Can't see the menu?
Try the text links at the bottom.

Energy Resources:
Biogas

  
 
   

Biomass:

Energy from organic materials

Custom Search

Introduction

Biogas is a biofuel, and usually means a mixture of methane and hydrogen produced by using bacteria to break down organic material.

How it works


Waste material is digested in the absence of oxygen (we call it "anaerobic conditions") by bacteria. We also call this process "fermentation". It works best at around 35~40 degrees Celsius.

The gas produced depends on the material you started with.

  • If you start with manure, sewage or "green waste" from your garden, you get mainly methane and carbon dioxide

  • If you start with wood or other biomass, you get "wood gas" which is nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and a little methane
Video clip: Biogas - how it works

More

 
Video clip: "Poo-powered car"

Human waste (that's sewage) can generate a lot of methane.

The gas can be used to power vehicles, as shown in the video clip.

Read the BBC news article here

Biogas from human waste can also be used in the home, in place of the methane gas that's normally piped in.

Near Didcot in Oxfordshire, when you flush the toilet, off it goes to the waste treatment plant where the solid waste is separated from the other sewage, then digested by bacteria to produce methane.

The methane is then cleaned and perfumed, and used in local homes that same as usual.

Read the BBC news article here

Video clip: Landfill gas - how it's done

Rubbish in landfill sites (we used to call them "rubbish tips") decomposes and creates methane gas.

There are now regulations forcing councils to deal with this gas and not simply let it escape into the atmosphere - methane is a worse "greenhouse gas" than carbon dioxide.

The "landfill gas" can be captured and used in homes and businesses.

Here's a BBC News article about a scheme in Northern Ireland.


Advantages  
  • It makes sense to use waste materials where we can.

  • The methane gas from the waste would otherwise end up in the atmosphere - and methane is a worse "greenhouse gas" than carbon dioxide.

  • The fuel tends to be cheap.

  • Less demand on the fossil fuels.

Disadvantages

  • We burn the biogas, so it makes greenhouse gases just like fossil fuels do.

Is it renewable?

Biogas is renewable, as we're going to carry on making waste products anyway.

 

   
Custom Search
 
 
        Can't see the menu? Try these text links:
Home  Fossil Fuels   Nuclear Power   Solar Power   Wind Power   Tidal Power   Hydroelectric Power   Pumped Storage   Wave Power   Geothermal Power
Biomass   Biogas   Other Biofuels         See also "Stuff to do" on the home page.
                         This site uses images from www.freefoto.com and www.sxc.hu      I am not responsible for the content of external sites linked from this page.