Welcome to the Biogas in New Zealand web-pages. These pages will provide you with all you need to know about Biogas in New Zealand including where to go for advice on developing a biogas resource, a "Who's Who" of Biogas experts in New Zealand and what the current regulations governing biogas use and production are. This site also links to several government website-sites where there are extensive additional resources.
Biogas is a mixture of mainly methane and carbon dioxide with very small amounts of hydrogen sulphide and other impurities. The methane content can range from 50% to 80% (on a volumetric basis).
Biogas is commonly produced by anaerobic digestion of wet organic waste. This occurs in municipals wastewater and sewage treatment plants, industrial operations that have liquid wastes containing organic material, and on farms where animals are kept or held in a small area, such as pig or poultry farms. Anaerobic digestion is essentially a continuous process so it requires a reliable continuous feed of material. The digestion can occur in purpose built sealed containers or in covered ponds.
Biogas is a source of renewable energy.
| Typical composition of biogas | |
|---|---|
| Matter | % |
| Methane, CH4 | 50 - 75 |
| Carbon dioxide, CO2 | 25 - 50 |
| Nitrogen, N2 | 0 - 10 |
| Hydrogen, H2 | 0 - 1 |
| Hydrogen sulphide, H2S | 0 - 3 |
| Oxygen, O2 | 0 - 2 |
These pages are maintained by the Biogas Interest Group (BIG). The Biogas Interest Group is one of the 4 Interest Groups established by the Bioenergy Association of New Zealand. Further details on BANZ are available on the BANZ website.
