Agricultural Waster2 (1980) 103 118

SOLAR ENERGY HEATING OF DAIRY-MANURE

ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS

DAVID J. HILLS & JOHN R. STEPHENS

Agricultural Engineering Department, University oJ Ca/iJornia. Davis, CaliJornia, USA

ABSTRACT

A 1lO-litre daily-manure anaerobic digester ,'as operatedJor 200 days using sohlr
energy as the major heating source. Theoretical considerations indicate that up to
90°/o oJ the heat required Jor large-scale digester operation is used to raise the
temperature oJ the influent to digester operating temperature (35 °C), the remaining
10 °/0 being utilisedJor temperature maintenance. Since digesters require a constant
temperatureJor satisjactory bacterial petJormance and since the magnitude ()[solar
heating varies throughout the day, only the influent was solar heated in thi,s
experiment. A minimal amount of supplemental electric heating was used to maintain
the constant temperature oJtheJhlly insulated digester. The quantity oJdaiJ3'-manure
slurr)'Jed to the digester on alternate days established a 20-day retention time and a
loading rate 0,/4.4 k g VS m - 3 day- 1. Two solar collectors, breadbox and solar pond,
were testedJor influent heating capability. Although the breadbox type was the more
eJflcient oJ the two, the solar pond type appears more suitable jor Jarm u,w.

INTRODUCTION

Anaerobic digesters must be maintained within a limited temperature range for the
desired bacteriological activity to occur. Within this range higher temperatures
result in increased rates of reaction catalysed by bacterial enzymes, with the result
that anaerobic digestion and methane production are more rapid and a smaller tank
can be used to digest the manure than would be required at a lower temperature.
Most observers agree that two separate groups of organisms are recognisable in the
digestion process by the temperature at which they operate. The mesophiles perform
in a wide temperature latitude but are thought to grow best in the 29 °C to 38 °C
103
Agricultural Wastes 0141-4607/80/0002-0103/$02"25 ~ Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1980
Printed in Great Britain
104 DAVID J. H I L L S , J O H N R. STEPHENS

range; the thermophiles grow best between 49 °C and 57 °C (Golueke, 1958; Malina,
1961; Pfeffer, 1974).
Although nearly all the research studies to date for evaluating temperature effects
on anaerobic digestion have been performed using municipal sewage sludge, studies
by Converse et al. (1977), Shields & Tragitt (1978) and Varel et al. (1977), using
livestock wastes, have shown that animal manure digests well in both the mesophilic
and the thermophilic temperature ranges. In practice, the range of 30 ° to 35 °C
appears to be most convenient and economical. The difficulty and expense of
providing the additional heat required to maintain thermophilic temperatures may
offset the advantage obtained. This feeling was expressed by Rudolfs & Amberg
(1952) in reporting that heat losses for a municipal digester were twice as great at
thermophilic as at mesophilic temperatures. Reasonably constant temperature is
important to the process. According to Buswell (1957), a sudden change of as little as
two to three degrees may curtail methane production.
Heating requirements may be placed in one of two categories: (1) heating the
influent liquid manure to 35 °C and (2) maintaining a digester temperature of 35 °C
by compensating for heat losses. Heating of the influent is based on volume of liquid
and is essentially fixed. Heat losses to the digester's surroundings can be reduced by
increasing insulation or by decreasing the surface area to volume ratio. Generally, as
the volume of a digester increases, the area to volume ratio decreases. The
theoretical effects of this ratio on the heating requirements of varying sizes of
cylindrical digester are indicated in Fig. 1. Clearly, with increasing digester size,
there is less need to use solar energy for more than heating the digester influent.
There has been very limited research on solar heating of methane digesters.

