Biogas

.A
Report

Report by1.Siddharth Krishna (Roll no. - 39)

2.Rekha Kumari
(Roll no. -22 )
Group Number Branch

22
-

EEE B

Date of Submission - 19th October 2012

INDEX
Biogas (An introduction)
Why Biogas??
o Natural cycle
Biogas vs. Natural Gas
Raw Biogas
Biogas upgrading
Biogas composition
Biogas production
o Biogas digesters
o Investment saving
o Odour reduction
o Biogas scrubbing
Biogas compression and storage
Biogas sources
Advantages
Disadvantages
Biogas as Energy
Biogas fuels
o Fuel quality
Injection of biogas in the natural gas network
Transportation of biogas
Biogas usage in industry
Applications
Developments around the world
The final thing
References

Biogas (An Introduction) -

Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by breakdown of organic matter in the

absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal
feces, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas. Biogas
originates from biogenic material and is a type of bio fuel. Biogas is a clean &
environment friendly fuel. Raw biogas contains about 5565% methane (CH4), 30
45% carbon dioxide (CO2), traces of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and fractions of water
vapors. Biogas is highly flammable and is produced through the anaerobic (without
oxygen) decomposition of organic materials from plants and animals. It is similar in
most respect to Natural gas (obtained from fossil fuel) used for heating and cooking
at homes and industries. Presently, it can be used only at the place where it is
produced.
There is a great need to make biogas transportable. This can
be done by compressing the gas in cylinders which is possible only after
removing its CO2, H2S and water vapor components. Pilot level trials to
compress the biogas have been carried out by a number of earlier
investigators working on the subject. This paper reviews the efforts made to
improve the quality of biogas by scrubbing CO2 and the results obtained.
There is a lot of potential if biogas could be made viable as a transport
vehicle fuel like CNG by compressing it and filling into cylinders after
scrubbing and drying. Thus the need emerges for a unified approach for
scrubbing, compressing and subsequent storage of biogas for
wider applications.

Why Biogas??

India has 300 million cattle .Biogas technology may have the potential to
short-circuit the 'energy transition' as Leach (1987) describes the
transformation from biomass to 'modern' fuels.

The enormous potential of biogas, estimated at 17,000 MW

The gas is useful as a fuel substitute
Biogas systems also provide a residue organic waste, after anaerobic
digestion that has superior nutrient qualities over the usual organic
fertilizer.
Functions as a waste disposal system, particularly for human waste.
Prevent potential sources of environmental contamination.
Provision of power for a rural-based industry
Biogas may also provide the user with income generating opportunities
By providing an alternative source of fuel, biogas can replace the
traditional biomass based fuels,
What is more certain, is the impact on rural womens' lives.
A clean and particulate-free source of energy also reduces the likelihood
of chronic diseases
Significant reductions in emissions associated with the combustion of bio
fuels, the use of biogas systems in an agrarian community can increase
agricultural productivity

Natural cycle
Biogas optimizes farm economy. The biogas plant is a sustainable system in which
all the components form a natural cycle. The biogas is used for energy emitting CO 2
and H2O, the minerals are going back into the soil and the organic waste will
improve the structure of the soil.

Biogas vs. Natural Gas

Raw biogas, however, has much lower strength than natural gas because its
methane content is lower than that of natural gas. Natural gas has between 90 to
99 % methane content where most raw biogas will have about 60 to 80% methane.
To make biogas compete with natural gas, the impurities (gases such as CO 2, H2S
etc) should be removed. CO2 removal is termed biogas upgrade while the removal
of H2S and other gases is often termed biogas cleaning.
Therefore, after undergoing some purification, biogas can be used just the same
way we use natural gas to produce heating and cooking at homes and offices .

According to its composition, biogas presents characteristics interesting to compare

with natural gas and propane. Biogas is a gas appreciably lighter than air, it
produces twice as less calories by combustion with equal volume of natural gas.
Upgraded biogas has the same properties as natural gas. It therefore can be used
with the same engine and vehicle configuration as natural gas. Worldwide there are
about 3.8 million natural gas fuelled vehicles, mainly in Argentina, brazil, Pakistan,
Italy, India and the US(ENGVA,2004) and about 10,000 biogas driven cars and
buses, demonstrating that the vehicle configuration is not a problem for use
of biogas as vehicle fuel. This equals about 0.5% of the world vehicle stock.

Raw biogas
Upgraded biogas can be used as a standalone fuel. There are examples where it is
distributed at pumping stations next to the place of production like in Otelfingen,
Switzerland. In other cases it is collected and transported by trucks to pumping
stations usually in urban areas like in Stockholm. In other places the biogas is
transported over a special gas line to the city in link Oping, Sweden.
The predominant part of the biogas for fuel in Switzerland is upgraded and fed into
the natural gas grid. The fuelling at the pumping station is virtual, i.e. you usually
buy natural gas however, on a data base the provider keeps exactly track on how
much biogas is introduced and how much has been used at their pumping stations.
The data base which is controlled by a third party. In Switzerland, it is the state who
does the control because the biogas is tax free.

Biogas upgrading
Raw biogas produced from digestion is roughly 60% methane and 29% CO2 with
trace elements of H2S, and is not high quality enough to be used as fuel gas for
machinery. The corrosive nature of H2S alone is enough to destroy the internals of a
plant. The solution is the use of biogas upgrading or purification processes whereby
contaminants in the raw biogas stream are absorbed or scrubbed, leaving more
methane per unit volume of gas. There are four main methods of biogas upgrading,
these include water washing, pressure swing absorption, selexol absorption,
and amine gas treating. The most prevalent method is water washing where high
pressure gas flows into a column where the carbon dioxide and other trace
elements are scrubbed by cascading water running counter-flow to the gas. This
arrangement could deliver 98% methane with manufacturers guaranteeing
maximum 2% methane loss in the system. It takes roughly between 3-6% of the
total energy output in gas to run a biogas upgrading system.

Biogas Composition

The composition of biogas varies depending upon the origin of the anaerobic
digestion process. Landfill gas typically has methane concentrations around 50%.
Advanced waste treatment technologies can produce biogas with 5575%
methane, which for reactors with free liquids can be increased to 80-90% methane
Typical composition of biogas

Compound

Chemical

Methane

CH4

5075

Carbon dioxide

CO2

2550

Nitrogen

N2

010

Hydrogen

H2

01

Hydrogen sulphide

H2S

03

Oxygen

O2

00

using in-situ gas purification techniques. As-produced, biogas also contains water
vapor. The fractional volume of water vapor is a function of biogas temperature;
correction of measured gas volume for both water vapor content and thermal
expansion is easily done via a simple mathematic algorithm which yields the
standardized volume of dry biogas.
In some cases, biogas contains siloxanes. These siloxanes are formed from
the anaerobic decomposition of materials commonly found in soaps and detergents.
During combustion of biogas containing siloxanes, silicon is released and can
combine with free oxygen or various other elements in thecombustion gas. Deposits
are formed containing mostly silica (SiO2) or silicates (SixOy) and can also
contain calcium, sulfur, zinc, phosphorus. Such white mineral deposits accumulate
to a surface thickness of several millimeters and must be removed by chemical or
mechanical means.
Practical and cost-effective technologies to remove siloxanes and other biogas
contaminants are currently available.

