Chapter 8

Biomass as an Alternative for Gas Production

Liliana Pampillón-González and

José Ramón Laines Canepa

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/67952

Abstract
Natural gas comes from the decomposition of organic material under anaerobic conditions
in a process that occurred around 150 million years ago, which allows the gas trapping
between rock pore spaces (porous system). Even though natural gas has become one of
the most used fuels around the world, there are other spontaneous, continuous, ongoing,
or inducing processes that can produce a similar gas in a short time (considering human
scale); we refer to biogas. The aim of this chapter is to describe the biomass potential from
organic residues for biogas production. The first part explains the biomass as an energy
source, a comparison between natural gas reserves and sources of biogas with a global per-
spective of their energy contribution. The main biomass conversion technologies followed
by case studies are shown in the second part. Finally, the biomethanization process is cov-
ered as a promising way to valorize some biomass residues into natural gas. Information
about where and how the biogas can be contained, controlled, and distributed is provided.
This chapter focuses in considering biogas as an alternative in the fuel demand with the
advantage of coming from a renewable source, providing electricity, heat, or transport,
and the generation of by-products.

Keywords: organic residues, biomass conversion, biomethane, biogas, renewable

energy

1. Introduction

Nowadays, the impact of the climate change around the world is undeniable. Most of the
environmental, social, and economic problems that all societies face are associated to the

© 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
174 Advances in Natural Gas Emerging Technologies

energy consumption and water demand, as well as other services. Crude oil and natural gas
have been used for decades, the main energy source in the major economies. Nevertheless, it
has been proved that the majority of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions account
to the consumptions of these fossil fuels [1], increasing the global warming.

The concern is not only about the negative impacts on environment; it is also the dwindling
of the fossil fuel reserves. This situation is disquieting and has focused the world’s attention
on the search and adoption of alternative energy sources. One of them, in this case study, is
biogas production. The latter is one of the biofuels in gas form that are made from biological
sources and brings an option for sharing the energy demand through the treatment of some
biomass residues.

In this perspective, this chapter focuses on the description of biogas production through the
use of biomass with the adoption of biological technologies as a promising way for contrib-
uting the safe and sustainable energy supply, providing heat, electricity, and biomethane
(similar to natural gas).

2. Biomass as an energy source

Energy is manifested by heat or electricity that is derived from fossil fuels. In some countries,
not only fossil fuels can be used for this goal; there are other elements like some plants, agri-
cultural residues, and municipal organic wastes that can also provide it.

As the law of conversation of energy states, “energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it
can only be transformed from one form to another.” For instance, the chemical energy stored
in some organic residues can be converted to other forms of energy.

This is exactly what the bioenergy look for: the use of the stored energy from organic materi-
als. Here is where the concept of biomass is introduced as a raw organic material that can be
treated to generate heat and electricity from liquid, solid, or gaseous biofuels. In this respect,
biomass resources represent a biogas production source. It is also one of the most abundant
resources and comprises all biological materials including living or recently living organism
and is considered a renewable organic resource [2].

The biomass resources take their energy from the sun, as most of the other renewable energies
sources. For example, photovoltaic energy captures the solar radiation in a direct way by spe-
cialized equipment providing energy. Also, the solar energy that is transferred through the
space causes the moving of air masses by heating results in wind, which can be used through
turbines and generates electricity. Energy is also transferred to the water flows. The precipi-
tation of water vapor due to the combination of wind and heat from solar energy causes the
rain, which turns rivers on. The force of the water flow also can be exploiting to produce
energy (hydroelectricity) and so on.

Energy from biomass is not the exception. The so-called bioenergy can harness solar energy
stored in various biomass resources. Plants, for example, use solar energy to convert inorganic
compounds assimilated into the organic compounds (Eq. (1)).
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Photosynthesis process:
6C​O2​​+ 12​H2​​O → ​C6​​H12
​ ​ ​O6​​+ 6​H2​​O + ​60​2​ ​ (1)

An animal that eats plants takes advantage of the stored energy from these and generates
biomass. Biomass works as a type of storage (battery) of solar energy transferred from one
trophic level to another. The transfer of energy is evident in all processes of living beings
(Figure 1).

