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Design of A Biogas Plant That Uses Human Waste As Feedstock
Design of A Biogas Plant That Uses Human Waste As Feedstock
IN
PRESENTED TO
Dr. KABIRU MUAZU
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA.
MARCH, 2015.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................... ii
LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................... v
NOMENCLATURE............................................................................................ vi
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................... vii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 1
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................3
CASE STUDY................................................................................................ 3
BRIEF HISTORY OF BIOGAS........................................................................... 3
BIOGAS IN NIGERIA...................................................................................... 4
BIOGAS PRODUCTION................................................................................... 4
Pre-treatment of feedstock...............................................................................4
Anaerobic digestion process............................................................................. 6
FACTORS THAT AFFECT BIOGAS PRODUCTION...............................................8
Waste composition/volatile solids......................................................................8
Alkalinity and pH.......................................................................................... 9
Volatile fatty acids concentration.......................................................................9
Temperature................................................................................................. 9
C/N ratio................................................................................................... 10
Retention Time (RT).................................................................................... 10
Organic Loading Rate (OLR)..........................................................................11
Mixing..................................................................................................... 11
DIGESTER TECHNOLOGY............................................................................ 11
Floating Drum Plant..................................................................................... 12
Fixed Dome Plant........................................................................................ 12
BIOGAS CLEANING..................................................................................... 13
Removal of H2S.......................................................................................... 13
Removal of CO2.......................................................................................... 13
Digestate................................................................................................... 14
CHAPTER 3: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS...........................................................15
LAYOUT FOR COLLECTION AND STORAGE OF THE HUMAN WASTE................15
PLANT LAYOUT.......................................................................................... 16
2
Site Consideration....................................................................................... 16
Proposed plant layout:.................................................................................. 17
SIZING OF DIGESTER................................................................................... 18
Amount of feedstock.................................................................................... 18
Volume of digester occupied by slurry..............................................................20
Biogas production....................................................................................... 20
Total volume of biodigester............................................................................21
Number of people expected to use the gas on daily basis........................................22
CHAPTER 4: PROCESS MANUAL FOR OPERATION OF PLANT..............................23
SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL...................................................23
FIRE PROTECTION SECTORS........................................................................24
HARMFUL EXHAUST GASES........................................................................25
GERMS....................................................................................................... 25
EMISSIONS OF SMELLS...............................................................................26
NOISE PROTECTION.................................................................................... 26
CHAPTER 5: UTILIZATION OF BY-PRODUCT SLUDGE.........................................28
POST TREATMENT OF DIGESTATE................................................................28
CHAPTER 6: PROCESS INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL................................29
THE NEED FOR CONTROL SYSTEM...............................................................29
TYPES OF CONTROL SYSTEM.......................................................................30
DESIGN OF A PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM....................................................30
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION.............................................................................. 32
REFERENCES................................................................................................. 33
3
LIST OF FIGURES
4
LIST OF TABLES
5
NOMENCLATURE
AD Anaerobic Digestion
HS High Solids
RT Retention Time
TS Total Solids
6
ABSTRACT
This term paper assignment was carried out as group work to design a biogas
production plant from human waste generated from the Maitama District of Abuja with
a population of 1 million people. The gas generated is to be used by the residents of the
The fixed dome plant was employed and the volume of the digester was estimated to be
123,703m3; this volume includes volume of slurry and volume of gas generated since it
is a fixed dome plant. The gas production was obtained to be 49,957 m 3 per day. With a
biogas requirement of 0.6 m3 per person, it was estimated that about 83,262 of the 1
7
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
It is an indisputable fact that energy plays a very important role in the socio-economic
development of any country. The amount of energy produced and consumed by a given
country is a direct indicator of the level of development of the country; the more energy
a country is able to produce and consume, the more developed the country tends to be.
consumption even though 13% of the worlds population lives there and 10% of the
worlds crude oil reserves are located there (Bugaje and Mohammed, 2008). This is a
rather pitiable position and as such there is the need for efficient harnessing of the
abundant resources that Africa is blessed with. One of such ways is the development of
materials. It can be produced domestically using human and animal wastes and can
serve as a cheap source of energy. Apart from serving as a cheap source of energy, its
eliminates the harmful micro-organisms. After biogas has been produced, the by-
product sludge (digested slurry) is a good fertilizer while the treated effluent from the
anaerobic digestion is a good animal feed when treated and mixed with molasses and
grains.
