Measuring small-scale biogas capacity and production
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This report should be cited: IRENA (2016), Measuring small-scale biogas capacity and production, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Abu Dhabi
About IRENA The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international co-operation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. www.irena.org
Prepared by Samah Elsayed, IRENA Programme Officer, Capacity Building in Statistics For further information or to provide feedback, please contact the IRENA statistics team ([email protected]). This report is available for download: www.irena.org/publications .
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CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1
What is a biogas digester? ...... 1 Why are biogas statistics collected? ...... 1 Guidance structure ...... 2
2. THE MAIN PARAMETERS AFFECTING BIOGAS PRODUCTION ...... 3
Digester technologies ...... 3 Plant capacity ...... 4 Total feedstock volume ...... 4 Feedstock properties ...... 5 Feedstock retention time ...... 5 Temperature ...... 5
3. PLANT CAPACITY ...... 6
Administrative data ...... 6 Survey of standardised biogas plant types ...... 7 Survey of biogas plant dimensions ...... 7
4. BIOGAS PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION ...... 12
Plant capacity ...... 13 Appliance use ...... 13 Feedstock use ...... 15 Fuel substitution ...... 18 Direct measurement ...... 19
5. OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT BIOGAS PRODUCTION ...... 20
Financial and technical performance ...... 20 Emissions reductions...... 21 Energy access and socioeconomic impacts ...... 21
REFERENCES ...... 23
APPENDIX 1: BIOGAS PLANT CALCULATION TABLES ...... 25
APPENDIX 2: BIOGAS DATA COLLECTION IN CHINA ...... 29
Rural renewable energy statistics system ...... 29 Green county monitoring system ...... 30
1. INTRODUCTION
Interest in small-scale biogas technologies has increased in recent years across Africa, Asia and Latin America. This has been driven by the socio- KEY REQUIREMENTS` FOR economic and environmental benefits of using DIGESTER OPERATION biogas, such as reduced firewood and kerosene consumption, lower emissions of greenhouse gases • An airtight environment with no and indoor air pollutants and the possibilities to use oxygen biogas to treat human and animal wastes (Bunny & • Besselink, 2006). Given this trend, biogas use needs Moderate temperatures to be accurately monitored and measured. • No light • Small feedstock particles with This guide aims to help energy statisticians to broken down fibres and minimal measure and estimate the capacity and production lignin (wood) content of biogas plants, as well as other aspects of biogas • For some feedstocks a starter production. The main focus is on data collection bacteria is also necessary from small-scale household, communal or farm biogas plants that produce biogas in a continuous monitoring of renewable energy targets may only process (i.e. feedstocks are added and biogas need very basic data that can be obtained from a removed every day). few biogas questions in a census or household survey. The following are some examples of how The methods described here may also be used for biogas statistics may be used and the sorts of data large-scale biogas plants or plants producing that might be needed. electricity, but such facilities should have monitoring devices to measure production more easily and National energy statistics accurately. In some countries, biogas contributes significantly to the national energy balance. It may be used both as a fuel and to generate electricity. To produce WHAT IS A BIOGAS DIGESTER? these statistics, biogas data collection should focus The main part of a biogas plant is the digester, which on plant capacity and production of biogas and is an airtight container in which bacteria break down electricity. organic waste through a process of anaerobic fermentation.1 This generates a gas (biogas) that is Project and policy monitoring More detailed biogas statistics may be required to mostly methane and carbon dioxide (CO2). This gas can be used for cooking, heating and lighting, or it monitor implementation of biogas projects, can be used to generate electricity. As more material programmes and policies. Important variables to is added to the digester, a liquid waste (slurry) is monitor can include: the number and size of biogas also produced, which can be used as a fertiliser. plants installed; their condition; the amount of biogas produced; and a range of socio-economic Biogas digesters can vary greatly in capacity, impacts. ranging from small-scale units used by households to larger communal and industrial digesters. Tracking progress towards targets Feedstocks added to the digester can include many Household biogas plants are often used to produce types of biomass such as animal, food and biogas for cooking, as biogas is a clean and modern agricultural waste, but materials that are difficult for alternative to using solid biofuels. Statistics about the bacteria to digest (e.g. wood) should be the numbers of households using biogas are needed avoided. The amount of biogas produced depends to track progress towards clean energy goals, such on a range of factors including the type and amount as the energy access target under the Sustainable of biomass used, the digester size and temperature. Development Goal for energy (SDG 7) “to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” WHY ARE BIOGAS STATISTICS COLLECTED?
