BIOGAS ABSTRACT

Biogas means a gas produced by the anaerobic digestion or fermentation of organic matter. The organic matter can be manure, sewage sludge, municipal solid waste, biodegradable waste or any other biodegradable feedstock. Biogas is mainly methane and carbon dioxide.

There are many advantages of biogas over wood as a cooking fuel:They are less labour than tree felling,Trees can be retained,Biogas is a quick, easily controlled fuel,No smoke or smell so reduced eye/respiratory irritation,Clean pots,Sludge is a better fertiliser than manure or synthetic fertilisers ,Reduced pathogen transmission compared to untreated waste By converting cow manure into methane biogas via anaerobic digestion, the millions of cows in the United States would be able to produce one hundred billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power millions of homes across the United States. In fact, one cow can produce enough manure in one day to generate three kilowatt hours of electricity; only 2.4 kilowatt hours of electricity are needed to power a single one hundred watt light bulb for one day. Furthermore, by converting cow manure into methane biogas instead of

letting it decompose, global warming gases could be reduced by ninety-nine million metric tons or four percent. In Nepal biogas is being used as a reliable source of rural energy, says Bikash Haddi of Biogas promotion center.

INTRODUCTION
Biogas is generated when bacteria degrade biological material in the absence of oxygen, in a process known as anaerobic digestion. Since biogas is a mixture of methane (also known as marsh gas or natural gas, CH4) and carbon dioxide it is a renewable fuel produced from waste treatment. Anaerobic digestion is basically a simple process carried out in a number of steps that can use almost any organic material as a substrate - it occurs in digestive systems, marshes, rubbish dumps, septic tanks and the Arctic Tundra. Humans tend to make the process as complicated as possible by trying to improve on nature in complex machines but a simple approach is still possible, as I hope you see in this website. Conventional anaerobic digestion has been a "liquid" process, where waste is mixed with water to facilitate digestion, but a "solid" process is also possible, as occurs in landfill sites.

As methane is very hard to compress I see its best use as for stationary fuel, rather than mobile fuel. It takes a lot of energy to compress the gas (this energy is usually just wasted), plus you have the hazard of high pressure. A variable volume storage (flexible bag or floating drum are the two main variants) is much easier and cheaper to arrange than high pressure cylinders, regulators and compressors. I think biogas is best used directly for cooking/heating, light or even absorption refrigeration rather than the complication and energy waste of trying to make electricity from biogas. You can also run pumps and equipment off a gas powered engine rather than using electricity. There are many advantages of biogas over wood as a cooking fuel:

Less labour than tree felling Trees can be retained Biogas is a quick, easily controlled fuel No smoke or smell (unless there is a leak - then you need to know anyway!) so reduced eye/respiratory irritation

Clean pots Sludge is a better fertiliser than manure or synthetic fertilisers (and is cheaper then manufactured products)

Reduced pathogen transmission compared to untreated waste

PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS AND ITS EFFECT Bio gas is practically produced as landfill gas (LFG) or digested gas. A bio gas plant is the name often given to an anaerobic digester that treats farm wastes or energy crops. Bio gas can be produced using anaerobic digesters. These plants can be fed with energy crops such as maize silage or biodegradable wastes including sewage sludge and food waste. During the process, an air-tight tank transforms biomass waste into methane producing renewable energy that can be used for heating, electricity, and many other operations that use any variation of an internal combustion engine, such as GE Jenbacher gas engines. There are two key processes: Mesophilic and Thermophilic digestion. In experimental work at University of Alaska Fairbanks, a 1000-litre digester using psychrophiles harvested from "mud from a frozen lake in Alaska" has produced 200300 liters of methane per day, about 2030% of the output from digesters in warmer climates. Landfill gas is produced by wet organic waste decomposing under anaerobic conditions in a landfill. The waste is covered and mechanically compressed by the weight of the material that is deposited from above. This material prevents oxygen exposure thus allowing anaerobic microbes to thrive. This gas builds up and is slowly released into the atmosphere if the landfill site has not been

engineered to capture the gas. Landfill gas is hazardous for three key reasons. Landfill gas becomes explosive when it escapes from the landfill and mixes with oxygen. The lower explosive limit is 5% methane and the upper explosive limit is 15% methane. The methane contained within biogas is 20 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Therefore, uncontained landfill gas, which escapes into the atmosphere may significantly contribute to the effects of global warming. In addition, landfill gas impact in global warming, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained within landfill gas contribute to the formation of photochemical smog.