1.0

= O.e

~ ~ A Avg. Ambient Temp.=30_ °C

; 0.6 / ~ ~ • Avg. Ambient Temp. = 20 e C
z / ~ • A v g ~ m b i e n t _Temp.=tO==C
k- / J o Avg. Ambient "remp.= O=C
NOTE ASSUMPTION IN C A L C U L A T I O N :
0.4 Influent Temp. = 15°C
Digester Temp. = 35"C
w Detention Time = 20 days
Insulation R = 24
z 0.2

a:
I I I I
0.1 1.0 I0 I00 I000 5000
DtGESTER VOLUME ( m 3 )

F i g . 1. Calculated proportion of influent heating to total heating.

 SOLAR ENERGY HEATING OF DAIRY-MANURE ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS 105

Parker et al. (1974) and Warpeha (1978) used solar pond structures for direct
heating of the digester. Both studies, however, were unsuccessful because of the
undesirable temperature fluctuation throughout the day within the digesters.
The objective of this investigation was to assess the feasibility of using solar energy
for batch heating of liquid dairy-manure before feeding it into a 110-1itre digester.
Of the many types of solar collector, two (breadbox and solar pond) appear
promising for manure slurry heating and were tested in this research project.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

Methane digester
A 110-1itre pilot model digester, shown in Fig. 2, was fabricated from a 132-1itre
drum and was placed within a 208-1itre drum. Water maintained at 35 ° + 1 °C by an
electric coil filled the volume between the 208-1itre drum and the 132-1itre digester.
This entire assembly was insulated with 64 mm urethane foam to maintain a fairly

Fig. 2. Digester and solar collector assembly.

 DAVID J. HILLS, JOHN R. STEPHENS
106

constant 35°C temperature within the digester. Mixing was performed with a
central, vertical dual paddle shaft which was rotated at 120 rpm for 5 min every hour.
The gas produced was accumulated temporarily in a counterweight collector filled
with saline water before passing through a wet-type gas meter. The gas collector
provided a reservoir of biogas which was needed to fill the vacuum temporarily
created in the digester by the effluent discharge and feeding operation.
Digester feed consisted of fresh dairy-cow manure scraped from the concrete
surface o f t h e University dairy farm. The animals were on a diet of cubed alfalfa and
carbohydrate concentrate. The manure was diluted to 8~o Total Solids (TS)
concentration with tap water before being placed in the solar heater. Upon reaching
a temperature of 35 °C the liquid manure was fed to the digester.
During start-up the digester was filled with 55 litres of fresh, undiluted cow
manure and 55 litres of municipal anaerobic digester effluent. Following a one-week
period without disturbance, the digester received its first feed. Subsequently, over a
two-week period the loading rate was increased gradually to 4.4 kg VS m - 3 d a y - 1.
Feeding was performed every two days, which procedure established a retention
time of 20 days.
Gas production rates were monitored daily and the gas periodically analysed for
methane content. Samples from each of the feeds were chemically analysed for Total
Solids (TS), Volatile Solids (VS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). Samples of
the effluents were obtained every two weeks and chemically analysed for the
constituents listed above plus pH, alkalinity and volatile acids. All analytical testing
was performed according to the procedures in Standard Methods Jor the
Examination of Water and Wastewater (Anon., 1975). Alkalinity was obtained by
titration to pH 3.7 and volatile acids were determined by the Chromatographic
Separation Method 504A. Gas samples were analysed on an Envirotech Organic
Analyser Model DC-50/52 for methane percentage.

Solar pre-heating
As mentioned in the previous section, the two most promising types of solar
heater for liquid manure are the breadbox collector and the solar pond collector. A
breadbox solar collector consists basically of a radiation-absorbing tank within a
box fitted with a glass cover. The interior walls of the box are covered with a reflective
material to direct additional radiation towards the tank. A solar pond, sometimes
referred to as a 'pillow heater' or a 'bag heater', consists of a large container lying
horizontally on the ground or on insulation, covered with a glazing and filled with up
to 100ram of liquid. The solar pond's simplicity and large size lead to low cost. A
modified form of the breadbox collector was constructed for the project and is
shown in Fig. 3. A second solar heater, similar to a solar pond type, was constructed
and is shown in Fig. 4. Both collectors were designed for batch heating. They were
assessed for water and liquid manure heating during the months of September to
January.
 SOLAR ENERGY HEATING OF DAIRY-MANURE ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS 107

Fig. 3. Modifiedbreadbox collector.

