Improvement of Biogas Quality and Quantity for Small-Scale Biogas-Electricity Generation Application in off-Grid Settings: A Field-Based Study
Henry Wasajja,
Saqr A. A. Al-Muraisy,
Antonella L. Piaggio,
Pamela Ceron-Chafla,
Purushothaman Vellayani Aravind,
Henri Spanjers,
Jules B. van Lier,
Ralph E. F. Lindeboom
Affiliations
Henry Wasajja
Water Management Department, Sanitary Engineering Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Saqr A. A. Al-Muraisy
Water Management Department, Sanitary Engineering Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Antonella L. Piaggio
Water Management Department, Sanitary Engineering Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Pamela Ceron-Chafla
Water Management Department, Sanitary Engineering Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Purushothaman Vellayani Aravind
Process and Energy Department, Faculty of 3mE, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
Henri Spanjers
Water Management Department, Sanitary Engineering Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Jules B. van Lier
Water Management Department, Sanitary Engineering Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Ralph E. F. Lindeboom
Water Management Department, Sanitary Engineering Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Small-scale electrical power generation (2S. Therefore, to efficiently use the biogas from existing decentralized anaerobic digesters for electricity production, higher quality and stable biogas flow must be guaranteed. The installation of a biogas upgrading and buffer system could be considered; however, the cost implication could be high at a small scale as compared to locally available alternatives such as co-digestion and improved digester operation. Therefore, this study initially describes relevant literature related to feedstock pre-treatment, co-digestion and user operational practices of small-scale digesters, which theoretically could lead to major improvements of anaerobic digestion process efficiency. The theoretical preamble is then coupled to the results of a field study, which demonstrated that many locally available resources and user practices constitute frugal innovations with potential to improve biogas quality and digester performance in off-grid settings.
