[Digestion] East-West thought processes in regard to Biogas.

Mike Barnett dreadlox at cwjamaica.com
Fri Nov 19 14:13:19 CST 2010


Dear Paul,

I'm sooooo glad you have raised this point. Myself, I have often found being
misunderstood because my mind doesnt flow linear, but sort of tangentially,
(lateral thinker). 

In watching the discussions, I am often thinking of this these days,
especially as I watch the dicourse between biogas "brothers" from the East
and West exchange ideas.
As a former International Installations Engineer, we were part diplomat,
part technical expert, part saleman and most importantly "friend". It has
taught me valuable lessons of diplomacy that still bring great rewards to
this day. I have a way of saying, just to illustrate, the same hand you use
to shake hands in the West, and considered an offense to give to (some) 
Easterners".... As this is considered the "toilet cleanup" hand. Yet it is
the same hand of peace and help extended!!!

We from Western schools of thought use as you said a very linear approach
but we need to remember the beginnings of "fuzzy logic" and those who caught
onto it fastest, the fact that the way we think is sometimes also anchored
in even our religions.

I think and am most happy in Engineering when we ALL can bring our shared
experiences to the table...and have them all down to the anecdotal analysed
and valued as with merit until proven otherwise.

After all, we are all just animal herding "cousins" who have gone our own
ways to various lands and are now commenting on our experiences...
(above said with a big grin... Please receive in that spirit.)


Mike Barnett
JAMAICA
 
 
 
 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: Paul Harris
Date: 11/18/2010 3:59:26 PM
To: 'For Discussion of Anaerobic Digestion'
Subject: Re: [Digestion] Re Digestate as fertilizer
 
G’day All,
 
As a generalisation Westerners tend to have “tunnel vision”, so only
concentrate on one thing (I know this does not apply to all members of this
group!). This is from my observations and I don’t have too much experience
in other cultures for comparison. I think it really results from our
“reductionist” approach, or maybe the approach is a result of this
limitation.
 
As a result some people see AD as “biogas”, some as “Carbon”, some as “waste
disposal”, some as “pathogen reduction” and some as “fertiliser”. What we
really need to do is see anaerobic digestion as all of the above and as part
of a larger system. This involves a move away from the typical Western
“linear” approach (of extract, use, discard) to a more cyclic approach (we
have a Reuse, Recycle, Reduce slogan going around, sometimes with a 4th R
that I can’t remember). I know some areas have been doing this for centuries
 and even Westerners used to be better at it (before coal and oil!).
 
Happy digesting,
HOOROO
 
Mr. Paul Harris, Room S116b, Waite Main Building Faculty of Sciences, The 
University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB 1, Glen Osmond SA 5064 Ph    : +61
8 8303 7880      Fax   : +61 8 8303 4386 mailto:paul.harris at adelaide.edu.au 
 http://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/paul.harris
 
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From: digestion-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
[mailto:digestion-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of P M Allison
Sent: Thursday, 18 November 2010 6:06 PM
To: digestion
Subject: [Digestion] Re Digestate as fertilizer
 
The use of digestate for crop fertilizers, is to me the very best option. 
The material contains all the nutrients required by plant-life as it is made
up of the very same ingredients. 
Laboratory analysis of the spent material confirms this.
A very similar substance is derived from vermiculture.
The main problem with spent digestate is the fiber content. This will create
nozzle lock-up on any spray delivery system. Fiber is not digested by
anaerobes or worms.
If the digestate is splayed too thick it will smother soil and emerging
plants.
The simple solution is to vibro filter the fiber and undigested material
from the slurry. The solid matter is ideal for pelletizing and broadcast
delivery.
The resultant liquid component is a colloidal nutrient complex containing
the same ingredients as the original material but in plant ready form.
This liquid does contain particulate matter which can clog nozzles. My
solution to this is to centrifuge the liquid and trap out the sedimentary
material leaving a purely colloidal substance. This can be used as a foliar
fertilizer when diluted with water as the substance is too rich to be used
neat.
The trapped debris is a rich nutrient mud, primordial ooze so to speak. This
is also rich in nutrient and the finest of carbon flocs. An ideal binder for
pelletizing the solid matter  initially extracted.
By the way, the carbon flocs are the same as those used carbon-fiber
production.
Biogas is a wonderful bonus to the system, but should not be the be-all and
end-all of the process. The spent material is the sort of substance which
will make sustainable agriculture a much better option than what chemical
farming will ever do. The crop improves, the soil improves, the soil biology
improves, soil moisture holding capacity improves, soil carbon increases.
Remember, it's the dark matter  which differentiates soil from being just
lifeless dirt.
Regards,
Peter.
 
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