GENERATION OF METHANE GAS FROM COW DUNG WITH THE AID OF A

TERMITIC ENZYME USING A LOCALLY FABRICATED BIO-DIGESTER

LASISI, KAYODE HASSAN.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Federal University of Technology, Akure

Author; Tel: +2347032308193, E mail: senserltd@gmail.com

Abstract

Household energy is increasingly becoming a scarce resource in developing countries. In these

countries, cooking accounts for about 80% of all household energy consumption. Motivated by the

need to meet the ever-increasing energy demand and sustainability consciousness, some

establishment and organisation have promoted renewable energy technologies such as biogas.

However, further development of biogas technology in developing countries is constrained by lack

of proper understanding of the populace and poor management of waste of different categories. This

paper presents the findings of a research that was carried out to determine the generation of biogas

from cow dung using a low cost fabricated bio-digester.

A cylindrical drum of capacity 100 litres was used as bio-digester and fed with 40 kg of cow dung

mixed with warm water in proportions of 2:1. Also, calcium hydroxide [Ca (OH)2] was incorporated

into the experiment to remove the carbon(iv)oxide from the biogas yield.

Results from this study shows that the digestion of cow dung resulted in an appreciable biogas yield.

Comparing this result with sample of cow dung mixed with warm water in the ratio 1:1 and taking

into account the natural state of the waste when collected for experiment, it is of considerable range
when compared with the standard values. Ultimately, digestion of cow dung is one way of

addressing the problem of insufficient gas production in developing countries.

Key words: Biogas, Cow dung, Bio-digester, Digestion, Developing Countries.

Introduction

The use of advanced forms of energy, such as electricity, has improved the quality of public lives

around the world. However, majority of the people living in developing countries do not easily

access such forms of energy and, therefore, they entirely depend on solid fuel forms like wood to

meet their basic needs such as cooking and lighting. According to GTZ (2007), cooking accounts for

about 90% of all household energy consumption in developing countries. At the same time Okure

(2005) observed that over 60% of the total wood produced in developing countries citing Uganda as

an example is used as wood fuel in form of either charcoal, especially in the urban areas, or firewood

mostly in the rural areas.

In 1970, some group of women in Santa Fe of Costa Rica which is located in Central America

facing similar hardship faced by developing countries in Africa decided to seize an opportunity that

conquered the threat to their financial, environmental, and physical well-being by carrying out some

research work to find an alternative to solve the problem they are facing. Finally, they arrive at using

the animal waste from their cattle to make biogas for cooking and for them to utilize the available

cow waste for this alternative cooking fuel, the group needed to build bio-digesters, which then was

only in use in few parts of Costa Rica (Werner and Uta, 2002).
The scientific principles of anaerobic digestion with its production of methane gas are well known. It

has been employed for many years to stabilize the sludge produced by municipal treatment plants

while the methane gas has been used as a source of fuel heating or operating a generator. Until

recently, anaerobic digestion has been considered too costly to be economically feasible for treating

animal wastes. However, as the costs of energy and fertilizers continue to increase, the economics of

anaerobic digestion on the farm will become more attractive. Consequently, anaerobic digestion

presents us with the unique method of not only treating the animal waste but also reducing ones

dependence on the supply of fossil fuels (James, 2002).

In 2006, with the aid of a donation from the United Nation Women's Group in Vienna, Austria and

the technical assistance of the Agriculture Ministry office in Guatuso of Costa Rica, the Santa Fe

Women's Group was able to build sixteen bio-digesters. The women of Santa Fe, however, are not

finished with this important biogas project. They are still dedicated to increasing energy

independence through biogas by extending the privilege of a bio-digester to other deserving families.

Hence, from the encouraging results gotten from recent time from this new energy (biogas)

generation process, it will in no doubts constitute a significant part of the future energy supply

(Lawbruary, 2006). Hence, this present work on the generation of methane gas from cow waste

using a locally fabricated anaerobic bio-digester.

Justification of the Study

In developing countries like Nigeria, Libya, Ghana etc. which rely on crude oil as their main energy

source, with time the crude oil which was discovered at a particular point in time may eventually

come to an end unexpectedly. Therefore, an alternative means of generating energy is imperative so

as not to put all ones egg in one basket as a nation.

