An Interdisciplinary Study on Farm Based Biogas Production in Southern Brazil

Abstract: Today the use of anaerobic digestion technique emerges as an alternative to the conventional treatment method of pig slurry to the pig producers in Brazil because of the energy demanding intensive pig production and the negative environmental impact that arises during storage and use. The end products of AD technique are biogas as an energy source and digestate that can be used as a fertilizer. The study took place at two pig producers in southern Brazil in order to evaluate the biogas production in the area, its applications and environmental impact. The visited pig producers run a confined animal production system where the slurry that is used in the anaerobic digesters is diluted. The studied digesters are covered with an air tight flexible plastic membrane that takes the shape of a balloon where each digester has the volume of 620 m3. Sedimentation occurs inside each reactor where the temperature also fluctuates. The produced biogas is conveyed to a torch where the biogas is combusted. The results of this study show that the digesters are working properly but there is a need for mixing and constant temperature in order to optimize the process. Biogas is primarily suited for heat production and the digestate can be used as a fertilizer. Biogas production is considered to have a positive environmental impact if the biogas is used or combusted in a torch. There is also a need to apply a cover over the digestate during the storage time to avoid ammonia emissions. The approximated biogas potential for Rio Grande do Sul is nearly 100 GWh/year. For an approximated biogas potential of more consideration it is found that further studies of the housing systems in Rio Grande do Sul are needed. This is due to a greatly varying amount of degradable materials in the pig slurry from one ranch to another.