Perception of bio-gas – an analysis

Despite advancements in technology, however, some three billion people, primarily in the rural areas of developing countries, continue to meet their energy needs for cooking through traditional means by burning biomass resources (i.e., firewood, crop residues and animal dung) in crude traditional stoves. Such practices are known to be the source of significant environmental, social, economic and public health issues. To achieve sustainable development in these regions, it is imperative that access to clean and affordable (renewable) energy is made available. Within this context, upgrading existing biomass resources (i.e., animal manure, crop residues, kitchen waste and green wastes) to cleaner and more efficient energy carriers (such as biogas from anaerobic digestion) has unique potential to provide clean and reliable energy, while simultaneously preserving the local and global environment. In spite of its significant potential to serve developing nations, however, the high costs and lack of expertise in installation and maintenance of biogas technology preclude widespread adoption in geographically isolated communities. Concerted efforts from both governmental and non-governmental sectors are absolutely essential in facilitating modernization and dissemination of biogas technology to harness the inherent potential that is currently underutilized and unexploited. Conservation and sustainable development, in rural communities whose only fuel is wood, dung and crop wastes, is all that stands between them and destruction. Biogas production combines the short-term economic needs of such communities with conservation and the end of ecological degradation.