Design and performance analysis of floating dome type portable biogas plant for domestic use in Pakistan

Agriculture continues to play a vital role in Pakistan's economy; it contributes 21% toward the GDP and involves 45% of labor of Pakistan. Livestock is the largest depositor to the agriculture. Therefore biomass can be used in Pakistan as one of the renewable energy source which can be utilized to create electrical power and to provide heating. Fermentation process of biomass releases biogas which acts as a energy source. Two main type of biogas plants are used worldwide which are fixed dome biogas plants and floating dome biogas plant. Livestock owners in remote areas of Pakistan move themselves according to the climate conditions suitable for their livestock. The issue with these plants is that livestock owners cannot move the biogas plant at another spot easily. Hence, there is a need to develop a portable biogas plant which can be conveniently reinstalled at new place effortlessly. This paper described the designing and development of portable biogas plant. The performance of the developed plant and biogas productivity is verified by experiment tests. The developed product is favorable for its long life, light in weight and it has ability to produce enough methane gas to suffice the domestic requirements. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.