A Successful Biodigester Project in Cambodia - …c.ymcdn.com/sites/ Successful Biodigester Project...

November 14, 2017Jeffrey J. Wing, PE, LEED AP

A Successful BiodigesterProject in Cambodia

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Wing, Jeffrey J. 2017

Educat ion• University of Denver, Master of Applied Science,

Environmental Policy & Management (Energy & Sustainability), Aug. 2011

• University of Anchorage, Alaska, BSCE, 1986

Employment• Over 30 years as a consult ing engineer in the fields of

project management, design, construct ion management, surveying, and construct ion observat ion

• WithersRavenel in North Carolina: Ut ilit ies Group Department Head

Cert ificat ions• LEED AP• NASSCO (Pipes, Manholes, and Cured-in-Place-Pipe)

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Author:• Paper Money Messages

*Vol 1- Global*Vol 2- Notgeld

Volunteer• 20+ year volunteer with Engineering

Ministries Internat ional / TransformAsia

Paper Money based on 1 m3 of Water(From July 1914 to November 30, 1923 the price of water increased from 0.0002 marks/liter to 240 million marks / liter)


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Jeff ’s EMI / TransformAsia Experience• Zaire, Africa, 1994: School, master planning, surveying• Kenya, Africa, 1994: Library, surveying• Bangladesh, 1997: Hospital, surveying and mapping ut ilit ies• Hait i, 1999: Orphanage, surveying• India, 2000: Schools and homes for elderly pastors, surveying• Ukraine, 2001: Handicap orphanage, surveying• Cambodia, 2002: School for girls, surveying and water/wastewater• Mozambique, Africa 2003: Master planning, surveying, and

water/wastewater• Bolivia, 2005: Christ ian University, surveying and water/wastewater• Liberia, Africa 2006: Church, master planning, surveying, and

water/wastewater• China, 2008: Assistant team leader, Surveying and water/wastewater• Hait i, 2009: Orphanage, master planning, surveying, and water/wastewater• Cambodia, 2012–2016: TransformAsia – David’s Center Orphanage,

Biodigester, and Biosand Filter

Served as Representat ive in NC

Biosand Filter for Water Quality

Image: https://www.waterforcambodia.org/projects/biosand-filtersWing, Jeffrey J. 2017

Presentation OutlineI. Sanitat ion / Bacteria Discussion

II. Comparison of Developed World Wastewater Design to Majority World Wastewater Design

III. Biodigester Considerat ions• C/N Ratio• Design• Construct ion• Advantages / Disadvantages

IV. Quest ions/Discussions

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An estimated 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitat ion (more than 35% of the world’s population). Ref: CDC

Water, sanitat ion, and hygiene-related diseases, including diarrhea, cholera, hepatit is, and dysentery (bloody diarrhea), are some of the primary causes of illness and death. In fact , every 20 seconds, a child (under age 5) dies as a result of poor sanitat ion. (4,100 deaths per day or 1.5 million per year). Ref: CDC

Nearly a billion people st ill defecate outdoors. Ref: National Geographic, TED Talk, etc.

Trachoma – Visually Impaired or loss of eyesight(10 million people) CDC

Haiti, Pigs in the Washing MachineMemorial Christ ian Hospital in Bangladesh Wing, Jeffrey J. 2017

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Dhaka, Bangladesh Global Market Opportunity for reinvented toilets Haley Hill, July 20, 2015

A toilet is only part of the sustainable solut ion!


Disposal of unt reated waste and impact to the environment .Long-term sanitat ion for all.

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Global Market Opportunity for reinvented toilets Haley Hill, July 20, 2015Wing, Jeffrey J. 2017

Sanitation

Therefore, healthy sanitat ion pract ices are beneficial even if there is not an immediate tangible indicat ion of disease.

Samonella (Image from Raleigh Museum)

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In some cases, a few pathogens can cause disease. However, other pathogens must be present in great numbers before they can overwhelm a person’s immune system.

Hill 2006

Others are opportunist ic pathogens that people can have without realizing it as long as the individual is healthy. However, once their immune system is compromised they can get sick.

Sustainable Designs: Pour Flush

Benefits: Uses a small amount of water (less than ½ of a flushing toilet ) and has very simple maintenance.)A standard flushing toilet can leak water, which is difficult to detect .

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Good design: raised floor with lower drain


Sustainability Issues

Consider the associated environmental and health consequences associated with the product ion of charcoal?

Waste, waste everywhere, or untapped resources?

