I have been searching for some method of using the food waste,

decomposable organic material and kitchen waste efciently, and came

across information on producing bio-gas from organic waste.
The bio-gas produced from food waste, decomposable organic material and
kitchen waste, consisting of methane and a little amount of carbon di oxide is
an alternative fuel for cooking gas (!"#. $lso, the waste materials can be
disposed o% efciently without any odor or &ies and the digested slurry from
the bio-gas unit can be used as an organic manure in the garden.
'omponents of the (io-gas !lant
The ma)or components of the bio-gas plant are a digester tank, an inlet for
feeding the kitchen waste, gas holder tank, an outlet for the digested slurry
and the gas delivery system for taking out and utili*ing the produced gas.
This pro)ect is also useful for students to have a hands-on learning experience
in constructing a +ini (io-"as !lant, using locally available material.
+aterial ,e-uired.
/. 0mpty !1' can 23 ltrs capacity. / 4o. (to be used as 5igester Tank#
6. 0mpty !1' can 73 ltrs capacity. / no. (to be used as "as 8older Tank#
(+ake sure the smaller can 9ts inside larger one and moves freely#
:. ;7 mm dia pvc pipe. about 73 cm long (to be used for feeding waste
material#
7. :6 mm dia pvc pipe. about 23 cm long (9xed inside gas holder tank as a
guide pipe#
2. 62 mm dia pvc pipe. about <2 cm long (9xed inside the digester tank as a
guide pipe#
;. :6 mm dia pvc pipe. about 62 cm long (9xed on digester tank to act as
outlet for digested slurry#
<. +-seal or any water-proof adeshive
=. "as outlet system. !lease see >tep 7 below for re-uired materials and
construction
Tools re-uired
5o not re-uire many tools here. $ hack saw blade for cutting the cans ? pipes
and a sharp knife for cutting holes on the cans are all the tools we need.
$dditional accessories
$ single burner bio-gas stove or a (unsen (urner used in school laboratories
(ought this 23 ltrs capacity !1' can, which will act as the digester unit and
removed the top portion of the can, by cutting it with a hack saw blade.
The smaller white can, which will act as the gas holder 9ts inside the red one.
8ere, again removed the top of the white can, also with the help of a hack
saw blade
;7 mm, :6 mm and 62 mm dia !1' pipes which will be used for feeding the
kitchen waste, guide pipe for the gas holder and guide pipe 9xed with the
digestion chamber respectively. $ small piece of :6 mm dia pipe will be used
as outlet for the slurry.
items re-uired for the gas delivery system. got these items from a hardware
store
/. (all valve . one no ( to ad)ust the gas &ow#
6. @T@ )oint . one no ( to connect the gas holder and the ball valve#
:. 'ap to block one end of @T@ )oint . one no
7. 'oupling or $dapter . one no (to connect vertical end of @T@ in to the gas
collector#
2. 4ipple. one no (added to the coupling in to the gas collector#
;. "as pipe (&exible# . two meters
<. (arb . one no (9tted with the gas pipe, to )oin with the (all valve#
=. 'lip . one no (used for crimping the barb with the gas pipe and make it
leak-proof#
A. Te&on tape . one roll (used as thread tape in all )oints#
8ere I have marked the cuts to be made in the bottom of the gas collection
tank. The smaller hole on the left for gas delivery system, center hole for
9xing the :6 mm guide pipe and ;7 mm hole for 9xing the waste feeding
pipe on the right side. +ade these holes with the help of a sharp knife and
hack saw blade.
The next image is Inside of the gas holder showing the :6 mm guide pipe
(center# and the ;7 mm feeding pipe 9xed with +-seal
Top view of the gas holder showing the feeding pipe, central guide pipe and
the gas delivery system. I have closed the feeding pipe withe an old lid (red
one#. This will facilitate opening the feed pipe only during feeding the system.
5igestion tank 9tted with the central guide pipe and the outlet pipe for the
slurry.
'ompleted unit. I have removed the gas pipe, so that the )oints will get cured
without any stress.
Bait for a day or two before feeding the system, allowing all )oints to get
cured and become leak-proof.
Initially, cow-dung mixed with water will be fed in to the system, which will
start the gas formation process. >ubse-uently, food waste, decomposable
organic material and kitchen waste will be diluted with water and used to
feed the system. The gas holder will rise along the guide pipes based on the
amount of gas produced. Be can add some weight on top of the gas holder to
increase the gas pressure. Bhen we feed the system, the excess digested
slurry will fall out through the outlet pipe, which can be collected, diluted and
used as organic manure.
Initial production of gas will consist of oxygen, methane, carbon di oxide and
some other gases and will not burn. These gases can be released to the
atmosphere by opening the ball valve at least three C four times.
>ubse-uent gas will consist of about <3 to =3 percent methane and the rest
carbon di oxide, which can be used in a single bio-gas burning stove or a
(unsen burner.
Total cost of this proto-type system is about one thousand Indian ,upees
(about 63 dollars#
This is a basic prototype of a (io-gas system using the food waste,
decomposable organic material and kitchen waste to produce gas. $n one
thousand litre capacity 5igestion tank will be sufcient for a small household
for daily cooking purpose. The bigger commercial models provide a water
seal between the digestion tank and gas holder tank.
Dou can get further information on kitchen waste based mini (io-gas plant at
the following links.
http.CCe-biogas.blogspot.inC
http.CCwww.samuchit.comCindex.phpE
optionFcomGcontent?viewFarticle?idF=?ItemidF/3
'harged the digester tank with cow dung diluted with water. !laced the gas
holder tank and left it for two three days. The cow dung slurry started the
process of gas forming.
"as formation started and the gas holder tank gets lifted up. I have placed
two bricks on top of the gas holder to get more gas pressure.
4ote for students who are doing this as their >chool !ro)ect.
/. Take guidance from your teacher while using the gas in a stove or (unsen
burner.
6. 'ollect surplus food and wastage during lunch, dilute and feed the system.
:. Hruit peels, extracted tea powder, waste milk and milk products can also
be used for feeding the system.
7. 5I 4IT J>0 eggshells, Inion peels or left-over bones in this system as
they will a%ect the efcient functioning of the system
2. !lant some seedling
;. while feeding, collect the slurry from the outlet, feed the seedlings and
watch them grow