Question

Name two constituents of biogas?

Answer 1

Hint: Bio-gas is a clean and efficient fuel that can be developed from the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Even though it is referred to as a gas, it is a mixture of different types of gases.

Complete step-by-step solution -

Biogas is the type of gas that can be used as clean fuel and which is produced from the biological components of nature such as plant and animal biomass. Biogas is a renewable energy source hence; it is considered as a major part of the carbon cycle.
Anaerobic bacteria are the micro-organism behind the production of biogas. They can grow enormously without oxygen and it can be unicellular or multicellular. Most of the anaerobic bacteria will die when they are exposed to oxygen. Fixed dome type plant and floating gas holder type plant are the two major biogas plant methods. The stored biomass materials will become slurry and allow to decay for months. During this time anaerobic bacteria will spread in this slurry. They will start to decompose the biomass in the presence of water. This anaerobic fermentation will lead to the development of gases. Hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis are the four steps that take place during the production of biogas.
Generally a biogas contains, methane \[(C{{H}_{4}})\], carbon dioxide \[(C{{O}_{2}})\], nitrogen \[({{N}_{2}})\], hydrogen sulphide \[({{H}_{2}}S)\] etc. In this, methane will be around 50-75 percent and carbon dioxide will be around 25-50 percent. These are the two major compounds present in the biogas.

Additional information:
Biogas can be used as an alternative energy source, fertilizer and a minimizer for the pollution. It does not require daily hand care and expensive raw materials. Moreover, it can reduce the spread of diseases. It has high calorific value, no residues, no smoke and economical value.

Note: There will be a chance to think that biogas contains oxygen, since oxygen is the most abundant element in the earth. But this wrong concept. The entire procedure of the production of biogas is doing without the oxygen. Maybe it contains at very less amount. But it is better to answer the major components of biogas such as methane, and carbon dioxide.