Potential of Biogas Utilization for Renewable Energy Mix Contribution and Rural Electrification in Sarawak

Abstract

The effort of electrifying Sarawak also comes with challenges mainly caused by geographic and demographic factors. Sarawak's population scatters over a wide spatial area, where families inhabit small villages located in areas of challenging terrains and thick jungles. As a result, electrification through grid connection becomes infeasible and uneconomic. Biogas has immense potential to contribute to energy supply, especially in rural areas. It not only reduces waste but can also be used in generating electricity and subsequently reduces the dependency on fossil fuels. Approximately 993,000 hectares of Sarawak land were planted with oil palm in 2019. The predicted biogas generation from palm oil mill effluent (POME) could create enough electricity to power nearly 2 million rural Sarawak households, in which the Sarawak population in 2020 was 2.9 million. The lagoon system and continuous stirred tank reactor are common technologies used in biogas production. Other technologies used in biogas production are the fixed dome reactor from the Chinese model and the floating dome reactor from the Indian model. The standard technology involves the combustion of biogas in a heat engine called an internal combustion engine to produce heat to generate steam that drives a turbine for electricity generation. This work studied a new biogas utilisation method, fuel cell technology. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has high efficiency of up to 60% and is generally more prominent than conventional combustion of biogas in a gas engine to generate electricity. With the continual development of biogas fuel cells, a great prospect is predicted for rural areas of Sarawak in biogas production and utilisation. Thus, biogas could contribute a larger role in contributing to a higher renewable energy mix and rural electrification in Sarawak.

Is small-scale biogas production a viable source of electricity in rural Sub-Saharan Africa?

“…The Power rating, time of operation and electricity use per day of common household appliances [28]. are limited or have a high cost [12]. However, the literature study shows that the uptake of biogas technology has been limited in Sub-Saharan Africa.…”

“…Biogas technology can contribute to three essential sectors in Sub-Sahara Africa: energy supply, sanitation, and crop productivity [11]. Biogas has immense potential to contribute to the energy supply, especially in rural areas [12,13], and serve to overcome energy poverty, a barrier to economic development in Africa [3].…”

“…Other benefits from biogas technology are reduced fossil fuel dependency, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, rural development, reduced use of chemical fertiliser, and reduced deforestation [12,14,15]. The residue from the biogas digester is an excellent organic fertiliser that can replace chemical fertilisers and increase farm incomes [14,15].…”

Análisis de generación en sistemas de energía híbridos usando el biogás para suministro eléctrico

“…Kundwa, et al 2018 Potential of Biogas Utilization for Renewable Energy Mix Contribution and Rural Electrification in Sarawak. Lau et al 2023 de retorno del 23% y un VAN de $232. El trabajo concluye la factibilidad de sustituir con esta tecnología la quemar leña y contribuyendo a la disminución de la contaminación ambiental.…”

“…Otro estudio llevado a cabo por Lau et al (2023), manejando un nuevo método de utilización de biogás, la tecnología de pilas de combustible que tiene una alta eficiencia de hasta el 60% y generalmente es más prominente que la convencional. combustión de biogás en un motor de gas para generar electricidad, con el desarrollo de las pilas de combustible de biogás, se prevé que el biogás pueda contribuir en mayor medida a una mayor combinación de energías renovables y a la electrificación de las zonas rurales.…”