The Effect of Temperature, Pressure and PH on Volume of Biogas Production from Anaerobic Digestion of Plant & Animal Wastes

Abstract

Many factors affect the volume of biogas production in the anaerobic digestion of plant and animal wastes. In this treatise the three major factors of temperature, pressure and PH are investigated. Here the biodegradable wastes used were Cassava peelings and cow dungs, Beans waste and cow dungs, Cassava peelings and beans wastes. For the purpose of this investigation, a 100 liters capacity steel biogas digester was constructed to investigate these factors. A batch operation method was used whereby a daily biogas generation was monitored for 24 consecutive days. It is pertinent to state here that other factors that could affect the volume of biogas production like alkalinity, acidity etc were ignored. Cassava peelings and cow dungs produced the highest biogas of 0.032m2 /kg/day at a pH value of 7.34, followed by beans waste and cow dungs mixture and lastly Cassava peelings and beans waste having the least volume. The respective effects of temperature, pressure and PH were monitored and plotted alongside these biogas productions to showcase their effects. From the plots, their respective effects on the respective volumes of biogas generated can easily be seen. It is important to note in the passing that biogas is a form of renewable energy.