Study of the Activation Process of a 2 m3 Pilot Biodigester on a Microfarm Site

A domestic balloon-type digester with 1200 liters of substrate and a 700-litre gas reserve was installed at the Université Gaston Berger pilot farm, which has 4 cows. After an initial load of 1000 L of water, 90 L of bovine rumen and 145 L of cow dung, the functional parameters of the reaction medium, i.e., temperature, pH, salinity and conductimetry, were regularly monitored at a rate of 3 tests per day until the thirtieth day, corresponding to the flame test and the start of analysis and daily loading of the biodigester. The analysis of the biogas obtained after the flame test showed us the considerable contribution of bovine hindquarters to the CH4 fraction, which reached 72.2% from the start of the production phase. As anaerobic digestion is both a complex and multiparametric process, microbiological analysis revealed the presence of several strains of bacteria in the substrate used. Among the most abundant were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp, non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli and Enterococcus sp. However, the bacterial strain that interests us most in anaerobic digestion is the non-fermentative Gram-negative family. We see the identification and temporal monitoring of these families of bacteria as a major step forward in the control of anaerobic fermentation processes in the Sahelian context and in Senegal in particular.