Biogas: An Alternative Source of Energy for Developing Economy
FELIX AKINNATE2023, International journal of science & technoledge
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
Abstract
Biogas: An Alternative Source of Energy for Developing Economy 1. Introduction One of the major challenges in the world today is the depletion of reserved fossil fuels, which is a cause of the increase in energy prices (Schnürer, 2016). There is an increase in energy demand due to the increased population, leading to high waste generation, deforestation and global warming (Biodun et al., 2021). Energy is a very important factor in any nation (Forgács, 2012). In a developing country like Nigeria, there is a corresponding increase in energy consumption demand (Aluko, 2018). A nation like Nigeria has an installed capacity of 12,522MW at the moment. However, it is operating at a capacity of 3,879MW while the estimated energy need is placed between 98,000MW and 160,000MW, leaving behind a huge generation gap (Sambo et al., 2012). As part of efforts to bridge the energy gap, the country has been investing in constructing various dams and even solar energy projects and exploiting other resources and potentials such as natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. However, these are not currently being utilized due to a lack of proper technologies and/or political will (Aluko, 2018). It has been suggested that Nigeria's energy demands can be met sustainably via the use of renewable energy, such as biogas (Adewuyi, 2020). Anika et al. (2019) reported that the use of renewable energy is highly advantageous because the sources of energy are readily available, cheap and do not require elaborate technology and importantly, the fuel generated is environmentally friendly. Renewable resources for energy production are becoming more important because the burning of fossil fuels leads to the release of CO2, a gas that is implicated in global warming (Samantha, 2020). The problem of global warming can be partly circumvented by the production of biogas from plants or waste materials in a biological process (Busic et al., 2018). Biogas is a flammable, smokeless, hygienic, colorless, odorless gas, but with odour when not desulfurized. It has an energy content of 37.3 MJ/m 3 , explosion limits of 6-12% in air, ignition temperature of 650-750°C, specific gravity of 0.847-1.004, and calorific value of 4740-7500 kcal/Nm 3 (Ali et al., 2013). Biogas is an environmentally-friendly, renewable, clean, cheap, high-quality, and versatile fuel that is generated in digesters filled with feedstock. It is considered an alternative green energy resource and can be utilized for different energy services like heat, combined heat and power, or as car fuel (Ngan et al., 2020).
Figures (7)
