Investigating the Performance of Fiberglass Fixed Domed Type of Biogas Digester with
Modified Biomass from Cow Dung-Napier Grass (Pennisetum Purpureum)
on Small Scale
Duta Ramadhan Alfitra, Lilik Sutiarso, Joko Nugroho Wahyu Karyadi, Yudha Dwi
Prasetyatama, Rohadatul Aisy Luthfiyah
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural
Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Biogas is one of the alternative energies which comes from several sources of organic
ingredient such as grass, agricultural waste, and cattle manure to be used as fuel. Indonesia
becomes a country where the majority of society are cattle ranchers. Cow dung which is
produced from their cows could be utilized to become a material in making biogas. However,
this material has an obstacle which is the C/N 19 ratio. This work investigated that add material
Napier grass can increase the ratio of biogas production using fiberglass fixed dome type biogas
digester. In this study, fiberglass fixed dome type biogas digester was manufactured.
Afterward, the impact of proportion Napier grass, namely 0% Napier grass and 25% Napier
grass as well as their interaction on the biogas volume, biogas productivity, ratio of methane,
and long flame. The results showed that the raw material for mixed cow dung and Napier grass
increased as biogas volume 0.54 m3/day, biogas productivity 0.18m3/kg, ratio of methane
60.64% and long flame is 136 minute.
Keywords: biogas, cow dung, Napier grasses, performance digester.
1. Introduction
Indonesia as a developing country with a total population of about 250 million people faced
the complex challenges related to health, the environment, deforestation, and energy [1]. Most
Indonesians depend on fossil fuels that cannot be renewed so there is often a shortage of
energy. To overcome these energy problems, the Indonesian government conducts energy
conversion and conservation in accordance with Presidential Regulation No. 5 of 2006
concerning the National Energy Policy (KEN). Rural conditions in Indonesia are generally
characterized by low electricity access, poverty, low savings, lack of limited technical and
infrastructure services [2][3][4][5]. The largest proportion of energy used as primary cooking
fuel in this rural area is biomass. According to the World Energy Council, "70-90% of the main
energy source comes from traditional biomass as its main source" [6].
Deforestation related to the collection of biomass for cooking in rural areas has become a major
concern and has caused soil erosion and loss of arable land. Concern has directed global interest
and support to find other alternative energy sources. Which one of the alternative energy
sources proposed as a replacement for biomass fuel is biogas. Domestic biogas is considered
as an alternative to clean cooking for the poor in rural developing countries, this is
supported by the condition of rural communities in Indonesia where the average population has
one to two animals such as goats, cows, buffaloes, pigs, etc. But this has not been seen as a
great potential in the development of renewable energy due to lack of knowledge related to
management and supporting infrastructure. Biogas technology is a viable alternative to
biomass-based fuels [7] as well as to overcome the challenges of waste and energy by
increasing agricultural efficiency through the use of biogas residues as fertilizers and soil
conditioners [8].
Research related to the development and initiation of practical design biogas technology has
been done before. The results showed that the adoption of biogas technology on a large scale
requires farmer awareness and well-designed government policies, this is due to the initial costs
associated with expensive bio-digester installations. In addition, the analysis and evaluation
related to techno-economic also show that the C/N ratio produced by livestock is not yet
suitable and the methane gas production schedule is too long in operational terms.
Based on the explanation, the aim of the study lies in modifying the input process of the mixture
to increase the production of methane gas. One variation of the mixture used by the author in
this study is Napier grass. Napier grass for some people is considered a pest, but on the other
hand, Napier grass has a high C/N ratio value so that it can support the amount of biogas
production. While the digesters used in this study are fixed domed fiberglass type
digesters. This type of digester has advantages including semi-permanent construction that can
be moved, strong, durable, does not rust, leak-proof, and lightweight.
2. Material and Method
2.1. Location
The study was conducted in Mojosari, Srimartani Village, Piyungan, Bantul Regency, Special
Region of Yogyakarta.
2.2. Raw Material
The materials used in this study were cow dung, Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and
water.
2.3. Tools
In this research, the type of reactor used is fixed domed fiberglass digester. This digester
has the advantage that it can be seen directly changes in the volume of gas stored on the drum
because of the movement of the slurry that is inside the digester. To find out the parts in the
reactor can be seen in Figure 1. The reactor consists of several parts including (1) the digester
part which is used as a digestion of biogas material and also as a home for acid-forming bacteria
or methane gas-forming bacteria, (2) this digester part is a part that serves as a temporary slurry
shelter where when the gas starts production then the slurry that is in the main part of the reactor
will go up to the temporary slurry storage area (t).
