The feasibility of using biogas generated from livestock manure as an alternative energy source: A South African perspective

Abstract

Electricity usage has risen tremendously over the years, as has its price. This resulted in an increase in the quest for less expensive, viable, and ecologically acceptable means of producing energy for electricity. Currently, the primary source of power in South Africa is sourced from fossil fuels, which have negative environmental consequences. The use of biogas as an alternative can mitigate the impacts of using fossil fuels to generate power. This study has examined the availability and accessibility of waste that may be utilized to generate biogas using common South African livestock excrement. A typical South African home uses 31 kWh of power daily, which equates to 111.6 MJ of energy. According to calculations, about 30 m3 of biogas is needed to produce enough energy to power a household. For the generation of mono-digestion biogas, 12 beef cows, 8 dairy cows, 3898 chickens, 156 pigs, 281 sheep and 300 goats would be needed to meet this need. Moreover, the livestock dung required to meet the daily requirement of 31 kWh is 713 kg for beef and dairy cows, 390 kg for chickens, 468 kg for pigs, 506 kg for sheep and 466 kg for goats. Co-digestion of various wastes is nonetheless a viable and advised method for enhancing the amount and quality of biogas.