Nopalimex

Target SDGs

Market Suggested Retail Price

$2,170,000.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Public Sector Agencies

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Nopalimex is the sole distributor in Mexico. This firm generates gas and electricity using nopal biomass.

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include G2E Biomass Gasification Plant.

Countries

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Mexico

Manufacturing/Building Method

Plants are designed and custom-built individually. Nopal plantation is liquefied by a special machine. The resulting pulp is mixed in large tanks with water at 38 degrees C which is the required temperature to break down nopal and release methane. Further treatment with sulphuric acid extracts carbon dioxide, giving the plant a 96% concentration of methane at a production rate of eight tons a day.

Intellectural Property Type

Patent

User Provision Model

Users can obtain the product directly from Nopalimex.

Distributions to Date Status

Two plants to date in the town of Zitacuaro, in central Michoacan state, the first to aliment the company 'El Manjar del Campo' that produces tortillas, the second used to fuel the town's vehicle fleet.

Design Specifications

The system includes a well-insulated above-ground container. The biogas digester processes prickly pears (from the cactus) into biomethane. The pears are ground up into a soup, mixed with manure and fermented in a digester. The biogas generated is then cooled to dewater it.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

May be provided by the manufacturer

Replacement Components

N/A

Lifecycle

Unknown

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

To convert nopal leaves into a source of usable energy.

Vetted Performance Status

Research was conducted by scientists in Oxford University on the prickly pear cacti and they found that the plant can help produce more food in drought-stricken areas. Since the cacti absorbs high quantities of water, after digestion biogas is made, liquid and solid fertilizer will be left over. This in turn is used to better cultivate crops in areas that could not otherwise support them.

Safety

There are some dangers associated with biogas, including fire hazard, explosion, gas leaks, and negative pressure.

Complementary Technical Systems

None

Academic Research and References

Compliance with regulations

None

Evaluation methods

Unknown

Other Information

The biodigestor was developed with expert advice from the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico, the Autonomous University of Chapingo and the Electric Power Research Institute. Expert advisors have indicated that the good economics depend on having a good quality feed material easily accessible - in this case nopal (prickly pear).