Biogas Productions from Food waste and Functional ...

DOI 10.4010/2016.528 ISSN 2321 3361 © 2016 IJESC

Research Article

Volume 6 Issue No. 3

Biogas Productions from Food waste and Functional Working Methane Gas Digester Design Sulaiman Muhammad Musa1, Dr Mahadi Makwayo2, Khalid Da’u Khalid3, Anas Abdullahi Muhammad4, Nabil Isyaku Mu’az5, zaharaddeen Aminu Bello6 Faculty of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering1, 4, 5, 6 Faculty of Applies Sciences, Department of Chemistry3 Jodhpur National University, Narnadi Jhanwar Road, Boranada, Rajasthan, India [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract: Due to the cries in most of the oil producing countries especially in the Middle East and some Africa, Petroleum and its product demands by the developed and developing nations becomes of great attention. As such the needs for search of an alternative become necessary. Biogas digester with a capacity of 0.14m3 was design. Foodwaste was used as the feedstock which was obtained from Dangote Hall, Bayero University Kano. The foodwaste sample was mashed and mixed with water in a ratio 1:2 to form the slurry. The test was carried out at an ambient temperature between 35 -50oC within a retention time of three (3) days. . a gas burner for checking the flammability of the gas produced was use. Keywords: digester, feedstock, ambient temperature and slurry 1.0. Introduction Worldwide energy crisis directed the attention to the alternative sources of energy instead of underground fossil fuel [1]. The rising cost of petroleum products is a serious problem facing most developing countries of the world. Global energy requirement is increasing at every moment and to cope up with this daily need, the role of renewable energy is becoming more and more important in the developed as well as the developing countries to meet partially the need of global energy [2]. A number of nations have invested in research on biogas digesters, ranging from devices which can be used by a single household to industrial-scale equipment which could be used to generate large amounts of power. Again, excessive energy demands from both rural and urban dwellers imply that other natural sources of energy have to be explored. Hence, conversion of agricultural wastes into biogas could be a leeway to solving some of these energy problems [3] Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen [4]. Microbially-controlled production of biogas is an important part of the global carbon cycle. Every year, natural biodegradation of organic matter under anaerobic conditions is estimated to release 590–800million tons of methane into the atmosphere [5]. Biogas can be produced from dairy cow wastes, poultry litter, sheep and goat droppings, crop-residues of various plants, sugarcane trash, bagasse, rice husk, rice bran, tobacco wastes and seed, cotton dust from textile mills, tea waste, fruit and vegetable wastes, marine algae, seaweeds [6].

International Journal of Engineering Science and Computing, March 2016

The biogas released acts as an environmentally sustainable energy source, while providing a method for disposal of various wastes. Biogas contains 50 - 70% methane and 30 50% carbon dioxide along with small amounts of other gases and typically has a calorific value4 of 21 - 24 MJ/m3 [7]. This is only possible by the use of a device called biogas digesters. A biogas digester also known as methane digester. It is a piece of equipment which can turn organic waste in to usable fuel. These devices are sometime known as anaerobic digester. One of the major applications of biogas digester is in the disposal of human and farm waste. The mini digester serves to produce the biogas from various energy plants and other organic waste material [8]. Biogas digester technology is spreading fast in Asia and other continents but utilization in Sub-Saharan Africa has so far been slow, despite significant individual, institutional, national and international efforts to support technology adoption [9]. The main aim of this research work was to design and test a Biogas digester that is cheap, easy to operate and easy to assemble. Also to provide a means of obtaining fuel for cooking at a cheap rate 1.2. Problem Statement Energy is a fundamental input in the development of any human society. However, the amount of energy required per capital to foster or sustain development depends largely on the state of development, the local resources, the social and economical model chosen by the country and other factors. Today most countries rely on local or imported nature, coupled together with environmental effect of the fossil fuels have remarkably influenced the development of energy sources with

2185

http://ijesc.org/

particular attention focused on the field of renewable energy deserts. This erosion problem can be meaningfully checked sources as biogas. by adopting biogas technology, which can produce the gas The demand for fuel wood has grown with rural for use in cooking, lighting, etc in remote locations where populations, leading to the loss of trees and forests. To electricity is not available. decrease reliance on fuel wood, the government has promoted the use of biogas (a mixture of methane and 2.0 Methodology carbon dioxide produced by decomposing organic matter) The main component of the set-up is the digester, which is for cooking fuel [10]. cylindrical in shape made by rolling There is also a growing demand for energy and for that mild steel sheet. The cylinder is to be protected against energy to be ‘green’ and not from fossil fuel based source corrosion by coating its internal part with red oxide and the which contributes to the greenhouse gas effect and climate external part with black paint for maximum heat absorption. change. There are lots of ways that waste, with its locked-in A two 3 inches Sockets and plugs could serve as Inlet and energy, can be used as a fuel source, but one of the very Outlet pipes through which the foodwaste and water will best, if not the best is a process called Anaerobic Digestion. pass to the digester and exit of the effluent respectively. The big advantage possessed by anaerobic digestion is that The stirrer is to be use with blades and passed centrally from using it to produce ‘biogas’ can not only provide a fuel for the top of the digestion chamber to the bottom with the aid domestic uses, but also can be converted into biofuel which of bearings on top and bottom of the digester which are can be used in the automotive industry. meant to make the stirrer in position and provide ease of The need to develop fuel for cooking from other sources rotation in order to thoroughly mix the slurry in the digester. was felt because of high prices of Natural gas and A gas outlet pipe, pressure gauge and thermocouple are deforestation. The people who lived in the villages can have fixed on top of the digester. easy access to materials such as cow dung and other organic The biogas from the digester will be conveyed to the gas waste, which can be used to produce cooking gas. The gas storage tank through ¾ inch hose with a non-return valve produced before the cooking gas, which is the biogas, and then safety valve attached to it. When the gas passes produced due to biological processes. through the hose, it is accumulated in the gas storage tank It is an indisputable fact in many developing countries like which is a plastic jerry-can. The gas storage tank has a tap Nigeria most of the energy for domestic use comes from on it that is used for controlling the outflow of the gas to the fuel wood. This however leads to desert encroachment as stove. A 3/8 inch hose is used to convey the gas from well as soil erosion particularly for locations adjacent to storage tank to the stove. 2.1 DESIGN COMPUTATIONS DESIGN OF FERMENTATION CHAMBER S/N INITIAL DATA CALCULATION & SKETCHES RESULT 1. Material selection: Stainless steel is supposed to be used for the construction of the digestion chamber, but due to its high cost it is substituted with Mild Steel Sheet and coated with red oxide as anti-rust because the slurry has a pH value between 6.8 and 8.0 2.

