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

这个美国/哥斯达黎加博士论文研究项目将通过向农业沼气池中添加动物或蔬菜来源的油脂和脂肪，研究小型沼气池在甲烷生产、废物处理、肥料价值和发电方面的潜力。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（Stephanie Lansing）在俄亥俄州立大学（Ohio State University）杰伊·马丁（Jay Martin）博士的指导下，将与劳尔·波特罗（Raul Botero）博士合作，后者是开发小型消化器的领导者，也是地球研究所（EARTH）的教授。该项目将通过产生可靠的发电，同时保持小型消化器的简单设计优势，推动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起来。这项研究最终将提高对消化器的科学认识，并为小农提供一种优化的消化系统，该系统可以发电满足家庭需求，同时为他们的作物提供肥料，减少因废水管理不善造成的疾病和环境退化。

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.