The Potential of the Biodigester as a Useful Tool in Coffee Farms
Mauricio Hernández Sarabia, Juan Sierra-Silva, Liliana Delgadillo-Mirquez, Julián Ávila-Navarro, Laura Carranza
Abstract
Coffee is a highly productive agricultural product in the department of Tolima. The wet fermentation process of coffee generates about 80% of the waste, which is highly contaminated with organic matter that pollutes water sources, so anaerobic co-digestion techniques are implemented in coffee wastewater using Taiwan type biodigesters. According to the study of three biodigesters fed with coffee waste and animal manure, the aim is to show their potential application in coffee farms. These biodigesters generated a biogas production with CH4 concentrations between 49.1% ± 4.6 and 58.1% ± 2.4 in volume, in addition to the benefit of the biol used as fertilizer in the crops. The biogas produced can be used for cooking and can save around USD 40.17 in natural gas. Therefore, the biodigester is a potential tool to mitigate the harmful effects of coffee cultivation on the surrounding ecosystem and can project coffee production in a sustainable direction.