Municipal waste and animal dung can be used to generate cooking fuel.
A biogas digester is a sustainable design to produce methane gas using feedstocks of various sources, which can then be used to supply cooking stoves and ovens. The waste, such as animal manure, municipal waste and food waste, releases methane gas, a clean-burning fuel source that does not produce soot. The following instructions are for a personal-use biogas digester. Other types and sizes are available depending on how much feedstock is available for energy generation.
Instructions
1. Cut the top of the larger water tank completely off. This will serve as the digester tank to hold the feedstock. Cut the top from the smaller barrel and fit it, upside down, inside of the larger jug for a telescoping effect. This will act as the dome to capture the methane gas. This barrel system should be fitted on a frame with a flat, horizontal base and a cross-beam at the top to hold the dome in place once it reaches its maximum methane capacity.
2. Fit the flexible pipe to the bottom of the large tank. This pipe should be a few centimeters longer than the height of the barrel itself. Attach a funnel to the open end. This will be used to pour the slurry, which is the mixture of feedstock and water that ferments to produce the methane gas. The funnel end will be loosely attached to the top of the tank and can be used in case of an overflow.
3. Fit the outlet valve to the upper section of the larger waste barrel. This valve determines the amount of waste the digester is capable of holding. The spent feedstock can be used in various ways, including as fertilizer for gardens, in compost piles and as a supplement in livestock feed.
4. Attach the gas outlet to the top section of the smaller, inner tank. This should be placed so it can be attached conveniently to a stove or oven. The outlet valve can be attached to the stove using a flexible pipe. Determine the correct fitting for the stove by consulting the manufacturer's suggestions.
5. Load the system with 20kg of waste slurry composed of water and cattle dung. It is especially important that the first load of feedstock is cattle dung because the bacteria in the dung breaks down organic matter to produce the methane gas.
After waiting about two weeks, gas production should begin and be noticeable as the dome begins to rise up from the larger tank. Test the gas to be sure it is combustible. If so, you can begin using other types of feedstocks such as municipal and food waste.
Tags: produce methane, This will, biogas digester, cattle dung, flexible pipe, food waste, outlet valve