Biogas production from human wastes (faeces) has already been developed and is used
in some parts of the world like China and India. In Nigeria, the technology of biogas is
at an infant stage even though efforts are continually being made to promote and
develop it. This report presents a study about the design of a biogas plant using human
1
waste generated from the residents of the Maitama District in Abuja. The gas generated
is to be sent back to the residents to serve as fuel for heating and cooking.
2
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
CASE STUDY
The geographical area under study is the Maitama District in The Federal Capital
Territory Abuja. The population of the area is put at 1 million people. The biogas plant
is to produce biogas from the human faeces and urine generated from the entire
population of the area. The amount of waste generated per person is 1kg of urine and
150 g of faeces per day. This puts the total amount of urine generated at 1 million kg
and 150, 000 kg of faeces per day. The biogas to be generated is to be used by the
people of the district. It is assumed that each person requires 0.6m 3 of biogas for
The use of biogas as a fuel is believed to have started as long ago as the 10 th century
B.C. by the Assyrians who used it for heating bath water; there are also suggestions that
anaerobic digestion of solid waste may well have been applied in ancient China (Bond
date from the mid-nineteenth century, when digesters were constructed in New Zealand
and India, with a sewage sludge digester built in Exeter, UK to fuel street lamps in the
1890s. In Guangdong Province, China, commercial use of biogas has been attributed to
Guorui Luo. In 1921, he constructed an 8 m 3 biogas tank fed with household waste and
later that decade founded a company to popularise the technology. The first German
sewage treatment plant to feed biogas into the public gas supply began to do so in 1920,
while in the same country the first large agricultural biogas plant began operating in
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1950. The spread of biogas technology gained momentum in the 1970s, when high oil
BIOGAS IN NIGERIA
Despite the numerous advantages of using biogas technology as a source of energy and
a source of nitrogen-rich fertilizer, it has made only little impact in Africa and Latin
America. There are however, some efforts by the Government of Nigeria to encourage
its use.
The two Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) Renewable Energy Centres established
research work in biogas in Nigeria. Today, many tertiary institutions are involved in
biogas research.
The success story of the use of biogas in Nigeria is illustrated by its use in Kwachiri
community where a community of forty (40) have been using it for their daily cooking
BIOGAS PRODUCTION
The process of biogas production can be divided into four stages: pre-treatment,
digestion, gas upgrading and digestate treatment. The level of pre-treatment depends on
the type of feedstock; e.g. manure need to be mixed, whereas municipal solid wastes are
Pre-treatment of feedstock
wastes from the municipal solid wastes. Source separation has a significant effect upon
the quality of the digestate. Mechanical pre-treatment leads to a lower quality digestate.
4
The removal of all contaminants is not possible especially for the smaller fraction such
as heavy metals. The resultant fraction is thus more contaminated. There are a variety of
pre-treatment processes that are chosen based on the characteristics of the incoming
waste and the effects they have on digestion. Separation technologies for metals, glass
and plastic are usually necessary. The pre-treatment of feedstock for AD involves:
Protecting the downstream plant from components that may cause physical damage
materials such as glass, metals, stones etc. In source separation, recyclables are removed
from the organic wastes at the source. Mechanical separation can be employed if source
separation is not available and the resultant fraction is then more contaminated leading
to lower compost quality. The waste is shredded before it is fed into the digester in order
to enhance the digestion rate. Chemical pre-treatment changes the composition of waste
by reducing particulate organic matter to soluble form i.e. proteins, fats, carbohydrates
or lower molecular weight compounds. Alkalis are added to increase the pH to 8-11
during this process. Thermal and chemical pre-treatments do improve hydrolysis and
retention time.
