Sizing of an anaerobic biodigester for the organic fraction of municipal solid waste
- Authors: Kigozi, R. , Aboyade, A. O. , Muzenda, Edison
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Anaerobic digestion , Biogas digesters , Clean energy , Municipal solid waste management
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:4982 , ISSN 2078-0966 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13114
- Description: The anaerobic digestion (AD) of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) for biogas production is a potential solution to the growing challenges associated with municipal solid waste (MSW) management while simultaneously providing an alternative clean energy source. Biogas is produced by the anaerobic digestion (AD) of biomass using microorganisms in specifically designed plants called biogas digesters under controlled conditions or naturally in marshes and landfills. It is a rather clean and versatile fuel as opposed to fossil fuels. To design an efficient AD system, a proper understanding of the quality and quantity of available feedstock must be made as well as prevailing operating conditions. This paper represents steps that were taken to come up with an optimal size of biodigester to treat OFMSW produced at the University of Johannesburg’s Doornfontein Campus in downtown Johannesburg. The campus generates 232.2kg of OFMSW per day which required 30m3 of biodigester capacity.
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Technology selection of biogas digesters for OFMSW via multi-criteria decision analysis
- Authors: Kigozi, R. , Aboyade, A. O. , Muzenda, Edison
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Multi-criteria decision analysis , Municipal biowaste - South Africa , Biogas digesters
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:4788 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/11971
- Description: Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques are becoming increasingly popular in decision making for technology selection because of their ability to capture the multi-dimensionality of technologies. Biogas typically refers to an odourless gas produced by anaerobic digestion of biomass using microorganisms. Its production can occur naturally in marshes and landfills or more commonly, in specifically designed plants called biogas digesters under controlled conditions. For techno-economic efficiency of a biodigester, several factors such as cost of plant are taken into consideration. This paper examines various available technologies for biogas digesters using defined selection criteria via MCDA and chooses the best alternatives at various scales of biogas production for a case study in South Africa with municipal biowaste as the target feedstock. 14 biogas plants were analysed in this study and the Puxin and Bio4gas digesters were the best alternatives for small and large scale biogas production respectively.
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