The amount and type of biogas data collected will Measuring environmental impacts depend on how this information will be used. For Biogas can reduce the environmental impact of example, project and policy monitoring may require energy use in many ways. Switching to biogas can the collection of specific and detailed data, while reduce CO2 emissions from energy use, as well as methane emissions (if biogas is produced from
1 Anaerobic fermentation means that the fermentation or digestion occurs in the absence of oxygen.
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waste). It can also have positive benefits for indoor GUIDANCE STRUCTURE air pollution and land degradation when it replaces the use of solid biofuels. To measure these impacts, The remainder of this document is divided into four information may need to be collected about several sections. social and environmental indicators as part of the collection of biogas statistics. The first section describes the main variables influencing digester operation such as the digester International energy statistics technology, the type and amount of feedstock used, This guide, produced as part of the statistics plant capacity and digester temperature. capacity building programme at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), is intended to The second section looks at two ways to collect data help countries collect and report their biogas data in about the capacity of a biogas plant. This includes an internationally comparable format. guidance about how to make volume calculations based on typical biogas plant designs. In energy balances, biogas data is usually reported in megajoules (MJ), so conversion factors to convert A third section describes five different ways to from cubic metres of gas to MJ are given in section estimate or measure biogas production and 4 of the guidance. Other advice is also given in the consumption, including: estimates based on text about where different elements of biogas digester size; estimates based on appliance use; production and consumption should be recorded in estimates based on feedstock use; estimates based an energy balance on fuel substitution; and direct measurement of gas production. With the methodologies and techniques described here, it is hoped that the availability of biogas data The final section describes how the environmental will improve, so that IRENA’s statistics will capture and socio-economic impacts of biogas use may be more information about this rapidly growing part of monitored, including: emissions reductions; effects the renewable energy sector. on women and children; and health benefits.
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2. THE MAIN PARAMETERS AFFECTING BIOGAS PRODUCTION
This section presents an overview of some of the the dome at the top of the digester. Biogas is main variables that affect biogas production removed from the digester using a pipe attached to including: the digester type; digester size (measured the top of the dome. either as volume or expected production level); the type and amount of feedstock used in the digester; As biogas is produced, slurry is pushed out from the feedstock retention time; and temperature. digester through the outlet pipe into a displacement tank. When the biogas is used, this slurry flows back into the digester. Some designs may also include an additional gas storage tank connected to the gas KEY DIGESTER TYPES outlet pipe.
• Fixed dome plant The typical Chinese fixed dome plant often consists (Hemisphere, Deenbandhu and of a cylindrical digester with a round top and flat or Chinese designs) curved bottom. Other variations of the fixed dome • Floating drum plant plant include the Deenbandhu and Deenbandhu 2000 model biogas plants developed in India, which • Balloon/bag digester have a dome at the top and a curved base (Kudaravelli, 2013). Another type is the CAMARTEC model designed by GIZ for use in Tanzania, which is DIGESTER TECHNOLOGIES built as a series of brick rings in the shape of a dome on top of a flat base (Sasse et al, 1991). There are a number of different designs of small- scale biogas digesters and recording the type of Floating drum plant digester is important for estimating its capacity, particularly in cases where the digester is partly underground. If the owner of the digester has an operator’s manual or watched it being installed, then they should know what type of digester they have. If they do not know, then the data collector will need to look at the digester to determine its type.
