Portable biodigester system for household use – A review
Muhammad Badrul Amin Mohamed Zaki1, Rosnah Shamsudin2.
Biogas is a value-added product comes from anaerobic digestion of organic
compounds. The most common biogas production is done in large capacity, which requires
large area and high cost to be operated. In order to benefit the consumer on biogas production,
varieties of innovated household bio-digester machines were introduced. This portable
household bio-digester appeals to the rural to provide an economical and alternate source of
energy apart reducing the organic waste dumping to landfill. Biogas produce consists of
methane gas, which can act as an alternative for cooking gas at home. In the meantime,
effluent obtained at the end of anaerobic digestion can be used as fertilizer. Moreover, the
cost of production is cheaper and easier to be operated. The size of portable household biodigesters
varies in the range of 1 to 150 m3 with common designs such as fixed dome, floating
drum, low-cost polyethylene tube, plug flow type and balloon type. Fixed dome is not costly
to be built, however, the gas pressure fluctuates substantially depends on the invisible volume
of biogas stored. Floating drum is more efficient as it provides larger space for biogas storage,
but it is costlier compared to the fixed-dome due to its complex design. For low-cost
polyethylene tube, it is much simpler than fixed-dome and floating drum, which indirectly
reduce the cost, while has its limitation on life span due to its simpler design. Next, plug flow
design has no moving parts, which reduces risks for failure, while on the other hand, it needed
biogas storage, since it cannot store sufficient amount of biogas. The fifth design is balloon
type that is commonly using reinforced plastic or synthetic caoutchouc as the main material
of construction that is resistant to extreme weather and UV, but it has higher potential of
leakage. This review paper aims to bring a further understanding of existing designs,
capabilities and limitations from different types of household bio-digester that have been
used.
Affiliation:
- Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
- Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
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