Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Submitted by
ARULPRAGASAM M K (15EUMC015)
BHARATH RAJASEKAR S (15EUMC023)
GOKUL RAJULU G (15EUMC039)
JAYANTH M (15EUMC053)
JAYASURIYANATHAN B (15EUMC054)
ASIF UMAR N (16EUMC504)
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
in
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
MAY 2017
1
SRI KRISHNA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY
(An Autonomous Institution)
(Approved by AICTE and Affiliated to Anna University, Chennai)
ACCREDITED BY NAAC WITH “A” GRADE
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
SIGNATURE SIGNATURE
This project report submitted for the End semester mini project presentation held on
08.05.2017
2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank the management for supporting us during our entire project
and encouraging us to be innovative and backing us in everything we did.
We would like to thank Dr. J. JANET, Principal, Sri Krishna College of Engineering
and Technology, Coimbatore, for allowing us to do this project and providing required time to
complete the same.
We express our sincere thanks to our beloved head of the department Dr. P.
ASHOKA VARTHANAN, for his kind words of encouragement in our endeavour.
We deem in our duty our sincere admiration and heart gratitude to our project guide
Mr. ARUN KURIEN REJI for having effectively guided and supervised throughout this
project by imparting his erudite knowledge and personalized guidance blended with
exemplary patience and encouragement.
We thank all the teaching faculty of our department for their constant encouragement
and support during the project.
We express our sincere thanks to all the laboratory assistants for permitting us to work
in the laboratory. Also we would like to thank all the subordinates of the laboratory.
Finally, we would like take this opportunity to thank our family members, friends and
well-wishers who have helped us co-operated for the successful completion of our project.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 5
1. INTRODUCTION 6
1.1 Water Hyacinth 6
1.2 Prosopis Juliflora 7
1.3 Remedy 7
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 9
2.1 Sample collection and processing 9
2.2 Anaerobic Digestion Process 9
2.3 Fermentation Slurry 10
2.4 Fermentation Slurry as Fertilizer 11
3. FABRICATION OF DIGESTER 12
3.1 Design 12
4. RESULT 13
4.1. Temperature Variations 13
4.2. pH Variations 13
4.3. Biogas Production 14
4.4. Biogas Composition 15
4.5. Biogas Upgrading 15
5. DISCUSSION 16
5.1 Comparative Biogas Production (m3) 16
with Time (Days)
6. FINAL VIEW 17
6.1 Applications 17
6.2 Advantages 17
6.3 Disadvantages 18
6.4 Conclusion 18
4
ABSTRACT
5
CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
6
1.2 Prosopia Juliflora
Prosopis juliflora is and can be a very aggressive invader and replaces
native vegetation and takes over range-lands. It has become established as
noxious and as an invasive weed in Africa, Asia, Australia and elsewhere.
Though the species has played a role in changing land use and the livelihood
security of huge populations of the world, due to poor management
practices, it has colonized many important ecosystems, creating a negative
pressure on biodiversity. It is hard and expensive to remove as the plant can
regenerate from the roots. The tree reproduces by way of seeds, not
vegetatively. Seeds are spread by cattle and other animals that consume the
seed pods and spread the seeds in their droppings. A mature plant can
produce hundreds of thousands of seeds. Seeds remain viable for up to 10
years. With deep penetrating roots, it can draw water from deeper layers. Its
roots are able to grow to a great depth in search of water. It remains green
even the other plants nearby are dried. Even though the underground water
level goes to a very low level it has the capability to absorb moisture from
the air. Thus it remains nourished by getting water from all possible ways.
1.2 Remedy
However, recent studies have found that this nuisance weed is a very good
source of renewable energy for the biosynthesis of biofuel. Since the plant
has abundant nitrogen content, it can be used a substrate for biogas
production. Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic substrates is a much more
complex process, requiring the syntrophic and cooperative interaction
between several types of microorganisms. It is a complex, natural, multi-
stage process of degradation of organic compounds through a variety of
7
intermediates into methane and carbon dioxide, by the action of a
consortium of microorganisms. It is a process divided in four key stages,
with different trophic groups intervening in each one of them.
In the first, the hydrolysis stage, organic macromolecules
are broken down into monomers like sugars, fatty acids and amino acids. In
the second, the acidogenesis stage, these components are further broken
down into VFAs (volatile fatty acids: short-chained fatty acids like acetate,
butyrate or propionate), organic acids and alcohols, along with small
amounts of hydrogen. The largest fraction of H2 and acetate comes from the
third step, the acetogenesis stage, in which bigger VFAs and other organic
acids from the previous stage are converted into the two aforementioned
substances. After the final stage, the methanogenesis, methane and carbon
dioxide are formed as the main final products.
Better yields of biogas are obtained using mixture of
animal waste and lignocellosic waste since the animal waste particularly the
cow dung has the significant syntrophic mechanism enhanching bacteria.
