Biogas is generated if organic materials are allowed to rot in closed, airless tanks at suitable temperatures (20-40 degrees C). The process that produces it is called “anaerobic digestion”. Biogas is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) and is usually when first created contaminated with quantities of hydrogen sulphide (H2S).

The main sources of biogas are plentiful being municipal waste (MSW) landfills that produce landfill gas (LFG); wastewater treatment plants (sewage works), industrial plants, and large scale livestock farms. It can also be produced from cattle manure and community or even individual house toilet waste. In that case each household produces their own biogas by installing a small toilet-attached AD plant, and this is popular in China, India, and many other developing nations.

Anaerobic digestion may either be used to process the source separated fraction of municipal waste, or alternatively combined with mechanical sorting systems, to process residual mixed municipal waste. These facilities are called mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plants.

Biogas, which is also called biomethane is about 20 percent lighter than air. It is an odorless and colorless gas that burns with clear blue flame similar to that of LPG gas. Biogas is a good fuel.

It can be used to fuel an engine for electricity, and afterward the waste heat can be used in a communal heating power plant then producing both power and heat. The heat given off can also be used for heating and drying processes.

Biomethane is a big opportunity because it is being viewed worldwide as an untapped source of energy that, upon recovery and pretreatment, can be used to supply a portion of a nation’s natural gas needs. A number of new projects are being sponsored by the U.S. Government for this reason.

It is a regenerative (renewable) fuel with the best production efficiency of all biogenic fuels. Additionally, it need not compete with the production of human food products if the source materials are all wastes.

Biogas consists primarily of methane (CH4), a gas which can be burned to produce heat and electricity. Treated manure can also be transformed into a bio-fertilizer with high agronomic value.

It is most often collected and piped to an engine-generator where it undergoes combustion to produce electricity. However, during energy generation there is a loss of efficiency during transmission which would not occur if the fuel was used directly, where the energy is consumed.

It would be more efficient to use it say in a vehicle at the point at which the energy is consumed. It can be compressed, much like natural gas , and used to power motor vehicles. Both natural gas and biogas can be used in petrol vehicles relatively easily, but some engine adjustments are necessary. For passenger cars, there are purpose-built vehicles that can be fueled with both petrol and compressed natural gas (CNG). But CNG powered transport still only plays a small role within even the most developed German market, (60,000 vehicles to date) although popularity is rising, particularly among local transport authorities.

Biomethane is also used in Sweden as vehicle fuel. It has been reported that at least seven units for upgrading and filling of biogas are in operation at present. It is a renewable energy source because it is extracted from the natural circulation of carbon which has always taken place, and importantly creates no net increase in carbon in the atmosphere.

Biogas is not utilised as vehicle fuel anywhere near as effectively as it could be, and there are almost no biogas upgrading plants available in AD Plants.

There are also no NGV vehicles for use of compressed natural gas (CNG) or biogas available to the public or sold in many countries.

While in the short-term there is potential for biomethane as a fuel, a further significant role also exists which could be played in the mid-term by biomethane-to-liquid by using biomethane as the input for the gas-to-liquid process. This should be noted although we will not have room to discuss it further here.

Biogas being a renewable fuel, attracts renewable energy subsidies in many parts of the world. The fact that biogas could be used much more effectively in the west can be seen from the fact that it already serves more than one million people in Nepal (reported at 4% of the population). The AD sector is also a significant employer and it reportedly provides about 11,000 permanent jobs in the country. If anyone needed to be convinced that ‘small scale can be big’ then they need look no further that the Nepalese experience!

Anaerobic digestion which produces this gas is basically a simple process carried out in a number of steps that can use almost any organic material as a substrate. It occurs naturally in digestive systems, marshes, rubbish dumps, septic tanks and in the Arctic Tundra.

Most people in the west producing this gas tend to seem to make the process as complicated as possible by trying to improve on nature in complex machines, but a simple approach is also possible, as seen in Nepal, China, South America and India.

The other remaining products, after digestion can also be useful. Further research and implementation of drying digestates from biogas plants would also be useful however it is a totally new field of application to the west. Very similar, manure drying tunnels are not in themselves a novelty, however, up to now they are largely only used for drying poultry manure prior to combustion.

