A study on biogas technology in Bangladesh

The anaerobic digestive method has the advantage of low or no energy consumption in operation, less sludge left and small land occupancy. The use of anaerobic digestive method for the treatment of various organic wastes from domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural sources generates biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, which is being used as energy) and preserves the nutrients which are recycled back to the agricultural land in the form of slurry. The relevance of biogas technology in Bangladesh lies in the fact that it makes the best possible utilization of various organic wastes (which have no or little economic value at the present moment) as a renewable source of clean energy in the rural and semi-urban areas. The implementation of biogas technology has a great potential of mitigating several problems related to ecological imbalance, minimise crucial fuel demand, improve hygiene and health and therefore, there is an overall improvement in quality of life in rural and semi-urban areas. This paper is aimed to highlight the potential of biogas technology in the Bangladesh context, and to identify the problems and research needs in this field.