Around the world, there are different sources of biomass which can be used for its conversion
into energy, which includes material of biological origin, like living plants and animals and
resulting residues, crops and forestry residues, sea weeds, agro-industrial residues, sewage,
and municipal solid waste. Biomass can be almost all the organic material, excluding fossil-
ized organic material embedded in geological formation [3].
Most of these biomass resources represent an environmental problem if they are not man-
aged, transported, or disposed properly. Consequently, if energy is generated by the use
of them, we can contribute for reducing the environmental pollution [4]. Furthermore, this
source of energy has the advantage of not releasing CO2 into the atmosphere due to the carbon
capture and storage, serving as an effective carbon sink [2].
Moreover, biomass can be multiplied in different forms of energy, that is, heat from wood and
forestry residues, chemical energy from hydrogen and some biofuels, and electrical energy
from the use of biogas in certain motor engines. In this chapter, we will focus in biogas, which
represents a biofuel generated by biomass conversion technologies (anaerobic digestion) and
an alternative for gas production.

Figure 1. Energy from different biomass sources.

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2.1. Is biogas the same as natural gas?

The answer is no. Natural gas comes from the decomposition of organic material under anaer-
obic conditions but was exposed to intense heat and pressure, in a process that occurred
around 150 million year ago, which allows the gas trapping between rock pore spaces (porous
systems). The gas produced during this period of time is located various meters below the
surface of the earth. It is not considered a renewable resource. The process for natural gas
production considers mainly extraction from the subsurface, collection, treatment, transpor-
tation, and distribution services.

On the other hand, biogas is the term employed to refer to the gas obtained in a short time
(considering human scale) by the anaerobic digestion of biomass resources. The process
occurs sometimes as a spontaneous, continuous, ongoing, or inducing way but always is
very sensible to biological process. Indeed, specific microorganisms, in a four-step process
(hydrolysis, acidification, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis), achieve the anaerobic diges-
tion of organic material (Figure 2). To do so, certain physico-chemical parameters such as
temperature, pH, daily organic load, available nutrients, retention time, agitation, and other
inhibitory factors must be adequate or adjusted for generating biogas [5].

The main difference between natural gas and biogas is related to the carbon dioxide content.
The latter is contained in 25–45% of the total composition of biogas, while natural gas contains
less than 1% (Table 1). Moreover, natural gas contains other hydrocarbons rather than meth-
ane. The methane content strongly influences the calorific value of these gases. Energy con-
tent of biogas similar to natural gas can be obtained if carbon dioxide from biogas is removed

Figure 2. Stages of anaerobic digestion process. Source: modified from Ref. [6].
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Parameter Biogas from landfill Biogas from farm-scale AD Natural gas (Danish)
plant
Lower heating value (MJ/ 10.7–23.3 19.7–21.5 31–40
m3)

Methane content, CH4 (%) 35–65 55–70 81–89

Carbon dioxide, CO2 (%) 25–45 35–55 0.67–1.00

Hydrogen sulfide, H2S (%) 30–500 25–30 0–2.9

Nitrogen, N2 (%) <1–17 <1–2 0.28–14

Oxygen, O2 (%) <1–3 <1 0

Other hydrocarbons 0 0 3.5–9.4

Halogenated compounds 0.3–225 <0.01 -

(mg/m3)

Siloxanes (mg/m3) <0.3–36 <0.02–<0.2 -

Theoretical combustion air 6 6.6 9.5

(m3biogas/m3)

Source: modified from Refs. [7–9].

Table 1. Composition of biogas and natural gas.

in an upgrading process [7]. The presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in biogas must be clean-
ing or upgrading to methane in order to diversify the end use of biogas in several ways.

2.2. Natural gas reserves and sources of biogas

Natural gas is a fossil fuel often found under the oceans, near oil deposits, trapped between
the rock pores spaces (porous systems), and beneath the earth’s surface. Similarly to the oil
exploration, there are natural gas reservoirs around the planet classified as proved and undis-
covered technically recoverable resources. A reservoir is a location where large volumes of
methane can be trapped in the subsurface of the earth. In this respect, proved reserves of natu-
ral gas are estimated quantities that analyses of geological and engineering data have demon-
strated to be economically recoverable from known reservoir in the future [10]. According to
the International Energy Statistics, in 2014 there were 6973 proved reserves worldwide [10],
in which the countries of Middle East and Eurasia represent the vast majority of it (Figure 3).

