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Biogas: What is it; How it is Made; How to Use it; – Part 1 of 3
| By pinoyfarmer | July 30, 2007 | 
|
Introduction
1. Farmers and their families always look for ways to make their lives better.
Farmer families
2. One way farm families can make their lives better is to make their own fuel gas which they can use for cooking.
Use fuel gas
3. Today many farmers are making fuel gas at home. They make it from animal manure or from plant materials or from a mixture of both.
4. Fuel gas made in this way has a lot of methane in it. Methane burns very well.
5. Where you live methane gas may be called by a different name. One of the most common names for this kind of gas, when it is made at home, is biogas. We will use the name biogas in this booklet.
Biogas
6. If you make your own biogas you will not have to use so much of the more expensive fuels such as kerosene and charcoal or firewood, which may be hard to find where you live.
Make biogas
7. Using biogas can help you to save time and work when you cook your meals.
8. You can use the time you save to do other things around your home and farm, such as care for a bigger garden
Care a bigger garden
or work at a money- making home craft.
Work
9. Biogas is a clean- burning fuel. It does not give off smoke as does charcoal or firewood. By using biogas for cooking you can keep your cooking area and your food cleaner.
Cooking area
10. After all gas has been made the material that is left is a very rich fertilizer that you can use on your fields.
Use the material
11. This booklet was written to help you to learn some of the things that you need to know before you begin to make biogas. You will also learn how to make your own biogas.
How is biogas made?
12. When animal manure or plant materials rot they give off gas. You collect this gas as it is made when you make biogas.
Make biogas
13. In this booklet you will learn how to mix water with animal manure or plant materials, how to put this mixture into a container where it will rot and give off gas, and how to collect the gas in another container which is airtight. We will call these containers the biogas unit.
14. It is not easy to build a biogas unit. When you begin you will have to spend a lot of time and work very hard. It may also cost you money.
15. You must be sure that building a biogas unit will be a good way to use your time and money.
16. You will need a good place to put your biogas unit. Items 26 to 30 will tell you where to put it.
17. If you live where it is too hot or too cold, your may find it hard to keep a biogas unit working.
Keep the biogas unit working
18. Biogas is produced best at a temperature between 32 and 37°C. When the temperature is below 1 5°C almost no gas is made. Items 31 to 34 will tell you some ways which will help you to keep your biogas unit at the right temperature.
19. You will need oil drums, pipe, valves, a gas line and sealing materials to build a biogas unit.
Materials
You will need a good supply of animal manure or plant material.
Animal manure or plant material
20. If there is a biogas unit near where you live, you should go to visit it. Talk to those who have built it and are running it to see how it works.
21. When you are thinking about building a biogas unit, you may be able to get advice from your extension officer.
Build a biogas unit
How big should your biogas unit be?
22. Begin by building a small unit. Items 35 to 57 will tell you how. With a small biogas unit, you will need less animal manure and plant materials. A small unit will cost less to build and it will be easier to run.
A small unit
23. When you have learned how to run your biogas unit and have made and used your own gas, you may decide that you need more gas.
24. You can get more gas by building one or more biogas units just like your first one. Items 126 to 130 will tell you how to run several biogas units together.
Run biogas units together
How to build a small biogas unit
25. You can build a small biogas unit from two oil drums.
You will need
· an oil drum of about 200 litres, to hold the waste
· an oil drum of about 120 litres, to collect the gas
Oil drums
· a piece of pipe about 10 centimetres long and about 2 centimetres in diameter, for the gas outlet
· a valve to fit the gas outlet
Gas outlet and valve
· at least 10 metres of rubber or plastic tube about 2 centimetres in diameter, for the gas line
Gas line
Where to put your biogas unit
26. Be careful not to put your biogas unit too close to your home or your cooking area or your water supply.
27. A biogas unit should be at least 10 metres from your home so that when you put waste into your unit it will not be too close to where you and your family live and cook your meals.
Put the unit away from house
28. Do not put your biogas unit too far from where you cook or you will need a long gas line. Gas lines are hard to find and may cost a lot of money.
29. If your gas line is moved or damaged, it may leak when gas is made. If your gas line crosses a path, bury it a little underground to protect it from being moved or damaged.
Protect the gas line
30. A biogas unit should be at least 15 metres from your water supply, so that the waste in your unit will not make your water dirty and unhealthy to drink or use.
Put the unit away from the water supply
31. You have already been told that you will get most gas if the temperature of your unit is between 32 arid 37°C.
32. If you live in a very hot place, put your unit out of the sun, in the shade or under trees to keep it getting too hot.
Put the unit out of sun – in hot places
33. If you live in a place that is not very warm, put your unit in the sun to keep it warm.
Put the unit in the sun – in not warm places
34. If you live in a cold place, put the unit underground or cover it with earth or straw to keep it warm.
Cover the unit – in cold places
Building the unit
35. The bottom part of the unit, which holds the waste mixture, is made from the bigger drum. The top part of the unit, which holds the gas, is made from the smaller drum which you put inside the bigger drum.
