Study Into Obtaining Biogas Through Aloe Vera Waste

Abstract

Abstract The increase in energy demand levels, alongside the reduction of fossil resources and the environmental issues that these generate, mean that it has become necessary to seek out alternative energy sources, amongst which biomass is the only one on hand that can be used both as bioenergy and biofuel. To obtain biogas, Aloe vera from the region was collected and sown, which served as raw material mixed with cow and goat excrement to feed a vertical biodigester of in-house design and manufacture, two treatments were applied in which methane, pH and temperature were measured. The findings displayed that in the first experiments that the whole Aloe vera generated acidity into the system, which caused a reduction in methane, the problem was solved by eliminating the Aloe vera’s pulp, leaving solely the residue of the latter and adding sodium bicarbonate, this improved the biodigester’s performance. The standout results were obtained in treatment, in which it is observed that the configuration for optimal temperature sensitivity was around 35°C in a methane concentration of 160.000 ppm, while the predictive value for pH was close to 7.5 thus generating a total volume of biogas of 68785.59 mg/m3. Predictive and statistical analyses of the entire experiment were performed for its interpretation.