Introduction

Environmentally friendly energy alternatives have been sought over hundreds of years ever since
the scientists have discovered that there are only limited fuels here on earth. Environmental stability
became very questionable with the excessive use of fossil fuels and other waste-creating materials in
everyday life for power and productivity. As a response, scientists have been finding a cheap and
accessible energy source to fuel our daily lives. Thankfully, one of these sources that they discovered is
Biogas or Gobar gas. Biogas is a form of fuel that contains approximately 55- 65% methane gas, 30 -
40% carbon dioxide, and a minimal amount of hydrogen, ammonia, and sulfide. This gas can be found
anywhere from swampy marshes to the natural excrement of animals, making it easy to find and
environment friendly (Prakash, Kumar, Pandey, 2005). With industrial processes having yet to show
signs of slowing down, the introduction of the concept of Biogas does give leverage as a potential
solution to the problem. The combustive potential of Biogas makes it a very efficient fuel alternative,
which scientists have yet to fully develop at its full potential and utility in everyday use.

However, as wonderful as it may be, this discovery cannot be without a flaw. In a recent study
conducted by Rinkesh(2020), it is found that Biogas, although they show potential, are not pure enough
in the form of concentration to be utilized to their full extent and may cause damage to machines such as
car engines because of the impurity. An article by Hannifin (2016) explained that digestion processes
these days are mostly saturated with water vapor, which contains other varying degrees of other
impurities. These include Hydrogen Sulphide, Halogen Compounds (Chlorides, Fluorides), Ammonia,
Siloxanes, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Aside from these, there are also dust and dirt
particles that should be removed from the Biogas.

This paper suggests the use of biotechnology to help purify and cleanse the Biogas for optimum
utilization. Given the climatological changes that have surfaced in recent years, the use of Biogas as an
additional fuel source is needed more than ever, and it must be fully utilized if we want to carry forward
as an energy-dependent species. With human activity showing to be one of the biggest producers of
non-friendly elements to the atmosphere, it is only necessary to find a point of balance in productivity
and ozone safety through safe and efficient biogas production.

Review of Related Literature

Biogas has contributed to the emergence of sustainable and attainable energy. It is also of great
help to the environment since it does not harm any elements on the planet and does not produce waste.
Instead, this solution consumes wastes and converts them to renewable energy for power sources.
Biogas is a biofuel coming from the decomposition of organic materials like food scraps, animal wastes,
sludge from wastewater treatment plants, animal manure, and other biodegradable waste from industrial
facilities, etc. At the decomposition of such organic materials, these are exposed to an environment with
no oxygen, and then a mixture of gases will be produced. Most of these gases are methane and carbon
dioxide (Biogas Definition: What Is Biogas Production? What Are Its Stages?, 2020).

Biogas can be utilized in numerous ways. It depends on how it is processed and further
converted. If it has little to no processing, it can be used for heating. However, if it is processed through
a combustion engine, fuel cell, or gas turbine, it can be used as electricity. In the meantime, the
digestate, the remains after the digestion process, can be further used as fertilizer for farms. Another
use would be only utilized if Biogas is refined to remove the carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other trace
gases in it. This way, it becomes acceptable in the natural gas industries’ standards to be injected into
the existing natural gas grid or pipelines. Lastly, if the Biogas is converted to compressed natural gas
(CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG), it can be used for fuels for vehicles (Tanigawa, 2017)
 Anaerobic digestion process (Graphic by Sara Tanigawa, EESI)

All of the uses mentioned, however, depend on how much purified the Biogas is. To elaborate,
here is a table to illustrate the benefits per level of purification.

Biogas purification and utilization (L.D. Nghiem, 2017)

Failure to remove such impurities, namely, CO 2, water vapor, H2S, NH3, and siloxanes, might
cause different impacts. CO2 results in a reduction of calorific value. Water vapor leads to corrosion in
compressors and engines, accumulation of water in pipes and condensation, or freezing due to high
pressure. H2S, on the other hand, causes oxidation to corrosive gases. NH 3 has an impact on correcting
compressors, gas storage tanks, and engines when combined with water. Siloxanes result in the
formation of abrasive materials causing excessive wear and tear and scaling of spark plugs and
equipment (L.D. Nghiem, 2017).

