What is a methane digester?
Methane digent is more well known as anaerobic digester because it breaks organic waste by limiting oxygen intake and produces methane gas as a by -product. Anaerobic decomposition of organic substances, such as animal feces, waste food and plant matter, is a natural process that produces methane gas, but when it occurs in methane digestor, the gas can be collected and used as fuel. Large agricultural operations and waste treatment facilities often recycle waste and waste water for methane digestor and use gas that is similar to natural gas, for heating and electricity production.
Anaerobic decomposition proceeds in two phases. In the first, complex organic molecules in the waste are divided by sour microbes into peptides, alcohol and simple sugars. These molecules are then again divided by another set of microbes. As a by -product, this process produces gases, including methane, hydrogen and carbon dioxide and solids that are avid in nitrogen. This process is different from AERobble decomposition or decomposition in the presence of oxygen, which produces mostly carbon dioxide and ammonia as by -products. In addition, it also reduces the raw material to a substance that is lower in nitrogen and can be used as fertilizer.
The construction of the methane digestor includes an airtight container with a port for the introduction of waste and gas collection. The digestion is best at temperatures in the range of 32 ° C to 35 ° C (89 ° F to 95 ° F) and drops sharply if the temperature drops below 16 ° C (61 ° F). The ratio of solids to water should be about 8%, which means that animal waste should be mixed with the same amount of water. While methane digestor will work well with mere animal waste, its efficiency can be improved by adding vegetable mass.
Dual benefits of fuel for electricity and heat and reducing waste to recyclable, odorless, make a methane digester cost -effective and ECologically gentle on waste treatment. The large digestor can be designed as a covered lagoon with a gas collection pipe, while a smaller can consist of a tank that can either sit on the ground or be buried. The digestory tank can be heated, making them better candidates for colder climate. Although the methane digestor reduces the waste to the odorless material, the process is not odorless. In addition, digestors emit harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, sulfur and ammonia oxides, so the immediate area around the large digester is not an ideal residential zone.