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China Steps Up Biogas Research and Application
China will speed up the research and application of biogas technology under the system of market-oriented economy, especially in rural areas, a senior Chinese agriculture official said.
Zhang Baowen, vice minister of Agriculture, made the remarks at the International Symposium on Biogas Technology and Sustainable Development, that opened Wednesday in Beijing.
For this purpose, the Chinese government has launched the "Environment-friendly Homeland" project to develop renewable energy, especially biogas, and the project is expected to help set up a sustainable and environment-friendly growth pattern in China's rural areas, he said.
China has placed importance on biogas technology development since the 1970s, and founded a nationwide network for the research and application of biogas, he added.
There are 7.6 million Chinese households with biogas digesters already, which can generate nearly 200 million cubic meters of biogas annually, and 748 large and medium-sized digesters treating 20-million-ton waste nationwide.
The country has also set up over 500,000 sewage treatment facilities, with an annual treating capacity of 200 million cubic meters.
China will expand its biogas application in more sectors, focusing on increasing the efficiency of biogas projects, said Wang Xiwu, president of the China Biogas Society.
China has made outstanding progress in the development and application of biogas technology, greatly benefiting the sustainable growth of the rural economy and environmental improvement, said Omar Salah Ahmed, FAO representative in China, the DPRK, and Mongolia.
The 7.6 million family-size biogas digesters in China provide not only clean energy for daily life but also organic fertilizer, which reduces the annual consumption of over 2,000 kg of firewood by a family in rural China, he said.
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