As shown in Fig. 3, the modified breadbox collector consists of a plywood box

(530 mm × 530 m m x 710 mm) cut diagonally at a 40 ° angle. Ordinary 3 mm single
pane, silica window glass is mounted on the diagonal cut. The 12-1itre black, heat-
absorbing tank (200 mm diameter) is constructed from 26 gauge galvanised sheet
metal. Bright-finished mylar on the interior surface of the box reflects the sun's rays
on to the black tank. Thus, both radiant and convective energy are used to heat the
tank's contents. A 40 ° angle was selected for the breadbox collector because, for
Davis, California, the altitude of the sun is 28 ° at noon on the winter solstice and 52
at noon on the autumn and spring equinoxes; 40 ° is halfway between. This angle was
felt to be a good compromise for year-round operation.
The solar pond heater consists of a rectangular box (430mm x 530mm)

Fig. 4. Solar pond collector.

108 DAVID J. HILLS, JOHN R. STEPHENS

constructed from gaivanised sheet metal. The sides of the box are insulated with
25 mm urethane foam and the top surface is fitted with the 3 mm window glass. Both
convective and radiant energy are important heat sources; conductive heating from
the black surfaced box is a lesser source.
The testing procedure involved setting the collectors due south in an open field,
out of range of shadows from buildings or trees. Each collector was filled with 11
litres of either water or manure-slurry previously warmed to 10 °C. Temperatures of
both the ambient and liquid contents were monitored every hour between 8.30 am
and 5.30 pm (Pacific daylight saving time).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Digester perjorrnance
The digester was operated between mid-July and early February for a total of 200
days. After biological equilibrium was reached (60 days) the average daily total gas
production was 90-8 litres a day, or 0.82 volumes of gas per volume of digester per
day. The average methane content of the gas was 58.6 ~o.
The TS content of the influent during the steady-state period ranged between 7-10
and 10.37 ~o and averaged 8.56 ~. The VS during the same period ranged from 81.4
to 90.0 ~o and averaged 85-3 ~o of the TS. These average values of TS and VS,
combined with a feed volume of 11 litres every two days, established an average
loading rate of 4.4 kg VS m- 3 day- 1. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of the
influent ranged from 50,000 to 90,800 mg litre-1 and averaged 69,000 mg litre-1
during this period.
Similarly, the TS of the effluent during the steady-state period ranged between
5.22 and 6.30 ~o and averaged 5.87 ~o. The VS over this period ranged between 77.2
and 83.1 ~o and averaged 80-7 ~o of the TS. As noted in Table 1, this average value
represents a 35.1 ~o reduction from the feed VS. Approximately halfa cubic metre of
biogas was produced for each kilogramme of VS removed in the digester.

TABLE 1
SUMMARYOF DIGESTER PERFORMANCE

Loading rate (kg VS per cubic metre per day) 4.4

Retention time (days) 20

VS reduction (~o) 35-1

C O D reduction (~o) 37'0
Cubic metres
of gas per cubic metre per digester per day 0"82
Cubic metres
of gas per kilogramme of VS destroyed 0"53
Cubic metres
of gas per kilogramme of C O D destroyed 0'64
Percentage methane (~o) 58'6
 SOLAR ENERGY HEATING OF DAIRY-MANURE ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS 109

The COD of the effluent during the steady-state period ranged from 28,700 to
73,000mg litre-1 and averaged 43,500 mg litre -I. This value represents a 37 ~o
reduction in COD, as listed in Table 1. The pH ranged from 7.43 to 7.79 and
averaged 7.60. Alkalinity over the same period ranged from 6700 to 10,200mg
litre- ] and averaged 8550 mg litre- 1 expressed as calcium carbonate. Volatile acids,
expressed as acetic acid, for this period averaged 650mg litre-1 The range in
volatile acids was between 205 and 1600mg litre 1. These three chemical
constituents in the effluent (pH, alkalinity and volatile acids) indicated that the
microbial balance within the digester was stable and that no upsets were imminent
according to the review Biogas Production J~'om Animal Manure (Anon., 1978).