Biogas Production
Biogas is produced by the anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biodegradable
materials such as biomass, manure, sewage, municipal waste, green waste, plant
material, and crops. Biogas comprises primarily methane (CH4) and carbon
dioxide (CO2) and may have small amount of hydrogen sulphide(H 2S), moisture
and siloxanes.
Biogas is practically produced as landfill gas (LFG) or digested gas. A bio gas
plant is the name often given to an anaerobic digester that treats farm wastes or
energy crops. Bio gas can be produced using anaerobic digesters. These plants can
be fed with energy crops such as maize silage or biodegradable wastes including
sewage sludge and food waste. During the process, as an air-tight tank transforms
biomass waste into methane producing renewable energy that can be used for
heating, electricity, and many other operations that use any variation of an internal
combustion engine, such as GE Backbencher gas engines. There are two key
processes: Mesolithic and Thermophilic digestion. In experimental work

at University of Alaska Fairbanks, a 1000-litre digested

using psychotropics harvested from "mud from a frozen lake in Alaska" has
produced 200300 liters of methane per day, about 2030% of the output from dig
esters in warmer climates.
Landfill gas is produced by wet organic waste decomposing under anaerobic
conditions in a landfill. The waste is covered and mechanically compressed by the
weight of the material that is deposited from above. This material prevents oxygen
exposure thus allowing anaerobic microbes to thrive. This gas builds up and is
slowly released into the atmosphere if the landfill site has not been engineered to
capture the gas. Landfill gas is hazardous for three key reasons. Landfill gas
becomes explosive when it escapes from the landfill and mixes with oxygen. The
lower explosive limit is 5% methane and the upper explosive limit is 15%
methane. The methane contained within biogas is 20 times more potent as
a greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide. Therefore, uncontained landfill gas, which
escapes into the atmosphere, may significantly contribute to the effects of global
warming. In addition, landfill gas impact in global warming, volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) contained within landfill gas contribute to the formation
of photochemical smog.

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process making it possible to degrade organic

matter by producing biogas which is a renewable energy source and a sludge used
as fertilizer.
The production of biogas is carried out in the environment in a natural way (e.g. gas
of marshes - vegetable and animal matter decomposition where the formation of
bubbles at water surface can be observed).
In the absence of oxygen (anaerobic digestion), the organic matter is degraded
partially by the combined action of several types of micro-organisms. A succession
of biological reactions (see diagram) led to the formation of biogas and sludge.
The bacteria which carry out these reactions exist in natural state in the liquid
manure and the anaerobic ecosystems; it is not necessary to add more, they
develop naturally in a medium without oxygen.

Related Terms:

Hydrolysis

The organic macromolecules break up into simpler elements - solid waste thus is liquefied and
hydrolyzed in small soluble molecules (e.g. the cellulose is transformed into soluble sugars
such as glucose or cellobiose.
Acidogenesis

This process transforms these simple molecules into acids of weak molecular weight such as
lactic acid and volatile fatty-acids from 2 to 5 carbon atoms. In parallel are produced lowweight molecular alcohol, such as bicarbonate ethanol and molecular hydrogen.
Acetogenesis

The products resulting from fermentation require an additional transformation before being
able to produce methane. It is here that intervene the acetogenes reducing bacteria and the
sulfato-reducing bacteria, producing hydrogen sulphide (H2S)
Methanogenesis

The ultimate phase during which two types of methanogenes bacteria take over: the first ones
(acetogenes) reduce methane acetate, CH4 and bicarbonate. The second ones, reduce methane
bicarbonate.

Biogas Digesters
Types of biogas digesters

Various types of biogas digesters have been developed including floating drum,
fixed dome, and plastic bag models. The most reliable design is that of the fixed
dome type, made of masonry and/or concrete, largely underground, and installed in
the yard of the family.
What are biogas digesters about?

A biogas digester takes animal waste and turns it into a useful fuel (methane) for
cooking, lighting, and heating. Biogas originates from the anaerobic digestion of
organic material. The daily operation of a biodigester mainly consists on feeding
the plant with a mixture of organic waste (dung) and water. Through the digestion
process, the waste not turned into biogas is sanitized through: predation by
anaerobic microbes; and the absence of oxygen. This sanitized waste effluent can
be used as an organic fertilizer when diluted .

Some of the key expected benefits of an anaerobic

digester are:

Odor control

Renewable energy production

Pathogen reduction

Greenhouse gas reduction

Reduction in total oxygen demand of the treated manure (total oxygen

demand is a measure of potential impact on aquatic systems)

Investments saving
New enterprises can have considerable investment savings due to the possibility to
avoid building new gas pipeline, electricity line, auxiliary generators and waste
storage facilities. Thanks to the short digestion period the volume of waste lagoons
can be reduced twice. Investment cost savings can reach about 30-40% from
biogas plant price.
Weed Seed Destruction We did a simple germination test of the digested manure to
test for presence of weed seeds and no weeds were detected. Seed germination of
samples run through the CARE digester, and results will be available in 2010
Greenhouse Gas Reductions Burning methane has resulted in a reduction in
greenhouse gases. In the first 10 operating months, it was estimated that the
equivalent of approximately 680 tons of carbon dioxide were mitigated.25
Emissions Anaerobic digestion, besides methane and carbon dioxide, also produces
small amounts of hydrogen sulfide (toxic to humans in certain situations26),
nitrogen, ammonia and other trace gases. After combustion, this results in
emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and small amounts of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and
particulate matter (PM). It should be noted that hydrogen sulfide would be emitted
without the digester, and that by burning the biogas, hydrogen sulfide is converted
into sulfur dioxide, which is less toxic to humans.

Odour Reduction
The reduction in odor from the digester is very noticeable. Near the pond where
the digested manure is stored, there is only a slight odor. Farms that injected the
digested manure on their fields several times in the spring of 2000. Neighbors have

not reported noticing a smell, where as when the Farms would apply raw manure
neighbors would notice the smell for several days, although no complaints were
made. .

Payback of 5 years on investment is possible

A good time to install a digester is when changing or expanding

operations

Electric utility cooperation is important

Active management is crucial for stable digester and engine operation

Digester design and engineering expertise is key

There are barriers to financing digester systems

Cooperative agency participation reduces the barriers to a projects

success

Manure collection method and collection frequency are important

Anaerobic digesters biologically treat manure and produce a stable effluent with
slightly different chemical characteristics than raw manure. In the process, a biogas
composed primarily of methane is produced, captured, and the gas is then
combusted in an engine, boiler or flare. Manure treatment reduces total oxygen
demand, odors and pathogens

Biogas Scrubbing
Need of scrubbing of biogas
As the biogas is the mixture of 65% methane (CH 4), 45% carbon dioxide, hydrogen
sulphide and small amounts of water vapors. Due to the presence of CO 2,
combustion properties of biogas reduce. Because CO 2 helps in combustion process.

Therefore it is necessary to remove the percentage of CO 2 from biogas in order to

produce pure methane gas having highest calorific value .The following information

gives the calorific value of some fuels.

TYPE OF FUEL C.V (KJ/KG)
Rough biogas 5500-6000
Petrol 4600
Diesel 4500
L.P.G gas 4618
Scrubbed biogas 5500

From the above observation it is clear that C.V of scrubbed biogas that is pure
methane having highest calorific value as compare to petrol, diesel & L.P.G gas .
calorific value of rough biogas is very small.
Therefore it is very necessary to remove CO2 from biogas such a method is called of
scrubbing of biogas. After production of scrubbed biogas, it can be used as an
alternating fuel in place of petrol,diesel and L.P.G gas.

CO2 scrubbing from biogas

A variety of processes are being used for removing CO 2 from natural gas in
petrochemical industries. Several basic mechanisms are involved to achieve
selective separation of gas constituents. These may include physical or chemical
absorption, adsorption on a solid surface, membrane separation, cryogenic
separation and chemical conversion.
1. Physical absorption
For biogas scrubbing physical/chemical absorption method is generally applied as
they are effective even at low flow rates that the biogas plants are normally
operating at. Also the method is less complicated, requires fewer infrastructures
and is cost effective.
One of the easiest and cheapest method involves the use of pressurized water as
an absorbent. The raw biogas is compressed and fed into a packed bed column
from bottom; pressurized water is sprayed from the top. The absorption process is,
thus a counter-current one. This dissolves CO 2 as well as H2S in water, which are
collected at the bottom of the tower. The water could be recycled to the first
scrubbing towers. This perhaps is the simplest method for scrubbing biogas.
Bhattacharya developed one such water scrubbing system. The process provides
100% pure methane but is dependent on factors like dimensions of scrubbing
tower, gas pressure, and composition of raw biogas, water flow rates and purity of
water used.
Vijay developed a packed bed type scrubbing system using the locally available
packing materials removing 3040% more CO2 by volume compared with the
scrubbing systems without a packed bed.
Khapre designed a continuous counter-current type scrubber with gas flow rate of

1.8 m3/h at 0.48 bar pressure and water in flow rate of 0.465m 3/h. It continuously
reduced CO2 from 30% at inlet to 2% at outlet by volume.
Dubey tried three water scrubbers having diameters 150 mm (height: 1.5 m), 100
mm (height: 10 m) and 75 mm (height: 10 m) to absorb CO 2 present (3741%) in
the biogas. He found that the CO2 absorption is influenced by the flow rates of gas
and water than different diameters of scrubbers.
The G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India developed
a 6 m high scrubbing tower, packed up to 2.5 m height with spherical plastic balls
of 25 mm diameter. The raw biogas compressed at 5.88 bar pressure was passed at
a flow rate of 2m3/h while water was circulating through the tower. A maximum of
87.6% of the CO2 present could be removed from the raw biogas.
Water scrubbing method is popular for CO 2 removal in sewage sludge based biogas
plants in Sweden, France and USA. The results show that 510% CO 2 remains in
biogas after scrubbing.