So that the gas produced will be between parts 1 and 2. In this case the more gas produced, the
higher the slurry will be in the temporary storage room, and when the gas has begun to decrease
the slurry will return to the main part of the reactor again, (3) this section is an inlet hole that
functions as a place to enter waste material such as impurities into the reactor, (4) this section
is an outlet hole that functions as a place to remove waste that has been used. This digester
itself is made of fiberglass which has the advantages of which are durable, strong, does not rust
leak-proof, and also not permanent so that if it is not needed it can be moved to another place
(portable).
Figure 1. Digester Functional Design
2.4. Sample Preparation
The study was conducted with a batch type on the digester. Batch type is one of the methods
used to operate bio-digester to produce biogas with one input of material in the operation of
the digester so that when it no longer produces gas it will be replaced with new biomass. There
are two treatment in this research can be seen in Table 1
Table 1. Mass Composition
Mass Composition
Treatment
Napier Grass (kg) Cow Dung (kg) Water (liters)
P1 0 1000 2000
P2 250 750 2000
2.5. Analysis Method
2.5.1. Biogas Volume
Biogas volume calculation uses the principle of mass equilibrium, where biogas volume is
calculated from the height of the slurry on the drum because the movement of the slurry in the
fermentation chamber in the digester rises upward (t), can be seen in Figure 1. The calculation
can be seen in equation 1
V = 𝜋𝑟 2 t (1)
V = biogas volume (m3)
r = digester radius (m3)
t = height of slurry movement on the collecting drum
2.5.2. Biogas Productivity
Biogas productivity can be calculated using equation 2
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝐵𝑖𝑜𝑔𝑎𝑠
Productivity of biogas = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑
(2)
2.5.3. Methane Gas Content
Samples were taken as much as 10 ml using a syringe and then transferred into the vacutainer.
After that, the sample is analyzed using gas chromatography. The sample used for testing gas
chromatography was 4 ml, then the instrument would read the methane gas content for 7
minutes and the results would be read on the software on the laptop.
2.5.4. Flame Fire
The duration of the flame in this study was obtained from testing the fire on a biogas stove
using the stopwatch. Testing is done every hour at 15:00 WIB. The duration of the fire is
calculated starting from the ignition of the stove until the fire goes out which indicates the
production of biogas in the reactor has run out.
2.6. Statistical Analysis
Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 21.0. Principal Component Analysis
(PCA) is used to visualize the relationships between samples.
3. Discuss and Result
3.1. Substrate Characteristic
Characteristics of raw materials is the first step that must be done to determine the nature
and handling of the biogas manufacturing process that is appropriate and expected. Table 2
shows that a composition of 100% cow dung (P1) has a C/N ratio of 19% while in the treatment
with a proportion of 25% Napier grass: 75% cow dung C/N ratio shows a value of 21.25%.
Table 2. Substrate Characteristics
Cow Dung Napier Grass-Cow Dung
Characteristics
(P1) (P2)
Water content (%) 64.59 64.54
Total solid (%) 35.40 35.45
C (%) 49.87 44.5
N (%) 2.69 0.96
C/N ratio 19 21.25
The optimal C/N ratio to produce biogas production ranges from 20-30 [9]. From the table
above with the addition of elephant grass can increase the value of the C/N ratio. In producing
biogas if the C/N ratio reaches 30 will allow digestion and biogas production will probably be
the best level. If there is too much carbon biogas production will slow down, on the other hand,
if nitrogen the digestive process will slow down and when it becomes sludge will reduce the
quality when used as fertilizer.
3.2. The Relationship between Parameter of Production Biogas
Principal component analysis in this study is shown in Figure 2, which shows the
relationship between all the parameter biogas in general. It can be seen that for treatment
one (P1) the total variance explains more than 90.53% variance, namely PC 1: 61.64% and PC
2: 28.89%. From Figure 2 it can be seen that the value of PC 1 is more dominant than the value
of PC 2. Based on PC 1 it can be seen that there is a straight-line relationship between the
values of productivity, pressure, biogas volume, flame length, and methane gas. While on PC
2 it can be seen that the temperature of slurry and ambient temperature also have a proportional
equation.
