The Design, Development and Assessment of a Novel De-centralised IoT-Based Remote Monitoring of a Small-Scale Anaerobic Digester Network

Abstract

The implementation of community-level de-centralised anaerobic digestion (AD) systems offers a sustainable solution for organic waste management and energy provision, but there is currently a need for low-cost methods of system control and management at this scale. The problem becomes accentuated with increasing deployment, as greater complexities are created by the need to both monitor and control a wider network of smaller, community-scale plants. This paper describes research to design, deploy and test such a system by creating a network of two independent biogas generation AD reactor sites situated in the United Kingdom and Thailand. Internet of things (IoT) aspects such as inexpensive and widely available open-source control electronics was used in combination with small commercial gas analysers to log, transfer and share data with a central station, achieving real-time monitoring of performance for both networked digesters. The design proved beneficial for collaboration and knowledge exchange purposes along with providing off-site observations on reactor status. This information was used for early intervention to maintain biogas yields and enable the dynamic assessment of process economics. The concept showed potential for upscaling to larger multi-site networks of AD reactors that could maintain process optimisation without the need for skilled staff on site.