Small-Scale Household Biogas Digesters as a Viable Option for Energy Recovery and Global Warming Mitigation—Vietnam Case Study

Abstract

Abstract:Biogas from livestock waste is considered as clean and renewable energy in Vietnam. In the last 20 years, in rural and remote areas of Vietnam, there has been a significant increase of small-scale household biogas digesters. Biogas digesters create the benefits of replacing energy and mitigation of climate change caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and deforestation for firewood and charcoal. Livestock waste produces approximately 85 million tonnes every year and continues to increase, meaning there are huge feedstocks for biogas digesters to meet the energy demands in households. However, there are also many constraints on the development programme for small-scale household biogas digester. In Vietnam, the socio-economic situation and the lack of a sustainable energy policy for biogas from livestock sector are hindering the growth of the biogas digester industry. Government subsidies are needed to encourage farmers to participate. This paper will be helpful not only for the sustainable development of household biogas in Vietnam, but also for the developing program of biogas generation in developing countries with similar agricultural economies to Vietnam.

Current Status and Future Prospects of Small-Scale Household Biodigesters in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Every one installation took only a few days and is relatively inexpensive, and the method used for installation was simply learnt by users. Plastic bladder digesters do not give much insulation, so they are most appropriate in areas, where the weather is warm all year [20]. Problems with this model consist of possible damage of the flexible tube by sharp objects and UV sunlight, poor sanitation during manual use of manure, maintenance of gas pressure, and the elevated cost.…”

“…Approximately, 50 million biogas systems have been installed throughout the world to produce gas for cooking [17]. Across Asian countries alone, tens of millions of small-scale anaerobic digesters are used in households or on small farms and are in operation in countries like China, India, and Nepal [18,19] and Vietnam [14,20,21] and parts of Southeast Asia [22]. In Europe also, the production of biogas reached 1 35 × 10 7 t in 2014.…”

The Use of the Local and Regional Potential in Building Energy Independence—Polish and Ukraine Case Study

“…In 2018, the generation of 1 MWh of electricity in Poland took place at the cost of the emissions of 790 kg of CO 2 [24], therefore, the production of over 170 TWh of electricity [2] resulted in the emissions of over 134.31 million tons of CO 2 into the atmosphere. On the other hand, the use of the basic potential of biogas, 6.61 billion m 3 , could cover about 8.2% of electricity production (13.9 TWh), therefore, taking into account the biogas emissivity maintained at 81.5 kg CO 2 from 1 GJ [37], it is easy to calculate that the use of biogas in Poland for the production of electricity would result in a reduction in CO 2 emissions by over 5.1% nationwide. Activation of the wasteland potential could increase the share of biogas in electricity production to over 12.4% (21 TWh) and contribute to a further reduction in CO 2 emissions by over 2.7%.…”