DESIGNING PORTABLE ANAEROBIC DIGESTER FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ALTERNATIVE CERAMIC FUEL

Abstract

The quest for the use of alternative fuel in ceramic firing has prompted studies into the generation of biogas from anaerobic digestion (AD). The study reports on the design of a laboratory size AD capable of generating biogas for firing a ceramic kiln of external dimension 50†x 41†x 3 9.5â€. Both theoretical and real values of propane and methane were generated and correlated. The result of the study indicated that, 3313 M/J of energy which translates to 3139179.84 BTU/hr of methane could be generated from a 1000L capacity digester. This clearly indicates that, digester is capable of generating enough renewable energy that can successfully fire a 5.7 CF kiln to cone 10 (2381°F or 1305°C).

Key Word: Ceramic, Biogas, Design, Kiln, Renewable