Bioconversion of poultry droppings for biogas and algal production

Abstract

An integrated system for the bioconversion of poultry droppings for biogas production and utilization of the effluent for the production of the blue-green alga Spirulina platensis was studied. Poultry droppings produced 0·54 m³ of biogas per kilogram of Total SOlids (TS). The 2% TS biogas plant effluent as sole nutrient medium for Sprirulina yielded 7–8 g dry algae a day. The biomass was harvested by filtration. The sundried algal biomass has been used as a poultry feed component. In economic terms the system appears promising.