[[Image:diesel pump icon.png|right|100px80px]]
[[Image:biogas pump.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Biogas irrigation pump. Photo: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/djfulford/3156710354/in/set-72157612011013426 d.j. fulford.]]]
[[Image:biogas diagram.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A cross-section of a fixed-dome digester. For further information on how this works, and for other types of biogas digesters, see the Practical Answer's [http://practicalaction.org/biogas-answers technical briefs on biogas].]]
[[Image:biogas balloons.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Biogas balloon storage. Photo: [http://puxinbiogas.en.alibaba.com/product/385274656-210329529 Shenzhen Puxin Technology Co., Ltd.]]]
[[Image:biogas pump 2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Bio Gas Slurry / Cattle Dung Feed Pump. Used in cattle farms to pump out the cow dung/urine slurry to the biogas plant and the biogas slurry from the pit to the farm land. In use by the National Rural development Organisation and NGOs. Photo: [http://www.panchalpumps.com/panchal-sap-special-application-pump.html Panchal Pumps and Systems.]]]
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Using biogas for pumps in irrigation is gaining in popularity in India and elsewhere, as the savings in petroleum fuel prices are great. A diesel pump can also be converted into a bio-gas pump used for pumping water. The cheapest way to get biogas, once a pump is obtained, is to build a biomass digester, which means biomass must be collected, cultivated, or found.
An interesting option for irrigation by biogas power is to combine the digester sludge and the irrigation water in order to perform three functions simultaneously; i.e. irrigation, the application of fertilizer and waste disposal.
===Suitable conditions===
The main problem with biomass as a fuel is its uneven distribution, being most available in forested regions where it is little needed. Considered as a global resource there is no shortage of biomass, since:<br>
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! width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" | Advantages
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| valign="top" | - Makes good use of organic wastes. You can obtain fuel from sewage sludge and animal slurries first, and prevent runoff and methane emissions at the same time – and you still get fertiliser at the end of the process.<br>
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===Construction, operations and maintenance===
To get biogas, farmers are creating their own, by using cow dung and building a bio-digester. The end products are also a good source of fertilizer for crops. Making their own biogas saves hundreds of US$ per year in fuel costs for fuel that is used to run small water pumps.
The whole biogas (production) process can be divided into three steps: hydrolysis, acidification, and methane formation.
===Costs===
'''Cost of bio-digesters:'''<br>
The flexible balloon installations are relatively cheap (30-100 US$), but are liable to damage. Floating drum and fixed dome digesters are more expensive (700-1200 US$), but are more robust. Floating drum installations are effective, providing gas with a fixed pressure, which is good for domestic use, but can be more expensive and less robust than a fixed dome digester. Fixed dome digesters are more robust as they use no moving parts and can be constructed from local materials.
===Manuals, videos, and links==={|style="font-size: 125115%"
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|{{#ev:youtube|s4EWOoPY5OY|200|auto|<center>Biogas plant construction <br>in Kampala, Uganda</center>}}
====South Asia====
{|style="font-size: 125115%"
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|{{#ev:youtube|Ol3TlVBukpA|200|auto|<center>1. Biogas Driven <br>Irrigation Pump</center>}}
|{{#ev:youtube|tu9lDVQk0_4|200|auto|<center>4. Biogas project <br>of Bangladesh</center>}}
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{|style="font-size: 125115%"
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|{{#ev:youtube|Hz0osxV8Pjg|200|auto|<center>5. Bio Gas in Nepal</center>}}
* '''Video #7''': Efficient Biogas digesters built by Wasandi BioSolar Company. Wasandi Biosolar (Pvt) Ltd makes Biogas digesters, and has worked for the last few years on making effiecient Biogas digesters. This type of digester is much cheaper to build, lasts longer, easier to repair, gives more gas, and can be built in 2 to 3 days at any place. We gaurantee our digesters for ten years, but our digesters will be good and working for more then 30 to 40 years. Biogas is the cleanest fuel available. If you are intrested in getting Biogas for your home or village, we can make a digester of any size. For details visit our web site: [http://www.wasandi.com wasandi.com].
===Acknowledgements===
* [http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com/methane_generator.html DIY Methane Generator.]
* [http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ah810e/AH810E13.htm BIOMASS AND COAL (THE NON-PETROLEUM FUELS)] FAO.
* [http://practicalaction.org/biogas-fuel Poo power: cow dung can be used as fuel.] Practical Action.
* Dr J.U. Smith, [http://www.dfid.gov.uk/R4D/Output/187175/Default.aspx The Potential of Small-Scale Biogas Digesters to Alleviate Poverty and Improve Long Term Sustainability of Ecosystem Services in Sub-Saharan Africa]. University of Aberdeen, Institute of Biological and Environmental Science.