Fixed dome plant
Figure 2: Floating drum plant
The floating drum plant was designed and developed in India. It comprises a brick lined pit that is often partly underground (the digester) and a drum above ground is used as the gas collector. A popular design is the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) digester. The drum is typically
Figure 1: Fixed dome plant made of steel although some newer designs use fiberglass reinforced plastic. The fixed dome plant was originally developed in China, where there are now several million of these Water and feedstocks are combined in a mixing pit types of biogas plant. which then flows into the underground digester through the inlet pipe. As gas is produced, it is The digester in a fixed dome plant consists of an collected in the drum, which moves up and down a underground pit lined with concrete or brick, with an central guide pipe depending on the amount of gas inlet pipe that is used to add feed to the digester. being stored. The gas is held under pressure from Gas is produced under pressure and is stored under
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the weight of the drum, which can be increased with capacity in this way. For example, in India, the the addition of weights. expected amount of gas produced each day may be called the plant capacity or plant size. Biogas As more feedstocks are added, slurry flows out production can be reported in this way because the through the outlet pipe. A gas outlet pipe is also feedstocks used in India usually do not change very attached to the drum to remove gas from the plant. much, leading to a predictable daily production level. In other countries (e.g. China), the feedstocks A variation of this design is the small-scale above used for biogas production vary greatly from place ground floating drum plant developed in India by to place and at different times, so plant capacity is the Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI). recorded as the volume of the plant rather than the The ARTI biogas plant is made for the digestion of volume of production per day (INFORSE South Asia, household food waste and is made from two plastic 2007). water tanks with their tops removed and the smaller tank placed upside down inside the larger one. Pipes To avoid confusion, this guidance will use “rated are added to the outer tank to add feedstocks and daily gas production” in calculations when the remove the slurry and a gas outlet pipe is added to calculations use an expected daily production level the top of the inner tank (AIDG, 2009). and will use “total plant volume” if the calculations are referring to the volume of the plant. Balloon/bag digester Rated daily gas production The rated daily gas production is the volume of gas that a biogas plant is designed to produce each day if operated under optimal conditions. Measured in m3/day, this shows the amount of biogas that is produced (not the amount of methane).
The energy content of biogas will mostly depend on the methane content of the biogas, which should be about 65%. This needs to be taken into account when converting figures from gas production to energy production. Biogas will also contain other Figure 3: Balloon digester gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen and small amounts of hydrogen, but these have little impact Balloon digesters are often used in Latin American on the energy content of the biogas. countries. This type of digester is usually made from a large, strong plastic bag connected to a piece of Total plant volume drainpipe at either end, with these pipes being used The total plant volume is the sum of two to add feedstocks and remove slurry. components: the digester volume and the gas storage volume. It is measured in m3. To avoid damage to the bag, the digester is usually placed in a trench and the trench is slightly deeper The digester volume is the maximum amount of at the slurry outlet so that the slurry will settle there. slurry that the plant can hold, while the gas storage As gas is produced the top of the bag inflates and volume is the amount of gas it can hold when full of the gas can be removed through an outlet pipe in slurry. The latter is usually a proportion of the the top of the bag. Gas pressure can be increased by former. The digester volume may also include a placing weights on top of the bag (Vögeli et al, safety margin or “dead zone volume”, which is used 2014). to prevent waste overflow on days when biogas production is higher than normal or biogas use is In China, a common variation of this design is the unusually low. bag digester, which is a circular concrete, brick or plastic lined container covered with a plastic bag or TOTAL FEEDSTOCK VOLUME tent. As with a fixed dome plant, inlet and outlet pipes are used to add feedstocks and remove slurry The total feedstock volume is the average amount and the gas is collected and removed from the bag. of material added to the biogas plant each day. This includes the amount of waste and other feedstocks PLANT CAPACITY added each day (waste volume) and the amount of water added to these inputs (added water volume). The capacity of a biogas plant is the maximum total The total feedstock volume should be recorded in volume of gas and slurry that it can contain. m3/day, but this can be measured in litres and However, not all countries measure biogas plant converted to cubic metres (with three decimal
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places) by dividing the measured amount by 1,000 matter divided by the total (wet) weight of the (i.e. 1 m3 = 1,000 litres). feedstock and is recorded as a percentage of the total (wet) weight. Waste volume The waste volume is the volume of organic material So, for example, if 1 kilogram (kg) of household added to the digester. This can include animal, kitchen waste contains 600 g of water, then its human, food and agricultural waste, as well as other moisture content is 60% and its total solid content is feedstocks collected and used in the digester. 40%.2
Added water volume Volatile solid content For optimal biogas production, water must usually The volatile solid content is the proportion of the be added to the waste, and other feedstocks put solid material that can be digested by the bacteria into the digester. The owner or operator of the and turned into biogas in the digester. This will be biogas plant should know how much water they different for each type of waste or feedstock. must add when they are putting material into the digester. However, if this is not known or cannot be The volatile solid content is measured as the weight measured directly, the added water volume can be of volatile solids in the material divided by the total assumed to equal the waste volume (most biogas weight of solids in the material and is recorded as a plant manuals recommend adding water to the percentage of the total solid content. Estimates of waste in a ratio of 1:1). the volatile sold content of different feedstocks are not measured in the field, but are usually taken from the biogas literature.