Cambodia Village

Charcoal UseCambodia TransformAsia

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C/N Ratio

The relat ionship between the amount of carbon and nit rogen present in organic materials is expressed in terms of the Carbon/Nit rogen (C/N) rat io.

• A C/N rat io ranging from 20:1 to 30:1 is considered opt imum for anaerobic digest ion.

• Urine has a high nitrogen content, C/N ratio is 0.8:1

If the C/N rat io is out of range the gas production will be low.

Tasneem Abbasi, S.M.Tauseef & S.A. Abbasi. 2012

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Urine Separation

Mihelcic, J, L. Fry, E. Myre, L. Phillips and B. Barkdoll. 2009.

Urine is a resource. High nitrogen and phosphorus is a valuable source of nutrients for agriculture.

Dilute urine before applying it to the fields. (typ. 1 part urine to 4 parts water)

File:Roediger NoMix toilet (3331066762).jpgWing, Jeffrey J. 2017

C/N RatioHuman excreta has a low C/N rat io, therefore mixing it with a material that has a high C/N rat io is beneficial.• Sprinkling sawdust on a compost pile.• Loading straw at the base of a digester.Note (60+8)/2= 34.

Raw Materials C/N RatioDuck dung 8Human excreta 8Chicken dung 10Goat dung 12Sheep dung 19Cow / Buffalo dung 24Elephant dung 43Straw (maize) 60Straw (rice) 70Straw (wheat) 90Saw dust above 200

United States Forces – Afghanistan, Joint Engineering Directorate. 2011

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Bio-Slurry

Biodigester Basics

Latrine is plumed into biodigester—no special effort

Inlet must be fed with manure and an equal volume of water

Model Created by the National Biodigester Program

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Model: 4 m3 full scale sect ion(Elevat ion of Wastewater Levels Shown in Red)

Fixed-Dome Biodigester

2013 National Biodigester Program, Cambodia Phnom Penh

Out let to thestorage/compost area

Inlet must be fed with manure and an equal volume of water .

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Elevat ion of Wastewater Levels


A Biodigester is not Night Soil, which is not recommended!There are millions of biodigesters in India and Asia. Most water resource engineers have never heard of a biodigester.

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Biodigester in Operation

Inlet Outlet


Biodigester AdvantagesEnvironmental, Economical, and Social Benefits:• Provides a cont inual source of fuel for cooking and light ing• Treats human and animal waste to protect the water quality• No smoke from wood or charcoal• Less money spent money on fuel• Conserves fossil fuels if coal or kerosene are typically used• Less t ime in collect ing biomass so that children can go to school• Cooking on biogas is quicker / easier than cooking with firewood• Keeps trees from having to be cut down, which is good for the environment

since soil erosion is a major problem• Biogas systems allow methane to be burned from the organic waste (biomass),

which reduces the amount of greenhouse gases

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Biodigester AdvantagesBiogas systems produce excellent bioslurry that has fewer odors and a bet ter nutrient st rength for use on the farm.

Proof there is no odor!

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Cooking: Biogas Double-Burner Stove

Uses of Methane

Emergency Light ing (Bet ter to Use Solar If Available)

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Reference: United States Forces – Afghanistan, Joint Engineering Directorate. 2011

Plant size is the sum of digester volume and gas storage based on a hydraulic retent ion t ime of 35 days

The biogas plant size is dependent on the average daily feed stock and hydraulic retent ion t ime of the material in the biogas system.

Biodigester Size

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Plant Size (m3)

Dome Dia. (feet )

Dome and Out let (feet )

Daily Feedstock(pounds)

Daily Water (gallons)

4 4 8 53 66 5 9 79 108 6 10 106 13

10 6 11 132 1615 7 14 198 24

The Nat ional Biogester Program of Cambodia offers $150 rebates to home owners that install a biodigester. The fee includes the following:• Inlet chamber, dome, out let structure• Supervisor• 2-year warranty

Fixed-Dome Biodigester Cost

National Biodigester Program Cambodia. 2017

BiodigesterSize m3

Total Cost Use of Biogas Stove Durat ion (Hour)

Use of BiogasLamp Durat ion (Hour)

4 $550 2-4 8-66 $620 4-6 16-248 $720 6-8 24-32

10 $800 8-10 32-4015 $1,100 10-15 40-60

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• Wood pole rotated around cent ral nail and upper nail used to measure brick placement .• The smallest biodigester (4m3) takes about 14 days to const ruct .

