BIOGAS- A RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY

Abstract

The reserve of fossil fuel viz., oil, natural gas and coal are limited. The continual increase in their utilization will exhaust their sources and affects very much the environment and ecology, especially the emission of CO 2 which threatens environment and climate more and more seriously. Thus focus should be turned towards the development and utilization of renewable energy resources, which do not pollute the environment. Biogas is one of them and has been gaining worldwide importance and popularity, especially with the developing countries, because of its appropriateness in the context of technical, socioeconomic and resource endowments of these countries. Biogas is a mixture of 55-60 percent methane, 30-40 percent carbon dioxide and other gases such as H 2 , H 2 S and N 2 . It is a clean but slow burning gas and usually has a calorific value between 5000 to 5500 kcal/kg (20935 to 23028 kj /kg.) and 38131 kj/ M 3 . Any cellulose organic material of animal or plant origin, which is easily biodegradable, is a potential raw material for biogas production through anaerobic fermentation, caused by different types of microorganisms. Anaerobic fermentation produces CO 2 , CH 4 , H 4 , H 2 and traces of other gases along with a decomposed mass, which is rich in C, N 2 , P, K and other nutrients. The enormous potential of biogas in India, estimated at 17,000 MW. The capacity was derived principally from estimated agricultural residues and dung from country’s 300 million cattle.