5
Anaerobic digestion process
Hydrolysis
complex organic matter. During the anaerobic digestion of complex organic matter, the
hydrolysis is the first and often the rate-limiting step. In this process hydrolytic
organisms called acidogens hydrolyse complex organic matter such as proteins, poly
butyrate and other fatty acids, etc.) An approximate chemical formula for the mixture of
organic waste is C6H10O4. A hydrolysis reaction where organic waste is broken down
Acidification
In this stage, the hydrolysed compounds are fermented into volatile fatty acids (acetic,
propionic, butyric, valeric acids etc.), neutral compounds (ethanol, methanol), ammonia,
and the pH falls as the levels of these compounds increases. Carbon dioxide and
hydrogen are also evolved as a result of the catabolism of carbohydrates. The group of
facultative bacteria, called acidogens .Typical reactions in the acid-forming stages are
shown below in Eq. 2.2, glucose is converted to ethanol and Eq. 2.3 shows glucose is
transformed to propionate.
6
C6H12O6 + 2H2 2CH3CH2COOH + 2 H2O 2.3
Methanogenesis
Methanogenesis is the last stage of anaerobic digestion which involves the production
of methane from the raw materials produced in the previous stage. Methanogens which
carry out the terminal reaction in the anaerobic process are the most important in
substances: acetic acid, methanol or carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The reactions that
A wide variety of systems have been developed to anaerobically treat municipal solid
Figure 1 depicts the classification of the anaerobic digestion system based on the
operating criteria.
7
Figure 2.1: Classification of the anaerobic digestion system
The rate at which the microorganisms grow is of vital importance in the anaerobic
enhance the microbial activity and thus increase the anaerobic degradation efficiency of
the system. Some of these parameters are discussed in the following section.
includes kitchen scraps, food residue, and grass and tree cuttings. The combustible
wood, paper, and cardboard. As these lignocellulosic organic materials do not readily
degrade under anaerobic conditions, they are better suited for waste-to energy plants.
Finally, the inert fraction contains stones, glass, sand, metal, etc. This fraction ideally
8
should be removed, recycled or used as landfill. The removal of inert fraction prior to
Alkalinity and pH
prevents rapid change in pH. The alkalinity is the result of the release of amino groups
bacteria, specially the methanogens, are sensitive to the acid concentration within the
digester and their growth can be inhibited by acidic conditions. It has been determined
that an optimum pH value for anaerobic digestion lies between 5.5 and 8.5. During
levels for optimal process control. The retention time of digestate affects the pH value.
Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are important intermediate compounds in the metabolic
organic compound are mainly acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and valeric acid.
Amongst these, acetic and propionic acids are the major VFAs present during anaerobic
performance. Acetate yield is increased slightly with increasing pH, whereas butyrate
Temperature
Due to the strong dependence of temperature on digestion rate, temperature is the most
critical parameter to maintain in a desired range. There are two temperature ranges that
provide optimum digestion conditions for the production of methane i.e. the mesophilic
9
and thermophilic ranges. The optimum temperature for mesophilic digestion is 35C
and a digester must be maintained between 30C and 35C for most favourable
temperature reduces the required retention time. The microbial growth, digestion
capacity and biogas production could be enhanced by thermophilic digestion, since the
specific growth rate of thermophilic bacteria is higher than that of mesophilic bacteria.
C/N ratio
The relationship between the amount of carbon and nitrogen present in organic
materials is represented by the C/N ratio. Microorganisms need nitrogen for the
between 2030 in order to ensure sufficient nitrogen supply for cell production and the
degradation of the carbon present in the wastes. As the reduced nitrogen compounds are
not eliminated in the process, the C/N ratio in the feed material plays a crucial role.
