Topic 7 - Ecology Flashcards
What process is compost a product of?
Decomposition
How is compost used?
Compost is used as a natural fertiliser for crops and garden plants
How does temperature affect the rate of decay?
Enzymes are involved in the reaction that allows decay to take place which means that an increased temperature increases the rate of decay but if they get too high the enzymes will denature
How does water availability affect the rate of decay?
Decay takes place faster in a moist environment because the organisms involved need water to perform biological processes
How does oxygen availabilityaffect the rate of decay?
The organisms involved in decay need oxygen to respire (with the exception of microorganisms involved in anaerobic decay)
How does the number of organisms affect the rate of decay?
The more organisms there are, the faster the rate of decay
How is biogas made?
Biogas is made by anaerobic decay of waste material
What is methane used for?
Methane is often burned as a fuel
Describe anaerobic decay
Anaerobic decay is used to produce biogas and occurs when microorganisms decay plant and animal waste (such as sludge waste from sewage works) anaerobically
What is the piece of equipment used to make biogas called?
It’s a fermenter called a digester or generator
What are the two different types of biogas generators?
Batch generators and continuous generators
What factor needs to be kept constant for anaerobic decay?
Temperature
Why does biogas need to be used straight away?
It requires too much pressure to be stored as a liquid
What is biogas used for?
Heating, cooking, lighting and powering turbines for generating electricity
What is the difference between a batch generator and a continuous generator?
Batch generators make biogas in small batches which means that the waste is loaded manually at the start of each session and the by-products are cleared away at the end. However, continuous generators make biogas all the time which means that waste is continuously fed in.
