In a biogas installation biomass (human/animal dung and biological waste) will go through a chemical process. This produces flammable methane, which can be used to cook. The rest-product can be used as a fertiliser.
A biogas installation exists out of an archway connected to three pipelines: two which function as an entrance for biomass and one to transfer the methane produced. The latter can be transferred to the kitchen, where it can be used to cook. Using methane reduces the use of expensive and dangerous petroleum.
Other advantages of this system compared to other systems, is that less wood is needed for the use of fire (and thus deforestation and erosion is decreased), it saves time which can be used for other activities (for example income generating processes) and the emission of greenhouse gasses is limited.
The size and contents of the installation can be adjusted to the size of the building it is used for. Although exact numbers differ in different sources of literature, it is useful to consider some averages to indicate the use of a biogas installation. It should be noted though that the functioning of the installation is dependent upon factors such as temperature, presence of water and the use of the installation.
The average amount of content for a household installation is 3.5 m3 of gas. Each unit provides for approximately 1,2-1,4m3 gas per day. An average household cooking system would use approximately 0,45m3 gas per hour. The system would needs to be filled with about 24-30kg (2 a 3 buffalos) of biomass.