The required retention time for completion of the anaerobic digestion reactions varies
with differing technologies, process temperature, and waste composition. The retention
time for wastes treated in mesophilic digester range from 10 to 40 days. Lower retention
times are required in digesters operated in the thermophilic range. The RT is the ratio of
the digester volume to the influent substrate flow rate. The Eq. 2.8 gives the time of
V
RT=
Q .2.8
10
Q = flow rate (m3/d)
Low solids anaerobic digestion systems contain less than 10 % Total Solids (TS) and
High Solids (HS) processes range about 20% or higher TS. An increase in TS in the
the biological conversion capacity of the anaerobic digestion system. Feeding the
system above its sustainable OLR results in low biogas yield due to accumulation of
inhibiting substances such as fatty acids in the digester slurry. In such a case, the
feeding rate to the system must be reduced. OLR is a particularly important control
Mixing
The purpose of mixing inside the digester is to homogenize the material. Furthermore,
mixing prevents scum formation and avoids temperature gradients within the digester.
However excessive mixing can disrupt the microbes so slow mixing is preferred. The
kind of mixing equipment and amount of mixing varies with the type of reactor and the
DIGESTER TECHNOLOGY
The floating drum and fixed drum are the two basic types of tested biogas plants that
have gained widespread acceptance. The floating drum plant has a metal gasholder that
floats on the digester while in the fixed drum plant, gas storage is by the displacement
principle. Biogas is produced from digesters, which consist of two basic parts: a tank,
which holds the slurry (and a gas cap drum seal on the tank, which captures the gas
11
Floating Drum Plant
The floating drum plant consists of a digester and a moving gasholder that floats either
directly on the fermentation slurry or in a water jacket of its own. The drum rises when
gas is collected in it and falls when gas is drawn off from it. The gas drum is prevented
from tilting by a guide frame called the drum holder. This type of pant is simple to
operate and construct, and provides a constant pressure. The disadvantage is its high
construction cost and corrosion of the floating drum resulting in its short life of less than
5 years in tropical coastal regions and the regular maintenance cost due to painting of
the drum.
The floating drum can be replaced by balloon above the digester. This reduces
construction costs, although this type is still under test for practical conditions.
Floating drums can be made from glass-fibre reinforced plastic and high-density
polyethylene with the attendant increase in construction cost. Floating-drums can also
cracking.
This type of plant is made up of a digester with a fixed, non-movable gas space at upper
part of the digester. When gas is produced it displaces slurry in the compensating tank.
The gas pressure increases with the volume of gas stored. When gas production is low,
there will be little gas in the holder and the gas pressure will be low. Constantly, the gas
pressure becomes too high if the gas production is high. This type of plant is not
suitable for such applications as in engines where the gas is required to be delivered at a
constant pressure. For such application, a gas pressure regulator or a floating gasholder
is required. The advantage for this type of plant is its low construction cost ad it has no
12
moving part hence longer life (20 years or more). A disadvantage, however, is that its
not often gaslight because of the occurrence of cracks. Also, high fluctuation in gas
pressure occurs with low digester temperature. Furthermore, this type of digester is
technicians.
BIOGAS CLEANING
Removal of H2S
Hydrogen sulphide in the fermentation gas impairs the lifetime of pipework and all
installations for the utilization of biogas. It is toxic and strongly corrosive to many kinds
of steel. The most common methods for hydrogen sulphide removal are:
Removal of CO2
Removal of carbon dioxide enhances the energy of the gas either to reach vehicle fuel
standard or natural quality gas. At the present time, four different methods are used
- Water scrubbing
- Polyethylene glycol scrubbing
- Carbon molecular sieves
- Membrane separation
On a small scale, CO2 can be removed by bubbling the gas through lime.
13
Digestate
Anaerobic digestion can be seen as a method to treat the organic waste but, in order to
extract the maximum recovery value from these wastes, the digestate should have a
useful purpose and benefit should be derived from its production. Its main advantage is
that it has a high nutrient content. Its quality should be acceptable for purpose such as
plant nutrients (N, P, and K) remain largely in the digestate. Therefore the digestate can
be use as fertilizer or for soil amendment in agriculture, landscaping. Such use permit
the creation of a nutrient cycle and maintains or improve soil structure due to the
14
CHAPTER 3: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
The sewage from each house will be channelled through underground lateral connection
pipes that run from the house to an underground sanitary sewer line. Sanitary sewer
lines from different streets will be joined together and all the waste will be channelled to
the waste storage of the biogas production plant. Figure 3.1 shows the proposed layout.