36. Most drums have a hole in the top. You will not need a hole in the top of the bigger drum but you will need a hole in the top of the smaller drum for the gas outlet.
37. Cut out one end from each drum. You can do this using a hammer and metal chisel. Cut the end of the bigger drum that has a hole in it. Cut the end of the smaller drum that does not have a hole in it.
Use a metal chisel and a hammer
38. If the small drum does not have a hole in the top, you will have to cut one (see Item 45).
39. Now clean both drums well inside and outside to remove oil and grease .
Clean the drums
40. If either drum has a hole in the side, close it tightly. This can be done with a metal plug or by welding a piece of metal in the hole as shown in the drawings.
Close hole
41. Now you are ready to put the gas outlet in the top of the small drum.
42. The gas outlet is made from a short piece of pipe about 10 centimetres long and about 2 centimetres in diameter.
43. If there is a threaded hole in the top of the small drum, use a gas outlet which is threaded on both ends and screw it tightly into the hole.
Screw in outlet
44. If the hole in the top of the small drum is not threaded, use a gas outlet which is threaded on one end and weld it into the hole with the threaded end up
45. If there is no hole in the top of the small drum, cut one about 2 centimetres in diameter and using a gas outlet which is threaded on one end weld it into the hole with the threaded end up, as you were told in item 44.
Cut hole
46. Now you are ready to attach a valve to the top of the gas outlet. You can use valves like the ones shown in the drawing.
47. The valve you use must be airtight so that it will not leak gas and you must be sure to screw it tightly to the gas outlet.
Attach valve
48. If you do not have a valve, attach the rubber or plastic tube you are using for the gas line directly to the gas outlet. To close the gas line, you can fold it once and clamp it shut or you can fold it twice and tie it tightly with cord as shown in the drawings
Tie
Clamp
Testing for leaks
49. Now you are ready to test the small drum for leaks. To hold gas it must be airtight.
50. To check for leaks, close the valve or if you have no valve clamp or tie the gas line tightly as you were told in item 48.
51. Turn the small drum over and place it above the ground on stones or pieces of wood, but be careful not to damage the gas outlet or the valve or to loosen the clamp or the cord on the gas line. Now fill the small drum with water.
52. If you see water leaking from the drum, the gas outlet, the valve or the tied gas line, mark the place of each leak. Then empty out the water, being careful not to damage the gas outlet, and let the drum dry.
Mark the places of leak
53. Seal the leaks by coating them with tar, mastic or paint on the inside and the outside of the drum.
54. If there are leaks around the gas outlet or valve, tighten the outlet or valve again and coat the joints with tar, mastic or paint.
Tar or paint
55. When the sealing is dry, fill the drum with water again to be sure that the leaks are well sealed. If water still leaks, start over again.
56. When the small drum is well sealed and no longer leaks, your biogas unit is ready to use.
57. It is very important to seal all leaks carefully.
Related Posts:
Biogas: What is it; How it is Made; How to Use it; – Part 2
Biogas: What is it; How it is Made; How to Use it; – Part 3
Source: Better Farming Series 31 – Biogas: What it is; How it is made; How to use it (FAO, 1984, 52 p.)
Topics: Technologies | 9 Comments »
July 19th, 2008 at 12:23 am
This gives me more interest on the topic and I have to thank you all for giving this much of details. Excellent.
October 14th, 2008 at 9:05 am
it help us to give solution on our problem regarding our investigatory project.
can i ask more?can you help me to find for related literature about biogas?
November 25th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
This is one of the most detailed information about Making Biogas at home. I fully support this type of alternative fuel source.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
m interested in the manufacture pliz send me any information
May 21st, 2009 at 9:57 am
i appreciated the information posted in this site about the biogas. I hope to gather more info about for i am currently working my thesis on biogas. more power
October 8th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
It was very interesting but may I know how many cubic meters of gas will be produce of 10 4months old pig. And how many days is the fermentation period of pig manure before it can provide a high quality of methane?
Please send me the reply or just send me the links i need.
Thanks
November 7th, 2009 at 2:46 am
THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED FOR MY BIOLOGY PROJECT!!!!
February 12th, 2010 at 5:34 am
This is a very good solution for our problem regarding rising of prices of gas… it will help a lot… I have my own biogas with 10 ft diameter and 10 ft high…I have at least 10 pigs sometimes more. It was built March 2007. so far I have no problem. More than three families are using for cooking the three meals. I would suggest that if you are planning to build a biogas, it is better to build the dome type… a little bit expensive the first time you build because I made that one about 75T pesos… but in a long run you will save it… and the used slurry will be used as fertilizer because is not smelling anymore just like a normal mud.
August 8th, 2010 at 5:06 am
it is very simple and costless i have around 10 animals as baffalo i have own agricultural form its too easy for me i want ask that if i will build a big unit can i use the same method and technology plz help me can i fill bio gas in the sylenders & can i use this gas as CNG vhicles