Morgan McCollum: Summary of Biogas Presentation

Summary of Biogas Presentation

What is biogas?

When organic waste is allowed to decompose without oxygen, it produces a gas mixture of 35-50% methane, 20-45% carbon dioxide, among other gases. This mixture is called biogas. Organic waste may include sewage, municipal solid waste, agricultural and industrial waste, and animal manure. The gas can then be used for electricity, to heat homes and buildings, and fertilizers.

Biogas and the United States

There are currently 541 landfills in the United States producing electricity onsite via anaerobic digesters. However, the EPA estimates that 510 additional landfills have the potential to do so as well. In addition, the EPA estimates that over 8,000 farms could support these digesters. Conflicts arise due to high initial costs to producing anaerobic digesters, lack of government funding, and lack of an outlet to sell generated biogas. Thus, biogas has not taken a very strong foothold in the United States.

Biogas and China

China was one of the first countries to begin using biogas. Recently, China established the National Rural Biogas Construction Plan and in 2010, aimed for a goal of 1 in 10 rural households to use biogas.

Biogas acts as an alternative to wood burning, which many rural homes use because they cannot afford kerosene or coal. This will reduce indoor air pollution, and can also decrease the time and energy required by women to gather wood and cook. With this additional time, women can obtain jobs, increasing a home’s income, and also increasing the potential for leisure time. With an increased standard of living, there will be a decrease rural to urban migration. In addition, biogas will provide a safe way to dispose of manure, decreasing the likelihood of disease caused by e-coli.

China also has no shortage of garbage, recently surpassing the United States as the largest producer of household garbage. Landfills and incinerators are consuming too much land, and incinerators can release many cancer-causing dioxins.

Is Biogas a Future?

Biogas is extremely beneficial to certain sub-sets of the population. In China, biogas is great for the rural sector, and farmers and landfills in the United States can use it on-site as well. It is particularly useful in developing countries, where fuel is mainly used during the cooking process, and small biogas units can be made solely out of plastic tank and some tubing. Biogas is not a large-scale solution, but with experts estimating a need for liquid gas to extend about 50 more years, it may be a worthwhile investment, especially in China and other developing countries.

More information can be found from the Department of Energy: “Clean Cities Now;” the American Biogas Council; www.biocycle.net