Lines L1 to L6 shown are the different lateral lines that collect human waste from each
house; they run to meet line S which is the sanitary sewer that collects the human
wastes from each street and channels the waste to the biogas production plant.
HOUSE HOUSE HOUSE
1 2 3
L1 L2 L3
L4 L5 L6
Figure 3.2: Layout for human waste collection from the residential area.
Material of construction for the sewage lines is concrete as is usually the case with
sewage lines.
15
Figure 3.3: Map of Maitama District showing proposed sewage lines and proposed biogas plant location (Map
source: Google Maps)
PLANT LAYOUT
Site Consideration
The biogas plant is generally environmentally friendly and technically safe to operate
within the metropolis since the by-products are not toxic and its product can be used
16
directly for domestic purposes and for electricity generation. Plant site location
considerations include:
The plant should be located close to its source of raw material to minimise distance
of transportation
The plant should be located close to the point of consumption of its product
wastewater generated
The digester pit should not be dug within 13 metres of a drinking water well or
spring.
If the water table is reached during digging, it will be necessary to cement the inside
Keys Equipment
E1 Biomass storage tank
E2 Magnetic separator
E3 Crusher
E4 Pulper
E5 Screen
E6 Water storage tank
E7 Mixer
E8 Digester
E9 Carbon dioxide scrubber
E10 Hydrogen sulphide scrubber
E11 Biogas storage tank
E12 De-watering tank
E13 Digestate storage tank
17
Figure 3.4: Proposed plant layout
SIZING OF DIGESTER
Amount of feedstock
The available feedstock is from 1 million people. Each person produces 1 kg of urine
and 150g of faeces everyday. Consortium on rural technology (1986, pg. 11) gives an
estimate that:
Human faeces is made up of about 66 80% water and the rest solids and
18
Urine is made up of 93 96% water and the rest solids.
For this study, the values of water content that will be employed are: 75% water content
Thus the amount and total solids concentration of the feedstock is calculated:
150 kg
Total amount of faeces per day= (
1000 person )
1,000,000 ( persons ) =150,000 kg
25
Total solidsfaeces= 150,000 kg=37,500 kg
100
kg
Total amount of urine per day =1 ( person ) 1,000,000 ( persons ) =1,000,000 kg
5
Total solidsurine= 1,000,000 kg=50,000 kg
100
The problem stated that the feed slurry should have a total solid concentration of 20%.
Since the human waste does not give the required amount, animal waste (such as cow
dung, bird droppings, etc.) can be added to make up the remaining 12.39% of the
Assuming that the supplementary cow dung added is completely dry, the amount in
12.39
Total amount of dry cow dung required=12.39 of total weight of slurry = 1,150,000 kg=142,48
100
19
This puts the new total weight of the slurry at:
The rule of thumb that will be used is: 1000kg = 1m3. Thus,
1,292,485 3
Volume of slurry = 1=1,292.5 m per day
1000
V d =V s Rt
3
V d =1,292.5 30=38,775 m
Biogas production
G=W s G y
The gas yield for the different feedstock are given in table 2.
20
Table 2: Biogas yield for the different feedstock types (From Mukumba et. al., 2013, pg. 17)
Since we assumed dry weight of cow dung was added and the data in table 2 is given
for wet cattle dung, we need to calculate the equivalent wet weight of the cattle dung
added in order to know its gas yield. Spuhler (no date, slide 21) gives the average total
142,485
Equivalent wet weight of cattle dung used= =1,096,038 kg
0.13
The type of digester that will be used is the fixed dome type. The volume of the
biodigester will hold both the feedstock and the gas produced.
