Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León 1

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
PROJECT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BIODIGESTERS IN SOUTH ZONE OF SAN LUIS POTOSÍ
Camargo Quezada José María, Cantú Vela María Paola, Castañeda Ruiz Israel, Martínez Medina Erik Eduardo,
Montemayor Fernández Marcelo,
Facultad de Ciencias Químicas – Chemical Engineering

1. Abstract

In this project we are trying to impulse the alternative of obtaining biogas through usage of manure in
the south zone of San Luis Potosí that is well-known for its high agronomy and agriculture activity.
Our proposal is to construct biodigester in several areas in this region, thus there is no information
about using this dispositive and the ambient situation around the zone is alarming because of the
deforestation and the great amount of manure that it’s keeping in this zone. For our research and
methodology, we focus on a specific area for the investigation which is Tamauín where occurs the
highest activity for production of different short of cattle.

2. Introduction

A current investigation was already done nearby from Tamuín’s area and it’s disturbing the current reality
of this zone, because more and more problems about livestock production and manure are appearing from
one place to another and government and farmers are disinterested in this situation.

Alternatives were presented in other third world countries of using biodigesters to reduce the amount of
manure and this brings several advantages in different contexts, which are going to be discussed
furthermore.

Our proposal’s core is to give this opportunity to San Luis Potosí to be the first north state of Mexico of
using this alternative, since Morelia, another state of Mexico located in the south part, implemented this
project and the results showed are really implausible , so we decided to make this proposal to find
governmental foundations and private institutions around area that support our mission and are interested
in our one-year sample test of making biodigesters.

As we said, with our project we are trying to demonstrate and prove that the Tamuín region counts with a
great potential in generating electrical energy through a biogas produced by manure. Biogas is a type of
combustible gas that can be obtained from a biomass, in our case we will be analyzing in any kind of
manure in the region. We will find out the total amount of manure that is produced in the city, with this
information we will proceed into finding out how much biogas can be produced by the biomass obtained,
and we will calculate the electric energy that would be possible to obtain.
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3. Problem statement

According from several studies of the zone and ecological and health departments from SAGARPA
(Secretariat for agriculture, livestock, rural development, fisheries and food), it is serious the situation of
the people who live there because the number of animals and manure provokes diseases proliferation as
salmonellosis, parathyroid fever, shigellosis, etcetera. Not only the health situation, but also the ambient
state is critical, because the livestock expansion and population growth has been causing deforestation due
to wood obtention as a fuel since people there are in not a favorable economic situation.

Our project brings the opportunity to reduces significantly proliferation of diseases and deforestation, our
prospect for this idea is favorable since this kind of projects were already done in the same situation that
we are found. African countries with less support and more struggles have already begun this project and
their future situation seems promising.

3.1 Research question

1.- Is it possible for a tropical area located in Mexico to build a biodigester?

2.- How will the project benefit for the locals and governmental administration of the city?

3.- What actions are necessary to get support and make the project completed?

4.- Are there more benefits ahead if the project were achieved?

5.- Is there any connection of using biodigesters and economic, social and health development?

3.2 Hypotheses
 If Construction of biodigesters occurs, the proliferation of diseases round Tamuín and
deforestation rate will decrease.
 Project will lead new opportunities for jobs and make farmers reduce the investment for
manure treatment.
 Biodigesters can produce energy through the combustion of biogas, this means, it will
reduce energy’s investment for the city and make profitable savings.
 Production of biogas will make that cattle ranchers can obtain their own natural gas and
reduce their consumption of this fuel.
4. Objectives and aims
4.1 Overall objective

Implement biodigesters in a zone of Tamauín with highest rate of livestock and make clear is feasible the
project for the farmers and government through the production of natural gas

5. Significance of study and background

The production of biogas has brought great economic and environmental benefits to developing countries.

African countries are working in a biodigester that will help rural zones that are far away from the
electricity grid.
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Manure wastes can have harmful effects on livestock and the environment.

According to the INEGI, Tamuín has been growing a lot in recent years talking about cattle heads, at the
same time, it has always been the municipality of San Luis Potosí with more cattle.

6. Literature review

The amount of cattle in Tamuín is very large, having more than 117 heads of livestock, according to INEGI,
being able to produce much manure for uses of different areas, however many times the manure is stagnant
in the corrals, accumulating and producing pathogens.

