Challenges and Solutions for Biogas Production from Agriculture Waste in the Aral Sea Basin
Olimjon Saidmamatov, Inna Rudenko, Urs Baier, Elbek Khodjaniyazov
Published at Processes journal
Processes (ISSN 2227-9717; CODEN: PROCCO) is an international peer-reviewed open access journal on processes in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, materials, and related process/systems engineering research fields published monthly online by MDPI. The Systems and Control Division of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE S&C Division) and the Brazilian Association of Chemical Engineering (ABEQ) are affiliated with Processes and their members receive a discount on the article processing charges. Please visit Society Collaborations for more details.
Energy plays an essential role in the modern society and can serve as one of the vital parameters of socio-economic development. Despite developments in technology, over three billion persons living in rural parts of the low- and middle-income countries continue to cover their energy needs for cooking through traditional ways by burning biomass resources. This paper as a case study focuses on the Aral Sea region of Uzbekistan, possessing a well-developed agricultural production with high livestock numbers and intensive crop production. The manure of the livestock farms is not used efficiently and the energy supply of the farms depends primarily on centrally produced gas and electricity. Some areas are not yet connected to the gas grid. Agriculture causes huge environmental damages in its current form. The benefit of biogas production would therefore be fivefold: (1) local energy source, (2) mitigation of environmental impacts, (3) reducing CH4-emissions, (4) producing organic fertilizer as a side product and (5) additional earnings for farmers.
