Although not fully tested to be used on a daily basis in the present time, biogas has a long history. In fact, it is thought that Shirley, in 1667, discovered biogas, or “swamp gas”, but only one century later did the scientific community recognize a existence of gas in certain swamps.
In the 19th century, Ulysse Gayon - as a Louis Pasteur pupil - ,managed to produce methane, through the anaerobic fermentation of a mixture of manure and water at 35ºC.
In 1894, Louis Pasteur, during the presentation of the work of Gayon, considered that this fermentation could be explored com the goal of having a source of light and heating
It was only in 1895 that some streets in Exeter, England, were lighted with resource to biogas formed in a septic tank designed for this effect. Still, biogas didn't have the same success as an alternative to fossil combustibles.
Only the energetic gap that happened following the second World War that motived a rising demand for biogas, in order to supply heating and fuel for internal combustion engines.
From the 1950s to the 1960s, the abundance of energy sources made, in general, diminish the importance of biogas as a credible energy provider. Still from the 1970s on, biogas as once again been seen as an alternative.
Nowadays, biogas has gained popularity for being a clean, renewable source of energy with a wide range of potential utility. It is being gradually used in the total composition of fuel, and promises to be a credible alternative to fully substitute fuel and other pollutant sources of energy.
