A survey on potential of biogas production from livestock and rural wastes using GIS in Kurdistan Province

Biogas is a renewable energy resource which is produced by the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria under anaerobic conditions. In order to find the appropriate locations for establishment of biogas extraction units, the availability of organic wastes and its amount estimation over the area have to be taken into consideration. The present study addresses on how the utilization of information such as rural and livestock population, and land applicable maps and geographic information system (GIS) could be used to develop a model for evaluation of biogas production from livestock manure and rural waste in Kurdistan Province. The model could be used to figure out the appropriate locations for construction of biogas extraction units. The results showed that 110.622 MMC of biogas could be annually produced using livestock manure and rural wastes in Kurdistan Province which might be a good replacement for conventional energy and lead to reduce environmental impacts.