Biogas Books

 ....extract from Biogas Digest

Planning a biogas plant

Before building a biogas plant, there are different circumstances which should be considered. For instance, the natural and agricultural conditions in the specific countries are as important as the social or the economic aspects. To consider the most important factors, we provide a checklist for the planning procedure, a planning guide and a checklist for construction of a biogas plant.

Failure or unsatisfactory performance of biogas units occur mostly due to planning mistakes. The consequences of such mistakes may be immediately evident or may only become apparent after several years. Thorough and careful planning is, therefore, of utmost importance to eliminate mistakes before they reach irreversible stages.

As a biogas unit is an expensive investment, it should not be erected as a temporary set-up. Therefore, determining siting criteria for the stable and the biogas plant are the important initial steps of planning.

A general problem for the planning engineer is the interference of the customer during planning. As much as the wishes and expectations of customers have to be taken into consideration, the most important task of the planner is to lay the foundation for a well functioning biogas unit. As in most cases the customer has no experience with biogas technology, the planner has to explain all the reasons for each planning step. Planners should have the courage to withdraw from the planning process, if the wishes of the customer will lead to a white elephant on the farm.

Moreover, all extension-service advice concerning agricultural biogas plants must begin with an estimation of the quantitative and qualitative energy requirements of the interested party.

Then, the biogas-generating potential must be calculated on the basis of the given biomass production and compared to the energy demand. Both the energy demand and the gasgenerating potential, however, are variables that cannot be accurately determined in the planning phase. Sizing the plant (digester, gasholder, etc.) is the next step in the planning process.

In the case of a family-size biogas plant intended primarily as a source of energy, implementation should only be recommended, if the plant can be expected to cover the calculated energy demand.

Information about the economic evaluation of a biogas plant can be found in the section on Costs and Benefits. This is just a short extract from our biogas books, and this one has many diagrams and takes the reader from planning right through to construction and getting the plant started.

Biogas Digest, 80 pages, very well illustrated.

ONLY $19.99