Report Number: R01

A
REPORT
ON
BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM KITCHEN WASTE
SUBMITTED BY:
SAURABH AGRAWAL
069BME640
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
PULCHOWK CAMPUS
PULCHOWK, LALITPUR
BHADRA 15, 2072
Report Number: R01
A
REPORT
ON
BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM KITCHEN WASTE
SUBMITTED TO:
MR. V.K. YADAV
LECTURER
SUBMITTED BY:
SAURABH AGRAWAL
069BME640
APPROVED BY:
DR. RAJENDRA SHRESTHA
HEAD OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
PULCHOWK CAMPUS
PULCHOWK, LALITPUR
BHADRA 15, 2072
PREFACE
In many developing countries like Nepal, so many people do not access to
modern energy resources. The reserve of fossil fuels is depleting
continuously
thereby making the issue of energy security more critical. In Nepal, energy
use is
characterized by high use of fuel wood. Deforestation has reduced Nepal’s
forest
to a few scrubby trees and causing extreme fuel shortage in rural areas.
Biogas
technology is expected to play a vital role in this regard.
This report describes about biogas, its composition, its properties and its
role in
energy planning. This technology can be used for cooking and heating
system
also. This report mainly includes about biogas production process and
factors
affecting biogas production. Biogas is a developing technology and many
researches have been conducted and are being conducted for further
development of this technology.
This report was designed with the intent of making people aware of biogas
generation methods and the factors affecting biogas generation. This report
also
includes the scope of biogas in Nepal and its capacity to reduce LPG
consumption.
I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Alternative Energy
Promotion
Center (AEPC) for entrusting me to prepare this report.
I am highly indebted to all those who provided me the possibility to complete
this
report. I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Rajendra
Shrestha, who continually motivated me to do this project and without
whose
help this project would have been impossible.
Furthermore, I would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the
crucial role of the staff of Center for Energy Studies, who gave the
permission to
use all required equipment and the necessary materials to complete this
report.
Last but not least, many thanks go to the head of the project, Prof. Bhakta
Bhahadur Ale who has invested his full effort in guiding me in achieving the
goal.
I have to appreciate the guidance given by other supervisor as well as the
panels
especially in my project presentation that has improved my presentation
skills
thanks to their comments and advices.
II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES III
ABSTRACT IV
1. INTRODUCTION 1-3
2. PROPERTIES OF BIOGAS 4-5
3. PRODUCTION PROCESS 6
4. ANAEROBIC DIDGESTION 7
5. FLOW CHART OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION 8
6. CONCLUSIONS 9
7. RECCOMENDATIONS 9
8. BIBLIOGRAPHY 10
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
NO.
TITLE OF TABLE PAGE NO
1 COMPOSITION OF BOGAS 4
2 GENERAL FEATURES OF BIOGAS 5
LIST OF FIGURES
FIG NO. TITLE PAGE NO
1 FLOW CHART OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
PROCESS
8
III
ABSTRACT
Biogas production requires anaerobic digestion. Project was to Create an
Organic Processing Facility to create biogas which will be more cost
effective, eco-friendly, cut down on landfill waste, generate a high-quality
renewable fuel, and reduce carbon dioxide & methane emissions. Overall by
creating a biogas reactors on campus in the backyard of our hostels will be
beneficial. Kitchen (food waste) was collected from different hostels of
Central
Campus Pulchowk’s Mess as feedstock for our reactor which works as
anaerobic digester system to produce biogas energy. The anaerobic digestion
of
kitchen waste produces biogas, a valuable energy resource anaerobic
digestion
is a microbial process for production of biogas, which consist of primarily
methane (CH4) & carbon dioxide (CO2). Biogas can be used as energy
source and also for numerous purposes. But, any possible applications
requires knowledge & information about the composition and quantity of
constituents in the biogas produced. The continuously-fed digester requires
addition of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to maintain the alkalinity and pH to 7.
For this reactor we have prepared our Inoculum than we installed batch
reactors, to which inoculum of previous cow dung slurry along with the
kitchen waste was added to develop our own Inoculum. A combination of
these
mixed inoculum was used for biogas production at 37°C in laboratory(small
scale) reactor (20L capacity) In our study, the production of biogas and
methane is done from the starch-rich and sugary material and is
determined
at laboratory scale using the simple digesters.
