What is Biogas & What Made from?

What is Biogas

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas

Biogas typically refers to a mixture of gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas can be produced from regionally available raw materials such as recycled waste. It is a renewable energy source and in many cases exerts a very small carbon footprint.

Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic bacteria or fermentation of biodegradable materials such as manure, sewage, municipal waste, green waste, plant material, and crops.[1] It is primarily methane (CH
4) and carbon dioxide (CO
2) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H
2S), moisture and siloxanes.

The gases methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide (CO) can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel; it can be used for any heating purpose, such as cooking. It can also be used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat.

What is Biogas made from?

Biogas is a commonly used biofuel around the world and is generated through the process of anaerobic digestion or the fermentation of biodegradable materials such as biomass, manure, sewage, municipal waste, rubbish dumps, septic tanks, green waste and energy crops. This type of biogas comprises primarily methane and carbon dioxide. The actual composition of biogas will vary depending upon the origin of the anaerobic digestion process – ie the feedstock.

Anaerobic digesters can be fed with energy crops such as biodegradable wastes <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable_waste> including sewage sludge and food waste. An air-tight tank transforms the biomass waste into methane producing renewable energy which can then be used for heating, electricity, and many other operations that use any variation of an internal combustion engine.

One particular type of biogas is known as 'landfill gas' (LFG) or 'digestor gas'. LFG is produced by wet organic waste decomposing under anaerobic conditions in a landfill. In the same way that a compost heap works, the waste is covered and then compressed by the weight of the new material that is deposited on top. This material prevents the oxygen from escaping and encourages the anaerobic microbes to thrive. The gas slowly builds up and is released into the atmosphere if the landfill site has not been engineered to capture the gas.

It is important for many reasons to ensure that landfill gas is contained – firstly, LFG becomes explosive when it escapes from the landfill and mixes with oxygen and secondly, the methane contained within biogas is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide - so uncontained landfill gas may actually significantly contribute to the effects of global warming.

The good news is you can create simple version of biogas and you can get benefits from it if you build at your home. I suggest you to look video from Abel Thomas http://101how.com/Liberty-Generator-Biogas