Biogas is a naturally occurring product that is generated through the process of anaerobic (absence of oxygen) digestion as organic material breaks down. It is composed of primarily methane and carbon dioxide and occurs in natural situations such as stomachs, landfill and certain ponds.

The digestion process significantly reduces the organic content of a waste stream, and as such, aside from biogas, the process produces a nutrient-rich digestate which can be utilised as fertiliser, or potentially discharged.

Once captured and treated, biogas can be used in a number of different ways, such as injection into natural gas grids, powering vehicles, or more commonly for the generation of electricity and heat through generators or boilers.

The process of producing biogas has been around as long as life itself; we simply use modern tools and design engineering to enhance its production and use. Through careful design we use natural processes to create the gas, along with careful monitoring control as necessary.

The amount of biogas you can produce  depends on a large variety of factors, such as volume and type of organic matter you have available, biodegradability of that material, and optimisation of processing. As an example piglet’s manure can produce up to 450L of biogas/ kg of organic dry matter; while household waste may only produce 50L/kg.

Like any process that involves the production, storage and handling of gas, biogas can, in certain circumstances, be very deadly. All biogas, whether from engineered digesters, landfill, or anaerobic lagoons contains hydrogen sulfide (H2S) which is highly toxic if not removed correctly.

That being said, the European Biogas Association reports in excess of 14,500 biogas plants in use throughout Europe; with the majority being farm-scale operations. Strict regulations exist and control measures are always put in place to ensure the utmost safety of plant owners and operators.

Up until now, the market for biogas operations in Australia has been quite limited. Unlike Europe, the  Australian government does not currently offer direct subsidies for the construction of biogas plants, or feed-in tariffs from electricity produced by biogas. Like all investments, however, biogas plant assets can be built to be totally self-supporting.

Methane (the main gas in biogas) is more than 20x more destructive than CO2; however the capture and combustion of biogas converts this methane to CO2, avoiding direct emissions caused by the natural breakdown of organic material. What’s more, the use of biogas as a renewable energy source also avoids the consumption of conventional fossil fuels.

The cost of a biogas plant varies largely depending on its design, size, and processing options. When considering the economic benefits of a plant, our team take into account your particular situation and energy usage to find the most suitable solution.

Our fee for engineering activities, including the design, project management, commissioning and start-up of a biogas plant usually ranges from 5-12% of CapEx.

While you certainly can design and build your own farm or industrial-scale biogas plant, our team are specialists in all facets associated with the process design, engineering, procurement and start-up of Australian biogas plants. What’s more, our regular contact with suppliers, regulators and contractors gives us a good handle on ensuring that your plant will be built on time and on-budget.

Like any piece of equipment or machinery, a new biogas plant will take some time to get used to and learn how to operate effectively. Once up and running however, a well-designed farm-scale plant should only consume 1-2 hours/day of an operators time. Our team will provide full training and support on the plant, and can also offer remote monitoring and plant health analysis.

If you’d like to learn more about our process and what we can do for you, please get in touch via our Contact page.