Biogas

Cow

The manure produced by cows naturally releases methane into the atmosphere.Companies can then take this manure and flush it into a tank or tented lagoon, where the manure can decompose and the methane gas bubbles off.

© The Irish Times

Cow
© The Irish Times

Cow

The manure produced by cows naturally releases methane into the atmosphere.Companies can then take this manure and flush it into a tank or tented lagoon, where the manure can decompose and the methane gas bubbles off.

© The Irish Times

Enlarge image

Ireland is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels and there is a pressing need to develop indigenous sustainable energy production. There is also a requirement to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions; agriculture is a major contributor. Through anaerobic digestion, agriculture can reduce the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions from energy use.

Anaerobic digestion is a controlled process where biomass is broken down by micro-organisms to produce biogas. This biogas has a high proportion of methane and can be burnt as a fuel to produce heat and electricity.

Waterford County Council & Waterford Institute of Technology have published a guide for Irish farmers entitled ’Biogas Energy Production in Agriculture’. The document arose from a rural partnership between Wales and Ireland, the Wales-Ireland Rural Hydrogen Energy Project (WIRHEP), which was partly funded through INTERREGA III A , by Waterford Institute of Technology and Waterford County Council.

The document provides a guide to Irish Farmers to assess the feasibility of developing anaerobic digestion facilities on their farms, where manures - cattle, pig, poultry, organic municipal waste, food industry waste, animal by products, catering waste & sewage sludge & specifically grown crops such as maize can be processed anaerobically. Biogas is produced for heating, electrical generation or as vehicle fuel.

Anaerobic digestion can be a core farm enterprise where crops can be farmed to produce energy in a profitable, competitive and sustainable manner.