First horse manure biodigester launched at the Earth Centre
This 10 cubic metre digester, which has passed the tested for a period of three months without any defaults, is the first of its kind in the country approved by Sanedi to operate using manure produced by horses.
After nearly 10 months of construction and installation, the Equine Assisted Riding Therapy and Hope (Earth) Centre finally introduced biotechnology by making a biodigester on their premises.
It was pure jubilation on Wednesday, 28 November at the official launch of the biodigester, as representatives of the Ruimsig-based equine institution, alongside partners from the South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi) and the University of South Africa (Unisa) witnessed the successful functioning of the innovative new digester.
This 10 cubic metre digester, which has passed the testing period of three months without any defaults, is the first of its kind in the country approved by Sanedi to operate using manure produced by the horses that are used for therapeutic programmes for disabled children at the facility.
Apart from Exxaro’s funding, this entire project was made possible by the Biotechnology Masters and PhD research students of Unisa, who used their academic knowledge to design and install it, and then demonstrated how the digester functions after the event’s ribbon-cutting session.
The process of installing the digester started in March.
Biotechnology Professor at Unisa, Tonderayi Matambo, explained the involvement of the students in this project. “The whole aim of the project was to train students, because that’s what we do as an academic institute. The students make the digesters, and the digester that was demonstrated today was actually designed, installed and operated by them. Their work included doing a technology transfer to the beneficiaries, namely the Earth Centre,” he said.
He added that this was one of many digester projects to be installed, both in Gauteng and outside the province by the students. “Students are still going to be involved since we are going to be installing more digesters within Gauteng and also move out into the other provinces. There will be a rotation of students, as some will be completing their studies and others will be coming in,” he explained.
David Mahuma, the general manager working on the energy programme at Sanedi had no complaints about the relative smoothness of the programme’s implementation.
“Ever since the soil turning [in March] we have been keen to witness the completion of the project,” he said at the event. “The partnership between Sanedi and Unisa has seen the installation of the biodigester and a rain harvesting system”.
This approved biodigester, using only horse manure, was the first of its kind to be tested by Sanedi. Previously, a combination of manure from cows and pigs, and human waste, has been used.
According to the Earth Centre facilities manager, Giacomo Pinna, the project took longer than expected; however, he could not hold back his excitement after the project was completed. “We are happy that we managed to get here. We are happy to see that it is now working properly and it is able to produce fertiliser and the gas that the guys have been using for past couple of months, which has really made a difference by reducing our energy usage. We are also excited about the rain harvesting system which is almost completed, as it is going to help us a lot with the erosion that damages the property, and will help us to feed the digester,” he explained.
He also elaborated about the intense training that they’ve received in order to operate the plant. “We have been trained. The guys showed us a ratio that we’ve been playing around with since they’ve never installed a digester using horse manure before. Between me and the other workers, we will monitor it to ensure it is fed at the same time and there are no blockages in the system, the flow is correct and we are getting enough gas,” he explained.
Mahuma added that the centre staff was also trained to do maintenance on the plant. He also spoke about the simplicity of running the digester. “This technology is very simple. It’s basically a bladder with an inlet and outlet, and a gas outlet. What you do is feed it on one side and gravity does the work of moving the stuff, and gas is produced on the other side. The only challenge is balancing the acidity, but the staff was also trained to do tests on that because the mixture has to be as neutral as possible,” he explained.
Apart from the gas production, the centre has an opportunity to make extra money by selling the biofertilizer which is produced by the digester during gas production or using it for their own food production.
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