Biogas Production: Evaluation and Possible Applications

Biogas is an excellent example of renewable feedstock for energy production enabling closure of the carbon cycle by photosynthesis of the existing vegetation, without charging the atmosphere with excessive carbon dioxide. The present review contains traditional as well as new methods for the preparation of raw materials for biogas production. These methods are compared by the biogas yield and biogas content with the possible applications. Various fields of biogas utilization are discussed. They are listed from simple heating, electricity production by co-generation, fuel cell applications to catalytic conversions for light fuel production by the Fischer-Tropsch process. The aspects of carbon dioxide recycling reaching methane production are considered too.