US-Costa Rica - International Doctoral Dissertation Research: Optimizing Energy Production and Waste Treatment in Small-Scale Digesters

这一美国/哥斯达黎加博士论文研究项目将考察小型沼气池的潜力，通过在农业沼气池中添加来自动物或植物的油脂和脂肪，优化沼气池的甲烷生产、废物处理、肥料价值和发电。这项研究将在哥斯达黎加的地球大学进行。博士候选人斯蒂芬妮·兰辛在俄亥俄州立大学杰伊·马丁博士的指导下，将与开发小型消化器的领导者、地球教授劳尔·博特罗博士合作。该项目将在保持小型消化池简单设计优势的同时，通过生产可靠的电力来促进消化技术领域的发展。这项研究是多学科的，将传统的农业专业，即动物生产和作物生长，与环境工程、食品工业和能源部门的工作结合在一起。这项研究最终将提高对消化器的科学理解，并为小规模农民提供优化的消化系统，该系统可以产生电力来满足家庭需求，同时为他们的作物提供肥料，并减少由于废水管理不善而导致的疾病和环境退化。

This US/Costa Rica Doctoral Dissertation Research project will examine the potential of small-scale digesters to be optimized for methane production, waste treatment, fertilizer value, and electricity generation by adding grease and fats, of animal or vegetable origin, to agricultural digesters. The research will be conducted in Costa Rica at the EARTH University. Stephanie Lansing, a Ph.D. candidate, under the supervision of Dr. Jay Martin of Ohio State University, will collaborate with Dr. Raul Botero, a leader in the development of small-scale digesters and a professor at EARTH. The project will advance the field of digestion technology by producing reliable electricity generation while maintaining the simple design advantages of small-scale digesters. This research is multi-disciplinary and integrates traditional farming specialties, i.e. animal production and crop growth, with work from environmental engineering, the food industry, and the energy sector. The research will ultimately improve the scientific understanding of digesters and provide small-scale farmers with an optimized digestion system that produces electricity to meet household needs while providing fertilizer for their crops and reducing disease and environmental degradation caused by poor wastewater management.