Digester+Projects

Please enter information you have about any anaerobic digester projects you are aware of. As this information grows we may sort it into categories and it doesn't matter how brief your information is - someone else may be able to fill in details. Please try to make sure you are talking about a new project, not a version of something that is already here (which you can add to). Ideally we would like information on Location, Status, design type, feedstock(s), operating parameters (digester volume, operating temperature, retention time, loading rate, gas production) and contact details. =-= =A Simple Polythene Batch Digester= By using layflat cylindrical plastic we have shown that anyone can make a low cost biogas digester.

=A Project at a School= This digester is in Ghana

=Bridport Renewable Energy Group off grid demonstration of micro AD. Summer 2012= BREG has bought a 600 litre, Methanogen, Biogastronome digester for use at a market garden in Dorset, UK. The feedstock will be plant material, ryegrass, soft weeds and comfry. The aim of this project is to demystify the process and demonstrate the value AD can add to food production. More detail can be found at breg.org.uk where we have started to blog the progress of our project. Please visit and comment as I am only getting spam at the moment.

=Projects in Uganda= See photos on [|Flickr]

or (prepared by Vianney) has more photos and details. The biogas did burn after 14 days, so feeding has commenced!

=A case study of a dairy farm in Costa Rica.= [|Access the PDF]

There will be an article in the April [|Biocycle] about this project.

Brief review of large biogas programs in India, Nepal, China and Africa.

There is a brief review of the history of biogas in India, Nepal and China in my new [|Kingdom Bioenergy Ltd] website: (http://www.kingdombio.com). There are two very good projects in Africa as well, Rwanda and Ghana. The older information is based on my book: “[|Running a Biogas Programme: A Handbook]” (1988), also available from [|Amazon] (see [|review]). The newer information is based on my visits for [|Ashden Awards] in the past few years. See my own wikispace: http://kingdom-bioenergy.wikispaces.com/ for pictures.

The use of biogas technology fed with cattle dung to supply cooking fuel for rural families has been very successful in China (over 12 million working units), India (over 2 million units) and Nepal (over 172,000 units with a succes rate of 98% - still working 5 years after installation). In Rwanda, biogas has been used to process sewage from jails, with the benefit of a replacing 50% of the wood fuel used for cooking. In Ghana, [|BTWAL] has built biogas plants to process sewage from hospitals, schools, universities and hotels.

The new approach in India is to process food wastes into biogas. Several groups are making plants that urban families can use to replace part of the LPG they use for cooking. More details are available on the [|Kingdom Bioenergy Ltd] website. I am updating my book, which should be available by the Autumn of 2011, so the site is a trailer for the book.

**BOLIVIA HIGH ALTITUDE DIGESTERS**
Biodigester and biodigester interior. Im working at Bolivia since 2002 with tubular biodigesters. The technology has been development for use in the altiplano, 4000 meter over sea level, with ambient temperatures under 0ºC. The biodigesters are very big if we compare it with the biodigesters for the jungle, and are inside a greenhouse in the way to keep 10ºC working temperature. The cost for this biodigester is about 150 $us.

The german cooperation (GTZ) is financiating 1/3 of the cost in materials for every biodigester installed. Aswell, we are making workshoips in diferents cities of Bolivia for the tecnology transfer to the NGOs and profesional that wnt to learn the tecnology. We want big escale divulgation of the tecnology in bolivia, at the altiplano, velley, and trpical lands of the countrty. at the moment there are a NGO s working with experience, and five more beginig to work in this area.

I hope that in the next months can show you a free guide for the design and installation of tubular biodigesters. It will be in spanish

I send you two pictures of a biodigester installed at 4223 meter over the sea level, in Palca (LA Paz, Bolivia)

We keep in contact Jaime Martí Herrero tallerbiogas@hotmail.com July 11, 2007

UPDATE on Jaime's work in Bolivia:

Here is a travelogue of a grad student visiting Jaime and GTZ in Bolivia first posted on the AD listserv. Now edited and formatted with some photographs for your enjoyment: Travelogue: Digesters in Bolivia

Roseworthy Piggery Digester
Designed in 1970s as a high rate digester(35C 10-12 days retention time), 60 cubic metre concrete tank but not operated in this mode. Now demolished. Luke Jenangi carried out a student project based on a 200 litre "poly plug flow" digester and his report is here. He provides some interesting data on temperature influences and feeding intervals.

Greenfinch 5000 tonne a year Greenwaste Plant in UK
Now run by Biogen, see @http://www.biogen.co.uk/ for details. Built in 2005 and running from early 2006. Takes in food and garden waste collected in housing estates in Ludlow, UK. Passes through a grinder, a biogas digester and post-processing to make compost. Gas used in a CHP gas engine to generate electricity for the grid, and heat for the process. Evergreen Gas (which replaced Greenfinch Ltd) have built 15 cattle dung digesters acroos the UK. Interesting problems with Environment Agency to get correct approval documents.

Some pictures of different digesters
I hope you like these pictures showing some digester concepts:

http://www.schlattmann.de/biogas/5-messtechnik/biogas5-versuchsfermenter1.php Some low cost digesters built by a biogas-community farmer for performing his own digestion test next to his full-size plant.

http://www.schlattmann.de/biogas/5-messtechnik/biogas5-versuchsfermenter2.php High tech laboratory digesters with fuzzy-logic control.

http://www.schlattmann.de/biogas/5-messtechnik/biogas5-versuchsfermenter3.php 3.5 m³ pilot scale digester fed with manure and a total mixed ration for cows for the production of a constant base substrate for tests in smaller digesters. (HRT 20d, 3.2 kg VS / m³, fed manually once a day, 6 times a week (2003-2006) )

http://www.schlattmann.de/biogas/5-messtechnik/biogas5-versuchsfermenter4.php 36L test digesters, fed with different test substrates. (HRT 32.7d, fed manually once a day, 6 times a week (2004-2006) )

http://www.schlattmann.de/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=53 Test digester of a german biogas company. This is the small version of their full size plants. Shown at Agritechnica 2007 fair, Hannover, November 2007.

http://www.schlattmann.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=374 Some german agricultural full size biogas plants viewed with Google Earth.

Digester designs for tropical climes
Here is a digester design used in rural Costa Rica: []

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The biogas project at Kiabakari Bible School, Mara, Tanzania
This is our first biogas project. You can read the final report.

This biogas plant is now working properly. The school has increased the pig production (a new pigsty is constructed) and we have restarted the plant. There is many reasons for the troubles but no one to blame.

Muasa =

This is a new project of the same kind as the biogas project at Katulani Secondary school in Kitui Kenya. Kalimani Secondary School is situated appr 15 km from Kitui Kenya. Here is a preliminary project plan
 * The Kalimani Project**=

Muasa

**Biogas Project at Victory Christian School, Wawase, Ghana**
At this school (330 students from K1 - JHS3) we are in the process of installing a Puxin 16m3 digester and a new toilet building. All preparatory work has been done, we are now waiting for the installers. In the meantime the toilet buildings are being constructed alongside.

Extra challenge at our school is our wish to reuse biodigester effluent to flush the toilets (we have no running water). This has been done elsewhere, but I don't know what we should watch out for. Will this force the material through the digester too quickly?

Will keep this page updated as the project proceeds.

The [|Park Spark Project] uses dog poo!