Modest Experiment In Methane Gas Production
(Page 3 of 3)
March/April 1973
By the Mother Earth News editors
Continue the tests until a match held at the burner tip does ignite the escaping gas. This may take a couple of weeks or more depending upon the acid conditions of the slurry in your jug. (EDITORS NOTE: See the Gobar Gas article on pages 28-31 of MOTHER NO. 12 for further discussions of acid balance, carbon to nitrogen ratio and other technical aspects of methane production.)
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Eventually, incorrect acidity levels will correct themselves and your model generator will begin to produce methane. When you're satisfied that such production is underway, open the clamp to the gas collector and you're in business. Methane production—depending on temperature—should last for from one to three months.
And what can you do with the gas? You can burn it off through the burner tip as a graphic demonstration that—by golly!—decomposed organic matter really does produce usable fuel. The quantity is too small for much else. To increase the pressure of the escaping gas (and, thereby, the spectacular nature of the resulting flame), place one or more bricks on the collector bag when you try this stunt. The manometer, of course, will faithfully indicate the pressure your gas reaches during such a demonstration.
Once the thrill of watching the flame passes, disconnect the collector bag, take it outside and expel the remaining methane. The residue left in the jug is an excellent fertilizer and you can use the liquid and some of the solids to seed your next batch of waste (and thereby hasten its production of gas).
Even though I haven't personally tried them yet, I can suggest a couple of refinements on the above experiment. If you have a fish aquarium heater available, you might try putting your jug in a bucket of water warmed by the element. This would be a significant improvement in maintaining the digesting slurry at optimum working temperature. You can also improve the burning qualities of the resulting methane by bubbling it through a limewater solution to remove carbon dioxide and passing it over ferric oxide (rust) to remove hydrogen sulfide.
Although the above experiment is imprecise and yields only a small quantity of methane, it will familiarize you with the digestion process and, possibly, encourage you to investigate (if you haven't already) the construction of larger-scale generators that will produce usable quantities of gas. The independent production of energy is a worthwhile goal.
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