Resource and environmental analysis of biogas development

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The history of global scientific and technological development shows that industrialization and commercialization are the driving forces behind the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, as well as the fundamental means for transforming scientific and technological achievements into productive forces. After more than 100 years of research and development, and particularly through vigorous promotion in the past 20 years, the technologies related to biogas production in China have become increasingly mature. The economic viability of biogas development projects has gradually improved, and a technical market has begun to take shape, laying a solid foundation for the industrialization of biogas production in the country. Methane industrialization refers to the process of producing methane on a large scale and in a continuous manner through biological fermentation and related processes using microorganisms with sufficient raw materials as substrates in anaerobic fermentation units, thereby establishing a stable methane industry chain. The main characteristics of biogas industrialization are as follows. 1. Biogas products: Biogas is no longer a secondary source of energy; rather, it has become the main component in energy production, possessing the same commercial attributes as natural gas and city gas. Once biogas products are industrialized, they will find their own distinct market niche and acquire a market position that cannot be ignored. 2. Scale-up: A large amount of capital must be invested at once for the mass production of biogas, which involves constructing large fermentation tanks, installing specialized equipment for feeding and discharging materials, as well as equipping the system with heating and insulation devices for the fermentation tanks, gas filtration equipment, biogas compression equipment, and other related systems. 3. Continuous production of biogas products: The entire process of biogas production ensures its continuous generation, thereby meeting market demand. 4. Stable industrial chain: The industrialization of biogas involves the industrial chain related to biogas, including raw material supply, gas transmission, gas compression, and production equipment. Biogas is a clean energy source with high calorific value and strong substitutability. The development of the biogas industry will not only change the inefficient energy-use patterns associated with traditional rural cooking methods, playing a key role in improving energy efficiency in rural areas as well as enhancing living conditions and the ecological environment; it also holds significant strategic importance for promoting rapid economic growth in rural areas, maintaining social stability, and alleviating the pressure on China’s energy supply. As is well known, our country is a major agricultural nation with a large rural population and abundant agricultural resources. The development of the biogas industry necessarily relies on abundant raw materials. The large amount of straw available in rural areas provides excellent material conditions for the growth of this industry as well as for the formation of a complex industrial chain involving related sectors such as gas transportation and biogas production equipment manufacturing. The development of the biogas production industry chain can absorb a large number of rural workers, fundamentally addressing employment issues in rural areas. On the other hand, with the continuous economic development of society and the rapid growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in many rural areas, the residents there as well as agricultural production require an increasing amount of energy. At present, energy supply in many rural areas is very strained; by developing and utilizing local resources in a manner suited to those areas, it is possible to prevent rural regions from competing with cities and industries for energy resources, thereby reducing pressure on China’s energy market. The main use of gas is as fuel for urban residents’ daily lives. Natural gas can be used not only as fuel for daily activities but also, after being liquefied, as a substitute for gasoline to serve as fuel for vehicles. Biogas and natural gas have the same main components; both are renewable energy sources. As mineral-based energy sources become increasingly depleted, the competitive advantages of biogas products will become more evident, and these advantages will grow even stronger as biogas production and processing technologies continue to improve. If biogas is treated as a product and produced on a large scale, it can certainly compete in the market with other commercial energy sources such as coal gas and natural gas.