So/ar pre-heater perJormance

Temperature history: The experiment provided temperature data from which the
rise and fall of the collector temperatures may be plotted against time of day. By

I I I I i I I I
Breodbox collector a

8O D Solar p o n d c o l l e c t o r

~: 60 _ I n s o l a t i o n = 3 4 9 langley ~ I .

k--

~ 40
0,.

L~

~ 20

O-- I I I I I I I I
8130 9:30 10130 11130 12130 1130 2:30 3:30 4:30 5:30
HOUR OF DAY

I I i I 1~ [ ---I I

I n s o l a t i o n : 231 Iongley
o 60
LIJ
rY

~4o
n.,
LII
O-

~ 20 7~'-------..~[3

0 0 ~(T'----'-~ I I I I I
8130 9130 10130 11:30 12130 1:30 2130 3130 4:30 :30
HOUR OF DAY
Fig. 5. (a) Hourly temperature history on 23 October. (b) Hourly temperature history on 19 December.
110 D A V I D J. H I L L S , J O H N R. S T E P H E N S

comparing these various plots one can obtain an insight into the effects of operating
the collectors with different liquids and during different climatic conditions.
Figures 5(a) and (b) show typical heating curves for both collectors when heating
liquid manure. The general form of the curves--building to a peak temperature
between 2.30 and 4.30 pm and then dropping off slightly, with a maximum rate of
temperature increase during the mid-morning--is typical of temperature history
plots for solar collectors. As indicated, the breadbox collector heats the liquid at a
much faster rate and achieves a much higher temperature than the solar-pond
collector. Both collectors achieved a higher temperature during the October test.
This fact can be attributed largely to two factors: (1) greater insulation and (2) higher
ambient temperature. A higher ambient temperature allows a higher maximum
collector temperature by decreasing the heat loss rate. The maximum temperature
that a given collector reaches is mainly a function of the insolation intensity
(insolation per time), the ambient temperature history and the initial temperature of
the collector liquid. Thus, although the maximum collector temperatures minus the
ambient temperatures (To - T.,) for the tests on 23 October and 19 December are

<to,o,no,o,,oo
f f ~ I" r r

°°°l
500

t---
o 400
Ud
J
g, E n e r g y transmitted
300
.<.-~ through cover plate
Lul-C
(~.
'~ 200

z Collector energy flux /

bJ(~
O- Z Maximum temp. reached
b.IS

CI, -100
U_
>- ) Energy loss from
¢: -20C collector

-300

1 I 1 J J .L__.I_ L .L~
8:30 9:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 1::30 2:30 3:00 4:30
HQUR OF DAY

F i g . 6. Solar p o n d c o l l e c t o r - - h o u r l y e n e r g y h i s t o r y - - 2 3 O c t o b e r .
 SOLAR ENERGY HEATING OF DAIRY-MANURE ANAEROBIC I)IGESTERS ] [ I

600 i i l i i i I i

500

400 -~

~D 300

< ~£ 200

z o ,
D ~ IO 0
cd

-,00

z -30o[ I i i ~ J L [ I I

8:30 9:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 1:30 2:30 3:30 4130

HOUR OF DAY

Fig. 7. Solar pond collector- hourly energy history--19 December.

