Pilot project of biogas production from pig manure and urine mixture at ambient temperature in Ventanilla (Lima, Peru)

Parque Porcino de Ventanilla has an extension of 840 ha with 2200 farmers dedicated to pig production. There is a lack of services in the area (i.e., water supply, electricity, or waste collection). Anaerobic treatment of pig manure would replace current dumping and incineration, reducing environmental pollution and hazards to public health, as well as providing an organic fertilizer and biogas. The objective of the present work was to study the viability of ambient temperature anaerobic digestion of pig manure diluted in urine, by means of on-site pilot scale reactors. The final goal was to establish design parameters for anaerobic digesters to be implemented; since it was part of a project to improve life conditions for the farmers through the incorporation of better management techniques. Experiments were carried out in a low-cost pilot plant, which consists of three anaerobic digesters (225 L total volume), without heating or agitation, placed in a greenhouse. The start-up of the digestion process was performed with a mixture of temperature adapted pig manure–sludge and fresh rumen, and showed a good performance regardless of the dilution of pig manure with water or urine, which is a key parameter due to the scarcity of water in the area under study