Tracer Gas Method Evaluation for Assessing the Energy Potential of Biogas from Chicken Farms in the Canary Islands

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors As a way of improving the understanding of the article, the following details
are suggested:

 

Abstract

 

Include important information in the summary (Type of biodigester, volume of the biodigester, experimental data obtained, biogas components in percentage and conclusion).

 

Materials and methods

 

Inform how the biomass is fed to the biodigester. Was the biomass mixed with water to feed to the biodigester? What is the mixture of biomass and water in proportion?

 

Was there an internal agitation system in the biodigester?

 

What is the destination of the biodigester effluent?

 

Is the farm's biogas burned to generate electricity?

 

Has the calorific value of the biogas been measured?

 

Is there a biogas purification system coupled to the biodigester on the studied farm?

 

Results and discussions

 

Compare the results obtained with those from the article “Methane and Electricity Production from Poultry Litter Digestion in the Amazon Region of Brazil: A Large-Scale Study”. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-021-01360-x

 

Suggestion: Include methane data in m3/day in Table 3.

 

Explain the variation in CH4 emission values (kd/day). Highest value 380 (October 2022) and lowest value 12 (October 2022).

 

Explain at what time (in minutes) the stability of Flow values (kd/d) in Figure 5 occurs.

 

In the part “Energy potential of biogas from chicken farms in the Canary Islands” comment on the difference between biogas and biomethane. How important is the biogas purification method? What types of technologies are found on the market for biogas purification?

Comments on the Quality of English Language

As this is a scientific article to be published in an internationally well-known Journal, it is recommended not to use the terms “We”, “Our” in the text.

 

We used "BIODIGESTOR-pro" developed by Aqualimpia Engineering

 

we recommend that these cost-effective or practical

 

we obtained for the same number of hens (~330 kg·d⁻¹)

 

Our experiments demonstrated the versatility of this

 

our estimation of the energy potential of biogas from chicke

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article has scientific value, but needs some improvement.

1. I propose to focus the article on the methodology for measuring gas composition.

Accordingly, I propose to correct the title of the article, abstract and conclusions.

2. I propose to revise the introduction. I suggest that the introduction focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of various methods and technologies for measuring gas composition.

3. Chapter 2 Materials and Methods is well written, but I suggest structuring it. It is necessary to more clearly indicate the instruments and equipment used (dates of their photos, dates of their characteristics in the table, etc.)

4. In section 3.3, I propose to visually show the results of comparative studies (for example, on a graph)

5. I propose to delete section 3.4 altogether.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf