The Hohenheim Biogas Yield Test : Comparison of Different Laboratory Techniques for the Digestion of Biomass

Abstract

For the planning of agricultural biogas plants, the achievable biogas yields of the substrates used must be known. In general the biogas yield potential is determined in discontinuous laboratory reactors with a vol- ume of more than three litres. The Hohenheim biogas yield test is a novel technique for the determina- tion of the methane yield of organic substance, which can be carried out with the aid of commercial laboratory equipment. The small dimension of the experimental facility allows to carry out a large number of repetitions or parallel tests with a reduced need of working hours and a minimised space requirement. Extensive exemplary studies based on cattle slurry, grass silage, and kitchen waste as substrates proved that the results achieved with a simple experimental set-up were at least as good as those obtained using the systems employed otherwise.