CDEEP-BIOGAS Feasibility Study
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PROJECT LOCATION |
PROJECT TYPE |
ESTIMATED VOLUMES PER YEAR |
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Johannesburg, RSA |
Biodigester |
1,576 m3 Biogas |
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the Organic Loading Rate (OLR) on performance and treatment efficiency (based on volatile solids removal) of vegetable waste digestion in a semi-continuous slurry digester to produce the maximum methane possible at ambient temperatures.
There are a large number of factors which affect biogas production efficiency such as environmental conditions like pH balance of water, temperature, inhibitory parameters like high organic loading, etc.
Experiments were operated in semi-continuous basis with daily feeding. Semi-continuous anaerobic digestion of vegetable waste was investigated in ambient temperatures ranging from 12ºC to 28ºC with three different organic loading rates (OLR) of 34kg, 23kg and 14kg per day and a constant retention time of a minimum of 20 days. The retention time of 20 days was maintained by feeding 50% vegetable waste with 25% fresh water and 25% effluent.
The single-phase, complete-mix reactor is found to be technically feasible for vegetable wastes disposal. Considering the characteristics of the high-moisture solid waste, anaerobic digestion represents a feasible and effective method to convert the waste to biogas fuel. The reactor showed stable performance with highest methane (68%).