Also, a significant body of research that has been published focused on biogas production from

different wastes. This therefore leaves room for more research work to be done in the process of

biogas production using cow wastes as applied in this project.

Literature Review

Biogas

Biogas is a gas produced by anaerobic digestion (in the absence of oxygen) of organic material,

largely comprised of methane (about two-thirds). Biogas is often called "marsh gas" or "swamp gas"

because it is produced by the same anaerobic processes that occur during the underwater

decomposition of organic material in wetlands (IBA, 2016) Biogas originates from bacteria in the

process of bio-degradation of organic material under anaerobic (without air) conditions. The natural

generation of biogas is an important part of the biogeochemical carbon cycle. Methanogens

(methane producing bacteria) are the last link in a chain of micro-organisms which degrade organic

material and return the decomposition products to the environment. In this process biogas is

generated, a source of renewable energy (Energypedia, 2016) Knowledge of the fundamental

processes involved in methane fermentation is necessary for planning, building and operating biogas

plants.

The Three Stages of Biogas Production

Biogas microbes consist of a large group of complex notably the methane-producing bacteria in

anaerobic treatment of organic wastes and it is an orderly and controlled metabolism of the substrate in which

energy and nutrients are made available to the microbial cell with a portion of the organic material converted

to methane and carbon dioxide . The whole biogas-process can be divided into three steps: hydrolysis of
complex materials, acid production (acidification), and methane formation. They are briefly

explained below.

Hydrolysis of complex materials

During this first step, the organic matter is enzymolyzed externally by extracellular enzymes

(cellulase, amylase, protease and lipase) of microorganisms. Bacteria decompose the long chains of

the complex carbohydrates, proteins and lipids into shorter parts. For example, polysaccharides are

converted into monosaccharides. Proteins are split into peptides and amino acids.

Acid production (Acidification)

Acid-producing bacteria involved in the second step, convert the intermediates of fermenting

bacteria into acetic acid (CH3COOH), hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). These bacteria are

facultatively anaerobic and can grow under acid conditions. To produce acetic acid, they need

oxygen and carbon. For this, they use the oxygen solved in the solution or bounded-oxygen. Hereby,

the acid-producing bacteria create an anaerobic condition which is essential for the methane

producing microorganisms. Moreover, they reduce the compounds with a low molecular weight into

alcohols, organic acids, amino acids, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and traces of methane. From

a chemical standpoint, this process is partially endergonic (i.e. only possible with energy input),

since bacteria alone are not capable of sustaining that type of reaction.

Methane formation

Methane-producing bacteria, involved in the third step, decompose compounds with a low molecular

weight. For example, they utilize hydrogen, carbon dioxide and acetic acid to form methane and

carbon dioxide. Under natural conditions, methane producing microorganisms occur to the extent

that anaerobic conditions are provided, e.g. under water (for example in marine sediments), in
ruminant stomachs and in marshes. They are obligatory anaerobic and very sensitive to

environmental changes. In contrast to the acidogenic and acetogenic bacteria, the methanogenic

bacteria belong to the archaebacter genus, i.e. to a group of bacteria with a very heterogeneous

morphology and a number of common biochemical and molecular-biological properties that

distinguish them from all other bacterial general. The main difference lies in the makeup of the

bacterias cell walls.

Factors Affecting Biogas Production

The metabolic activity involved in the production of biogas (i.e microbiological methanation) is

dependent on the following factors namely temperature, pH+, organic loading rates, influent solids

concentration, toxic substances, nutrients, and retention time (flow-through time).

Research Methodology

This research was a laboratory based work; hence, majority of the facilities in the water and

environmental laboratory of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria were utilized.

Procurement of Materials

At the inception of this research, local materials used in fabricating the bio-digester were procured

from the Obas market in Akure. The materials acquired for the bio-digester are 100 litres drum, two

2 inches adaptors, half length of 2 inches pipe, one length of inch pipe, control valves of

different sizes, a white keg, uPVC Abro gum and a silicon sealant(Doctor fix), gas hose and 45

angle elbows.
Other tools and apparatus used are hacksaw, soldering iron, steel rod, bolts and nuts, grinding disc,

washer, thermometer, bowl and bucket, stirrer, motorcycle rubber tyre tube, iron clips, steel tape,

measuring cylinder, boiler, spatula, beaker, gas cylinder.

