Obtaining biogas from bovine manure and dry fodder from the “Los Luises” agricultural farm, Trujillo-2024

Abstract

Common waste on farms dedicated to the production of cow's milk includes bovine manure and dry fodder. The circular economy is essential to avoid wasting waste and prevent environmental pollution. Many agricultural companies do not have a method to take advantage of the waste they generate and when it decomposes, it releases pollutants such as greenhouse gases. The main objective of this research was to compare the production of biogas using bovine manure and dry fodder from the Agropecuaria “Los Luises”, located at 8° 2'45.51" S; 79° 7'59.57" W, as well as the performance of the pretreatments used through anaerobic fermentation, to evaluate the significant difference between both substrates when producing biogas. The pretreatments used were specific for each substrate, thus seeking to reduce the methane fermentation time and increase the methane concentration in the biogas. The results show that biogas production had a higher yield in bovine manure than in dry forage, evidenced by an average methane production of 603.75 mL/L and 752.5 mL/L with 1:4 and 1:5 dilutions respectively compared to the average methane production of dry forage, being 396.67 mL/L and 533.75 mL/L with 1:4 and 1:5 dilutions respectively, both in a 30-day period of anaerobic treatment.