PROFESSIONAL PROJECT PROFILE
Integrated Biogas System at Three Crowns School Three Crowns Rural School in the Lady Frere district of the Eastern Cape has been the recent beneficiary of an integrated biogas system as its primary sanitation system where it provides a robust, low-maintenance sanitation solution for 170 staff and pupils. The project was implemented by Finishes Of Nature in partnership with People’s Power Africa and the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) and forms part of the ‘sustainability commons’, an initiative established by the Chris Hani District Municipality whereby sustainable, appropriate and demonstrable technologies are deployed at a learning hub for the benefit of learners and the surrounding community. The system is based on the patented AIWPS system which the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) brought into the public domain in South Africa after 12 years of extensive testing at the Institute of Environmental Biotechnology at Rhodes University. Rhodes University is also conducting the initial monitoring of the Three Crowns project with very positive initial results. The treatment of waste-water and other organic wastes through anaerobic digestion at Three Crowns has the additional benefit of producing methane which can be used for cooking, water heating and other thermal applications. In the case of the school, the gas is piped to the kitchen facilities to be used for the cooking of school meals.
Locally manufactured pre-fabricated digesters being installed