Biogas Production Potential from Livestock Manure in Pakistan

Muhammad U. Khan, Muhammad Ahmad, Muhammad Sultan, Ihsanullah Sohoo, Prakash C. Ghimire, Azlan Zahid, Abid Sarwar, Muhammad Farooq, Uzair Sajjad, Peyman Abdeshahian and Maryam Yousaf
Additional contact information
Muhammad U. Khan: Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Ahmad: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 102488, China
Muhammad Sultan: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Ihsanullah Sohoo: Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics, Hamburg University of Technology, Blohmstr. 15, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
Prakash C. Ghimire: Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), 2514 JG Den Haag, The Netherlands
Azlan Zahid: Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Abid Sarwar: Department of Irrigation and Drainage, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Farooq: Department of Mechanical Engineering (New Campus-KSK), University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Uzair Sajjad: Mechanical Engineering Department, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
Peyman Abdeshahian: Department of Microbiology, Masjed Soleiman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Masjed Soleiman, Iran
Maryam Yousaf: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 102488, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: Pakistan is facing a severe energy crisis due to its heavy dependency on the import of costly fossil fuels, which ultimately leads to expansive electricity generation, a low power supply, and interruptive load shedding. In this regard, the utilization of available renewable energy resources within the country for production of electricity can lessen this energy crisis. Livestock waste/manure is considered the most renewable and abundant material for biogas generation. Pakistan is primarily an agricultural country, and livestock is widely kept by the farming community, in order to meet their needs. According to the 2016–2018 data on the livestock population, poultry held the largest share at 45.8%, followed by buffaloes (20.6%), cattle (12.7%), goats (10.8%), sheep (8.4%), asses (1.3%), camels (0.25%), horses (0.1%), and mules (0.05%). Different animals produce different amounts of manure, based upon their size, weight, age, feed, and type. The most manure is produced by cattle (10–20 kg/day), while poultry produce the least (0.08–0.1 kg/day). Large quantities of livestock manure are produced from each province of Pakistan; Punjab province was the highest contributor (51%) of livestock manure in 2018. The potential livestock manure production in Pakistan was 417.3 million tons (Mt) in 2018, from which 26,871.35 million m 3 of biogas could be generated—with a production potential of 492.6 petajoules (PJ) of heat energy and 5521.5 MW of electricity. Due to its favorable conditions for biodigester technologies, and through the appropriate development of anaerobic digestion, the currently prevailing energy crises in Pakistan could be eliminated.

Keywords: renewable energy; biogas production; livestock manure; anaerobic digestion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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