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Anaerobic digestion in rural China

Journal Article · · BioCycle
OSTI ID:458625
The People`s Republic of China has been promoting underground, individual, anaerobic digesters to process rural organic materials. This strategy has resulted in approximately five million household anaerobic digesters installed in China today. Simple reactors provide energy and fertilizer for Chinese farms and villages. Another benefit includes improved household sanitation. Reactor design has evolved over time. In the standard modern design, effluent is removed from the reactor at the top of the water column, meaning that supernatant is collected rather than sludge. Additionally, no mixing of the system occurs when effluent is removed. In some systems, a vertical cylindrical pull-rod port is added to the base of the effluent port. Effluent is removed by moving the pull-rod - simply a wooden shaft with a metal disk on the bottom - up and down in the port. A bucket can be placed directly under the pull-rod port, simplifying effluent removal, while the movement of the wooden shaft provides some mixing in the reactor. The gas primarily is used for cooking and lighting. A digester can provide approximately 60 percent of a family`s energy needs. Effluent from the reactors is an odorless, dark colored slurry, primarily used as an agricultural fertilizer. 3 figs.
OSTI ID:
458625
Journal Information:
BioCycle, Journal Name: BioCycle Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 38; ISSN 0276-5055; ISSN BCYCDK
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English