Biogas resource evaluation: analysis of temperature and pH factors to ensure efficient biogas production using pineapple waste

Abstract

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, human influence on climate change is evident. The evidence comes from the unprecedented levels ("in at least the last 800, 000 years") of GHG concentration in the atmosphere. These levels in 2011, 391 ppm (parts per million) for CO2, 1, 803 ppb (parts per billion) for CH4, and 324 ppb for N2O, exceeded levels recorded before industry by approximately 40%, 150 %, and 20%. [1] The influence of electricity generation by means of fossil fuels has been increasingly noticeable in terms of the effects they generate on climate change, so that over the years the generation of energy by means of renewable energies has been a great alternative. Within the Honduran energy sector, it is projected that in the coming years renewable energy generation will have an 80% share in the energy matrix of the Honduran country and only 20% of fossil energy [2], being biogas an alternative that has gained strength in recent years due to the environmental impact, through biodigesters using organic waste capable of generating clean energy. It is important to know how temperature affects pH measurements. Therefore, a comparis on of two types of biodigesters, one subway and one above ground, was carried out in order to determine the most suitable for pH and temperature control. In this document the generation of biogas from pineapple waste is projected in two biodigesters, one underground and the other exposed to the open air, in addition, the behavior of the internal temperature of the biodigesters is shown, which presents a difference of +/-3 (°C), based on the temperature registered in the biodigest ers, a pH behavior is denoted, According to these behaviors previously mentioned, it is shown that the pH beyond its composition also influences its behavior based on the temperature that it is exposed to. The biogas generation was simulated in Aspen in order to project the biogas generation capacity in a larger scale biodigester, which reached a production of 20% of the gas demand of an atypical house in the rural sector, which is the sector that is sought to help with the elaboration of the prototype.