Biogas
Waste Management in Johannesburg

Biogas is naturally produced when any organic matter decomposes under anaerobic conditions.

BiogasSA was founded in 2009 with an initial focus on rural and domestic biogas solutions and has supplied and/or installed over 120 such digesters to date. The Southern African Biogas Industry Association (SABIA) was subsequently established and Mark Tiepelt, the MD of BiogasSA, was elected as its first chairman. Dr George Tivchev (PhD in anaerobic digestion) is a long standing associate of BiogasSA and provides specialist consulting services. BiogasSA has a close association with the internationally renowned Danish biogas company, Xergi, with whom they will contract for industrial size biogas projects in the MW range. One of the biggest challenges when it comes to biogas projects is that there simply is no generic solution. The initial capital investment for a biogas plant is high with a fairly long payback period of 5-8 years. BiogasSA has conducted feasibility studies for abattoirs, fruit and vegetable processing plants, dairies and piggeries. BiogasSA was also appointed by the SA Local Government Association (SALGA) to conduct a feasibility study to look at the waste to energy (WtE) potential at municipalities and more recently appointed as part of a consortium by Pikitup to look at WtE potential in Johannesburg. BiogasSA is one of the leading companies in SA supplying and installing small scale digesters for specifically rural communities. A biogas digester could provide gas for cooking purposes from animal manure and food waste, but also provide lights, heat and even stand-by electricity by running a small biogas fuelled generator, thus eliminating the need to burn fossil fuels. A digester however also produces organic fertilizer that could make a significant contribution in growing of vegetables and other food crops and contributes to carbon mitigation by eliminating environmentally hazardous methane gasses from entering the atmosphere. BiogasSA is passionate about establishing a national rural biogas program and works closely with various government departments to establish an enabling environment where our rural communities can get the full benefits of this technology. BiogasSA has two basic small scale digester designs: the in-situ cast concrete Puxin digester and the practical and cost effective DIY Biobag Digester Kit. We believe that as far as biogas digester tanks are concerned, a steel panel tank is the best option in terms of cost, speed of construction and functionality is concerned. Steel bolted panel tanks can however also be used for any type of storage requirements, whether for drinking water, effluents (sewerage, chemical, etc) or foods and grains in the municipal, agricultural, industrial, commercial or mining sectors.