IV
1
INTRODUCTION
Due to scarcity of petroleum and coal it threatens supply of fuel throughout
the
world also problem of their combustion leads to research in different corners
to
get access the new sources of energy, like renewable energy resources. Solar
energy, wind energy, different thermal and hydro sources of energy, biogas
are all
renewable energy resources. But, biogas is distinct from other renewable
energies
because of its characteristics of using, controlling and collecting organic
wastes and at the same time producing fertilizer and water for use in
agricultural irrigation. Biogas does not have any geographical limitations nor
does
it requires advanced technology for producing energy, also it is very simple
to use
and apply.
Deforestation is a very big problem in developing countries like Nepal, most
of
the part depends on charcoal and fuel-wood for fuel supply which requires
cutting
of forest. Also, soil erosion leads to decrease the fertility of land. Use of
dung,
firewood as energy is also harmful for the health of the masses due to the
smoke
arising from them causing air pollution. We need an ecofriendly substitute
for
energy.
Kitchen waste is organic material having the high calorific value and
nutritive
value to microbes, that’s why efficiency of methane production can be
increased
by several order of magnitude as said earlier. It means higher efficiency and
size
of reactor and cost of biogas production is reduced. Also in most of cities
and
places, kitchen waste is disposed in landfill or discarded which causes the
public health hazards and diseases like malaria, cholera, typhoid.
Inadequate
management of wastes like uncontrolled dumping bears several adverse
consequences: It not only leads to polluting surface and groundwater
through
leachate and further promotes the breeding of flies, mosquitoes, rats and
other
disease bearing vectors. Also, it emits unpleasant odour & methane which is
a
major greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.
Mankind can tackle this problem(threat) successfully with the help of
methane,
however till now we have not been benefitted, because of ignorance of basic
sciences – like output of work is dependent on energy available for doing
that
work.
This fact can be seen in current practices of using low calorific inputs like
cattle
dung, distillery effluent, municipal solid waste (MSW) or sewage, in biogas
plants,
making methane generation highly inefficient. We can make this system
extremely
efficient by using kitchen waste/food waste. In 2003, Dr. Anand Karve[2][4]
(President ARTI) developed a compact biogas system that uses dstarchy or
sugary
2
feedstock material and the analysis shows that this new system is 800 times
more
efficient than conventional biogas plants.
Why this type of plant?
The proper disposal of Central Campus Pulchowk’s Hostel kitchen waste will
be
done in ecofriendly and cost effective way. While calculating the cost
effectiveness
of waste disposal we have to think more than monetary prospects. The
dumping
of food in places and making the places unhygienic can be taken good care
of. It
adds to the value of such Biogas plants. Using the natural processes like
microorganisms kitchen waste & biodegradable waste viz paper, pulp can be
utilized.
Anaerobic digestion is controlled biological degradation process which allows
efficient capturing & utilization of biogas (approx. 60% methane and 40%
carbon
dioxide) for energy generation. Anaerobic digestion of food waste is
achievable but
different types, composition of food waste results in varying degrees of
methane
yields, and thus the effects of mixing various types of food waste and their
proportions should be determined on case by case basis.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising method to treat the kitchen wastes.
While
Anaerobic digestion for treatment of animal dung is common in rural parts
of
developing countries, information on technical and operational feasibilities
of the
treatment of organic solid waste is limited in those parts. There are many
factors
affecting the design and performance of anaerobic digestion. Some are
related to
feedstock characteristics, design of reactors and operation conditions in real
time.
Physical and chemical characteristics of the organic wastes are important
for
designing and operating digesters, because they affect the biogas production
and
process stability during anaerobic digestion. They include, moisture content,
volatile solids, nutrient contents, particle size, & biodegradability. The
biodegradability of a feed is indicated by biogas production or methane yield
and
percentage of solids (total solids or total volatile solids) that are destroyed in
the
anaerobic digestion. The biogas or methane yield is measured by the
amount of
biogas or methane that can be produced per unit of volatile solids contained
in the
feedstock after subjecting it to anaerobic digestion for a sufficient amount of
time
under a given temperature which is taken to be laboratory temperature in
our
case.