approximately equal, the actual collector temperature rise is much higher on 23

October. This fact is a result of the higher insolation on 23 October.
Energy history: The solar collector performance can also be presented in terms of
budgeting the energy flows to and from the collector during the test. Figures 6 to 9
show typical changes in the collector energy flows for the two collectors when liquid
manure was used. The ordinate axis of each graph is in terms of energy per hour per
unit area of collector glazing. Thus, the graph for the breadbox collector does not
show the higher actual energy input due to the larger glazing area. Also, note that all
of the curves are in terms of rate of energy flow (power), not cumulative energy. The
abscissa axis is divided into hours of the test day. The top curve is the total hourly
insolation of visible wavelength light on a flat, horizontal surface, as reported by the
University weather station. The second curve is the solar radiation energy
transmitted through the glazing cover plate to the interior of the collector and
available for heating of the collector liquid. The remainder of the insolation was
reflected from the glazing. Proportionately more energy is lost by this reflection
early and late in the day and on dates closer to the winter solstice due to the greater
1 12 D A V I D J. H I L L S , J O H N R. S T E P H E N S

6001 i I I I I I

500 insolation

400
n- Energy transmitted
O throuah cover plate -
o
uJ 300
-J
-J
0
o 200i
Collector energy flux

Maximum temp. reached,~,~

Wt.9
a-_z
tMb4 ' ~ Eloss
i-- ~ -I00 ~ . . ~ , . . . _ . _ loss
. ~ from
. E n e r g y
oE(.~
o -20C
.J
LI.
>-
,'- -300
w
z
bJ
!

8:30
I
9:30
I
10:30
I I
11:30 12:30
I
1130
HOUR OF DAY
I
2:30
I
3:30
,I
4:30

Fig. 8. Breadbox collector--hourly energy history--23 October.

reflectance which occurs when the radiation incidence angle is more acute to the
surface.
The third curve in Figs 6 to 9 is the hourly energy flux to or from the collector,
determined by the change in the collector fluid temperature. Because the curve is a
measure not of cumulative energy, but of energy flow, the maximum collector
temperature is reached when this curve crosses the zero energy-rate line where the
energy transmitted through the glazing is equal to the energy lost from the collector.
The bottom curve represents the rate of energy loss from the collector by
conduction, convection, reradiation and, in the case of the breadbox collector,
reflection from its inside walls. The first three factors are functions of the
temperature gradient (collector temperature - ambient temperature) while the last
term (reflection) is a function of the degree and angle of insolation.
Figures 6 and 8 for 23 October and Figs 7 and 9 for 19 December may be used to
compare the performance o f the two collectors in the autumn and winter. In the
autumn both collectors absorbed proportionally more of the higher insolation, lost
less energy until late in the day and did not reach their maximum temperature until
later in the day. Thus, not only was there less insolation to capture in winter, but
 SOLAR ENERGY HEATING OF D A I R Y - M A N U R E ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS I 13

600 1 7 4 T r T

500

400 Solar insolation

LLJ
-J
.-J
© 300 Energy transmitted\
3hrough cover plate "~
LLJ ..C
rY"-
<N E 200

go
~: I00 Collector energy flux
Etr

Maximum temp.

--1

-I00 Eloss
u,_ energy IO
collector
rY -200
LsJ
Z
LLJ
-300

L 1 J J 3_ L I J
JI ~
8130 9~30 10130 iK30 12~30 1130 2130 3130 4130
HOUR OF DAY

Fig. 9. Breadbox collector--hourly energy history--19 December.

both collectors were less effective in collecting it. A comparison of the performance
on both days of the breadbox collector and the solar pond collector yields the
following observations. A greater proportion of the incident solar energy is
transmitted through the glazing (sloped at 40 °) of the breadbox collector than that
of the solar pond collector. However, much of this energy reflects offthe inside walls
of the box. This reflected energy may be lost or strike the tank as was intended. The
reflection component causes the mid-day 'hump' in the energy loss curve for the
breadbox collector. This collector, despite collecting more energy and achieving a
higher maximum temperature, does not operate as efficiently as the solar pond on
the basis of the proportion of incoming energy that is utilised. This can be seen in the
larger gap which exists between the transmitted solar energy curve and the collector
energy flux curve in Figs 8 and 9 as compared with Figs 6 and 7. The breadbox
collector achieves a higher temperature because it is concentrating the solar energy
from the larger glazing area on its tank and because the air gap around the tank
provides better insulation than exists for the solar pond collector.
Collector efficiencies: Figure 10 presents typical efficiency data for both collectors
when used to heat liquid manure. This figure shows that the efficiency is largely a
114 DAVID J. HILLS, JOHN R. STEPHENS