MAIN PARAMETERS FEEDSTOCK RETENTION TIME
• Plant capacity The retention time is the average amount of time • Total feedstock volume that feedstocks will stay in the digester before they • Feedstock properties are pushed out through the outlet pipe. The • Feedstock retention time retention time is measured in days and is simply • Temperature calculated as the digester volume divided by the total feedstock volume (i.e. daily waste and added water volume). Because the digester volume is
usually measured in m3, this is why the feedstock FEEDSTOCK PROPERTIES volume is also usually recorded in m3.
For each type of material added to the biogas TEMPERATURE digester, the amount of biogas produced will depend on how much of the material can be The temperature within the digester is an important digested and converted into biogas by the bacteria variable that affects the speed of gas production in the digester. (production per day) and the total amount of biogas
that can be produced from any feedstock. The amount of material (feedstock) that can be digested will depend on two variables: the total In small-scale biogas plants, the bacteria that solid content and the volatile solid content of the produce biogas work most effectively when the material added to the digester. If these two figures temperature of the slurry is 20-45°C. Within this are known, then the amount of biogas that can be range, biogas production will vary, so the size of a produced can be calculated using figures found in biogas plant is usually designed to ensure that daily various studies (see Section 4 for some examples). gas production is maximised.
Total solid content In colder climates, the slurry may need to be heated Most organic material contains a significant amount to keep it within this temperature range, in which of water. This is known as its moisture content and, case some of the biogas may be used for this as it is only water, does not contribute to biogas purpose. If this is the situation in a country, then this production. share of the biogas production should be recorded as consumption in the energy sector in that country. The total solid content of a feedstock is the opposite of this and is the amount of dry matter present in the material. This is measured as the weight of the dry
2 Note that this calculation does not include any additional water added to the waste before it is put into the digester.
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3. PLANT CAPACITY
The section starts by describing how administrative If there is a wide variety of different biogas plant data and local knowledge should be used to develop designs used in a country or if biogas plants are built the overall approach to collecting biogas capacity in many different sizes, then a more complicated statistics. It then presents two options for collecting questionnaire design may be needed to collect the this data: measurements required to calculate capacity.
1. Survey of standardised plant types Sampling and interpretation of results 2. Survey of biogas plant dimensions To reduce the cost of data collection, survey locations are often organised into clusters and To simplify calculations, tables at the end of this information about the number of biogas plants in report present estimates of total plant volume for a different parts of a country can be used as part of range of different digester types and dimensions the process to select survey locations. (diameter, height, length, etc.). For example, at a very simple level, administrative ADMINISTRATIVE DATA data can show where most biogas plants have been built, so that the selection of survey sites can focus In many countries, most small-scale biogas plants on those areas. For a more complex survey design, have been built under biogas projects or this information can also be combined with other programmes supported by the government, non- relevant variables (e.g. local climatic data) to stratify governmental organisations (NGOs) or other similar locations before selecting clusters. agencies. These organisations may have databases that record useful information such as the number of Administrative data is also be useful for interpreting biogas plants built in different areas, the type and the survey results, so that the total capacity size of biogas plants built and possibly even the recorded in the survey can be multiplied by an detailed location of biogas plants (for an example appropriate factor to produce an estimate for the from China, see Appendix 2).3 whole country.
