Disposal and treatment of biological waste represents a major challenge for the waste industry in the UK and Europe. For a wide range of organic substances from agriculture, food processing and manufacturing, anaerobic fermentation (with the lack of oxygen) is a superior alternative to composting.
Biogas – predominantly a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) – is created from anaerobic fermentation of organic materials. The gas produced in the digester consists of 50 - 70% methane and 30 - 50% CO2. This composition makes biogas well suited for combustion in gas engines. The biogas serves as a high-energy, renewable fuel that can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels.
Biogas-fuelled gas engines improve waste management while help maximise the use of an economical energy supply. Compared to fossil fuels utilising biogas in the engines avoids any additional greenhouse gas emissions.
Due to the organic nature of the components of biogas, burning it in a gas engine for power generation emits the same amount of CO2 into the atmosphere as was originally absorbed during the process of photosynthesis in the natural CO2 cycle.
