Biogas is produced in several key stages that allow materials to decompose.
A biogas plant is designed to take in biological matter and decompose it to produce useful gas, especially methane, which is a major component in natural gas that is mined from deposits. This methane can be used in similar devices to natural gas and does not deplete natural gas resources. These plants are used to recycle waste from restaurants, farms and other places, or to provide developing nations with an alternative source of gas for heating and powering various appliances. Biogas plants use a simple process to turn biomaterials in gas. Does this Spark an idea?
Sources
First the biogas plant takes in materials used to produce the gas. Manure is one of the most common sources, including manure from cows and chickens. Excess materials from slaughterhouses are also used, as are used grains from distilleries, sugar beet stalk cakes, waster water and other materials which have few useful purposes. These materials are taken, separated if necessary, and inserted into large biogas tanks.
Fermentation Process
Next the plant encourages the fermentation process in the tanks it has used to store the biomatter. This process is divided based on the number of tanks the plant uses. Simple plants use one tank in which bacteria break down the matter until it can be decomposed by a second set of bacteria, which creates acetic acid, carbon and other basic compounds. Methane-producing bacteria then eat these compounds, primarily acetic acid, and create methane. Two-tank systems perform the basic breakdown and decomposition in one tank, and then move the waste to another tank for the compound breakdown and methane production, which speeds up the process. Newer systems use three tanks that switch between the stages of methane production.
Production
Even after methane is produced, there is still a lot of material left in the tanks. Biogas is filtered out of the tank and stored in smaller receptacles for transport, or burned immediately to create electricity which can be used to power nearby homes. Biogas plants may also use the heat the decomposition process creates to heat air or water. The leftover material in the tanks is suitable as fertilizer and is shipped to nearby farms.
Tags: acetic acid, biogas plant, Biogas plants, methane production