Even though natural gas has become one of the most used fuels around the world and the
trends point to increase in number of proved reserves due to the application of new technolo-
gies, the world population will continue to grow and still demand more energy, so the amount
of fossil fuels is not an enough resource for all the countries. As well as, the ongoing price
increase of fossil resources and the visible impacts on the global warming.

Under this scenario, a versatile fuel that comes from a wide variety of biomass is biogas. It can
provide a renewable source of energy and can lead to reduce impacts of pollution by inad-
equate waste disposal. Whereas undiscovered technically recoverable resources of natural
gas are still growing, a large quantity of solid waste is also generating. Most of the countries
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Figure 3. Proved reserves of natural gas worldwide in 2014 (with data from Ref. [10]).

around the world deal with their residues; they represent a social-environmental problem due
to the lack of management. This biomass can be a harnessing nature’s potential to produce
energy. It is continously produced, free in many countries and widely available.
In this respect, the future role for biogas in the world is related with the availability of differ-
ent types or organic feedstock which depends on a number of economic, social, technological,
environmental, and regulatory factors. Examples of various biomass feedstocks for biogas
production by sector are shown in Table 2.
It is predicted that by 2020, renewables will represent the 14% from the total EU energy mix, in
which biomass accounts with the 54% of the 251 million tons of oil equivalents (Mtoe) (Figure 4).
Unfortunately, most of this biomass is used in a direct way as wood, so biogas potential studies
can be evaluated considering certain type of biomass.
For 2010, primary production of biogas in Europe was 10.9 Mtoe, in which 27% of the biogas
was produced from landfill, 10% from sewage sludge, and 63% from decentralized agricul-
tural plants, municipal solid waste, methanization plants, co-digestion, and multiproduct
plants [13]. This biogas production increases to 31% compared to 2009. Germany is one of the
countries that have doubled biogas production in the last years, and it is also one of the main
biogas-producing countries for the 2020 in the EU (Figure 5). The acceptance and the rapidly
growth of the technology show how biogas can make an important contribution to the energy
supply in a short term.
Similarly to biomass demand, the biogas demand has a number of end user sectors, which
have different characteristics in terms of application, economic value added, customers, social
benefits, and environmental impact [14]. If biogas is conditioned or cleaned, it will be an
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Sector Type of biomass feedstock Example of biomass Biogas yield (m3 CH4/tonnes
VS)
Agricultural Animal manures and Pig slurry 300
slurries, crops, grass, and
other by-products

Cattle slurry 200

Maize (whole crop) 205–450

Industrial Organic wastes, Whey 330

by-products and residues
from agro-industries,
fodder brewery industries,
organic load wastewaters,
and sludge

Flotation sludge 540

Municipal Household waste, landfill, Fruit waste 300–550

sewage sludge, municipal
solid waste, and food
residues

Waste water sludge 400

Source: modified from Ref. [11].

Table 2. Sources and type of biomass by sector.

Figure 4. EU energy mix 2020 [12].

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Figure 5. Biogas potential for 2020 in the EU.

outstanding solution for a variety of applications commonly known for natural gas with the
addition of the versatility of its end uses. Some examples include: motor fuel, electricity, heat,
combined electricity and heat, and recently replace carbon compound into plastic products
[11] and also the generation of by-products that can be used as an organic fertilizer.

2.3. Advantages of biomass energy

There is an important environmental advantage of biomass utilization in terms of reduction

of natural resource depletion [15], carbon neutral resource in its life cycle (Asian Biomass
Handbook), and sustainable energy systems [16]. It has been estimated that by the year 2020,
50% of the present gas consumption in the Europe Union could be covered by biomethane
from digested feedstock [17] contributing to the greenhouse gas capture, like methane. Also
the fermentation process is an alternative for wet-bases raw residues treatment, and particu-
larly anaerobic digestion because of the cost-effective [18, 19]. Biogas can be burned directly
in boiler for heat or/and engine for cogeneration, while upgrade biogas can be injected in the
natural gas grid and used directly at the consumer in boilers and small combined heat and
power (CHP) [20].

3. Biomass conversion technologies

Since the last century (1897), some Asian countries, like China and India, started their first tri-
als in using biogas [21], through a stabilization process that allows the use in household and
farm-scale applications. Similarly, England reported using it in the 1930s for lighting streets
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[11]. In both cases, the main biomass source to produce biogas was taken from sewage in
order provide a fuel for cooking and lighting. In a brief context, the use of biomass to provide
energy has been fundamental to the development of societies.
Nowadays, the demand on energy and the impact on climate change have led to calls for an
increase in the use of biogas in different ways. In this section, the main process or conversion
technologies employed for the biomass are presented with specific regard to biogas production.

