Feasibility Study of Utilizing Wastewater from the Dairy Industry and Biodegradable Organic Waste for Biogas Production in a Reactor with a Heating Jacket

This project addresses the challenge of treating industrial wastewater and managing biodegradable solid waste, which pose significant environmental and economic burdens, particularly in Ecuador. The proposed solution focuses on implementing an anaerobic digestion process to convert a mixture of dairy wastewater and biodegradable organic residues into biogas, a renewable energy source, and biofertilizer. The methodology involves an extensive literature review of relevant physical and chemical parameters, followed by laboratory analysis of various mixture combinations to determine optimal ratios. Subsequently, a biogas digester equipped with a heating system will be designed, instrumented, and constructed. Finally, the optimized mixture will be digested, quantifying the volume of biogas and biofertilizer produced, and analyzing the biogas composition (CH4 and CO2 percentages). The expected impact includes reducing water pollution and generating clean energy and organic fertilizer from waste materials.<br/><br/><b>Goal</b>: <br/>To produce biogas by mixing dairy industry wastewater with biodegradable organic waste. The primary goal is to optimize the management of these wastes and obtain an alternative energy source (biogas) along with a valuable byproduct (organic fertilizer).<br/><br/><b>Research lines</b>: <br/>Solid waste and optimization of renewable energies