COMPOSITION
Typical composition of biogas

Compound

Molecular formula %

Methane

CH 5075 4 2550

Carbon dioxide

CO

N Nitrogen 2 010

H Hydrogen 2 01

H Hydrogen sulphide 2S 03

O Oxygen 2 The composition of biogas varies depending upon the origin of the anaerobic digestion process. Landfill gas typically has methane concentrations around 50%. Advanced waste treatment technologies can produce biogas with 55 75% methane, which for reactors with free liquids can be increased to 8090% methane using in-situ gas purification techniques As-produced, biogas also contains water vapor. The fractional volume of water vapor is a function of biogas temperature; correction of measured gas volume for both water vapor content and thermal expansion is easily done via simple mathematics which yields the standardized volume of dry biogas. 00

In some cases, biogas contains siloxanes. These siloxanes are formed from the anaerobic decomposition of materials commonly found in soaps and detergents. During combustion of biogas containing

siloxanes, silicon is released and can combine with free oxygen or various other elements in the combustion gas. Deposits are formed containing mostly silica (SiOor silicates (SixOy) contain calcium, sulfur, zinc, phosphorus. and Such white can also

mineral deposits

accumulate to a surface thickness of several millimeters and must be removed by chemical or mechanical means. Practical and cost-effective technologies to remove siloxanes and other biogas contaminants are currently available.

BENEFITS
When biogas is used, many advantages arise. In North America, utilization of biogas would generate enough electricity to meet up to three percent of the continent's electricity expenditure. In addition, biogas could potentially help reduce global climate change. Normally, manure that is left to decompose releases two main gases that cause global dioxide climate (NO

change: nitrogen

dioxide and methane.

Nitrogen

2) warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide and methane 21 times more than carbon dioxide. By converting cow manure into methane biogas via anaerobic digestion, the millions of cows in the United States would be able to produce one hundred billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power millions of homes across the United States. In fact, one cow can produce enough manure in one day to generate three kilowatt hours of electricity; only 2.4 kilowatt hours of electricity are needed to power a single one hundred watt light bulb for one day.[15] Furthermore, by converting cow manure into methane biogas instead of letting it decompose, global warming gases could be reduced by ninetynine million metric tons or four percent. In Nepal biogas is being used as a reliable source of rural energy, says Bikash Haddi of Biogas promotion center. EFFECTS Effects on Health Positive Effects Reduction in eye related disease and headache has been the most significant and direct effect of biogas plant

All sample household respondents reported that the women engaged in kitchen used to have problems of eye irritation, rolling tears, eye sores, eye pain and headache before the installation of biogas plant. These problems have not been experienced after they started using biogas. Although the respondents argued that there could be numerous factors to cause eye problems, they firmly believed that the smoke coming out of firewood stove was the main cause of their eye related troubles before. These expressions were fully substantiated during women focus discussions too. The extent mof relief to eye problems made possible by the use of biogas could best be understood from the following remarks made by the plant owners in the focus group discussions. Biogas plant has been blessing for us. We the women engaged in kitchen activities had to suffer from frequent eye troubles due to fire wood smoke. But mm: after the introduction of biogas, we do not have eye problem any more. The contrary feelings expressed by the non-plant owner group of women also support the above positive effect of biogas. The common remarks made by them was : Rolling tears, eye irritation, eye pain, eye sores, headache etc, are our major problems. We believe that the smoke coming out of the fire wood stove is

the major cause of these problems. We have heard from our neighbors (plant owners} that biogas has greatly reduced their eye problems. However, the degree to which the use of biogas as cooking fuel has contributed to reduce the eye diseases could not be estimated from the present study. Attempts were made to find out the frequencies of occurrences of eye related problems before and after the biogas installation. But the respondents found it difficult to recall and figure out how often they and their family members had eye problems before. Although the women engaged in the kitchen seem to be the main beneficiaries of the smokeless biogas, other family members, who have to be inside the kitchen for eating and other purposes are benefited as well The key informants reported that the smoke free kitchen ( due to the use of biogas) is enjoyed not only by the house wives but by al! family members i.e male, female, children and even the guests. Occurrence of coughing and throat ache were significantly reduced Asked whether the use of biogas had contributed to reduce the frequency of respiratory diseases, the sample respondents observed that although they were not sure of other respiratory diseases, they experienced drastic

reduction in the occurrences of coughing and throat ache after the introduction of biogas plant. The reason, as given by them, was that unlike before (cooking on fire wood stove) the women do not have to inhale smoke and ash dusts which avoids coughing and other respiratory troubles According to them with the use of biogas. the women do not have to keep sitting near the stove anymore to blow the fire time and again as they used to do earlier while cooking foods on fire wood stove before the Physical stress of women has been greatly reduced The introduction of biogas plant has had positive effect on health, especially of women, through a significant reduction in physical stress. Shortening of time in fire wood collection, cooking, cleaning utensils etc. has contributed to the save women's time. The saving of time, according to the respondents, has contributed to the reduction in physical stress in the following manner: The women during focus group discussion categorically stressed that it was far better for them to fetch 5-7 buckets of additional water rather than collecting one bhari (bundle) of fire wood It implies that fire wood collection is very tiring and tedious job for them which results in loss of considerable amount of body energy. From the household opinion survey it was reported that the consumption of firewood on an average has been reduced by 63% (Table 3.1) after the

introduction of biogas This led to a net saving of 1570 Kgs. of firewood per household per annum on an average Assuming that it takes 6 hours ( reported by women focus group) to collect one bhari (25-30 Kgs.) of fire wood, a woman has to spend only 222 hours a year at present against 600 hours during pre-biogas period. The sample household respondents as well as the women of focus group discussants indicated that women now rest for longer hours than before which means that there has been some reduction in their physical stress. According to the women respondents there has been a remarkable reduction in their time required to wait for their male counterparts to teed. The socio-cultural norms of the Nepalese society, particularly in rural areas, does not allow a woman to take food without serving her husband. Since the food cooked on gas stove does not retain heat for longer period, the males have to rush.The women used to bear excessive heat and smoke during summer while cooking on firewood stove which is not the case at present. The women from the focus groups remarked: Effects on intestinal and diarrhea disease control are indicative Sample respondents were asked to mention the frequency of the occurrence of diarrhea and intestinal

IMPORTANCE OF BIOGAS IN ECHOSYSTEM The Impact on the Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is caused by gases in the atmosphere (mainly carbon dioxide CO2) which allow the sun's short wave radiation to reach the earth surface while they absorb, to a large degree, the long wave heat radiation from the earth's surface and from the atmosphere. Due to the "natural greenhouse effect" of the earth's atmosphere the average temperature on earth is 15C and not minus 18C. The increase of the so called greenhouse gases which also include methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, etc. cause a rise of the earth's temperature. The World Bank Group expects a rise in sea levels until the year 2050 of up to 50 cm. Flooding, erosion of the coasts, salinization of ground water and loss of land are but a few of the consequences mentioned. Until now, instruments to reduce the greenhouse effect considered primarily the reduction of CO2-emissions, due to their high proportion in the atmosphere. Though other greenhouse gases appear to a smaller extend in the atmosphere, they cause much more harm to the climate.

Sources of Methane Emissions in the Agricultural Field The amount of worldwide methane emissions from agricultural production comprises about 33 % of the global anthropogenic methane release. Animal husbandry alone comprises 16 %, followed by rice fields with 12 % and animal manure with 5 % . While methane released through digestion of ruminants (about 80 Mil t CH4 per year) can rarely be reduced, methane emissions from animal waste can be captured and energetically used through anaerobic treatment. The amount of methane emission mainly depends on fodder, animal type and animal waste systems. For example: the methane emission potential from dairy cattle in industrialized countries is about 0,24 m3 CH4/kg volatile solids (influence of fodder), in developing countries it is only about 0,13 m3 CH4/kg volatile solids. But taking into account the aerobic condition of solid dung systems (only 5 % of the methane emission potential is released) it is mainly the liquid waste management systems which contribute through anaerobic conditions with a high methane release to the climate change (up to 90 % of the methane emission potential is released).

