Biogas Plant Opportunities in Bangladesh

 


PhD Research Project - Mizan Khondokar

In Bangladesh the field of waste management is in its infancy. Currently the seventh populous country in the world, only around 18% of population has access to electricity and 73% of energy consumption comes from biomass fuel, such as agricultural residues, tree residues, fuel wood, and dung.

The use of biomass from trees is not only an ineffective means of energy generation but also extremely detrimental to the environment, with forest cover dropping to less than 9% of the country. The decrease in forest cover contributes, among other adverse affects on the environment, to the increase in likelihood of flooding. Anaerobic digestion might thus be an effective means to tackle both waste management and energy production.

This PhD research project seeks to develop practical solutions for sustainable waste management in Bangladesh, considering social, financial as well as environmental aspects in order to develop solutions, rather than just applying technologies.

The Life Cycle Assessment approach seeks to understand the opportunities for developing anaerobic digestion in Bangladesh while taking into account the impact of the whole process and having a complete understanding of the environmental costs and benefits of AD as an integrated solution for rural waste management and energy production.