Biogas has been used as an energy source for centuries, to warm bathwater or light streetlamps, for example. But it is our slate of 21st-century socioenvironmental challenges that have sparked greater interest in biogas production and technology — especially the conversion of waste into biogas.

Organic waste disposal, a huge problem due to modern society’s soaring consumption patterns, could prove to be both an attractive and low-cost renewable alternative energy source and solution.

In fact, biogas systems may potentially meet a variety of energy needs worldwide, while reducing waste streams and providing biofertiliser as a by-product.

Some analysts now even suggest this win-win form of bioenergy could make a significant contribution to achieving the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and also help nations hit their emissions targets under the Paris climate agreement.

Biogas produced from waste (also known as renewable natural gas) contains a mixture of gases, mostly carbon dioxide and combustible methane — both of which are potent greenhouse gases (GHG).

But waste conversion technologies capture GHG emissions that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, and instead put them to work, saving energy. Biogas, as a result, can accomplish significant emission reductions, according to a 2018 World Resource Institute (WRI) paper.

Importantly, however, this form of bioenergy only generates climate benefits if it comes from waste and if it effectively reduces net methane emissions and replaces the use of fossil fuels.

The adoption of this innovative technology is increasingly showing promising results in urban and rural settings across the Global North and South, despite obstacles to the sector’s growth.

Global biogas production increased about 4 per cent per year between 2010 and 2018, which means the sector has grown approximately 40 per cent in the last decade.

There are currently more than 130,000 small-, medium- and large-scale biodigesters operating worldwide, mostly in Europe, China and the United States. Although biogas consumption only represents 0.3 per cent of the global energy mix today, that figure is projected to more than double by 2040.

Read the full article about biogas by Marina Martinez at Eco-Business.