Biogas Generation

Anaerobic digestion is being taken seriously because of increasing concerns about the environmental hazards of wastes. The production of biogas, as an alternative source of energy was investigated in a designed and fabricated 200litre biogas reactor. The digester was operated on a batch-fed basis, and the feed stock was cassava waste which is readily available in Nigerian farms. The main aim was to explore other renewable sources as a means of less dependence on fossil fuels. A total of 1.94dm3/60kg waste of biogas was produced in 40 days of hydraulic retention time (HRT) with the average yield of 0.048dm3/day. The gas burned with a bluish colour indicating presence of methane (CH4). Temperature during the period of experiment varied between 27 and 33° C. The pH of the slurry after the experiments averaged 3.21.

Anaerobic digestion is being taken seriously because of increasing concerns about the environmental hazards of wastes. The production of biogas, as an alternative source of energy was investigated in a designed and fabricated 200litre biogas reactor. The digester was operated on a batch-fed basis, and the feed stock was cassava waste which is readily available in Nigerian farms. The main aim was to explore other renewable sources as a means of less dependence on fossil fuels. A total of 1.94dm 3 /60kg waste of biogas was produced in 40 days of hydraulic retention time (HRT) with the average yield of 0.048dm 3 /day. The gas burned with a bluish colour indicating presence of methane (CH4). Temperature during the period of experiment varied between 27 and 33 0 C. The pH of the slurry after the experiments averaged 3.21.

The amount of solid wastes generated in developing countries such as Nigeria has steadily increased overthe last two decades as a result of population explosion and continuous growth of industries andagricultural practices. In agriculture, particularly cattle rearing, large quantities of cow wastes aregenerated, which could be used as biogas inputs to compliment the fuel usage alternative. In addition, alarge number of families generate heavy wastes in the kitchen on a daily basis, which could be convertedto economic benefits. In this work, a comparative study of biogas production from poultry droppings,cattle dung, and kitchen wastes was conducted under the same operating conditions. 3kg of each wastewas mixed with 9L of water and loaded into the three waste reactors. Biogas production was measured fora period of 40 days and at an average temperature of 30.5oC. Biogas production started on the 7th day, andattained maximum value on the 14th days for reactor 1. Production reached its peak on the 14th day with85×10-3dm3 of gas produced in reactor 2. For reactor 3, biogas production started on the 8th day andproduction reached a peak value on the 14th day. The average biogas production from poultry droppings,cow dung and kitchen waste was 0.0318dm3/day, 0.0230dm3/day and 0.0143dm3/day, respectively. It isconcluded that the wastes can be managed through conversion into biogas, which is a source of incomegeneration for the society.

In this work, a comparative study of biogas production from poultry droppings, cattle dung, kitchen waste, fruit waste and vegetable waste was done under the same operating conditions. 3kg of each waste was mixed with 9kg of water and loaded into the 5 constructed digesters. Biogas production was measured using water displacement method for a period of 40 days and at an average temperature of 30.5°C. Results: indicated that poultry droppings produced 0.0332dm3/day, cow dung produced 0.0238dm3/day, Kitchen waste produced 0.0080dm3/day, vegetable waste produced 0.0066dm3/day and fruit waste with 0.0022dm3/day. It is concluded that poultry droppings produced more biogas because it contains more nutrients and nitrogen compared with plant and other animal waste.

The amount of solid wastes generated in developing countries such as Nigeria has steadily increased over the last two decades as a result of population explosion and continuous growth of industries and agricultural practices. In agriculture, particularly cattle rearing, large quantities of cow wastes are generated, which could be used as biogas inputs to compliment the fuel usage alternative. In addition, a large number of families generate heavy wastes in the kitchen on a daily basis, which could be converted to economic benefits. In this work, a comparative study of biogas production from poultry droppings, cattle dung, and kitchen wastes was conducted under the same operating conditions. 3kg of each waste was mixed with 9L of water and loaded into the three waste reactors. Biogas production was measured for a period of 40 days and at an average temperature of 30.5°C. Biogas production started on the 7th day, and attained maximum value on the 14th days for reactor 1. Production reached its peak on the 14th day with 85×10-3dm3 of gas produced in reactor 2. For reactor 3, biogas production started on the 8th day and production reached a peak value on the 14th day. The average biogas production from poultry droppings, cow dung and kitchen waste was 0.0318dm3/day, 0.0230dm3/day and 0.0143dm3/day, respectively. It is concluded that the wastes can be managed through conversion into biogas, which is a source of income generation for the society.