The amount of space reserved for the gas is obtained based on a rule of thumb given by
Energy Commission of Nigeria (no date, pg. 42) to be 60-70% of the total daily gas
3
Amount of space hold the gas produced=1.7 49,957=84,928 m
21
Total volume of digester =( Volume of by slurry ) + ( Volume occupied by gas )=38,775m 3 +84,928 m 3=123
The estimated production rate of biogas is 49,957 m3. Assuming each person requires
0.6m3 of gas for lighting and cooking per day, we can estimate the number of people
22
CHAPTER 4: PROCESS MANUAL FOR OPERATION OF PLANT
The regulations and laws guiding the design, construction and operation of biogas plant
are aimed at the elimination or minimization of all safety hazards affecting both people
and the environment. Danger to life and health in a biogas plant can be caused by
suffocation and toxification in tanks, silos, and pits filled with gases like H 2S, CH4, and
CO2. Some of these gases are heavier than air and tend to remain in the vessels. The
following gases are example of dangerous gas even in low concentration associated to
biogas.
Also, below are some hazards associated to a biogas to the plant and environment
Emission of pollutants into air, groundwater and surface water, especially when
disposing residues.
Injuries caused by machinery and plant parts, e.g., rotating machinery, electromagnetic
23
Freezing of gas or substrate pipes, e.g., by condensation of water in the pipes leading
Corrosion caused by aggressive substances like ammonium nitrate, H2S, and many
In biogas plants, the formation of explosive gas mixtures can occur. Therefore, a system
for plant security must exist relating to installation and operation of electrical devices in
areas with danger of explosions. These areas are enclosed spaces which serve as
gasholders or where gases are produced, or other enclosed spaces which are connected,
e.g., by pipes, to these spaces Channels and storage tanks Spaces inside machinery,
tanks, and pipes, which contain biogas Spaces around machinery where gas is
Buildings which are used for gas consumption (heaters or engines) and are not
prescriptions. In these buildings, the installation of gas pipes and electrical wires should
be easy to keep under surveillance. Ideally, the gas pipes and the electrical wires should
In order to reduce the fire risk, the plant is to be divided into fire protection sectors, e.g.,
the bioreactor and gasholder, the gas consumption equipment, and the gas compressor.
Certain distances must be maintained between the fire protection sectors. Depending
upon how much space is available in between, the material of the external walls of
24
All gas holders should be fire protected with non-flammable material and all
safety doors within the process plant should be open in case of fire outbreak. In the
plant, adequate space should be provided for brigade vehicles for easy access in case of
fire outbreak. Finally, at least 12 portable unit of suitable extinguishing agent should be
From biogas plants, climate - relevant gases and gases harmful to humans can escape,
such as ammonia, methane, nitrous oxide, and others. The amount of leakage depends
on the applied technology and the substrates. To avoid the emission of these gases to the
environment, it is necessary to design the gas holder in such a way that there will not be
leakage.
GERMS
The microorganisms taking part in the fermentation process are mainly known to be
harmful to human health. Therefore special protection devices are necessary, substrates
and also residues often contain organisms which do not participate in the process, like
viruses and parasites, which can have severe effects on the health of humans as well as
on the environment Therefore certain measures for protection are necessary. For all who
Endotoxins are metabolic products of microorganisms. They are taken up from humans
via skin cracks. At low concentrations endotoxins can induce fever, and at high
concentrations could be found with increased aerosol formation, e.g., at the exhaust of a
capsulated surface blower of an activated sludge tank, when cleaning a chamber filter
press, when cleaning pump pits, etc. People living in the neighbourhood are not
25
endangered in general, since the germ concentration in the air is low and independent on
EMISSIONS OF SMELLS
Smell - intensive materials in biogas plants include particularly ammonia, organic acids,
phenol, and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Smells are often causes of annoyance and/or
complaints about biogas plants. The door emissions depend particularly on the
the liquid manure varies depending upon animal species, stable technology, feeding, and
not only smells, but can have a toxic effect in higher concentrations.