3.1. Biomass conversion process

The biomass conversion technologies are closely related to the type of biomass, quantity, the
availability, the cost-effective, and the end user requirement of the biofuel. The selection of the
technology depends on the main interest of the “producer.” For all the cases, the main biomass
treatments that can be applied are encompassed in four conversion technologies: direct com-
bustion, thermochemical, biochemical and biotechnology, and nanotechnology (Figure 6).

It is important to note that a pretreatment of the biomass is necessary before applying a con-
version technology. In some cases, biomass has to be harvested, collected, transported, or
stored [22]. Further, resource availability varies from region to region, according to weather
conditions, soil type, geography, population density, and productive activities, which makes
the choice of technology for processing more complex.

3.2. Direct combustion

One of the oldest uses in which biomass has been utilized for energy in the world is through
the burning wood (combustion). This action represents a traditional use of biomass, particu-
larly in rural zones. It is considered an essential resource to the economic development of
societies [23]. Nevertheless, when the wood is burnt in an open fire stove, around 80% energy
is lost [24]. Recently, technologies suggest the use of energy efficiency stoves, which not only
has a better thermal efficiency but also avoids indoor air pollutions. Other specialized equip-
ment involves furnaces, boilers, steam turbines, and turbogenerator. The combustion of bio-
mass allows the recovery of the chemical energy stored. In general, combustion processes

Figure 6. Conversion technologies of biomass into energy. Source: modified from Ref. [2].
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involve direct oxidation of matter in air, that is, ignition or burning of organic matter in an air
atmosphere sufficient to react with oxygen fuel.

3.3. Thermochemical process

Thermochemical process, as the direct combustion, has a core axis, the temperature. One of the
main differences is an induced atmosphere in which conversion of biomass took place. This oxi-
dation process can occur in the presence or absence of a gasifying medium. The conversion of
biomass depends on temperature and pressure variables. For example, if the substrate to trans-
form is in the presence of a gas such as oxygen, water vapor, or hydrogen, producing fuel is per-
formed through gasification. If, however, material degradation occurs in the absence of oxygen,
that is, nitrogen, under controlled pressure and temperature, then the process is called pyrolysis.

There are some good experiences in the pyrolysis of certain materials, in which a charcoal,
bio-oil, and a fuel gas can be recovered [25].

3.4. Biochemical process

Biochemical treatment unlike thermochemical process achieves power generation through

biological transformation of organic compounds, employing anaerobic digestion, or fermen-
tation of biomass. Fermentation is usually used to produce biofuels, as ethanol, from sugar
crops, and starch crops [22]. Nevertheless, there is another route, in which biomass conver-
sion is done, the anaerobic digestion.

Among the general background information about conversion technologies, anaerobic diges-
tion is the main focus in this section due to the direct biogas production. The anaerobic process
is analog to ruminant digestion process. The biomass is degraded by a consortium of bacteria
within an anaerobic environment, producing a principal product, gas. This gas, called biogas,
represents a proven technology and its use is widely spreading through Europe.

For biogas production, there are some types of biomass that are more accurate, like the ones
with high moisture content in organic wastes (80–90%) or wet biomass residues as manures,
municipal organic solid waste, and sewage sludge [22]. The anaerobic digestion process gen-
erally occurs in reactors or tanks in a single, multistage process or dry digestion.

Anaerobic digester can be categorized, designed, and operated by different configurations:

batch or continuous, temperature (mesophilic or thermophilic), solid content (high or low
solid content), and complexity (single stage or multistage) [26]. Another specific configuration
considering the organic rate load, digester, is divided into passive systems (covered lagoons),
low rate systems (complete mix reactor, plug flow, and mixed plug flow), and high rate sys-
tems (contact stabilization, fixed film, suspended media, and sequencing batch) [27]. All these
types of reactors perform the anaerobic digestion, but each one operates for salient features
with a variety of applications of the end products.

An experience in the livestock sector in Mexico using covered lagoon anaerobic digestion
reactor shows benefits in the use of biogas not only on environmental aspects as improving
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the quality of wastewater but also economically due to the avoid of penalties for the water
discharges and the social acceptance of the livestock activity in the region (Table 3).

