Are small scale biogas plants possible?
A pilot biogas plant project in Murdoch University aims to come up with a standardised, small-scale biogas plant for use at commercial and residential facilities. The researchers, led by the school’s Environmental Technology Centre director Dr Jaya Nair, said the project, will assess areas such as electricity generation capacity using different organic wastes and management options for sludge produced. “This project mainly looks into using a particular type of waste, as the gas generated varies with the waste type, the management options of the sludge and optimise the process under different climatic conditions for maximum treatment of waste and gas recovery.” Dr Nair said. The study will use a 2 cubic metre plant to study biogas plants with 2-10 tonne capacity, she said. One tonne of organic is expected to generate some 3-7kW of electricity – depending on the type of waste used and on the conditions under which the plant operates. The biogas technology involves feeding waste into a se
