low budget even on a community level. Biogas plants can serve as good alternative
energy for 70% of the population living in rural areas (Korres et al. 2013).
Most pressing issues across the globe such as solid waste management, energy
demands, and supply gap, rising methane and CO 2 levels, dependence on fossil
fuels, global warming, and life-threatening diseases can be tackled through a single
panacea: Biogas production. For instance, if one city is divided into ten blocks or
segments and the SWM system of each block is designed individually, then it will
allow the concerned departments to manage solid waste effectively. It will not only
minimize the consumption of fuel during transportation of solid waste from one
block to the last corner of the city, also resulting in traffic congestion and air
pollution, but will also provide the concerned block with the valuable resources.
Such as, the block can install large-scale biogas plants and hence can become selfsustainable in terms of energy resources. Additionally, it will help improve the solid
waste management and reduce the air emissions in general and Carbon emissions
emitted during the waste collection and transportation. These kinds of block scaled
waste to energy plants when installed on a massive scale, at the national level, can
play an instrumental role in addressing global warming, economic crisis, and other
environmental crisis of grave concern such as air pollution and solid waste management globally.
Biogas comprises methane 50–70%, carbon dioxide 30–50%, and minor amounts
of nitrogen 0–3%, water vapors 5–10%, oxygen 0–1%, hydrogen sulfide
0–10,000 ppm, ammonia, hydrocarbons, and siloxanes. However, the biogas efficiency can be further increased by filtering unwanted gases (Angelidaki et al. 2018).
This chapter emphasizes on microbial and biotechnological advancements in biogas
production, an evolution of different feedstock choices and operational setups over
time. Fixed dome digesters are the earliest form of digesters that were commonly
used in developing countries. Floating drum digester is the modified form of fixed
dome digester which became operational in 1962. Another form of digester plug
flow digester is a cheap digester with a shorter lifespan. Biogas production is
initiated and carried out by complex microbial process and a lot of operating
conditions affect microbial activity and efficiency such as temperature, oxygen
content, pH, substrate, and salt concentration. Different active microbes are required
at different stages of biogas production. Biogas is attaining the attention of the public
and government because of its feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and market
opportunities as an alternate source of renewable energy. European Union is quickly
switching to biogas to fulfill growing energy demands sustainably. Malaysia is also
promoting small renewable energy programs to gain energy specifically from biomass and municipal waste. Hence, biogas can be, and is, an important means of
earning the carbon credits through a reduction in GHGs emissions from conventional solid waste management systems and yielding clean renewable energy instead
of employing the fossil fuels’ combustion for energy production.
34
M. N. Anwar et al.
energy for 70% of the population living in rural areas (Korres et al. 2013).
Most pressing issues across the globe such as solid waste management, energy
demands, and supply gap, rising methane and CO 2 levels, dependence on fossil
fuels, global warming, and life-threatening diseases can be tackled through a single
panacea: Biogas production. For instance, if one city is divided into ten blocks or
segments and the SWM system of each block is designed individually, then it will
allow the concerned departments to manage solid waste effectively. It will not only
minimize the consumption of fuel during transportation of solid waste from one
block to the last corner of the city, also resulting in traffic congestion and air
pollution, but will also provide the concerned block with the valuable resources.
Such as, the block can install large-scale biogas plants and hence can become selfsustainable in terms of energy resources. Additionally, it will help improve the solid
waste management and reduce the air emissions in general and Carbon emissions
emitted during the waste collection and transportation. These kinds of block scaled
waste to energy plants when installed on a massive scale, at the national level, can
play an instrumental role in addressing global warming, economic crisis, and other
environmental crisis of grave concern such as air pollution and solid waste management globally.
Biogas comprises methane 50–70%, carbon dioxide 30–50%, and minor amounts
of nitrogen 0–3%, water vapors 5–10%, oxygen 0–1%, hydrogen sulfide
0–10,000 ppm, ammonia, hydrocarbons, and siloxanes. However, the biogas efficiency can be further increased by filtering unwanted gases (Angelidaki et al. 2018).
This chapter emphasizes on microbial and biotechnological advancements in biogas
production, an evolution of different feedstock choices and operational setups over
time. Fixed dome digesters are the earliest form of digesters that were commonly
used in developing countries. Floating drum digester is the modified form of fixed
dome digester which became operational in 1962. Another form of digester plug
flow digester is a cheap digester with a shorter lifespan. Biogas production is
initiated and carried out by complex microbial process and a lot of operating
conditions affect microbial activity and efficiency such as temperature, oxygen
content, pH, substrate, and salt concentration. Different active microbes are required
at different stages of biogas production. Biogas is attaining the attention of the public
and government because of its feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and market
opportunities as an alternate source of renewable energy. European Union is quickly
switching to biogas to fulfill growing energy demands sustainably. Malaysia is also
promoting small renewable energy programs to gain energy specifically from biomass and municipal waste. Hence, biogas can be, and is, an important means of
earning the carbon credits through a reduction in GHGs emissions from conventional solid waste management systems and yielding clean renewable energy instead
of employing the fossil fuels’ combustion for energy production.
34
M. N. Anwar et al.