PK is conducting a biogas experiment at an abattoir in southern Namibia. The aim of the experiment is to expand on the results from previous, initial tests of the biogas potential of slaughter waste, conducted at the same abattoir late 2013. Findings from laboratory experiments conducted at the abattoir suggests that it is possible to produce viable amounts of biogas using a substrate mimicking the daily waste stream generated when slaughtering small stock. The substrate consists of blood, manure and stomach content of sheep. The inoculum used is from cattle manure. The initial study used 1 litre bottles where substrate and inoculum was mixed in different ratios (of the substrate) and concentrations (VS of substrate mix/liter).
The current experiment is upscaled to 1000 liter reactors, with a total volume of substrate and inoculum of 800 liters. The ratio of substrate reflects the daily production of slaughter waste at the factory, while three different VS concentrations are tested, i.e. 5, 10, and 20 g VS/liter.
Figure 1. Filling the digester with substrate.
Figure 2. The filled digesters
The findings of this experiment will increase our understanding of how viable slaughter waste, without additional green substrate, is for biogas production.
For more information about this project, please contact patrik.klintenberg(at)gmail.com