The development history of biogas compression and utilization has roughly gone through the following stages:
Early Exploration Stage
Abroad: In 1776, Italian scientist Volta discovered that fermentation of rotten organic matter in swamps would produce a combustible gas, which was an early scientific understanding of biogas. In 1860, France built the world's first anaerobic digester for treating urban sewage, which can be regarded as an early practice of biogas utilization, but the main purpose at that time was to treat sewage, not energy utilization.
In China: According to research, around 2000 BC, ancient Chinese people began to use anaerobic fermentation technology to produce biogas. However, it is clearly recorded that in 1935, scholar Luo Guorui held the "China Guorui Natural Gas Workshop" in Niufu Town, Fushun County, Sichuan, and established a masonry biogas tank, but due to the limitations of the conditions at the time, it failed to continue to be promoted.
Initial Development Stage
Abroad: In the early 20th century, some European countries began to use biogas for lighting and heating. For example, in Germany in the 1920s, some farms used biogas produced by biogas tanks to provide lighting and part of the heat energy for farm buildings.
China: In the 1950s, China began to promote biogas technology, mainly by building small biogas digesters in rural areas for household cooking and lighting. However, due to the technical and economic conditions at the time, the scale and gas production efficiency of biogas digesters were relatively low. In 1958, Chairman Mao Zedong affirmed biogas construction and instructed to "promote it well", but due to lack of experience and technology, the trial results were not ideal.
Rapid development stage
Abroad: In the 1970s, the oil crisis prompted Western countries to vigorously develop renewable energy, and biogas technology received widespread attention. The United States, Germany, Sweden and other countries invested a lot of money and technology in the research and development and application and promotion of biogas technology. For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency established the Buried Methane Utilization Program (LMOP) in 1994, combining buried gas with biofuel applications, and more than 400 buried gas energy utilization projects were implemented.
China: In the 1970s, China also ushered in a climax in the development of biogas. In 1972, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Sichuan Provincial Revolutionary Committee successively held national biogas fermentation field meetings to promote the promotion of biogas technology. Since then, biogas pools have been built in various places, and some areas have achieved biogasification. In the 1980s, the country increased its investment in biogas technology research and development, and biogas has become increasingly important in the rural energy structure. It is not only used for domestic energy, but also widely used in agriculture, animal husbandry and other fields.
Modern mature stage
Abroad: Entering the 21st century, foreign biogas compression and utilization technology has become more mature, and its application areas have continued to expand. In addition to being used for power generation and heating, biogas is also widely used in the transportation field, such as compressed biogas vehicles. Germany, Sweden and other countries have built a large number of biogas filling stations to provide fuel for biogas vehicles.
China: Since the 21st century, China's biogas industry has entered a stage of transformation and upgrading. With the increase in policy support, the scale of biogas engineering projects has continued to expand and the technical level has continued to improve. Biogas compression and utilization technology has gradually matured, and biogas purification, purification and compression technologies have continued to improve, enabling biogas to be more widely used in industry, transportation and other fields. Some large-scale biogas projects compress biogas and incorporate it into the natural gas pipeline network or use it as vehicle fuel, which improves the utilization efficiency and value of biogas.
