[Digestion] Fwd: providing oxygen to methanogens

[Anand Karve]

Dear List,

Although the microbes responsible for making biogas work under
anaerobic conditions, they do use oxygen, which they extract from the
feedstock. Thus, when you feed them with a carbohydrate, they give
back to you methane, a hydrocarbon, using the oxygen from the
carbohydrate for driving their own metabolism. The rate of biogas
production is much higher when you use a cabohydrate rich substrate
rather than dung. In fact the biogas producing organisms even convert
carbon dioxide into methane. This gave me the idea of providing a
biogas plant with a chemical rich in oxygen and to see if the biogas
production is accelerated. Some of the substances classically used as
oxygen donors in various chemical reactions are potassium
permanganate, potassium dichromate, potassium chlorate or many of the
peroxides, nitrates and sulphates. Does anyone have ideas or comments
on this theme?
Yours
A.D.Karve

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Dr. A.D. Karve
Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)



-- 
***
Dr. A.D. Karve
Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)