Management of the Physical / Chemical Parameters of Solid Biomass Degradation Using a Data Acquisition System 2000-01-2470

An automated Data Acquisition System (DAS) for managing and controlling an aerobic biodegradation process of solid biomass has been developed. The system employs a personal computer equipped with a data acquisition card and a visual basic software (LabVIEW). The DAS was integrated with the physical / chemical hardware (a bioreactor with its auxiliary equipment) through the necessary sensing devices. These sensing devices include in-line electrical-conductivity (EC), pH, and temperature probes. A flow sensor was inserted in the circulating sampling line to ensure that the in-line manifold does not contain air bubbles or clogged with fine particles. A gas analyzer was used to sample off-gases from the bioreactor to measure and record the change in the CO₂ and O₂ levels. The data acquisition system is capable of controlling the pH level inside the bioreactor by activating acid or base metering pumps. A safety electronic circuit was designed and used in conjunction with the data acquisition system to prevent operational abnormalities such as subsystem failure and/or power failure. The integrated system was tested using sweetpotato biomass for various biodegradation cycles ranging from one week to seven weeks. It was found that the system performs successfully over a long duration of time with minimum human interference.