On the other hand, biotechnology has its way of responding to pollution and impurities. For
example, it has a traditional biofiltration system, which refers to filtration processes where there are
porous materials inhabited by indigenous microbial communities in the filter. Those microorganisms then
perform at least one of the significant functions of the filtration process. A few examples of these are
Granular Active Carbon (GAC) filters, Rapid Sand filters (RSFs), and Slow Sand filters (SSFs) (F.
Hammes, S. Velten, T. Egli, T. Juhna, 2011).
 To dig deeper, one of the impurities of Biogas is the water vapor. It could cause condensation of
gas pipelines and corrosion. Its high concentration decreases the concentration of methane gas and
causes problems within the cogenerator that results in difficulties in starting up and burning Biogas. A
method to remove water vapor with the use of biotechnology is through adsorption using silica gel. Silica
gel is a form of colloidal silica that is composed of high porous grains that can absorb and retain
substantial quantities of water (Gwadera & Kupiec, 2015). With the use of metal pipes, directly coated
with silica gels on the surface, adsorption of water vapor takes place thus, removing the 0.3% of water
vapor in Biogas (Lohani, Pandey & Baral, 2017).

The next impurity is the hydrogen sulfide. And to solve this, biotechnology also suggests another
filtering method. According to Bio-Sulfex’s process of ATZ-EVUS, desulfurization occurs inside a
separate biofilter located outside the fermentation reactor. Processing in a separate biofilter prevents
numerous adverse effects such as anaerobic process impairment as well as reduced yields of Biogas.
Biological re-dissolution and accumulation of sulfur within the reactor of fermentation along with
corrosion due to increased concentration levels of sulfuric acids, which often occur during desulfurization
through the process of aerial blasts directly into the fermentation reactor are also prevented. To add to
this, the separation of desulfurization from the fermentation tank allows us to set up the optimal
conditions necessary for operations, such as the decomposition of hydrogen sulfide. Most notable for the
formation of biocoenosis, which is a significant producer of elementary sulfur, thus leading to noticeably
more efficient and stable cleaning performance, theoretically, optimal adjustments to the parameters of
the process parameters are of utmost importance. Through this, a considerable amount of the continents
of H2S can be lowered. A schematic diagram of the BIO-Sulfex process can be observed below. (A.
Choudhury, T. Shelford, G. Felton, S. Lansing, 2019)

(A. Choudhury, T. Shelford, G. Felton, S. Lansing, 2019)

Thiobacteria can be noted as the reason why the H2S decomposes and preferably produce
elementary sulfur. These are connected to a bed material, which is flowed through by raw biogasses
directly coming from the digestion tank. Cleansing of the bed material is needed as well to remove the
sulfur that was produced. Also, the cleansing agent used must be able to supply the required thiobacilli
onto the bed material with nutrients while at the same time rinsing off any formed sulfur out of the
column. For this, it may be easier to use solid-free outflow from a digester. A circuit conducts the
flushing liquid. It has to be replaced continuously by fresh fluid to prevent a build-up of sulfur. The
flushing process may occur in fixed time intervals, and the liquid removed may be used for other things
such as fertilizer in agriculture, A. Choudhury, T. Shelford, G. Felton, S. Lansing (Dec 2019).
 A further concern about biogas production is the inhibition of Ammonia or NH3. Even supposing
that its molecules are sources of nutrients for bacterial growth throughout the anaerobic digestion cycle,
these are lethally toxic to bacteria, in particular, if high ammonia concentrations. Accordingly, as Biogas
has drawn attention globally, failures and difficulties of the anaerobic digestion process are frequently
happening due to ammonia poisoning of anaerobic digestion facilities. For instance, when combined with
water, correcting compressors, gas storage tanks, and engines are working unstable. Ammonia
inhibition was then accountable for the severe economic losses and reactor failures (Rajagopal et al.,
2013). However, this impurity can be eliminated through a physicochemical process called ammonia
stripping. Based on the ammonia stripping demonstration by Branch Environmental Corporation (n.d),
the biotechnology stripper is dependent on the given temperature and pH. Thus, if the process is
conducted, these factors are adjusted before the water enters the stripper. Once the liquid is in, these
turn to be small droplets inside the packing media. The air fan present under the tower subsequently
travels upward across the packing, allowing some ammonia dissolved gas to transfer from water to the
air. High on pH, temperature, and airflow and more excellent packed bed depth favor high efficiency.
Study says that Ammonia Stripping is a substitute for intensive treatments that are often tricky and costly
(Folino et al., 2020)

Ammonia Stripper Design (Branch Environmental Corp., n.d.)

