But there’s good news here. “We believe that with the proper design, detection, measurement, and repair techniques, all emissions can be avoided. The most important thing is to figure out where the emissions are coming from and how to reduce them,” said Bakkaloglu.
She offered that better storage design, like closed (instead of open) digestate tanks with methane recovery systems, would get rid of a lot of unintended emissions. “Additionally, we need better regulations, continuous emission measurements, and close collaboration with biogas plant operators,” Bakkaloglu added.
Considering that the researchers found such a small proportion of biogas facilities were responsible for such a big chunk of released methane, cutting down on those emissions should be easier than say, slashing car pollution. Those super-emitters are where the scientists are focusing their research next. More >>