What exactly is deriving oil prices high. Is less shortage of oil, oil production issues or simply demand for oil has sky rocketed. What we see today is only tip of iceberg. The day is not far when we will see oil barrel at $200 or more. While emerging economies are battling with established economies for control of third world oil for growth of business. The nations have started capturing untapped oil market for future expansion, along with current rising consumption of oil is the leading cause of price touching record high. What exactly, we have options for Fuel To Burn beyond Oil.

According to statistic, the America consumed 20 million barrels of petroleum every day in year 2006. This is really a big number but when we look at the numbers of China and India and other emerging economies the situation looks more grim.

There is urgency to come up with alternate fuel solution to oil, the world leaders, corporate leaders and environmentalist are working closely to create alternate fuels. The research universities are working tirelessly and corporate leaders are pumping huge amount for future fuel technologies.

We all know oil is made up of fossilized remains of ancient marine plants and animals, we also know this process takes millions of years to convert fossil into crude oil. The problem is there is a long process to get oil, where as demand for consumption is growing every minute in leaps and bounds.

What happens when we run out of oil?
Now the big question is, where do we stand if we run out oil. Already signs are not good. Refineries are running at high out put still not able to keep consumption requirements, Some of the oil rigs are running dry, sure signs of bad days. Some of the oil regions are involved in long conflict, resulting into delay and short supplies. Bottom line we no longer can depend upon on oil as major energy source.

Another factor, why alternate technologies for fuel are being pursued is the risk to environment. The most damage to earth has happened in last century, with explosion of industrial revolution and expansion of industries across all fields has created tremendous impact on global warming. People are able to see changes in environment, changing weather patterns, too much or no rain in different part of world, temperature soaring and glaciers shrinking all are signs of global warming.

The future needs are not only alternate fuel to gasoline but the future fuel has to be clean and no hazard to environment, unlike oil which creates greenhouse gases a prime reason of global warming. The next fuel will be clean, environment friendly, cheap and will be available in all countries. One more thing next generation fuel will help in reducing the tension among nations fighting for oil share.

The emerging economies China, India and Mexico are buying or leasing oil fields in Asia, Africa and Europe to keep their counties interest intact. The developed countries are busy in filling their oil reserves to safe guard national reserves. All this fight for oil and fierce competition among nation is bound to create conflict and war. The next generation fuel not only will help in reducing consumption demand but also help in keeping peace in world.

Now we have talked in length about the current issues related in respect to gap in demand supply of oil. Let’s look at alternate fuels available and which one are in research.

“What is Ethanol fuel” and “how Ethanol fuel works”

One of the alternative fuel sought for oil or gasoline is Ethanol fuel . Any feed stock, which is based on carbon and after going through conversion process gives Ethanol. There is long list of carbon based items, such as sugar beets, corn, sugar cane, switch grass etc. The Ethanol fuel came in picture as clean alternate fuel and is environment friendly.

Currently Ethanol fuel is used as blend mixture with gasoline and is common at pump station across north America. It is also being used as oxygenate additive for gasoline and replacement for MTBE ingredient. The MTBE is a fuel compound which is responsible of contamination of ground water. Many states in America have put ban on use of MTBE and is being replaced by Ethanol. Read more on Ethanol … How Ethanol Fuel Helps!

“What is Fuel Cell” and “how Fuel Cell works”

The Fuel Cell is a hardware device used in converting energy (Chemical) of a fuel such as “Natural Gas”, “Hydrogen”, “Gasoline”. The conversion of chemical energy takes place with the help of an oxidant such as “Air” or “Oxygen” into an electricity. There are lot of similarities between Fuel Cell and Battery in principle, the major difference is Fuel Cell don’t drain energy and don’t require recharging. The fuel cell will keep generating energy as long it is supplied fuel and an oxidizer. Read more on Fuel cell … How Fuel Cell Helps!

“What is Switchgrass fuel” and “How Switchgrass fuel works”

Another good candidate for alternate fuel source is the Switchgrass. The Switchgrass is described as a “Perennial Graminoid” and is native to America. The active period for this grass to grow is in summer. The life span of Switchgrass is long as compared to other plant species. The Switchgrass has rapid growth. The grass can grow from 5 ft to 12 ft. Most of the growth takes place in summer. The Switchgrass is resistant to drought and requires little attention or any fertilizer.