Methane Reduction Potential Through the Application of Biogas Technology Through anaerobic treatment of animal waste, respectively through controlled capture of methane and its energetic use, about 13,24 Mil t CH4/year can be eliminated worldwide. This figure includes methane emissions resulting from incomplete burning of dung for cooking purposes. By replacing dung through biogas, these emissions are avoided. In total about 4 % of the global anthropogenic methane emissions could be reduced by biogas technology. If fossil fuels and firewood is replaced by biogas additional CO 2-emissions can be avoided including a saving of forest resources which are a natural CO2 sink. Reduction Potential of Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Agriculture The relative climatic change potential of nitrous oxide is up to 320 times higher as that of CO2 . Nitrous oxide generation is a natural microbial process. It is produced during nitrification and de-nitrification processes in soils, stables and animal waste management systems. In general, nitrous oxides emissions appear in soils without anthropogenic influence. Fertilizing as well as special conditions during storage can immensely increase the emissions.

Little detailed information is available about the reduction potential of nitrous oxides through anaerobic digestion of animal waste. There is still a big need for further research. Nevertheless, ongoing research results indicate that anaerobic digestion of animal waste significantly reduces nitrous oxide emissions by: 1. avoiding of emissions during storage of animal waste, 2. avoiding of anaerobic conditions in soils, 3. reducing N2O-emissions through increased nitrogen availability for plants and a faster nitrogen absorption through crop plants, 4. reducing application of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer by which N2Oemissions are reduced during production of nitrogen fertilizer.

APPLICATIONS

A biogas bus in Linkping, Sweden

Biogas can be utilized for electricity production on sewage works, in a CHP gas engine, where the waste heat from the engine is conveniently used for heating the digester; cooking; space heating; water heating; and process heating. If compressed, it can replace compressed natural gas for use in vehicles, where it can fuel an internal combustion engine or fuel cells and is a much more effective displacer of carbon dioxide than the normal use in on-site CHP plants. Methane within biogas can be concentrated via a biogas upgrader to the same standards as fossil natural gas, which itself has had to go through a cleaning process, and becomes biomethane. If the local gas network allows for this, the producer of the biogas may utilize the local gas distribution networks. Gas must be very clean to reach pipeline quality, and must be of the correct composition for the local distribution network to accept. Carbon dioxide, water, hydrogen sulfide, and particulates must be removed if present. Biogas upgrading Raw biogas produced from digestion is roughly 60% methane and 29% CO 2 with trace elements of H 2S, and is not high quality enough to be used as fuel gas for machinery. The corrosive nature of H2S alone is enough to destroy the internals of a plant. The solution is the use of biogas upgrading

or purification processes whereby contaminants in the raw biogas stream are absorbed or scrubbed, leaving more methane per unit volume of gas. There are four main methods of biogas upgrading, these include water washing, pressure swing absorption, selexol absorption, and amine gas treating. The most prevalent method is water washing where high pressure gas flows into a column where the carbon dioxide and other trace elements are scrubbed by cascading water running counter-flow to the gas. This arrangement could deliver 98% methane with manufacturers guaranteeing maximum 2% methane loss in the system. It takes roughly between 3-6% of the total energy output in gas to run a biogas upgrading system. BIOGAS GAS-GRID INJECTION Gas-grid injection is the injection of biogas into the methane grid (natural gas grid). Injections includes biogas: until the breakthrough of micro combined heat and power two-thirds of all the energy produced by biogas power plants was lost (the heat), using the grid to transport the gas to customers, the electricity and the heat can be used for on-site generation resulting in a reduction of losses in the transportation of energy. Typical energy losses in natural gas transmission systems range from 1 2%. The current energy losses on a large electrical system range from 58%.

BIOGAS IN TRANSPORT

"Biogastget Amanda" train near Linkpingstation, Sweden If concentrated and compressed, it can also be used in vehicle transportation. Compressed biogas is becoming widely used inSweden, Switzerland, and Germany. A biogas-powered train, named Biogastget Amanda, has been in service in Sweden since 2005. Biogas also powers automobiles and in 1974, a British documentary film entitled Sweet as a Nut detailed the biogas production process from pig manure, and how the biogas fueled a customadapted combustion engine. In 2007, an estimated 12,000 vehicles were being fueled with upgraded biogas worldwide, mostly in Europe.

