Biogas generators break down biological waste into gases like methane and hydrogen, which can be used as fuel. They can be built easily and are used worldwide, with projections of the industry reaching $50 billion by 2030. Biogas production also has positive environmental effects, such as reducing deforestation and producing fertilizer.
A biogas generator is a reactor or chemical processing system designed to organically break down materials of biological origin into gases such as methane and hydrogen which can then be combined with oxygen to be used as a fuel source. Many types of waste can be used to generate biogas, including municipal waste and manure, vegetable waste from crop fields, residential lawns, parks and more. Simple biogas generation systems are not difficult to build and are often the subject of high school science projects.
Building a biogas system can be done in less than an hour by following online videos on popular social websites. A biogas generator in this case is a sealed container with organic waste infused with anaerobic bacteria. The bacteria break down the waste in the absence of oxygen into a gas mixture of approximately 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide, which is then decanted into another container.
Industrial-grade systems are simply larger-scale versions of the same process. They have an elevated waste feed chamber which funnels material into a reactor chamber filled with a digestive slurry. The biogas generator routes the gas out the top of the chamber and the treated waste water known as effluent out the side.
Methane from a biogas generator is the main component of natural gas, which is used to heat many homes and for other uses such as cooking and hot water production. The use of large-scale applications of biogas technology has made it a form of renewable energy that is a valuable commodity in the electricity market. In the UK and Germany, wastewater treatment plants for municipalities transform this waste into biogas which is then used as fuel to power power stations. Small house sized biogas generating systems are spread all over Nepal, China and India. A home biogas generator can process food waste and meet 25% to 50% of the cooking fuel demand for rural households.
Worldwide biogas production is an alternative fuel industry that has grown into big business. As of 2011, over 700 companies are involved in biogas production worldwide and projections are that, by 2030, the industry will be $50,000,000,000 US Dollars (USD). In countries like India, biogas production meets 57% of its energy needs, with most of the source waste material coming from agriculture and the 300,000,000 cattle there. Two positive side effects of producing biogas from bovine feces is that a by-product of the process is a valuable fertilizer for crops and reduces India’s deforestation levels, as wood is the other primary fuel for heating.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
