to refine the fuel as it does for other types of engines. The complete combustion of
fuel in the external combustion chamber also provides less emission of unburned
hydrocarbons in the exhaust. The Stirling engine can consume renewable fuels and
produces minimal emissions (less CO 2 and other emissions). The combustion
happens in the external combustion chamber, and there is no fuel or oil contamination within the engine. It also contains 50% less moving parts than internal combustion engines. The CO 2 and CO emissions for biogas were less than that for natural
gas (Pourmovahed et al. 2011).
3.11 Conclusion and Future Outlook
The fossil fuels are non-renewable source of energy and are also the prime cause of
environmental pollution. Sooner or later we need to find an alternative – continuous
sources of energy, which are both energy efficient and environmental friendly at the
same time. Currently several types of renewable energy sources are either at trial or
some sort of application stage – solar power, wind energy, hydrothermal, nuclear,
and others. One major issue with such energy sources are either lack of efficiency or
efficient storage and transport from the source of generation to usage. Other types of
energy sources are biofuels, such as bioethanol, biodiesel, biohydrogen, etc., which
are also in their third generation of research and applications (Ingale et al. 2014,
2019). However production of such fuels is energy intensive at the moment, and it
lags behind with respect to economy due to competition with food crops and other
issues. Biogas production is a natural non-energy intensive, and the raw materials are
mostly renewable resource and wastes – thus serving both purposes (bioremediation
and energy generation). The ease of biogas plant operation, maintenance, and easy
availability of substrate – waste materials – is the key selling point which makes it an
effective and common energy tool in the near future.
References
Al-Sadi M (2010) Design and building of biogas digester for organic materials gained from solid
waste. M. Sc. thesis, Faculty of Graduate Studies, An-Najah National University, Nablus,
Palestine
Alves MM, Pereira MA, Sousa DZ, Cavaleiro AJ, Picavet M, Smidt H, Stams AJM (2009) Waste
lipids to energy: how to optimize methane production from long-chain fatty acids (LCFA).
Microbial Biotechnol 2:538–550
Alwis AD (2002) Biogas – a review of Sri Lanka’s performance with a renewable energy
technology. Energy Sustain Dev 6(1):30–37
Angelidaki I, Sanders W (2004) Assessment of the anaerobic biodegradability of macropollutants.
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 3(2):117–129
Apte A, Cheernam V, Kamat M, Kamat S, Kashikar P, Jeswani H (2013) Potential of using kitchen
waste in a biogas plant. Int J Environ Sci Dev 4:370
Armaha EK, Tetteha EK, Boamah BB (2017) Overview of biogas production from different
feedstocks. Int J Sci Res Publ 7(12):158
3 Biogas: An Effective and Common Energy Tool – Part I
99
fuel in the external combustion chamber also provides less emission of unburned
hydrocarbons in the exhaust. The Stirling engine can consume renewable fuels and
produces minimal emissions (less CO 2 and other emissions). The combustion
happens in the external combustion chamber, and there is no fuel or oil contamination within the engine. It also contains 50% less moving parts than internal combustion engines. The CO 2 and CO emissions for biogas were less than that for natural
gas (Pourmovahed et al. 2011).
3.11 Conclusion and Future Outlook
The fossil fuels are non-renewable source of energy and are also the prime cause of
environmental pollution. Sooner or later we need to find an alternative – continuous
sources of energy, which are both energy efficient and environmental friendly at the
same time. Currently several types of renewable energy sources are either at trial or
some sort of application stage – solar power, wind energy, hydrothermal, nuclear,
and others. One major issue with such energy sources are either lack of efficiency or
efficient storage and transport from the source of generation to usage. Other types of
energy sources are biofuels, such as bioethanol, biodiesel, biohydrogen, etc., which
are also in their third generation of research and applications (Ingale et al. 2014,
2019). However production of such fuels is energy intensive at the moment, and it
lags behind with respect to economy due to competition with food crops and other
issues. Biogas production is a natural non-energy intensive, and the raw materials are
mostly renewable resource and wastes – thus serving both purposes (bioremediation
and energy generation). The ease of biogas plant operation, maintenance, and easy
availability of substrate – waste materials – is the key selling point which makes it an
effective and common energy tool in the near future.
References
Al-Sadi M (2010) Design and building of biogas digester for organic materials gained from solid
waste. M. Sc. thesis, Faculty of Graduate Studies, An-Najah National University, Nablus,
Palestine
Alves MM, Pereira MA, Sousa DZ, Cavaleiro AJ, Picavet M, Smidt H, Stams AJM (2009) Waste
lipids to energy: how to optimize methane production from long-chain fatty acids (LCFA).
Microbial Biotechnol 2:538–550
Alwis AD (2002) Biogas – a review of Sri Lanka’s performance with a renewable energy
technology. Energy Sustain Dev 6(1):30–37
Angelidaki I, Sanders W (2004) Assessment of the anaerobic biodegradability of macropollutants.
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 3(2):117–129
Apte A, Cheernam V, Kamat M, Kamat S, Kashikar P, Jeswani H (2013) Potential of using kitchen
waste in a biogas plant. Int J Environ Sci Dev 4:370
Armaha EK, Tetteha EK, Boamah BB (2017) Overview of biogas production from different
feedstocks. Int J Sci Res Publ 7(12):158
3 Biogas: An Effective and Common Energy Tool – Part I
99