International Journal of Engineering, Science and Mathematics
  • Year: 2018
  • Volume: 7
  • Issue: 12

Household waste to produce biogas and digestate by a portable anaerobic biodigester

  • Author:
  • Georges Kouya-Takala1, Jean Jacques Nguimbous-Kouoh1,2, Thomas D'Aquin Biyindi1, Eliezer Manguelle-Dicoum3
  • Total Page Count: 25
  • Page Number: 84 to 108

1Department of Mines and petroleum, University of Science and technology of ethics, Yaounde 1, P.O. Box 47, Yaounde, Cameroon

2Department of Mines, Petroleum, Gas and Water Resources Exploration, Faculty of Mines and Petroleum Industries, University of Maroua, P.O. Box 08, Kaele, Cameroon

3Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé, I, PO Box 6052, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Online published on 7 May, 2019.

Abstract

Household waste management addresses the problem of sanitation and hygiene in developing countries, humanitarian camps and heavily populated areas such as prisons. Poorly managed waste often causes serious health problems and premature death. Yet they represent a great source of energy and can be used in agriculture as fertilizer. In this paper we propose the biological treatment of household waste by a mobile biodigester model. The used device includes a methanol unit with a volume of 220 liters, a biogas storage unit and a digestate recovery unit. The cow dung combined with the crushed organic waste was mixed with the water in a 1/1 ratio, the whole was introduced into the methanization enclosure. The masses of biogas and disgestate were determined for 40 days. The cumulative volume of biogas obtained gave the equivalent of 1994.35 liters. The produced digestate was introduced to the soil in a test field where the rice seeds were sown. The seed yield on an area of 81 m2 gave 675.906 seeds. This yield was compared to a similar field where chemical fertilizers were used and the result obtained gave 689700 seeds. In addition, the analysis of the metals in the digestate gave a negative result.

Keywords

Organic waste, biogas, digestate, biodigester, methanation