If administrative data such as this is available, it If the administrative data includes details about should be collected as part of the development of a variables such as the size and types of biogas plants biogas survey, because it can be used to improve in different parts of a country, it may also be used to survey design. Even if such information is not adjust the survey results to make them more available, obtaining local knowledge and expert representative (post-stratification). opinion may still be useful to assist with some aspects of the survey design. Annual updating between surveys The third important use of administrative data is to Biogas plant designs and capacities update national biogas statistics between surveys. Information about the different types of biogas plants in a country can be used in the questionnaire Most types of biogas digester should work for many design. years, so collecting detailed biogas data every year will not be cost-effective. Instead, data can be For example, if all of the biogas plants in a country collected using surveys every five years, and are built to one design, then the dimensions that administrative data can be used to update these should be measured and recorded in the biogas statistics (with estimates) in the years between survey can be standardised on the questionnaire, surveys. the conversion of these measurements into volumes can be simplified, and the training of data collectors For example, the number of new biogas plants built can focus on these measurements. Furthermore, if in a country each year can be compared to the biogas plants are built in a limited number of number at the start of the year, so that capacity and standard sizes that are well known to plant owners production figures can be increased by a similar or can be easily recognised in the field, then it may proportion. If administrative data is available split be possible to collect capacity data using a few into plant types and/or size categories, then the simple categories (see Module M1 below).
3 Other useful data sources for survey development include household or business energy surveys, population and housing censuses, living standards surveys or agricultural censuses. If information about energy use is collected in these surveys (e.g. the types of energy used for cooking in households), then this can also be used to develop a sampling strategy for a biogas survey. Indeed, where biogas is important in a country or growing rapidly, energy statisticians should make sure that it is included as a possible answer to any energy questions in national surveys (see Section 5).
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national statistics can be updated using this more M1: Plant capacity (rated daily gas production) detailed information. 1. Have you used your biogas plant in the last The main problem with annual revisions such as this year? (tick one) is that they do not take into account the capacity of biogas plants that stop working in a year. This Yes should be subtracted from the capacity of new No – I stopped using it last year plants built in a year to get the net additions to No – I haven’t used it for over a year capacity. However, considering that most biogas plants have probably been built in the last 5-10 years 2. What is the main type of waste that this in many countries, such an adjustment may not be plant is designed to use? (tick one) necessary in most places.
Cattle SURVEY OF STANDARDISED BIOGAS PLANT TYPES Poultry
If administrative data suggests that most biogas Don’t know plants in a country have been built to a standard specification and in a limited number of sizes, then 3. How much gas is the plant designed to it may be possible to collect data by asking owners produce each day? (tick one or write in) or operators about the size of their biogas plant. Don’t know (go to ….) For example, biogas plants built under the National 1.2 m3/day Domestic Biogas and Manure Program (NDBMP) in 1.6 m3/day Bangladesh have been built in twelve different sizes, 2.0 m3/day with six different levels of expected biogas 2.4 m3/day production for owners that will feed the digester 3.2 m3/day with cattle or poultry waste. Deenbandhu biogas 4.8 m3/day plants in India are also often built to take cattle Other (write in) waste and produce one of four possible levels of daily gas production: 2 m3, 3 m3, 4 m3 and 6 m3 (Kudaravelli, 2013). Daily gas production statistics can be converted to total plant volumes during data processing, using If biogas plant owners or operators know the the design specifications for biogas plants built in a expected daily gas production of their plant or have country (for example, see Table 1). an operating manual or guidebook, then this information can be collected using questions such as It is also recommended that plant owners should be those shown in questionnaire Module M1. asked whether they have used their plant in the last year. This information can be used to estimate how It is recommended that this approach should only be many biogas plants stop working each year. Routing used where capacity is measured as daily gas in the questionnaire (“go to” instructions) can also production, as biogas plant owners will probably not direct the data collectors to collect the know the total volume of their plant and will not be measurements of a biogas plant if its owner does not able to answer questions about this. know the rated daily gas production.