function of the difference between the collector temperature and the ambient
temperature (To - T~) for a given collector. The breadbox collector was able to
maintain a much greater temperature difference than the solar pond collector. It
should be noted that the point where the efficiency drops to zero is the maximum
temperature difference possible for the level of insolation during the test.

I'0I I l I I 1 I

0.8

z
~ 0
w --
_./ I---
0.6
Breodbox
Dec. 19
c10 ,Nov. 17

,.n L
0 0.4

Solar Pond

Ld ~Oct.23
Z
W -Dec 19
0.2
Z

0 ~
-Io o ~o zo 3o 4o ~o 6o

COLLECTOR TEMPERATUREABOVEAMBIENT[Tc-To(C°)]
Fig. 10. Solar collector efficiencies.

The efficiency is also a function of the intensity of insolation. Since the heat loss is
approximately fixed for a certain temperature difference, the ratio of energy
absorbed to energy incident is greater for larger insolation because the absorbed
energy is equal to the heat loss subtracted from the incident energy. This effect can be
observed in Fig. 10 where collector temperatures for 23 October, when the incident
energy was higher, are compared with those for 19 December. Thus, the rate at
which heat is lost also determines the efficiency.
 SOLAR ENERGY HEATING OF DAIRY-MANURE ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS I ]5

The maximum temperatures above ambient that were reached for different values
of daily insolation are plotted in Fig. 11. One observation from these curves is that
the maximum temperature obtainable for both collectors increases less and less for
greater insolation values. This relationship exists because, at higher temperatures,
the rate of heat loss is exponential. A second observation is that for each collector
there is very little difference in temperature achieved for water and liquid manure at

80 T . . . . T~--- ]
0 Breedbox-Wofer
• Breodbox- Monure
t, Solor pond-Woter
• Solor pond- Monure
w
D 60

=L,
LiJ

r,-I ,
O_ 40
U Z
L~J i,,

%)

:~ o 20
x

o~ I
2O0
L I
4O0
L ]
600
TOTAL DAILY INSOLATION ( L a n g l e y )

L [ L 1 I I t
0 21 42 63 84 105 126
TOTAL DAILY ENERGY INPUT ( M c e t / m 3)

Fig. l 1. Solar collector performance accounting for ambient temperature.

about 8 ° o TS concentration. The specific heat of water is slightly greater than that of
8 ~o TS beef cattle manure according to H o u k o m et al. (1972) and the Handbook oJ
C77emistry and Physics (Anon., 1977 78) ( 1.0 compared with 0.97 g r a m m e - i per °C)
but the thermal conductivity is less (5.4 compared with 5.7 cal h - l c m - 1 per °C). In
fact, according to the data of H o u k o m et al. (1972), the thermal conductivity for
liquid beef manure does not drop off rapidly until the TS concentration reaches
25 ~o. Thermal stratification is therefore expected to be similar for either water or
conventional liquid-manure digester feed.
116 DAVID J. HILLS, JOHN R. STEPHENS

