People > Rebecca Hoffmann
Environmental Engineering Masters Student
Completeded in May 2005.
Research: Effect of Mixing Intensity on Anaerobic Digestion
of Cow Manure.
More than one billion tons of animal waste is generated each year
from dairy farms, hog farms etc. Disposal of such large amounts of waste
can lead to problems such as surface and groundwater contamination,
odors, and methane emissions. Anaerobic digestion is a possible treatment
option for animal waste, which results in energy in the form of methane
as the primary product. The effect of mixing in anaerobic digesters
is not well understood. The study determined the effect of mixing intensity
on digester performance, biomas particle size, and the microbial ecology.
Rebecca was co-advised by Dr. Muthanna Al-Dahhan.
Laboratory digester setup.
