VOLUMETRIC ASSESSMENT OF LAB-BASED GAS PRODUCED FROM

CONTROLLED WASTE COMPONENTS

*Peter A. John & **Ekpo E. Antai

+234-803-9693897; peanijo@yahoo.com

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Sampling Design
Waste material made up of 100% organics were collected, segregated and identified. The waste
components includes market waste (A), organic domestic waste (B), and animal droppings (C), wood
chippings/sawdust (D) was added using Controlled Waste Mix ing Method (CWMM). For the in-situ
corrosion exercise, special in-situ/ bench top set-up was prepared using diluted, sterilized, synthesized
sea habitat water in a microcosm. This was subjected to ambient laboratory conditions.

MATERIALS
Gasometric apparatus
Waste specimen
Identified species isolated and purified from the specimen.

THEORY
Gas production can be improved by an equal improvement in some environmental factors.
Control set-up was also included.

Waste conversion: Microbe-Mediated Catabolic Process

Figure 1: Volumetric Assembly

The apparatus illustrated above is an assembly made up of four (4) pieces, namely; double neck round
bottom flask , flexible connecting cord, condenser with calibrated burette and funnel. All these are held
in place by retort stands. This set-up is a closed system, which does not allow the escape of matter
(gas). It has a major advantage of being used as an apparatus for both batch and continuous
processes. Gas release during catabolic processes can be indicated by upward displacement of the
paraffin liquid contained in the U-region of the flexible cord. Upward displacement of meniscus is
compared with the initial level of the meniscus to obs erve changes. This change in level is recorded
from the values on the calibrated burette in the condenser and can be expressed as;

Gas volume (ΔL) = L 2 – L 1;

where L1 and L2 is the initial and final level of meniscus respectively.