2. Chemical absorption
Chemical absorption involves formation of reversible chemical bonds between the
solute and the solvent. Regeneration of the solvent, therefore, involves breaking of
these bonds and correspondingly, a relatively high energy input. Chemical solvents
generally employ either aqueous solutions of amines, i.e. mono-, di- or triethanolamine or aqueous solution of alkaline salts, i.e. sodium, potassium and
calcium hydroxides.
Biswas reported that by bubbling biogas through 10% aqueous solution of monoethanolamine (MEA), the CO2 content of the biogas was reduced from 40 to 0.5
1.0% by volume. MEA solution can be completely regenerated by boiling for 5 min
and thus can be used again.
Savery suggested that the three agents NaOH, KOH and Ca(OH) 2 can be used in
chemical scrubbing of biogas. The absorption of CO 2 in alkaline solution is assisted
by agitation. The turbulence in the liquid aids to diffusion of the molecule in the
body of liquid and extends the contact time between the liquid and gas. Another
factor governing the rate of absorption is concentration of the solution. The rate of
absorption is most rapid with NaOH at normality's of 2.53.0.

3. Adsorption on a solid surface

Adsorption process involves the transfer of solute in the gas stream to the surface
of a solid material, where they concentrate mainly as a result of physical or Vander
wall forces. Commercial adsorbents are generally granular solids with a large
surface area per unit volume. By a proper choice of adsorbent, the process can
remove CO2, H2S, moisture and other impurities either selectively or simultaneously
from biogas.
Gas purification can also be carried out using some form of silica, alumina,
activated carbon or silicates, which are also known as molecular sieves.

Adsorption is generally accomplished at high temperature and pressure. It has

good moisture removal capacities, simple in design and easy to operate. But it is a
costly process with high pressure drops and high heat requirements.
Schomaker reported that CO2 could be removed from biogas by pressure swing
adsorption which consists of at least three active carbon beds. One of the beds is
fed with biogas under pressure (6bar) CO 2 is adsorbed. When there is saturation of
CO2 in the adsorption bed, the process is shifted to the second bed. The saturated
bed is depressurized to ambient pressure. The efficiency of this process is up to
98%.
Continuous monitoring of a small-scale installation (26 m 3/h) in Sweden using
pressure swing adsorption technique through carbon molecular sieves have given
excellent results in terms of clean gas, energy efficiency and cost.
Pandey and Fabian used naturally occurring zeolite-Neopoliton Yellow Tuff (NYT) for
adsorption. They found that the active component for CO 2 adsorption is chabazite,
which has adsorption capacity of 0.4 kg CO 2 per kg of chabazite at 1.50 bar and 22
C. During the adsorption process the H2S content is also reduced.
4. Membrane separation

The principle is that some components of the raw gas could be transported through
a thin membrane (<1 mm) while others are retained. The transportation of each
component is driven by the difference in partial pressure over the membrane and is
highly dependent on the permeability of the component in the membrane material.
For high methane purity, permeability must be high. Solid membrane constructed
from acetatecellulose polymer has permeability for CO 2 and H2S up to 20 and 60
times, respectively, higher than CH4. However, a pressure of 2540bar is required
for the process.
Wellinger and Lindberg described two basic systems of gas scrubbing with
membranes: a high pressure gas separation with gas phases on the both sides of
the membrane and a low pressure gas liquid absorption on separation where a
liquid absorbs the molecule diffusing through the membrane. The high pressure
gas separation membranes can last up to 3 years which is comparable to the life
time of membranes used for natural gas purificationwhich last typically 25
years.
Rautenbach et al. designed a pilot plant for the removal of CO 2 from biogas using
membrane separation technique. He reported that Monsanto and acetate cellulose
membranes are more permeable to CO2, O2 and H2S than CH4. The best separation
occurred at 25 C temperature and 5.50 bar pressure.
The gas flux across the membrane increases proportionally with the partial
pressure difference. Thus, higher the pressure difference, the smaller is the
membrane area required. However, maximum pressure which membrane can

withstand must be taken into consideration.

5. Cryogenic separation
The cryogenic method of purification involves the separation of the gas mixtures by
fractional condensations and distillations at low temperatures. The process has the
advantage that it allows recovery of pure component in the form of a liquid, which
can be transported conveniently. However, attempts to apply the cryogenic process
for the removal of CO2 from digester gas by Los Angelus County sanitation have not
proven successful. Rather complicated flow streams are involved and thermal
efficiency is low. Capital cost and utility requirements are also high.
In a cryogenic method, crude biogas is compressed to approximately 80 bar. The
compression is made in multiple stages with inter-cooling. The compressed gas is
dried to avoid freezing during cooling process. The biogas is cooled with chillers
and heat exchangers top 45 C, condensed CO2 is removed in a separator. The
CO2 is processed further to recover dissolved methane, which is recycled to the gas
inlet. By this process more than 97% pure methane is obtained. No data is
available on investment and operational cost.
6. Chemical conversion method
To attain extremely high purity in the product gas, chemical conversion method can
be used. It reduces the undesirable gas concentrations to trace levels. Usually the
chemical conversion process is used after bulk removal has been accomplished by
other methods. One such chemical conversion process is methanation, in which
CO2 and H2 are catalytically converted to methane and water. Chemical conversion
process is extremely expensive and is not warranted in most biogas applications.
Due to highly exothermic nature of the methanation reactions, the removal of the
heat from the methanator is a major concern in the process design. The
requirement of the large amount of pure hydrogen also makes the process
generally unsuitable.

Scrubbing of H2S

H2S is always present in biogas, although concentrations vary with the feedstock. It
has to be removed in order to avoid corrosion in compressors, gas storage tanks
and engines.
H2S is poisonous and corrosive as well as environmentally hazardous since it is
converted to sulphur dioxide by combustion. It also contaminates upgrading
process. H2S can be removed either in the digester, from the crude biogas or in
upgrading process.
The most commonly used H2S removal process can be classified into two general
categories namely:
(1) dry oxidation process and
(2) liquid phase oxidation process.
1. Dry oxidation process
It can be used for removal of H2S from gas streams by converting it either into
sulfur or oxides of sulfur. This process is used where the sulfur content of gas is
relatively low and high purities are required. Some of these methods are described
below.

1.1. Introduction of air/oxygen into the biogas system

A small amount of oxygen (26%) is introduced in the biogas system by using air
pump. As a result, sulfide in the biogas is oxidized into sulfur and H 2S concentration
is lowered.

2H2S+O2=2S+2H2O
This is a simple and low cost process. No special chemicals or equipments are
required. Depending on the temperature, the reaction time and place where the air
is added, the H2S concentration can be reduced by 95% to less than 50 ppm.
However, care should be taken to
avoid overdosing of air, as biogas in air is explosive in the range of 612%,
depending on the methane content.
1.2. Adsorption using iron oxide
H2S reacts with iron hydro-oxides or oxides to form iron sulfide. The biogas is
passed through iron oxide pellets, to remove H 2S. When the pellets are completely
covered with sulfur, these are removed from the tube for regeneration of sulfur. It is
a simple method but during regeneration a lot of heat is released. Also the dust
packing contains a toxic component and the method is sensitive to high water
content of biogas.
Wood chips covered with iron oxide have a somewhat larger surface to volume
ratio than plain steel. Roughly 20 g of H 2S can be bound per 100 g of iron oxide
chips. The application of wood chips is very popular particularly in USA. It is a low

cost product, however, particular care has to be taken that the temperature does
not rise too high while regenerating the iron filter.
H2S can be adsorbed on activated carbon. The sulfur containing carbon can then
either be replaced with fresh activated carbon or regenerated. It is a catalytic
reaction and carbon acts as a catalyst.