Therefore, this work was carried out to explore the potential of biogas
production from co-digestion of cow dung with lignocellosic materials viz.,
water hyacinth. Hence, in this study an effort was made to study the
cumulative biogas generation during fermentation.
8
CHAPTER-2
MATERIALS AND METHODS
9
The following types of digestion are distinguished according to the
temperature in the digester:
• Psychrophilic digestion (10˚C - 20˚C, retention time over 100 days),
• Mesophilic digestion (20˚C - 35˚C, retention time over 20 days),
• Thermophilic digestion (50˚C - 60˚C, retention time over 8 days).
10
2.4. Fermentation Slurry as Fertilizer
During the digestion process, gaseous nitrogen (N) is converted to ammonia
(NH3). In this water-soluble form the nitrogen is available to the plants as a
nutrient . A particularly nutrient-rich fertilizer is obtained if dung and urine
is digested. Compared with solid sludge from fermented straw and grass, the
liquid slurry is rich in nitrogen and potassium. The solid fermentation
sludge, on the other hand, is relatively richer in phosphorus. A mixture of
solid and liquid fermented material gives the best yields. The nutrient ratio is
then approximately N:P2O5:K2O = 1:0.5:1. A fermented slurry with a lower
C/N ratio has better fertilizing characteristics. Compared with fresh manure,
increases in yield of 5% - 15% are possible.
11
CHAPTER-3
FABRICATION OF DIGESTER
3.1 Design
1. We assume the mineral water can as the body of the
digester.
2. Then a hole is bored in the side of the digester with
diameter slightly less than ¾ inches.
3. A long ¾ inch pipe is inserted into the hole up to a distance
which is slightly above the base of the digester. This pipe
acts as the charge inlet.
4. Another hole of same diameter is bored in the side and a
PVC pipe is inserted up to the centre of the digester. This
pipe acts as the charge outlet.
5. A hole of 5mm diameter is bored in the neck of the digester
and a tube with a gate valve is inserted up to the centre.
6. The top of the digester is covered by a lid.
7. All the fitted regions are closed completely using m-seal.
8. Since the digester is transparent, it is prone to have sunrays
inside it which is not suitable for the anaerobic bacteria to
live. So the digester is completely painted black.
12
CHAPTER 4
RESULT
4.2. pH Variations
pH varied widely during the digestion process. The variations can be
attributed to the bacterial action during the hydrolysis, acidification and
methanization of feed. The processes produce hydroxyl and hydrogen ions
thus varying the pH. It ranged between 7.4 - 8.5.
13
4.3. Biogas Production
The gas production has a maxima on the 32nd day. This can be related to the
growth of bacteria within the digester after the 32nd day the bacteria start to
starve and competition for food and elimination. The reduced population of
the microbes leads to a significant drop in gas production. This can be
improved by periodic loading the digester with fresh feedstock.
14
4.4. Biogas Composition
The gas was found to contain a mix of gases. On average the biogas was
found to contain between 49% - 53% methane (CH4), 30% - 33% carbon
dioxide (CO2), 5% - 6% nitrogen (N2) and traces of hydrogen sulphide
(H2S).
15
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION
16
CHAPTER 6
FINAL VIEW
6.1 Applications
Direct combustion
Absorption heating and cooling,
Cooking,
Space and water heating,
Drying, and
Gas turbines
Fueling Internal Combustion Engines
Fuel cells for production of mechanical work and/or electricity.
Cleaned up gas
Gas pipelines
Provide illumination
Steam production.
Catalytic chemical oxidation
Methane can be used in the production of methanol.
Bio-plastics
6.2 Advantages
The Hyacinth and Juliflora can be transported to a movable
digester
We can have clean and eco-friendly approach.
The plants which obviously becoming threat to the biodiversity
can be gradually eliminated besides producing bio-fuel.
17
Recirculation of phosphorous, which helps reducing the pressure
on the world's limited phosphorous resources
6.3 Disadvantages
Biogas produced have slightly low calorific value of energy
(39850 kJ/kg)than petrol, diesel, or LPG .
There is methane content in biogas which is 21 times more
dangerous than carbon dioxide so don’t allow it to comes out
directly into the environment without burning.
Compressing the biogas into commercial cylinders is bit costly
because it requires lot of advanced equipments but as well as this
technology has full potential to become future fuel instead of
CNG.
6.4 Conclusion
The project revealed that it is possible to produce biogas from a mixture of
water hyacinth, prosopis juliflora and cow dung. This study forms an attempt
to use the unwanted plants as substrates for methane production. Further
studies are needed for the enhancement of methane generation from the
different substrates for their further use. The use of pretreated water hyacinth
for biogas generation therefore, will be a good energy source for those
residing in the coastal areas, which face the menace of clogging of
waterways by the weed.
18