Biogas production technology: An Indian perspective

Biogas technology provides an alternate source of energy in rural India, an d is hailed as an archetypal appropriate technology that meets the basic ne ed for cooking fuel in rural areas. Using local resources, viz. cattle wast e and other organic wastes, energy and manure are derived. Realization of t his potential and the fact that India supports the largest cattle wealth le d to the promotion of National Biogas Programme in a major way in the late 1970s as an answer to the growing fuel crisis. Biogas is produced from orga nic wastes by concerted action of various groups of anaerobic bacteria. An attempt has been made in this review on the work done by our scientists in understanding the microbial diversity in biogas digesters, their interactio ns, factors affecting biogas production, alternate feedstocks, and uses of spent slurry.