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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Balance Between the Technical, Economic and Cultural, November 13, 2000
David Fulford has written an outstanding text on the advantages and challenges of running a biogas programme in a third world country. Mr. Fulford's text outlines the myriad applications that biogas plants can perform, and demonstrates the practical utility of this renewable energy resource. Many people, from bureaucrats to engineers, as well as the concerned and proactive layperson, can learn a great deal from this volume. The text contains twelve chapters and five appendices, and includes a handy glossary for the novice and a very well researched bibliography. Although the book was first published in 1988, it manages to give the reader a sense of what it takes to organize and administer a biogas program in a third world country. Many of the issues raised in the book are still relevant today. The first three chapters set the stage for biogas programs in lesser developed and developing countries by outlining the reasons for launching a biogas program and detailing the operation and management of biogas programs. In particular, the second chapter uses examples of national biogas programs in Asia, particularly India, Nepal, Tibet and China, and demonstrates the management lessons to be learned from each country's experience. Chapters four through eight outline the theory and practice of biogas digester operation and management. Starting with how and why biogas is produced, the reader is introduced to various anaerobic (biogas) digester designs and ultimately ways in which the biogas can be harnessed and utilized. Every aspect of biogas production, from the procurement of materials for the construction of primary and secondary equipment to troubleshooting problems in operation, is rigorously and tersely explained. For the cost conscious bureaucrat or NGO worker, chapter nine presents the economics of a biogas plant. Here the reader learns of the possible applications of biogas, which types of biogas applications are the most economical, and ways of structuring the financing of biogas projects so that they are affordable for rural users. Mr. Fulford demonstrates with detailed calculations and copious anecdotal experience that biogas for use in irrigation and milling in a rural setting is the most practical and economical. Chapter ten is largely devoted to the topic of community biogas programs. Because biogas plants are far too expensive for any one rural inhabitant, Fulford argues that the best way to implement a biogas program is to have a community of individuals come together and finance, build and operate the biogas plant. To his credit, Fulford goes on to show the advantages and challenges (many of them cultural and economic) to such an approach with actual case studies. Chapter eleven stresses the need for an active, continuous research and development program at the regional and national level which can provide ongoing technical support and transfer technical breakthroughs and lower cost technologies to rural users. Finally, chapter twelve delves into the thorny issue of the politics surrounding biogas, and cites the ambivalent committment of national governments and international development organizations to the provision of both cheap power and economic independence to third world rural inhabitants. The appendices offer detailed information on the scientific theory underlying biogas digestion and the economic assumptions used to determine if a biogas plant is worthwhile for a given situation. The appendices also provide instructions on the construction of several types of biogas plants and secondary equipment, and some handy information on establishing a workable regional and national research and development program in biogas for lesser developed countries. On the plus side, the book comes full of charts, diagrams, graphs and tables containing a plethora of useful information. Moreover, the book's major strength is its ability to demonstrate for the reader what works and what doesn't, all with a great sensitivity to cultural nuances. However, one weakness of the book is its lack of examples or case studies of biogas applications in African and Latin American nations, two regions of the world which could really benefit from such technology. While the book may not offer much insight into running a biogas program in a first world nation, it does offer many good technical, economic, and cultural rules of thumb that can be applied in any setting. Readers who have an interest in renewable resources and renewable energy can learn much from this book.
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by David House