2. Liquid phase oxidation process

This process is primarily used for the treatment of gases containing relatively low
concentration of H2S. It may be either:

(a) Physical absorption process , or

(b) Chemical absorption process.
In physical absorption process the H2S can be absorbed by the solvents. One of the
solvent is water. But the consumption of water is very high for absorption of small
amount of H2S. If some chemicals like NaOH are added to water, the absorption
process is enhanced. It forms sodium sulfide or sodium hydrosulfide, which is not
regenerated and poses problems of disposal.
Chemical absorption of H2S can take place with iron salt solutions like iron chloride.
This method is extremely effective in reducing high H 2S levels. The process is
based on the formation of insoluble precipitates. FeCl 3 can be added directly to the
digester slurry. In small anaerobic digester system, this process is most suitable. All
other methods of H2S removal are suitable and economically viable for large-scale
digesters. By this method the final removal of H2S is about 10ppm.

Advantages of scrubbing of biogas

1) After scrubbing of biogas, it has highest calorific value.

2) Scrubbed biogas is used as an alternating fuel for power generation, to run the
vehicles, for cooking purpose.
3) It is burned very smoothly and produces very less pollution.
4) It is very economical gas as it is produced from waste.
5) It is very easy to transport and storage.
6) In the process of scrubbing of biogas we get two products, methane gas and
liquid CO2 .
7) Liquid CO2 is the very important refrigerant used in refrigeration system which is

very costly.

Conclusion (Biogas Scrubbing)

The aim of this study is to explore the potential of biogas production in India from
animal waste and its prospects in wider perspective. Presently, biogas is mainly
used for cooking purpose in India. To tap full potential of biogas, need emerges for
its commercialization by making it transportable. Therefore biogas scrubbing and
compression at high pressure for storage in cylinders are essential.
Different methods of scrubbing are reviewed and found that water scrubbing is
simple, continuous and less expensive method for CO 2 removal from biogas for
Indian conditions. It simultaneously also removes H 2S. After removal of CO2, biogas
is enriched in methane and becomes equivalent to natural gas. It can be used for
all such applications for which natural gas is being used viz. as a fuel for vehicles,
CHP, electricity generation, etc.

Biogas compression and storage

Biogas, containing mainly methane, could not be stored easily, as it does not
liquefy under pressure at ambient temperature (critical temperature and pressure
required are 82.5 C and 47.5 bar, respectively).
Compressing the biogas reduces the storage requirements, concentrates energy
content and increases pressure to the level required overcoming resistance to gas
flow. Compression is better in the scrubbed biogas. Most commonly used biogas
storage systems integrated units with facilities for scrubbing, compressing and
storing have been developed in certain developed countries. For instance a water
scrubber coupled with a gas compressor is being promoted for uniform use in New
Zealand. Similarly, the biogas produced from poultry manure is being dried,
scrubbed, compressed and stored at a pressure of 4 bar in 0.2 m 3 steel tanks in
Belgium.
Khapre conducted a study on scrubbing and compression of biogas and
subsequently used it for domestic cooking. He found reduced requirement of
scrubbed and compressed biogas (0.353 m3) than raw biogas (0.591 m3) for
cooking a day's meal of a six member family. He stored the scrubbed and
compressed biogas at a pressure of 7 bar in cylinder of 0.1 m 3 capacity.
By purifying the biogas produced from the distillery wastes, scientists of Jadhavpur
University, Kolkata, India claimed to have generated huge quantities of compressed
methane, a gas with an immense potential and an alternative source of vehicle
fuel. Experimenting with bulk distillery wastes, from alcohol manufacturing
breweries, researchers produced the gas by bio-methanation of the effluents.

Similar results have also been reported from Netherlands, UK, Australia, New
Zealand and USA. All these results indicate that biogas is one of the potential
substitutes for present day fuels including CNG, petrol, diesel and LPG.
Nema and Bhuchner stressed on value addition to biogas by scrubbing and
compressing, making it as good as the compressed natural gas (CNG). They
reported the economic feasibility of producing energy from solid wastes of Delhi
city. From 5000 tones wastes generated per day in Delhi, 100,000 Nm 3/day biogas
can be produced which is equivalent to 309.5 m 3 CNG worth US $ 70,000 per day.
Beside this, by adopting this technology 117 tones/day CO 2 gas can be prevented
from entering into the atmosphere.

Biogas sources :

Biogas is obtainable or through biogas digesters. The naturally occurring sources of

biogas are:

Wetlands (e.g. swamps and marshes),

Sewage sludge and

Solid waste dumps or landfill sites.

Various techniques are being developed for the abstraction of biogas from these
sources.

Biogas is also produced, artificially, using biogas generators/digesters. Biogas

digesters are large air-tight tanks used to simulate the natural processes that
produce biogas, by allowing the digestion of organic matters from plants and
animals under anaerobic conditions. The processes are as follows:
Plant materials and animal wastes (feedstock) are shredded and placed
inside the biogas digester.
Water is added and the tank is closed and properly sealed to allow no air into
the tank.
After several days, biogas begins to form at the top of the tank due to the
activities of some bacteria usually termed methanogenic bacteria (i.e.
methane forming bacteria).
The biogas that is formed is piped into a storage location where it can be
used as needed.
As the production of biogas in the generator slows down, old feeds of organic
matters are taken out and new feeds of organic matters and water added to
the generator.
The old feeds can be dried and used as soil manure or fertilizer.

Advantages:

Main Points :

1. Provides a non-polluting and renewable source of energy.

2. Efficient way of energy conversion (saves fuelwood).
3. Saves women and children from drudgery of collection and carrying of
firewood, exposure to smoke in the kitchen, and time consumed for
cooking and cleaning of utensils.

4. Produces enriched organic manure, which can supplement or even

replace chemical fertilizers.
5. Leads to improvement in the environment, and sanitation and hygiene.
6. Provides a source for decentralized power generation.
7. Leads to employment generation in the rural areas.
8. Household wastes and bio-wastes can be disposed of usefully and in a
healthy manner.
9. The technology is cheaper and much simpler than those for other biofuels, and it is ideal for small scale application.
10.Dilute waste materials (2-10% solids) can be used as in feed materials.
11.Any biodegradable matter can be used as substrate.
12.Anaerobic digestion inactivates pathogens and parasites, and is quite
effective in reducing the incidence of water borne diseases.
13.Environmental benefits on a global scale: Biogas plants significantly
lower the greenhouse effects on the earths atmosphere. The plants
lower methane emissions by entrapping the harmful gas and using it
as fuel.
14.No additional greenhouse gas emissions (it removes and then releases
the same amount of carbon dioxide)
15.Waste is disposed of at the same time and in the same operation
16.Consumes methane that might otherwise leak into the atmosphere
and increase the greenhouse effect
17.Biogas can also be used on a small scale, eg a pig farm

Substituting conventional cooking material such as, fuel wood, briquettes,

and dung cakes, not only saves fuel costs, but also reduces the workload of
women and children. Equally importantly, the indoor air pollution associated
with cooking on inefficient wood stoves is virtually eliminate with biogas. In
addition, the biogas process itself is carbon neutral, but substituting
unsustainable wood fuel (deforestation) contributes to the global reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions
Globally :

When biogas is used, many advantages arise. In North America, utilization of biogas
would generate enough electricity to meet up to three percent of the continent's
electricity expenditure. In addition, biogas could potentially help reduce global
climate change. Normally, manure that is left to decompose releases two main
gases that cause global climate change: nitrogen dioxide and methane. Nitrogen
dioxide (NO2) warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide and

methane 21 times more than carbon dioxide. By converting cow manure into
methane biogas viaanaerobic digestion, the millions of cows in the United States
would be able to produce one hundred billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to
power millions of homes across the United States. In fact, one cow can produce
enough manure in one day to generate three kilowatt hours of electricity; only 2.4
kilowatt hours of electricity are needed to power a single one hundred watt light
bulb for one day. Furthermore, by converting cow manure into methane biogas
instead of letting it decompose, global warming gases could be reduced by ninetynine million metric tons or four percent. In Nepal biogas is being used as a reliable
source of rural energy.

