Decay and biogas Flashcards
What is compost
A decomposed organic matter that is used as a natural fertiliser for crops and garden plants
What makes compost
Decomposition
Quick decay
What things are responsible for decomposition
Bacteria fungi and detritus feeders
What does the rate of decay depend on
Temperature
Water availability
Oxygen availability
Number of decay organisms
Why does decay depend on water availability
Decay will take place faster in moist environments because the organisms involved in decay need water to carry out biological processes
What is biogas made up of
Methane
Which can be burned as fuel
How is biogas produced
Microorganisms decay plant and animal waste anaerobically which produces methane gas which is biogas
What is biogas made in
Simple fermenter called a digester or generator
Why is biogas used straight away and what for
It can’t be stored as a liquid as it needs too high a pressure
Used for heating cooking lighting or power a turbine to generate electricity
What are the 2 types of biogas generators
Bath generators
Continuous generators
What do Batch generators do
Make biogas in small batches
They’re manually loaded up with waste which is left to digest and the by-products are cleared away at the end of each session
What do continuous generators do
They make biogas all the time
As waste is continuously fed in and biogas is produced at a steady rate
They are more suited to large-scale biogas projects
What does any biogas generator need to have
An inlet for waste material to be put in
An outlet for the digestive material to be removed through
An outlet so that the biogas can be piped to where it is needed
How can you investigate the rate of decay due to temperature
By observing the action of the enzyme lipase on a sample of mile that has been made alkaline and when the lipase breaks the milk down (decomposes it) the ph of milk decreases
How do you calculate the rate do decay
1000/time
