Agricultural Research Management Information System

Home
Research Summary
Search
About Us
- ARMIS
- Brochure
Contact Us
Report
User Request
Data Input
Help
- Operation Manual
  - PDF
  - Video
- Program Area & Commodity
We have reached 37600 number of research entries at this moment.

- Logout

Research Detail

Home
Research
Detail

Diffusion of Biogas Technology: a Community-based Approach

Akhter Husain Chaudhury*
Urban and Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh

Shamim Ahammed
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The scarcity of energy in rural Bangladesh is already acute and bears little sign of improvement. Energy from commercial sources accounts for only 8.6% of all energy used in the domestic sector and again which is not uniformly distributed. Only a small number of villages have access to electricity. Complete rural electrification will entail high transmission and distribution costs. Biomass is used recklessly. Irrational and unplanned exploitation of biomass resources is resulting in environmental degradation. Biogas technology can be a partial but significant solution to these and many other problems of energy. It is a simple technology generally referred to as ‘intermediate’, which has every prospect to have an extensive use in Bangladesh. But adoption of biogas technology does not end with the construction of a plant, rather it requires proper planning with respect to creation of social and economic acceptability apart from technology diffusion. At present the Government of Bangladesh is encouraging only the ‘single-owner’ plants, where only a segment of population (specifically the rich who have 5-6 cows) have the access to derive its benefit. But it would be comparatively economic to construct larger plants for community use as well as to bring a large group of population under its’ benefit. But adoption of community approach, by its’ very nature and because of the intended use, will require such activities as mobilisation of community supported by, awareness building, supervised credit, training of users regarding operation and maintenance etc. Before undertaking such activities, decisions regarding technical details, institution-building etc. should be arrived at the national level. Thus since biogas technology is a ‘new arrival’ to the traditional way of living, some planned activities will have to be taken initially. Mass adoption of the new technology will not only be a significant step forward to meet the challenge of acute energy crisis but will also be an effective measure to environmental protection.

Keywords: Biogas; Diffusion; Energy

Location: In Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Resource Development and Management

Commodity: Bio-gas

Objectives:

But reckless and unplanned use of biomass is gradually leading to its consumption beyond regenerative limits with serious environmental consequences. The current situation in the energy sector leads the policy makers to think about alternative sources of energy, which will be renewable in nature and can be adopted throughout the country. This paper examines the feasibility of introducing community biogas plant to resolve fuel crisis in rural Bangladesh.

Methodology:

Fuel Problem in Rural Areas Energy from commercial source accounts for only 8.6% of all energy used in the domestic sector. Again the energy sources are not uniformly distributed. About 23,000 villages (35% of the total) have access to electricity. According to Biswas, complete rural electrification entails high transmission and distribution costs ($U.S. 25,000 per mile; $U.S.1=Tk.54). Moreover, the energy sector of Bangladesh is not in a sound condition at present. The present demand of electricity in the country is estimated nearly about 2900 megawatts (MW), while the production is estimated to be between 2500 to 2700 MW (PDB March, 2000). There is no accurate data regarding gas reserve in the country. One estimate shows it has a deposit of 21.35 trillion cubic feet (TCF), of which 12.416 TCF is recoverable. The domestic share of natural gas is negligible and the supply is limited only to the major urban areas. In 1993, the consumption of natural gas was 0.21 TCF in which the domestic share was only 2.2% (GOB, 1996). Besides, the delivery of commercial fuel such as petroleum, LPG and coal to remote rural areas is difficult and not cost-effective.

Need for Alternative Source of Energy Once there were ample trees in the homesteads and the village as well. Gradually, as population increased, demand for fuel grew and vegetation started to disappear. Afforestation failed to keep pace with the rate of depletion and the result was environmental degradation. In the face of shrinking vegetation and livestock against increasing population, it is unlikely that trees or animals will continue to be sustainable sources of fuel for rural community in the coming days. It is also unlikely that natural gas would reach vast and remote rural households due to highly uneconomic cost of transportation. This situation calls for search of alternative sources of energy to meet the growing energy demand of future generations. The 18th century discovery of biogas as a cooking fuel seems to be an effective answer to the likely energy crisis of the developing countries in the next century. The 1991 government task force on energy emphasized on energy audit and suggested the integration of biogas as an energy source within the overall development policy of Bangladesh. Though the use of biogas is limited in Bangladesh, it is believed to have a wide prospect here.

Adoption of Biogas Technology in Bangladesh Bangladesh thought for biogas technology for the first time in mid 70s when there was a severe worldwide energy crisis. The first biogas plant, however, was established in 1972 in Agricultural University campus. The plant was a floating dome type having a size of 3 m 3. At the same time BARD, BARC, BCSIR and BUET were also conducting several studies to develop and manage the technology, taking into account the local physical and social environment. The Environmental Pollution Control Department (EPCD) was established in 1980 and one of its objectives was to popularise biogas technology. By 1984, the department constructed 109 floating dome plants and 110-fixed dome plants in different districts (Gofran, 1997). In 1976 BCSIR took a programme to construct 50,000 biogas plants. So far it has succeeded in constructing about 250 floating dome and 35 fixed dome plants only, through different NGOs and directly by its’ scientists (BCSIR, 1998). After its establishment in 1984 LGED took initiative to diffuse the technology in rural areas. LGED first constructed a fixed dome plant in Kurigram in 1986. The success of the plant encouraged LGED to spread the technology all over the country. By the end of 1994 LGED constructed about 200 biogas plants. The organic inputs used varied from plant to plant. Seventy-three of the plants were based on human excreta, twenty-three on garbage, one on water hyacinth, two on poultry droppings and the rest were based on cow-dung. LGED has taken a good initiative by constructing biogas plants in the slum areas based on human excreta, under the slum improvement project (SIP). A picture of the biogas plants constructed between1984 to 1991 with the technical assistance of LGED is shown in the following table.

Source of Information: Khulna University Studies 2(1): 7-22

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

But reckless and unplanned use of biomass is gradually leading to its consumption beyond regenerative limits with serious environmental consequences. The current situation in the energy sector leads the policymakers to think about alternative sources of energy, which will be renewable in nature and can be adopted throughout the country. This paper examines the feasibility of introducing a community biogas plants to resolve the fuel crisis in rural Bangladesh.

Knowledge Management: Journal