DISCUSSION

The results of this experiment indicate that the breadbox collector and the solar
pond collector are effective for complete influent heating of the model digester
operated in Davis for 12 months and 8-9 months, respectively during the year.
Suggestions for full size installations are possible.
The breadbox collector could be enlarged both in length or in cross-sectional size.
The performance would be approximately the same, if not better, due to reduced end
losses for a breadbox collector of similar design but of longer length. Because of the
larger area of useful glazing, the energy input will be increasing at the same rate as
the volume of the tank, and hence the influent volume, is increasing due to the
increased length. The effect of changing the cross-sectional diameter of the tank
and/or box is not easily predictable due to the uncertain modifications in the rate of
heat loss that this change would cause. Thus the scaled-up performance of the
breadbox collector should be used as no more than a very rough estimate when
projecting the performance of a collector of larger cross-sectional area.
The solar pond collector, in contrast, is much simpler and the results obtained can
be applied to scaled-up versions of this design much more accurately. For a solar
pond of the same liquid depth and approximately the same design, but of larger area,
the performance will be at least the same, and probably better, due to the reduction
in side area through which some of the heat loss occurs. In addition, it is possible to
extrapolate the performance at this depth to different depths of influent slurry. This
can be accomplished through the use of the average values from the solar pond
performance curve in Fig. 11 which are plotted in Fig. 12. This new curve presents a

O 20 40 0 60 80 I00 20
TOTAL DAILY ENERGY INPUT (Mcol/m 3 }
Fig. ]2. Solar pond averaged performance.

direct correlation between the energy input per volume of influent in the solar pond
and the maximum temperature reached above ambient. Note that the horizontal
axis is in terms of energy per volume, which is the incident energy per area multiplied
by the area to volume ratio (equal to the inverse of the depth) for the collector.
For a constant volume, if the area is doubled (and hence the depth is halved) the
amount of volume per unit area is halved. The effect of the insolation per unit area is
 SOLAR ENERGY HEATING OF DAIRY-MANURE ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS I 17

therefore doubled. Note that the temperature reached is not doubled, but the effect
of the insolation is doubled. Thus, the influent will heat quicker and lose more heat
just as if the insolation per volume were doubled as in Fig. 12.
A new maximum temperature can be found for a change in the area to volume
ratio by multiplying the incident solar energy per unit area by this change and using
the resulting energy per unit volume to find the average maximum temperature
difference on Fig. 12. Since this maximum temperature rise is averaged for the test
conditions in Davis, California, the two major determining factors, insolation and
ambient temperature, must be considered in using this graph. The maximum
collector temperature above ambient for a range of insolation (E/A) is plotted
against the solar pond area to volume ratio (A/V) in Fig. 13. For very large or small
depths, problems with temperature stratification or heat loss through the bottom
could interfere with the accuracy of this extrapolation. However, for the range of
depths (area to volume ratios) presented, these problems should be minimal due to
the proximity of these depths to the test depth of 48ram (A/V = 20.8).
Thus, given the insolation and the ambient temperature for the location and time
of year under consideration, it is possible, through the use of Fig. 13, to estimate the
solar pond size needed to heat dairy-manure influent to 35 °C on most days. A larger
size pond for the same influent volume will provide a greater temperature rise for the
same insolation although this increase becomes less and less with larger pond size.

DAILY UNIT INSOLATION ( K c o l / m 2 )

6000 5000 4000 3000

A ~ A .

kLI

o
t~ o
w
tL f ~ ,
/
o
~J W
~f I0

~g

0
I0 20 30 40
SOLAR POND AREA TO VOLUME RATIO ( I / m }
I I I I 1 I I I
200 I00 50 25
SOLAR POND DEPTH ( m m )

Fig. 13. Maximum temperature versus solar pond depth and insolation.
1 18 DAVID J. HILLS, JOHN R. STEPHENS

REFERENCES

ANON. (1975). Standard Methods Jor the Examination of Water and Wastewater (14th edition), Amer.
Publ. Health Assn, Washington, DC.
ANON. (1977-78). Handbook of chemistry andphysics (58th edition), Chemical Rubber Company Press,
Cleveland, Ohio.
ANON. (1978). Biogas Production J?om Animal Manure, Biomass Energy Institute, Inc., Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada.
BUSWELL,A. M. (1957). Fundamentals of anaerobic treatment of organic wastes. Sewage and Industrial
Wastes, 29, 717.
CO~VERSE,J. C. et al. (1977). Anaerobic degradation of dairy manure under mesophilic and thermophilic
temperatures, Trans. Amer. Soc. Engr., 20, 336.
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