National Biodigester Program Kampot, Cambodia

Dome Construction: Brick S-Hook Method

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Biodigester for a Small HouseholdThe smallest size biodigester in the chart , 4 m3 (141 ft 3) has a overall length of about 16 ft . and a depth of 5 ft .

S-Hook Counterbalance to Hold Bricks in Place

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Nat ional Biodigester Program Kampot, Cambodia


Biodigesters Challenges

• A biodigester needs to be fed every day• Requires water to mix with the manure• Not as suitable for cold climates unless solar is used• The construct ion of the dome takes skill• To a western designer there is the appearance that the design is more complicated• It takes t ime, roughly 60 days for the init ial biogas to be generated• Innovative biodigesters (plast ic bags, steel drums, etc.) often have premature

failures that have given biodigesters a bad reputat ion (however, there are over 10 million operat ional biodigesters)

Jenkins, Joseph. 2005

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Biodigester Caution: Many Innovative Designs with Varying Level of Success

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biodigester.JPG

Plast ic Bags

• Use of Oil Drums

• Use of Plast ic Containers

• Conversion to elect ricity much more complicated


Float ing DomeWater for World Design

Conclusion

• Human and animal excrement is not “waste” but instead a valuable resource that can generate a beneficial fuel.

• We must look beyond our Western culture and engineering experience when finding sustainable solut ions.

• Research to find out what has worked in the area! Are there exist ing organizat ions/contractors that can build the t reatment device?

• We need to use every available “tool” in our bag to serve our clients well and constant ly seek out sustainable methods. “When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.”

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Questions?

Speaker Contact Informat ion:

Jeffrey J. Wing, PE, LEED [email protected]

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References

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Key Composting References: Jenkins, Joseph. 2005. The Humanure Handbook, 3rd Edit ion, A Guide to Compost ing Human Manure. Chelsea Green Publishing.

Key Biodigester References:National Biodigester Program. 2017. http://nbp.org.kh

Brennan, S. and J. Withgott . 2008. Environment: The science behind the stories.3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

Hill, D. 2006. Basic microbiology for drinking water personnel.2nd ed. Denver, CO: Glacier Publishing Services Inc.Mihelcic, J, L. Fry, E. Myre, L. Phillips and B. Barkdoll. 2009. Field guide to environmental engineering for development workers.Reston,

Virginia: American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE.Tasneem Abbasi, S.M. Tauseef and S.A. Abbasi. 2012. Biogas Energy. Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London.Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2017. ht tps://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/wash_stat ist ics.html


References

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United States Forces – Afghanistan, Joint Engineering Directorate. April 2011. Biogas Plant Construct ion Manual. Fixed-dome Digester: 4 to 20 Cubic Meters. Kabul, Afghanistan. Includes the following ten references:Bajgain, Sundar, Biogas Support Programme (September 1994) “Construct ion Manual for GGC 2047 Model Biogas Plant”. P.O.

Box No. 1966, Kathmandu, Nepal.Bioenergy Systems Report : "Innovat ions in Biogas Systems and Technology" (1984). Bio- energy Systems and Technology

Project of the USAID.Chengdu Biogas Research Inst itute (1989) “The Biogas Technology in China”, Chengdu, China. Karki, A. B. and K. Dixit (1984)

"Biogas Fieldbook". Sahayogi Press, Kathmandu, Nepal.Kariki, A.B. and K. Dixit (1984) “Biogas Fieldbook”. Sahayogi Press, Kathmandu, Nepal.Karki, A. B., K. M. Gautam and A. Karki (1994) "Biogas Installat ion from Elephant Dung at Machan Wildlife Resort , Chitwan,

Nepal". Biogas Newslet ter, Issue No. 45.Lagrange, B. (1979) "Biomethane 2: Principles - Techniques Utilizat ion". EDISUD, La Calade, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France.Lund, M. S., S. S. Andersen and M. Torry-Smith (1996) "Building of a Flexibility Bag Biogas Digester in Tanzania". Student Report .

Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen.Office of the Leading Group for the Propagat ion of Marshgas, Sichuan (Szechuan) Province, Peoples Republic of China, Edited:

Van Buran, Ariane, “A Chinese Biogas Manual” ht tp://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/JF/432/24-572.pdf (same reference from Biodigester club)

Sustainable Development Department (SD), Food and Agriculture Organizat ion of the United Nations (June 1997), A System Approach to Biogas Technology. Internet : ht tp://www.fao.org/sd/egdirect /EGre0022.htm

Volunteers in Technical Assistance (1980). “3-Cubic Meter Biogas Plant , A Construct ion Manual”. Arlington, Virginia, USA

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