Biogas production from livestock wastes and its prospects in developing countries.

Fuel, feed, and fertilizer are critical resources that often must be imported. Especially for agriculturalists in developing countries, the high cost of these resources and high interest rates create significant economic problems. These economic problems, the decreased availability of renewable sources of fuel, and the need for pollution control and fertilizer conservation have forced people to look for new sources of these resources. Methane fermentation technology is one alternative that has received widespread interest in developing countries because it converts locally available byproducts into fuel, feed, and fertilizer. Through a microbial process, agricultural waste material and byproducts can be converted into valuable products. This conversion is commonly called biogas from biomass. This paper discusses the principles of biogas production, how to build digesters, and how to utilize the gas and remaining digester sludge that still contains the fertilizer value.