Track: Energy

Abstract

The ever increasing demand for energy could be solved by exploring the prospects of the renewability and availability of the input raw materials; food and animal wastes coupled with the availability of cost-effective materials from local sources for development. This work studies the design, fabrication and performance evaluation of a smart system for the production of biogas. The plant was designed using Autodesk Inventor and fabricated with stainless steel due to its high resistance to biological corrosion. An Arduino Uno Microcontroller was also connected to a pressure, pH and temperature sensors to monitor the process parameters of the developed biogas plant. Optimization of the process parameters was carried out using the central composite design model and response surface methodology. Taking the biogas yield as the response of the designed experiment, the data obtained were statistically analysed to obtain a suitable model for optimization of biogas yield as a function of the process parameters.  The results obtained also show the temperature, pressure, pH and organic loading rate are critical factors that influences the yield of biogas production hence the need for proper monitoring. This will complement electricity generation for domestic uses and production of organic fertilizers to boost agricultural productivity.