GENERATION OF METHANE GAS FROM COW DUNG WITH THE AID OF AN ENZYME USING A LOW COST FABRICATED BIO-DIGESTER

BY

LASISI, KAYODE HASSAN CVE/07/0330

ABSTRACT Household energy is increasingly becoming a scarce resource in developing countries. In these countries, cooking accounts for about 80% of all household energy consumption. Motivated by the need to meet the ever-increasing energy demand and sustainability consciousness, some establishment and organisation have promoted renewable energy technologies such as biogas. However, further development of biogas technology in developing countries is constrained by lack of proper understanding of the populace and poor management of waste of different categories. This paper presents the findings of a research that was carried out to determine the generation of biogas from cow dung using a low cost fabricated bio-digester. A cylindrical drum of capacity 175 litres was used as bio-digester and fed with 80kg of cow dung mixed with warm water in proportions of 2:1. Also, calcium hydroxide [Ca (OH)2] was incorporated into the experiment to remove the carbon(IV)oxide from the biogas yield. Results from this study shows that the digestion of cow dung resulted in an appreciable biogas yield. Comparing this result with sample of cow dung mixed with warm water in the ratio 1:1 and taking into account the natural state of the waste when collected for experiment, it is of considerable range when compared with the standard values. Ultimately, digestion of cow dung is one way of addressing the problem of insufficient gas production in developing countries. Key words: Biogas, cow dung, digestion, Developing Countries.

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