and benefits.