Pt. 1 Cooking 31 minute Biogas Meal from Porch System in Germany

The three hundred liter green plastic rain water tank we used as a collection vessel (23 Euro from Bauhaus) for the biogas is taller than the 500 liter digester vessel (32 Euro from Bauhaus) so we had to fill 100 liters of it (the bottom third) with styrofoam and foam spray (as an adhesive and to fill the gaps), putting a piece of PVC plumbing pipe to the gas outlet. Before doing this the space would fill with gas but we couldn't get the gas out. Now when it settles onto the water in the digester it forces the rest of the gas out. Either way we sacrifice 100 liters of gas capacity but we get better performance now. A full tank (approximately 200 liters) gave us 31 minutes of cooking gas, enough to cook all the sausages and some of the vegetables.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• urban rooftop biogas
• renewable energy

[Kakashi101sensi]

Using copper coils, copper in general in relation to any micro organism is a lil in the iffy bad side =/. I know people who have ran /circulated water through copper coils heated by the sunin their aquarium tank to combat ick. The toxicity of the copper kills the damn micro parasite but not the Large fish. So you may be running at a lower efficiency, due to killing some of the anerobic bacteria or creating a space near the coils inhabitable.

[tculhane]

@Kakashi101sensi Thanks for your insight about copper toxicity to microorganisms Kakashi! In fact I have stopped using copper in all my systems due to that reason and to cost; in Tamera portugal we have been using polypropylene tubing; works just fine for the heat transfer with none of the mortality!

[eastern2western]

it sounds like a really bad idea to cook with methane in an insulated area because methane is a poisonous gas

[tculhane]

@eastern2western Another thing; when burned methane (CH4) becomes CO2 and Water. It is therefore harmless when one is cooking. But I have also been working with methane unburned for a long time and there are no toxic effects from breathing small amounts of methane. It is, essentially, fart gas or swamp gas. It is one of the most common gases in nature. What gave you the idea that it was dangerous to cook with methane? What country do you live in? We've been using methane all over the US.

[Hamish121212]

What sort of hose do you use to get the gas into the house? Is it just garden hose? Will any gas burner work?

[tculhane]

@Hamish121212 Garden hose or any plastic tube is just fine; it is not under any pressure. PVC pipe would be fine too. Any gas burner will work, you just have to remove the pressure restriction pin so that enough gas can flow (again, because it is under no pressure).

[Kakashi101sensi]

@eastern2western try

How to Build an Anaerobic Methane Digester by lord vaader (the digester itself)

@tculhane try

Biogas from Vegetarian Food Waste - UF BioEnergy Summer School 07 by BioEnergySustTechUF ( the compression and filtration of methane for use, while doing a closed digester [similar to lord vaader's])

[eastern2western]

@tculhane my biggest concern is how well sealed the system is because breathing too much of it can cause some naucious effect. for sure that methane is not a really poisonous gas but breathing too much of it can cause unwanted effects. it is a better idea to use it in an ventilated area instead of a closed area and it does not seem like a lot of gas was produced after all of the efforts

[tculhane]

@eastern2western Methane is what we commonly call "natural gas". People have been cooking with it indoors for over a hundred years, and most restaurants and cafeterias and kitchens use it. It is perfectly safe if one doesn't let the gas accumulate and then light it accidentally creating an explosion. This very rarely happens because the gas has an odor when unburned so people know if someone left the gas on and they simply open the window (methane is lighter than air and quickly disperses).

[JimboJitsu]

I have been looking for this information for several years now, thank you so very much for sharing!