|
Biogas – the multi-use resource |
Biogas is a mixture of gases that is produced through the microbial digestion of organic substance in the absence of oxygen. It consists of 50 to 70% methane and 30 to 50% carbon dioxide. Furthermore biogas also contains trace gases such as nitrogen, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide.
 Combined heat and power plants (CHP) transform high-quality biogas into electricity and heat. The operator can produce electricity to send out into the electricity grid or use it for his/her own purposes.
Stables, houses, industrial and trade structures, and other buildings can be heated with the heat produced from the CHP. With mounting energy prices, biogas will be increasingly used to directly heat boilers.
The substances that are suitable for the biogas plant include renewable materials such as corn and sunflowers. Also, solid and liquid manure have been widely used for biogas production. In particular, biogas offers a great deal for large dairy farms, which can easily use the readily available liquid manure to create energy. The manure can be pumped directly from its collection point into the biogas plant.
The environmentally harmful methane emissions from the manure are drastically diminished after their use in the biogas plant.
Organic wastes, which have no more reuse possibilities what so ever, can be fed in. The only important thing is that the organic material does not contain, or has as little as possible, lignins (woody structured materials)
|
Biogas - what is it? 
