Household biogas use in rural China: A study of opportunities and constraints

As a renewable energy, biogas is not only an important part of the development of rural new energy, but also an important aspect of sustainable development in China. The development process and present status of household biogas, specifically the opportunities and constraints of household biogas in rural China, are discussed in this paper. Only about 19% of the biogas potential has been utilized in rural China. There are several opportunities for household biogas development in rural China, including the problem of rural household energy consumption, the availability of biogas fermentation materials, national financial subsidies, legal and international clean development mechanisms. Also, more research needs to be done in straw fermentation and cold fermentation technology. Training should be conducted to raise the level of biogas customers in comprehensive biogas utilization. Measures should be taken to improve the follow-up services and management of biogas plants. The information presented in this paper will be helpful not only to the sustainable development of household biogas in rural China, but also to the development of biogas in similar countries around the world.     

Popularizing household-scale biogas digesters for rural sustainable energy development and greenhouse gas mitigation

Biogas utilization has undergone great development in rural China since the government systematically popularized household-scale biogas digesters for meeting the rural energy needs in the 1970s. In order to comprehensively estimate the significance of biogas utilization on rural energy development and greenhouse gas emission reduction, all types of energy sources, including straw, fuelwood, coal, refined oil, electricity, LPG, natural gas, and coal gas, which were substituted by biogas, were analyzed based on the amount of consumption for the years from 1991 to 2005. It was found that biogas provided 832749.13 TJ of energy for millions of households. By the employment of biogas digesters, reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) was estimated to be 73157.59 Gg CO₂ equivalents (CO₂-eq), and the emission by the biogas combustion was only 36372.75 Gg CO₂-eq of GHG. Energy substitution and manure management, working in combination, had reduced the GHG emission efficiently. The majority of the emission reduction was achieved by energy substitution that reduced 84243.94 Gg CO₂, 3560.01 Gg CO₂-eq of CH₄ and 260.08 Gg CO₂-eq of N₂O emission. It was also predicted that the total production of biogas would reach to 15.6 billion m³ in the year 2010 and 38.5 billion m³ in the year 2020, respectively. As a result, the GHG emission reductions are expected to reach 28991.04 and 46794.90 Gg CO₂-eq, respectively.     

我国农村沼气建设现状及发展对策

论述了目前我国农村沼气的发展现状和特点，指出农村沼气建设已进入了规模化发展的阶段，并取得了显著的经济、社会和生态等综合效益，同时针对农村沼气项目推广中出现的认识、技术、资金、管理等方面的问题，提出了相应的对策和建议。     

可再生能源在中国农村可持续发展中的地位

主要论述了可再生能源在我国农村的应用情况和在农村能源结构中的重要地位及其对生态环境的重要作用；阐述了可再生能源建设对我国农村可持续发展的重要意义；分析了可再生能源在我国农村地区所具有的巨大发展潜力。     

Study on sustainable development of rural household energy in northern China

The status of rural household energy consumption plays an important role in farmers’ daily life, especially in developing countries or regions. Here, we review the evolution of the rural household energy consumption structure in northern China from 1996 to 2005. Studies indicate that the proportion of straw, firewood, and coal consumption in total energy consumption have remained at 88.8–91.0%, whereas the proportion of high-quality commercial energy and modern renewable energy is still very low. The main challenges for the sustainable development of rural household energy supply are an unreasonable energy consumption structure, low-energy efficiency, serious environmental degradation, a large gap in energy supply among regions, and difficulty in developing renewable energy. We suggest some countermeasures to overcome the obstacles involved in the sustainable development of rural household energy in northern China, from energy sources to sociopolitical policies.     

加快农村能源综合建设的探讨和建议

农村能源是我国能源的一个特殊领域，与农业生产和农民生活紧密相关。分析了农村能源综合建设工作中存在的一些问题和不足，提出加快农村能源综合建设的对策建议。     

中国沼气产业发展的回顾与展望

文章回顾了我国沼气产业的发展;分析了在国家对沼气建设持续地投入和支持下,我国户用沼气池、各类沼气工程、沼气服务体系的建设成效以及对拉动内需的贡献;提出在新形势下,我国沼气产业应在满足"三农"需求的基础上,逐步扩大发酵原料的来源,日益拓展沼气产品的使用功能和领域,通过提升沼气的综合效益,最终实现沼气的城乡统筹。     

Energy for sustainable development in Malaysia: Energy policy and alternative energy

Energy is often known as the catalyst for development. Globally, the per capita consumption of energy is often used as a barometer to measure the level of economic development in a particular country. Realizing the importance of energy as a vital component in economic and social development, the government of Malaysia has been continuously reviewing its energy policy to ensure long-term reliability and security of energy supply. Concentrated efforts are being undertaken to ensure the sustainability of energy resources, both depletable and renewable. The aim of this paper is to describe the various energy policies adopted in Malaysia to ensure long-term reliability and security of energy supply. The role of both, non-renewable and renewable sources of energy in the current Five-Fuel Diversification Strategy energy mix will also be discussed. Apart from that, this paper will also describe the various alternative energy and the implementation of energy efficiency program in Malaysia.     