Ammonia: Ammonia (NH3) has a strong smell, induces eutrophy, and is indirectly
relevant to the climatic situation, since ammonia is partly converted to nitrous oxide
(N2O) in the soil. The degradation of organic substances results in nitrogen in the
form of ammonium in the substrate. Since during the degradation the pH value
increases about one unit due to the decomposition of acids and the temperature in
the residue storage tank is high due to the high processing temperature in the
To solve the problems associated with the emission of this smell due to emission of
these gases, proper design should be done on the gas cleaning to remove the gases.
NOISE PROTECTION
Noise is defined to be disturbing sound. Any location where sound does not cause
disturbance, even it is very loud, does not incur restrictions. The area in a biogas plant
where noise is most intense is near the gas engine. Near CHP plants, the limiting value
26
for workplaces is far exceeded. The noise radiates through the exhaust pipe and the
To prevent this sound absorbers have to be installed in exhaust gas pipes and/or in
27
CHAPTER 5: UTILIZATION OF BY-PRODUCT SLUDGE
The by-product sludge that is produced from the anaerobic digestion process will be
used as a fertilizer. This is because it is a better fertilizer and soil conditioner than either
The liquid effluent contains may elements essential to plant life. It contains
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and small amounts of metallic salts that are
ammonium ions (NH4+), which fix themselves to the negative charged clay
The digestate is dewatered through gravity extraction and pressing. Part of the extracted
liquid is used to dilute incoming waste and the rest is discharged in sewage. The solid
cake, with a Total Solid content of about 40%, is treated aerobically for about two
weeks to completely stabilize it. Inert material is separated from the compost through a
rotary screen.
28
CHAPTER 6: PROCESS INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL
In the design of a biogas plant and industrial plants generally, the methods of controlling
the systems are important factors in choosing the type of process and setting the labour
requirements. Processes are controlled precisely to give more uniform and higher
profits. Therefore any process with an input and output which may be flow, temperature,
Variations in any of the factors stated above will drive the output (controlled variable)
further away from the set point (desired value) thus requiring a corresponding change in
The rational arrangement of equipment and human interventions are not enough reasons
to introduce a control system, the following bring about need for a control system.
29
3. To suppress the interference of external disturbance or influences.
Of all the control systems listed above a feedback control systems is the best for the
plant under consideration in this study as they can improve control system performance
The various (flow rates, temperatures, pressures, concentrations etc.) associated with a
a. Input variables: which denote the effect of the surroundings on the chemical process
b. Output variables: which denote the effect of the process on the surroundings.
The input variables can be further classified into the following categories
1. Manipulated variable: if their values can be adjusted freely by the human operator or
a control mechanism.
control system
The output variables are also classified into the following categories.
1. Measure output variables: if their values are known by directly measuring them
30
2. Unmeasured output: if they are not o cannot be measured
2. To make rational decision regarding what corrective action is needed on the basis of
31
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION
From this study, it was determined that an average population of 1 million people can be
able to generate enough waste that could be used to produce enough biogas that can
serve as many as more than 80,000 people. Apart from serving as a source of energy,
biogas production serves as a technique of controlling and treating wastes. The by-
Even though the design problem addressed in this study describes a relatively large
plant, it was understood during the course of the study that the technology can be
applied to much smaller scales of production. One that is as small as could digest the
waste from a single household and produce gas for the household.
It is thus sensible to conclude that biogas production from human and animal wastes is
continuous supply of energy that is cheap, easy to produce and can be produced
domestically. This also implies that a decentralised energy supply can be obtained while
32
REFERENCES
Bond, Tom and Templeton, Michael R. (2011). "History and future of domestic biogas
plants in the developing world" in Energy for Sustainable Development Volume
15, Issue 4 Available at: www.sciencedirect.com
Mukumba, Patrick, Makaka, Golden, Mamphweli, Sampson and Misi, Sherpherd (2013)
"A possible design and justification for a biogas plant at Nyazura Adventist High
School, Rusape, Zimbabwe" in Journal of Energy in Southern Africa Vol 24 No
4.
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