Difference Between Biogas and Natural Gas

The key difference between biogas and natural gas is that the biogas is a renewable source of energy whereas the natural gas is a non-renewable source of energy. Biogas is a naturally occurring gas that forms from the breakdown of organic matter in the presence of anaerobic bacteria while natural gas is a naturally occurring gas that forms from the fossils.

Biogas and natural gas are very important fuel gases that we can find naturally. They have many important uses such as heating, cooking, and electricity generation. More importantly, we can produce biogas via synthetic processes as well. But we cannot generate natural gas in an industrial reactor. Therefore, we consider natural gas as a non-renewable source of energy while we name the biogas as a renewable energy source.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Biogas
3. What is Natural Gas
4. Side by Side Comparison – Biogas vs Natural Gas in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Biogas?

Biogas is a naturally occurring gas that forms from the breakdown of organic matter in the presence of anaerobic bacteria. Therefore, this gas produces in the absence of oxygen. This gas is a fuel that we use to produce energy. This gas produces by biological means via anaerobic digestion. The raw material that we can use for this production is an agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant materials, sewage, etc.

When considering the chemical composition of this gas, it contains methane, carbon dioxide along with some trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. We can produce this gas as a synthetic gas using methanogenic or anaerobic microorganisms in a closed system such as anaerobic digesters, biodigesters or bioreactors.

More importantly, this gas is a renewable source. This is because we can produce this gas via biological processes rather than directly using fossil fuels. We can use this gas as an energy source for heating, producing electricity, and many other operations that use a reciprocating internal combustion engine.

What is Natural Gas?

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas that forms from the fossils. Therefore, it is a form of fossil fuel. This gas produces via geological processes that the fossils undergo for a very long time period. Moreover, it is a mixture of several important hydrocarbons. The major constituents are methane and simple alkanes. However, there are trace amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen and sulfide along with minute amounts of helium as well.

This is a non-renewable energy source because the production of this gas uses fossils which hardly regenerate. The uses of this gas include in heating, cooking, and electricity generation. Moreover, we can use it as a fuel for motor vehicles. Apart from that, we can find this gas in deep underground rock formations.

What is the Difference Between Biogas and Natural Gas?

Biogas is a naturally occurring gas that forms from the breakdown of organic matter in the presence of anaerobic bacteria while natural gas is a naturally occurring gas that forms from the fossils. More importantly, biogas forms from biological means whereas natural gas forms from geological means. Therefore, the biogas is a renewable source of energy but not the natural gas. This is the key difference between biogas and natural gas. Moreover, we can use different materials to produce biogas in a bioreactor, but we cannot generate natural gas in a reactor; it has to be formed naturally. When considering the chemical composition, biogas contains methane, carbon dioxide mainly while natural gas contains methane and simple alkanes.

The below infographic tabulates the difference between biogas and natural gas as a side by side comparison for quick reference.

Summary – Biogas vs Natural Gas

The difference between biogas and natural gas is that biogas is a renewable source of energy whereas natural gas is a non-renewable source of energy. In addition to that, biogas is a naturally occurring gas that forms from the breakdown of organic matter in the presence of anaerobic bacteria. On the contrary, natural gas is a naturally occurring gas that forms from the fossils. Therefore, both biogas and natural gas are important as fuels.

Reference:

1. Badurek, Christopher A. “Biogas.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 May 2018. Available here   
2. “Natural Gas.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Aug. 2018. Available here  

Image Courtesy:

1.”Biogas”By Volker Thies (Asdrubal) – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2.”BarnettShaleDrilling-9323″By Loadmaster (David R. Tribble) – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia