As a "greener" fuel, biogas has grown in popularity in recent years. This methane, which can be used to replace traditional natural gas, is produced when anaerobic digestion breaks down organic matter, such as in landfills or "digesters" that transform animal manure or food waste. But can you really call it a renewable energy source?
Biogas is unquestionably a more environmentally friendly choice when compared to virgin natural gas that is extracted by drilling into the soil. To extract about 80% of the natural gas in the United States, a process called fracking is used where water, chemicals, and sand are placed very deeply into the soil to disintegrate the rock formation. By using material that already exists and would otherwise go to trash, landfills and digesters create a comparable fuel without harming the environment like fracking does.
Biogas also has additional advantages. Nitrogen pollution and discharge into water resources are prevented by removing the environment's large supply of animal manure and food waste. Additionally, methane emissions from landfills and manure lagoons that would have otherwise leaked are reduced by the use of biogas. By turning this methane into CO2, which has a global warming potential of up to 34 times less than methane, using it as fuel significantly lessens its impact on the climate. Did you know that a handheld biogas analyzer is used in biogas plants to monitor its concentration?
The advantages of biogas are clear in an era of alarming climate change and impending fossil energy loss. It has zero net greenhouse gas emissions and is a renewable energy source. And yet, at least in the industrialized world, its potential has mostly gone unrealized.
What is biogas?
When organic material decomposes anaerobically, biogas is created (that is, in the absence of oxygen). A mixture of gases, predominantly methane, some carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases including hydrogen sulfide are produced by this process. The biogas can be burnt as an energy source for cooking, lighting, heating water, or heating space after being filtered to remove hydrogen sulfide. It can serve as car fuel when compressed. On a large scale, biogas can be purified and sent into the gas system, or it can be used to produce power.
Food scraps, animal dung, and agricultural residues are examples of the organic materials utilized to create biogas. Some industrial systems generate and collect biogas from sewage.
Turning food waste into energy
For many years, scientists have been trying to figure out how to turn food waste into a practical and affordable energy source. Currently, Cornell University researchers have discovered a novel method to almost completely extract the energy from a food waste product, leaving little behind to fill a landfill. The trash was first "pressure cooked" by the researchers, producing a crude liquid that could later be converted into a biofuel. The remainder is then converted into methane, which may be burned to produce heat and energy. The breakthrough comes as researchers look into how garbage might function in the future of sustainable energy. Treating food waste as a resource is a terrific idea because it should have a high value.
The correct processing can enhance biogas such that it can take the place of mined natural gas as a fuel for electricity generation, ground transportation, and the construction of both commercial and residential buildings. However, in general, we can and should electrify as many end uses as we can, including buildings and ground transportation, by using zero-carbon energy sources like wind and solar to produce electricity.
Several significant industrial processes that produce the items we need, including those that produce steel, cement, food, and consumer goods, required extremely high heat, which is now only available from gas. In fact, industrial thermal emissions account for more US emissions than the agriculture sector (11%), and reducing these emissions is a necessity if we are to stay under a 1.5C temperature increase. Biogas can be a part of the solution because it is anticipated that this industry will continue to consume natural gas for many years to come.
But to do this, the US must significantly increase the amount of biogas harvested.
In order to do just that, WWF's Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) was established. The RTC today consists of over a dozen influential commercial and industrial buyers and sellers of renewable technologies committed to working together to find a solution to the thermal problem. Together, we are attempting to remove the numerous technological, commercial, and regulatory obstacles that prevent biogas and other technologies from being widely available and cost-competitive with fossil fuels.
In the sense that humans and animals will continue to produce waste, biogas, also known as renewable natural gas, is "renewable"; nonetheless, we do not wish to promote the production of further trash for the sole purpose of producing additional biogas. After all, burning the gas still has an effect on the environment, even though capturing and using methane is preferable to letting it escape into the atmosphere. By capturing and storing the CO2 produced during the combustion of the biogas, we may further lessen this impact, but this is just a partial solution because there are hazards involved.
How can you do it?
Start by installing the few home biogas systems available within a thousand dollars. They can be easily used and maintained. If you put in about two kg of food waste every day, there is expected to be enough gas to cook, sometimes even twice the day. If you put in more organic matter, there will be more gas. This will need regular monitoring while you are working on it. The concept of decarbonizing the household's energy is what inspires many to use biogas systems. You can even ask your neighbors to share their organic waste to increase the sense of community engagement.
The production of home biogas is common in developing nations. Its usage as a low-cost, clean energy source is strongly encouraged by the World Bank and the UN. There are 27 million biogas plants in China. That being said, as a combustible fuel, biogas must be filtered to remove harmful hydrogen sulfide. It should be respected and utilized carefully, just like any other fuel. Biogas, however, need not be feared. In any case, fossil gas is much more harmful.
