By Rohan Agrawal
The extensive use of fossil fuels, especially within the last 60 years, has affected economic and environmental sectors on a global scale. Fossil fuel consumption hasn’t simply doubled or tripled but “increased around eight-fold since 1950” (Ritchie, 2022). What is even more shocking is that the United States, China, and India, when combined, consume more fossil fuels than all other countries in the world put together. Now, how exactly is this sustainable? Understandably, many global firms in this post-industrial society rely heavily on fossil fuels. Byproducts of fossil fuels—including petroleum to fuel cars and gas to heat food—have become the crux of happy living.
With approximately “84% of the world's energy consumption needs being met through fossil fuels alone," it should be no surprise that such an energy source will run out within this century (Kumar, 2021). Therefore it is critical that countries, primarily MEDCs that rely on oil production, shift towards renewable energy: in particular, biogas.
What is Biogas?
Biogas is a renewable energy source composed of organic matter, such as food waste or animal waste, which is inevitably decomposed by microorganisms. While the concepts behind biogas only continue to grow apparent, the employment of this energy source is ever expanding—especially amongst farmers and families deprived of electricity. One way biogas can be cultivated is through cows’ and bulls’ manure; therefore, poverty-stricken farmers have swiftly indulged in the opportunity of installing biogas plants. Such a shift has led to affordable and everlasting renewable energy amongst the lower-class public.
Now, even though the process of developing biogas requires little effort, several environmental conditions must first be fulfilled. Initially, organic waste components are dried up before being stored in an anaerobic digester. Aside from organic waste, water and bacteria (methanogens) also settle in the digester for fermentation. The digestor must also be preserved in an airtight container, left warm and undisturbed.
Methanogens are extremely temperature sensitive, with the optimum temperature for biogas production at 35°C. The activity and growth rate of this bacteria decrease by 50% for every drop in 10°C (National Library of Medicine, 2012). While the signs of biogas become apparent after 10 days of captivity, the type of organic waste collected truly affects the timing. After organic waste is digested, pipes are attached to the biogas plant to store biomethane gas.
What are the Effects of Biogas?
Electricity has innumerable jobs, including helping to power motorized engines or turns on a stove; likewise, biogas can be harnessed in a similar fashion. Several scientists and analysts have noted that “biogas burns very cleanly and produces fewer pollutants during cooking than any other fuel except electricity” (Energypedia, 2019). Also, unlike fossil fuels, biogas is a renewable energy source, made from organic compounds, therefore there is access to this energy source in the long run. This is why society should advocate for a switch to Biogas. By shifting to biogas, individuals can help combat the imminent climate disaster—caused by astronomically high carbon footprints—since producing biogas doesn't emit greenhouse gasses. Even the byproducts of producing biogas, compost, a nutrient and fertilizer for plants and crops, can benefit the environment.
So, why haven’t we shifted to biogas? Despite the several benefits provided by biogas, there are still downsides to this energy source in comparison to fossil fuels. Due to the lack of technological advancements concerning biogas plants, large-scale production of biogas still remains a milestone; hence, biogas enterprises won't be economically viable. Furthermore, biogas contains impurities. For example, when trying to fuel automobiles, biogas can corrode the engine and lead to high maintenance costs (Evans, 2020). As mentioned before, methanogens responsible for the production of biogas also require a specific optimal temperature, so if the overall temperature drops below the optimal level, external heat needs to be supplied to the digesters.
How Efficient is Biogas?
Fossil fuels need to be replaced with an eco-friendly energy source, but which energy source is most efficient? Besides biogas, there are several other types of eco-friendly energy sources being explored: solar energy, hydroelectricity, and wind energy. Research departments have conducted experiments that have compared solar energy to biogas energy: “the results deduced that generating energy from biogas is more effective and reliable for the community compared to solar energy" (Araoye, 2018).
When comparing hydroelectricity to biogas, both have similar advantages. However, hydroelectricity is more beneficial because "construction costs can be mitigated by using preexisting structures such as bridges, tunnels, and dams" (Department of Energy). In contrast, biogas provides benefits apart from generating renewable energy. Since biogas is produced using organic waste, this helps tackle the 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste, which remains a pertinent issue today.
From an environmental standpoint, society would be better off if we shifted from man-made fuels to biogas. However, biogas isn't an economically viable source for coal and gasoline monopolies; therefore, making such a shift would devastate such industries: Economies are still predominantly reliant on fossil fuels, constituting 80% of the world's energy (EESI, 2021). Still, the implementations of biogas have begun to surface, especially in the west, with the formation of new intricate biogas plants. Society can’t go green anytime soon, however renewable energy sources like biogas show us that the road to sustainability isn’t as narrow as we thought.
References
Araoye, T. O. (2018, January). (PDF) a comparative analysis of renewable energy using biogas and solar ... Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328734110_A_Comparative_Analysis_of_Renewable_Energy_Using_Biogas_and_Solar_Photovoltaic_Systems_A_Case_Study_of_Ajaba_In_Osun_State
Benefits of hydropower. Energy.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/benefits-hydropower#:~:text=Hydropower%20provides%20benefits%20beyond%20electricity,to%20other%20sources%20of%20energy
Cioabla, A. E., Ionel, I., Dumitrel, G.-A., & Popescu, F. (2012, June 6). Comparative study on factors affecting anaerobic digestion of agricultural vegetal residues. Biotechnology for biofuels. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3431276/
Cooking with biogas. energypedia. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://energypedia.info/wiki/Cooking_with_Biogas
Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). (n.d.). Fossil fuels. EESI. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.eesi.org/topics/fossil-fuels/description#:~:text=Fossil%20fuels%E2%80%94including%20coal%2C%20oil,were%20compressed%20and%20heated%20underground
Evans, S., & GlobalData. (2020, January 28). The pros and cons of biogas: Is it the answer to a circular economy? Power Technology. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.power-technology.com/analysis/biogas-pros-and-cons/
Kumar, H. (2021, February 8). Must-know facts about fossil fuels: Production, consumption and climate change trends. Offshore Technology. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.offshore-technology.com/analysis/must-know-facts-about-fossil-fuels/
Ritchie, H., Roser, M., & Rosado, P. (2022, October 27). Fossil fuels. Our World in Data. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels#:~:text=Fossil%20fuel%20consumption%20has%20increased,many%20parts%20of%20the%20world
Σχόλια