Production, Cost Analysis, and Marketing of Biogas

Abstract

AbstractBiogas is an alternative to gaseous biofuels and is produced by the decomposition of biomass from substances such as animal waste, sewage sludge, and industrial effluents. Biogas is composed of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and oxygen. The anaerobic production of biogas can be made cheaper by designing a high throughput reactor and operating procedures. The parameters such as substrate type, particle size, temperature, pH, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio, and inoculum concentration play a major role in the design of reactors to produce biogas. Multistage systems, batch, continuous one-stage systems, and continuous two-stage systems are the types of digesters used in the industry for biogas production. Biogas has a wide variety of applications across different industry sectors as mentioned previously. It can be directly used to produce heat and electricity, or it can be upgraded to remove water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, and CO2 for use as a natural gas. It can also be used as an engine fuel in internal combustion engines or fuel cells for production of mechanical work and/or electricity generation. Biogas can also be used as a fuel for agricultural pumps depending on the requirements or can be directly upgraded to biofuels competing with biomass-based bioethanol and biodiesel production. This chapter concerns the production of biogas, setting up of small biogas plant, and provides the details about the expenditure and income generated in biogas production.KeywordsBiogasAnaerobic digestionReactorsCostEconomic investments