Bio-gas Production from Human Excreta Under psychrophilic Condition

Management of human excreta is a great problem, particularly in Mountain areas where the temperature is lower, as it takes long time to decompose. The study was carried out by a group of students of Kathmandu University to understand whether the anaerobic digestion of human excreta can produce biogas at 10°C, 20°C, 30°C and 37°C. Biogas is a low cost alternative of Liquid Petroleum gas. The experiment was carried out at Kathmandu University. The result showed that the maximum average biogas yield at 20°C, 30°C, 37°C and at ambient room temperature were 243 ml/day, 238.5 ml/day, 100 ml/day, and 29 ml/day respectively, while the least was 6 ml/day at 10°C. Anaerobic digestion of human excreta under psychrophilic condition was possible.

The study was conducted by Sumesh Shrestha, Richa Gyawali, Manashree Newa, and Nabin Chaudhary, students of Kathmandu University in 2016.

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