Technical and Economic Assessment of Biogas Based Electricity Generation Plant

To meet the ever-increasing demand of energy, renewable energy can open up new possibilities in developing countries. Renewable energy sources, such as biogas can be used for off-grid electricity generation. Although biogas is not known to be an efficient source of electricity, due to the abundance of raw materials it is still used in rural areas. Our study shows that mixing different raw materials in a proper ratio, also known as co-digestion can make a great difference in efficiency. We present in the paper, a model for biogas based low-cost off-grid power plant for rural areas. In our design, we take into account the generator size, and some maintenance tasks, such as H2S removal unit etc. We also make economic assessments of small power plants. Our model and assessments indicate that electricity generation from biogas is feasible even for relatively small application in the range of 10 - 50 kW. Potential of biogas in other applications is also mentioned here.