Our Views:

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

Firstly, we would like to say that biogas is not a thing to throw away just like
that. Because, having it will remove the fear that the world will one day face
shortage crisis of natural gas. And Government will spend less for imported gas.
Secondly, biogas will encourage majority participation in the natural resources
trade, that is, there would no longer be a CARTEL comprising of few nations who
control the prices of natural gas, in a monopolistic manner.
Thirdly, biogas would remove this attitude of some nations in the world today,
who engage in the practice of using natural gas to sign agreements to assist the
other in time of war, and get a certain percentages of this resources as the benefit.
Fourthly, biogas will enable majority of communities in different countries, to
participate actively in the power sector, since these raw materials would be
extracted from these communities in various countries of the world. And thereby
encourage rapid development from the Rural Areas in various countries of the
world.
Fifth, biogas will encourage large production output, and less production cost,
due to the fact that we would no longer need to, for instance, go far to order for the
resources needed for production, and no TIME WASTAGE, but limited time, due to
the fact that everything would become within reach. Furthermore, INFLATION would
be completely reduced to the ground, since we would now have enough resources
to set a balance in prices of goods and production cost.
Sixth, biogas would bring about JOBs CREATION, and encourages new inventions
like chemical experiments, Agricultural development and methods of improving
large scale farming. Then, more industries would be created, and a new improved
living would be experienced by low income earners in the populace, and this would
reduce urban congestion in most countries.

Disadvantages:
1. The process is not very attractive economically (as compared to other biofuels)
on a large industrial scale.
2. It is very difficult to enhance the efficiency of biogas systems.
3. Biogas contains some gases as impurities, which are corrosive to the metal parts
of internal combustion engines.
4. Not feasible to locate at all the locations.
5. Biogas would encourage deflation of goods prices, due to many producers, and
surplus goods availability to the populace.
6. Biogas will bring about high corruption level, from the top to the lowest level in
the public.
7. Pollution would be on the increase all sound, air, and water pollution due to many
industrial waste materials in the society.
8. There would be FOOD SHORTAGE, in the countries of the world, especially those
nations with limited land for food production. And since BIOGAS would involve using
raw materials from both cash crops and otherwise. And the fact that not all the
nations in the world, have land for farming activities e.g. The nations living on
Islands, and others in the deserts. These sets of nations would be denied the
necessary means of survival.
9. The main disadvantage is the loss of the organic waste for compost or fertilizer
10. Very limited in the quantity of electricity it can produce on the global scale
11. There is little or no control on the rate of gas production, although the gas can,
to some extent be stored and used as required
12. The product (biogas) value is rather low; this makes it an unattractive
commercial activity.
The biogas yields are lower due to the dilute nature of substrates.

13, The process is not very attractive economically (as compared to other bio-fuels)
on a large industrial scale.
14. Recombinant DNA technology and even strain improvement techniques cannot
be used to enhance the efficiency of the process.
15. The only improvement in the process, can be brought about by optimizing the
environmental conditions of the anaerobic digestion.
16. Biogas contains some gases as impurities, which are corrosive to the metal
pairs of internal combustion engines.
17. The process of digestion reduces the total solids content in the sludge and thus
there is a volume loss of the organic waste compared to composting, however both
can produce a fertilizer
18. Biogas contains contaminant gases which can be corrosive to gas engines and
boilers;
19. Digestate must meet high standards in order to be used on land without
detrimental effects on agricultural uses especially food crops;
20. Biogas plants and gas upgrading plants both have a relatively high heat and
energy demand which demand some of the biogas produced to be used on-site;
21. Will only produce a limited quantity of energy demand and is dependent upon
location in proximity to feedstock and energy users;
22. There is little or no control on the rate of gas production, although the gas can,
to some extent be stored and used as required.

Biogas as Energy

Biogas power is energy which is derived from the breakdown of organic material.
There are a number of uses for biogas power, ranging from powering certain types
of car engines to running cook stoves. This type of energy has been touted in some
areas as a source of renewable alternative energy which could potentially be easy

to implement in low income communities in developing nations. The ability to

access energy could allow small communities more opportunities which would not
otherwise be available.
There are a number of sources of raw material for biogas power, with one of the
most popular being dung. In the process of making biogas, people will also break
down the waste to make it more manageable, a pleasant side benefit. To produce
biogas, the organic materials need to be placed in a biogas digester which will
maintain the conditions which promote the breakdown of the material into biogas.
Once biogas has been produced, it can be used in a number of different ways.
Electricity and heat cogeneration of biogas

Cogeneration is the production of electricity

and heat out of biogas.
The cogeneration module consists of an
engine which actuates an alternator generator of electric current.
Un groupe de cognration possde un
rendement lectrique de 35%.
The recovery of heat makes it possible to
reach a total output of 85% if all produced
heat is used.
Two types of engine can be used:

Gas engine: runs only on biogas, high

investment and maintenance costs

Dual fuel engine: - the injection of a

minor amount of fuel (10% of the power
consumption), is used to ignite the
mixture air/biogas. This type of engine is
expensive in investment but generates
purchase expenses of purchase and fuel
storage expenses. The electric output is
better than for a gas engine especially for
small powers

Biogas cogeneration engine

Biogas fuels

Among the bio fuels, biogas can play a part in the reduction of the dependence on
transport based on fossil fuels because it is a renewable energy
Since 1994, buses in Lille (North of France) experienced biogas fuel, a refined biomethane and placed at the disposal of buses running to natural gas.
In Sweden there exist 10 production units of biogas fuel (Linkpping and Uppsala)
which feeds at the same time buses and private vehicles. Biogas comes from a
unit of waste co-digestion of agricultural origin and allows feeding a fleet from 40
to 66 buses and 20 to 40 vehicles. Projects currently exist in France also for the
Blue Taxis.

Fuel Quality
Biogas produced in AD-plants or landfill sites is primarily composed of
methane(CH4) and carbon dioxide (C02) with smaller amounts of hydrogen sulphide
(H2S)and ammonia (NH3).Trace amounts of hydrogen (H2), nitrogen (N2), carbon
monoxide (CO), saturated or halogenated carbohydrates, oxygen, and siloxanes are
occasionally present in the biogas. Usually, the mixed gas is saturated with water
vapor and may contain dust particle. The characteristics of biogas are somewhere
in between town gas and natural gas. The energy content is defined by the
concentration of methane since there are no energy rich carbohydrates present.
10% of methane in dry gas corresponds roughly to1 kWh per m3. For biogas as a
fuel, most of the impurities have to be removed. They may cause corrosion,
deposits and wear of the equipment. Substances requiring attention are: hydrogen
sulphide, water, CO2, Halogen compounds (chlorides, fluorides), Siloxanes aromatic
compounds air (oxygen, nitrogen)
For Stoichiometric port injected Otto engines biogas must be upgraded to at least
the quality of the G25 reference test fuel (85% methane, 14% nitrogen), as this is
the minimum fuel quality for which the NGVs are type approved . It is particularly
important that the gas quality is maintained at a fix composition in order to prevent
an increased NOx concentration. For the removal of most of the compounds a
number of processes have been developed. For an effective use of biogas as
vehicle fuel it has be enriched in methane. This is primarily achieved by carbon
dioxide removal, which then enhances the energy value of the gas to give longer
driving distances with a fixed gas storage volume. Removal of carbon dioxide also
provides a consistent gas quality with respect to energy value. The latter is