Biomass residue (swine manure) Technical aspects

Number of animals (head of animals) 32,483

Manure produced annually (tonnes/y) 115,315

Biogas production (m /y)

3
2,538,389

Energy consumption (kWh/y) 52,072

Energy production (kWh/y) 255,528

Emission reductions (tonnes CO2e) 14,027

Source: using data from Ref. [28].

Table 3. Biogas production experience in livestock sector in Mexico.

In this example, the different benefits of biogas production in livestock sector highlighted the
use of biogas in energy generation. Against other energy sources, in this case, the biogas pro-
duced is used in the farm for their own consumption by a gas combustion engine. The heat gen-
erated by the motors can be used for heating the reactor or drying waste. Biogas has the quality
that does not have to be consumed at the moment of production. The production of this biofuel
also impacts in macro- and microeconomic aspects, due to the generation of new sources of
employs and access to energy in a remote place. Moreover, the livestock producer is selling an
organic fertilizer obtained by high-quality digestate obtained in the biogas production.
Furthermore, odor reduction and the removal of pathogenic organism in livestock residues
are achieved. The methane emission of the manures is captured, reducing the release of meth-
ane to the atmosphere. Methane (CH4) is considered one of the largest contributors to the
GHG emissions by livestock sector, with a global warming potential 25 times more than car-
bon dioxide (CO2) [29, 30].
In general, the biomass conversion technologies mentioned above can be integrated into the
concept of biorefinery. Analog to oil process, the different biomass feedstocks offer a wide range
of products that can be used as fuel, including gas, oil, or chemical, offering greater possibility
of using cogeneration systems and supply facilities in the transport sector.

4. Biomethanization process

When the major end product in a biogas plant is methane, similar to natural gas, this upgraded
gas is called biomethane. The methane content determines the energetic value in the biogas
[11]. In this respect, one of the main reasons for upgrading biogas to a degree equivalent to nat-
ural gas is to inject to the gas distribution network and thus diversify some natural gas sources.
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Biomethanization process opens new paths to achieve this goal: first, because the gas storage
in an extended way allows the injection into a distribution system and second due to the vari-
ety use of fuel in transport stations, mainly.
As we see in the sections above, the main biogas uses in development countries are lighting,
cooking, and further in gas turbines. In industrial countries biogas is produced in large-scale
digester (biogas plants) with an interest in the concentration of methane from biogas to fulfill
natural gas standards. Depending on the end use, different biogas treatments (cleaning or
upgrading) are necessary. For example, vehicle gas fuel requires a biogas similar to natural
gas quality so a biogas upgrading process is needed. In other words, biomethanization allows
biogas to be contained, controlled, and distributable.

4.1. Biogas cleaning

There are some undesirable components in biogas that promote corrosion in many materials
and engines: H2S, oxygen, nitrogen, water, siloxanes, and particle traces (see Table 1). These
impurities can induce or promote corrosion in many parts of the biogas system or equipment
in which biogas is used. Overall, these components must be removed in order to allow the
concentration of methane in biogas.
Water content in biogas can cause corrosion in pipelines due to the formation of carbonic acid
in a reaction derived from water and carbon dioxide [31]. Fortunately, it can be removed by
cooling, compression, absorption, or adsorption (activated carbon, sieves, or SiO2). Hydrogen
sulfide (H2S), another unwanted component in biogas, is of corrosive nature, leading the dam-
age of motor engine, pipes, etc. It is a highly toxic gas that attempts to destroy the human
health. The removal of hydrogen sulfide can be done by precipitation, adsorption on active
carbon for H2S removal (US 8669095 B2 patent) [32]. Siloxanes also constitute an impurity in
biogas. It can affect combustion equipment, as gas engine, through the formation of silicon
oxide. The most common methods for removing siloxane components are adsorption on acti-
vated carbon, activated aluminum, or silica gel, mainly [31].

After desulfurization and drying process of biogas, it can generate electricity and heat in cogen-
eration systems, combined heat and power (CHP), or can be transformed to energy products
with higher value, density, and calorific value.

4.2. Biogas upgrading

Around the world, the number of upgrading biogas plants has increased, reaching 100 during
2009 [7]. This facility has gained the world’s attention due to the rising oil and natural gas prices.

