Question

What is the chemical nature of biogas? Name the bacteria involved in the production of biogas.

Answer 1

Biofuel made by organic elements for various processes. It is a fuel derived from living matter or from biomass such as plant and animal waste and algae material. It is a source of renewable energy, and economically cheaper

Complete answer:
Biogas is primarily composed of methane gas, carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide. It occurs naturally in compost heaps, like swamp gas, and a result of enteric fermentation in cattle and other ruminants.
Biogas is a biofuel produced from the anaerobic fermentation of carbohydrates in plant material or waste(like fruit peelings or manure) by bacteria. If some oxygen is present, the bacteria will respire aerobically and will produce a gas with a higher proportion of carbon dioxide or a lower proportion of methane.
‘Jashbhai Patel’ designed and made several small-scale biogas digesters, envisaging farm laborers as the user. The gases methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide (CO) can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel; it can be used for any heating purpose, such as Cooking. It can also be used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat.
As this gas has benefits but it also has some demerits as biogas risks include explosion, asphyxiation, disease, and hydrogen sulfide poisoning. An unfortunate disadvantage of biogas is that its production isn’t that efficient and there are not such technologies yet discovered to simplify the process to make it abundant and low cost.
The bacteria which produce the gaseous mixture are collectively known as ‘Methanogens’. ‘Methanobacterium’ is present inside the rumen of the cattle and the sludge produced during sewage treatment.

Note: China was the world’s leading producer of biogas in 2014, totaling some 15 billion cubic meters in production. The use of biogas plants is also common in developing nations where manure may be converted into biogas.