Biogas Digestion system.
A biogas digestion system is a way to convert biological waste (like kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and manure) into usable biproducts of methane and both liquid and solid fertilizers.
Biogas digestion works by creating an anerobic chamber (i.e. a place without oxygen) which breaks down the organic matter you put in it. There are two types of bacteria at play here. One type takes food and converts it into acid. These are called acidogenic bacteria (aka acetogens). Methanogenic bacteria (methanogens) convert the acid from the first system into methane gas.
The methane gas produced is sufficient to run on the sorts of appliances you'd run propane on. This opens up the doors to build generators, stove tops, flame effects, refrigerators, and more. All of this just running off of kitchen scraps.
Open questions for this project
- How much input material do you need in order to get a specific amount of biogas out?
- I've read that keeping the pH balance within the anerobic chamber is important. What range should you keep it to and how do you control that?
- How much would a system like this cost?
- How do we minimize the risks of unwanted fire or leaks?
- Where should such a device be stored?