Hybrid Solar and Bio-Gas System For a Chicken Farm

Published in: Innovation in Engineering, Technology and Education for Competitiveness and Prosperity: Proceedings of the 11th Latin American and Caribbean Conference for Engineering and Technology
Date of Conference: August 14-16, 2013
Location of Conference: Cancun, Mexico
Authors: Amir Abtahi
Arturo Betancourt
Technical Paper: #33

Abstract:

In English:
The energy load profile for chicken farms indicates that between the lighting and fan loads, a good portion of the overall demand can be satisfied by solar photovoltaic (PV) systems during the daylight hours, especially the peak fan loads and sunny conditions match quite well. To be completely off the grid however, there is a need for providing power to fans and some lighting after dusk and before dawn. In this study, the conversion of the bio-waste into bio-gas and powering small micro-turbines is evaluated. Storing solar electric power in batteries is an option, but costly and not ideal. Bio-gas on the other hand is a by-product of the chicken farm, can be generated and stored on site, and used as fuel for small, reliable micro-turbines.