Fabián Cabrera , an agricultural engineer, conducted an experiment installing a biogas plant at the back of his house.
When you see the installation, you might think it's not as simple as it actually is. " This is a way to produce energy, a form of regeneration through the decomposition of organic waste ," the engineer explained, speaking about the project.
In this case, the basis for generating biogas was the reuse of horse manure. " What is done is to place this material in the biodigester, in equal parts with water."
"For example, one kilogram of waste with one liter of water," he explained.
A biodigester can be built with a 200-liter tank.
The elements are placed there and sealed airtight. " This biodigester weighs approximately 140 kilos, and this process involves anaerobic decomposition."
This is how methane gas begins to be produced.
"This gas is the one that is usually used in the natural gas network, but with the difference that it can be purified to have up to 8,000 kilocalories," he explained.
This gas, which is generated during the degradation process of horse manure, can be transferred through hoses to an accumulator.
In this case, engineer Cabrera used two 200-liter tanks and two truck inner tubes.
These elements are called biogasometers. " This energy from decomposition is also generated using household or agricultural waste, such as chicken or pig manure trays ," the engineer explained.
Energy Scope This is a pilot plant, which was built to demonstrate that this process can be done.
To meet the energy needs of a typical family, at least 6 biodigesters are needed, like the ones in this example of about 200 liters.
A 200-liter biodigester can generate gas for 3 months with the same amount of fuel. "It's very important that the drums are painted black because this facilitates solar radiation."
This works at a temperature between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius.
In winter, what you need is a protection system to maintain the temperature.
"A greenhouse to increase the temperature or at least to maintain it," Cabrera explained.
Once the product degradation is complete, gas generation stops and these dry residues can be used to fertilize farmland.
Thus, the reuse cycle is completed, the material is transformed, and the environment remains intact. The laws that promote this idea: The province of Salta has two laws that incentivize the production of renewable energy.
One of them is Provincial Law No. 7,823, enacted in July 2014, which regulates the incentive regime for renewable energies.
The second regulation, Law 7.824, refers to the net balance involving residential, industrial and productive generators, also from the middle of last year.
In November 2014, the Senate of the Province held its first meeting to regulate the application of these laws.
The first mentions the provincial interest in the generation of biogas, solar energy, energy balance and wind power and the possibility of education and training not only in schools but also in areas such as agriculture.
This provincial interest in generating this type of energy includes exemption from all or some of the provincial taxes, existing or to be created, on this practice.
Until the beginning of this year, the regulations for Law 7.823 had not been finalized, so those interested in carrying out this type of project do not have the responsible agencies and representatives.
As for standard 7.824, it allows for the so-called net balance.
This is a system that is applied in many countries and enables the consumer to produce electricity with renewable sources of their own and contribute the surplus kilowatts to the public electricity system.
The net metering law works by calculating or balancing what is produced and what is consumed, and at the end of the month what is consumed or generated is charged or paid for, and the electricity company - in this case Edesa - will be obliged to buy those surpluses. 