LEGISLATION
The European Union presently has some of the strictest legislation regarding waste management and landfill sites called the Landfill Directive. The United States legislates against landfill gas as it contains VOCs. The United

States Clean Air Act and Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) requires landfill owners to estimate the quantity of non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs) emitted. If the estimated NMOC emissions exceeds 50 tonnes per year, the landfill owner is required to collect the landfill gas and treat it to remove the entrained NMOCs. Treatment of the landfill gas is usually by combustion. Because of the remoteness of landfill sites, it is sometimes not economically feasible to produce electricity from the gas. However, countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany now have legislation in force that provides farmers with long-term revenue and energy security. Development around the world United States With the many benefits of biogas, it is starting to become a popular source of energy and is starting to be utilized in the United States more. In 2003, the United States consumed 147 trillion BTU of energy from "landfill gas", about 0.6% of the total U.S. natural gas consumption. Methane biogas derived from cow manure is also being tested in the U.S. According to a 2008 study, collected by the Science and Children magazine, methane biogas from cow manure would be sufficient to produce 100 billion kilowatt

hours enough to power millions of homes across America. Furthermore, methane biogas has been tested to prove that it can reduce 99 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions or about 4% of the greenhouse gases produced by the United States. rrently around 60 non-sewage biogas plants in the UK, most are on-farm, but some larger facilities exist off-farm, which are taking food and consumer wastes. On 5 October 2010, biogas was injected into the UK gas grid for the first time. Sewage from over 30,000 Oxfordshire homes is sent to Didcot sewage treatment works, where it is treated in an anaerobic digestor to produce biogas, which is then cleaned to provide gas for approximately 200 homes. Germany Germany is Europe's biggest biogas producer as it is the market leader in biogas technology. In 2010 there were 5,905 biogas plants operating throughout the whole country, in which Lower Saxony, Bavaria and the eastern federal states are the main regions. Most of these plants are employed as power plants. Usually the biogas plants are directly connected with a CHP which produces electric power by burning the bio methane. The electrical power is then fed into the public power grid. In 2010, the total installed electrical capacity of these power plants was 2,291 MW. The

electricity supply was approximately 12.8 TWh, which is 12.6 per cent of the total generated renewable electricity. Biogas in Germany is primarily extracted by the co-fermentation of energy crops (called NawaRo, an abbreviation of nachwachsende Rohstoffe, which is German for renewable resources) mixed with manure, the main crop utilized is corn. Organic waste and industrial and agricultural residues such as waste from the food industry are also used for biogas generation. In this respect, Biogas production in Germany differs significantly from the UK, where biogas generated from landfill sites is most common. The German agricultural biogas production was given a further push in 2004 by implementing the so-called NawaRo-Bonus. This is a special bonus payment given for the usage of renewable resources i.e. energy crops. In 2007 the German government stressed its intention to invest further effort and support in improving the renewable energy supply to provide an answer on growing climate challenges and increasing oil prices by the Integrated Climate and Energy Programme. This continual trend of renewable energy promotion induces a number of challenges facing the management and organisation of renewable energy supply that has also several impacts on the biogas production. The first challenge to be noticed is the high area-consuming of the biogas electric

power supply. In 2011 energy crops for biogas production consumed an area of circa 800,000 ha in Germany. This high demand of agricultural areas generates new competitions with the food industries that did not exist yet. Moreover new industries and markets were created in predominately rural regions entailing different new players with an economic, political and civil background. Their influence and acting has to be governed to gain all advantages this new source of energy is offering. Finally biogas will furthermore play an important role in the German renewable energy supply if good governance is focused. Indian subcontinent In India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion of manure in small-scale digestion facilities is called gobar gas; it is estimated that such facilities exist in over two million households in India, fifty thousands in Bangladesh and thousands in Pakistan, particularly North Punjab, due to the thriving population of livestock. The digester is an airtight circular pit made of concrete with a pipe connection. The manure is directed to the pit, usually directly from the cattle shed. The pit is then filled with a required quantity of wastewater. The gas pipe is connected to the kitchen fireplace through control valves. The combustion of this biogas has very little odour or smoke. Owing to

simplicity in implementation and use of cheap raw materials in villages, it is one of the most environmentally sound energy sources for rural needs. One type of these system is the Sintex Digester. Some designs

use vermiculture to further enhance the slurry produced by the biogas plant for use as compost. In order to create awareness and associate the people interested in biogas, an association "Indian Biogas Association" (www.biogas-India.com) was formed. The Indian Biogas Association aspires to be a unique blend of; nationwide operators, manufacturers and planners of biogas plants, and representatives from science and research. The association was founded in 2010 and is now ready to start mushrooming. The sole motto of the association is propagating Biogas in a sustainable way. The Deenabandhu Model is a new biogas-production model popular in India. (Deenabandhu means "friend of the helpless.") The unit usually has a capacity of 2 to 3 cubic metres. It is constructed using bricks or by a ferrocement mixture. In India, the brick model costs slightly more than the ferrocement model; however, India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy offers some subsidy per model constructed. In Pakistan, the Rural Support Programmes Network is running the Pakistan Domestic Biogas Programme which has installed over 1500 biogas plants