Regional differentiation of biogas industrial development in China

The regional distribution of household biogas and large & medium-scale farm biogas project was analyzed by the index of popularization rate. The results showed that Chinese household biogas has an obvious geographical difference in popularization rate, and can be divided into five zones: high popularity in Southwest areas, steady development in Central areas, rapid growth in Western areas, and low popularity in Northeast and Eastern coastal areas. The emphasis of household biogas development was shifted from east to west, which was mainly caused by combined effects of climatic conditions and economic level. The popularization rate of large & medium-scale biogas project in livestock farms was low, but developed rapidly with average annual increasing rate of 13.94%. And great differentiation existed in popularization rate and growth trends, of which 98.63% of running biogas project and 94.5% of digester capacity were located in southern areas to demarcation line constituted by boundaries of Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan. Two-way growth in amount and growth trend was shown in southeast coast and southwest regions, while unidirectional growth of amount in inland areas.     

Optimization of biogas production by anaerobic digestion for sustainable energy development in Zimbabwe

There is increasing international interest in developing low carbon renewable energy technologies. Biomass is increasingly being utilized as an energy source throughout the world. Several modern technologies have been developed that convert biomass to bioenergy. Anaerobic digestion is a mature energy technology for converting biomass to biogas, which is a renewable primary energy source. Biogas is a robust fuel that can be used to supply heat, electricity, process steam and methanol. There are vast biomass resources in Zimbabwe that have good potential for biogas production by anaerobic digestion. However, anaerobic digestion is not being optimally used as a biomass conversion technology in the country. This paper presents an overview of biogas production in Zimbabwe and outlines technical options that can be utilized to optimize biogas production by anaerobic digestion in the country.     

我国沼气发展的区域差异及影响因素分析

文章根据收集的2013年全国各省、直辖市沼气发展相关数据,深入分析了我国沼气发展的区域特点,并针对我国沼气的健康发展提出相应建议。研究表明:各地区农村经济发展水平、农村劳动力转移情况以及地区发展沼气适宜性是导致我国农村沼气发展存在区域差异的重要因素;不同地区经济发展水平不同是导致小型沼气工程发展规模存在区域差异的重要因素;服务体系较发达地区与欠发达地区正常运作的沼气工程比例无明显差异,说明我国沼气服务体系不完善,未能发挥应有作用。根据研究结果,提出了通过向经济不发达但适宜发展沼气的地区提供资金和技术支持,培养专业人才队伍,完善服务体系,促进我国沼气事业健康发展的政策建议。     

Cost of anaerobic digestion technology: Household biogas plants in India

An attempt towards the development of a generalized framework for analysis and evaluation of the various factors affecting the cost of the three types of biogas plants in India has been made. Four different approaches have been suggested for estimating the capital cost of biogas plants. The first cost function is based on the economies of scale in the capital cost, whereas the second cost function makes use of the fact that the ratio of the cost of a given size of plant to the cost of a reference plant remains almost constant in time. The third cost function takes into account the effect of retention time and other important factors on the capital cost, while the fourth cost function is based on the costs of constituents. An attempt to develop functional relationship for the operation and maintenance cost has also been made.     

Energy for sustainable road transportation in China: Challenges,initiatives and policy implications

This paper presents an overview of the initiatives launched in energy supply and consumption and the challenges encountered in sustainable road transportation development in China. It analyzes the main energy challenges related to road transportation development arising in the context of economic development, rapid urbanization, and improvement in living standards. It also discusses technological- and policy initiatives needed to deal with these challenges, drawing comparisons with foreign experience: promoting the development and dissemination of alternative fuels and clean vehicles such as: LPG, CNG, EV, HEV, FCV, ethanol, methanol, DME, bio-diesel, and CTL, strengthening regulations relating to vehicle fuel economy and emission, improving traffic efficiency and facilitating public transport development, and strengthening management of the soaring motor vehicle population. If the current pattern continues, by the year 2030, the vehicle population in China will be 400 million and fuel demand will be 350 million tons. The potential energy saving capacity being 60%, the actual oil demand by 2030 from on-road vehicles might technically be kept at the current level by improving fuel economy, propagating use of HEV and diesel vehicles, improving supply of alternative fuels, and developing public transport. Several uncertainties are identified that could greatly influence the effect of the technical proposals: traffic efficiency, central government's resolve, and consumers' choice.     

中国农村户用沼气生产及其影响因素分析

对我国农村沼气生产情况进行了分析,认为我国农村沼气生产在取得较快发展的同时,存在较大的地区差异.文中采用面板数据对农村沼气生产影响因素进行分析,指出我国农村沼气生产明显受到该地区大牲畜存栏数量、平均温度、农户收入水平以及制度和技术进步因素的影响,而农户人均受教育程度和沼气的替代能源价格等因素对沼气生产的影响并不明显.     

