Manila Bulletin, Philippines : Bioreactor turns wastes into fertilizer in 4-5 days

16/04/2003

Bioreactor turns wastes into fertilizer in 4-5 days

By Zac B. Sarian

A bioreactor that could help solve the garbage and at the same time produce organic fertilizer will be launched next Wednesday at the Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon City.

This is the Bioreactor 500 developed at the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) of the Department of Science and Technology.

The bioreactor is a machine that basically turns into compost in just four to five days the biodegradable organic municipal and household wastes, says Engr. Romeo Cabacang, the leader of the team that developed the technology.

The rapid composting is made possible with the use of a microbial inoculant composed of heat-loving microorganisms isolated from soil samples from high-temperature areas like volcanoes and hot springs found locally.

Cabacang emphasizes, however, that the solid wastes fed to the bioreactor should be biodegradable. Plastics, glass and steel and the like should never be included.

The bioreactor has already been tested in various communities that include a public market in Bulacan, the Smokey Mountain in Manila, Las Piñas City, Parañaque, Tuguegarao (Cagayan) and at the National Kidney Transplant Institute in Quezon City.

The unit at the Smokey Mountain generates two tons of compost daily by continuously processing biodegradable wastes. The compost is being sold at R3 per kilo or R6,000 for the two tons produced daily.

For this year, ITDI plans to produce 500 units of Bioreactor 500 which has a capacity of half a ton. It has already accredited some private fabricators who will manufacture the units.

Lately, a demo unit was earlier sent to Ayala Alabang Village in response to a request from the subdivision. The unit is now being used to make garden wastes into compost. If proven successful, the village which has 4,500 residential homes will order eight more units, according to Cely Lozano, a member of Cabacang's team.

ITDI, by the way, is headed by Dr. Ernesto P. Lozada, a graduate of UP Los Baños.

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MODULAR BIOPOWER SYSTEM. A modular biopower system that delivers three forms of power for rural enterprises in developing countries has been launched in Aklan, according to Perla Manapol of the Sustainable Rural Enterprise based in Ibajay, Aklan.

This is the C-PUP or Community Productive Use Platform in Ibajay put up by the Community Power Corporation of the USA which converts local biomass residues into different forms of power that can be applied to a myriad of productive uses.

For example, at a small coconut processing facility in Aklan, it has demonstrated the ability to simultaneously grind husks and shells using shaft power, light the facility and pump water using electrical power. It can also dry fiber and copra using thermal power.