Biogas is a renewable energy that comes from the transformation of organic waste into energy in the form of gas. Biogas is a great contribution to the circular economy, since it takes advantage of the degradation of organic waste, manure and sludge from sewage treatment plants into fuel. In other words, it transforms garbage into energy.
A raw material for energy from waste
This renewable gas is mainly composed of methane and carbon dioxide obtained from the anaerobic degradation – without oxygen – of organic waste. It is, according to the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy of Spain, “the only renewable energy that can be used for any of the major energy applications: electrical, thermal or as fuel.
It is therefore about transforming livestock, agro-industrial waste and sludge from water treatment plants, but also part of the domestic waste. Garbage becomes the raw material for an energy source. That is its renewable nature. The same way that the plastics accumulated in a landfill can be recycled and turned into new products, here the pig manure is transformed into energy. (source)
What is it for?
Mainly for obtaining electrical and thermal energy. Also, and after refining it to reduce the percentage of carbon dioxide, it can be injected into the conventional natural gas network. In this case, we are already talking about biomethane or methane from renewable sources, a product that can also be used as biofuel in vehicles with gas engines (CNG) without the need for any type of adaptation or manipulation of the engine.(source)
Biomethane minibuses. What are they?
Can the entire range of Indcar CNG minibuses run on this energy? Yes. And not only that, the compressed natural gas minibuses do not need any intervention for it. The biomethane can be injected directly into the city gas installations, and the minibuses are normally fuelled at the station. For the operator, there is no difference between biomethane or CNG
Ecological and economically sustainable public transport
It is expected that by 2030, biomethane will account for 40% of all natural gas used as fuel for vehicles, which will allow a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with mobility by 55%.* For public transport it is an ideal solution: the vehicles are much cheaper than electric or hydrogen vehicles, it does not require very expensive infrastructure (it connects to the natural gas network) and is a mature technology already used in natural gas transport. *(source)
The real challenge is for the administrations and the energy sector to promote this type of fuel, which transforms the problem of manure and organic waste into energy in motion.
