A study of biogas production from poultry droppings, cow dung and human faecal wastes by anaerobic digestion

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the biogas yield at different ratios.  Biogas generation in Nigeria has been an alternative area of research towards energy generation due to the energy problem faced by the country and an alternative method for waste management through waste to wealth programme of the government. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of livestock and poultry manure to produce biogas can not only improve environmental problems but also effectively utilize waste. In order to maximize the resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, the AD experiments of mixing cow dung, human faecal waste and poultry droppings. Earlier studies on biogas production were carried out using poultry droppings, cow dung and swine waste under the following conditions: temperature of between 30°C and 32°C, slurry concentration of 9.0×10⁵ mg/l and pH of 5.8 – 7.2 for all the wastes. This study is focused on biogas production from human faecal waste, poultry droppings and cow dung. 150 g of each waste was weighed out and subjected to anaerobic digestion at a temperature of 32ºC, concentration of 8.0×10⁵ mg/l and pH of 5.0 – 7.2. The wastes were seeded with partially digested human faecal waste. Results showed that biogas production was greatest in the seeded waste of a mixture of human faecal waste, poultry droppings and cow dung to a volume of 220 ml at a slurry concentration of 7.7×10⁵ mg/l.