Jasmine Grover Content Strategy Manager
Content Strategy Manager
Biogas is a renewable source of energy that is produced when the organic matter is broken down by bacteria under the anaerobic conditions. The process is known as anaerobic digestion. Biogas can be produced from the waste materials like plant waste, food waste, manure, municipal waste, sewage, plant material and agricultural waste. Methane, Carbon dioxide and Hydrogen are the main components of biogas. This gas is highly flammable as it constitutes 50 to 75 % of methane gas and hence making it a major component. The waste products can be naturally recycled with the help of biogas as it will convert them into useful energy without causing any pollution. The harmful methane gas is converted into less harmful carbon dioxide gas with the help of biogas during the process of decomposition.
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Key Terms: Organic Matter, Manure, Fertilizers, Fermentation, Anaerobic Digestion, Carbon Dioxide, Decomposition
What is Biogas?
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Biogas is a renewable fuel that is produced as a result of the breakdown of organic matter such as food scraps and animal waste. Biogas can be used in a variety of ways that include being used as a vehicle fuel as well as for heating and generation of electricity.
Biogas Plant
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Biogas Plant is a system where the waste materials are turned into fertilizers and sustainable energy. The anaerobic conditions can effectively be done under the oxygen-free conditions provided by the biogas plant. The biogas plant have 5 major components:
- Inlet - Slurry is fed through inlet pathway
- Fermentation Chamber - With the activity of microorganisms, the organic matter is broken down and hence the biogas is produced.
- Storage - It is used to store the biogas produced.
- Outlet - It is used to clear out the used slurry formed in the fermentation chamber
- Exit pipe - The biogas produced is stored in the storage and is channeled with the help of exit pipe.
Breakdown of Organic Matter
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Organic matter used to produce biogas consists of food waste, agricultural waste and animal dung. These waste materials are processed in the liquid form which is known as slurry. The water is then mixed to the slurry and then fed to the biogas plant. The stages of breakdown of the organic matter or waste are listed as below:
- In the first stage of the production of biogas, the polymers of the organic matter or waste like carbohydrates, are broken down to make it available for the bacteria present in the second step of breakdown i.e., acidogenic bacteria.
- In the second stage, the acidogenic bacteria converts the amino acids and sugar that were present in the organic waste into ammonia, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and organic acids.
- The organic acids produced in the second stage are further converted into ammonia, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and acetic acid.
- In the final stage of this process, the products of the third stage are converted into methane and carbon dioxide with the help of methanogens.
Methane gas burns more efficiently than coal and is highly combustible gas. It is used in cooking. The methane gas has a blue flame when it is burnt. Carbon dioxide and water is produced when the methane gas is burnt in the presence of oxygen gas.
Ecology of Biogas
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Biogas is one of the most environmentally friendly energy sources availale in nature.
- By converting the organic waste that is mass-produced in each and every household, into a reliable energy supply, the harmful effects of other energy sources can be dealt with.
- It keeps fossil fuel depletion in control and also helps in cleaning the environment.
- Biogas makes use of harmful gases such as methane and carbon dioxide to convert them into a much safer form that can be used.
Read More:
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| Microbes in Human Welfare | Sewage Treatment | Ganga Action Plan |
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| Biocontrol Agents | Microbes as biofertilizers | Microbes in industrial products |
Things to Remember
- Biogas is formed due to the breakdown of organic matter due to anaerobic digestion.
- It is produced in a biogas production plant where the organic waste goes through various processes.
- Methane gas can be used for cooking purposes.
- The methanogens convert the matter into methane and carbon dioxide.
- A bio gas plant consists of five components that includes an inlet, a fermentation chamber, storage, an outlet and an exit pipe.
Sample Questions
Ques 1: How do methanogens help in the production of biogas? (2 Marks)
Ans: A mixture of carbon dioxide and methane is called biogas. Methanogens is a bacteria which is found in cattle dung. It grows on cellulosic material, anaerobically and thus produces a large amount of methane gas, which is the main component of biogas. During this process, the organic waste is broken down by methanogens by anaerobic digestion and the gasses like methane and carbon dioxide are released.
Ques 2: What are the uses of Biogas? (3 Marks)
Ans: Biogas is a renewable gas and is produced by breaking down the organic matter. Various uses of biogas are as follows:
- As conversion of biogas reduces carbon dioxide emissions, it can be used as an alternative fuel for the light and heavy duty transportation vehicles.
- Biogas is commonly used in the rural areas for cooking purposes.
- It can also be used in the production of electricity.
- Organic manure is produced as a byproduct.
- It is an eco-friendly fuel which means it does not pollute the environment.
- It also reduces the water, soil and air pollution.
- The slurry formed after the production of biogas in the plant, is dried and used as an organic manure. This manure can further be used as a fertilizer improving the fertility of soil and thus reducing the use of chemical fertilizers.
Ques 3: What are the disadvantages of biogas? (3 Marks)
Ans: Biogas being an eco-friendly gas still has some disadvantages and those are:
- After the compression and refinement of the biogas, it still contains impurities. These impurities can cause a lot of damage to the metal parts of the engine in the automobiles when used as a fuel. This corrosion of the parts can lead to high maintenance costs.
- The systems used in the production of the biogas are not that efficient. No new technologies are there to simplify the process of the production.
- The generation of biogas is also affected by the temperature. The temperature required for the bacteria to break down the waste through anaerobic digestion is around 37 degrees celsius.
- Biogas plants should be set up mainly in those areas, where there is a surplus supply of the raw material used for its production. Hence, it is more suitable to set up the plant in the rural or suburban areas.
Ques 4: State the role of cyanobacteria as a biofertilizer. (3 Marks)
Ans: A group of photosynthetic bacteria that lives in the water and can produce their own food are known as Cyanobacteria. It can be used as a fertilizer as it fixes the nitrogen component of the soil which helps in the growth of the plants. It is a type of organic fertilizer having living organisms that helps in the harnessing of the natural occurring inputs such as nitrogen, water and solar energy. It ensures the fertility of the soil and the growth of the plants. It helps in the maintenance of the structure of the soil and it also fixes the free atmospheric nitrogen. Hence, cyanobacteria play an important role in the growth of the plants.
Ques 5: How the production of biogas can affect the environment? (2 Marks)
Ans: Biogas helps in the reduction of methane and carbon dioxide emissions. It is a non polluting gas hence it is eco-friendly in nature. Biogas plays an important role in climate change as it conserves the forests due to the less demands of fuelwood. The nutrients present in the organic waste helps the soil to retain its nutritional value and hence maintaining the fertility of the soil. The production of this gas is carbon-neutral which means that it does not add to the emissions of the greenhouse gasses.
Ques 6: Describe the process of anaerobic digestion. (2 Marks)
Ans: In a biogas production plant, organic waste like plant waste, animal waste, agricultural waste, municipal waste, etc. is used for the production of biogas. A slurry of this waste is formed and then it is fed to the digester tank where the anaerobic digestion of the waste takes place. The bacteria present in the waste is broken down in the absence of oxygen. Due to this process, biogas is produced and then stored in a storage tank. Further, it can be further used for various processes like cooking, lighting etc.
Ques 7: List the advantages of biogas. (3 Marks)
Ans: Biogas has following advantages:
- It is eco-friendly in nature.
- The production of biogas helps in reducing soil and water pollution.
- The generation of biogas produces organic fertilizers
- The installation of a biogas plant is cheap
- The slurry produced as a waster after the generation of biogas can be used as a fertilizer which reduces the cost of artificial fertilizers.
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