120.000 piglets and a solution!

Piglet manure to biogas can be expected

With a diploma thesis on biomass fermentation, a student of the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt suggests a practicable solution for the residents of the Ilmkreis in Thuringia.

The idea that 45 million liters of liquid manure will be sprayed annually in the future stinks a lot to the residents of Alkersleben to Riechheim, east of Arnstadt. They have already announced this through their signature collection. But now a graduate student from the Erfurt University of Applied Sciences has calculated in his thesis that liquid manure, as a valuable raw material, is far too precious to be brought directly into the environment. Thanks to the new gas network access ordinance from 2009, the biogas obtained from it can be fed directly into the existing networks: It pays off.

Jörg Steinwand, a student of building and energy technology at the Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, dealt with how to approach the problem in his diploma thesis, which he defended at the end of November. He examined whether a biogas plant can solve this problem and to what extent this is economical. While working on the topic, Jörg Steinwand researched biogas / biogas plants, determined possible sources of emissions and ways of reducing emissions, calculated the conception and design of a possible biogas plant and carried out investigations into the increase in yield through coofermentation. Economic studies of the various system variants were also part of his work.

In conclusion, the Eisenberger stated in five points that

• the fermentation process converts manure biochemically. If this happens completely, the slurry is odorless.
• the possible biogas plant works economically and can also generate high profits through co-fermentation.
• the fertilizer quality can be increased considerably.
• Biogas plants enable CO2-neutral energy generation from regenerative raw materials.
• agricultural and municipal residues can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

Mr Steinwand can rightly be proud of his successfully defended thesis. Now it remains to be seen what will happen to the results of the thesis. His supervising professor Dr. Judith Lebküchner-Neugebauer, as the affected rural inhabitant of the Ilm district, is confident that the dispute will now provide a basis for discussion. She hopes that other students will find valuable energy to work on topics related to ecological implementation. "

Source: Erfurt [FH]