Commercial pig farms in Cambodia produce great amounts of wastewater. To convert wastewater into energy, many farms have installed simple covered lagoon digesters. However, most biodigesters lack desulfurizing systems to reduce H2S present in biogas for smooth generator operation. Desulfurizing systems are not available locally and must be imported from abroad. They are expensive, while after-sale service is hard to find. These factors may lead reluctancy to fully invest in biogas systems. Therefore, this paper aimed to compare biogas quantity and quality between two desulfurizing systems, to analyze electricity generation and generator efficiency, and to perform economic assessment of the desulfurizing systems. The study was conducted on two large-scale pig farms in two different periods. The first period was with a pig farm of 20,000 fattening pigs and 6,000 sows in Preah Sihanoukville Province, from October 2021 to July 2022. The second period targeted a pig farm of 5,000 fattening pigs and 600 sows in Kampong Thom Province between May 2022 and May 2023. The results show that biogas quantity was greater with the first farm because it had more pigs. CH4, CO2, and O2 were not different before and after desulfurization for each desulfurizing system. CH4 measured on the farm that used the Chinese desulfurizing system was 52.1%, much lower than the farm with the BTIC desulfurizing system (62.9% CH4) due to high O2 concentration inside the biogas pipe. H2S was affected by desulfurization and reduced to lower than 100 ppm, which is good for generator operation. Due to larger generator size, the first farm produced greater output power (276 kW), when compared to the second farm that had output power of 125 kW. Higher generator efficiency was also observed on the first farm, but loading rate was similar for both farms. Depreciation costs for the Chinese desulfurizing system were 3,375 USD/year, being 4.3 times higher than those of the BTIC prototype (787.5 USD/year). The size and capacity of the BTIC desulfurizing system is similar to the Chinese product. Thus, if the first farm used the BTIC prototype, huge amounts of money could be saved annually. In conclusion, the BTIC desulfurizing system had a working performance similar to that of the Chinese product, but had low depreciation costs, denoting huge savings. Further studies should focus on the dissemination of the BTIC prototype to more pig farms through collaboration with the private sector and fabricators for strong market linkage.
Published in | Applied Engineering (Volume 7, Issue 1) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13 |
Page(s) | 19-26 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Anaerobic Condition, Biogas, Covered Lagoon, Generator, Iron Pellets, Manure
[1] | MAFF, “MAFF Annual Report 2018-2019”. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, 2019. |
[2] | MAFF, “MAFF Annual Report 2021-2022: Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, 2022. |
[3] | S. Mek, P. Vong, N. Khoem, and S. Mech., “Assessing the Potential of Pig Manure in Electricity Generation for Commercial Pig Farms in Kean Svay District, Kandal Province and Oddong District, Kampong Speu Province”. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Bachelor's thesis for the Royal University of Agriculture, 2018. |
[4] | C. Nokyoo, “Swine Waste Management in Thailand. Vientiane, Lao P. D. R.”. 2016. |
[5] | N. Kulpredarat, “The impact of pig wastewater to water environment in thailand”. Bankork: Department of Livestock Development, Thailand, 2016. |
[6] | NBP, “Market Study on Medium-scale and Large-scale Biodigesters” Phnom Penh, Cambodia: National Biodigester Program, 2019. |
[7] | W. Thanapongtharm, C. Linard, P. Chinson, S. Kasemsuwan, M. Visser, A. E. Gaughan, M. Epprech, T. P. Robinson, and M. Gilbert, “Spatial Analysis and Characteristics of Pig Farming in Thailand”. BMC Veterinary Research, Vol. 12, No. 218, 2016. Available at: doi 10.1186/s12917-016-0849-7. |
[8] | N. Putmai, T. Jarunglumlert, C. Prommuak, P. Pavasant, and A. E. Flood, “Modelling of swine farm management for enhancement of biogas production and energy efficiency”. Materials Science and Engineering, 2020. Available at: doi:10.1088/1757-899X/736/2/022051. |
[9] | L. Hin, B. Than, L. Lor, S. Sorn, D. Theng, C. Dok, S. Mech, C. M. Mean, S. Yut, M. Lay, and B. Frederiks, “Assessment of biogas production potential from commerical pig farms in cambodia”. International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development, vol. 12, pp. 172-180, 2021. |
[10] | Khmer Times, “High electricity bills push every Cambodian to the brink of despair”. 2022. Available at: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501052317/high-electricity-bills-push-every-cambodian-to-the-brink-of-despair/ |
[11] | Electricity Authority of Cambodia, “Salient Features of Power Development in the Kingdom of Cambodia until December 2022”. Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2022. Available at: https://eac.gov.kh/uploads/salient_feature/english/salient_feature_2022_en.pdf: s.n. |
