IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v23y2021i10d10.1007_s10668-021-01272-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Technologies, challenges and perspectives of biogas production within an agricultural context. The case of China and Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Rufis Fregue Tiegam Tagne

    (University of Dschang)

  • Xiaobin Dong

    (Beijing Normal University)

  • Solomon G. Anagho

    (University of Dschang)

  • Serena Kaiser

    (Parthenope University of Napoli)

  • Sergio Ulgiati

    (Parthenope University of Napoli
    Beijing Normal University)

Abstract

The use of fossil fuels in modern economies has been a success because of the low cost of fossil resources. However, the depletion of fossil reserves, the increase in waste production and global warming concerns have led to increased research on the production of biofuels from renewable resources. Waste production is steadily increasing in quantity and constantly changing in quality, creating enormous risks for the environment and, consequently, for the health of the population. This situation is much more worrying in developing countries, in particular because of the considerable delay in the field of the conversion and recovery of biomaterials, due to their difficulty in approaching the problem in a way that fits their context. The composition of such wastes and residues, rich in organic matter, allows their conversion via biochemical mechanisms, thus constituting an effective solution to address the environmental problems of their disposal. Anaerobic digestion remains a valuable and effective technology for transforming these biomaterials into biogas. The present review focuses on technologies, challenges and areas of application of biogas, especially in China and some African countries, in order to promote the large-scale use of biogas for electricity generation and biofuels. Results point out that China is more used to this technology, while African countries still rely on traditional and less advanced technologies, thus hampering the potential derived from the large availability of biomaterials. Both realities, however, share similar backgrounds about the dimension of the biogas plants and their non-commercial purposes, even if China is recently shifting toward the adoption of a different model. These considerations are used in the article to open an interesting new scenario of political alternatives which may provide a way out from poverty and economic dependence, within the framework of a wider circularity.

