BerreNeyrinck/Biogas-digester-data-extraction

Documentation to create and implement an array of sensors to gather data from the inside of a biogas digester, made in combination with "Students for Energy in Africa", "Ardhi University" and "Vlirous" # Biogas Digester Data Extraction > Documentation and implementation guide for deploying an array of sensors inside a biogas digester to collect and transmit real-time environmental data. Developed in collaboration with **Students for Energy in Africa**, **Ardhi University** (Tanzania), and **Vlirous**. --- ## Project Overview This project tackles a real-world energy challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa: monitoring the internal conditions of biogas digesters to optimize gas production and ensure safe operation. By deploying a network of embedded sensors inside the digester, the system continuously gathers critical environmental data and transmits it to a central backend for processing and visualization. The project was developed as part of an international collaboration between AP University College (Belgium), Ardhi University (Tanzania), and the NGO Students for Energy in Africa. --- ## What It Measures The sensor array monitors the internal conditions of the biogas digester, including: - **Temperature** - **Humidity** - **Gas concentration** - **Additional environmental parameters** --- ## My Contributions ### 1. Sensor Hardware Analysis This means selecting appropriate sensors for the harsh conditions inside a biogas digester(looking at aspects like corrosion, explosion proofing, pressure and temperature ratings). ### 2. Firmware & Embedded Code Wrote and tested the embedded firmware responsible for reading sensor data, handling I2C/SPI communication between the microcontroller and sensor modules, and preparing data payloads for transmission over MQTT. ### 3. Documentation & Diagrams Authored the full technical documentation for the project using **Docsify**, a lightweight docs-as-code framework. This includes communication architecture sketches, sensor breakout schematics, and setup guides — ensuring the project can be continued and extended by future contributors in both Belgium and Tanzania. --- ## Tech Stack | Layer | Technology | |---|---| …