Investigating the Potential of Biogas and Energy Generation from Biomass Resources in Villages of Iran with Sustainable Development Approach

Energy crisis is the most important crisis threatening mankind. Recently, using biogas has been put under focus due to the problems caused by widespread dependence to oil and scarcity of energy resources. In addition, using biogas as a fuel supply can saliently reduce greenhouse gases and consequently reduce global warming. Also, other advantages of biogas generation from biomass resources are waste minimization and sanitary manure generation. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential of biogas and energy production from biomass resources in the villages of Iran with anapproach to supply energy at the consumption place and to reduce transportation costs.
In this study, potential of biogas production from cattle refuse is evaluated according to the numbers of cattle existing in Iran villages and determination of cattle refuse quantity.
Results show that 11.195 million m3 biogas can be produced from 63 million cattle in villages of Iran. The extractable biogas from rustic biodegradable wastes was also determined. It was found that, annually, 487 million m3 biogas can be produced from 1249000 tons of waste per.
Generally, this study revealed that biogas and energy generation from biomass resources in villages of Iran with an approach to supply energy at the consumption place and to reduce transportation costs has economical efficiency and can be as a national strategy for achieving sustainable development.