[12] | Global Green Growth Institute, “Green Growth Potential Assessment Cambodia Country Report”. Seoul, Korea, 2018. Available at: https://gggi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CAM_Green-Growth-Potential-Assessment2018_Full-Report-1.pdf: s.n. |
[13] | World Bioenergy Association, “Biogas - An Important Renewable Energy Source”. Stockholm, Sweden, 2013. |
[14] | S. Rahman, and M. S. Borhan, “Typical odor mitigation technologies for swine production facilities - a review”. Civil & Environmental Engineering, vol. 2, No. 4, 2012. |
[15] | Y. Li, C. P. Alaimo, M. Kim, N. Y. Kado, J. Peppers, J. Xue, C. Wan, P. G. Green, R. Zhang, B. M. Jenkins, C. F. A. Vogel, S. Wuertz, T. M. Young, and M. J. Kleeman, “Composition and Toxicity of Biogas Produced from Different Feedstocks in California”. Environ Sci Technol., Vol. 53, No. 19, pp. 11569–11579, 2019. |
[16] | C. M. Mean, L. Hin, H. Lor, D. Theng, M. Lay, and B. Frederiks, “Performance Assessment of Simple Covered Lagoon Digester in Large-scale Pig Farm in Cambodia”. International Society of Environmental and Rural Development, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 69-94, 2022. |
[17] | G. Rodriguez, N. D. Dorado, M. Fortuny, D. Gabriel, and X. Gamisans, “Biotrickling filters for biogas sweetening: Oxygen transfer improvement for a reliable operation”. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 92. No. 3, pp. 261-268, 2014. |
[18] | A. Dumont, “H2S removal from biogas using bioreactors: a review”. International Journal of Energy and Environnement, International Energy & Environment Fondation, vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 479-498, 2015. |
[19] | W. N. Venables, and D. M. Smith, “An Introduction to R: A Programming Environment for Data Analysis and Graphics”. 2023. Available at: https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-intro.pdf. |
[20] | A. Kassambara, “Package rstatix”. 2023. Available at: https://rpkgs.datanovia.com/rstatix/ |
[21] | T. Crawford, “Caculating Depreciation”. New Mexico State University, 2013. |
[22] | Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, "Fertilizer manual". Hertfordshire, UK: Agricultural Document Library, University of Hertfordshire, 2011. |
[23] | R. Craggs, “Biogas from Pig Farms”. NIWA Taihoro Nukrangi, 2010. |
[24] | S. N. M. de Souza, A. M. Lenz, I. Werncke, C. E. C. Nogueira, J. Antonelli, J. de Souza, “Gas Emission and Efficiency of an Engine-generator Set Running on Biogas”. engenharia agricola, 36 (4), pp. pp. 613-621, 2016. Available at: doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1809-4430-Eng.Agric.v36n4. |
[25] | J. M. Sweeten, C. Fulhage, and F. J. Humenik, “Methane Gas from Swine Manure”. Michigan State University, 1981. Available at: https://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/Ag.%20 Ext.%202007-Chelsie/PDF/e1532-1981.pdf. |
[26] | C. D. Fulhage, D. Sievers, and J. R. Fischer, “Generating Methane Gas from Manure”, 2018. |
[27] | P. Peerapong, and B. Limmeechokchai, “Biogas-based electricity generation in swine farm in Thailand: Economic and CO2 reduction aspects”. Energy Procedia, Vol. 138, pp. 657–66, 2017. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217351287 |
[28] | J. K. Huertas, L. Quipuzco, A. Hassanein, and S. Lansing, “Comparing hydrogen sulfide removal efficiency in a field-scale digester using microaeration and iron filters.” Energies, Vol. 13, No. 18, 2020. Available at: doi: 10.3390 /en13184793. |
APA Style
Lyhour Hin, Lytour Lor, Dyna Theng, Chan Makara Mean, Sovanndy Yut, et al. (2023). Fabrication and Performance Assessment of Desulfurizing Systems for Large-Scale Biodigesters in Cambodia. Applied Engineering, 7(1), 19-26. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13
ACS Style
Lyhour Hin; Lytour Lor; Dyna Theng; Chan Makara Mean; Sovanndy Yut, et al. Fabrication and Performance Assessment of Desulfurizing Systems for Large-Scale Biodigesters in Cambodia. Appl. Eng. 2023, 7(1), 19-26. doi: 10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13
AMA Style
Lyhour Hin, Lytour Lor, Dyna Theng, Chan Makara Mean, Sovanndy Yut, et al. Fabrication and Performance Assessment of Desulfurizing Systems for Large-Scale Biodigesters in Cambodia. Appl Eng. 2023;7(1):19-26. doi: 10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13
@article{10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13, author = {Lyhour Hin and Lytour Lor and Dyna Theng and Chan Makara Mean and Sovanndy Yut and Mengchhay Kim and Sokhom Mech and Gerald Hitzler}, title = {Fabrication and Performance Assessment of Desulfurizing Systems for Large-Scale Biodigesters in Cambodia}, journal = {Applied Engineering}, volume = {7}, number = {1}, pages = {19-26}, doi = {10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ae.20230701.13}, abstract = {Commercial pig farms in Cambodia produce great amounts of wastewater. To convert wastewater into energy, many farms have installed simple covered lagoon digesters. However, most biodigesters lack desulfurizing systems to reduce H2S present in biogas for smooth generator operation. Desulfurizing systems are not available locally and must be imported from abroad. They are expensive, while after-sale service is hard to find. These factors may lead reluctancy to fully invest in