Biogas composition from agricultural sources and organic fraction of municipal solid waste

s paper presents an overview of biogas compositions originating from agriculture and the organicfraction of municipal solid waste. An intensive data compilation was performed from literature, plantdata from an EU project (Waste2Watts) and from sampling campaigns at 5 different anaerobic digestersin Switzerland. Besides reporting the major components of biogas i.e. methane and carbon dioxide, theconcentration of minor components such as nitrogen and oxygen, as well as trace amounts of sulfurcompounds (H2S, mercaptans, sulfides, etc.), silicon compounds (siloxanes, silanes), ammonia, haloge-nated compounds, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are reported. These trace compoundscan present a significant challenge to the energetic use of biogas, specifically in the use of novel, high-efficient processes such as high temperature fuel cells or catalytic fuel upgrading units. H2S and othersulfur compounds are the major concern, as they are abundantly found in agriculture biogas; unlikesilicon compounds, which are generally exist in low or undetectable levels.