Biogas Prospects in Rural Areas: Perspectives

Biogas, sometimes called renewable natural gas, could be part of the solution for providing people in rural areas with reliable, clean and cheap energy. In fact, it could provide various benefits beyond clean fuel as well, including improved sanitation, health and environmental sustainability.

What is Biogas?

Biogas is the high calorific value gas produced by anaerobic decomposition of organic wastes. Biogas can come from a variety of sources including organic fraction of MSW, animal wastes, poultry litter, crop residues, food waste, sewage and organic industrial effluents. Biogas can be used to produce electricity, for heating, for lighting and to power vehicles.

Using manure for energy might seem unappealing, but you don’t burn the organic matter directly. Instead, you burn the methane gas it produces, which is odorless and clean burning.

Biogas Prospects in Rural Areas

Biogas finds wide application in all parts of the world, but it could be especially useful to developing countries, especially in rural areas. People that live in these places likely already use a form of biomass energy — burning wood. Using wood fires for heat, light and cooking releases large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The smoke they release also has harmful health impacts, particularly when used indoors. You also need a lot to burn a lot of wood when it’s your primary energy source. Collecting this wood is a time-consuming and sometimes difficult as well as dangerous task.

Many of these same communities that rely on wood fires, however, also have an abundant supply of another fuel source. They just need the tools to capture and use it. Many of these have a lot of dung from livestock and lack sanitation equipment. This lack of sanitation creates health hazards.

Turning that waste into biogas could solve both the energy problem and the sanitation problem. Creating a biogas system for a rural home is much simpler than building other types of systems. It requires an airtight pit lined and covered with concrete and a way to feed waste from animals and latrines into the pit. Because the pit is sealed, the waste will decompose quickly, releasing methane.

This methane flows through a PCV pipe to the home where you can turn it on and light on when you need to use it. This system also produces manure that is free of pathogens, which farmers can use as fertilizer.

A similar but larger setup using rural small town business idea can provide similar benefits for urban areas in developing countries and elsewhere.

Benefits of Biogas for Rural Areas

Anaerobic digestion systems are beneficial to developing countries because they are low-cost compared to other technologies, low-tech, low-maintenance and safe. They provide reliable fuel as well as improved public health and sanitation. Also, they save people the labor of collecting large amounts of firewood, freeing them up to do other activities. Thus, biomass-based energy systems can help in rural development.

Biogas for rural areas also has environmental benefits. It reduces the need to burn wood fires, which helps to slow deforestation and eliminates the emissions those fires would have produced. On average, a single home biogas system can replace approximately 4.5 tons of firewood annually and eliminate the associated four tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Biogas is also a clean, renewable energy source and reduces the need for fossil fuels. Chemically, biogas is the same as natural gas. Biogas, however, is a renewable fuel source, while natural gas is a fossil fuel. The methane in organic wastes would release into the atmosphere through natural processes if left alone, while the greenhouse gases in natural gas would stay trapped underground. Using biogas as a fuel source reduces the amount of methane released by matter decomposing out in the open.

What Can We Do?

Although biogas systems cost less than some other technologies, affording them is often still a challenge for low-income families in developing countries, especially in villages. Many of these families need financial and technical assistance to build them. Both governments and non-governmental organizations can step in to help in this area.

Once people do have biogas systems in place though, with minimal maintenance of the system, they can live healthier, more comfortable lives, while also reducing their impacts on the environment.

Trends in Utilization of Palm Kernel Shells

The palm kernel shells used to be initially dumped in the open thereby impacting the environment negatively without any economic benefit. However, over time, palm oil mills in Southeast Asia and elsewhere realized their brilliant properties as a fuel and that they can easily replace coal as an industrial fuel for generating heat and steam.

palm-kernel-shell-uses

Palm kernel shells is an abundant biomass resource in Southeast Asia

Major Applications

Nowadays, the primary use of palm kernel shells is as a boiler fuel supplementing the fibre which is used as primary fuel. In recent years kernel shells are extensively sold as alternative fuel around the world. Besides selling shells in bulk, there are companies that produce fuel briquettes from shells which may include partial carbonisation of the material to improve the combustion characteristics.

Palm kernel shells have a high dry matter content (>80% dry matter). Therefore the shells are generally considered a good fuel for the boilers as it generates low ash amounts and the low K and Cl content will lead to less ash agglomeration. These properties are also ideal for production of biomass for export.

As a raw material for fuel briquettes, palm shells are reported to have the same calorific characteristics as coconut shells. The relatively smaller size makes it easier to carbonise for mass production, and its resulting palm shell charcoal can be pressed into a heat efficient biomass briquette.