How fuel is produced from switchgrass feedstock – The Switchgrass is used as raw material to produce a distilled fuel known as Cellulosic ethanol. The Cellulosic fuel is derived by a chemical process , which involve breaking the Cellulose (Cell Wall in Plant) into basic components. Further, Yeast is assed and is left for fermentation process to create alcohol. Once alcohol goes through refined process, the resultant Ethanol can be used as Fuel. Read more on Switch grass …. How Switchgrass Energy Helps!

“What is Hydrogen fuel” and “how Hydrogen fuel works”

The initiative of using Hydrogen fuel as energy resource came from American government, scientist and environmentalist. The hydrogen fuel technology is based on simple chemical reaction between Oxygen and Hydrogen, the reaction generates energy. The resultant energy can be used as power a Car producing only water, not fumes.

The California state (America) was first to use hydrogen powered cars, currently few hundred automobiles are running in California. The cars have special storage to store Hydrogen in form of gas or liquid and process converts the hydrogen into electricity for the engine using a fuel cell. This project is still in early stage, with more research the technology will become more robust and commercially viable. Read more on Hydrogen fuel …. How Hydrogen fuel Helps!

What is Biodiesel Fuel and “how BioDiesel Fuel works”

Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.

The BioDiesel fuel is clean, very efficient and clean burning alternative fuel. The Biodiesel fuel is more environment friendly. The fuel can be easily mixed with petroleum diesel and can be used in diesel engines (Compression Ignition).

The process of making Biodiesel is through a chemical process called Transesterification” , In this process the “glycerin” is separated from the vegetable oil or fats. The result of chemical process is two products. One is “methyl esters” and other is “glycerin”. The chemical name known for Biodiesel is called as “methyl esters”. Read more on Biodiesel fuel … Help Biodiesel Fuel Helps!

“What is Wind Power (Wind Turbine)” and “how Wind Power works”

The wind power is not new concept, it has been used as energy source in western countries for some time. Only now it is catching fast at commercial scale not only in western countries but also in developing countries. The concept behind Wind Power is to capture kinetic energy through fast moving wind. Even air has fluid in the form of small particles is gas. These particles move quickly in the form of wind.

The quick motion through air means kinetic energy. This kinetic energy is captured by specially designed turbine blades. After capturing the kinetic energy, the turbine start moving, the movement of blade spins underneath shaft that has connection with generator. Rest of the processing is done by generator by converting rotational energy into electricity. Read more on Wind Energy … How Wind Power Helps!

“What is Nuclear Fuel” and “how Nuclear fuel works”

The word Nuclear is enough to scare any one and on top of it subject as nuclear energy is enough to confuse people. The global energy is much talked subject, thanks to scientist, environmentalist and government agencies people now know the impact of it. The quest for alternate energy is at war foot, tons of money is being poured into research by government and private industries. Countries around world are debating about building more nuclear reactors and how to safeguard them.

Modern day energy conservation is imperative. Everyday we read warnings in the news of our rapid consumption of non-renewable resources and the constantly increasing demand on our power supply.

So, what can we do? For starters, how about living off the grid? If I have startled you with that proposition, let me tell you that living off the grid not only helps the environment and helps save power; it also cuts down or eliminates your electricity bill. Now, those are tangible benefits that will make you feel good about your role on this earth as well as the savings to the family budget.

Home solar power systems are increasing in fame across the US and around the globe. The reason for this trend towards do-it-yourself home solar power systems is easy to see, you stand to save a lot of money while saving the environment.

Another proactive step you can take today to make use of renewable energy is to begin your own wind powered energy project and build wind power turbines to produce electricity yourself. There are kits for building wind power turbines available, which can be costly, but with the right wind energy information it’s possible to make your own wind powered electricity. Clearly how handy you are will be the deciding factor for buying vs. building but also keep in mind the cost. Homemade wind power turbines can be built easily and cheaply.

Taking into consideration these advantages, it seems only reasonable that we would all take on a DIY wind and/or home solar power systems project.

Renewable energy resources are obtainable annually, unlike non-renewable resources which are ultimately exhausted. A easy comparison is a coal mine and a forest. Whereas the forest could be used up, if it is managed appropriately it represents a continuous source of energy, vs the coal mine which once it has been exhausted is gone. Most of earth’s accessible energy resources are renewable energy resources. Renewable energy resources total greater than 93 percent of total U.S. energy reserves. Annual renewable resources were multiplied times thirty years for comparison with non-renewable energy resources. In other words, if all non-renewable resources were fully used up in 30 years, they would barely account for 7 percent of accessible resources every year, if all accessible renewable energy resources were developed.