While the PCA analysis for treatment two (P2) can be seen in Figure 3 which explains more
than 89.36% of the total variance consisting of PC 1: 68.81% and PC 2: 20.55%. Based on PC
1, it can be seen that there is a linear relationship between productivity, pressure, biogas
volume, flame length and methane gas produced. Whereas PC 2 is more influenced by slurry
temperature and ambient temperature which shows a linear relationship. From the two
treatments, it can be seen that by modifying the input on the digester, the biogas volume,
productivity, pressure, flame length and methane gas produced are greater when compared to
the results of just cow dung input.
(b)
Figure 2. PCA Loading Plot Parameter Figure 3. PCA Loading Plot Parameter
Biogas (P1) Biogas (P2)
3.3. Biogas Volume
The volume of biogas in this study was calculated from the change in height (t) of slurry that
rises to the surface of the temporary slurry or room 2 in the digester. Figure 4 shows that the
biogas volume yield for P2 is higher compared to P1. In P2 the volume of biogas produces an
average of 0.54 m3 /day while in P1 the volume produced is only 0.50 m3 /day. This is possible
because the addition of elephant grass causes the addition of the C/N ratio so that the volume
at P2 is higher.
treatment 1 treatment 2
0.7
0.65
Volume Biogas (m3)
0.6
0.55
0.5
0.45
0.4
0.35
0.3
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
Day
Figure 4. Volume Biogas (m3)
Figure 4 shows the phenomenon that gas production has increased in the 15-16 day phase. This
shows that the volume of biogas is influenced by the length of the fermentation process to
produce methanogens to produce methane gas. The higher volume of biogas indicates that
more methane gas is also produced. But there will be a decrease on days 25 to 30 due to the
anaerobic degradation process in biogas where the gas formed in the reactor has decreased.
3.4. Biogas Productivity
Biogas productivity is the amount of solid that can produce gas per mass of its solids. To
find out biogas productivity can be calculated by dividing the volume of gas (liters) produced
by the solid material (kg) that enters the reactor. From the analysis, it was found that P2 has
higher productivity compared to P1 which can be seen in Figure 5. This is because biogas
productivity has a relationship that is directly proportional to the volume of biogas. The higher
the volume of biogas, the higher the level of biogas productivity.
Figure 5 shows the same phenomenon with the volume of biogas, which has increased in the
half phase and will decrease on the last day. From the experiments, it was found that the
productivity value of P2 was 0.182 m3/kg/day while in P1 it showed productivity results
of 0.167 m3/ kg/day.
0.24
treatment 1 treatment 2
Productivity of Biogas (lm3/kg)
0.22
0.2
0.18
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
Day
Figure 5. Productivity Biogas (m3/kg)
3.5. Methane Gas Content
Methane (CH4 ) is a gas element that determines the quality of biogas. If biogas has high
methane content, the biogas will produce a good flame or have a high heating value. The results
showed that the methane gas content in P2 was higher compared to P1. This is possible because
the fresh material of Napier grass is still doing respiration to the presence of oxygen so that it
produces more gas which is dominated by CO2. Figure 6 shows the phenomenon that the
formation of methane gas is influenced by the temperature of the slurry in the reactor, this is
because it relates to the ability of biogas-forming bacteria to live around 27-28o C.
treatment 1 treatment 2
70
Methane Gas Content (%)
65
60
55
50
45
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
Day
Figure 6. Methane Gas Content (%) in Cow Dung Material and Napier Grass Mixture
Other factors affecting methane gas production are residence time and dilution rates. The
longer the residence time combined with high dilution will produce a high methane
content. Mohammad 2016 [10 ] states that diluting the substrate can accelerate production from
biogas.
3.6. Long Flame
The flame test was observed by burning the hose directly into the biogas container and seeing
the color of the burning fire. The results of the flame test showed that in P2 can last for 136
minutes while in P1 122 minutes. The color flame in this study predominantly blue with a little
mix of the color orange, it is reasonable because it caused at the time of combustion still
contains many gases other than methane. The blue color of the flame indicates that the content
of methane is very high. the same result was also shown by the Fairuz (2015) study [11] which
said that the blue flame had very high methane content compared to other gas content besides
methane. The results of the flame test can be seen in Figure 7
P1 P2
Figure 7. Fire Test
4. Conclusion
The use of biogas digester type fiberglass domed fixed with charging method Batch with
input material modification can increase the yield of biogas. The results showed that with P2
the results of biogas volume, biogas productivity, methane gas content, and flame length were
better when compared to P1. Factors affecting biogas yield include environmental temperature,
slurry temperature, and pressure. The results showed that the use of biogas technology has great
potential in overcoming the energy crisis in the household environment as well as answering
challenges related to sustainable agricultural waste management.
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