regarded to be of great importance from the vehicle manufacturers in order to

reach low emissions of nitrogen oxide. At present four different methods are used
commercially for removal of carbon dioxide from biogas either to reach vehicle fuel
standard or to reach natural gas quality for injection to the natural gas grid.
These methods are:
Water absorption,
Polyethylene glycol absorption,
Carbon molecular sieves,
Membrane separation.
Hydrogen sulphide is always present in biogas, although concentrations vary with
the feedstock. It has to be removed in order to avoid corrosion in compressors, gas
storage tanks and engines. Hydrogen sulphide is extremely reactive with most
metals and the reactivity is enhanced by concentration and pressure, the presence
of water elevated temperatures. Due to the potential problems hydrogen sulphide
can cause, it is recommended to remove it early in the process of biogas upgrading.
Experiences have also shown that two of the most commonly used methods for
hydrogen sulphide removal are internal to the digestion process:
1) Air/oxygen dosing to digester biogas and
2) Iron chloride dosing to digester slurry.
The most common commercial methods for hydrogen sulphide removal are:
Air/oxygen dosing to digester biogas,
Iron chloride dosing to digester slurry,
Iron sponge,
Iron oxide pallets,
Activated carbon,
Water scrubbing,
NaOH scrubbing,
Biological removal on a filter bed,
Air stipping and recovery
Higher hydrocarbons as well as Halogenated hydrocarbons, particularly chloro-and
fluoro compounds are predominantly found in landfill gas. They cause corrosion in
CHP engines, in the combustion chamber, at sparkplugs, valves, cylinder heads etc.
for this reason CHP engine manufacturers claim maximum limits of Halogenated
hydrocarbons in biogas. They can be removed by pressurized tube exchangers filled
with specific activated carbon. Small molecules like CH 4, CO2, N2 and O2 pass
through while larger molecules are adsorbed. The size of the exchangers is
designed to purify the gas during a period of more than 10 hours. Usually there are
two parallel vessels. One is treating the gas while the other is desorbed.
Regeneration is carried out by heating the activated carbon to 200c, a
temperature at which all the adsorbed compounds are evaporated and removed by
a flow of inert gas.
Organic silicon compounds are occasionally present in biogas which can cause
severe damage to CHP engines. During incineration they are oxidized to silicon
oxide which deposits at spark plugs, valves and cylinder heads abrading the

surfaces eventually causing serious damage. Particularly in Otto engines this might
lead to major repairs. Because of the increased wearing of the combustion
chambers caused by the silica deposits. Nowadays manufacturers of CHP engines
claim maximum limits of siloxanes in biogas. It is known that the organic silicon
compounds in biogas are in the form of linear and cyclic methyl siloxanes. These
compounds are widely used in cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, and as antifoaming agents in detergents. Siloxanes can be removed by absorption in a liquid
medium, a mixture of hydro carbons with a special ability to absorb the silicon
compounds. The absorbent is regenerated by heating and desorption.
The problem of all the existing technologies is the cost. First it is a question of
economy of scale. Most of the (agricultural) biogas plants produce less than 100m3
is the absolute minimum. Best results are achieved at sizes 200m3/hr.
Another problem causing high prices is the fact that so far no real market exists,
which would allow to optimize and mass produce upgrading plants. They are still
tailor made to a large extent. Also there is a huge potential for new and simplified
technologies. With the increasing interest there will more research money available.
It is the duty of the task to help stimulating and coordinating research and
propagate new and innovative techniques .Upgrading of biogas to natural gas
quality is also necessary for introduction of biogas into the natural gas distribution
grid. There are still some fears of the national gas companies to accept biogas.
Again Switzerland and Sweden have set the pace to improve the situation by giving
a good example. About 6 months ago an international working group of gas
industry (Marco gas) started to discus conditions to accept gas from third parties
into the grid. They have established a first draft which is already an improvement
as such however, the requirements are still too stringent

Injection of biogas in the natural gas network

The ADEME and Gaz De France have put in place of it within a common convention signed on
October 1st, 1997 a research and development program for the injection of biogas in the
natural gas network.
In October 2008, the French Agency of public health of the environment and work, delivered an
favorable opinion for the injection of certain types of biogas in the natural gas network.
Gas-grid injection is the injection of biogas into the methane grid (natural gas grid).
Injections includes biogas: until the breakthrough of micro combined heat and

power two-thirds of all the energy produced by biogas power plants was lost (the
heat), using the grid to transport the gas to customers, the electricity and the heat
can be used for on-site generation resulting in a reduction of losses in the
transportation of energy. Typical energy losses in natural gas transmission systems
range from 12%. The current energy losses on a large electrical system range from
58%.

Transport of biogas
The composition of biogas when it comprises at least 20% methane counts less for
burning in furnaces or boilers provided that the materials constituting the
equipment are adapted to gas which have a high content in H 2S.

Biogas treatment can be limited to a simple de-vesicular at the entry of the booster to eliminate
the liquids, and a bi-phasic separator.
Transport
is
carried
out
in
PEHD
canalizations,

<=
160
mm
The pressure will have to be calculated so as to obtain approximately 300 mbar on arrival
According to the sulphur content of biogas (between 0 and 6.000 Mg (N) m 3) it will be
necessary to carry out a biogas desulphurization before burning.

If concentrated and compressed, it can also be used in vehicle transportation.

Compressed biogas is becoming widely used in Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany.
A biogas-powered train has been in service in Sweden since 2005. Biogas also
powers automobiles and in 1974, a British documentary film entitled Sweet as a
Nut detailed the biogas production process from pig manure, and how the biogas
fueled a custom-adapted combustion engine. In 2007, an estimated 12,000 vehicles
were being fueled with upgraded biogas worldwide, mostly in Europe.

Biogas Usage in Industry

Examples of low risk applications

Lime and cements manufacture (these materials collect the Sulphate)

Tiles and bricks manufacture (if the dehydration is powerful)

Boilers (if the dehydration is powerful)

Examples of prohibited applications

Direct use of biogas during the manufacture of food products (dairy, drying
of cereals, bakery/pastry making) - Health risk of interaction of the
combustion products with food

Greenhouses if CO2 injection

Risk of phytotoxicity (by assimilation of the unburnt residues such as aromatic,
phenols)

Direct heating of industrial liquids (baths of heat treatment)

Pollution risk of the baths (in particular by mercury)

Direct heating of the buildings

Health risk by emission of toxic products

Application of heat treatment (in metallurgy)

Need for a perfectly controlled atmosphere

Applications using catalysts (catalytic reduction of the NO x, catalytic

radiants)
Inhibition of catalyst (in particular by sulphur and halogenous products)

Decoration on glass and fine ceramics (medical porcelains, squares)

Need for a perfectly controlled atmosphere

Usage
Operation mainly includes daily feeding of the installation with a mixture of dung
and water. This is not very time consuming, usually taking up to 20 to 30 minutes
per day, for farmers with livestock on-site and access to water. Removing the

fermented material takes place automatically as the bio-slurry is discharged into a

compost pit through a channel. These types of (fixed dome) biogas plants have a
shelf life of over 15 years. Maintenance is restricted to occasional checking and,
when necessary, repair of piping and fittings. The plant itself, when operated
properly, needs little care. Total investment costs range from $600 to $900 in
Africa. The costs in Africa are substantially higher than in Asia ($300-400) because
of higher transport costs and costs of cement.

Users
On average, farmers with at least 2 cows or 7 pigs, or a flock of 170 poultry, can
generate sufficient gas to meet their daily basic cooking and lighting needs. Within
the same design, different plant sizes can be constructed to allow for the actual
livestock holding and biogas requirement of the family.

Applications
The advantages of biogas are hard to quantify and depend on what current
practice is used as a comparison, e.g. gas compared with burning dung, firewood
or kerosene. Here are the main points:

At Family Level

Clean, fast & cheaper cooking fuel.

Better lightening and heating.

Improved health (particularly of eyes & lungs from smoke).

Improved sanitation (particularly if a toilet is attached).

Less time consuming than traditional fuels as there is no need to collect fire
wood or make of cow dung cakes.

Manure odor control (less fly attraction to piled dung).

Better fertilizer & soil conditioner.