The biogas obtained during anaerobic digestion of biomass contains important amounts of
carbon dioxide that result in lower energy content. In order to improve this characteristic, the
separation of carbon dioxide through an upgrading process is requested. Cleaning the gas
before upgrading is recommended.
Compared with the common uses of biogas, the upgrading of biogas brings several advantages
related to transportation of the gas and offering the chance to increase the overall efficiency of
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gas utilization. In this part, it is important to clear up that cleaning biogas refers to the separa-
tion of impurities, while upgrading refers to the separation of CO2.

Currently, there are several technologies for biogas cleaning and upgrading, commercially
available, like pressure swing adsorption (PSA) (US 6340382 B1 patent) [33], water scrubbing,
organic physical scrubbing, and chemical scrubbing. Most of them are a combination or one
or two processes for biogas cleaning or upgrading (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Different biogas cleaning and upgrading of biogas. Source: adapted from Ref. 34.

If biogas is upgraded to biomethane with approximately 98% of methane content in biogas, it

can have the same properties as natural gas [35]. By these standards, biomethane can be fed
into the available gas network or be used for any purpose for which natural gas is used. The
overall environmental benefits of the use of biogas are, however, highest when the biogas is
used as a vehicle fuel replacing oil or diesel [4].

In fact, the selection of the optimal technology for biogas upgrading depends on the quality
and quantity of the raw biogas to be upgraded, the desired biomethane quality and the final
use of the biogas, the anaerobic digestion system, the continuity of the biomass, as well as the
local circumstances [36].
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5. Opportunities for bio-based economy (green natural gas)

The current leader in the deployment of biogas technology is Germany. In the last decade,
the number of digester plant increased ten times compared to 1996 (Poeschl et al., 2010). The
German scheme is a clear example for biogas technology promotion; it highlights the employ-
ment of key instruments for helping to spread out the technology, that is, economic incentives.

Broadly, biogas production in different countries is still dependent on subsidies for attracting
investors, producers, and I&D groups and promoting its scalability. Certification systems,
feed-in tariffs, and investment support are examples of measures that are widely applied
(Table 4). Some of the policy documents and directives that are related to bioenergy are
included in three EU regulatory frameworks: the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC),
the Directive on Waste Recycling and Recovery (2008/98/EC), and the Directive on Landfill
(1999/31/EC) [37].

Country Incentive Scope of support

Germany Feed-in tariff Electricity and heat from biogas. Tariff according to system size
and fuel

Market premium Biogas and biomethane

Gas processing bonus Upgraded biogas for grid injection and transport

Flexibility premium Electricity from biogas

The UK Feed-in tariff Electricity from biogas

Renewable obligation order % RES from electricity production (>5 MW)

Climate change levy Favors any type of renewable energy generation

Renewable heat incentive Biomethane injection and biogas combustion, except from
landfill gas

Sweden Certification system Certificates for electricity from biogas

Energy taxation Tax benefits for electricity, heat, and transport from biogas

Investment support Farm-based biogas production

Source: modified from Ref. [37].

Table 4. Examples of incentives schemes for biogas production.

6. Conclusion

Most of the countries around the world are still dependent on energy supplies, mainly by fos-
sil fuels. Societies need to secure the energy demand, through social equality and mitigating
the environmental impact. In this respect, biogas production is not only a promising way but
is currently one of the most renewable technologies capable of offer energy, as such fossil fuel
does.
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Biogas can play the pivot role in the renewable sustainable energy systems in the near future
due to its versatility, availability, storability, and energetic value. In this context, adequate pub-
lic policy (regulation) for promoting economic, social, and cultural conditions for biogas pro-
duction is still necessary.

Even though the technology has been adopted by many countries in Europe, there is still a
necessity for developing and applying more adequate technology for cleaning and upgrading
biogas to biomethane in places in which the use is limited (grid injection), which is becoming
a present challenge.

Biogas and biomethane benefits promoting is required to overcome the reliability of the
anaerobic process and the use of the by-products, increase the ability of the enterprises to
satisfy the market necessities, and involve the government, public, private, and actor in this
important task for reaching to a sustainable energy system.

Acknowledgments

The support and valuable comments from a Master of Science (Latin: Magister Scientiae).
Oscar Silván-Hernández and Dr Alejandro Ordáz-Flores are greatly appreciated.

Author details

Liliana Pampillón-González* and José Ramón Laines Canepa

*Address all correspondence to: lilianapg@hotmail.com; liliana.pampillon@ujat.mx

División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco,

Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico

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