MADMEC 2007:
MIT and Dow Materials Engineering Contest
"Materials Solutions for Alternative Energy"

Team Name: BIOGAS NICARAGUA

Team Members:

Chris Tostado, '07

Julián Villarreal, DMSE '07

Xavier Gonzalez, DMSE '10

Russell Rodewald, '10

Abstract:
Nicaragua suffers from widespread poverty and a lack of access, especially for the rural poor, to clean water and reliable energy. The World Bank reported that, in 2003, 59% (~1 million people) of rural inhabitants did not have access to a reliable source of energy - a determinant of poverty for rural households. Biomass technology provides a potential solution for addressing the needs of the poor rural population in Nicaragua, Central America, and many other developing countries around the world. Biomass technology is a renewable energy technology that uses various forms of biomass (animal dung, crop waste) and converts it into a useful energy source in the form of biogas (~70% methane) via anaerobic microbial digestion. Biogas Nicaragua, is a multi-phase project that involves the implementation, testing, and diffusion of a novel biogas technology which has the potential to increase methane production from biomass, reduce reliance on wood for cooking (a proven cause of various human health and environmental problems), and provide an economic opportunity to increase individual productivity. An alliance of four key interests groups: MIT Professors and Students, a team of Nicaraguan students from la Universidad Nacional Agraria, an ecological reserve in Nicaragua, and local community members from Diriamba, Nicaragua, our project will, in the initial stage, execute a proof-of-concept trial period involving the construction of a full scale biogas digester prototype and a model Nicaraguan kitchen (for testing connectivity and ease-of-use of the technology with community partners) at the ecological reserve alpha site.