Anaerobic Digester Considerations of Animal Waste

Abstract

A study of the biogas production potential of animal dung which include cow dung (CD) and swine dung were investigated. These were subjected to anaerobic digestion less than 25 days retention period and mesophilic temperature range of 26℃-43℃. The physicochemical and microbial parameters of the dung were determined. The proximate analysis show that the energy value of the CD (592.73 ±0.00KJ/100g) was higher than the SD (433.25±0.00KJ/100g). Two setups was adopted, denoted as digester A and B having feedstock of CD and SD with water in ratio 1:1 respectively. The volume of gas produced was monitored everyday and the CD and SD started production of gas on the 1 st (1.20±0.00cm 3 ) and 3 rd (0.5±0.00 cm 3 ) days respectively. Average daily volume of gas production for each of the systems was 16.47±0.00cm 3 and 3.70±0.00 cm 3 / total mass slurry (TMS) respectively. The research indicated that CD has a superior quality for biogas production over the SD achieving high cumulative biogas yield with stable performance. Anaerobic digestion provides an alternative option for energy recovery and waste treatment.