In recent times varied technological modifications and improvements have
been
introduced to diminish the costs for the production of biogas. Different
Methods
have been developed to increase speed of fermentation for the bacteria gas
producers, reduction of the size of the reactors, the use of starchy, sugary
materials for their production , the modification of the feeding materials for
fermentation and the exit of the effluent for their better employment, as well
as
compaction of the equipments to produce gas in small places like back-yard,
3
among others.
Larger facilities operating costs can be reduced, per unit, to the point that,
in the current economic framework, very large Anaerobic Digestion facilities
can
be profitable whereas small ones are not this is what is Economics of scale.
If
energy prices continue to rise and the demand for local waste treatment,
and
fertilizers increases, this framework may change.
4
PROPERTIES OF BIOGAS
BIOGAS is produced by bacteria through the bio-degradation of organic
material under anaerobic conditions. Natural generation of biogas is an
important part of bio -geochemical carbon cycle. It can be used both in rural
and
urban areas.
Table-1. Composition of biogas.
Component Concentration (by volume)
Methane (CH4) 55-60 %
Carbon dioxide (CO2) 35-40 %
Water (H2O) 2-7 %
Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) 20-20,000 ppm (2%)
Ammonia (NH3) 0-0.05 %
Nitrogen (N2) 0-2 %
Oxygen (O2) 0-2 %
Hydrogen (H) 0-1 %
Composition of biogas depends upon feed material also. Biogas is about 20%
lighter than air has an ignition temperature in range of 650 to 750 0C.An
odorless
& colourless gas that burns with blue flame similar to LPG gas. Its caloric
value is
20 Mega Joules (MJ) /m3 and it usually burns with 60 % efficiency in a
conventional biogas stove.
Biogas digestor systems provides a residue organic waste, after its anaerobic
digestion(AD) that has superior nutrient qualities over normal organic
fertilizer, as
it is in the form of ammonia and can be used as manure. Anaerobic biogas
digesters
also function as waste disposal systems, particularly for human wastes, and
can,
therefore, prevent potential sources of environmental contamination and the
spread of pathogens and disease causing bacteria. Biogas technology is
particularly valuable in agricultural residual treatment of animal excreta
and
kitchen refuse (residuals).
5
PROPERTIES:
1. Change in volume as a function of temperature and pressure.
2. Change in calorific value as function of temperature, pressure and water
vapour content.
3. Change in water vapour as a function of temperature and pressure.
FACTORS AFFECTING BIOGAS PRODUCTION
The quantity and nature of organic matter
The temperature
Acidity and alkanity (PH value) of substrate
The flow and dilution of material
TABLE 2:- GENERAL FEATURES OF BIOGAS
Energy Content 6-6.5 kWh/m3
Fuel Equivalent 0.6-0.65 l oil/m3 biogas
Explosion Limits 6-12 % biogas in air
Ignition Temperature 650-750 *C
Critical Pressure 75-89 bar
Critical temperature -82.5 *C
Normal Density 1.2 kg/m3
Smell Bad eggs
6
PRODUCTION PROCESS
A typical biogas system consists of the following components:
(1) Manure collection
(2) Anaerobic digester
(3) Effluent storage
(4) Gas handling
(5) Gas use.
Biogas is a renewable form of energy. Methanogens (methane producing
bacteria)
are last link in a chain of microorganisms which degrade organic material
and
returns product of decomposition to the environment.
PRINCIPLES FOR PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS
Organic substances exist in wide variety from living beings to dead
organisms .
Organic matters are composed of Carbon (C), combined with elements such
as
Hydrogen (H), Oxygen (O), Nitrogen (N), Sulphur (S) to form variety of
organic
compounds such as carbohydrates, proteins
& lipids. In nature MOs (microorganisms), through digestion process breaks
the
complex carbon into smaller substances.
There are 2 types of digestion process:
Aerobic digestion.
Anaerobic digestion.
The digestion process occurring in presence of Oxygen is called Aerobic
digestion
and produces mixtures of gases having carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the
main
“greenhouses” responsible for global warming.
The digestion process occurring without (absence) oxygen is called
Anaerobic
digestion which generates mixtures of gases. The gas produced which is
mainly
methane produces 5200-5800
KJ/m3 which when burned at normal room temperature and presents a
viable
environmentally friendly energy source to replace fossil fuels (non-
renewable).
