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With growing concerns about food waste and the demand for clean electricity, biogas generators have become a powerful solution that bridges the gap between sustainability and energy needs.
At the heart of this process are biogas digesters—airtight containers where microorganisms break down food waste to produce clean, renewable biogas.
Studies show that expanding U.S. biogas infrastructure could power an additional 19 million homes with electricity, heat 21 million homes, or fuel 31 million vehicles each year—demonstrating the potential of biogas generation from waste.
Keep reading to learn the ins and outs of biogas generators, where we’ll explore how they work, their energy potential, common feedstocks, and more.
Key Takeaways
- Biogas-to-electricity conversion helps companies reduce their environmental footprint, unlock financial incentives, and become leaders in sustainability—a powerful combination that benefits both the planet and their bottom line.
- Each type of feedstock has unique traits that influence biogas production and system management, with common examples including food waste, manure, fats and oils, crop residues, and sewage sludge.
- Converting waste to energy offers a number of environmental benefits, such as capturing greenhouse gases, providing reliable 24/7 energy, and supporting a circular economy.
- The Linden Renewable Energy Project is a great example of how organic waste can be converted into renewable natural gas and soil amendments, helping companies turn food waste into clean energy and meet sustainability goals.
What Is a Biogas Generator & How Does It Work?
A biogas generator is a system that burns methane-rich biogas in an engine to produce electricity. By turning food waste into electricity, companies can reduce their environmental footprint, unlock financial incentives, and become leaders in sustainability—a powerful combination that benefits both the planet and their bottom line.
But the question still lingers: how can biogas be used to generate electricity?
Keep reading to better understand the biogas generation process.
1. Engine & Combustion Mechanics
Did you know that biogas contains chemical energy in the form of methane?
That said, the first step is to convert chemical energy into mechanical energy by drawing methane-rich biogas into an internal combustion engine. Inside the engine, the biogas mixes with air and is ignited under carefully controlled conditions.
Combustion drives pistons back and forth within the engine cylinders. As the pistons move, they rotate a crankshaft directly connected to a generator—also known as an alternator—which produces electricity.
2. Electricity Generation Process
Once the crankshaft is turning, it spins the rotor inside the generator at a steady speed. This rotation creates a moving magnetic field around coils of conductive wire, inducing an electrical current through electromagnetic induction.
In this way, the kinetic energy from combustion is transformed into clean, renewable electricity ready for use or distribution to the power grid.
3. Cogeneration Optimization
Cogeneration, or combined heat and power plants, simultaneously generate heat and power, making them ideal for industries that need both forms of energy.
This heat can be used to warm nearby facilities, provide hot water, or support industrial processes, thereby reducing overall energy waste. By combining power generation with heat recovery, the biogas generation system can achieve much higher overall energy efficiency compared to electricity production alone.
Energy Potential – How Much Power Can You Produce?
Adopting biogas technology unlocks significant energy potential while supporting the benefits of food waste management.
By turning discarded organic material into clean power, these systems create both environmental and economic value—for both small- and large-scale operations.
1. Small-Scale Power Output
Small-scale biogas digesters—commonly used at the household or community level—typically produce biogas with an energy content of about 6 kWh per cubic meter.
In households, reactors can be made of plastic containers or bricks, with sizes varying from 1,000 liters for a single family up to 100,000 liters for institutional or public toilet applications. In rural settings, these systems are commonly used to digest animal manure and kitchen waste, with toilet waste added only if desired. They work most effectively when they are fed consistently on a regular basis.
Overall, biogas systems can serve as an alternative to septic tanks, though they are generally less suitable for colder climates.
2. Community & Grid-Scale
Biogas generators can also be used to power entire communities. As described in this article, biogas generation is a “closed-loop system that essentially turns a neighborhood or business into its own power plant.”
How can it be used?
In various ways. Biomethane derived from cleaned biogas can fuel municipal vehicles to lower fuel costs and reduce emissions. It can also provide heat for buildings and power streetlights, emergency systems, schools, homes, and more.
3. Baseline vs. Intermittent Renewables
Intermittent renewables are energy sources like solar and wind that produce power only when natural conditions allow, causing fluctuations in their output. Baseline power sources, on the other hand, are capable of operating mostly continuously regardless of external conditions.
Although biogas is renewable, biogas electricity generators can run around the clock and provide a stable, reliable source of electricity. If they operate 24/7, biogas systems then help balance the variability of intermittent renewables, making them an excellent option for ensuring dependable energy supplies.
What Feedstocks Fuel a Biogas Generator?
Did you know that biogas can be produced from a broad range of feedstocks?
However, each type of feedstock has different characteristics, such as energy content, moisture level, and biodegradability, which affect how much biogas it can produce and how the system is managed.