biogas systems. Therefore, this paper aimed to compare biogas quantity and quality between two desulfurizing systems, to analyze electricity generation and generator efficiency, and to perform economic assessment of the desulfurizing systems. The study was conducted on two large-scale pig farms in two different periods. The first period was with a pig farm of 20,000 fattening pigs and 6,000 sows in Preah Sihanoukville Province, from October 2021 to July 2022. The second period targeted a pig farm of 5,000 fattening pigs and 600 sows in Kampong Thom Province between May 2022 and May 2023. The results show that biogas quantity was greater with the first farm because it had more pigs. CH4, CO2, and O2 were not different before and after desulfurization for each desulfurizing system. CH4 measured on the farm that used the Chinese desulfurizing system was 52.1%, much lower than the farm with the BTIC desulfurizing system (62.9% CH4) due to high O2 concentration inside the biogas pipe. H2S was affected by desulfurization and reduced to lower than 100 ppm, which is good for generator operation. Due to larger generator size, the first farm produced greater output power (276 kW), when compared to the second farm that had output power of 125 kW. Higher generator efficiency was also observed on the first farm, but loading rate was similar for both farms. Depreciation costs for the Chinese desulfurizing system were 3,375 USD/year, being 4.3 times higher than those of the BTIC prototype (787.5 USD/year). The size and capacity of the BTIC desulfurizing system is similar to the Chinese product. Thus, if the first farm used the BTIC prototype, huge amounts of money could be saved annually. In conclusion, the BTIC desulfurizing system had a working performance similar to that of the Chinese product, but had low depreciation costs, denoting huge savings. Further studies should focus on the dissemination of the BTIC prototype to more pig farms through collaboration with the private sector and fabricators for strong market linkage.}, year = {2023} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Fabrication and Performance Assessment of Desulfurizing Systems for Large-Scale Biodigesters in Cambodia AU - Lyhour Hin AU - Lytour Lor AU - Dyna Theng AU - Chan Makara Mean AU - Sovanndy Yut AU - Mengchhay Kim AU - Sokhom Mech AU - Gerald Hitzler Y1 - 2023/07/06 PY - 2023 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13 T2 - Applied Engineering JF - Applied Engineering JO - Applied Engineering SP - 19 EP - 26 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2994-7456 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ae.20230701.13 AB - Commercial pig farms in Cambodia produce great amounts of wastewater. To convert wastewater into energy, many farms have installed simple covered lagoon digesters. However, most biodigesters lack desulfurizing systems to reduce H2S present in biogas for smooth generator operation. Desulfurizing systems are not available locally and must be imported from abroad. They are expensive, while after-sale service is hard to find. These factors may lead reluctancy to fully invest in biogas systems. Therefore, this paper aimed to compare biogas quantity and quality between two desulfurizing systems, to analyze electricity generation and generator efficiency, and to perform economic assessment of the desulfurizing systems. The study was conducted on two large-scale pig farms in two different periods. The first period was with a pig farm of 20,000 fattening pigs and 6,000 sows in Preah Sihanoukville Province, from October 2021 to July 2022. The second period targeted a pig farm of 5,000 fattening pigs and 600 sows in Kampong Thom Province between May 2022 and May 2023. The results show that biogas quantity was greater with the first farm because it had more pigs. CH4, CO2, and O2 were not different before and after desulfurization for each desulfurizing system. CH4 measured on the farm that used the Chinese desulfurizing system was 52.1%, much lower than the farm with the BTIC desulfurizing system (62.9% CH4) due to high O2 concentration inside the biogas pipe. H2S was affected by desulfurization and reduced to lower than 100 ppm, which is good for generator operation. Due to larger generator size, the first farm produced greater output power (276 kW), when compared to the second farm that had output power of 125 kW. Higher generator efficiency was also observed on the first farm, but loading rate was similar for both farms. Depreciation costs for the Chinese desulfurizing system were 3,375 USD/year, being 4.3 times higher than those of the BTIC prototype (787.5 USD/year). The size and capacity of the BTIC desulfurizing system is similar to the Chinese product. Thus, if the first farm used the BTIC prototype, huge amounts of money could be saved annually. In conclusion, the BTIC desulfurizing system had a working performance similar to that of the Chinese product, but had low depreciation costs, denoting huge savings. Further studies should focus on the dissemination of the BTIC prototype to more pig farms through collaboration with the private sector and fabricators for strong market linkage. VL - 7 IS - 1 ER -