Production Journal

Too many solids caused overflow Overflow caused big mess After clean up

Feb 21 - Finish construction of digester, initial feeding. Feb 22 - Overflow. Slurry was too thick, CO2 bubbles forming in the upper layer of sludge increased volume of slurry and expanded out of manometer. Messy. Remove some of the thicker sludge, dilute the remaining slurry to more of a thin milkshake consistency. Clamp off tube to reservoir bag. Feb 23 - Shake up slurry. Start doing this every few days. Also add water to bath to counter evaporation. Feb 23 - CO2 production is picking up. Manometer fills up several times a day. Having trouble keeping the system closed without frequent checks, since the reservoir bag is clamped off. Feb 28 - CO2 production is steady. pH is around 6.5, too low for methane production. Add several tablespoons of baking soda, adjusting pH to about 8.0 using pool testing strips. Hook reservoir bag up again to prevent the manometer from overflowing. Feb 29 - Once daily I hold a flame to the burner and force the gas out of the reservoir. If I collect the gas in a jar, a flame will not burn in the jar. Pretty sure it's still all CO2. Mar 6 - Check pH again, still around 8.0. No methane yet. Shake up slurry. Mar 8 - Not sure, maybe a little pop during test burn Mar 9 - I think it's burning. Mar 10 - I'm pretty sure it's methane. Does not keep burning when I remove the pilot, but it may be a low percentage, or it may be the burner design. Mar 11 - OK, it's methane. My burner does not have a carburetor. Mix slurry. Mar 14 - Producing about a bag of methane every three days. Made a bunsen-like burner with deep sockets. Mar 18 - Burn off all methane, unplug heater. Mar 19 - Production slows to a crawl. Might not be working at all anymore. Mar 20 - Dismantle.