At Comunity Level

Reduction in pollution from animal and human wastes, resulting in improved

community health.

Creation of employment in biogas plant construction and related industries.

Possible power source for village machinery (Choppers, Cutters, Incubators,

Irrigation pumps etc).

Improved facilities in the village, encourages bright young people to stay in

the community and not to migrate to the towns and cities.

Biogas Stove

At The National Level

A saving in foreign currency spent on kerosene.

A reduction in the need for expensive distribution of energy in rural areas.

A saving in non- renewable energy resources.

Conservations of forests, thus preventing soil erosion, flash floods,

landslides and river silting in the plains.

Minimizing of environmental pollution by utilizing a cleaner energy source.

Possibilities of generating electricity at low level as a renewable source.

A biogas bus in Linkping, Sweden

Biogas can be utilized for electricity production on sewage works, in

a CHP gas engine, where the waste heat from the engine is conveniently
used for heating the digester; cooking; space heating; water heating; and
process heating. If compressed, it can replace compressed natural gas for
use in vehicles, where it can fuel an internal combustion engine or fuel
cells and is a much more effective displacer of carbon dioxide than the
normal use in on-site CHP plants.
Methane within biogas can be concentrated via a biogas upgrader to the
same standards as fossil natural gas, which itself has had to go through a
cleaning process, and becomes biomethane. If the local gas network allows
for this, the producer of the biogas may utilize the local gas distribution
networks. Gas must be very clean to reach pipeline quality, and must be of
the correct composition for the local distribution network to accept. Carbon
dioxide, water, hydrogen sulfide, and particulates must be removed if
present.

Developments around the World

United States

With the many benefits of biogas, it is starting to become a popular source

of energy and is starting to be utilized in the United States more. In 2003,
the United States consumed 147 trillion BTU of energy from "landfill gas",
about 0.6% of the total U.S. natural gas consumption. Methane biogas
derived from cow manure is also being tested in the U.S. According to a

2008 study, collected by the Science and Children magazine, methane

biogas from cow manure would be sufficient to produce 100 billion kilowatt
hours enough to power millions of homes across America. Furthermore,
methane biogas has been tested to prove that it can reduce 99 million
metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions or about 4% of the greenhouse
gases produced by the United States.

In Vermont, for example, biogas generated on dairy farms around the state
is included in the CVPS Cow Power program. The Cow Power program is
offered by Central Vermont Public Service Corporation as a voluntary tariff.
Customers can elect to pay a premium on their electric bill, and that
premium is passed directly to the farms in the program. In Sheldon,
Vermont, Green Mountain Dairy has provided renewable energy as part of
the Cow Power program. It all started when the brothers who own the farm,
Bill and Brian Rowell, wanted to address some of the manure management
challenges faced by dairy farms, including manure odor, and nutrient
availability for the crops they need to grow to feed the animals. They
installed an anaerobic digester to process the cow and milking center waste
from their nine hundred and fifty cows to produce renewable energy, a
bedding to replace sawdust, and a plant friendly fertilizer. The energy and
environmental attributes are sold. On average, the system run by the
Rowell brothers produces enough electricity to power three hundred to
three hundred fifty other homes. The generator capacity is about three
hundred kiloWatts.

In Hereford, Texas, cow manure is being used to power an ethanol

power plant. By switching to methane biogas, the ethanol power plant has
saved one thousand barrels of oil a day. Overall, the power plant has
reduced transportation costs and will be opening many more jobs for future
power plants that will be relying on biogas.

UK

There are currently around 60 non-sewage biogas plants in the UK, most are
on-farm, but some larger facilities exist off-farm, which are taking food and
consumer wastes.

On 5 October 2010, biogas was injected into the UK gas grid for the first
time. Sewage from over 30,000 Oxfordshire homes is sent to Didcot sewage

treatment works, where it is treated in an anaerobic digestor to produce

biogas, which is then cleaned to provide gas for approximately 200 homes.

Germany

Germany is Europe's biggest biogas producer as it is the market leader in

biogas technology. In 2010 there were 5,905 biogas plants operating
throughout the whole country, in which Lower Saxony, Bavaria and the
eastern federal states are the main regions. Most of these plants are
employed as power plants. Usually the biogas plants are directly connected
with a CHP which produces electric power by burning the bio methane. The
electrical power is then fed into the public power grid. In 2010, the total
installed electrical capacity of these power plants was 2,291 MW. The
electricity supply was approximately 12.8 TWh, which is 12.6 per cent of the
total generated renewable electricity. Biogas in Germany is primarily
extracted by the co-fermentation of energy crops (called NawaRo, an
abbreviation of nachwachsende Rohstoffe, which is German for renewable
resources) mixed with manure, the main crop utilized is corn. Organic waste
and industrial and agricultural residues such as waste from the food
industry are also used for biogas generation. In this respect, Biogas
production in Germany differs significantly from the UK, where biogas
generated from landfill sites is most common.

Biogas production in Germany has developed rapidly over the last 20 years.
The main reason for this development is the legally created frameworks.
Governmental support of renewable energies started at the beginning of the
1990s with the Law on Electricity Feed (StrEG). This law guaranteed the
producers of energy from renewable sources the feed into the public power
grid, thus the power companies were forced to take all produced energy
from independent private producers of green energy. In 2002 the Law on
Electricity Feed was replaced by the Renewable Energy Source Act (EEG).
This law even guaranteed a fixed compensation for the produced electric
power over 20 years. The amount of ca. 0.08 Euro gave particular farmers
the opportunity to become an energy supplier and gaining a further source
of income in the same place. The German agricultural biogas production

was given a further push in 2004 by implementing the so-called NawaRoBonus. This is a special bonus payment given for the usage of renewable
resources i.e. energy crops. In 2007 the German government stressed its
intention to invest further effort and support in improving the renewable
energy supply to provide an answer on growing climate challenges and
increasing oil prices by the Integrated Climate and Energy Programme.

This continual trend of renewable energy promotion induces a number of

challenges facing the management and organisation of renewable energy
supply that has also several impacts on the biogas production. The first
challenge to be noticed is the high area-consuming of the biogas electric
power supply. In 2011 energy crops for biogas production consumed an area
of circa 800,000 ha in Germany. This high demand of agricultural areas
generates new competitions with the food industries that did not exist yet.
Moreover new industries and markets were created in predominately rural
regions entailing different new players with an economic, political and civil
background. Their influence and acting has to be governed to gain all
advantages this new source of energy is offering. Finally biogas will
furthermore play an important role in the German renewable energy supply
if good governance is focused.

Indian subcontinent

In India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh biogas produced from the

anaerobic digestion of manure in small-scale digestion facilities is
called gobar gas; it is estimated that such facilities exist in over two million
households in India and in thousands in Pakistan, particularly North Punjab,
due to the thriving population of livestock. . The digester is an airtight
circular pit made of concrete with a pipe connection. The manure is directed
to the pit, usually directly from the cattle shed. The pit is then filled with a
required quantity of wastewater. The gas pipe is connected to the kitchen
fireplace through control valves. The combustion of this biogas has very
little odour or smoke. Owing to simplicity in implementation and use of
cheap raw materials in villages, it is one of the most environmentally sound
energy sources for rural needs. One type of these system is the Sintex
Digester. Some designs use vermiculture to further enhance the slurry

produced by the biogas plant for use as compost. In order to create

awareness and associate the people interested in biogas, an association
"Indian Biogas Association" (www.biogas-India.com) is formed. The
Indian Biogas Association aspires to be a unique blend of; nationwide
operators, manufacturers and planners of biogas plants, and
representatives from science and research. The association was founded in
2010 and is now ready to start mushrooming. The sole motto of the
association is propagating Biogas in a sustainable way.

The Deenabandhu Model is a new biogas-production model popular in India.

(Deenabandhu means "friend of the helpless.") The unit usually has a
capacity of 2 to 3 cubic metres. It is constructed using bricks or by
a ferrocement mixture. In India, the brick model costs slightly more than the
ferrocement model; however, India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
offers some subsidy per model constructed.