Suggested Citation

  • Rufis Fregue Tiegam Tagne & Xiaobin Dong & Solomon G. Anagho & Serena Kaiser & Sergio Ulgiati, 2021. "Technologies, challenges and perspectives of biogas production within an agricultural context. The case of China and Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(10), pages 14799-14826, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:10:d:10.1007_s10668-021-01272-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-021-01272-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-021-01272-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-021-01272-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deng, Liangwei & Liu, Yi & Zheng, Dan & Wang, Lan & Pu, Xiaodong & Song, Li & Wang, Zhiyong & Lei, Yunhui & Chen, Ziai & Long, Yan, 2017. "Application and development of biogas technology for the treatment of waste in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 845-851.
    2. Jiang, Xinyuan & Sommer, Sven G. & Christensen, Knud V., 2011. "A review of the biogas industry in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 6073-6081, October.
    3. Mas’ud, Abdullahi Abubakar & Vernyuy Wirba, Asan & Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus & Mas’ud, Ibrahim Abubakar & Munir, Abu Bakar & Md Yunus, Norhidayah, 2015. "An assessment of renewable energy readiness in Africa: Case study of Nigeria and Cameroon," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 775-784.
    4. Lei Zheng & Jingang Chen & Mingyue Zhao & Shikun Cheng & Li-Pang Wang & Heinz-Peter Mang & Zifu Li, 2020. "What Could China Give to and Take from Other Countries in Terms of the Development of the Biogas Industry?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Ciro Florio & Gabriella Fiorentino & Fabiana Corcelli & Sergio Ulgiati & Stefano Dumontet & Joshua Güsewell & Ludger Eltrop, 2019. "A Life Cycle Assessment of Biomethane Production from Waste Feedstock Through Different Upgrading Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-12, February.
    6. He, Guizhen & Bluemling, Bettina & Mol, Arthur P.J. & Zhang, Lei & Lu, Yonglong, 2013. "Comparing centralized and decentralized bio-energy systems in rural China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 34-43.
    7. Murphy, J. D. & McKeogh, E. & Kiely, G., 2004. "Technical/economic/environmental analysis of biogas utilisation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(4), pages 407-427, April.
    8. Wenjie Chen & David Dollar & Heiwai Tang, 2018. "Why Is China Investing in Africa? Evidence from the Firm Level," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 610-632.
    9. Amigun, B. & Sigamoney, R. & von Blottnitz, H., 2008. "Commercialisation of biofuel industry in Africa: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 690-711, April.
    10. Yang, Liangcheng & Xu, Fuqing & Ge, Xumeng & Li, Yebo, 2015. "Challenges and strategies for solid-state anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 824-834.
    11. Francis Kemausuor & Muyiwa S. Adaramola & John Morken, 2018. "A Review of Commercial Biogas Systems and Lessons for Africa," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-21, November.
    12. Liu, H. & Jiang, G.M. & Zhuang, H.Y. & Wang, K.J., 2008. "Distribution, utilization structure and potential of biomass resources in rural China: With special references of crop residues," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 1402-1418, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dariusz Kayzer & Dorota Czerwińska-Kayzer & Joanna Florek & Ryszard Staniszewski, 2024. "Financial Security as a Basis for the Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-Sized Renewable Energy Companies—A Polish Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Akhilesh Kumar Singh & Priti Pal & Saurabh Singh Rathore & Uttam Kumar Sahoo & Prakash Kumar Sarangi & Piotr Prus & Paweł Dziekański, 2023. "Sustainable Utilization of Biowaste Resources for Biogas Production to Meet Rural Bioenergy Requirements," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Guerin, Turlough F., 2022. "Business model scaling can be used to activate and grow the biogas-to-grid market in Australia to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries: An application of entrepreneurial management," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Marta Szyba & Jerzy Mikulik, 2023. "Management of Biodegradable Waste Intended for Biogas Production in a Large City," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Flavia Darcy Ferreira Cabral & Changbin Yin & Johan Landry Tchantchou Wague & Yanshu Yin, 2023. "Analysis of China–Angola Agricultural Cooperation and Strategies Based on SWOT Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, May.
    6. Marta Szyba & Jerzy Mikulik, 2022. "Energy Production from Biodegradable Waste as an Example of the Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, February.
    7. Grzegorz Augustyn & Jerzy Mikulik & Rafał Rumin & Marta Szyba, 2021. "Energy Self-Sufficient Livestock Farm as the Example of Agricultural Hybrid Off-Grid System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zheng, Lei & Cheng, Shikun & Han, Yanzhao & Wang, Min & Xiang, Yue & Guo, Jiali & Cai, Di & Mang, Heinz-Peter & Dong, Taili & Li, Zifu & Yan, Zhengxu & Men, Yu, 2020. "Bio-natural gas industry in China: Current status and development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    2. Wang, Xuemei & Yan, Rui & Zhao, Yuying & Cheng, Shikun & Han, Yanzhao & Yang, Shuo & Cai, Di & Mang, Heinz-Peter & Li, Zifu, 2020. "Biogas standard system in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 1265-1273.
    3. Khan, Ershad Ullah & Martin, Andrew R., 2016. "Review of biogas digester technology in rural Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 247-259.
    4. Adamu, Haruna & Bello, Usman & Yuguda, Abubakar Umar & Tafida, Usman Ibrahim & Jalam, Abdullahi Mohammad & Sabo, Ahmed & Qamar, Mohammad, 2023. "Production processes, techno-economic and policy challenges of bioenergy production from fruit and vegetable wastes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    5. Yang, Jun & Dai, Guanghui & Ma, Luyi & Jia, Liming & Wu, Jian & Wang, Xiaohua, 2013. "Forest-based bioenergy in China: Status, opportunities, and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 478-485.
    6. Karthik Rajendran & Solmaz Aslanzadeh & Mohammad J. Taherzadeh, 2012. "Household Biogas Digesters—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(8), pages 1-32, August.
    7. Susanne Theuerl & Christiane Herrmann & Monika Heiermann & Philipp Grundmann & Niels Landwehr & Ulrich Kreidenweis & Annette Prochnow, 2019. "The Future Agricultural Biogas Plant in Germany: A Vision," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-32, January.
    8. Chen, Qiu & Liu, Tianbiao, 2017. "Biogas system in rural China: Upgrading from decentralized to centralized?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 933-944.
    9. Rupf, Gloria V. & Bahri, Parisa A. & de Boer, Karne & McHenry, Mark P., 2015. "Barriers and opportunities of biogas dissemination in Sub-Saharan Africa and lessons learned from Rwanda, Tanzania, China, India, and Nepal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 468-476.
    10. Wang, Xiaojiao & Lu, Xingang & Yang, Gaihe & Feng, Yongzhong & Ren, Guangxin & Han, Xinhui, 2016. "Development process and probable future transformations of rural biogas in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 703-712.
    11. Amigun, Bamikole & Gorgens, Johann & Knoetze, Hansie, 2010. "Biomethanol production from gasification of non-woody plant in South Africa: Optimum scale and economic performance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 312-322, January.
    12. Luo, Tao & Khoshnevisan, Benyamin & Huang, Ruyi & Chen, Qiu & Mei, Zili & Pan, Junting & Liu, Hongbin, 2020. "Analysis of revolution in decentralized biogas facilities caused by transition in Chinese rural areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    13. Shirzad, Mohammad & Kazemi Shariat Panahi, Hamed & Dashti, Behrouz B. & Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Tabatabaei, Meisam, 2019. "A comprehensive review on electricity generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through anaerobic digestion of agricultural and livestock/slaughterhouse wastes in Iran," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 571-594.
    14. Tian, Wenjing & Li, Jianhao & Zhu, Lirong & Li, Wen & He, Linyan & Gu, Li & Deng, Rui & Shi, Dezhi & Chai, Hongxiang & Gao, Meng, 2021. "Insights of enhancing methane production under high-solid anaerobic digestion of wheat straw by calcium peroxide pretreatment and zero valent iron addition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 1321-1332.
    15. Ni, Ji-Qin, 2024. "A review of household and industrial anaerobic digestion in Asia: Biogas development and safety incidents," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    16. Svetlana Zueva & Andrey A. Kovalev & Yury V. Litti & Nicolò M. Ippolito & Valentina Innocenzi & Ida De Michelis, 2021. "Environmental and Economic Aspects of Biomethane Production from Organic Waste in Russia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-8, August.
    17. Mao, Guozhu & Zou, Hongyang & Chen, Guanyi & Du, Huibin & Zuo, Jian, 2015. "Past, current and future of biomass energy research: A bibliometric analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1823-1833.
    18. Obianuju Patience Ilo & Mulala Danny Simatele & S’phumelele Lucky Nkomo & Ntandoyenkosi Malusi Mkhize & Nagendra Gopinath Prabhu, 2021. "Methodological Approaches to Optimising Anaerobic Digestion of Water Hyacinth for Energy Efficiency in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, June.
    19. Qi, Chuanren & Cao, Dingge & Gao, Xingzu & Jia, Sumeng & Yin, Rongrong & Nghiem, Long D. & Li, Guoxue & Luo, Wenhai, 2023. "Optimising organic composition of feedstock to improve microbial dynamics and symbiosis to advance solid-state anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and organic waste," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 351(C).
    20. Lv, Xuefei & Lv, Ying & Zhu, Yiping, 2023. "Multi-variable study and MOPSO-based multi-objective optimization of a novel cogeneration plant using biomass fuel and geothermal energy: A complementary hybrid design," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:10:d:10.1007_s10668-021-01272-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.