Agricultural animals, including cattle produce copious quantities of animal manure consisting of animal
excreta (feces and urine) along with bedding, microorganisms, process-generated wastewater, secretions
(nose, throat, blood, vagina, mammary glands, skin and placenta), undigested and spilled feed, antibiotics,
nutrients and fur (Sakar, 2009). In addition, animal manure is known to harbor a wide variety of
microorganisms which can be pathogenic or non-pathogenic to both animals and humans (Godwin, 1997).
Pachepsky (Pachepsky, 2009), was noted that many manure-based pathogens exist, but the major manure
based zoonotic bacteria, including Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia
enterocolitica, Escherichia coli and protozoa viz. Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia, are
present; Seemingly, both animals and humans on and off farms are exposed to the potential health risks
allied to inadequate management of manure. Consequently, the fate of these pathogens in manure to
pollute, contaminate and infect the environment and humans, respectively, is based on the pathogen’s
ability to survive in manure following excretion. The health problem is not the only one to be treated,
because, in the area of Tamuín a lot of trees are being lost due to the lack of fuel for the community, since
they resort to logging to obtain wood and thus produce your only type of fuel. This is why we are trying
to create a biodigester in the zone, the benefit are beyond get money, biogas technology is viewed as a
method not only for solving environmental problems, but also for contributing to energy production and
resolving economic and social issues (Cu et al., 2012). That is why countries with a high index of poverty
and marginal areas have bet on the production of biogas via manure to support the population, in Africa
they are focus on giving a support and quality of life to its inhabitants, as in Kenya and Rwanda.

In Rwanda, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is supporting biogas as part of
an environmental solution to reduce the cutting and burning of wood, still prevalent in rural areas as well
as help rehabilitate degraded land. Some innovative biogas systems are being implemented under the
IFAD-supported Kirehe Community-based Watershed Management Project (KWAMP) in the Kirehe
District in the south-east of the country.

The system includes a biodigester device made of industrial plastic sheets and pipes which are easy to
install, use and maintain. The system is portable, which means that unlike the more conventional built-in
system, farmers can take it to another house or even resell it should they need to. Its cost is relatively low
at US$500, representing half the price of the conventional system. It also has the added benefit of
generating gas almost immediately compared to conventional biogas systems which take a couple of
months to start and which include a fixed concrete digestor with an underground piping system. They take
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about 60 kilograms (kg) of manure to produce 1,000 liters of gas, which is the daily amount consumed by
a rural household. The flexi-biogas system works for farmers with only one or two cows as it requires only
20 kg of manure to produce the same amount of gas as the conventional system. A total of 10 flexi-biogas
systems have been piloted since the end of 2012 and are currently being fine-tuned for a planned roll-out
of 100 devices.

The situation of the African states is mentioned, since it is interesting to see that the government of these
countries are giving a social approach to their biodigesters, taking them to marginal areas, based on
environmentally friendly techniques to improve their country, on the contrary of our process, because our
focus goes more towards a direct way of creating awareness of the environment, helping the government
to generate other types of fuels and as a side effect to support and give work to people in the area.

The amount of biodigesters in Africa was not small, since they were implemented in different countries in
several zones, because these biodigesters were low cost. The low cost digesters are characterized by the
absence of active mixing devices and active heating systems and also, consequently, by not needing
sophisticated monitoring. Local materials are used for construction, usually plastic bags for the main tank
and PVC pipes to transport the biogas. This technology works, with adequate adaptation, in tropical,
continental and cold climates, generally fed with fresh dairy manure or pigs (Martí-Herrero, 2007), due to
its simple design and construction from easily available materials, are considered appropriate technology.
The bag of "red mud" designed in Taiwan (Pound et al., 1981) was the seed for the technical development
of this flexible continuous flow tube.