Table 1: Standard sizes (models) of fixed dome SURVEY OF BIOGAS PLANT DIMENSIONS biogas plants used in Bangladesh If there are many different types and sizes of biogas Rated daily gas Effective digester volume plants in a country or if plant owners do not know production (m3) the capacity of their plants, then it will be necessary (m3/day) Cow Poultry to measure or estimate the dimensions of each plant and calculate its total volume. 1.2 3.0 2.3 1.6 3.8 3.0 Most biogas plants are built using one of the designs described in Section 2 and, for each of these, the 2.0 4.8 3.9 total plant volume can be calculated from one or 2.4 5.8 4.5 two simple dimensions (usually diameter and length 3.2 7.8 6.0 or height). For situations where part or all of a biogas plant is buried under ground, these 4.8 11.8 9.3 dimensions may be difficult to measure directly. Source: derived from NDBMP (2013). Therefore, the following text also presents some
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ideas about how these dimensions may be M2: Plant capacity (type and dimensions) estimated. 1. Indicate the type of biogas plant that is To calculate gas production, it may also be being measured. (tick one) necessary to know how the total plant volume is divided into the digester volume and gas storage Fixed dome plant (hemisphere) volume. In most cases, these two volumes cannot be Fixed dome plant (Deenbandhu) measured directly, so Table 2 below presents Fixed dome plant (Chinese design) average values for the digester and gas storage Floating drum plant volumes (as a proportion of total plant volume). These figures should be adjusted to reflect local Balloon/bag digester biogas plant designs if expert knowledge or other Non-standard design (go to Q3) information is available. 2. Write in the dimensions of the biogas plant Table 2 also presents multiplication factors that can as indicated below. (to the nearest cm) be used to estimate the total plant volume (and its two components) from the rated daily gas m cm production of different types of plants. The main Diameter assumption in the table is that the gas storage Digester height (floating drum) volume in a biogas plant is usually designed to hold Gas holder height (floating drum) 60% of the rated daily gas production. Again, these Length (balloon/bag digester) figures can be adjusted with local information if available. 3. If non-standard design, sketch the plant below and show the main dimensions Questionnaire Module M2 presents some questions that could be used to record biogas plant dimensions. This should be adjusted to reflect the types of digesters used in a country (i.e. some of these questions may not be needed).
The remainder of this section describes how data collectors can measure these dimensions in the field and how they can be used to calculate plant volume for each of the main types of biogas digester.
Table 2: Proportions and multiplication factors to convert total plant volume and rated daily gas production into digester volume and gas storage volume
Digester and gas storage volumes Multiplication factors to convert as a share of total plant volume gas production to plant volume Biogas plant type Gas Gas Digester Total Digester Total storage storage volume volume volume volume volume volume Fixed dome plant 80% 20% 100% 2.4 0.6 3.0 Floating drum plant 70% 30% 100% 1.4 0.6 2.0 Balloon/bag digester 75% 25% 100% 1.8 0.6 2.4 Note: If a fixed dome plant has a rated daily gas production of 1 .2 m3/day, the multiplier above suggests that total plant volume would be 1.2 x 3 = 3.6 m3. However, the above figures are averages and should be replaced by figures based on local biogas plant designs where available (e.g. see Table 1).
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Fixed dome plant (hemisphere design) Fixed dome plant (Deenbandhu design) This plant design consists of a hemisphere with a flat The Deenbandhu design combines a hemisphere bottom. Countries that use this design of biogas with a curved base. Based on the specifications of a plant include: Viet Nam (KT Model); Tanzania number of different sizes of Deenbandhu digesters (CAMARTEC Model); and Cambodia (modified given in Kudaravelli (2013), the depth of the curved Deenbandhu design). base of this design (k) is usually about 40% of the radius (r) of the digester.
r
D D k Figure 4: Fixed dome plant (hemisphere design)
Measurement: For this type of biogas plant, it is only Figure 5: Fixed dome plant (Deenbandhu) necessary to measure the diameter of the base of the digester (D). This can be done as follows: Measurement: To calculate the volume of a Deenbandhu digester, it is also only necessary to • If the dome is located above ground, the measure the maximum diameter (D) of the digester diameter can be calculated by measuring the and this can be done in the same way as described circumference of the dome at its base and for the hemisphere design. dividing this measurement by 3.14 (π). An alternative is to measure across the top of the Volume calculation: For data processing, it is dome and divide the measurement by 1.57. necessary to calculate the radius (r) of the digester (r = D/2) and the depth of the curved base (k • If the dome is buried underground, the diameter = 0.4r). The total plant volume (Vp) can then be can be estimated by measuring the distance calculated as the volume of a hemisphere and from the gas outlet pipe to the closest side of sphere segment: the displacement tank and multiplying the answer by 2. (This assumes that the 2 1 = 3 + (3 2 + 2) displacement tank has not been built partly on 3 6 top of the dome). The digester volume (Vd) and gas storage volume Volume calculation: For data processing, the total (Vg) can be calculated as before (by multiplying the plant volume (Vp) can be calculated as the volume total plant volume by 0.65 and 0.35 respectively) of a hemisphere: and a lookup table for these volumes across a range of diameters is given in Table 11 in Appendix 1. 2 3