Anaerobic Digestion

 Anaerobic Digestion for Developing Countries with Cold Climates 


Utilizing solar heat to address technical challenges and facilitating dissemination through the use of carbon finance


Summary

A large proportion of the rural poor in developing countries have no access to a secure source of
energy. The  rural poor  in developing  countries  rely  primarily on  traditional  biomasses,  such  as
wood  and  charcoal.  The  reliance  on  traditional  biomasses  and  solid  fuels  result  in  substantial
human, social and environmental cost. To  tackle  these costs a switch  to a clean  fuel  is required.
One  of  the  solutions  is  anaerobic digestion  (AD)  of  manure  or  other  biodegradable matter  to
produce a clean fuel: biogas.
The principle of AD has been known for 3-4 centuries and in 1920 the first digester was
designed  for  house  on  site  biogas  production.  A  digester  is  a  technology which  converts  the
commonly found wastes in rural areas, manures, in a controlled anaerobic environment to biogas
and  an  excellent  fertilizer.   Biogas  is  a  clean,  convenient,  versatile  and  environmentally  benign
fuel which  does  not  pollute  the  indoor  air.  Furthermore,  a  biogas  plant  has  several  additional
benefits, such as replacing bought or collected wood (time or revenue savings), provision of light
by biogas lamps, empowerment of women by relieving them of the drudgeries of  traditional fuel
gathering. A toilet is in most cases attached to a digester which improves sanitation, a significant
virtue  since  the majority  of  the  poor  lack  access  to  sanitation. The  effluent  from  the  digester,
digestate,  has  a  high  fertilizer  value  comparable  to  chemical  fertilizers.  Digestate  is  also  an
excellent fish feed and can enhance fish yields. The adoption of biogas digesters has considerable
spillovers to the local, national and even to a global level. For instance, at local level, employment
opportunities, skills development and reduced pressure on the forest. At  a national level, it leads
to  less health costs, more employment, and potential  foreign exchange earnings and  at a global
level: greenhouse gas emission mitigation. Consequently, the cumulative effects of these benefits
alleviate poverty and contribute to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

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 Anaerobic Digestion for Developing Countries with Cold Climates
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