Common Organic Inputs
The common types of feedstocks for biogas include:
- Food waste: With 30-40% of the food supply wasted in the United States, food waste to biogas conversion offers a huge opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of waste while producing clean energy. Different types of food waste can be used for biogas production, including waste derived from overproduction, plate waste, expired products, and more.
- Manure: When manure is used in biogas production, it reduces environmental impact while producing energy and biofertilizers. While it has low energy value and low biogas conversion efficiency, manure can be combined with other substrates in co-digestion processes to improve overall biogas production.
- Fats/oils/grease (FOG): FOG collected from the food service industry has been cited to increase biogas production by 30% or more when added directly to the anaerobic digester and may allow wastewater treatment plants to meet over 50% of their electricity demand through on-site generation. In other words, FOG has significant potential to enhance renewable energy generation.
- Crop residues: Plant biomass—such as leftover stalks, straw, and plant trimmings—is a renewable alternative to fossil fuels and is widely used as feedstock for biogas production. Although producing and collecting this material requires energy, its overall environmental impact is lower because plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, helping balance out emissions.
- Sewage sludge: Sewage sludge also has strong potential as a feedstock for biogas production. Currently, many wastewater treatment plants use anaerobic digesters but often burn the biogas instead of capturing it. Of 1,269 facilities with digesters, only about 860 use the biogas. Fully adopting energy recovery could reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 2.3 million metric tons, equal to the annual emissions from 430,000 passenger vehicles.
Co-Digestion Benefits
Codigestion refers to the simultaneous anaerobic digestion of multiple organic wastes in one digester. The goal?
To increase methane production from low-yielding or difficult-to-digest feedstocks.
According to a study on anaerobic co-digestion, “Mono-digestion (i.e., anaerobic digestion using one feedstock) suffers from challenges associated with feedstock characteristics. Co-digestion using multiple feedstocks provides the potential to overcome these limitations. Significant research and development efforts have highlighted several inherent merits of co-digestion, including enhanced digestibility due to synergistic effects of co-substrates, better process stability, and higher nutrient value of the produced co-digestate.”
Note: If you’re interested in learning how feedstock selection affects biochar quality, read our blog on biochar feedstock.
Why Biogas Generators Matter in Renewable Energy
Converting waste to energy offers a number of environmental benefits, including:
1. Capturing Greenhouse Gases
An estimated 58% of the fugitive methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills are from landfilled food waste.
And while biogas also contains methane, using stored biogas limits the amount released into the atmosphere and reduces dependence on fossil fuels. The reduction of methane emissions derived from tapping all the potential biogas in the United States would be equal to the annual emissions of 800,000 to 11 million passenger vehicles.
2. Reliable 24/7 Energy
As mentioned, biogas generators can operate continuously around the clock. This consistent output provides a dependable power supply that isn’t affected by weather or daylight. Unlike intermittent sources like solar and wind, biogas electric generators deliver reliable energy whenever it’s needed.
3. Circular Economy & Climate Goals
Biogas generators turn organic waste into a valuable resource, supporting a circular economy and creating new opportunities for sustainable waste management. As a result, companies can achieve their sustainability goals and carbon-reduction targets—while also lowering disposal costs and generating clean energy.
How Shapiro & Linden Fuel Biogas Energy Adoption
At Shapiro, we have a number of waste processing solutions to help companies reduce their environmental impact and achieve sustainability goals, including options that produce both biogas and electricity.
Our work with the Linden NJ recycling center demonstrates our commitment to turning food waste into sustainable energy. The Linden Renewable Energy Project converts organic waste into renewable natural gas and soil amendments, and we’re proud to be a part of a network of industry leaders contributing feedstock to the anaerobic digester.
Thanks to this partnership and our experience as a leading waste management provider, we can support you at every stage of industrial food waste disposal, including:
- Assessing feedstock options and coordinating collection logistics
- Planning co-digestion mixes and ensuring quality control
- Managing compliance documentation and tracking carbon credits
- Connecting your operation to the Linden Renewable Energy Project
Conclusion
Generating electricity from biogas supports energy security, environmental compliance, and more efficient waste management.
And while having an on-site biogas generator isn’t always feasible for many companies, partnering with a waste management provider like Shapiro means you can enjoy the benefits of biogas generation without the stress.
If you’re interested in learning more about our work with the Linden Renewable Energy Project or want to explore our tailored waste management solutions, contact us today.
Baily Ramsey, an accomplished marketing specialist, brings a unique blend of anthropological insight and marketing finesse to the digital landscape. Specializing in educational content creation, she creates content for various industries, with a particular interest in environmental initiatives.
