Update #4

We finished with test #1. We decided not to burn the gas in this experiment because we knew that only pure methane had collected. We guessed that there was some gas leaking from the balloon, so we reinforced the second bottle and made it more airtight. We emptied out the first experiment bottle, and disposed the manure. We began constructing the apparatus for the second experiment. For the second experiment, along with the manure, we are putting in mashed bananas and vegetable peelings. We are also going to at least test the gas to make sure that something has accumulated this time.

Procedure

Prepare Collection System

1. Gather copper tubing, vinyl tubing, large water bottle, ball valve, cork, balloon, and connectors.
2. Insert copper tubing into Mylar Balloon and tape down (make sure there aren't any leaks).
3. Drill T-Adapter into cork and glue tight (optional).
4. Attach ball valve to vinyl tubing on both sides.
5. Connect vinyl tubing to copper tubing, and attach the other end of the vinyl tubing to the ball valve, which would be attached to the burning apparatus.
6. Add manure(mandatory) + any other optional feedstocks.

Experiment #1: Manure Only

Update #3

It has been 3 weeks since we last met and out the project together. Plenty of manure has collected, and now it is time to burn the gas. There is some gas that collected, not too much, but it is a significant amount. We need to quickly burn it and move on. For our next experiment, we need to collect a large pile of vegetable peelings and mix it in with the manure as part of our second variable.

Update #2

We have acquired the manure from a local farm, and have built the 1st generator. We have about 30L of manure, more or less. We used about 6-8L of manure, and filled it close to the top with water. We needed a smaller balloon, but we just folded down the top of the old to lessen the space where the gas could collect. We now have to wait around a week or so for the maximum amount of gas to collect. It is  averaging at about 40 degrees outside, so it might affect how much gas will collect.

Update #1

We need a smaller Mylar Balloon for the generator because the proportion is too big. We need a smaller balloon otherwise you cannot see how much methane has been collected. We also need to keep updating the journal and the blog (this). The farm needs to send us info about the manure soon.

Introduction

All around the world, electricity isn’t easy to come by. People in small towns and villages rely on a form of cooking gas call biogas. This biogas can be burned and is usually found in the form of methane. People in rural areas collect methane gas from their cattle and the village heads collect it and put it into a large public methane tank. Methane is very useful and burns easily, and does not pollute the air, and is very clean. Our project is the figure out which type of feedstock works the best. Feedstock is the material that is combusted in the generator. We will have three different feedstocks; manure, manure with vegetable peelings, and manure with mashed bananas. We will then test them in three different temperatures, to determine which condition and which fuel/feedstock would be the best to create the most flammable gas in the most efficient way.

Materials

Used 18L clear plastic water bottle

• Large Mylar helium balloon

Plastic water bottle cap (with the “no-spill”

insert-see photo)

• Copper tubing (40 cm long, 6.5mm (1/4”)

inside diameter)

• T-connector for plastic tubing (barbed, 6mm or

¼” long)

• 1 cork (tapered, 23mm long)

• Clear vinyl tubing (1.5 m long, 4mm or ¼-inch

inside diameter)

• 2 barb fittings (¼” x ¼”)

• Ball valve (1/4”)

• 6-8L manure pellets (goat, sheep, llama, rabbit,

or other ruminant)

• Rubber gloves

• Large plastic funnel (can be made from a 4L

plastic milk jug with bottom removed)

• Wooden dowelling or stick (30 to 50 cm long,

2-3 cm thick)

Hypothesis and Plan

Our hypothesis is: What type of feedstock will efficiently create the most biogas?

Our experiment is: To make three biogas generators, and use three different feedstocks. They are manure, manure with mashed banana, and manure with vegetable peelings. We will test them over a course of three weeks. Each week, each feedstock will be placed in a different environment, each with different temperatures. The three conditions are room temperature, naturally cool, and artificially cooled (boiler room in the basement). This procedure will determine which feedstock and condition is the best to create the most biogas.

Overview

We picked our project experiment on Saturday. We decided to use three different variables for our experiment. We will use 1-3 generators to contain our feedstock, and observe and track which one will gather the most methane.