3.

The digester is designed as a batch digester with the capacity of producing 1500 litres per batch and foodwaste as a feedstock Water to foodwaste (fw) ratio is 2:1 Required (fw)= 42 kg

4.

Vs = 126 litres

5.

Vs = 126 litres Sg = 14 litres Selected height of Digestion chamber Hd = 600mm = 0.6 m Vd = 140 litres = 0.14 m3

6.

1 kg of foodwaste produces 0.036 m3 of biogas. 42 kg produces 42x0.036 m3 = 1.512 m3 = 1512 liters of biogas

Volume of gas to be produced per batch Vg = 1512 liters

The quantity of water required is 2x42kg = 84 kg of water Hence, the total amount of slurryV s = 42 kg + 84 kg = 126 kg = 126 litres Gas generation space Sg = 10% of Volume of Slurry = Total digester Volume Vd = Vs + Sg = 126 + 14 = 140 litres Diametre of the digester Dd From

Volume of Slurry Vs = 126 litres


Gas generation Space Sg = 14 litres Total digester Volume Vd = 140 litres Diametre of the digester

; 2186

http://ijesc.org/

3.0 TESTS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Biogas Digester plant Set-up was installed and charged with a feedstock on Sunday 29th August 2010, up to Thursday 2nd September 2010, there was no sign of biogas. It is on that very day (Thursday 2nd September 2010) we discovered that it was sas a result of leakages from both storage tank and digester in which the slurry has to be discharged for repair. After remedy has been taken, the digester was re installed and charged again on Sunday 5th September, 2010 around 9:30 am. Around 1:30 pm we discovered the digester started generating the biogas. The following Table 5.1 is the readings taken for several days. Table1: Temperature Readings Days Time emperature inside the Digester C) 1 Morning 19 Sunday 5th September, Noon 32 2010.

2. Monday6th September, 2010. 3. Tuesday 7th September, 2010.

mbient emperature C) 23 40

Evening

22

31

Morning

18

21

Noon

19

21

Evening Morning

16 16

5 12

Noon

26

30

Evening

24

28

References 1. Forhad I. A Md, Khan M.Z.H, Sarkar M.A.R, Ali S.M. Development of Biogas Processing from Cow dung, Poultry waste, and Water Hyacinth. International Journal of Natural and Applied Science 2013; 2(1): 13-17. 2. Rabiul Islam, Gourab B, Feroz A. Design and benefit analysis of biogas plant for rural development in Bangladesh. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT) . 2014: 3(3); 342-348. 3. Ofoefule A. U, Uzodinma E.O. Biogas production from blends of cassava (Manihot utilissima) peels with some animal wastes. International Journal of Physical Sciences. 2009: 4 (7); 398-402. 4.Ilaboya I.R,. Asekhame F.F . Ezugwu O.M, Erameh A.A, Omofuma F.E. studies on biogas generation from agricultural waste: Analysis of the effect of alkaline on gas generation. 2010: 9 (5); 537-545. 5. Tom B, Michael R. T. History and future of domestic biogas plants in the developing world. Energy for Sustainable Development 15 (2011) 347–354. 6. Stalin N, Prabhu H.J. Performance evaluation of partial mixing anaerobic digester. ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences. 2007: 2 (3); 1-6. 7. R. Ananthakrishnan, K. Sudhakar, Abhishek Goyal, S. Satya Sravan. Economic feasibility of substituting L.P.G with biogas for Manit hostels. International journal of ChemTech Research. 2013: 5 (2); 891-893. 8. Vindis P, Mursec B, Rozman C, Janzekovic M, Cus F. Biogas production with the use of mini digester. Journal of achievements in materialsand manufacturing engineering. 2007: 28 (1); 99-102. 9. Dahunsi S.O, Oranusi U.S. Co-digestion of Food Waste and Human Excreta for Biogas Production. British Biotechnology Journal. 2013: 3(4); 485-499.

4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION The biogas obtained was tested and found out incombustible. It is recommended that the gas generation space should be 20% of the volume of the slurry instead of 10% used. Also a Scrubber airtight vessel containing water) has to be attached between the digester and the storage tank where the biogas will pass through water in order to eliminate the water vapour and reduces the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) for efficient burning of the gas.


10. Sambo A.S. Renewable energy for rural development: the Nigeria perspective. ISESCO Science and Technology Vision . 2005: 1; 12-22

2187

http://ijesc.org/