7
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
It is also referred to as biomethanization, is a natural process that takes
place in
absence of air (oxygen). It involves biochemical decomposition of complex
organic
material by various biochemical processes with release of energy rich biogas
and
production of nutrious effluents.
BIOLOGICAL PROCESS (MICROBIOLOGY)
1. HYDROLYSIS
2. ACIDIFICATION
3. METHANOGENESIS
HYDROLYSIS: In the first step the organic matter is enzymolyzed externally
by
extracellular enzymes, cellulose, amylase, protease & lipase, of
microorganisms.
Bacteria decompose long chains of complex carbohydrates, proteins,
& lipids into small chains. For example, Polysaccharides are converted
into monosaccharide. Proteins are split into peptides and amino acids.
ACIDIFICATION: Acid-producing bacteria, involved this step, convert the
intermediates of fermenting bacteria into acetic acid, hydrogen and carbon
dioxide. These bacteria are anaerobic and can grow under acidic conditions.
To
produce acetic acid, they need oxygen and carbon. For this, they use
dissolved
O2 or bounded-oxygen. Hereby, the acid-producing bacteria creates
anaerobic
condition which is essential for the methane producing microorganisms.
Also,
they reduce the compounds with low molecular weights into alcohols,
organic
acids, amino acids, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and traces of
methane.
From a chemical point, this process is partially endergonic (i.e. only possible
with
energy input), since bacteria alone are not capable of sustaining that type of
reaction.
METHANOGENESIS: (Methane formation) Methane-producing bacteria,
which
were involved in the third step, decompose compounds having low molecular
weight. They utilize hydrogen, carbon dioxide and acetic acid to form
methane and
carbon dioxide. Under natural conditions, CH4 producing microorganisms
occur
to the extent that anaerobic conditions are provided, e.g. under water (for
example
in marine sediments), and in marshes. They are basically anaerobic and
very
sensitive to environmental changes, if any occurs. The methanogenic
bacteria
belongs to the archaebacter genus, i.e. to a group of bacteria with
heterogeneous morphology and lot of common biochemical and
molecularbiological
properties that distinguishes them from other bacterias. The main
difference lies in the makeup of the bacteria’s cell walls.
8
FLOW CHART FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
Fig. 1 Flow chart of anaerobic digestion
9
CONCLUSIONS
Energy crisis is a major issue of 21st Century and it can be solved using
alternative sources of energy. Biogas, are likely to play an increasing role in
meeting ever-increasing power demands. Because of their efficiency and
environmental advantages, biogas technologies are viewed as an attractive
21st
century solution to energy problems. To sum up, biogas can be expected to
find
their applications in several sectors in Nepal. Deployment of biogas
technologies
will help not only to produce clean and sustainable power but also to reduce
country’s over-dependence on imported petroleum products.
RECCOMENDATIONS
KITCHEN WASTE:
1. A separate container for coconut shells, egg shells, peels and chicken
mutton bones. These will be crushed separately by mixer grinders.
2. Different containers of volumes 5l to collect the wet waste, stale cooked
food,
waste milk products. The vegetables refuse like peels, rotten potatoes
coriander
leaves collected in bags.
In case of installation, important aspect in smoother running of plant by
avoiding
the choking of the plant. This occur due to thick biological waste that not
reaches
to the microorganisms to digest. The easy answer to this problem is to
convert
solid wastes into liquid slurry. Mixer can be used to convert solid into
slurry.
10
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Kale, S.P and Mehele, S.T. kitchen waste based biogas plant.pdf. Nuclear
agriculture and Biotechnology/ Division.
[2] Karve .A.D. (2007), Compact biogas plant, a low cost digester for biogas
from
waste starch. http://www.arti-india.org.
[3] Karve of Pune A.D (2006). Compact biogas plant compact low-cost
digester
from waste starch. www.bioenergylists.org.
[4] Shalini Sing, Sushil Kumar, M.C. Jain, Dinesh Kumar (2000), the
increased
biogas production using microbial stimulants.
[5] Hilkiah Igoni, M. F. N. Abowei, M. J. Ayotamuno and C. L. Eze (2008),
Effect
of Total Solids Concentration of Municipal Solid Waste on the Biogas
Produced
in an Anaerobic Continuous Digester.