Although the literature on using oil palm shells (and fibres) is not as extensive as EFB, common research directions of using shells, besides energy, are to use it as raw material for light-weight concrete, fillers, activated carbon, and other materials. However, none of the applications are currently done on a large-scale. Since shells are dry and suitable for thermal conversion, technologies that further improve the combustion characteristics and increase the energy density, such as torrefaction, could be relevant for oil palm shells.

Torrefaction is a pretreatment process which serves to improve the properties of biomass in relation to the thermochemical conversion technologies for more efficient energy generation. High lignin content for shells affects torrefaction characteristics positively (as the material is not easily degraded compared to EFB and fibres).

Furthermore, palm oil shells are studied as feedstock for fast pyrolysis. To what extent shells are a source of fermentable sugars is still not known, however the high lignin content in palm kernel shells indicates that shells are less suitable as raw material for fermentation.

Future Outlook

The leading palm oil producers in the world should consider limiting the export of palm kernel shells (PKS) to ensure supplies of the biomass material for renewable energy projects, in order to decrease dependency on fossil fuels. For example, many developers in Indonesia have expressed an interest in building palm kernel shell-fired power plants.

However, they have their concerns over supplies, as many producers prefer to sell their shells overseas currently. Many existing plants are facing problems on account of inconsistent fuel quality and increasing competition from overseas PKS buyers. PKS market is well-established in provinces like Sumatra and export volumes to Europe and North Asia as a primary fuel for biomass power plants is steadily increasing.

The creation of a biomass supply chain in palm oil producing countries may be instrumental in discouraging palm mills to sell their PKS stocks to brokers for export to foreign countries. Establishment of a biomass exchange in leading countries, like Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria, will also be a deciding factor in tapping the unharnessed potential of palm kernel shells as biomass resource.

Use Circular Manufacturing to Save Energy and Reduce Waste

The industrial sector is the third biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, accounting for over 20% of total emissions (including carbon dioxide and methane), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reveals. Manufacturing plants (as part of the industrial sector) typically involve significant pollution and energy and resource use. By implementing sustainable methods designed to green the manufacturing process, manufacturing plants can improve their environmental footprint, lower costs, and boost efficiency.

environmental benefits of circular manufacturing

Embrace circular manufacturing

Circular manufacturing (also known as lean manufacturing) is a sustainable model that extends the life and use of materials and goods to minimize waste and energy and resource usage. In particular, circular manufacturing may include: converting to a renewable power source; adopting predictive maintenance to extend the condition and longevity of equipment; and sharing equipment with other plants.

Additionally, curricular manufacturing typically involves recovering and reusing resources or waste materials generated from other plants rather than purchasing new raw materials. Just look at Kalundborg Symbiosis as a solid example of circular manufacturing: they’re a collective of nine Danish manufacturing companies who’ve been sharing material, water, and energy streams since 1961. Together they lower their carbon emissions by 635,000 tons and save 24 million EUR every year.

Partner with eco-friendly businesses

Your manufacturing plant likely partners with other businesses whether it’s to source raw parts, equipment, and materials or purchase packaging. By partnering with green businesses, you can in turn ensure your business stays as eco-friendly as possible. For example, switch to an energy supplier committed to green energy or a packaging supplier that uses recycled materials.

packaging waste

Packaging that adorns your product can have serious environmental impact.

Additionally, more and more manufacturers are entering the online selling space and partnering with ecommerce companies. In 2020, for example, 30% of manufacturing and 30% of distribution companies generated 60%-80% of their total profits from B2B ecommerce. By using a quick and efficient method of ecommerce fulfillment, manufacturing businesses can ensure they’re harnessing automation and technology to maximum advantage.

Update machinery and equipment

Old machinery and equipment typically have higher energy demands than necessary. By replacing or updating your old machinery and equipment, you can reduce energy waste and increase efficiency and productivity. Installing an electric power management system (EPMS) will also let you clearly see your plant’s electricity distribution and capacity and better control your energy and power costs. Moreover, if it’s within your budget, you can also consider investing in automation in your plant to improve energy-efficiency and reduce waste.

robotics in sustainable manufacturing

For example, “cobots” (aka collaborative robots) are designed to work alongside human employees. By taking care of dangerous or repetitive tasks, cobots can improve safety for workers (the manufacturing industry typically racks up 400,000 non-fatal injuries every year) while increasing productivity and minimizing risk of human error.

Bottom Line

Implementing sustainable changes to your manufacturing plant will pay off greatly in the long run. By embracing circular manufacturing, partnering with eco-friendly businesses, and upgrading machinery and equipment, you can lower your carbon footprint, cut costs, and improve efficiency.