Next, Siloxane is also one of the impurities of Biogas that needs to be removed. The siloxanes
contained in the slop will volatize and turn into an undesirable constituent of the subsequent Biogas.
This issue can be exacerbated by the way that silicones-based enemies of frothing specialists are
regularly added to the digesters; these silicones, at times, biodegrade into siloxanes (Mccarrick, 2012).
According to Lima (2014), by eliminating this chemical compound it can guarantee a consistent
performance of the machinery that is most frequently used like combustion engines, boilers, gas
turbines, etc. Their solution for it is through biogas refinement to incorporate siloxane evacuation for the
sifted medium too. High-caliber, non-impregnated activated carbon is utilized as an adsorption specialist
in the siloxane expulsion measure. Activated carbon (AC) is commonly used to eradicate organic
substances from gases and liquids due to its superior absorbent properties. Carbon filtering is a method
of filtering that uses a bed of activated carbon to remove contaminants and impurities, using chemical
adsorption. According to the study of Gong et al. (2015), the AC surface has narrow mesopores that are
more desirable for siloxane absorption. As for the AC surface functional groups, it was revealed from the
results attained by Boehm titration that the alkaline and phenolic groups are much more promising for
the siloxane absorption.

For the last one, carbon dioxide or CO 2 should also be removed from the Biogas to prevent the
reduction of energy efficiency of the gas mixture. Gratefully, biotechnology has its way to answer this
problem. Activated carbon filters are porous materials that are small pieces of carbon, usually in granular
or powdered block form. It has a vast surface area that, within just one gram of activated carbon, there
might be a surface area of 500m2 or higher. Because of this, these carbon filters can adsorb more
contaminants and allergens than traditional carbon. Adsorption refers to the process of organic
compounds in the air or water reacting chemically with the activated carbon, which leads them to stick to
the filter (Sarah, 2014). Activated carbon can come from discarded coconut shells. According to a study
from Grigorios Itskos (2015), porous carbon-based materials are highly thermal, chemically stable, and
sound in adsorption. The coconut shells are also ideal for pollution prevention because they are
recyclable and affordable. With that given, coconut shells can become efficient sources for activated
carbon. Activated carbon is versatile and has lots of applications and uses. However, most importantly,
this can be used in gas-phase applications, specifically gas purification. It can filter and remove
hydrogen sulfide and retain sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides from flue gases and many more. There is
also gas separation, a newly developed application of activated carbon in which there is a separation of
components like hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide from natural gas (Rodríguez-Reinoso, 2001).

Discussion

This group suggests to develop further and enhance the performance and use of Biogas. This is
done by eliminating the mentioned impurities of Biogas from the discussed articles in the review of
related literature, namely: Water vapor, Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia, Siloxanes, and Carbon Dioxide.
Since these particles may damage the pipelines of the Biogas and reduce its value, it is only right to
utilize biotechnology to eradicate the said substances. For the application, the group proposes first to
remove the Water vapor, and then the Hydrogen Sulfide next is the Ammonia, Siloxanes, and Carbon
Dioxide.

Firstly, water vapor is removed through adsorption with Silica gel. The gel would be lined and
coated directly on the pipelines to adsorb the unwanted water vapor. Next, the gas will then proceed to a
Bio-Sulfex module outside the fermentation reactor, which contains biofilters that desulfurize the gas.
This biofilter will contain Thiobacteria, which decomposes the H2S or hydrogen sulfide. After this
process, other equipment will be used to remove another impurity, which is Ammonia or NH3. The group
asserts the use of physicochemical processes in the method of biotechnology stripping. Therefore, the
temperature and pH of the stripper must be adjusted before the substance or gas enters the equipment.
The equipment contains air fans that allow some ammonia to be dissolved and to transfer to the air.
Lastly, the Siloxane, together with the Carbon Dioxide, will be removed through the use of Activated
Carbons. These are porous materials that are usually in granular or powdered block form. These
carbons will adsorb such impurities and stick them in the filter placed in the pipes. After all of those
processes, the Biogas will then be purified and clean enough to achieve optimum utilization.

Conclusion

Renewable energy sources are in high demand and interest nowadays. More and more people
are looking towards solving issues on energy sources. Given the idea of Biogas, it does not only solve
energy problems but also environmental and waste management issues. The innovation and large-scale
production of Biogas could help reduce soil and water pollution, prevent health and biodiversity loss,
generate organic fertilizers, and lessen the emissions of greenhouse gases; therefore, combat climate
change. As Biogas could be vital and essential to our everyday living, it is a highly recommended
technology to be used. But the completion of the production of Biogas also has its difficulties, which are
the impurities as mentioned above. With the suggested ways in eliminating these impurities, Biogas is
now efficiently available for small and large scale productions. The proposed methods of dissolution of
these impurities make Biogas a more accessible, paving the way to the production of more eco-friendly
and time-efficient energy sources.
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