As part of the CZU Campus Sustainability Challenge, students prepared a project of domestic biogas plant. The goal is to process organic waste generated in CZU campus. The plant will manage kitchen waste from the CZU canteen, as well as the organic waste from the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences. In the biogas plant, the waste is transformed into biogas, which can be burned in a biogas stove and used, i.e., to boiling water and cooking. The secondary product of the process is a high-quality organic fertilizer (digestate), which will be provided for use in the ČZU greenhouses.
In addition to waste management, the biogas plant is used educational and experimental activities all year round. It has been integrated to some of the FTA courses: Organic Waste Management or Appropriate Rural Technologies. The future extension of educational activities is planned for courses taught by other faculties of the university (i.e., Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources). Students regularly demonstrate the plant during at events aimed at public, i.e., CZU Open Day or Researchers Night.
From the spring of 2023, the biogas plant has been used for research activities of the Biogas Research Team (BRT) under the mentorship of doc. Hynek Roubík. The main goals of these activities include assessment of suitability of various materials and the optimal composition of the substrate for biogas production. The key component of the solution designed by BRT students is thermal insulation, which extends the operational time as in temperate climate, the temperature in cold months is insufficient to sustain the activity of microorganisms.
The biogas plant is placed in the CZU Botanical Garden near the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences. The location is easily accessible for people from the university and the public. Soon a meeting place will be built near the plant for students, employees, and the public. Biogas will be used for preparation of refreshment (i.e., coffee or tea), and demonstration of the plant functioning. Thanks to this, awareness will spread about the problem of waste management and its solutions.
The installed biogas plant consists of the following main parts:
- fermentation chamber (anaerobic digestion, volume 3.7 m3)
- greenhouse (protection from weather conditions, thermal insulation)
- biogas stove (cooking)
- thermal insulation (for cold season)
- carbon filter (biogas purification)
