Organic waste, as it decomposes, releases bio-gas containing the potent greenhouse gas methane. The BiogasPro captures, stores and then pressurises the gas which is piped off for use in cooking, water heating or generating electricity, thereby avoiding its release into the atmosphere.
The BiogasPro is typically buried underground with the two inspection covers visible. The inlet cover is opened to receive all biodegradable kitchen and garden waste. The BiogasPro mirrors nature by biodegrading organic materials in a passive, biological environment.
Just add water: an inlet and outlet point enables easy connection to a sewage or grey water system
The BiogasPro yields gas and treated water, within three weeks of installation. Desludging is required about once every ten years. Odours are insignificant and only detectable when the covers are opened, while flies are repelled naturally through a by-product of the digestion process.
The system pays for itself in as little as three years when fed optimally. No electrical or chemical input means a lifetime of savings. On site biogas production provides resilience against future energy price increases and supply disruptions.
The BiogasPro biogas digester was certified by SAPGA in 2010. It performs beautifully without any mechanical or chemical inputs. Organic waste releases biogas containing the potent greenhouse gas Methane. Replacing electricity, LPG or paraffin as the fuel for cooking, heating water for washing and bathing. It replaces a kitchen waste disposal system and gives the added benefit of free heat. Customers include government departments, corporates, farmers, schools and households – both rural and urban. Clean energy from waste, zero emissions, and nutrient rich water recycling, naturally. “Mirrors nature, engineered for performance, good for the Earth”.
Did you know?
Biogas systems use bacteria to break down wet organic matter like animal dung, human sewage or food waste. This produces biogas, which is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide and also a semi-solid residue. The biogas is used as a fuel for cooking, lighting or generating electricity. Using biogas can save the labour of gathering and using wood for cooking, minimise harmful smoke in homes and cut deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Biogas plants can also improve sanitation and the residue is useful as a fertiliser.Individual biogas systems are already benefitting several million households in Nepal, India, China and elsewhere. Larger systems are also used, for instance to process farm waste in Germany, and at sewage treatment works in the UK.
How biogas works
A simple biogas plant has a container to hold the decomposing organic matter and water (slurry), and another to collect the biogas. There must also be systems to feed in the organic matter (the feedstock), to take the gas to where it will be used and to remove the residue. In fixed dome biogas plants (the most common type), the slurry container and gas container are combined, so that the gas collects under a rigid dome over the slurry. As the slurry breaks down, the biogas which is produced pushes some of the slurry into a separate reservoir. When the biogas is taken off, the slurry flows back.A biogas plant needs some methane-producing bacteria to get it started. Once the plant is producing biogas, the bacteria reproduce and keep the process going. Cattle dung contains suitable bacteria, and a small amount of cattle dung is often used as the ‘starter’ for a biogas plant, even when it is not the main feedstock or a bacteria starter pack can be added.
How biogas plants are used
Rural families often use animal dung as the feedstock for a biogas plant. The dung from two to four cows (or five to ten pigs) can produce enough gas for all cooking and sometimes lighting too. The family needs to feed the plant once each day with a mixture of dung and water. Food waste can also be used as the feedstock. Food waste breaks down and produces gas more quickly than dung, so the slurry does not need to be held for as long; these plants are therefore smaller and more suitable for urban homes. A family or community using just their own food waste can replace between 25% and 50% of their cooking fuel.Larger-scale biogas schemes can produce sufficient gas to generate electricity. This is frequently done in sewage treatment plants in the UK, and there are a number of large farm-based plants in Germany and elsewhere.
Biogas plants can work well for many years, provided that they are constructed well and checked regularly. If the plant is made from masonry, care must be taken to make sure that the structure is water-tight and gas-tight. For this reason a prefabricated system where the quality assurance takes place in a factory is preferred.
What are the benefits of using biogas?
The primary benefit of biogas is replacing other fuels for cooking. In rural areas, biogas usually replaces wood-fuel, which is often in short supply. Studies show that households with biogas plants save three hours per day on average, because collecting dung and feeding it to a biogas plant takes much less time than collecting wood and preparing a cooking fire. Biogas is available whenever it is needed and cooks food quickly, so it is easier to prepare hot food before children go to school.The actual details of the above will vary largely between rural and urban applications, and the size of the interventions. In summary, however, biogas systems offer multiple benefits. The digester-effluent is usually a good fertiliser, and, if connected to latrines, biogas plants can provide valuable sanitation services. For cooking and other thermal household tasks, it is simple and reasonably efficient to use the gas directly in conventional low-pressure gas burners. Biogas can also provide lighting when used in mantle lamps. In societies where suitable feedstocks are readily available, small family-sized biogas digesters have considerable potential.
