The University of South Africa (Unisa), has partnered with mining company Exxaro Resources and the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) to officially launch its first institutional anaerobic biogas digester at the Earth Centre in Johannesburg.

The 10 cubic metre bio-digester uses a feedstock of horse manure diluted with a sustainable volume of water, including grey water, to produce biogas fuel for heating applications.

SANEDI hopes the technology will help introduce more communities to sustainable and clean energy solutions because the fuel produced by the digester can be used for as a substitute for electricity or LPG.

This has positive implications in that it will not only improve people’s standard of living but will also help the environment by minimising organic waste that is left to decompose uncontrolled.

In addition the digester also helps to produce an organic fertiliser which can be used to support organic gardening and other farming processes.

A first for the partners

“This 10 cubic metre digester has been inoculated for a period of three months to enable the bacteria to produce biogas. It is the first time in the works of SANEDI and UNISA that this kind of substrate is used as a feedstock for biogas production,” explains David Mahuma, General Manager, Working for Energy at SANEDI.

“This will open up a possibility for many stable owners to address the problem of “horse manure nuisance” that beset them,” he adds.

Mahuma adds that with the first institutional digester successfully installed in the Gauteng Province, 19 more are in the pipeline to be installed at a variety of locations across the country with a particular focus on institutions such as old age homes, Early Childhood Development Centres, schools and clinics.

“We look forward to more strategic collaborations, which will see more communities being introduced to sustainable and clean energy solutions,” Mahuma concludes.