[Encyclios]

Advantages

An ecological advantage in the use of biogas is to prevent the diffusion into the troposphere of methane emitted naturally during the decomposition of carcasses and plants: methane is in fact one of the most powerful greenhouse gases and therefore its degradation into CO₂ and water by combustion is desirable. The emission of 1 kg of CH₄, in a time horizon of 100 years, is equivalent to emit 25 kg of CO₂ (IPCC 2007).

The advantages of biogas are, therefore, multiple and significant:

• It enhances and exploits waste biomass and by-products to produce energy, reducing the environmental impact from waste treatment and that caused by the distribution of traditional fossil fuels;
• It contributes to the realization of the green economy foreseen for the future, to the achievement of a circular economy model and to a more sustainable energy use, attentive to the safeguard of the environment;
• It allows to decrease carbon dioxide emissions. The combustion of biogas does not originate additional CO₂ compared to that already used previously by plant or animal biomasses of departure, unlike fossil fuels that produce it from scratch;
• It reduces the emission of methane gas, which has a negative impact on the environment. In fact, methane is one of the main greenhouse gases and has a great impact on increasing the greenhouse effect;
• It allows for energy diversification. The use of biogas reduces dependence on traditional energy sources and is one of the clean and sustainable energy choices;
• In addition to generating electricity, it also produces heat. In fact, biogas can be used both to generate electricity and to meet heating demand;
• It can be supplied in a continuous form as biomass energy can be regulated at will and can be stopped when desired, just like energy from fossil sources;
• Biogas plants are easier to build and the technologies implemented are unsophisticated and more readily available. There is therefore a reduction in costs and a lower investment in their construction compared to other renewable energy plants;
• Once the biogas has been purified of impurities and the CO₂ has been removed, it can be transformed into biomethane. It is then transported and used through traditional infrastructure, allowing countries to reduce emissions in some difficult sectors, such as heavy industry and freight transport.