Stabilization Choices
Anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion, lime stabilization, and thermal drying are the main choices — each with different capital, operating, and end-product quality implications.
Anaerobic digestion is the most common at medium-to-large plants — produces biogas (offsetting energy cost), achieves 40-60% volatile solids destruction, and meets Class B pathogen criteria readily.
Aerobic digestion is common at smaller plants — simpler than anaerobic, no biogas, less efficient volatile solids destruction, but operationally simpler.
Lime stabilization adds alkaline material (quicklime) to raise pH, killing pathogens and meeting vector attraction reduction — produces Class B product, simple process control, but significantly increases total solids mass.
Thermal drying produces Class A product — capital-intensive, energy-intensive, but produces the highest quality, most marketable end product.
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