Biogas Production from Hog and Poultry Manure Substrates using Plastic Drum Biogas Digester during Night and Daytime Collection
Abstract
Plastic drum biogas digester (PDBD) is a low-cost yet an efficient system in biogas production using different manure substrates as feedstock. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the volume of biogas produce using the PDBD system in daytime and nighttime collection using swine slurry (SS) and chicken manure (CM) as substrates. Likewise, to assess the economic feasibility of the low-cost biogas system. A 8-drum PDBD system was designed, fabricated and immersed in the manure or slurry lagoon of private piggery and poultry farms in Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija and San Antonio, Quezon Province, Philippines, respectively. The captured methane gas produced was observed and measured during day and night times. The volume of gas produced after 96 hours (4 days) was 2,580.64 ℓ or 1316.65 kg which tested 4 hours of uninterrupted cooking or a flow rate of 10.98 ℓ/minute using the system with SS. While, 8,856.72 ℓ which when allowed to a continuous depletion or emptying the submersion of the PDBD, the recorded time consumed was 16.5 minutes through a double burner stove with maximum level of fire using the PBDB system with CM. Higher methane captured was recorded during daytime compared to nighttime in both SSand CM substrate using the PDBD system. Lastly, the PDBD system is economically feasible. The PBDB system has proven to capture biogas or methane in an open-pit lagoon with minimal cost of production and economically viable to invest and include in a swine and poultry enterprises.
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Introduction
Livestock and poultry production are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emission particularly the volatilization of methane from the manure. Moreover, methane has 23 times global warming potential compared to carbon dioxide (Phillippe et al., 2007), hence strategies for methane capture would be indispensable towards mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. The biogas digester is an appropriate design towards preventing methane emission. As a matter of fact, the use of biogas as effective farm equipment is an excellent example of sound integrated crop and livestock management. Waste from livestock such as cattle, swine and poultry can be utilized as a renewable energy source which is the biogas. Moreover, biogas sludge can be applied to crops and in ponds as source of organic fertilizer. Likewise, biogas technology will solve environmental pollution and convert livestock waste into energy, savings or income (Largo, 2012).
Presently, because of the scarcity of resources and a worldwide market competition, the hike in price of some market product is continuously increasing, and because of this, people tend to find alternatives that are lower energy cost. The search for alternative sources of non-fossil based energy has all the more been very relevant than now due to its substantial positive impact on climate change. Moreover, the use of biogas as alternative to LPG is environment friendly.
The construction of biogas facility such as the fixed dome is quite expensive due to prohibitive cost of cement, steel bars and labor. It is on this premise, that the Plastic Drum Biogas Digester (PDBD) was tested to demonstrate its techno-viability for possible prototyping and subsequently techno-commercialization. This has unique features, which include: 1) production of biogas in an open pit lagoon (unlike the fixed dome digester); 2) production of odorless CH4 gas; and 3) conversion of the biogas sludge into an organic fertilizer. Moreover, the PDBD is simple, practical, low cost, versatile, maintenance free and can be readily replicated by backyard and commercial pig farmers (Barroga, 2015). The latter researchers claimed that a four 200-ℓ PDBD from an 8 sow level farm recorded a biogas production of 710.43-ℓ with a flow rate of 5.92-ℓ/minute. The savings derived with the use of biogas instead of the LPG is PhP 16.90/ℓ. The ROI was 103.30% with a Marginal Benefit Cost Ratio of 1.28 and a Payback Period of 0.97 year indicating that investing in the PDBD was financially viable. Lastly, this system of biogas production is considered novel because the plastic drum can serve as a mixer, digester floater, aerobic fermentation chamber, ammonia neutralizer, desulphizer, composting vat and a processor of a rich nutrient packed odorless effluent or pig liquid fertilizer. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the dynamics of biogas production using different animal manure substrates in day and night collection.
Conclusion
The PBDB system of biogas production using two different substrates such as pig slurry and chicken manure efficiently captured and produce biogas on different observation period. On the pig slurry as substrate, it was observed that more methane are captured during daytime compared tonight time and consequently, longer duration of flaring. On the hand, same flow rate was observed between the periods of observation. Similarly, almost the same observation when chicken manure is use as substrate. Lastly, the PDBD system is economically feasible regardless of the type of substrates use. ACKNOWLEDGMENT To Mr. Cedrick Cabanilla for the design and other details of the Plastic Drum Biogas Digester. Mr. Carl Quema for the venue of the experiment and Dr. Eliseo L. Ruiz, formulator of the odor erasing microbial and methane enhancing powder premix at the same time the venue of the experiment.
