The Main Uses of Biogas

RENEWABLE ENERGY BY ADOPTING USES OF BIOGAS

There are so many terms used in the lexicon of eco-friendly living that it can be pretty intimidating trying to navigate the world of sustainability.  Unfortunately, even when armed with the best of intentions, the steps toward reducing your carbon footprint and being kind to our environment aren’t always straightforward. With terms including ‘bio,’ ‘green,’ ‘eco-friendly’ and more seemingly tagged onto items without any outside regulation, it’s easy to be confused about which items to purchase and choices to make in order to protect our planet.  Add to that a need for efficiency and frugality in one’s day to day life, and it can be pretty difficult to determine a realistic way to build a sustainable lifestyle.

One term heard often when it comes to sustainable living is renewable energy, which sounds like something to be on board with. Nonetheless, it can be very confusing to figure out what sources of renewable energy are actually helping our environment.  When we get into discussing renewable energy, one question often comes up though – How much energy is being used to create this energy? With some forms of renewable energy, a big issue standing in the way is the amount of energy used to create that form of energy.

There’s no need to be discouraged and run away! Our plight to lead more sustainable lives is an ever-improving process, with constant discovery, innovation and improvement.

INTRO ABOUT THE RISE OF BIOGAS USAGE

Enter biogas, a naturally occurring, smokeless, flammable gas that is a mixture of primarily methane and carbon dioxide.

When it comes to the use of biogas we have fantastic news for you; it takes very little energy to create this form of renewable energy! In fact, biogas occurs naturally, whether humans work to produce it or not. Biogas creation happens on it’s own, and we find the process taking place both in nature and in landfills.  Biogas is a type of natural gas that is created through a process known as anaerobic digestion, which happens when bacteria in organic waste is broken down in an oxygen free environment.

It is relatively easy to optimize the creation of biogas, making the use of biogas even easier and more efficient in our day to day lives. It is becoming increasingly popular to produce biogas for use on site at farms, ecologically friendly accommodations and even in private homes. Biogas for personal use is created by feeding organic matter, such as food or livestock waste, into an oxygen free anaerobic digester.  In the United States there are approximately 2,200 biogas systems being used, with the potential for around 13,500 additional systems to be implemented.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN USES OF BIOGAS?

Wondering how biogas can be used in place of non renewable energy sources? Great question! We can use biogas in so many different parts of our lives.  From cooking your lunch or dinner, to powering your home, biogas can be used to keep your life running every single day and in a variety of ways. In fact, once it’s been refined, biogas can even be used to power your car.

So much of the waste produced by humans can be transformed into biogas. Things we typically dispose of like picked over food and grass or garden trimmings are considered organic waste and can therefore go through the process of anaerobic digestion to produce biogas.  

ADVANTAGES OF BIOGAS

In the United States we produce more than 70 million tons of organic waste every single year.  According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 21 percent of landfills in the United States are filled with food waste.  When organic waste is left in landfills it decomposes and emits greenhouse gas which contributes to climate change.

Lucky for us, the production of biogas and the subsequent use of biogas as a replacement for non renewable sources of fuel are easier than ever. Biogas is a renewable energy resource with its production occurring on a continuous cycle. 

Part of why biogas production is becoming increasingly popular in both developing and already developed places is because there are so many benefits to using biogas. The advantages of using biogas are not limited to one kind of society and population. In fact, the positive effect of biogas use on quality of life and environment can now be found across the globe. 

The use of biogas has many benefits.  When we create biogas from waste we accomplish multiple things at once. Firstly, we are creating biogas for use in place of using non renewable sources of energy.  Additionally, when we use organic waste to create biogas, we are stopping the waste from decomposing and releasing methane into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.

HOMEBIOGAS AS A BIOGAS PRODUCTION FOR YOUR OWN NEEDS

There are a lot of people currently advocating for policy changes that promote the use of biogas public and government spaces.  Many of those same people are environmentalists and care deeply about the future of our planet but do not realize that they can create and use biogas on a smaller scale, even from their homes and small businesses. That’s where HomeBiogas products come in! The HomeBiogas system is a digester that allows hungry bacteria to break down organic waste.  The HomeBiogas system enables individuals to produce biogas for cooking at home and to reduce the amount of waste sent to local landfills.

Additionally, the process of creating biogas for use as fuel also produces bio-fertilizer, an organic, nutrient rich liquid fertilizer that continues the cycle of sustainable living.  Unlike with composting, which is a process that takes months to occur, with the HomeBiogas system, as the anaerobic digestion of organic matter (aka the waste you feed it) occurs, a liquid by-product is generated on a daily basis.

The HomeBiogas system automatically ejects the fertilizer as it is fed more organic waste. Packed with nutrients and easy to use in its liquid form, HomeBiogas bio-fertilizer can contribute to healthy crops when applied both before and during planting.

HomeBiogas products are created with the goal of making biogas production accessible to all, by offering a modern, easy to install and even easier to use system. We have succeeded in enabling individuals to create change for themselves and their community. The smallest of our products, the HomeBiogas 2, is sized so that it can fit in the yard of an individual home while our larger systems, the HomeBiogas 4 and HomeBiogas 6, are designed for larger spaces like farms and restaurants that produce more organic waste and have a need for larger amounts of bio-fertilizer.  

Producing biogas at home or in your community are real, actionable ways to reduce your carbon footprint and promote others to do the same. The path to sustainable living doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, we’re proud to have made the use of biogas a cost effective and efficient way to improve the environment and our personal lives. Check out the variety of HomeBiogas systems available to help you embrace change and improve the world we inhabit.