The main focus of the Biogas Digester project is the researching, designing, constructing and testing of biogas digesters for application in mid-Atlantic region farms and residences. A biogas digester turns organic, biodegradable waste into methane gas that can be harnessed as an extremely low-cost energy source via an anaerobic bacterial process. Biogas digesters are commonly implemented in climates where temperatures do not dip much lower than 33 degrees Celsius (approximately 90 degrees Fahrenheit) due to the optimal temperature for productivity of the bacteria within the biogas digester.

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Biogas Digester Statistics

• A small-scale biogas plant can save, on average, 4.7 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

• It is estimated that this simple, anaerobic treatment of animal waste and energy could allow over 1,300 tons of methane emissions to be avoided each year.

• When animal waste is used to produce biogas on a farm, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by nearly 180% and methane emissions nearly eliminated.

Digester plants isolate and destroy disease-causing organisms that pose a threat to both surface and groundwater. A threat to either of these water systems is a threat to both human and animal health.

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Our community of focus is people interested in alternative energy options and their applications. Biogas currently does not have the support it should because it is not understood in this area of the world. We aim to show that biogas can and should be implemented in this area of the world. Sweden leads the world and produces 1.7 TWh of bioenergy a year, over five times more than the United States. China and Germany each produce three times more. The United States is the perfect candidate for increased biogas generation because it is made from a variety of wastes; forestry, sewage, livestock, and agricultural waste can all produce biogas. The United States can utilize biogas in the farming industry to reuse unwanted waste and create products at lower costs and higher efficiency.