Introduction

Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas. Biogas originates from biogenic material and is a type of biofuel. 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 amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), moisture and siloxanes.

Gas mixture measure Composition

Methane Carbon Dioxide Oxygen + Nitrogen Humidity (CH4) (CO2) (O2 &N2) (H2O) 66.5% 30.5% 0.5% 2.5%

Some Technologies For Biogas Conversion

There are different kinds of technology to convert the chemical energy in the biogas into electricity. Energy conversion is a process where one type of energy is converted to another one. In biogas conversion the chemical energy in the molecules is converted to mechanical energy in a controlled combustion

system, then, this mechanical energy activates a generator producing electrical power. The gas turbines and the internal combustion engines are the most common technologies used to this kind of energy conversion.

Biogas as a fuel in vehicles

Biogas is an alternative fuel for powering vehicles and is a very real alternative to petrol and diesel. Biogas is a mix mainly of methane and carbon dioxide and is produced naturally when organic matter decomposes in the absence of oxygen. There are effectively two ways to come by this fuel, either from landfill sites or through anaerobic digestion. Landfill sites produce biogas when the waste is subjected to anaerobic microbiological action. It is possible to drill into a landfill site in order to extract the biogas for some form of power generation. Alternatively, biogas can be produced by emulating this process through anaerobic digestion. This accelerates the natural process of the landfill site and is typically used on wet wastes such as sewage sludge or animal slurries.

As well as being used to generate power, biogas can also be used as a vehicle fuel. Compared to diesel this has about a 60% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, lower nitrous oxide emissions and zero particulate emissions.

 In fact, it is suggested that carbon emissions are reduced by over 100% because the organic waste used to make the fuel would otherwise emit methane into the atmosphere.