Store the excess manure until it can be slowly added to the lagoon. Certain compounds are toxic to the organisms in an anaerobic lagoon. Keep chemicals such as arsenic, copper, and antibiotics out of the lagoon. Anaerobic Digesters Anaerobic digesters are used to more fully control the anaerobic processes taking place in an anaerobic lagoon. Digesters are covered, heated, and stirred to shorten the time needed to stabilize the waste, to control odors, and to capture the methane produced.
Anaerobic digesters work under the same two-step biological process as anaerobic lagoons.
One group of bacteria converts organic wastes to organic acids, and another group converts the organic acids to methane and carbon dioxide. Anaerobic digesters are operated at relatively high temperatures to stabilize wastes as quickly as possible. They are heated to maintain a temperature of 70 F to 140 F, with 100 F being optimum. Maintaining the right temperature is the single most important management factor in operating an anaerobic digester. Mixing the digester helps keep the bacteria in contact with the waste and keeps solids from settling out in the digester.