Waste and chemical used are Cow dung, Calcium Hydroxide Ca(OH)2, Distilled water and Tap

water.

Experimental Procedures

Construction of the Bio-Digester

The bio-digester was initially constructed and it has the following components

i. Digestion chamber

ii. Slurry inlet and outlet

iii. Gas outlet and cover

iv. Stirrer.

Each of these components as constructed can be seen in Plate 1 to Plate 4.

Plate 1: The Digestion Chamber Plate 2: The Slurry Inlet and the Outlet
Plate 3: The Gas Outlet with the fixed Cover. Plate 4: The Stirrer Mechanism

Collection of Animal Waste

The waste (cow dung) used throughout this research work was collected from a private agricultural

farm along Igoba- Ado road, Ondo State. In the course of the collection of the waste, necessary

health precaution was taken by wearing hand gloves and nose mask.

Removal of carbon (iv) oxide and Other Trace Gases from Methane

As methane is being produced from the digestion of the waste, other gases such as carbon(iv)oxide

and hydrogen sulphide, are also produced. Such gases have to be removed with an appropriate

prepared solution of calcium hydroxide thereby leaving only methane gas.

Extraction of Enzyme from Termites and its Application

From earlier works, it was observed that enzymes from termite can serve as a catalyst to hasten and

increase methane production. The process of extracting enzyme from termite was then incorporated
into this research to aid the production of biogas from cow dung and to increase the yield of the

biogas that will be produced. The processes taken to achieve this are as follows.

Live termites were caught from their termitarium and then brought to the laboratory for further work.

They were subjected to anaerobic condition for four days to put them to death, after which their

heads were then separated from their bodies using a forceps. Their bodies were then sterilized using

alcohol (ethanol) and they were crushed inside a mortar and pestle. Warm water was then added to

the grinded termites, stirred, and filtered. The filtrate which is the prepared enzymes was then added

to the waste in the digester.

Experimental Set-up

The bio-digester that was used for the work was firstly constructed. After, the cow dung was poured

into a bucket and 40 kg of it was weighed using a mass weighing balance, the waste was then mixed

with warm distilled water. The mixing ratio adopted for this work is 1: (i.e. the waste to water

ratio is 40 kg of waste to 20 litres of distilled water). The mixing of the waste and water was done

inside a container with a rod to form slurry which was then gently fed into the digester through the

inlet. After feeding the digester, gas hose was connected from the bio-digester to the collecting

cylinder jar. Firstly, a hose was connected from the pipe of the gas outlet to the inlet of the conical

flask which contain the solution of the prepared calcium hydroxide and this was done to remove the

carbon(iv)oxide and other minute gases produced alongside with the methane gas. After, another

hose which serves as the outlet was connected to the keg from the conical flask, the hose being held

fixed with a candle wax to prevent leakages. The calibrated keg was allowed to rest with its side and

the gas was collected via the upward delivery gas method. Finally, a gas hose was connected to the

cylinder gas jar from the calibrated keg (Plates 5 and 6).
Plate 5: The Experimental Set-up (Front view) Plate 6: The Experimental Set-up (Rear View)

Results and Discussion

The experimental set-up was for 65 days. The temperatures of both the bio-digester placed at the

back of the laboratory and the laboratory room were taken everyday. Also, noticeable changes in the

biogas produced were recorded every 15 days after the initial fermentation period of 20days for three

times. The results and graphs are presented and discussed in Table to and Figures to .
 Table 1: Result of the Methane Produced during the Initial Fermentation Period

S/N Reading on Methane Produced Sum of Methane Temperature Temperature Average

Measuring (ml) Produced In (C) Out (C) Temperature
Keg (ml) (ml) (C)
1 10 0 0 29 30 29.5
2 10 0 0 29 31 30
3 10 0 0 20 22 21
4 10 0 0 25 26 25.5
5 10 0 0 24 22 23
6 10 0 0 25 24 24.5
7 10 0 0 28 31 29.5
8 10 0 0 24 26 25
9 10 0 0 28 30 29
10 10 0 0 25 26 25.5
11 10 0 0 24 21 22.5
12 10 0 0 24 24 24
13 10 0 0 24 23 23.5
14 10 0 0 25 23 24
15 10 0 0 24 23 23.5
16 10 0 0 26 25 25.5
17 10 0 0 24 22 23
18 10 0 0 24 22 23
19 10 0 0 25 24 24.5
20 10 0 0 24 22 23
 Table 2: Result of the Methane Produced during the First 15 Days after Fermentation

S/N Reading on Methane Produced Sum of Methane Temperature Temperature Average

Measuring Keg (ml) Produced In (C) Out (C) Temperature
(ml) (ml) (C)
1 10 0 0 25 23.8 24.4
2 9.975 23 23 24.5 23.2 23.9
3 9.949 32 55 26 26 26
4 9.922 51 106 25.8 25.3 25.6
5 9.892 28 134 25.3 24.2 24.8
6 9.864 14 148 25.2 23.8 24.5
7 9.84 53 201 25.3 24 24.7
8 9.815 26 227 26.8 25.8 26.3
9 9.789 24 251 24.5 23.2 23.9
10 9.765 33 284 23.8 23 23.4
11 9.739 25 309 25.5 24.3 24.9
12 9.714 16 325 25.7 23.2 24.5
13 9.688 18 343 25 23.3 24.2
14 9.660 40 383 24 23 23.5
15 9.630 12 395 27.7 25.7 26.7
 Table 3: Result of the Methane Produced during the Second 15 Days

S/N Reading on Methane Produced Sum of Methane Temperature Temperature Average

Measuring Keg (ml) Produced In (C) Out (C) Temperature
(ml) (ml) (C)
1 9.605 24 24 27 27.5 27.3
2 9.567 49 73 26.8 26.8 26.8
3 9.527 35 108 25.5 25 25.3
4 9.489 30 138 26.2 26 26.1
5 9.450 58 196 25.2 24.7 25
6 9.408 38 234 28 28.3 28.2
7 9.365 55 289 27.2 25.7 26.5
8 9.325 35 324 27.5 26.8 27.2
9 9.282 42 366 27.2 27.5 27.4
10 9.243 61 427 24.2 23.7 24.0
11 9.202 39 466 27.3 27.5 27.4
12 9.163 45 511 27.0 27.0 27.0
13 9.122 50 561 26.7 26.3 26.5
14 9.077 22 583 27.5 27.5 27.5
15 9.039 20 603 27.2 27.7 27.5
Table 4: Result of the Methane Produced during the Last 15 Days

S/N Reading on Methane Produced Sum of Methane Temperature Temperature Average

Measuring Keg (ml) Produced In (C) Out (C) Temperature
(ml) (ml) (C)

1 9.000 20 20 26.8 26.8 26.8

2 8.967 35 55 27.5 27.2 27.4
3 8.932 53 108 27.0 26.5 26.6
4 8.899 38 146 27.7 27.7 27.7
5 8.869 22 168 25.8 27.0 26.4
6 8.834 34 202 22.8 23.5 23.2
7 8.803 45 247 27.7 25.7 26.7
8 8.769 58 305 24.0 23.0 23.5
9 8.736 39 344 26.8 26.8 26.8
10 8.706 61 405 25.5 25.0 25.3
11 8.674 34 439 25.2 23.8 24.5
12 8.640 41 480 24.0 22.7 23.4
13 8.605 29 509 26.5 26.5 26.5
14 8.569 35 544 26.2 25.8 26.0
15 8.539 28 572 26.8 26.3 26.6
Table 1 shows the result of the methane yield produced during the first twenty days (i.e. the

fermentation period when the dung was allowed to decompose) after feeding the bio-digester. The

result was then plotted using the cumulative change in methane produced against the number of days

of the fermentation period (Figure 1). It can be seen from Figure 1 that no biogas was produced for

the first twenty days of the fermentation and the duration for the decomposition seems longer. This

definitely can be explained by the feeding composition of cow because cows feed mainly on fibrous

material which takes a longer time to break down by micro-organisms.

