A review of potential innovations in the biogas production process

With the increase in energy consumption and wastes generation due to human activities, anaerobic digestion (AD), a technology which turns wastes into bio-energy, is receiving more and more attention in the world. Biogas is renewable, clean and relatively mature energy, but most biogas commercial plants still need significant financial incentives. In addition, a shortage of locally available, cheaper and digestible materials reduces biogas productivity, especially for large biogas plants (larger than 1 MWat). Therefore, innovations that can improve the cost and efficiency of biogas energy technology resources are needed. Over the past few years, a number of potentially innovative processes for biogas technology have been proposed and explored. However, most of these new concepts have had little impact on technology development. Therefore, it is necessary to review the reports that compare, analyze and evaluate the appropriateness of these methods and the technological superiority and real commercialization potential. This article reviews the latest innovations and articles related to biogas production. It also provides ideas for new innovations by identifying future research needs.