AGAMA BiogasPro6
Based on 10 years of experience in the design and implementation of Biogas systems this International and National award winning design was developed specifically to meet the waste management needs of households and farms.
It can be used in the rural context as an on-site thermal energy generator; in the urban context as a sanitation and energy generation technology; and for all contexts, as an integrated waste management system.
Appropriate for all households, rural clinics, schools and community centres.
Highly reliable with no moving parts prone to failure and all quality assurance performed in a controlled factory environment.
Specifications
Mechanical specifications
- Reactor volume 4050 litres
- Gas store volume 950 litres
- Expansion volume 1000 litres
- Total volume 6000 litres
- Access chamber 520mm diameter
- Max gas pressure 6.75 kPa
Dimensions – BiogasPro-6- Diameter (max) – 2160mm
- Height – 2225 mm
- Weight – 290 kg – estimate
- Wall thickness 8mm, stiffened in areas to 11mm
- Sewer inlet depth – 330mm
Loading specifications- Feeding rates are feedstock & Temperature dependent.
- A maximum of 1000 litres of water can be added daily.
- Expect a difference in gas production between winter and summer months. Loading should be reduced in winter to account for the slower biological activity
- Daily loading limits:
• Cow manure 50kg/day
• Food waste 35kg/day
• Grass silage 25kg/day
Energy specifications- Biogas production is proportional to the amount of feedstock and operating temperature
- Biogas contains approximately 60% methane (CH₄), 39% carbon dioxide (CO₂) and 1% hydrogen sulphide (H₂S)
- Each cubic metre of biogas has the heating capacity of approximately 0.43 kg
Environmental specifications- Operating temperature: +10°C to +40°C
- COD reduction 50% – 98% (feedstock and loading conditions dependent)
AGAMA BiogasPro3
The AGAMA BiogasPro-3 is our latest digester, and was launched in 2012 for testing and to the market in 2013.
It is best suited small households in rural or new development applications and in formal sewer environments where the application is below-ground with the inlet sewer depth of 330 mm.
The BiogasPro3 is shipped in 4 pieces to reduce the transport costs.
Specifications
Mechanical specifications
- Reactor volume 3000 litres
- Gas store volume 600 litres – estimate
- Expansion volume 600 litres – estimate
- Total volume 4200 litres – estimate
- Access chamber 420mm diameter
- Max gas pressure 5.8 kPa
Dimensions – BiogasPro-3- Diameter (max) – 2100mm
- Height – 2090 mm
- Weight – 120 kg – estimate
- Wall thickness 4mm, stiffened in areas to 6mm
- Sewer inlet depth – 600 mm max
Environmental specifications- Operating temperature: +10°C to +40°C
- COD reduction 50% – 98% (feedstock and loading conditions dependent)
Loading specifications- Feeding rates are feedstock and temperature dependent. A maximum of 500 litres of water can be added daily
- Expect a difference in gas production between winter and summer months. Loading should be reduced in winter to account for the slower biological activity
- The recommended minimum ratio of fresh feedstock to water is 1:2
Energy specifications- Biogas production is proportional to the amount of feedstock and operating temperature
- Biogas contains approximately 60% methane (CH₄), 39% carbon dioxide (CO₂) and 1% hydrogen sulphide (H₂S)
- Each cubic metre of biogas has the heating capacity of approximately 0.43 kg LPG
- The nominal daily energy output is equivalent to approximately 0.5 kg LPG
The AGAMA BiogasPro does the following- Mixes the contents for increased gas generation efficiency
- Naturally decomposes biodegradable materials without the addition of any chemicals
- Stores the biogas that is generated by this natural decomposition
- Generates an internal pressure which allows the biogas to be piped directly to the point of use
- The digester mixing, gas storage and pressurisation are all achieved without any mechanical input at all i.e. no pumps or motors of any kind
- No electrical or chemical input means a lifetime of savings providing resilience against future energy price increases and supply disruptions
- The system pays for itself in as little as three years when fed optimally
Biogas Appliances
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