In Pakistan, the Rural Support Programmes Network is running the Pakistan

Domestic Biogas Programme which has installed over 1500 biogas plants
and has trained in excess of 200 masons on the technology and aims to
develop the Biogas Sector in Pakistan.

Also PAK-Energy Solution has taken the most innovative and responsible
initiatives in biogas technology. In this regard, the company is also awarded
by 1st prize in "Young Entrepreneur Business Plan Challenge" jointly
organized by Punjab Govt. & LCCI. They have designed and developed
Uetians Hybrid Model, in which they have combined fixed dome and floating
drums and Uetians Triplex Model. Moreover, Pakistan Dairy Development
Company has also taken an initiative to develop this kind of alternative
source of energy for Pakistani farmers. Biogas is now running diesel
engines, gas generators, kitchen ovens, geysers, and other utilities in
Pakistan. In Nepal, the government provides subsidies to build biogas plant.

China

The Chinese have been experimenting with the applications of biogas since
1958. Around 1970, China had installed 6,000,000 digesters in an effort to
make agriculture more efficient. During the last years the technology has
met high growth rates.

In developing nations

Domestic biogas plants convert livestock manure and night soil into biogas
and slurry, the fermented manure. This technology is feasible for small
holders with livestock producing 50 kg manure per day, an equivalent of
about 6 pigs or 3 cows. This manure has to be collectable to mix it with
water and feed it into the plant. Toilets can be connected. Another
precondition is the temperature that affects the fermentation process. With
an optimum at 36 C the technology especially applies for those living in a
(sub) tropical climate. This makes the technology for small holders in
developing countries often suitable.

Simple sketch of household biogas plant

Depending on size and location, a typical brick made fixed dome biogas
plant can be installed at the yard of a rural household with the investment
between 300 to 500 US $ in Asian countries and up to 1400 US $ in the
African context. A high quality biogas plant needs minimum maintenance
costs and can produce gas for at least 1520 years without major problems
and re-investments. For the user, biogas provides clean cooking energy,
reduces indoor air pollution, and reduces the time needed for traditional
biomass collection, especially for women and children. The slurry is a clean
organic fertilizer that potentially increases agricultural productivity.

Domestic biogas technology is a proven and established technology in many

parts of the world, especially Asia. Several countries in this region have
embarked on large-scale programmes on domestic biogas, such as China
and India. The Netherlands Development Organisation, SNV, supports
national programmes on domestic biogas that aim to establish commercial-

viable domestic biogas sectors in which local companies market, install and
service biogas plants for households. In Asia, SNV is working in
Nepal, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Pakistan and
Indonesia, and in Africa; Rwanda, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Tanzania,
Uganda, Kenya, Benin and Cameroon.

In popular culture
In the 1985 Australian film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome the postapocalyptic settlement Bartertown is powered by a central biogas system
based upon a piggery. As well as providing electricity, methane is used to
power Bartertown's vehicles.

Biogas and Pollution

Biogas plants are a great way to reduce environmental pollution. Why is that?
Well, a biogas power plant is an anaerobic digestion system which is designed
specially for the purpose of generating energy.
You must be wondering when anaerobic digestion takes place. When there is
biological degradation of organic material (like manure, municipal solid waste and
biodegradable waste) in the absence of air, then this is known as anaerobic
digestion.
Biogas (which is primarily composed of methane and CO2) is the byproduct of
anaerobic digestion. This biogas can be used very effectively for generating
electricity and even used as a vehicle fuel. It can also be burned directly for
lighting, cooking and heating.
One of the major reasons for the popularity of biogas production by anaerobic
digestion is because it is a great way to destroy disease-causing pathogens and

reducing the volume of disposed waste products.

Are you aware why the harvesting of biogas is an important part of waste
management? This is because methane is a greenhouse gas which is even more
harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.
In order to become more eco-friendly many developed countries are building
biogas plants. In fact the Ministry of Energy, Thailand has set a target of building
1,540, 100 MW bio-gas plants by 2011, many of them fuelled by solid waste and
polluted water.
I hope more countries all over the world build anaerobic digestion systems;
because it is not only good for the environment it is great for business too.

The Final Thing :

7SEP2012

Biogas is the future of energy

Author: Kota Sriraj

inShare13

It may be soon that the customary red LPG cylinders are replaced with bright green CBG ones. But a
committed Government and continuous technological improvements are needed for that to happen
The recent hike in petroleum products has once again upset the common mans budget and made yet another
strong pitch in favour of adopting a safer, sustainable and economical alternative. Biogas for urban use is fast
emerging as one. Urban India generates 1,88,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, and this is expected to
increase by one to 1.5 per cent every year. The waste includes both non biodegradable and biodegradable waste.
The biodegradable MSW holds the key to current energy crises, be it electricity or gas, as the high moisture content
does not permit costly incineration or composting but is highly suitable for anaerobic digestion in a biogas plant. The
average organic content in MSW is 50 per cent and every 150 tonnes of organic waste can generate up to one
mega watt of electricity. This has been endorsed by the successful performance of waste to electricity projects in
Vijayawada, Lucknow and Hyderabad. Up to 2,600 MW of electricity can be generated using urban waste. In Delhi,
the Keshopur sewage treatment plant is another example. The STP generates raw gas which when supplied to the
biogas plant can be upgraded to CNG quality gas that can be used to refuel and run up to 120 DTC buses at the
adjoining bus depot.
Out of the 180 million metric tonnes of fruits, vegetables and perishables produced, nearly 25 per cent to 30 per
cent is wasted due to storage capacity constraints. However, this presents an opportunity for energy generation. To
cope with this, the regulations stipulate that all municipalities should adopt sustainable methods of handling MSW.
Gas generation from biodegradable waste is providing twin benefits of solving the MSW disposal problem as well as
producing valuable energy in the process.
According to Professor VK Vijay of the Centre for Rural Development and Technology, IIT Delhi, Till now there was
no compulsion to look earnestly for an alternative, but due to the rising prices of petroleum products people are now
more open to considering other cheaper options. The Government should take proactive steps using the available
technologies to ensure mandatory urban utilisation of biogas not only at institutional level such as hotels and
hospitals, but also at household level.
He added, Government should incentivise biogas usage, especially as it is cheap to set up. For instance, the cost
of a biogas plant that can service 16 to 20 homes is `1.5 lakh with a monthly maintenance charge of `6,000-8,000.
However, the Government must ensure that community participation and awareness in waste segregation into

biodegradable and non biodegradable is implemented effectively.

The evolution of biogas is compressed biogas. CBG is the enrichment of biogas using various technologies such as
water scrubbing.
Water scrubbing technology, developed and patented by IIT Delhi, is one of the cheap and viable technologies for
biogas purification that bring biogas to CNG quality having high methane content. Water scrubbing technology is
based on the physical phenomenon that at a high pressure water has high absorption affinity towards carbon dioxide. This scrubs carbon di-oxide out of biogas and produces a gas with a higher methane concentration. CBG can
be used for purposes such as cooking as it can be compressed and bottled, as well as for vehicular transport in
place of CNG.
According to a research paper authored by Mr Vijay and another expert, Mr Dhawal Parate, the conversion of
biogas to CBG and further sale as replacement of commercial CNG/LPG is a new and promising entrepreneurial
model. Commercial LPG is expensive (`68/kg) and thus, its replacement with CBG is a profitable business. A 1000
cubic metre per day biogas generation, purification and bottling plant can be setup at a capital cost of `180 lakh with
a payback period of less than four years. The Government has a subsidy model to support such projects. As one
goes for higher capacity, the capital cost increases non-linearly resulting in better paybacks.
The Governments role is encouraging, with the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy having a subsidy
scheme for the promotion of biogas purification set-ups. Under this scheme, 22 plants have been approved at a 50
per cent subsidy as demonstration projects across the country.
Apart from this, the Government has set up committees to devise Bureau of Indian Standards composition
standards for CBG. Simultaneously, standards for vehicular applications are being prepared; once completed, CBG
will become approved fuel for all natural gas applications.
The day may not be far off when the customary red LPG cylinders are replaced with bright green CBG ones as the
energy of the future, but a committed Government and continuous technological improvements are essential to
ensure that future

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