TITLE:
A Technical Experiment on Biogas Production from Small-Scale Dairy Farm
AUTHORS:
Ahmad Al-Rousan, Anas Zyadin
KEYWORDS:
Anaerobic Digestion; Biogas; Cow Manure; Jordan
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems,
Vol.4 No.1,
March
27,
2014
ABSTRACT: The key objective of this study was to
evaluate the economic feasibility of producing biogas from privately-owned
dairy farm in the North of Jordan. This experiment did not adopt Best-Available-Technology (BAT) but rather traditional unit
manufactured with minimized costs through installing locally produced materials to avoid economic burden on the
farmers’ production costs. A thermophilic biodigester unit was built
sub-surface with 22 m3 capacity (15 m3 manure tank plus 7 m3 biogas holder) in a relatively small scale
dairy farm. The daily feed was about 500 liter of cow slurry (150 - 200 liter cow manure) and the remaining were production liquids. The retention time was
approximately 25 - 30 days and the seasonal temperature measured was
about 18°C - 20°C. The unit was thermally insulated; therefore, the temperature
fluctuation was slightly around +/-3°C. The daily biogas production was
estimated at 7 m3 equivalent to 4 kg of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or 11 (12.5 kg) LPG cylinders per month worth
US$140. The methane percentage was 60% in relatively warm temperature (18°C - 20°C) and approximately 56% in colder temperature