Digestate drying treats the residue left after anaerobic digestion in biogas and compressed biogas plants. After screw-press separation the solid fraction is fibrous and permeable, but still around three-quarters water. Plant owners dry it to reduce storage volume, make it transportable over longer distances and convert it into a marketable organic manure or fuel.
To dry digestate, GEM recommends the Mesh Belt Dryer (Meshotherm). Typical moisture is 70–80% in the feed and 10–15% after drying. Hybrid Belt + Fluid Bed Dryer and Rotary Dryer are used when the feed or site calls for it. Every project starts with a pilot trial on your own sample.
Pressed digestate forms an open, fibrous bed, which suits through-air drying on a Meshotherm belt at the moderate temperatures available from CHP jacket water or exhaust gas. Aerodryve is chosen when very wet, bulky fibre needs higher evaporation per square metre.
| Typical feed moisture | 70–80% |
| Typical target moisture | 10–15% |
| Recommended dryer | Mesh Belt Dryer (Meshotherm) |
| Alternatives | Hybrid Belt + Fluid Bed Dryer, Rotary Dryer |
| Application area | Sludge & Biosolids |
| Industries | Wastewater & Environmental, Biomass, Bioenergy & Recycling |
Biogas plants often have surplus heat with no buyer, and digestate storage is costly. Drying turns that heat into a dry organic manure that is lighter to move, keeps without odour and can earn revenue under organic fertilizer schemes.
Plants searching for a digestate dryer or comparing a biogas digestate drying usually need three answers: which dryer fits, what it costs to run, and how fast it pays back. For Digestate, we start from your throughput, current moisture (typically 70–80%) and the target (10–15%), trial a sample on the Mesh Belt Dryer, and return a sized recommendation with a budget quotation for your wastewater and biomass operation.
Compare all 4 materials in Municipal Sludge & Biosolids or browse the wider Sludge & Biosolids family.
We trial your material in our pilot facility before any equipment decision, then size the dryer from real data.
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