On energy for sustainable development in Nigeria

The fuel driving the engine of growth and sustainable development of any nation is the nation's access to reliable and adequate energy. Access to energy is a crucial enabling condition for achieving sustainable development. Prudent energy policies and research can play an important role in steering both industrialized and developing countries onto more sustainable energy development paths. Specifically, they can strengthen the three pillars of sustainable development: the economy, by boosting productivity; social welfare, by improving living standards and enhancing safety and security; and the environment, by reducing indoor and outdoor pollution and remediating environmental degradation. Many factors that need to be considered and appropriately addressed in moving towards energy sustainability in Nigeria are examined in this article. These include full exploitation and promotion of renewable energy resources and application of energy conservation measures in various sectors such as manufacturing industrial set-up, office and residential buildings and transportation.     

抓住发展机遇争取政策支持--评述以风电为主的可再生能源发展形势及政策支持的效益

一目前是风电发展的最好时机。一是清洁的可再生能源声誉随着环保意识的提高而日显突出。现在各级政府很重视环境建设 ,把保护生态环境提高到可持续发展的战略高度来对待。世界工业发达国家都把发展清洁的可再生能源 ,特别是发展较快、而且替代矿物能源比较多的风力发电 ,做为治理环境污染 ,减少污染源的重要措施。现在人们一说到加强环境建设 ,就联想到加强可再生能源发展。所以说可再生能源到了应时而生的时候。二是领导重视。各级领导逐步认识到开发利用可再生能源有多方面的作用 ,它不仅是建设生态省的需要 ,同时也是调整能源结构 ,弥补…     

Energy policies for sustainable livelihoods and sustainable development of poor areas in China

Focusing on the sustainable livelihoods of rural households and regional sustainable development, this research takes Yan’an at the upper reaches of Yellow River and Zhaotong at mid-upper reaches of the Yangtze River as the study areas, extracts the central affecting factors of energy consumption and characteristic indexes of energy zoning based on 1560 rural household questionnaires of 85 villages in 4 counties (districts) and database analysis of socio-economic development, conducts energy zoning for the poor areas in China, and puts forward specific supporting policies for each type of zone. The research finds that (1) the study areas are found to have the following energy consumption characteristics: low per capita energy consumption (merely 1/4 of the national average), with energy consumption for non-production purposes taking up the main part (more than 70%), high proportion of non-commercial energy, i.e. firewood, straw, etc. (more than 45%), low utilization rate of such new energy resources as biogas, solar energy, etc. (lower than 2% in high mountain regions), remarkable differentiation of vertical and horizontal zonality, etc. (2) Physical conditions like temperature and topography, socio-economic factors, i.e. income of rural households, energy endowment, transportation conditions, and institutional factors like policy support are the major affecting factors of energy consumption and characteristic indexes of energy policy zoning. (3) According to the characteristic index evaluation and matrix classification of both the suitability for energy development and types of regional energy endowment, the poor areas in China can be divided into three energy policy-oriented zones, i.e. network-based centralized energy supply zone, diversified energy utilization zone, and new energy utilization zone.     

新疆农村沼气发展布局

文章通过对新疆发展沼气的自然条件和农村基础条件的分析，认为利用新疆独具的光热资源，全疆绝大多数地区都可以发展沼气，重点是发展户用沼气。提出东疆、南疆重点推广“畜沼果(棉)”沼气生态模式；北疆重点推广养殖型“五位一体”沼气生态模式；边远牧区、半农半牧区重点推广“两池两棚—草场”沼气生态模式。同时阐述了新疆发展沼气的基本思路、发展规模、对策与建议及实施措施。     

Coal chemical industry and its sustainable development in China

China is rich in coal resource, which is vital for energy security in this country. In early 21st century, the coal chemical industry in China will be oriented to the development of high efficiency, safety, cleanliness, and optimum utilization. In this review, the authors present an introduction to the utilization status of primary energy production and consumption in China. Since 2005, fundamental research studies, supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Chinese National Basic Research Program, have been carried out at Taiyuan University of Technology. The Ministry stresses that the new coal chemical industry should be developed in a sustainable manner to realize effective utilization of energy. Moreover, upgrading the high technology to improve actively the recycling processes of coal chemical engineering is of strategic importance to realize the modern coal chemical engineering.     

东北地区农村沼气工程管理模式初探

农村沼气工程是一种环境友好型的小型公益项目。沼气的使用,可有效地提高资源的利用率,创新资源使用模式,改善农村环境,实现农业生态系统物质的多层次利用与能量的多级循环,从而实现经济效益与生态效益的有机统一。目前,农村沼气工程的管理模式趋于落后,为了改变这一现状,要在完善技术的基础上加强沼气工程后续的行政管理工作,使沼气工程从根本上发挥其应有的作用。