In 2004, renewable energy provided about 7% of the world’s energy utilization. The renewables sector has been growing significantly since the last years of the 20th century, and in 2005 the complete new investment was projected to have been 38 billion US dollars. Germany and China lead with investments of about 7 billion US dollars each, followed by the United States, Spain, Japan, and India. This resulted in an additional 35 GW (gigawatt is equal to one billion watts) of power during the year.

Solar Power Information:

Renewable energy sources are even larger than the traditional fossil fuels and in concept can with no trouble supply the world’s energy requirements. 89 PW (petawatt is equal to one quadrillion watts) of solar power falls on the planet’s surface. While it is not possible to capture all, or even the largest part, of this energy, using less than 0.02% would be enough to satisfy the present energy requirements. Barriers to expand photovoltaic generation include the high price of manufacturing photovoltaic cells and dependence on weather conditions to make electricity. Also, solar generation does not make electricity at night, which is a specific problem in high northern and southern latitude countries; energy need is highest in winter, while availability of solar energy is lowest. This could be conquered by purchasing power from countries nearer to the equator throughout winter months. Globally, solar generation is the greatest growing supply of energy, seeing a yearly average expansion of 35% over the preceding few years. Japan, Europe, China, U.S. and India are the major growing investors in photovoltaic energy. Advances in know-how and economies of scale, along with demand for solutions to global warming, have led solar energy to become the most probable candidate to take the place of nuclear and fossil fuels.

The obtainable solar energy resources are 120,000 TW (terawatt is equal to one trillion watts). Less than 0.02% of these obtainable resources are sufficient to completely take the place of fossil fuels and nuclear power as our source of energy. Assuming that our rate of usage in 2005 remains stable, we will deplete conventional oil in 40 years, and coal in 154 yrs. In practice neither will actually be depleted, as natural constraints will compel production to decrease as the remaining reserves dwindle.

In 2007 grid-connected solar electricity was the fastest developing energy source, with installations of all photovoltaics rising by 83% in 2009 to bring the total installed capability to 15 GW. Practically half of the rise was in Germany, now the world’s largest consumer of solar electricity (followed by Japan). Solar cell production improved by 50% in 2007, to 3,800 MW (megawatt is equal to one million watts), and has been doubling every two years.

The world’s most powerful solar power plant is the 20 MW Beneixama solar power plant in Spain, although a 116 MW plant is being built in southern Portugal, one of the sunniest places in Europe. The biggest solar installation in North America is the 18 MW Nellis Solar Power Plant.

Wind Energy Information:

The obtainable wind energy estimates range from 300 TW to 870 TW. Using the lower estimate, just 5% of the accessible wind power would supply the existing global power needs. Nearly all of this wind energy is available over the open ocean. The oceans cover 71% of the earth and wind tends to blow stronger over open water because there are fewer obstructions.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, the installed capability of wind power improved by 27% from the end of 2006 to the end of 2007 to total 94.1 GW, with over half the increase in the United States, Spain and China. Doubling of capacity took about three years. The total installed power is just about three times that of the real average power produced as the estimated capacity represents maximum output; actual capacity is generally from 25-40% of the nominal capability.

Information for taking steps to go off the grid:

Photovoltaic energy is not available at night, making energy storage an important issue in order to give the continuous availability of energy. Both wind power and solar power are intermittent energy sources, meaning that all obtainable output must be taken when it is available and either stored for when it can be used, or transported, over transmission lines, to where it is needed. Wind power and solar energy can be paired, in regions that encounter more wind in the winter and greater sun in the summer, but on days with no sun and no wind the difference needs to be made up in some manner.

Off-grid PV systems have customarily used rechargeable batteries to store excess electricity. With systems that are still connected to the electrical grid, excess electricity can be sent to the transmission grid. Net monitoring programs give these systems a credit for the electricity they deliver to the grid. This credit offsets electricity provided from the grid when the alternative energy system cannot meet demand, efficiently using the grid as a storage system. Credits are as a rule rolled over month to month and any outstanding surplus is paid out yearly.