Study of Alternative Green Energy Resources from Agricultural Residues

Abstract

Seeking alternative resources of energy has become a necessary requirement all over the world because of the rising of energy lack problems. Most of world's consumption of energy counts on fossil fuel sources that became very limited. Therefore the search for renewable resources has become a must. One of the most controversial technologies is the anaerobic digestion process. A lot of researches are being conducted to investigate the best methods for improving the performance of this process in order to increase its economic value in terms of producing biogas rich in methane, solids effluent that is rich in organics that can be used as fertilizer, liquid effluent rich in nutrients and be an effective way of solid waste disposal to decrease the dependency on landfills. Agricultural waste forms a huge amount of total waste generations that exceeds almost 50% of municipal solid waste in some countries. More than half of these amounts are not being utilized in proper way. After the crops harvest, the problem appear because the farmers seek to get rid of residues to prepare the field for the new cultivate. Therefore, the crop residues are being thrown in drains or canals or even being burnt which is considered a big economical loss of this amount of biomass and organics in addition to the resulting harmful effects like spread of diseases, harmful emissions and attraction of pests and pathogens.