DOST Kalinga enhances use of biogas

By Peter A. Balocnit

Thursday 28th of June 2012

TABUK CITY, Kalinga, June 28 (PIA) -- The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) provincial office here is presently enhancing household biogas, and plans to introduce centralized biogas digesters to clustered households and barangays.

According to Dexy Catacutan, Science Research Specialist of DOST-Kalinga, 25 biogas operators and a number of interested individuals have been invited on a recent forum held at Golden Berries Hotel here to learn more about the technology particularly on the DOST IV biogas model.

Aside from being the concrete structure and efficient in collecting methane gas, she said that the design is environment friendly and has many economic benefits. “It controls pollution since all the pig manure are collected into a fixed dome digester, users have free fuel, saves on energy consumption, and the sludge is turned to fertilizer,” Catacutan said.

Methane produced from a 1-cubic-meter manure is equivalent to 0.43 liters of liquefied petroleum gas, a 25.6-cubic meter is equivalent to 11 kg of LPG. “It only requires four pigs to produce a drum of manure,” Catacutan said, adding that the technology is the best alternate for waste management.

She said that DOST can provide support in terms of materials to organized groups or barangays interested to put up biogas plants. “Under the community-based project of DOST, we can also render consultancy services, help in design formulation, and provide supervision,” she said. (JDP/PAB-PIA CAR, Kalinga)