Swamp Gas Question

 I live on 16 acres with 13 acres being a  peat bog.  You can walk on it but
it is wet a few feet down.

Has anyone heard of a method of capturing some of the biogas in a bog to use
as fuel for a gas stove?

Thanks
RO

 

When they do this with pits of manure, they use plastic/rubber that is
sealed by the edges.

Are there particular "hotspots", or are the methane comming up more
"here and there".

--
SEE YA !!!
Trygve Lillefosse
AKA - Malawi, The Fisher King

 I don't know about hot spots.  I assume all that wet rotting goo is
producing gas in some amount all the time - all over.
RO

 

The bog may not be producing any gas at all.  If it is too acid - from tannic
acid in the wood and leaves that made it - the bacteria that make the gas
can't grow.  That's why bogs are bogs and many of 'em are hundreds of years
old.

The first thing you'd want to do is survey the place.  The least cost method I
can think of is to cover an area with a plastic tarp, tuck the edges into the
ground, wait awhile for any gas to build up and then sniff the space under the
tarp with a methane gas detector.  Many tool rental stores rent the things for
testing the air in confined spaces.

Even without the methane detector, if you get the edges of the tarp sealed
well and it doesn't inflate at least a little after a day or two then you know
that there's not enough gas production to be useful.  Even if it does inflate,
it could contain too much CO2 to be a fuel.

The way landfills are capped for methane recovery involves laying on a cap of
dense impermeable clay, with or without a plastic membrane underneath. Usually
a membrane is used when the available clay is sandy and semipermeable.

Unless you get lucky and find a blow-hole, a spot where methane is bubbling or
flowing (depending on the water level) from the depths, it's probably not
worth the effort and money.  The money would probably be better spent making a
digester (a septic tank will do) and feeding it manure, if that is available.

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com  <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
Remember, amateurs made the Ark, professionals made the Titanic.