January 25th, 2011

The 10 m³ experimental digester at the production site of Mali Biocarburant SA (MBSA) in Koulikoro is functioning well. The digester was started up in mid-December 2010, and is currently operated and monitored by MBSA staff. The biogas produced is now of sufficient quality for use in a cooking stove. small amounts of jatropha press cake are now being added to the daily mix of cattle manure and water, which will increase gas production. Experiments with the use of the gas in the Multifunctional Platform engine will start soon. 

By the end of February, a student from the Dutch AVANS Hogeschool will start a four-month assignment investigating the separation of liquids and solids from the digester effluent. The objective of his work is to find a suitable separation technique that will enable the re-use of water, and at the same time improve the attributes of the effluent as a fertiliser.