From trash to gas: Biomass energy

[rj123]

What kind of cow manure do you use? Do u use the fresh cow dung or do you just use the normal manure for plants which can be purchased from gardening shops? Also if i was to see the affects of detergent on it, how much detergent should i use?

[donnahardy2]

Hi,

This is a great project on the Science Buddies website:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p027.shtml

For this project, you need the living anaerobic bacteria from the cow's intestine that has the ability to break down cellulose. So you need the freshest sample possible, preferably still warm from the cow. The cow manure in the garden section of your local plant nursery has been partially decomposed already, and the obligate anaerobic bacteria that you need for this project may have been already been killed by exposure to oxygen.


Good luck!

Donna Hardy

[rj123]

Hi,

When will the inflation of the balloons start? Also would you know any good websites about anaerobic bacteria and how it produces gas?

Thanks.

[donnahardy2]

Hi,

It will probably take a week or more before gas starts to form. Bacteria always have a lag time, while they adapt to their new environment and start to grow again. Once the balloon starts to fill up, it should only take 2-3 days for it to fill. Temperature will be critical for this experiment. Remember that the bacteria were growing at about 37 degrees Centigrade in the cow, so a warmer temperature is better. If you can’t provide a temperature this high, then at least make sure the temperature is above 20 degrees Centigrade. If you have not started your project, be sure to set up one control sample without bacteria.

Here is some general information about methanogenic bacteria:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanogen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_organism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_respiration


Here is a scientific paper which is a review paper of methanogenic bacteria. This reference will be good to include in the bibliography section of your board. There is a lot of complex information in this paper, so let me know if you have any questions. Try reading it and understand as much as you can.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 6-0156.pdf

Since this is a science project, you need to measure your results using metric measurements. Measuring the circumference of the balloons and calculating the volume of gas produced would probably be the best way to do this for this project. You should also measure the temperature at least once a day when you measure the balloons. Since your project is due on May 2, you should concentrate on planning the layout of your board and writing up all of the sections that you can until you have some results available to graph. Here is information from the Science Buddies website on presenting your project:

http://www.sciencebuddies.com/science-f ... oard.shtml

Good luck!


Donna Hardy