Low-cost tubular digesters are generally made of sheet plastic (low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-
density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC)), and hence they are flexible and take the form
of the container in which they are installed; The methodologies reported for the design a low-cost tubular
digester use the cylindrical volume that the tubular plastic forms as the central parameter. This total volume
is separated into two phases: liquid and gas. Depending on the author, the liquid volume is reported as 80%
of total cylindrical volume or 75%. The liquid volume is supposed to fill the volume of the trench in which
the digester is situated. In order to obtain the total volume, the cross section of the cylinder is multiplied
by the length of the digester, assuming that this volume will re-main unchanged after the digester is placed
in the trench. The dimensions of the trench are critical because, in practice, they determinate the real liquid
volume. (Martí-Herrero, 2011) reported that the recommended dimensions, in most cases studied, are not
consistent with the circumference of the plastic. Also, in the cases where the data is coherent, the loss of
HRT, due a lower final liquid volume (once the digester is placed in the trench), ranges from 6% to 51%
compared to the HRT expected by the design. In the same report Martí-Herrero highlighted that the biogas
pressure influences the final HRT and can result in a reduction of between 15% and 17% compared to the
theoretical value expected by design.

7. Research and design and methodology

7.1 Research design

Biogas production from livestock waste is an ambitious project that can lead to a complete transformation
of the area where it is implemented. For this project to be successfully achieved it is necessary to design
and built a biodigester in the area, in which the specific biochemical reactions are going to take place. A
biodigester can be described as a mechanical stomach. This device is fed with organic material, which is
decomposed by micro-organisms (bacteria) in an oxygen-free (anaerobic) environment to produce biogas
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and other material that is mainly used as fertilizer. There are three types of anaerobic digestion systems
commonly used in the developing world: fixed-dome, floating drum and tubular. All of them are similar
in the way of functionality, however, the three of them are designed to operate in different conditions. For
this project, due to the conditions of the environment in the region (high temperatures and humidity), a
tubular digester was selected. Tubular digesters are built in ground; however, they are normally constructed
from low-cost polyethylene tubing, with a separate storage bag for the biogas. These kind of digesters do
not require a high level of skilled labor to install, they are easy to operate, cost the least and can operate at
a variety of temperatures. These characteristics are considerably important for the profitability of the
project and the success of its operation.

7.2Study area and sample

The location where the project is going to take place is in the municipality of Tamuin. It is located in the
south of the state of San Luis Potosi. It borders to the north with the state of Tamaulipas, to the south with
the municipalities of San Vicente Tancuayalab and Tanlajás, to the east with the municipality of Ébano
and to the west with Ciudad Valles. We selected this municipality due to its huge potencial of biogas
production. Tamuin has 14.7% of the total number of cattle heads in the whole state, which means, over
117,700 cows can be found in this area. This huge amount of cow-livestock can produce up to 1,831 tons
of manure a day. In terms of biogas production, this amount of manure can be transformed into 55,200 m3
of biogas per day. Thanks to the road network and the short distance between towns, it is possible to carry
manure from cities and towns nearby from other municipalities and even other states such as Tamaulipas
or Veracruz, making more profitable the implementation of biodigesters in the region. The potential of
biogas production in the area is considerable and so is the chance to achieve a successful implementation
of the project.

7.2 Materials and data collection measurement

Before the implementation of the project itself it is necessary to carry out a preliminary experiment in a
pilot digester, in matter of estimate the efficiency of the device and determinate possible variations of
biogas production due to the composition of the local-generated manure. In order to calculate the density
of the manure and the volume of the biodigester, it is necessary to fill up a known volume container and
then to weigh the sample. Once the density was properly calculate, the volume of the digester for a specific
amount of manure is calculated. The building of the device is the next step. Once built, the tubular digester
will be filled up with manure, and then left out for a few hours in order to allow the biodigestion to take
place. A manometer is going to be used to measure the pressure inside the bag where the produced-biogas
is contained. Temperature is also going to be measured. In order to obtain the partial pressure of methane,
samples of the biogas are going to be taken and then analyzed. Once the partial pressure is determined, the
real composition of methane in the biogas can be calculated. The data obtained by the run of this first
experiment can be used to calculate the calorific power of the biogas and make an estimation of the amount
of electricity that can be generated.

7.3 Data analysis

Once the pilot test is totally completed, it is possible to make an analysis of data in order to obtain the
results of our project. First of all, it is necessary to tabulate the partial pressure of biogas in all the different
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samples. A very-low variation is expected, therefore an average partial pressure will be calculated. The
next step in the process is to obtain the molar composition of methane in the biogas. Since the biodigestion
produces only two gas-phase products (CH4 and CO2), it is possible to obtain the composition by diving
the average partial pressure by the total pressure measured by the manometer.

