IN USE
MAKING THE CLEAN SWITCH ENERGY IS A WIN FOR A ALL – FROM HOUSEHOLDS TO LARGE, SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES. WE TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT SOME.
s the world grows more conscious about the negative impact of our lifestyles on the environment, ceaseless efforts have been made by academics and the civil community to find ways to lower human degradation of the environment. Switching to renewable energy is the most preached solution. In South Africa, there are many households and big companies already using these renewable energy sources for their daily functions. Is it achievable for everyone? Clean energy in the house Dr David Tinarwo from The University of Venda (Univen) has done extensive research over a couple of years about how rural, low-income communities could use renewable energy. The biggest problem in Vhembe district, Limpopo, where his studies are based was excess usage of firewood for cooking and water heating. His studies lead to introduction of biogas digesters to some low-income households in the district. We follow one of his studies that evaluates how viable digesters are in households. A biogas digester uses organic waste to produce biogas, a methane-rich gas. It is a tank built into the ground with two sealed openings on the top. The openings lead to two underground chambers, one to store the waste fed to the digester and one for the biogas produced.
By: Mukosi Fulu
Households can use biogas for cooking, space heating and water heating. For these functions, a household would need a biogas that would be fed 5000 L of substrate (water and waste mixture) per day. Unfortunately, a single, average household cannot produce that much waste or obtain that much dung so a community digester is recommended. When it comes to installation, however, digesters are affordable. Acting general manager of Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Ledet), Lilly Maja, compares the affordability to building a toilet. There is obviously still a lot of research to be done to improve practicality of a biogas digester, but it promises to rid the villages of burning wood for fire through community digesters.
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Science Stars Energy Issue | www.sciencestars.co.za