and has trained in excess of 200 masons on the technology and aims to develop the Biogas Sector in Pakistan. Also PAK-Energy Solution has taken the most innovative and responsible initiatives in biogas technology. In this regard, the company is also awarded by 1st prize in "Young Entrepreneur Business Plan Challenge" jointly organized by Punjab Govt. & LCCI. They have designed and developed Uetians Hybrid Model, in which they have combined fixed dome and floating drums and Uetians Triplex Model. Moreover, Pakistan Dairy Development Company has also taken an initiative to develop this kind of alternative source of energy for Pakistani farmers. Biogas is now running diesel engines, gas generators, kitchen ovens, geysers, and other utilities in Pakistan. In Nepal, the government provides subsidies to build biogas plant. Jain irrigation, Jalgaon is successfully operating a 1.7 MW Biogas based power generation plant with CHP module . It is designed for 100 to 150 MT/day solid waste. Generate 1.7 MW power, 450 TR refrigeration and 10 MT/day compost. China The Chinese had experimented the applications of biogas since 1958. Around 1970, China had installed 6,000,000 digesters in an effort to

make agriculture more efficient. During the last years the technology has met high growth rates. This seems to be the earliest developments in generating biogas from agricultural waste. In developing nations Domestic biogas plants convert livestock manure and night soil into biogas and slurry, the fermented manure. This technology is feasible for small holders with livestock producing 50 kg manure per day, an equivalent of about 6 pigs or 3 cows. This manure has to be collectable to mix it with water and feed it into the plant. Toilets can be connected. Another precondition is the temperature that affects the fermentation process. With an optimum at 36 C the technology especially applies for those living in a (sub) tropical climate. This makes the technology for small holders in developing countries often suitable.

Simple sketch of household biogas plant

Depending on size and location, a typical brick made fixed dome biogas plant can be installed at the yard of a rural household with the investment between 300 to 500 US $ in Asian countries and up to 1400 US $ in the African context. A high quality biogas plant needs minimum maintenance costs and can produce gas for at least 1520 years without major problems and re-investments. For the user, biogas provides clean cooking energy, reduces indoor air pollution, and reduces the time needed for traditional biomass collection, especially for women and children. The slurry is a clean organic fertilizer that potentially increases agricultural productivity. Domestic biogas technology is a proven and established technology in many parts of the world, especially Asia. Several countries in this region have embarked on large-scale programmes on domestic biogas, such as China and India. In the 1985 Australian film Mad Max Beyond Thunder dome the postapocalyptic settlement Barter town is powered by a central biogas system based upon a piggery. As well as providing electricity, methane is used to power Barter town's vehicles.

CONCLUSION Biogas is generated when bacteria degrade biological material in the absence of oxygen, in a process known as anaerobic digestion. Since biogas is a mixture of methane (also known as marsh gas or natural gas, CH4) and carbon dioxide it is a renewable fuel produced from waste treatment. Anaerobic digestion is basically a simple process carried out in a number of steps that can use almost any organic material as a substrate - it occurs in digestive systems, marshes, rubbish dumps, septic tanks and the Arctic TundraConventional anaerobic digestion has been a "liquid" process, where waste is mixed with water to facilitate digestion, but a "solid" process is also possible, as occurs in landfil sites. There are many advantages of biogas over wood as a cooking fuel:They are less labour than tree felling,Trees can be retained,Biogas is a quick, easily controlled fuel,No smoke or smell so reduced eye/respiratory irritation,Clean pots,Sludge is a better fertiliser than manure or synthetic fertilisers ,Reduced pathogen transmission compared to untreated waste When biogas is used, many advantages arise. In North America, utilization of biogas would generate enough electricity to meet up to three percent of

the continent's electricity expenditure. In addition, biogas could potentially help reduce global climate change. Normally, manure that is left to decompose releases two main gases that cause global dioxide climate (NO

change: nitrogen

dioxide and methane.

Nitrogen

2) warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide and methane 21 times more than carbon dioxide.

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