What’s biogas?

Biogas is a renewable fuel produced by the breakdown of organic matter such as meals scraps and animal waste. It can be used in a wide range of ways including as vehicle fuel and for heating and electricity generation. Read on to study more.

What’s biogas? How is biogas produced?

Biogas is an environmentally-pleasant, renewable energy source.

It’s produced when natural matter, similar to meals or animal waste, is broken down by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen, in a process called anaerobic digestion. For this to take place, the waste material must be enclosed in an surroundings the place there isn’t any oxygen.

It could possibly occur naturally or as part of an industrial process to intentionally create biogas as a fuel.

What sort of waste can be utilized to produce biogas?

A wide number of waste materials breaks down into biogas, together with animal manure, municipal rubbish/ waste, plant material, meals waste or sewage.

Which gases does biogas comprise?

Biogas consists mainly of methane and carbon dioxide. It could additionally embody small amounts of hydrogen sulphide, siloxanes and a few moisture. The relative quantities of these vary relying on the type of waste involved within the production of the ensuing biogas.

What can biogas be used for?

To fuel vehicles – if biogas is compressed it can be used as a vehicle fuel.

As a replacement for natural gas – if biogas is cleaned up and upgraded to natural gas standards, it’s then known as biomethane and can be used in a similar way to methane; this can embody for cooking and heating.

Biogas: 6 fascinating info

1. Biogas is a gas of many names

Biogas is most commonly additionally known as biomethane. It’s additionally sometimes called marsh gas, sewer gas, compost gas and swamp gas within the US.

Biogas is a naturally occurring and renewable supply of energy, ensuing from the breakdown of organic matter. Biogas is to not be confused with ‘natural’ gas, which is a non-renewable source of power.

2. Biogas and biomass: relatedities and differences

Biomass and biogas are both biofuels; they can be burnt to produce energy. However biomass is the strong, natural material. Biomass has been used as an energy source since humans first discovered fire and burnt wood, plants and animal dung to create energy.

At this time, many power stations run by burning a biomass of compressed wood pellets – a by-product of timber and furniture-making. By replacing fossil-fuel coal, biomass enables renewable electricity to be produced.

3. Biogas just isn’t a new discovery

The anaerobic process of decomposition (or fermentation) of organic matter has been taking place in nature for millions of years, even before fossil fuels, and continues to occur all around us in the natural world. As we speak’s industrial conversion of natural waste into energy in biogas plants is solely fast-forwarding nature’s ability to recycle its helpful resources.

The primary human use of biogas is assumed thus far back to three,000BC within the Center East, when the Assyrians used biogas to heat their baths.

A 17th century chemist, Jan Baptist van Helmont, discovered that flammable gases could come from decaying organic matter. Van Helmont is also accountable for bringing the word ‘gas’, from the Greek word chaos, into the science vocabulary.

The primary large anaerobic digestion plant dates back to 1859 in a leper colony in Bombay.

An creative Victorian engineer, John Webb from Birmingham, created the Sewage Lamp, which transformed sewage into biogas to light avenue lamps. The only remaining Webb Sewer Lamp in London is now just off The Strand in Carting Lane – or as some wags would have it, Farting Lane.

Anaerobic digestion was used as a way to deal with municipal wastewater, before chemical treatments. In the developing world the anaerobic process is still recognised as an inexpensive, natural various to chemical substances and the reduction of dysentery bacteria.

And let’s not neglect that in Mad Max Past Thunderdome the post-apocalyptic settlement Bartertown, run by Tina Turner’s terrifying Aunty Entity, is powered by a pig-farm biogas system with biogas used to power the desert-chasing vehicles.

4. Right this moment China leads the world in the use of biogas

China has the largest number of biogas plants, with an estimated 50 million households utilizing biogas. These are principally in rural areas and small-scale dwelling and village plants.