Small-Scale Rural Biogas Programmes: A Handbook

Renewable energy is becoming crucially important as concern over burning fossil fuels is increasing and the price of oil continues to rise. Biogas technology has undergone great developments since the first designs in the 1970s. Large national projects are working very effectively in countries such as Nepal, India and China, where hundreds of thousands of biogas plants have been installed; Europe has a fast-growing interest in biogas technology.

Small-scale Rural Biogas Programmes focuses on biogas extension programs in these countries and demonstrates the applicability of the technology elsewhere. It provides a comprehensive overview of the existing knowledge covering: the history of biogas programs, the technology behind them, the value of biogas effluent as compost, details of the main domestic biogas plant designs, how biogas extension programs work, and how they could be replicated. It includes detailed diagrams and appendices on the design of biogas plants. The book arose out of the assessments Fulford undertook for Ashden, a charity that focuses on sustainable energy and development including biogas projects across many countries including South India, Rwanda and Ghana.

This is an essential book for those running, or training others to run, biogas plants, as well as students of renewable energy and engineering.