1
Cumm. of Volume of Methane Produced

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6
(ml)

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Number of Days

Figure 1: Plot of Methane Generated During Fermentation

Tables 2, 3 and 4 shows the results of the increment in the rate of methane produced, the plots of the

cumulative change in methane produced against the number of days and the biogas produced for

each day against the number of days for each table are presented in Figures 2, 3 and 4.
 700

600
Volume of Methane Produced (ml)

500

400

300

200

100

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Number of Days

Figure 2: Plot of Methane Gas Generated for the First 15 Days after Fermentation
 700

Volume of Methane Produced (ml)

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Number of Days

Figure 3: Plot of Methane Gas Generated for the Second 15 Days

700
Cum. Volume of Methane Produced

600

500

400
(ml)

300

200

100

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Number of Days

Figure 4: Plot of Methane Gas Generated for the Last 15 Days

From the three graphs plotted above namely Figures 2, 3 and 4, it could be observed that there was

an increment in the methane generated for the first four days, two days, and three days as shown in

Figures 2, 3, and 4 respectively which later decreases and again increases over a considerable range

which was achieved by the introduction of the enzyme into the waste after the fermentation period

to accelerate the rate of production of the methane gas.Therefore, we can infer that the enzyme used

greatly affects the biogas yield.

Effect of Temperature on Methane Gas Yield

Figures 5 and 6 present the plots of the cumulative volume of methane gas produced against average

temperature. Figure 5 presents the plot of the cumulative volume of methane gas produced against

average temperature for the fermentation stage while Figure 6 shows for the methane production

stage.

1
Cum. Volume of Methane Produced (ml)

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
20 22 24 26 28 30 32
Avarage Temperature (C)

Figure 5: Plot of the Cumulative Volume of Methane Produced against Average Temperature

during Fermentation
 1600

1400
Cum. Volume of Methane Produced (ml)

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Average Temperature (C)

Figure 6: Plot of Cumulative Volume of Methane Gas Produced against Average Temperature

From the two graphs plotted above namely Figures 5 and 6 respectively, the following are observed.

Temperature directly affects the process by controlling microbial growth rates in Figure 5. This

shows the rate differences for the reduction of organic matter for temperatures ranging between 20C

and 30C while for Figure 6, the temperature change are characterised by three thermal zones of

microbial activity, namely, psychrophilic, mesophilic, and the thermophilic. Reactions rates are

slowest in the psychrophilic zone and turn out to be the highest in the thermophilic zone.

Conversely, digestion stability is least stable in the thermophilic zone; sudden changes will cause the

digestion process to be upset more quickly and the recovery to be more rapid than in the mesophilic

or psychrophilic zones. The converse is true for the other two zones. Also, methanogenic bacteria are
very sensitive to sudden temperature changes and therefore digestion temperature should be

maintained at a constant level to ensure operational stability.

Conclusion

From the experiment, the total methane yielded is 1570 ml and the total biogas yield is 2300 ml.

From this result, it could be said that methane is 68% of the total composition of biogas generated

from cow dung.

The standard percentage range of methane permitted for cow dung is 40 - 70% as suggested by the

environmental protection agency and since the value gotten is between the acceptable range, the

experiment was a success.

References

Energypedia (2016). Biogas Basics. Available at www.energypedia.info/wiki/biogas_biogas.

Accessed on the 22nd March, 2016.

GTZ (2007): Eastern Africa Resource Base: GTZ Online Regional Energy Resource Base: Regional

and Country Specific Energy Resource Database: I - Energy Technology

Indian Biogas Association (2016). Fertilizing Energy: What is Biogas? Available at www.biogas-

india.com/biogas.html. Accessed on the 12nd February, 2016.

James, A.M. (2002). Managing livestock wastes, AVI Publishing Company, INC, Westport,

Connecticut.

Lawbuary, J. (2006). Biogas Technology in India. Energy in Its Natural Environment Dissociation.
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University, Kampala, Uganda.

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