7.5 Discussion
8. Ethical statements
8.1 Social context

In the social field, the biodigesters will be of great help to people, from the fact of not having to go out and
risk their lives to having to go to look for firewood to produce their own fuel, since, especially the women
who are dedicated to be at home are the people who dedicate their day to collecting wood, while men work.
As an example, in rural Nepal, women who utilize firewood as cooking were approximately four hours per
day searching for firewood, usually over long distances (Katuwal, 2009). Once anaerobic digestion systems
were installed, 33% of the women spent their time participating in social and community activities. This
saved the women up to three hours each day, that was otherwise spent searching for firewood (Katuwal,
2009). This project will be a great opportunity for the women of Tamuín to spend their time in other types
of activities, such as creating their own business or working for someone and thus indirectly generating
more income for the home.

Another social impact is on the health of people, because living in a place with a lot of livestock is
degrading risk, especially for children, since the production of livestock manure accumulates and often is
not cleaned, this can cause deterioration in the air that is breathed and produce diseases, or more directly,
the dirt to which the cows are exposed will cause havoc and the people who live or obtain products from
them can obtain a pathogen of those that have been mentioned. The biodigester will make the cleaning of
the pens a remunerated job and will be done constantly diminishing substantially the diseases of the
farmers.

8.2 Economic context

In this context the main thing that is thought is the direct profit of the production of biogas and the profits
that it obtains, however, goes beyond that, the opportunities of work for people will be greater, since this
type of biodigesters any you can manage it, the work to collect it will be well paid, and the time you have
to spare for not having to get fuel for your fuel will give you an opportunity to get a job and support the
family economy, to mention a few things

8.3 Ambiental context

As mentioned, deforestation is one of the problems that are attacked in this research proposal, since in
Tamuín the main fuel they use is the wood from the trees of the region, there being a great activity of
felling, the flora on this state is very large but over the years could be affected by this activity. If the
biodigester is implemented for the area, the activity of logging would be reduced, since biogas would also
be seen as "free fuel".
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Installation of biogas systems has been shown to decrease dependence on firewood by providing an
alternative fuel source. In Nepal, (Katuwal, 2009) observed at 53% decrease in firewood use after installing
biogas systems. 53% is a lot talking about a normal activity in this zones as logging is, so we can
approximate in Tamuin we’ll have the same reception.
In the Huasteca zone there is a great connection between rivers, these can be contaminated by the excess
of manure that can reach them, other animals and even people use these water sources to feed and clean
themselves, and as mentioned, this manure contains many pathogens, the use of the biodigester, apart from
reducing the amount of waste, will also seek to filter the excess water from the manure to contain as few
contaminants as possible, helping to keep rivers clean for the use of animals as a source of hydration.

9. Strength and weakness of the study

10. Budget and motivation
10.1 Investment
10.2 Principal founding
10.3 Other founding
11. References

Cu TTT, Pham HC, Le TH, Nguyen VC, Le XA, Nguyen XT, Sommer SG. Manure management practices
on biogas and non-biogas pig farms in developing countries – using livestock farms in Vietnam as an
example. J Clean Prod. 2012;27:64–71.

Godwin D., Moore J.A. Manure Management in Small Farm Livestock Operations. Oregon State
University Extension Service; Corvallis, OR, USA: 1997. EM 8649.

Katuwal H, Bohara AK. Biogas: a promising renewable technology and its impact on rural households in
Nepal. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2009;13:2668 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2009.05.002

Martí-Herrero, J., 2007. Transfer of low-cost plastic biodigester technology at household level in Bolivia.
Livestock Research for Rural Development 19(12), http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd19/12/mart19192.htm

Martí-Herrero, J., 2011. Reduced hydraulic retention times in low-cost tubular digesters: two issues.
Biomass and Bioenergy 35 (10), 4481–4484.

Pachepsky Y.A., Sadeghi A.M., Bradford S.A., Shelton D.R., Guber A.K., Dao T. Transport and fate of
manure-based pathogens: Modeling perspective. Agric. Water Manag. 2006;86:81–92.

Sakar S., Yetilmezsoy K., Kocak E. Anaerobic digestion technology in poultry and livestock waste
treatment. Waste Manag. Res. 2009;27:3–18. doi: 10.1177/0734242X07079060.
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12. Appendix
12.1 Time frame
12.2 Questionnaire
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