 |  | Better Farming Series 31 - Biogas: What it is; How it is made; How to use it (FAO, 1984, 52 p.) | ||
 |  | Introduction | ||
|  | (introduction...) | ||
| | Biogas | ||
| | How is biogas made? | ||
| | How big should your biogas unit be? | ||
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1. Farmers and their families always look for ways to make their lives better.
Farmer families
2. One way farm families can make their lives better is to make their own fuel gas which they can use for cooking.
Use fuel gas
3. Today many farmers are making fuel gas at home. They make it from animal manure or from plant materials or from a mixture of both.
4. Fuel gas made in this way has a lot of methane in it. Methane burns very well.
5. Where you live methane gas may be called by a different name. One of the most common names for this kind of gas, when it is made at home, is biogas. We will use the name biogas in this booklet.
6. If you make your own biogas you will not have to use so much of the more expensive fuels such as kerosene and charcoal or firewood, which may be hard to find where you live.
Make biogas
7. Using biogas can help you to save time and work when you cook your meals.
8. You can use the time you save to do other things around your home and farm, such as care for a bigger garden
Care a bigger garden
or work at a money- making home craft.
Work
9. Biogas is a clean- burning fuel. It does not give off smoke as does charcoal or firewood. By using biogas for cooking you can keep your cooking area and your food cleaner.
Cooking area
10. After all gas has been made the material that is left is a very rich fertilizer that you can use on your fields.
Use the material
11. This booklet was written to help you to learn some of the things that you need to know before you begin to make biogas. You will also learn how to make your own biogas.
12. When animal manure or plant materials rot they give off gas. You collect this gas as it is made when you make biogas.
Make biogas
13. In this booklet you will learn how to mix water with animal manure or plant materials, how to put this mixture into a container where it will rot and give off gas, and how to collect the gas in another container which is airtight. We will call these containers the biogas unit.
14. It is not easy to build a biogas unit. When you begin you will have to spend a lot of time and work very hard. It may also cost you money.
15. You must be sure that building a biogas unit will be a good way to use your time and money.
16. You will need a good place to put your biogas unit. Items 26 to 30 will tell you where to put it.
17. If you live where it is too hot or too cold, your may find it hard to keep a biogas unit working.
Keep the biogas unit working
18. Biogas is produced best at a temperature between 32 and 37°C. When the temperature is below 1 5°C almost no gas is made. Items 31 to 34 will tell you some ways which will help you to keep your biogas unit at the right temperature.
19. You will need oil drums, pipe, valves, a gas line and sealing materials to build a biogas unit.
Materials
You will need a good supply of animal manure or plant material.
Animal manure or plant material
20. If there is a biogas unit near where you live, you should go to visit it. Talk to those who have built it and are running it to see how it works.
21. When you are thinking about building a biogas unit, you may be able to get advice from your extension officer.
Build a biogas
unit
22. Begin by building a small unit. Items 35 to 57 will tell you how. With a small biogas unit, you will need less animal manure and plant materials. A small unit will cost less to build and it will be easier to run.
A small unit
23. When you have learned how to run your biogas unit and
have made and used your own gas, you may decide that you need more gas.
24. You can get more gas by building one or more biogas units just like your first one. Items 126 to 130 will tell you how to run several biogas units together.
Run biogas units
together
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